Cody Schmick, CEO of Kinkaider Brewing and Sideshow Spirits Distillery, joins Becca Fowler, Investor Relations Specialist with the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce in the AOI Podcast Studio on the latest edition of BusinessLNK. Cody and Becca talk about the founding and history of Kinkaider Brewing and its expansion to Lincoln from Broken Bow, Nebraska, what the other related businesses of Sideshow Spirits Distillery and Bierhaus Maisschäler have to offer, why they have enjoyed experimenting with their businesses in Lincoln and what's to come at each of their spaces in the community.

Alexis Wingert, Sales and Development Specialist with Make it Pop Events & Rentals and Grindstone Media, joins Mia Drennon, Event and Program Director with Lincoln YPG and the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce in the AOI Podcast Studio. Alexis talks about her journey of entrepreneurship as the previous owner and founder of Grazing Gouda, the importance of taking time to balance work with daily life, the lessons she learned when she switched careers and sold her business and why it's important for young professionals to find what energizes and motivates them.

Jeremy Bouman, Executive Director and CEO of RISE Reentry Program, joins Becca Fowler, Investor Relations Specialist with the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce in the AOI Podcast Studio on the latest edition of BusinessLNK. Jeremy and Becca discuss the mission of RISE and who the organization is looking to aid in its mission, some of the success stories that the organization has enjoyed over the years and how they can expand their operations and mission in the future. RISE's programs benefit the community with its goal of breaking generational cycles of incarceration through habilitative programming in prisons and reentry support.

Kenneth Strickland, Director of Air Service Development for Crawford, Murphy & Tilly, joins Jason Ball, President & CEO of the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce in the AOI Podcast Studio. Kenneth and Jason talk about Kenneth's role in helping cities, such as Lincoln, attract new air service to their communities, why Kenneth felt that Lincoln was a destination that could bring new airlines and new flights to the Lincoln Airport and what comes next for not only the new routes coming to Lincoln, but how LNK can expand their air service into the future and why it's important to the community at-large and the business community.

Josh Jones, Principal/Director of The Career Academy, joins Jason Ball, President & CEO of the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce in the AOI Podcast Studio for the first BusinessLNK podcast of 2026. Josh and Jason talk about the continued growth and success of The Career Academy (TCA), which partners with Lincoln Public Schools and Southeast Community College to offer career and technical education course offerings, how they look at success established at TCA and how local businesses can get involved to help transform how students in Lincoln prepare for college and their future careers. TCA recently celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2025.

David Kamran, Administrative Director of Industry and Workforce Partnerships, Southeast Community College, joins Luke Peltz, Vice President for the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development in the AOI Podcast Studio on this edition of BusinessLNK. David and Luke talk about David's role with Southeast Community College (SCC), how higher education connects with employers and the workforce, what programs offered at SCC help bolster local workforce efforts and the best ways for businesses to get involved with not only the Lincoln campus, but also the Milford and Beatrice SCC campuses.

To get in contact with David, his email is dkamran@southeast.edu.

Jenna Vitosh, CEO and Founder of Chloey Wealth and Founder of Arrive Business Center, joins Jason Ball, President & CEO of the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce in the AOI Podcast Studio. Jenna and Jason talk about how Jenna came to her journey as an entrepreneur, how Arrive Business Center helps women take important steps throughout their business careers and why their south Lincoln location continues to grow.

Jenna and Jason also discuss 402 Days, an upcoming event held April 2-5, 2026 that focuses on celebrating women-owned small businesses--for more details, visit arrivebusinesscenter.org.

Penny Johnston, Director of Marketing at AOI and Nicole Sorba, Market Sales Director at AOI, join Jason Ball, President & CEO of the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce in the AOI Podcast Studio to talk about the history of AOI, how they have adapted to the needs of businesses and their office space over the past 40 years of operation and their respective career journeys that have led them to AOI. AOI celebrated their 40th anniversary in 2025 and continues to provide solutions for the built environment through construction, furniture and prefabricated interior construction projects.