Julie Sayers was elected mayor in November 2023. Prior to that, she served as a Ward 4 council member from 2019–2023.
Julie is an owner and principal of a commercial furniture dealership called encompas. She grew up in Topeka, Kansas, and earned a bachelor’s degree in interior design from the University of Kansas. She initially practiced interior design at AECOM (formerly Ellerbe Becket), one of Kansas City’s firms that specializes in NBA, NFL and collegiate sports facilities. This provided her with a foundation for large-scale project management, multidisciplinary coordination and construction administration.
In her role in the design community, Julie has served as president of the Mid-America Chapter of the International Interior Design Association and president of the Center for Architecture & Design Kansas City.
Julie serves on the Executive Board of Climate Action KC. This group of policy makers from northeast Kansas and northwest Missouri — along with their partners in the private and nonprofit sectors — are working to enact and foster proactive strategies, systems and structures within the region to reduce greenhouse gases, improve climate resilience and generate corresponding economic, social, health and quality of life benefits.
Julie and her husband, Scott, have lived in Lenexa since 2014 with their two dogs, Pete and Lucy. They can often be found enjoying an IPA at Limitless Brewing or walking the city’s beautiful trails. They also love U.S. National Parks and spend vacation time visiting as many as possible.

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-Transcript-

Brad Burrow (00:01):
Welcome to In A World With Real Media. I’m your host, Brad Burrow. In this podcast, we’ll dive into the lives of the most successful people in business. We’ll learn how they overcame adversity, took advantage of opportunities and learned from their experiences. Learn from our experts. Get inspired, then go live your story. It’s in a world with real media.

Brad Burrow (00:29):
Hello and welcome to the In A

Brad Burrow (00:31):
World

Brad Burrow (00:31):
With Real Media Podcast. I’m Brad Burrow. Today we have a special guest. This is, I’m really been looking forward to having you on. So this is Julie Sayers. Julie is the principal and owner of Encompass. And we’re gonna talk a lot about, well, I have a lot of questions about Encompass, but also she is the mayor of the city of Lenexa. Wow, that’s amazing. Thank you. So good morning. That’s awesome to have you here. So, I’m gonna, I’ve got a whole bunch of questions, but I really wanted to kind of dive into first a little bit about your background. Tell me a little bit about where you grew up. You know, I know you went to ku Mm-Hmm. . So give me, gimme the, the 4 1 1 on your background. Yeah.

Julie Sayer (01:10):
Um, my parents were actually from the area. Um, both sets of my grandparents lived in the Kansas City area. Um, but my parents moved to Topeka because my dad got a job with the VA in Topeka after dental school. Um, and started a dental practice there in Topeka. Um, several other partners. Yes. Okay, awesome. Um, so they, um, put down roots in Topeka. That’s where I grew up. Um, and at the time, you know, Topeka High Schools, you kind of weren’t choosing between KU and K State and KU just felt more like me. Um, so, ’cause I knew I wanted to study. So,

Brad Burrow (01:39):
Do you go east or West ? East or West, right.

Julie Sayer (01:41):
. Right. Yes. A lot of my classmates were going to K State and I just felt like KU was a better choice for me. I was interested in the arts, um, maybe thinking about going to law school at the time, and just kind of thought that Lawrence made more sense for who I was. So, um, got my degree in interior design and, um, practiced here in Kansas City for eight years with a firm then called LRB Beckett. Um, yeah, was, uh, later purchased by aecom, but designing, um, NBA and NFL sports facilities for the first part of my career. And spent a lot of time, um, traveling throughout the country and the world, working on those facilities. And Okay.

Brad Burrow (02:13):
We gotta hear more about that . Yes. So, just to give you a little bit of background. Yeah, of course. Real media. So we’ve been in business since 97, but our first 10, 15 years, all we did was animation and work for sports stadiums. Okay. So, you know, the ribbon boards and the Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So that’s, that’s very interesting. Yeah. So were you designing, what, what was your role in designing stadiums?

Julie Sayer (02:34):
Yeah, so a stadium was really, um, kind of 17 projects within the same building. Oh yeah. Okay. Um, you know, there’s a healthcare component. There’s locker rooms, there’s several different restaurants, fan experiences, hospitality, you know, all, all sorts of parts of those buildings. And an interior designer sort of touches and has control over designing those spaces and those experiences. So, um, some of the notable projects that I worked on in that time were the, um, renovation of the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina. Oh, wow. Um, the new then basketball arena at, um, the University of Oregon, which was, was named after Phil Knight’s son. Um, ’cause he was obviously one of the founders and, you know, influential character at the University of Oregon. Um, and then I finished my career there, um, working on the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. So didn’t quite get to see the building open, but was mostly through construction at the time that I left au.

Brad Burrow (03:26):
So I know a lot of the people that run the video boards in the, in the Mm-Hmm. production areas. Yep. For, for those arenas. Barclays Yep. Is one of them actually. Yep. Yeah. Yeah. And just watched Air last night. Have you seen that with ? I haven’t with you. Made me think of that with Phil Knight, you know? Mm-Hmm. . Um, and so that’s really cool. Yeah. Thank you. So did you know when you were growing up that you had kind of a creative outlet that you needed to?

Julie Sayer (03:50):
Yeah, for sure. Um, I had a really, um, wonderful influence in my grandfather, um, who was a, um, graphic designer. His business in Lenexa was a printing and graphic design company. Really? Yes. Um, and, you know, he was always making things and making music and, um, had a really cool bar in their basement. He was sort of an entertainer and a showman. So, um, he definitely was a big influence in both my brother and I becoming creatives as adults.

Brad Burrow (04:17):
Do you remember going to the print shop when you were little?

Julie Sayer (04:18):
Yeah, for sure. Um, my mom and I have actually tried to find the building in Lenexa and so much has changed that we’ve not been able to locate it. Um, but we know that it was somewhere near Old Town in Lenexa, so. Okay. We’ll find it someday.

Brad Burrow (04:30):
. Well, exas changing. I want to talk a lot about that. Yeah. That’s really amazing what’s happening in Lenexa. Thank you. That’s cool. So you got to, you kind of just, uh, inherited some of those genes. Yeah.

Julie Sayer (04:40):
I mean, when you have someone that’s that influential in your life, so young, sort of encouraging creativity, I think that’s a really strong influence to, to sort of help start that fire.

Brad Burrow (04:50):
So went to ku Yep. And, um, and then got your degree and started, what, what was your first job out of college? So

Julie Sayer (04:57):
It was LRB Beckett. Oh, it was, okay. So started right away, um, with the, you know, these big, you know, sort of

Brad Burrow (05:02):
Jump right in,

Julie Sayer (05:02):
Huh? Giant projects. Yes. And traveling the country, working on those. Um, and then just really felt like I wasn’t connected to the local community ’cause I was spending so much time on the road. Um, and I knew the former owners of Encompass, um, ’cause I had worked on projects with them. So, um, kind of let them know that I was looking to make a change, maybe slow down a little bit in my thirties, um, and stay, you know, closer to Kansas City. So I started with them in 2011 and worked as a project manager for them, um, until we started negotiations for four of us to purchase the company last year.

Brad Burrow (05:35):
So Encompass has been around a long time. Mm-Hmm.

Julie Sayer (05:38):
. Um, it actually was, um, the merger of two different companies. Um, sort of, uh, in the early two thousands. It’s been, um, there’ve been Hayworth Furniture dealers in Kansas City for a long time. Um, but Encompass now has been around for almost 20

Brad Burrow (05:52):
Years. So tell me what Encompass does. It’s contract furnish sheets. Yep. I know. Is, is, uh, kind of in, in your LinkedIn profile a little bit. Yeah. What, what does that mean? Yeah.

Julie Sayer (06:01):
It’s something that not a lot of people sort of know a lot about. Um, so commercial furniture for, um, large scale office buildings, commercial spaces, airports, universities. Mm-Hmm. , um, is a different kind of furniture than what you would see in residential settings or that you could buy on at Nebraska Furniture Mart. Um, and it’s distributed in much the same way that cars are. So there are three or four kind of major manufacturers, um, that are located in West Michigan. Um, and all of that is distributed to West Michigan. Yeah. , um, manufacturing Michigan. It’s, you know, the sort of the bedrock of our country. All right. Um, and all of that is distributed through a network of dealers similar to the ways that cars are. So you go to a Ford dealer, you go to a Chevy dealer, um, you go to a Hayworth dealer, which is what we represent. And then there’s Miller Knoll, Steelcase, other companies that are, have a dealer networks as well. So, um, and that’s just really because the procurement process is very complicated. It’s, um, you know, a lot of parts and pieces and logistics and trucking and, um, things that organizations tend to not want to do themselves. It’s, it’s up to us to coordinate all of

Brad Burrow (07:05):
That. And your orders are pretty significant that they can be that. I mean, if you’re, you know, redoing a whole office or something like that. Yeah. So how, how hard is it to get a dealership for a company like that? I mean, you have to be around for a long time for them, them to even consider giving you a dealership, right?

Julie Sayer (07:22):
Yeah. I mean, uh, the four of us have, um, a combined level of experience. I think we did the math once that, that the four of us have something like 70 years of experience in the industry. Um, because there are even certain niches within that. You know, there’s, um, sales to government entities that work in a very different contractual way. And we have an expert on that. One of my partners is an expert on that. Um, and then just, you know, maintaining your current accounts and, and servicing everyone that we do business with. Um, obviously going out and developing new business is sort of a, a task all of its own. Yeah. Um, and then, you know, just managing all of our staff and keeping it all going.

Brad Burrow (08:00):
So you got a lot of

Julie Sayer (08:01):
Indeed ,

Brad Burrow (08:02):
We’re not even talking about the mayor stuff yet. . Yes. Um, did you ever think you’d be an owner? Like when you, when you decided to slow down a little bit in, in your thirties and thought, well, you know, I’d like to own this someday. Did that ever even cross your mind?

Julie Sayer (08:16):
It really didn’t. Um, I, I sort of have never been the type of person that has goals in the way that like, by the time I’m 30, I want to be doing X or by the time I spend so much time with this company, I want to be responsible for YI just sort of take opportunities as they come my way. Um, I try to, you know, sort of, you know, work hard and make sure that, um, I’m still, you know, engaged in the work. Mm-Hmm. . And then I say, yes, I’ve for been fortunate to, you know, have opportunities like this presented to me. Um, and just had the sort of gut re you know, gut feeling to say yes.

Brad Burrow (08:52):
Is that, are you a gut feeling decision maker?

Julie Sayer (08:54):
Yeah, kind of. Um, I think, you know, when people see potential in you, you sort of have to listen to that. And that’s definitely how I ended up with both positions.

Brad Burrow (09:03):
This is kind of a little bit of a sidetrack. Have you ever done a Kolby test? I haven’t. Okay. So it’s a kind of a personality thing, but my kby says that I’m a gut decision maker. Okay. Like, I, I do my, I make my best decisions when I do it based on my gut. I bet you’re the same way. And, and maybe it’s a creative person

Julie Sayer (09:20):
Thing. Yeah. It’s just kind of this intuition that’s, you know, well, and then certainly, you know, feedback that you get from others about, Hey, I really think that you would be good at this. You kinda have to listen to that.

Brad Burrow (09:29):
I probably shouldn’t say this on the, the podcast ’cause everybody’s gonna say, oh now, but, uh, you know, I think I do better that way. Mm-Hmm. . If I don’t do that, then I tend to overthink. Yeah. And it’s like, struggle with decisions. Yeah. Are you the same way?

Julie Sayer (09:41):
Yeah. Um, there’s, uh, the movie, um, free solo about the gentleman that free soloed El Capitan, you know, oh. Climbed it with no ropes. Um, the director of that film, um, did an interesting, um, masterclass, you know, when we were stuck at home in Covid watching Masterclasses. Yeah. Um, and I think his name is Jimmy Chin. He’s just sort of this really amazing photographer and filmmaker. And one of the things that he said during that, that really stuck with me is that in any sort of big endeavor, you have to commit and then figure out the details. And I think that that’s a lot of how this has all come together for me was where like someone asked me to, you know, fulfill an opportunity and I committed to those things. And then fig I’m figuring out the details as I go.

Brad Burrow (10:22):
Yeah. Well, that’s awesome. Thank you. So it’s taking you places that you never would’ve thought that you might go. Yeah.

Julie Sayer (10:28):
You just have to say yes.

Brad Burrow (10:29):
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That’s very interesting. That’s, I’m, I’m kind of like that too. So tell me why do you like contract furnishings? What, what was it about that business that Yeah.

Julie Sayer (10:39):
Um, so having worked as an interior designer, um, you are sort of responsible for setting the broad vision of a project, sort of understanding the goals and the function and all of that. Um, and then it, there are sort of, um, sort of those big visions. And then there’s a lot of detailed execution that goes into coordinating with all your consultants and getting construction documents done. And I always felt like I was better at that sigh. You know, the really, the nuts and bolts side, the execution of projects, and that’s really what we end up doing on the, on the end of a project when it comes to, you know, it’s time to install furniture, is the vision’s already been set. Everything hopefully has already been coordinated. The contract documents are done, and it’s our responsibility to come in and sort of execute on that last 10%, 20% of what the vision is, make sure that the function is perfect and that, that humans really are interacting with that environment at their most Yeah. You know, cap, you know, making them the most capable.

Brad Burrow (11:35):
See, I would’ve thought you would be a vision person. Yeah. But I mean, you’re more, you’re more on the details and the execution. Yeah.

Julie Sayer (11:41):
Um, I think in my career, um, I find that just the, the day-to-day operation, you know, execution is what I’m the strongest at. ’cause I’m just sort of a project manager by nature. Um, I have the ability though, um, to sort of see the broad pic because of my background in interior design, having that, that muscle memory, I guess. Yeah. Um, being able to understand the vision and see the vision, I think is where my two worlds now kind of makes sense to one another. ’cause you have to be able to do both in both positions.

Brad Burrow (12:12):
So I have to ask you this question. So the, the contract furnishing world has probably changed a lot since Covid. Yeah. Not only from how we do business. I mean, our business has changed too, but also like working from home Mm-Hmm. a lot of people. Has that changed kind of your approach to

Julie Sayer (12:30):
Yeah, I mean, I think that

Brad Burrow (12:31):
And, and the manufacturer’s approach

Julie Sayer (12:32):
For sure. Um, it is now a conversation about making an office, um, an asset that people desire. They, they have to want to be there. They have to, um, feel invested in the culture of a company because it is, um, a lot for a company sometimes to ask someone to commute to an office and to, you know, put on pants and and the things that we’ve all learned, you know, since Covid . Yeah. Um, so the office really now has to be a destination. And, and a lot of our clients have come back to us, um, during COV and since to, um, really think about what does this space mean for our people? How does it make our people productive and comfortable? How is it different from working at home? Um, what sort of, um, technology or assets can the office offer that, uh, that at home work can’t? And there’s a lot of conversations still going on about that, that, um, you know, most companies do want people in the office sometimes just to remain, you know, retain that connection and how do we make it, you know, useful for them to, to come and spend the time together.

Brad Burrow (13:37):
My son works for a company that’s a government supplier, the big one out south. Mm-Hmm. . And, uh, they, they’re in the office maybe two or three days a week. Mm-Hmm. . So they’ve never gone back to full-time in the office. Yeah. It’s, it’s really interesting. So he’s, he’s literally wor literally working from home two days a week. Yeah. Or three. And, uh, so do you find, like, are you building, I don’t know what that would be like a helping them build at home offices as well? I mean, or resources that they can have for

Julie Sayer (14:06):
Home? Yeah. Um, that’s actually the conversation I think that will be much longer term as a result of the pandemic is that, um, ergonomics certainly were, was important and is important in office settings. And I don’t know that organizations are talking about it enough for their people at home. Um, you know, when we all first packed up our stuff and we thought it was gonna be two weeks, you know, everyone worked at the dining room table and didn’t really think that much about it,

Brad Burrow (14:30):
Which is not very comfortable.

Julie Sayer (14:31):
It’s not at all. And it’s not good for your body to be, you know, sitting in, in places like that long term. Um, so that’s something that we definitely do push, you know, if you, if companies are sticking with a hybrid model for good, um, are there tools or assets that they can provide to their employees at home to make sure that they’re staying healthy and not, you know, sitting, you know, in some weird place, you know, potentially injuring themselves in the process?

Brad Burrow (14:54):
Yeah. Like chairs

Julie Sayer (14:55):
Yeah. Chairs and the heights of work surfaces and, um,

Brad Burrow (14:59):
You know, are you getting asked things like that? I mean, um,

Julie Sayer (15:02):
Not, yes, but I think not enough. Yeah. I think, um, people are still thinking, you know, if you’re working from home, that’s your jam. You figure out what’s comfortable for you and companies aren’t necessarily providing those resources. Do

Brad Burrow (15:13):
You find that you’re getting asked like the environments at work to all we need to, we need to make this more Yes. More exciting. Yes. Enticing. And so what do you do? What are some of the things, pinball machines, stuff like

Julie Sayer (15:25):
That? The thing I think that, um, that we’re seeing the most is food and beverage. Oh. Um, so providing a really excellent cafe, um, both for providing nourishment and a place to go relax for people during the day, grab a cup of coffee, but then also for that sort of other place to work at work. Um, some people still like, you know, popping into a coffee shop and working somewhere other than their desk. It sort of becomes this, you know, kitchen for the company, you know, at a party. Everyone hangs out in the kitchen. That’s exactly right. Um, I think that that’s sort of the new movement in corporate offices is that you’ve gotta have a really great, you know, it’s better than a break room. You know, some big central place where everyone can go and sort of gather and have a meeting or eat a meal or whatever it may be. So we’re seeing a lot of sort of hospitality type approach to the

Brad Burrow (16:14):
Office. And would you help design

Julie Sayer (16:16):
Something like that? Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.

Brad Burrow (16:17):
Very cool. Yeah. Have you seen the little pods? Yeah. Be getting off on some tangent. You’re good. You know, the little pods. Yeah. I, I don’t know where I’m seeing those, but like, they’re privacy, but they have glass. Yep. But some of them have you one like a table. Mm-Hmm. . Some of them just have one chair. Yeah. Are do you do things like that as

Julie Sayer (16:34):
Well? We sure do. Um, that’s another thing that’s been super popular since pandemic because as people return to the office, they’re much more aware of the settings that they’re in. They can hear like they’re paying more attention to what their coworkers are doing. Yeah. Um, and people are on the phone or on video calls much more often. Um, so acoustics is a conversation that we’re having with a lot of organizations and little pods like that are ways that you can, you know, basically put down a little mini conference room and someone can go take a meeting inside one of those, or go work inside one of those if they need some heads down time. And you don’t have to build a lot of infrastructure to them so they don’t require sprinklers and piping and air conditioners. Oh yeah. ’cause they’re all sort of self-contained. You just have to plug ’em into an outlet. So

Brad Burrow (17:17):
I think they’re really cool. Yeah.

Julie Sayer (17:18):
Yeah. So it’s a much less invasive way of sort of introducing some private space that isn’t a Fullblown conference room and

Brad Burrow (17:24):
You add a couple of drone motors to ’em and you can fly to work in one of those days, . Right. They look like a drone kind. Yeah. Yeah. Really, really cool stuff. Yeah. Um, I, I, I wanted to switch gears a little bit. ai Mm-Hmm. . So I’ve been seeing, I’ve, I’ve been very interested in ai. Mm-Hmm. , you know, since it just seems like a long time ago, but it’s not that long ago. Mm-Hmm. . Um, but there’s, I’ve seen a new program now where somebody can take a picture of their kitchen Mm-Hmm. and then put it in a program and here’s some options on how you could design your kitchen. Yeah. Is that happening in, in

Julie Sayer (17:57):
It’s kind of starting, yeah. Um, so there, the manufacturers, I think all, um, use some variety of rendering software that allows you to specify all the parts and pieces. And when you build the model that sort of puts together the bill of materials of everything that you’d need to order. So it puts their furniture and, yes. Yeah. Um, but then you also do renderings, you know, to show a customer in sort of 3D views what something looks like. This is what you’re gonna get when you place this order. Do you do

Brad Burrow (18:22):
That? We do.

Julie Sayer (18:22):
Okay. Yes. Um, we have, I think, 12 designers on staff, project managers, um, that do that for our clients. Okay. Um, but the conversation is how could AI improve that process If we say, here’s a six by six workstation, give me three options and three different colors and put, you know, people in it and make it look real. Yeah. Can AI help speed that process of creating all those renderings? ’cause it still is sort of a manual process that our people have to do now.

Brad Burrow (18:50):
Interesting. Yeah. So it’ll generate a look or Yeah. Or

Julie Sayer (18:54):
Whatever. Yeah. You sort of give it some parameters, I think, um, to put the guardrails up and then

Brad Burrow (18:59):
It’s getting better all the time. Yeah. Remember the first few images that I did with ai, you know, 10 fingers on my hand. Yeah.

Julie Sayer (19:06):
,

Brad Burrow (19:07):
You know, weird stuff like that. Yeah. It’s like, couldn’t figure out things. But, uh, we’re using it for a documentary on the history of women’s basketball and a lot of the, it’s pre-Title ix, so it’s like before Title IX happens in the seventies. Mm-Hmm. . Um, but a lot of the pictures are that are older, are pretty small. So we’re using ai, AI to enhance the pictures Nice. And, and make them more high resolution so we can do that. So it’s really a cool thing that, that’s happening with it as well. But that, that, it’s just amazing that that capability that’s continuing to come down the pike with that. Um, um, so a, are you worried about AI in your business at all? I mean, do you, do you feel like I’ve, I’ve had people tell me that in video production, oh, we’ll, you know, we won’t even need you guys in the future. We’ll just, you know, type in a prompt and bam, here’s a video. I’m like, Hmm. I don’t know. I don’t think maybe.

Julie Sayer (20:03):
Yeah. Um, I still think that there is a place for interior. Our, all of our staff are interior designers. Um, you have to ask the questions of customers to understand how their business works, what their people do. There’s sort of an understanding of human factors that I’m not convinced that AI is gonna be able to Yeah. To understand those idiosyncrasies enough to then just place an order. Like there, there need this, there has to be some steps in between. Um, but I think our people are always gonna be there. Certainly there’s efficiencies to be found. And I think that, um, we can get better if we can find some places to be more efficient using it. Um, but just that sort of human understanding.

Brad Burrow (20:46):
Yeah.

Julie Sayer (20:47):
I’m sort of hanging my hat on needing that.

Brad Burrow (20:49):
I, I, I hope you’re right. . Thank you. . Um, are, are you familiar with Unreal Engine? I’m not. Okay. So Unreal Engine’s like a, a gaming engine, but it’s a 3D where you build a 3D environment. I, I was curious, you know, um, we’ve talked about working with like Je Dunn and people like our companies like that, I should say, where you build in 3D uh, maybe a, a floor in an office building, and then you show what it looks like at Sunset, what it looks like. Mm-Hmm. in the morning, what it, you know, noon. So in Unreal Engine you can do that and it would be a really cool tool to Mm-Hmm. show. Like, here’s what this furniture color looks like at five o’clock. Yeah. Here’s what it looks at. You know?

Julie Sayer (21:32):
Yeah. Here’s how the fabric is gonna fade on all this stuff. Yeah. You know, it sits in the sun for

Brad Burrow (21:36):
Yeah. I’m just curious. That’s probably coming in your industry. Yeah. I would imagine. Yeah.

Julie Sayer (21:40):
I think that would be helpful.

Brad Burrow (21:41):
But, um, yeah, we’re using it for virtual sets and, you know, things like that. Mm-Hmm. . So he can put you in any environment. So I’m just curious about that. Yeah, for sure. Um, so you, you were, um, with Encompass for quite a few years before you actually became an owner. Mm-Hmm. . Can, can you talk about how that happened?

Julie Sayer (21:59):
Yeah. Um, so our previous owners were kind of just looking to succession plan, um, and went through multiple iterations with that, with multiple parties before us. Um, it really didn’t come together until there were four of us individuals that kind of fit together. Um, and really had the skillsets to, I think, complement each other in a way that the, the previous owners really felt comfortable making the proposal to us to buy them out. Um, and it really has been a very symbiotic relationship. You know, we’ve learned how to, um, you know, capitalize on each other’s strengths and fill in on some weaknesses. And I think that we make a really great team. Um, and it’s been, you know, inspiring frankly, um, to have four women, you know, sort of take this over Yeah. And, and keep it stable. Um, ’cause it was a very successful business, um, prior to, to us taking ownership. And we wanted to just make sure that everything, you know, sort of stayed the same. Um, and then I think that we now have the opportunity to keep building it and making it better. So

Brad Burrow (23:00):
Not easy to have four people get along. Yeah.

Julie Sayer (23:02):
I mean, we, um, we try to, we try to disagree be to behind closed doors and, um, not let our staff see any of that. Um, ’cause we wanna, you know, obviously make it stay united, stay united, um, have a positive work environment for everyone that nobody wants to see their bosses arguing. So we figured out, you know, sort of how to disagree respectfully and move on and Yeah.

Brad Burrow (23:23):
Which is okay. Right. Yeah. Of course. It’s okay to disagree. Of course. Of course. It’s like everybody thinks differently. Yeah. What did you think when that opportunity came? It’s like, were you, were you surprised?

Julie Sayer (23:32):
Yeah. I mean, um, I, we obviously knew that they had been looking to transition. Um, you know, they were had been owners for 20 years. Yeah. Um, and we knew that they were, you know, interested in sort of starting to step away. I think it wasn’t until, you know, you started looking at legal documents and talking about financing and all that kind of stuff that it really hit home. And it was, um, you know, a little bit overwhelming at first. And then, um, it’s just been a learning process since then. They gave us about a year’s worth of lead time before we let anybody know that it was happening. So we had a lot of conversations, you know, that were behind

Brad Burrow (24:10):
Closed. So they helped you transition.

Julie Sayer (24:11):
Correct. Um, so when we actually made the public announcement and sort of started day one, um, it wasn’t really the first day. It had been a year up, up until that point.

Brad Burrow (24:21):
Yeah. It’s day one.

Julie Sayer (24:23):
. Yeah. We’re ready to go.

Brad Burrow (24:24):
So what, what are some of the things, can you talk about like, some of the challenges that maybe you weren’t prepared for?

Julie Sayer (24:31):
Yeah. I mean, I think that everyone in the world is struggling to find quality people. Um, oh yeah. You know, there’s a shortage in every industry that you can imagine. We’re not immune from that. And because we hire specifically interior designers, that’s a competitive market because we hire the same people that architecture firms do. So just finding people who sort of possess the same skillset and the interest in that, in that sort of backend part of the project that we do, um, has been a challenge. We’ve got, we found some great people in the last couple of years, but continues to be, um, you know, something that we, we need more staff ’cause we’ve got plenty of work to go around. Um, and then as I mentioned, just, um, the feeling of not really knowing what you don’t know. So there are days that you’re like, oh man, I didn’t realize that this was gonna be a problem that I would have to solve. So there’s some days where you kind of feel like you’re triaging things and not necessarily moving anything forward.

Brad Burrow (25:24):
I don’t think that’s ever gonna change. Yeah. , just so you know, . Yeah. I don’t think, yeah. I mean, it’s like, there’s always some Yeah. Issue that has to be dealt with, I feel like. Right. Um, are there previous owners still around?

Julie Sayer (25:36):
Mm-Hmm. are they? Um, yeah. So they actually still own all of our properties. Oh, okay. And in our main building downtown, um, their condo is sort of the upper floor of our building where our showroom is. Um, so they’re physically adjacent to us. We can get a hold of them. Um, and they certainly, um, wanted to be around for at least the first three years as sort of an advisory

Brad Burrow (25:55):
Position. So how long ago did the did

Julie Sayer (25:57):
We took possession of January of last year.

Brad Burrow (25:59):
Okay. Um, let’s see. I I really, before we, we switch gears a little bit. I I, can you talk about the market for contract furnishings and Yeah. It’s really interesting in Kansas City. I mean, I’m sure every market’s like this, but, you know, the, the, um, with people working at home, um, you’re seeing a lot of space become available. Mm-Hmm. in Kansas City, you know, sprint, well, T-Mobile now. Yeah. It has, you know, opened up a lot of space there campus out there. It seems like, it seems like there’s a wealth of space out there. Mm-Hmm. . So, you know, they can’t get people in, in the offices. How is that impacting your business as

Julie Sayer (26:41):
Well? Yeah, it’s, it’s interesting, um, to view from both angles. Um, because I do hear very much, you know, developers come into the city and say, the office is dead forever. No one is ever gonna build an office building ever again. We’ve got, you know, x million square feet of vacant space in the Kansas City metro right now. It’s, it’s abysmal out there. Um, but on the business side, we’ve been, we have stayed busy almost the entire pandemic. Yeah. Um, and ha and have seen an increase in sales since then for the reason that I mentioned that a lot of people have moved, um, and negotiated better, better leases. They’re doing tenant improvement projects, um, in pursuit of those environments that we talked about and creating more hospitable office spaces than maybe they were occupying previously. So there is still very much a market for furniture. It’s not the big giant new Cerner campus potentially in the future. Um, but I think there will always be people that are moving around or changing or growing or, um, sort of taking the existing real estate and trying to improve it. That keeps us busy.

Brad Burrow (27:51):
You have one of the fastest growing organizations in, in Lenexa. I think it’s Lenexa in, uh, community America. Mm-Hmm. . Do you, do you know Lisa Genter? I do. Okay. Yes. That would seem to me be a great connection for Yeah. For what you guys, they’re growing like

Julie Sayer (28:06):
Crazy. Yeah. Um, and actually their director of facilities used to be, um, the facilities manager at HR Block, and she was a customer of ours. So. Awesome. Yeah. Small world. Yeah.

Brad Burrow (28:15):
Yeah. Well definitely wanna hitch to that. Thank you. Yes. That, that organization. That’s awesome. Thank you. Okay, well let’s switch gears. I gotta switch, yeah. For switch over here. We’re gonna go over to City of Lenexa.

Julie Sayer (28:27):
Yeah. Be beautiful. New website. It just came out about a month and a half ago, is that right? Yes. Yes. Is that right?

Brad Burrow (28:31):
Yes. So there companies that just do websites for, for cities, is

Julie Sayer (28:35):
That, yes. Um, because as you can imagine, there’s a lot of di a lot of very specific information that has to be shared on a municipal government website. Yes. Um, so there are specific, like

Brad Burrow (28:43):
Look at all the menu .

Julie Sayer (28:44):
Yes. Um, and being able to find something easily is paramount. ’cause this really is, um, sort of the front door to the city if someone needs to report a problem or figure out, you know, how to reserve a police officer for a parade. Yeah. Um, there’s lot or, you know, find an agenda for a city council meeting. There’s, um, just a wealth of information here. So there, there’s contractors that do that specifically.

Brad Burrow (29:07):
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Julie Sayer (29:08):
That’s a great, but it’s beautiful. Thank you.

Brad Burrow (29:10):
Yeah. So let’s talk about, I mean, first obviously we want to get to where you are now Yeah. Which is really cool. Yeah. But what prompted you to, to run for city council? Yeah.

Julie Sayer (29:21):
Um, so in, in the process of, um, changing careers and staying connected to the community, I also took on a leadership role in the local, um, professional association, which is the in International Interior Design Association.

Brad Burrow (29:36):
Is that what’s on your, is that the probably IIEA? Yes.

Julie Sayer (29:40):
Okay. Yeah. Um, so got involved with the chapter here, um, moved into leadership and was president of the chapter here in Kansas City, um, around 20 14, 20 15. Um, there is another organization in Kansas City called the Center for Architecture and Design. That is then the umbrella for all seven of the professional associations like us, the American Institute of Architects, landscapers, urban Planners. All of those organizations roll up into the Center for Architecture and Design. Wow. So after I was president of IADA, I went on to become the president of the Senate for Architecture and Design. And that was the time in which, um, the public vote was active around the new airport project. Um, and we had on our board a woman who was doing PR for Mayor Sly James’s office. And she asked us as a, you know, sort of design organization, sort of a stakeholder in the new airport project, if we would help promote that project and, and get out messaging about why people were having to vote on that.

(30:43):
’cause a lot of people didn’t understand why it was a public vote. Um, so I worked with her, um, did, had some events at Sea Ad did a little bit of, you know, campaigning around the airport and was invited to attend when, um, the results came back on election night. So I was in the, in the party with Mayor James and saw like, okay, that’s, um, pretty cool when you’re involved in something that the public approves. Yeah. And just knowing that, you know, that would’ve been such a generational project. Um, just So did you have your toe in the Pol political? No, I mean, that was the first, I’m using big air quotes first. Yeah. Hang on. Campaign that I had ever worked on. Yeah. It really was just hosting a couple of events. But, um, to see how, um, the work of that campaign really is now changing the, you know, the entire stratosphere of Kansas City, um, obviously was a very rewarding experience.

(31:36):
Um, after that, I really just started volunteering for other candidates, um, in the 2018 midterms. Um, there was a really compelling candidate that year that, you know, I thought was very interesting. So I just kind of started going and knocking doors and writing postcards and the things that you do, um, for campaigns. And by the end of that, um, a lot of people kind of started saying, well, like, maybe you should, you know how to do all this now. Maybe you should run for office. And in the process of, um, helping that other candidate, I had actually spent a lot of time knocking doors in Lenexa and just asking people what was on their minds and found that it was really municipal issues that they cared about the most. It wasn’t, you know, the big sort of controversial things that you talk about in, in national politics.

(32:20):
National politics, yeah. So, um, just understanding, you know, sort of my background and what architects and designers, you know, sort of have a say in the way the built environment goes together. It makes sense that city council would be a place to have a designer that could make some impact, um, on the built environment. So I decided to run for city council. Um, that was in 2019. There was a wonderful gentleman, um, who was maybe thinking about retiring at the time. Wasn’t sure if he was gonna run again. And I decided just to, to run and see, um, if it would work. And it did. Yeah. So he actually ended up not running, so it ended up being an open uh, seat, which was great. ’cause we ended up in a three-way primary with three ladies running for the position. It was a wonderful experience to, you know, just get out and talk to the community about what’s important to them. So,

Brad Burrow (33:13):
So how do you balance

Julie Sayer (33:15):
Yeah. I mean that’s like the number

Brad Burrow (33:17):
One country you have to do the chase a little bit of other things, but I mean, even back then Mm-Hmm. , I mean, that takes a lot of time.

Julie Sayer (33:23):
Yeah. Um, that’s kind of the number one thing that everyone asks me. Yeah. I bet. At cocktail parties or wherever I am. Um, and I will say that, um, you know, I never had kids. Um, so I have, I’ve had a lot of bandwidth throughout my career to be, um, in service of professional organizations and volunteer time. And, um, so this, you know, has made sense because I had the space in my life to do it. Um, I was sort of at the twilight of all of that professional association leadership and I was looking for the next opportunity. So the two dovetail together to me. The timing

Brad Burrow (33:58):
Was perfect. Yeah.

Julie Sayer (33:58):
Yep. The timing just all worked out

Brad Burrow (34:01):
2019. Yeah. Right before Covid . Yeah. I mean, holy

Julie Sayer (34:05):
Cow. Cow. Yeah. I had about three months, um, to sort of get oriented started in March, right? Yeah. Yeah. We got sworn in in December and then we go to a, um, big conference twice a year called National League of Cities. And in March it’s always in Washington DC And at that conference was when it started really getting strange. You know, people were doing the elbow bumps and hand sanitizer everywhere. Um, and they had members of the CDC come speak to us ’cause it’s a room of, you know, 3000 municipal elected officials Yeah. About what’s going on, what they knew. Yeah. Um, and I remember, you know, we came home from the airport and went, you know, I went to the grocery store and went home that night, and then that was it. It was like the curtain closed.

Brad Burrow (34:48):
Well, that was a scary time. It

Julie Sayer (34:49):
Was,

Brad Burrow (34:50):
We, we had a company, um, leasing space from us here that actually helped, um, the NCAA basketball tournament. Like, so they worked Mm-Hmm. for the NCAA. Yep. And I remember, uh, the gentleman coming out of the conference, he goes, they just canceled the NCA basketball

Julie Sayer (35:07):
Tournament. They called it March sadness. Yeah.

Brad Burrow (35:10):
Yeah. But for that was for, you know, he, they were an event company. Right. So he just instantly lost millions of dollars of revenue. Yeah. And it’s like, face is white, you know? Mm-Hmm. . It was crazy. Yeah. Crazy time.

Julie Sayer (35:23):
And then navigating all of that, you know, as a very new council member, um, you know, and sort of all of the conflicting information and, you know, guidance and mandates and all that sort of stuff, it was definitely a challenge. But, um, I always have to give credit to my colleagues and then my then mayor that, you know, we always, um, would have discussions respectfully and, um, you know, be clear about what areas it was, you know, what, what lane we needed to stay in as far as public health, because we didn’t have a, a health department, so we weren’t setting regulations, we were just following what was given to us. So I think that we fared as well as we could, um, in communicating all of that and doing our best. If

Brad Burrow (36:06):
You can make it through that. Yeah. Then, I mean, I think you can make it through a lot of things that Thank you. Prepared you for

Julie Sayer (36:13):
Later things. Yeah. Travel by fire . Yeah,

Brad Burrow (36:15):
Exactly. Exactly. I think all of us. Um, so you’ve been mayor for eight months. Yeah. Is that right? Yeah. So how did that all come about? Just like the,

Julie Sayer (36:25):
Was Yeah. So very similar conversation around the same time, um, as the business where, um, previous mayor was pretty sure that he was not gonna run again. He had been serving in that capacity for 20 years and multiple years of council before that. Um, and he was really looking for someone from the current council to replace him and, and sort of tapped maybe three of us to have that conversation to just say, you know, for the good of the city, someone with the institutional knowledge of the city should, should replace me and we should, you know, instead of an outside succession plan. This. Yes. Um, so there ended up being two of us, um, internally from the council that ran last year. Um, you know, it’s an awkward situation when it’s one of your colleagues and someone that you consider a friend that you have to campaign against.

(37:12):
Yeah. Um, but we made it through and that person is still on the council. We’re thankful for, um, still having his institutional knowledge to lean on because we do now have some new council members as well. And Yeah. Um, you know, my, I have told, you know, in my state of the city address and to staff and whomever that, at least for this first year in the same way as the business, you know, my job is to keep everything stable and not make changes. Um, because it, it was the first time that we had a change in leadership in 20 years.

Brad Burrow (37:41):
So. Well, and the nex is doing amazing. Yes. I mean, I wanted to talk a little bit, you know, uh, about the city center and Mm-Hmm. , that whole area out there. I know that area pretty well. ’cause my kids played baseball. Mm-Hmm. . So we were out at three and two. I mean, we’d go there all the time Yeah. And play baseball. It’s completely different now. Yeah. I mean, it’s, it’s unbelievable. Mm-Hmm. . It’s, uh, it’s really, really a cool area. Yeah.

Julie Sayer (38:04):
I mean, it was a, a process that, uh, began in the late nineties, uh, with a, with a process called Vision 2020 mm-Hmm. . Um, that was really a feedback process from our residents about what type of community they wanted. Um, and they, you know, made very clear in that process that they wanted sort of a new centrally located downtown, um, old town. Lenexa obviously is very special to everyone. It’s where the city was founded originally. Yeah. Um, but it is in the geographic east of the city and the, the city continues grow west. So, um, the placement of city center is actually the geographic middle. It can serve all of our residents now. Um, and was really defined by that process as a sort of mixed use new downtown. So, um, it took a lot of planning by my predecessors and, and other council members over those 20 years to see it through to what it is today. So I came in just right at the tail end.

Brad Burrow (39:00):
Well, it’s a perfect location. I mean, right. With the Yeah. You know, interstate right there and 87th and 95th and you’ve got bigger buildings, you know, or companies keywood. Yep. And, uh, you know, it’s a pretty, pretty amazing Yep. Location.

Julie Sayer (39:15):
Yep. The puzzle’s kind of almost finished. There’s not a lot of empty ground left over there. Um, what you’re seeing in the construction right now is there’s a new Advent Health campus that’s going there that will be equal in size to what you’re familiar with at their Shawnee Mission location. Oh, really? Uhhuh . Um, so big hospital sort of at the back. Wow. And then a bunch of medical office buildings there out towards, uh, this center of city center and then sort of in the center of the donuts. So if you think about Advent Health over here, and then the Shawnee Mission Aquatic Center, and then City Hall and the rec center over on this side, sort of in the middle, um, we’re getting ready to start on two new hotels, um, with, uh, retail operation or around the, the bottom of it. So yeah. We’ll have a sort of fully built center

Brad Burrow (39:57):
Yeah. Place for, you know, events,

Julie Sayer (40:00):
Visitors, things like that. Yeah. Um, a lot of, um, sports tournaments and swim meets and that sort of thing outta towners will have more places to stay as they visit that swim, that swim facility, and certainly the baseball fields and everything else.

Brad Burrow (40:12):
You know, one question I have for you is I have a, my oldest son and his wife just married two years, but buying a house Mm-Hmm. is, is tough right now. You bet. And I feel like there are a lot of apartment buildings going up. Mm-Hmm. , is that kind of a plan to give people a place to live for a while? Yeah.

Julie Sayer (40:32):
You know, I mean the,

Brad Burrow (40:32):
There’s a lot of apartments at, at out in that area. Mm-Hmm.

Julie Sayer (40:35):
. Um, our strategy is always to try to provide a mixture of inventory, um, so that there is a choice for whatever sort of situation someone has. Mm-Hmm. . So we know that apartments go to young families who don’t know exactly where they wanna live yet. Um, sometimes when families separate, um, and they wanna keep the kids in the primary home and that, you know, the other parent wants to live in an apartment. Um, and then we actually hear from a lot of, um, you know, retired folks and seniors who just frankly don’t wanna take care of a single family home anymore. Um, that they live in, um, apartments and multifamily complexes now too. Yeah. So, um, there’s a lot, there’s a big mixture out there of people who find that type of, um, development useful. Um, we actually just passed last week our new comprehensive plan, which lays out the spaces in the city where we see that as appropriate, um, land use for, um, multifamily or high density housing. And then the rest of it were very clear about, you know, this is sort of reserved, if you will, for single family housing, um, mixed use developments, that sort of thing. So we’re communicating with developers in that way to say, like, still have got some little pockets left for it here, but, um, wanna be clear about where those things should go as we talk, look at it from a city planning perspective.

Brad Burrow (41:56):
Yeah. A lot of cities don’t get that granular on planning things like that, if you feel

Julie Sayer (42:01):
Like Yeah. Yeah. I mean, Lennex has planning, I mean, as you’ve seen through the city center process, um, you know, we start with really good plans and then we work the plans. So it’s, it’s all very, um, sort of not prescribed, but sort of, um, what’s the best word for that? Like, just sort of envisioned, um, and then we rely on our professional staff to sort of talk about what adjacencies makes sense. You know, you don’t typ typically want single family homes built next to high-speed interstates, you know, that sort of Yeah. Like where things fit within the community. Right.

Brad Burrow (42:34):
Does it feel good being mayor? Sure does.

Julie Sayer (42:36):
I mean, mean it’s

Brad Burrow (42:36):
Like walking in places. Yeah.

Julie Sayer (42:38):
I mean, hi mayor. Yes. The, um, in, in both situations for me, I, I have, um, been given an extraordinary organization to just keep stable. Um, and I, I recognize the responsibility in both organizations to do that. Um, yeah. And then, yes, I mean, just being a city that people feel well cared for and that they receive good value for their text dollars and they aren’t, you know, calling the mayor screaming about things that they’re unhappy about. Um, that’s something that, that we value very much and we take very seriously and wanna continue to deliver, you know, wonderful services to them.

Brad Burrow (43:15):
What do your business partners think about this?

Julie Sayer (43:18):
Um, they, you know, obviously were a little, you know, unsure because all of this was happening all at once. Um, but they sort of put their trust in me that I would be able to balance it. And they certainly recognize the exposure that the business gets, you know, with me being out at every, you know, chamber event and Yeah. You know, or you know, every organization that invites me to attend something, I also get to say that I own Encompass. Um, so hopefully, you know, just having the name recognition, um, will help the business too. Um, not that, you know, I’m necessarily promoting it as the mayor, but

Brad Burrow (43:52):
Right. You have to be careful about that probably,

Julie Sayer (43:53):
Don’t you? Correct. Yes. Yeah. Um, but, you know, just recognizing that I become sort of a public figure and, and have a wider audience, um, is, is a benefit for them.

Brad Burrow (44:03):
You know? Uh, I was gonna ask you, um, about the Lenexa barbecue. Mm-Hmm. . It must be really cool. I mean, there’s a lot of events I was surprised at how many Mm-Hmm. . That’s the one I know pretty well. Yeah.

Julie Sayer (44:14):
I actually wasn’t able to make it this year ’cause I had a friend who was getting married that weekend. Um, but it, you know, is something that people are very passionate about. Um, people compete in that event very seriously. Um, they use it as, yeah. It’s, it’s a big deal. Yeah. I mean, they use it as qualifying for other events. I believe so. Yeah. People it very seriously.

Brad Burrow (44:32):
So next year, if you need somebody to go , like in your place, just call me.

Julie Sayer (44:35):
Okay. Yeah. And we’re always looking for judges . Um, so for that and chili challenge, so I can keep you on the list for sure.

Brad Burrow (44:41):
Yes. Oh my gosh. I bet there’s some stuff I probably couldn’t even eat the chili that some of that stuff’s crazy. . Yes. Crazy hot. So what’s, um, we’re about to wrap up. Mm-Hmm. . So what’s the future of Lenexa? What are some, I don’t know if you can talk about it at all. Yeah. But what are some neat things coming down the pike that you can talk about?

Julie Sayer (44:57):
Yeah, so like I said, we just passed the comprehensive plan last week. Um, that was about a three year long process that we, you know, hired consultants and really did a deep dive on what the assets of our community are and what we expect them to be for the next 20 years. Um, so we will have some policy changes that will come along with enacting that plan and just making sure that we’re communicating clearly to the development community, what we think that the future of the city looks like. So having that done is a very, um, very, very big accomplishment. Something that we will now be able to work on for the next 20 years. Um, and then we are opening this year, um, an extraordinary number of projects that actually were delayed during CID. Um, so our, um, the new, uh, aquatic center at SoCo Power Trails Park just opened here at this summer. Um, we are expecting the opening of our new justice center for the police and courts, police and courts, um, in August.

Brad Burrow (45:52):
And then where, where is that gonna

Julie Sayer (45:53):
Be? Uh, it’s 95th and Britain. Um Oh, okay. Kind of just, you know, south and west of city center again in the geographic center. Okay, gotcha. Um, so that police can respond in both directions right now.

Brad Burrow (46:04):
Yeah. The police are right. Correct. Just across, I mean, your office is just across

Julie Sayer (46:07):
87th, right? Yeah. Um, so it is challenging, um, if police have to dispatch all the way to the western border of the city from 87th and Monrovia. Yeah.

Brad Burrow (46:15):
Quicker access to everybody.

Julie Sayer (46:16):
Yes. Um, and then, uh, we’re doing a major renovation of the community center in Old Town, so, um, part of that building is coming off. We’re demolishing the current sort of outbuilding that’s the senior center. We’re moving that portion onto the existing building. Re-skinning the whole new thing, um, doing a big mural on the side. Yeah. So three big projects that we’ll be opening this year. Um, and then once we sort of wrap with that and the police department moves, um, then we’ll be moving into a study to, um, study what’s gonna happen to the old city hall and police department site. Um, we’re looking at building a new fire station there, but just wanna sort of understand what the land is and, and what we might do with that property.

Brad Burrow (46:58):
I feel like I’m sitting in a Sim City video game here. Yeah. You know, it’s like, oh, we gotta do this or do this first. Yep. It’s like actually thinking through those decisions. Mm-Hmm. is, is, uh, pretty amazing.

Julie Sayer (47:10):
Yeah. I mean, it, um, resources are finite. Um, and we know that we are using people’s hard earned money to build all those facilities. Yeah. Um, so we plan those things in five and 10 year increments in our capital improvement program. Um, and just making sure that when sort of buildings are reaching the end of their useful life, that we are replacing them or renovating them in a thoughtful way and we’re not overspending, um, or over planning, um, with the resources that we have. So,

Brad Burrow (47:38):
Yeah. Yeah. Very cool. Well, I really appreciate you being on the podcast. Thank you. This is really awesome. Yeah. Um, before you go Yep. I, I always have everybody do, I don’t know if you saw the little v . Okay. But we have to do the, the movie voice, ’cause this is Yes, of course. In a world with real media. Mm-Hmm. . So I’ll give you a tip on how to do it. Okay. So you basically get really close to the mic. Okay. And you kind of talk with Airy, an airy voice, and you go in a world

Brad Burrow (48:02):
With real media. Okay.

Brad Burrow (48:03):
So

Julie Sayer (48:04):
Is this supposed to sound scary? No.

Brad Burrow (48:06):
Okay.

Julie Sayer (48:06):
No, it, because that kind of sounds

Brad Burrow (48:07):
Scary. Well, I did sound a little scary. maybe, maybe just a little bit more upbeat than Okay.

Brad Burrow (48:12):
In a world with real media. Okay.

Julie Sayer (48:14):
Okay. Ready? Yep. In a World with Real Media, .

Brad Burrow (48:20):
Awesome. You

Julie Sayer (48:21):
Nailed it. Thank you.

Brad Burrow (48:23):
Last thing, is there any, if somebody wanted to get in touch with you or something like that? Mm-Hmm. is there, do you wanna leave any information? I could put it in the show notes too. It’s up to you.

Julie Sayer (48:30):
Yeah. Um, certainly anything city related, people can email me, j sayers@oxo.com. Um, look for Encompass, if you’re looking for office furniture. Um, I’m on all social media platforms. I have a public page and a private page and LinkedIn and I’m, I’m out there everywhere, so, yeah.

Brad Burrow (48:46):
Yeah. Awesome. Well, thank you so much for your time. I

Julie Sayer (48:48):
Really appreciate it. Of Thank you for the invitation.

Brad Burrow (48:50):
You’re, you’re welcome. And if you’d like to join us, uh, or, or follow us, you can go to the Inner world with Real media on our website. It’ll be on LinkedIn, it’ll be on Facebook, uh, Instagram, places like that, YouTube. So be sure to subscribe. We’d love to have you follow us. Appreciate it.

Brad Burrow (49:07):
This has been in a World with Real Media. Thanks for joining us. And be sure to subscribe on iTunes and follow real media on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, so you never miss an episode.