#1906 In Memoriam: Kent Schnakenberg

Summary

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Juicebox Podcast: In Memoriam – Kent Schnakenberg (#1906)

Date: July 18, 2026
Host: Scott Benner
Guest: Kent Schnakenberg
Theme: Reflecting on the remarkable life, mission, and strategies of Kent Schnakenberg, founder of Team Snack Strong, and his grassroots efforts to support, empower, and save lives in the Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) community.

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Episode Overview

This special episode honors the life and legacy of Kent Schnakenberg, who passed away on June 11, 2026, at age 71. Kent, a remarkable diabetes advocate, shares the 10-year journey of Team Snack Strong—a grassroots initiative he began after his niece’s Type 1 diagnosis. Through school programs, awareness campaigns, fundraising (over $1.2M raised), bike rides, and scholarships, Kent dedicated his later years to preventing misdiagnoses and empowering young people with T1D.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Inspiration Behind Team Snack Strong

• Personal Genesis ([04:18]):
  • Kent’s niece, Michelle, was diagnosed at 14, inspiring the family to join a JDRF ride.
  • After Kent met a fellow T1D adult, Erin, on a shuttle bus and learned that half of T1D diagnoses are adults, he resolved to learn more and take action.
• Pivotal Moment ([06:53]):
  • At his second ride, Kent received the “spirit jersey” award and spontaneously committed to ride all seven JDRF events the next year.
  • The same night, he heard of a 12-year-old boy’s tragic death from a misdiagnosed T1D—cementing Kent’s mission: “That’s when I decided I didn’t know anything about the disease...it’s time to start spreading awareness.”

2. From One Ride to a National Mission

• Rise in Awareness Activities ([10:10], [11:48]):
  • At 60 and still working part-time as a salesman, Kent felt a powerful calling—a “mission”—to make a difference: “This was just something that happened looking in those 400 eyes...God came into my soul...this is your deal.”
• The T1 Destroyer Truck ([12:40]):
  • Kent and supporters designed and decked out a black-and-yellow truck, “The T1 Destroyer,” with T1D awareness messages. It became a traveling billboard.
  • “My theory is if they're standing there at McDonald's...they’ll remember...help them know to say, you need to get to the hospital right now.” ([17:20])

3. Impactful School and Community Programs

• School Awareness Initiative ([18:59]):
  • Kent’s grassroots approach: giving T-shirts (now over 26,000 distributed worldwide with T1D symptoms listed) and holding assemblies in schools.
  • “I could create an army of people out there spreading awareness.” ([19:19])
  • Emotional story: A sixth-grader’s spontaneous speech about her embarrassment and resilience with T1D, earning a standing ovation ([24:21]).
• Empowering Students with T1D ([22:43]):
  • Assemblies gave children confidence to share and explain their medical devices and routines.

4. Fundraising, Scholarships, and Grassroots Change

• Massive Fundraising ([14:05]):
  • Over $1.2M raised since inception (JDRF/Breakthrough T1D and Team Snack Strong).
  • Run largely on Kent’s and his family’s resources, especially travel and T-shirts ([16:48]).
• Team Snack Strong Fund ([35:53]):
  • Annual grants (up to $1,500) to kids in the region for diabetes expenses, and full-ride camp scholarships ([36:23]): “...since we started...we've given out now 175 scholarships.”
• Impact Examples:
  • Teacher whose son's life was likely saved due to Kent’s school talk ([34:12]).
  • Young man inspired by Kent’s booth at age 5 became a JDRF rider a decade later ([25:17]).

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

Kent’s Drive and Perspective

• “It was my mission...my moment in life when God came into my soul or whatever and just said, you know, this is your deal. You can help these people.” ([10:45])
• “I just want to give them a chance to open up and let the other kids around them know, you know, it’s not weird for them...” ([35:53])
• “My theory is if they're standing there at McDonald's...they'll remember...help them know to say, you need to get to the hospital right now.” ([17:20])
• “What's more powerful than that?...sometimes just knowing that somebody cares.” ([53:18])

Impact on the Community

• “You give us hope and God, what’s more powerful than that?” ([53:18])
• “He squeezed [my hand] really, really hard and made this loud noise that I always think he was just saying thank you...” – Kent on a chance encounter with a disabled young man ([58:12])

Reflections on Giving and Legacy

• “If we could save five kids a year, I mean, what would be the price on that?” ([51:42])
• “I want to get to half a million miles...someday [Ford will] recognize this and do a national commercial about this guy that’s driving all over the country in a Ford F150, you know, raising awareness, saving lives...” ([41:14])

Host Reflections

• “If you can be a little part of helping someone do something like that, I really think it reverberates around the world.” ([33:15])
• “You'll never know how many people you touched.” ([34:05])

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Notable Segments & Timestamps

| Segment | Summary | Timestamp | |---------|---------|-----------| | Kent’s Origin Story | Niece’s diagnosis; first bike ride; life-changing bus conversation | [04:18] – [09:35] | | Commitment & Motivation | Decision to visit all 48 states, logo the truck, raise awareness | [09:41] – [10:59] | | The ‘T1 Destroyer’ and Team Snack | Story of the truck; massive T-shirt campaign; fostering public awareness | [12:40] – [14:27] | | School Outreach | Assembly structure; empowering T1 kids; memorable stories | [18:59], [22:07] – [25:17] | | Fundraising & Scholarships | Raising/allocating funds, camp scholarships, local events | [14:05], [35:53] – [37:55] | | Legacy, Family, and Community Support | Impact on Kent’s family, long-term sustainability, community foundation plans | [28:38] – [45:14] | | Personal Health Journey | Kent’s heart issues; adapting efforts but not stopping | [45:30] – [49:41] | | Meaning of Service | Chance meetings, spontaneous giving, importance of acting in your “moment” (the red light story) | [58:10] – [62:34] | | Final Reflections | The joy and fulfillment of helping others; continued grassroots, human approach | [63:14] – [67:53] |

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Legacy Messages & Closing Thoughts

• Kent’s life underscores the impact that ordinary people—motivated by love, empathy, and resolve—can have. His story is a toolkit for grassroots advocacy: use personal connections, meet people where they are, give tangible symbols (like T-shirts), foster youth voices, and follow up with practical support.
• “When your moment in life comes...just don’t miss it.” ([62:34] – [63:14])

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Find & Support Team Snack Strong

• Find Kent’s legacy and ongoing updates via the Kent Schnakenberg Facebook page or by searching for Team Snack Strong on Facebook.
• Team Snack Strong Fund is administered through the Emporia Community Foundation.

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For Listeners

You don’t have to be a big organization to spark change. If Kent’s approach inspires you, the message is clear:

• Gather your community, empower youth, spread factual awareness, and remain consistent.
• “Just giving somebody your time to help kids, save lives, and give hope—that’s what it’s all about.” ([53:18])

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In loving memory of Kent Schnakenberg. His mission continues.

Transcript

[A]

Before we begin today, I'd like to take a moment to remember Kent Schnackenberg, who passed away sadly on June 11th at the age of 71. Kent appeared on this podcast twice, most recently in 2025. I think that you'll find that his story and the work he did through Team Schnack to support children and families living with type 1 diabetes were beyond laudable. My deepest condolences to Ken's family and the people who loved him. Friends, we're all back together for the next episode of the Juice Box Podcast. Welcome.

[B]

Hi, this is Kent Snackenberg. I started Team Snacks Strong, you know, back in 2014, and I'm very, very excited to be back on your podcast. It's amazing to me how you've grown this thing and I'm so proud of you and how many people continue each year to say they listen to that podcast and reach out to me. So I'm excited to be back on sc.

[A]

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[B]

I started Team Snack Strong, you know, back in 2014 and I'm very, very excited to be back on your podcast. It's amazing to me how you've grown this thing and I'm so proud of you and how many people continue each year to say they listen to that podcast and reach out to me. So I'm excited to be back on.

[A]

Scott, is that true? Kent, you were on episode 76, which, I mean, maybe is the second year. Would that have been 2016? Maybe?

[B]

Well, I just thought it was 10 years ago, so it's probably 2015 or 2016. And that first year, it just was. I started getting messages and emails and stuff on Facebook for people all over the country. Then when I was doing the rides all over the country that year, that's how I started meeting people, going to their houses and taking them out to eat. So you obviously have a big following and that's why I'm excited to get another chance to kind of give you a 10 year recap of what's gone on since then.

[A]

Yeah, no, that's awesome. I'm trying to look up the episode right now.

[B]

I think it was 76.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, I'm just seeing that now, so. But I'm trying to figure out what year it was, see if I can't find it. Like, it's. It's been so long ago. Oh, I know what the problem is. When I search for 76, there's been 41 other episodes with the number 76 in them. That's why I'm getting so. That's why I'm getting so many.

[B]

I really think it was 2016 for some reason.

[A]

2016, okay. Well, that's really great. Oh, I appreciate. I do want to kind of start from the beginning, even though, you know, it's going to be something you said in the past. Tell me again how this all started, what your connection was to it, and then we'll pick through.

[B]

Okay. Well, I mean, in 2014, my connection is my niece, Michelle, and she was diagnosed when she was 14, and obviously that's quite a while ago. And she's doing amazing. She's now a pediatric nurse. She went through Texas A and M with full collars. Now she's helping kids and giving back that way. And I just decided, my brothers and I decided to go to Lake Tahoe for a JDRF ride, which I had no idea what JDRF was or nothing about type 1 diabetes at the time, but my brother said that'd be fine. So my twin brother and my younger brother Mike, who's Michelle's father, we went to Lake tahoe and rode 73 miles around that lake, met a lot of people and really did enjoy it. And I got back on the shuttle bus to go back to the airport. I said by a young lady, her name was Aaron, CGM on her arm.

[A]

Ken, tell me again, you dropped out there. Her name was what?

[B]

Her name was Aaron.

[A]

Aaron. You know what, Kent, I'm going to stop you for half a second. I think I figured something out because you remarked to me that the first time we did this we had audio trouble.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And just now I don't. I think, I think there's something about the resonance. I know this is going to sound crazy for a second, but I think it's something about the deepness and the resonance of your voice when you're talking. And you don't modulate, you start to, I don't know how to describe it, but your voice starts to disappear. And then the minute you modulate your voice again, get a little higher, a little lower, it comes right back again. I wonder if you're speaking at a, at a frequency that the phone gets confused by.

[B]

It's pretty low, isn't it? Yeah.

[A]

Tell me, when you're on the phone with people regularly, do they ever ask you to repeat yourself?

[B]

Oh, you know, I talk so fast, most of the time I think they just let me go. But do you want me to try the speakerphone? Would that maybe help?

[A]

I'm fascinated by this because you got right to the part where you, you'd gone on the ride and you were on the bus coming back and as you were talking, your voice just disappeared. And I realize now it's not the headset.

[B]

That last, that happened in the last time we did this too, when you re listened to it. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah, that's really interesting. So I don't know if the speakerphone would change anything. Actually, I'm going to tell you something.

[B]

What?

[A]

Slow down a little bit.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And I wonder what that's going to change. And Lee and the guy that's editing this, Rob, leave this all in. I think it's really interesting. I'm going to recap just to make sure.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Your niece gets type one. She's like 14 years old. She's a full on adult now, right? You got, you and your brother want to support, you know, your family, right. You head out, you do this JDRF ride together. On the way back from the ride, you meet somebody on a bus. Start there, right.

[B]

So after the ride, I got on the bus to go back to the airport and I sat next to a young lady named Aaron. And I noticed a CGM on her arm. And so we started talking and I asked her when she was diagnosed. I expected her say, you know, like 6 or 8 or 10, because at that point I thought all people just, it was all kids that got, you know, type 1 diabetes, right? And she said she was 42. And so it just amazed me. And she started talking and then I, she said, you know, really realistically, half the people that get this disease every day are kids and half of them are young adults or adults. And so that led to a lot of interest and a great talk all the way back. And that's when I decided I wanted to do another ride. Do something inside of me told me to do another ride. So I signed up for the last ride of the year, which was in Tucson, Arizona. And I flew out there by myself. I didn't know anybody at all. I just got to meeting some people and stuff and I think it was 104 mile ride. And that night, on a Saturday night at the awards banquet, I was awarded this spirit jersey. And I really didn't even know what it meant at that point. And so they asked me to come up and talk. And I was up there speaking and to all these people, there's like 400 people in the room. I noticed everybody's eyes were right on me. And I just, just at the end of the, at the end of my speech, I said, okay, I'm doing all seven rides next year. It was like something came over me at that moment. I don't know if God came into me or what. And just, it was just a big deal at that point. And I decided just to go full bore on this thing. And I got back to my room that night and somebody has sent me a message on Facebook that showed a picture of a blue candle. And I didn't really know what a blue candle meant, but I've come to realize it's never good. And there was a 12 year old boy that had passed away that day, the same day I won this award for misdiagnosis of this disease. And that's when I decided I didn't know anything about the disease. And I thought, well, it's time to start spreading awareness. So that's when all this started coming to me, like on the plane ride home, you know, if I'm going to go to all the rides next year, I want to try to visit all 48 lower states, get a truck and logo it out and have the symptoms on it and our information on it. And so I Got that done. And the same girl named Erin that I'd met, I contacted her and she hooked me up with this man named Matt Fisher, who had lived with Type one his whole life. And he was a graphic artist, very talented guy. And so he, without even meeting him, helped me design the truck, just through emails and stuff and a guy at the local bike shop. And, you know, that's. That's kind of what started the truck. And that's when we decided to try to do, you know, go to all 50 states and visit all 50 states for over. I had this, you know, this idea about trying to do 50 rides someday. It's kind of went from there.

[A]

Kent, I want to stop you. First of all, the talking, speaking more slowly thing is the perfect fix for this. So.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Yeah. So keep going the way you're going. You're doing great. I think it would be helpful for people to understand, like, you just got this motivation. It's not like you. I mean, yes, your niece is a connection, but still, like, I think for most of us, like, I went and did the ride, I supported my niece. Like, I'm good. I'm going home now. Something motivated you, and you said, you don't know what. You know, if it's God that put it in your ear. But I mean, I want to understand more about you, like, because how old were you when that happened? When you go on that first ride with your niece, how old are you?

[B]

60 years old.

[A]

60, okay. And were you retired or you were working?

[B]

No, I'm still working part time to this day. You know, it's still in the whole northeast Kansas thing, where my territory is. I'm a salesman, you know, I'm just doing it part time now. But that's where, you know, I started raising all the money, and that's where I learned about going. Yes. When I started my going to school program, that's when I started learning about Camp Discovery. It all. Everything kind of ties into that, I guess.

[A]

So what I'm saying is you're 60 years old. You're still working. It's not like you're looking for something to do. Right. Not at home, like, bored. Right. Would you call this just a calling?

[B]

No, I do. It was my mission. It was my moment in life. And that's why the last story I'll tell kind of explains that. But it was just that moment in life when God came into my soul or whatever and just said, you know, this is your deal. You can help these people.

[A]

You can't really explain the motivation that you found for just. You really got struck by something.

[B]

Yeah, Yeah. I mean, I've always been a, you know, generous person. I've always been a person that looked out to help other people. But this was just something that happened looking in those 400 eyes, sets of eyes, and knowing all these people had a connection to type 1 diabetes. And they were, like, looking at me like, we need your help, I guess is the way I would put it. I guess so, because you're kind of

[A]

an outsider that just showed up. And, I mean, you got the award because you. I'm assuming you had so much enthusiasm. They were like, who is this guy and why is he so excited about all this?

[B]

Right.

[A]

And especially without a direct connection. You have your own children.

[B]

Yeah, I got two children and five grandchildren.

[A]

Okay, so you have your own fat. Like, my point is, you have things you could be doing, you know, and you're giving a lot of time to something else. So along the way, over the last. I mean, what year was this?

[B]

It was 2014 is when I did the first ride that did the two rides. And then when I committed to do the seven, that started in 2015.

[A]

Okay, so you started doing this literally the year before I started making this podcast. I started making the podcast in 2015. Okay. So our timelines kind of match up that way. So at first you say there's. Well, I guess the idea was there were seven JDRF rides around the country the next year, Correct?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Did you actually make it to all of them?

[B]

Yeah, I did at one time. I pointed and did 25 in a row. I just finished my 49th. And I'll do number 50 on Florida in December.

[A]

Oh, my gosh, you started. I'm sorry, my phone's not muted. I didn't have pancakes a little while ago. That's what that is.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

I guess you mentioned the truck earlier, but for people who don't know, you decided, like, I'm going to take a pickup truck and deck it out. And what did you end up calling your. Your ride team?

[B]

You mean the truck?

[A]

Yeah, the truck.

[B]

Truck's called the T1 Destroyer. We had a national contest, and people sent in names, and the person that wanted said, you are the T1 destroyer. So that's what you need to call your truck.

[A]

Awesome. And so I can picture it in my head. Black with, like, yellow graphics, right?

[B]

Correct.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

As a matter of fact, growing up, Arden slept in a T shirt that was yours for years. Like, it was one of her sleeping T shirts. And that's great.

[B]

That's amazing.

[A]

It's funny, I don't know if she knows what it is, but it's one of her. She has a Dexcom sleeping T shirt, that one and another one. And they just went through the. Like, she was constantly using them. Nevertheless, like, so you got the truck because you're going to go to your ideas. I'm going to go to all these different places and. Correct. Raise awareness. Like, that's really just your goal. Right? Like, I just want to try to find people and teach them about type 1 diabetes.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, to stop senseless deaths from these kids that have passed away from being undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. And, you know, I've been in several homes. It's the worst thing I've done in all these years. Years is homes that have lost their kids and listen to them and say, I wish I'd have known. I wish somebody would have told me. And just, I want to stop that. And, you know, raising awareness has obviously helped me raise so much money. It's been incredible how much easier it is if you let people know what you're trying to raise money for.

[A]

Well, that was my next question. Is that now you, you're saying you're about to go on your 50th ride. Like, how does this, like, how do you fund it? Like, are you independently wealthy or is there, like. I mean.

[B]

Yeah, I mean, I work, you know, I worked a long time and made a nice living, but we raise a lot of. I mean, since we started all this, I mean, we probably raised between what we've given a JDRF, which is now called Breakthrough T1D. They just rebranded last year and you know, our Team Snack Strong fund, which we can talk about, hopefully. We've raised like $1.2 million since we started.

[A]

That's insane, Ken. That's really wonderful. And so some of that money gets donated off and some of it funds your traveling and your awareness raising. Today's episode is brought to you by Omnipod. It might sound crazy to say, but summertime is right around the corner. That means more swimming, sports activities, vacations. And you know what's a great feeling? Being able to stay connected to automated insulin delivery while doing it all. Omnipod5 is the only tube free automated insulin delivery system in the US and because it's tube free and waterproof, it goes everywhere you do. In the pool, in the ocean, or on the soccer field. Unlike traditional insulin pumps, you never have to disconnect from Omnipod 5 for daily activities, which means you never have to take a break from automated insulin delivery. Ready to go Tube Free. Request your free Omnipod 5 starter kit today@ omnipod.com JuiceBox terms and conditions apply. Eligibility may vary. Full terms and conditions can be found@ omnipod.com juicebox type that link into your browser or go to juiceboxpodcast.com and click on the image of Omnipod right at the bottom. There's also a link right in the show notes of your podcast player. I have always disliked ordering diabetes supplies. I'm guessing you have as well. It hasn't been a problem for us for the last few years, though, because we began using USMED. You can too usmed.com juicebox or call 888-721-1514 to get your free benefits.

[B]

Check.

[A]

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[B]

No, the funny travel and everything, my wife and I found ourselves. Oh, I mean, it's all. We've always just paid for all that ourselves now.

[A]

Oh my God.

[B]

You know, we. Yeah, and the T shirts, obviously, we've given out a lot of T shirts over the years. I mean, we just celebrated with the company that does our T shirts. They just printed their 26,000 T shirts. So we've given out over 26,000 T shirts since we started it, and we funded most of that for a long time. But the last few years, we've had some people step up and say, hey, we want to help you pay for the T shirts when you come to our school, that type of thing.

[A]

26,000 T shirts.

[B]

Yeah. And all of them have our Team Snack logo on the front and they have the symptoms of type one on the back. And they're the key to this whole thing about creating this whole army of kids, you know, to help us all over the country. Actually, we've sent these shirts all over the world and people wear them. They Love to wear them. And you know that my theory is if they're standing there at McDonald's in line or on vacation or whatever, because you see these shirts everywhere, all over northeast Kansas and around the country, you know, people are going to read some of those symptoms, and hopefully they'll remember the top four or five of them, and then they'll remember that if somebody in their family says something or, you know, about their kids or their granddaughter or whatever, and you know, help them say. And help them know to say, you need to get to the hospital right now and do your blood check. You just need to get to the hospital right now. You can't wait.

[A]

So the simplicity of your motivation really is that you have that experience in front of those 400 people, and then that evening, someone tells you about a young child who passed away from not getting diagnosed.

[B]

Yeah, somebody sent me the message. You know, since then, it's just that's. I've just always been very driven. You know, I'm a salesman by trade. Right. You know, selling and fundraising and all this is kind of all the same thing. You just. You have to let people know what you're fundraising for. You let. Have to let people know that you're serious. You know, when they see my truck and they, you know, they see me go into a school, you know, people just. They realize this guy's serious. When. I mean, nothing is more exciting to me than walking into a school of 400 kids or 600 kids or 800 kids, whatever it is. I mean, I've done like 75 of these school visits and assemblies over these years, and they all have a bright yellow team snack shirt on. And right away they're bought in because they know this guy's serious. He's given us a T shirt. We need to listen. You know, I just.

[A]

That's simple. You're not just wandering and talking. You're saying, there's clearly a structure around what you're doing. And when you show that to people, they think, oh, this is a real thing. And let me take a minute here to find out, how did you start that? So you have a school awareness program where you. You go around and speak even. How does that begin? Like, how do you. Where does that idea come from? And then how do you grow it?

[B]

Well, I mean, through my territory, which is northeast Kansas, you know, that's where I've done a lot of these that I'm obviously here in Emporium. I've done them all over the country now as I'm traveling and stuff. But I just decided one day, like I said, that if I'm going to have, you know, kids to help me, I could create an army of people out there spreading awareness. Because you don't see anything on TV about type 1 diabetes except now some CGM commercials. Yeah, you don't ever see anybody talking about symptoms. It's not. National organizations don't talk as much about awareness as I wish they did. I mean, they're, they're great at raising money and doing the research. But I just thought I'm just going to try to do this on a grassroots level. And it's worked and it continues to work. And it's the proven, you know, it's a proven mission. It's a proven theory that by doing that it's helped us raise all this money and this money has done so much good. But, you know, I just. When I started going to the schools, the first thing I ever did, and it was in 2015, I, one of the, I was reading a book to the second graders up in Nemo Central Elementary School because the teachers had asked me to come in and read and I'd given all the kids a T shirt because they knew they'd seen my truck. And I saw the teachers in the back room, you know, talk back of the room talking. And they came up to me and said, we've got an ID for fundraiser. And so before I knew it, we were going to do a bike ride with the second graders from that school and the Catholic school. So if you think, if you have done anything crazy in your life, try taking 75 second graders on a four mile bike ride. And it was just the coolest thing. We got there in the morning at the elementary school and everybody was wearing their shirts and they all had their bikes. I think four or five kids didn't have bikes. And then around the corner, here comes the kids from the other school and they're pedaling their little bikes. And the priests from the school came and rode with us. And it was four laps around this school and each lap was about a mile. And the first lap I said, okay, everybody behind the big guy. Everybody stay behind me. Lineup. And we had the teachers, we had people, people staggered through there, went all around the first time and it worked out pretty good. And then all of a sudden, kids started going faster and faster. They wanted to pass me. And we got back around halfway. The second time I heard man down in the back. And I looked back and there was a pile of them back there and the teachers got to them real quick. And I went back there, I was all worried, and they said, you can't hurt a second grader. You're fine. So we rode one more lap, and then by the fourth lap, I was so nervous. There was some kids that were running the whole time. I said, let's just all park our bikes and walk. I said, nothing can go wrong, you know, so we all held hands and we started around this big 1 mile block area. And I looked over in the tree and there was two kids in a tree and two kids in the street. And I mean, it was one of the craziest things I've ever done. But at the end of it, they gave me a check for like $3,300 they had raised just through that school that day. And what a huge surprise. And that's when I decided to start going to schools. And I just, every chance I get, I go to schools and talk. And that's amazing.

[A]

Yeah. So when you speak to them, what do you give them, like signs and symptoms to look for? Or is it more about the opportunity to make their parents aware and the teachers aware? What is it? What's your goal when you're doing that?

[B]

You know, it's about a 30 to 45 minute thing, depending on, you know, how big the school is and stuff. But we just start talking about Team Snack and why I started it. You know, then we get into what is type 1 diabetes? You know, I explained to them, and it's an autoimmune disease and anybody can get it. Your classmates that have this disease didn't do anything wrong. It's not what they eat, it's not how much they exercise. It's not contagious. You know, just try to make everybody feel more comfortable.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And then, you know, we talk a little bit about bike safety. But the highlight of the whole thing is when I give the kids that live with type 1 a chance to come up and speak. And you know, in some schools there might be one kid, or some schools there might be 12 kids. And you know, the smallest school I've ever done is like 178 kids, K through 12. And the largest I've ever done was 1100 high school kids in Patesville, Kentucky. Everyone is different. And, you know, they just. It's amazing how brave these kids are when they get up and talk. And it just empowers them. For the first time in their life, they can go up there and we can talk about the CGMs and insulin pups and why they're wearing these things on Their body and why they get to go to the school nurse more often. It's just very empowering. And some of the things they say and some of the things that come out of that are things, you know, I'll always remember. There was this one little girl at a very small school I went to and it's K through 12 and there was a third grader there that had been just diagnosed and her parents got a hold of me and asked me if I come to a school assembly. Which I always say yes, if I can. And we got there and the principal said, this is great what you're here for, but I wanted to let you know we have a sixth grade girl that has type one also, but she never wants to be recognize, she doesn't want to talk about it and don't ask if there's anybody else. I mean, and I would never do that. And if kids don't want to come up, I never make them. But we got, you know, through the, through this thing and towards the end of the assembly and this little girl and her parents were up there speaking and they were just so, so great. And she went to sit down and all of a sudden I see this girl stand up and she just walks right out of her, out of the stands and right up to me and she says, I'd really need to say something. And right then I thought, well, this is that other girl.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And she took that microphone from me and she walked over in front of the sixth graders and she just said, you know, I want you to know the reason I don't wear a two piece swimming suit or tank tops. Because I'm embarrassed with all the spots on my body and all the bruises from having to give myself shots, but I have to have those shots to live every day. She walked back over to me and handed me the microphone and she said, thank you. And as she was going to sit down, you know, I'll never forget the whole place stood up and give her a standing ovation. And the next day her mom called me and said, you know, I don't know what you did or who you are, but you changed my little life. She went to school that day and took her bag and showed everybody what was going on.

[A]

Oh, geez.

[B]

And there's just so many things that happen like that, you know, over the years. These kids, they're just, it gives them a chance to not have to hide, not to have to hide it anymore. Right. That's the whole gist of the school program. And it just continues to grow No,

[A]

I mean, if you didn't do anything else, just that story alone is. Is probably worth the whole thing, right?

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. I just. Even. Even when we're traveling across the country and I'm speaking at Rotary clubs or, you know, I get to stay in some people's houses now because I've met them at rides and stuff. You know, they're just. We became. I became good friends with so many people through jdrf, and it's pretty. It's pretty amazing, you know, when the JDRF rides. I've done all these rides now, and I've won that spirit jersey. And then I want two green jerseys, which is. Man, I raised the most of that particular in last year in December in Billy Island. I think it was my 47th ride, but that was awarded the Rose jersey. And the Rose jersey is something that I always wanted to win. It's a jersey that's given out to a person that doesn't have type 1 diabetes but has done so much to help people that live with type 1 diabetes spread awareness and raise the money. And Rose was a lady that passed away from horrible disease that was riding for her daughter, the Roasters. It was just because she made everybody promise to keep the journey going after she was gone. You know, last year in Amelia island, this is how this whole thing kind of keeps coming back around. In the morning, I was dressing, I walked downstairs, and I had my Rose jersey on. This young man walks up to me and he goes, Mr. Snacker, you're not going to remember this, but in 2015, you had a booth set up in Wichita, Kansas, at the JDRF walk, and you had your bike there and your truck. And I came up, and I was just so small, and I just looked at you, and I said, someday I want to do a JDR like you. Well, if you ever do one, I promise I'll be there. And he was there at Amelia island, you know, 10 years later, and he said, you know, you just. You kept your promise. Things like that, that just, you know, I get tired. You know, I'm 70 years old now. I'll be 71 in January. But things like that just motivate me to continue on. And I can't keep doing it at the same pace. I just never want to stop. I never want to quit on these kids, because I know today, tomorrow, the next day, there's going to be another 200, 250 people that are going to be diagnosed. And most of them don't know the symptoms. And they need to know that. They just need to know that they just walking into people's homes, speaking at a couple funerals I have, it's just no fun. And they're just senseless deaths. And I try to get national organizations to buy more into it, talk about awareness, put the symptoms on the back of their shirts and stuff. But at this point, I still haven't been successful with that, so I'll just keep doing it myself and with my family. And my wife is an unbelievable partner in all this. She's just so great and has let me do so many things. I mean, you got to realize I've probably been gone 250 more nights away from home, traveling, just doing this. And she's just all about it and she knows I'm doing good things and she loves helping people like I do.

[A]

Yeah. Well, Ken, how long you been married?

[B]

45 years. Yeah.

[A]

She's probably thrilled when you leave. I gotta be honest with you.

[B]

Well, I mean, can you imagine what it's like being married to me? It's not always fun, but she's just, you know, and our kids and our grandkids, yeah, they love it. And it's. It takes some, you know, not very many people would be able to do that. It takes somebody strong like that. And, you know, she's done like six or seven rides herself. And she actually did her first hundred mile ride a few years ago on lacrosse. And I was so proud of her. She's always there to support me.

[A]

Do you ever have the feeling that you've given something away in your own life for these other. For these strangers and that it's a thing you can't get back? I mean, have you ever missed time with your own family over this or. And how do you handle that?

[B]

I mean, I've obviously missed some things I probably shouldn't have, but I think my family. I don't think that I've ever given anything away. And I think my family understands how important this is. It'd be one thing if I was just out there golfing or traveling, you know, going to football games with guys, but. And you know, they have a lot of connections now with these families and stuff. And they know that this is my mission and they're part of this mission. They're. We call it Team Snack Strong. And we're all Team Snack. And you know, it's just, it's. It's part of our family name and it's our nickname and it's just something we continue to do. So I. I wouldn't say that I regret anything at this point in my life, I may look back on that someday. But we've made lifelong friends all over the United States and we connect, stay connected with these people. And, you know, it's just, it's very seldom that, you know, within a week or I'm not getting two or three messages, you know, would you please send us a T shirt? And I always try to send a note with it, and I'm always at the post office sending out shirts and, yeah, you know, just continue to go to school. So I have five schools up in Northeast Kansas that their eighth grade classes every year as part of their class. And I do this at Emporia State University, too, with the class that I go in and talk and I hand out T shirts and I go back several times a year. And, you know, that's culminated into. We have our own Northeast Kansas team Snack diabetes awareness walk for the last several years. And each year that thing raises 10 to $15,000 and we have three or 400 people show up.

[A]

I asked you, Kent, because yesterday, I mean, it's a good example. I'm going to go back maybe nine months ago, I interviewed this person. She's Type one. She was a young girl. And as we were talking, I realized that she was an American Sign Language interpreter. And I said, wouldn't it be interesting if I took one of the series from the podcast, the one for newly diagnosed people, Bold Beginnings, and what if I got it translated into. Into American Sign Language? I paid somebody to stand in front of a camera and translate the entire thing, which is a huge undertaking, right? And I first thought, like, well, maybe I could get a sponsor to pay for that. Then I realized, this is going to help a handful of people and it's going to be really valuable for the people it finds. But it's not going to find, I don't imagine, thousands of people, right? It's going to find tens of people or maybe a hundred people. It's going to be really helpful for those people, but nobody's going to want to put money down. So I didn't even bother asking. I said to the girl afterwards, I was like, mikaela, what would it cost me to have you do that? And she gave me a very fair number. And I reached into my pocket and I paid her, right? And it took probably months and months and months for us to get it together and for her to figure out how best to do it. And also, there's 26 episodes of this thing. And just recently she finished. It's awesome, right? And as I was paying Her, Ken, I thought, this is not enough money for the amount of work she put into this. I'm not paying her enough. And I felt bad about that. And then I had the videos, but I didn't have the time to put them together. I had to make a website for them. I had to get them onto YouTube. I guess a lot of backend work that's kind of boring. But then maybe four or five days ago, someone on the Facebook group asked, does anyone know where somebody who, you know, needs ASL can get diabetes information? And I thought, huh, I have that on my hard drive. And what a great opportunity. So I spent the last few days making a website, uploading stuff like, you know, making sure everything on the back end was done. I got up yesterday, I recorded at 9am At 10am I thought to make myself breakfast, but started to work on the ASL stuff instead. And then I finished it last night at 11:30 and I put it online and I put a post up, and I was like, hey, here you guys go. It's. You know, I was really giving it to this one person. I was like, here, this is for you, for your brother.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

And I don't feel like I wasted my day, but there are a lot of things I meant to do yesterday, and one of them would have been like exercising. And, you know, on the very simple and basic level, there's. I skipped my workout yesterday. I didn't do a lot of things yesterday, and instead I worked on this thing for the entire time. I was wondering what your answer was, because if somebody asked me, hey, you feel like you gave your whole day away yesterday for nothing? I would say, no, I don't think so at all. It feels really valuable to me. I don't know a lot of people who get to go to work and feel that way, I guess is my point.

[B]

Every day is a new opportunity, you know, to help somebody, whether it's with type 1 diabetes or anything. And what you did there was so commendable because, you know, you didn't just help one person, you helped a family, you helped other families. And you really can't waste your day. I mean, you can exercise later today, you can exercise tomorrow. I mean, I could ride my bike. When you give something to somebody that needs you and doesn't have what you have to give, then it's well worth it. And that's. That's kind of the way I feel.

[A]

I've heard you. It's. It was really hard because your voice is very deep. But, like, I've heard You be emotional twice while we're talking, right? And the little girl saying to you, like, can I have the microphone? I have something I need to say. Like, that made me cry. I got emotional when you said that. Her words, it is. Because it's the bigger picture. It's like, she's there, she's got some energy, and she's like, I've been holding this thing inside. I'm miserable holding this thing inside, and I need to get rid of it. If you can be a little part of helping somebody do something like that, I really think it reverberates around the world. I'm sitting here thinking about these kids who sat through your program at school and will 10 years later be in college and some kid's gonna get sick and they're gonna think, like, oh, that's probably diabetes, and maybe help that person and that thing, like on that first night that you wanted to do.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You'll do it so many times in your life and beyond your life. You won't even. You'll never know how many people you touched. I don't believe.

[B]

Well, you know, I got a card once a few years ago from a second grade teacher that I had been at their school two years before, and she said, you know, I listened to what you had to say normally during assemblies, you know, I'm creating papers or whatever. But she said, you know, you gave us all these shirts, and you were very interesting to listen to. And I listened to everything you said. She said, two years later, my son started showing the symptoms of type 1. And so right away, we got him, you know, to the hospital, and his blood Sugar was like 6 or 700. And she goes, I know in my heart, you saved my son's life.

[A]

Well, I mean, at the very least, you saved him from, like, a terrible bout with DKA and all the things that might have come with it and her having to feel like she missed it. Like, I talk to people every day who, you know, carry a terrible burden around with themselves because they missed something and their children didn't pass even. They went through a thing that they just wish terribly they would have understood better so that they didn't have to have this experience. Yeah, no, I mean, it's.

[B]

It's.

[A]

It really is awesome what you're doing.

[B]

Well, you know, when. Like when I was at diabetes camp last year, and, you know, I want to talk a little bit more about that maybe in a minute, but please, you know, they have. They have doctors and nurses there. Obviously, from. This one is close to Wichita Kansas now. And, you know, I walked, I went in there and they just said, you just need to know that you have. You're making it possible now for kids to just walk into the room and just say with their parents, say, I need a blood sugar test. She goes, the worst thing is when we get a type one child that's, you know, in an ambulance or worse yet, on a helicopter. She said, there's just so many kids that could benefit from these programs. And so that's another reason to keep motivated. Because just think of all the kids all over the world that hold this inside like you said, and don't want to talk about it or scared to talk about it. It's only because nobody's giving them a chance.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, that's. I just want to give them a chance to open up and let the other kids around them know, you know, it's not weird for them to be wearing these things on their arms at their legs. They're the things that keep them alive. They have to have them to keep alive every day. There's a reason they carry Skittles. It's not because they love candy. It keeps. It's a chance to keep them alive every day. And that's why we'll continue to do. Even if I can't do the rides and travel around the country as much, I'll continue to talk to groups and I'll continue to help people in this area and all over the state of Kansas and go to as many schools as I can. I mean, you know, we have a team snack Strong fund. We actually started right after I talked to you. I think even I mentioned that we were getting ready to start it. And it's under the Emporia Community Foundation. And so for any child that lives, you know, in the seven county area with type 1 diabetes, you know, each year they can get 1500 dollars a year from us, you know, for scholars and for, excuse me, fifteen hundred dollars a year from us to help pay expenses of the disease. And there's another foundation that's tacked on another thousand dollars to that for the same kit, you know, also. Plus that if they want to go to Camp Discovery, you know, we're going to send them on a full ride scholarship. And I think the average price now to camp is like a thousand dollars. And since we started, I think the first year we did 10 kids, it was in Junction City, Kansas at that point, and it was 73 miles from here. So I'd ride my bike up there with a friend early in the Morning to get there, you know, around noon. And the kids would be waiting for me. And so now every year when we go to camp, they have a team snack day. And it's on Wednesday usually. And we can't, you know, there's 100 kids there. It's unbelievable experience. I don't know if your daughter's ever gone, but we give all the kids a shirt and I get to go down there and talk. And I think we've given out now 175 scholarships since we started. And last year we sent 36 kids, and this year we're going to send 40 more. And it's just the camps are one of the best thing that I ever hooked up with. I mean, it's just so empowering. They get lifelong friends, they get a talk and, you know, when they have their meals, they're all together in this big room and they get up and each cabin talks about who changed their pump and who did this. And it's just, it's so cool. And they come out of there and their lives are changed forever. And we want to definitely continue that program.

[A]

Yeah, for sure. So this year I had the director of Camp Sweeney on the podcast. And while he was on, he said, I'd like to give away, you know, to the listeners. I'd like to give away a spot at Camp Sweeney and Camp Sweeney's. It's pricey. I think it's. I literally think it's like $4,000, right? And it's a three week camp. They go for three weeks.

[B]

Oh, wow.

[A]

And I said, oh, that, that'd be great. You know, I'll. I'll give it away. We got off. Got off the call and I said, let me, let me reach out to a sponsor and see if I can get somebody to like, you give one away. And we can get a sponsor to give one away. Right. And I think. I'm pretty sure US Med did it. So it's one of my sponsors. So we, we gave away two. And then, you know, they were so exc. And it did good buzz for the, for the, the camps. They said, listen, we have a benefactor that would like to give away another one. I said, let me go ask another sponsor. And I got, I got Omnipod to give away another one. And then before I knew it, the 20, 25 was, you know, camp time was coming up and I think we sent like, I. I've lost count. I think we. It was six or eight kids we sent to the camp.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Just random drawings. Like people just sent in like, here's why I want my kid to come. I've randomly picked names, and the kids went off, and I got a video a month or two ago, and I was like, what is this? I was tagged on Instagram, and I jumped and looked at it, and it's just this giant group of children and this one little kid up front, and he's like, hey, thank you so much to the Juice Box Podcast for sending me to camp. I'm having such a great time, and just countless kids behind him screaming, thank you. And I sat there and I thought, my whole life should be sending kids to camp. Like, I should. I should. I should quit everything else I'm doing and try to find a way to send more kids. What a lovely experience. It was new for me.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then I just recently had one of the kids on to talk about it, and he had such a great time, an experience just like you described. So I can't imagine how it must feel to send 40 kids.

[B]

That's. Well, it's amazing. It's empowering. And, you know, it's. We try to. Obviously, we pick kids from Inquiry Area first, and then we pick kids in northeast Kansas because that's where we still continue to raise so much of our money in so many of the schools I go to and stuff. And then we. But we've sent kids from all over Kansas.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

The camp at ADA has been great to work with this. I mean, Camp Discovery is great and, you know, give us an opportunity to do this scholarship program. And I think it's helped fill all their beds. And now they have a waiting list, and it's. I promote that camp anytime I get a chance to, because. And I'm sure that we sent a girl in Arizona to camp out in Arizona. I sent a girl in Colorado to camp in Colorado.

[A]

Just.

[B]

I mean, I walk in a bike store last year, Green Valley, Arizona. We go out there and visit friends. You know, the guy out in the. Owner of the bike store saw my truck, and he goes, you know, my daughter was just diagnosed. And I said, well, can I meet her? And he called her home, she came down there, and before I knew it, gave her T shirts and talked to her about what we did. I said, you ever been to camp? She goes, no. I said, well, if you want to go, you know, I'll help pay for it. And so a few days later, they got ahold of me, and she just got back from camp, and she had an unbelievable experience. It's only because I needed to fix a flat on my Tire on my bike. I mean, it's just. Yeah, it's not very many days go by where something cool doesn't happen to me. But I try to reach out all the time. You know, I've got my shirts, I got the truck, so I'm always visible. But I just don't want to miss an opportunity, if I can, to meet a kid.

[A]

I'm jealous that you get to do it in person, because I think I have your experiences and I might have them with more frequency, but mine are all virtual, you know, for the most part. Yeah.

[B]

You know, look how many people you're reaching. I mean, you're. I have no idea how many subscribers you have, but it's got to be a lot because, like I said that first year you were getting started. I was getting started 10 years ago, and just people continue. It was last year somebody reached out. Ed Orion walked up, said, I remember you from the Juice Box podcast, and thank you for everything you do. I just. I mean, you're doing what, you know, you're doing what you were meant to do, and I think I'm doing what I was meant to do. I mean, it takes, I agree, all sides to do that. And we have so much support from our community and from schools in this area and from people all over the country. I mean, when we raise money for. It's called Match Day at Empori Community foundation, it's in November, and we started, like, I think it's six years ago with this Match Day thing. And each year we've led. Each year it continued to grow. And last year we received a check for $106,000. And that money, that money helped so much. And I think since we started this with them, we've raised over 600,000 just for our foundation and, you know, for a fund there. But each year we're paying out, you know, 30 to 40 to $50,000, you know, to kids with the financial aid and going to camp and stuff. So we need to continue to work hard to raise money because I really want to have a legacy fund when I'm gone and to continue to do this program and, you know, not only help kids with the expenses necessary, but, you know, continue to raise awareness with what we do. And, you know, I don't know if I told you this, but now I have two team snack trucks. And, you know, the first one is a 2014. The one you had the picture of. Yeah, you know, I took all over the country, and now it's got 430,000 miles on it. So two years ago, three years ago, decided I better get another in case this one comes out. So I bought a 2022, and the same lady that logoed out the first one had all the designs and logoed out this one just the same. So I've got two of them sitting at my house. I've been driving the newer one to the longer rides, like Wisconsin and Florida and some of those. But otherwise, I just drive my old one. And everybody at the Ford dealership here and everybody all over the state. What's your goal? And I said, I want to get to half a million miles. You know, I want Ford Motor Company someday to recognize this and do a national commercial about this guy that's driving all over the country in a Ford F150, you know, raising awareness, saving lives, raising money. And I know that Ford's a big sponsor of breakthrough T1D, and that hasn't happened yet, but I always hold out hope.

[A]

Yeah, that's really wonderful. You know, you said something a second ago that really. Because I. I think about it, too, about, like, keeping it going. Like, when you're talking about all these people that you're helping, and, I mean, what'd you just say? Like, 30 to $50,000 of just, like, financial aid to people who are, you know, just struggling to pay for stuff. And you think, well, when I stopped doing this, like. I mean, it's not a giant organization, Ken. Right. It's you. So, like, you get too old or too sick or too tired or whatever. Like, what happens to all of it? Like, how are you trying to. I know you're planning for it, but what is it you're doing to try to keep that alive?

[B]

Well, I'll be setting up soon a legacy fund with the community foundation to where, you know, when you. And I'm trying to get it to a certain amount of money to where they manage, you know, they've managed the money, and it has a very good return on the investment through this community Foundation. I think there's, like, 300 funds. We're very lucky and important to have that. And, you know, the legacy fund means, once I'm gone, that they'll continue as their board and, you know, their directors to manage the fund and, you know, and still give out the money. And, you know, it probably will lessen as far as the camp things, as far as, you know, kids from around the state that are going to camp. But also I have other people now that are trying to figure ways to send more kids to camp because they didn't Realize what the need was, you know, people from other places. And I've had parents that reach out and said, you know, this year we could just pay our own way. Why don't you send another child this year? So there's a lot of people on board. We won't let it die. It'll continue to grow in some fashion and, you know, help as many people as we can.

[A]

Somebody has to be the center of it, the beating heart, because that's you right now. So someone along the way is gonna have to pick the mantle up, decide that they want to carry it the way you did.

[B]

Yeah. But I'm telling you, this community foundation, the two ladies there, I mean, they're all in on this and you know, they do these legacy funds and they love what we do and we love what they do. And so it'll, it'll continue. But I'm also hoping it's a long time down the road too.

[A]

Yeah, it's like I ain't looking to stop now.

[B]

You know, I've had. Had some health issues the last, obviously, but that's going to limit me from, you know, doing as much in the future. But I can still do a lot. I mean, I was doing a lot, a lot for a while and this, you know, but two years ago when things were just really going strong, I was doing a ride in La Crosse, Wisconsin. And you know, I had noticed that, you know, had some issues with going up steep stairs and stuff, but I just figured that was from being 70, you know, or 68, I guess at that time.

[A]

What ended up being the problem?

[B]

Well, anyway, I, I did 40 mile ride that day, but, you know, I felt pretty good. But I'd already. I tried to go up this bluff. Everybody just kind of does it. Lacrosse. It's a really cool area. It's called Grandpa's Bluff, I believe. And I got a couple hundred yards up there and my heart just started pounding and I thought, this isn't right. So I came back down and luckily I had had a physical setup for that. You know, I got back on Sunday, I had a physical on Monday, my yearly physical. And they'd already set up a stress test because it's been 10 years since I've done one. And you know, I went physical and everything was fine. I get to the stress test the next day, give me the shot to put the stuff inside my veins and they take the pictures and I go back in there and sit down and, you know, getting ready to hook me up to all these, you know, to the Monitors and stuff and get on the treadmill. And the lady looks at me, she goes, you know, you got afib? I said, man, I don't even know what afib is. I've just heard it on the radio. And she goes, well, it's not good. Then I guess the picture started coming back in and they were just staring at the screen. And when they're both looking at the screen and not talking to me, I know it's not good. And so they actually didn't even let me get on the treadmill. And they called, you know, the cardiologist here in Emporia. We have Newman Regional Health, which we're blessed to have. And they have a full time cardiologist and department in math lab. And you know, within a half hour he was down there and he drew a picture of my heart. And he goes, Kent, you have three blockages in, you know, your heart. One of them's 80, one of them is 90. One was 95% at that point. My wife wasn't even there. My wife was in Kansas City because I, she just, you know, I just told her, I'm just going to go do the stress test. And so he said, you might want to call your wife. He said, within about two hours we're going to have you in surgery. And I looked at him, I said, do I need to get a second opinion? Do I need to do anything else? I mean, you know, your mind is just racing at that point because this all came out of nowhere basically. And he said, you know, we can fix this ear cant and if it's something I can't fix, I'll send you on to Topeka, to Kansas City. And just the way he said it, I trusted him very much and they got me ready. It took me up to the surgery and the cath team was there and they were unbelievable. It was just a great experience for whatever an experience could be like that. But I had three stints put in, get down to recovery and you know, your heart's still in afib. And so that's something I've been dealing with and will continue to deal with. I have a double procedure in January that hopefully will take care of that. Get me off some of these blood thinners and stuff because that's limited me in the riding by myself and doing a lot of things. But, but I've been able to continue on. I mean, I did three rides last year and I've done two this year. I'm gonna do the one in Florida, December before my right, you know, before my surgery. So I'm just. I was very lucky that I actually tried to ride up that bluff, which made me decide I gotta go ahead through this stress test. People have been very understanding and, you know, sending me a lot of cards and well wishes, it just slowed me down. It hasn't stopped me. But I don't believe you'll be seeing me do any more 100 mile bike rides anywhere.

[A]

Well, can I ask? Because I just had a guy on that was talking about heart issues, but.

[B]

Yeah. Correct.

[A]

You're not. I'm guessing you're not a smoker, right?

[B]

No, no, no. Just my dad had heart issues. So it's like in my family, it's familial.

[A]

Okay. I was gonna say, because, I mean, you're. You're as active as anybody could be.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, you're moving constantly and, And. And the rides and everything else.

[B]

Right. Yeah. It just wasn't, you know, things just happen to people.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

When I was 60, I really felt 25, and now that I'm 70, I kind of sometimes feel 70, but most of the time I really feel like get in front of kids and go to schools and talk. I'm back in the 40s and 50s, but I've got a lot of good years left. I, you know, ahead of me. I hope. And for as many times, you know, as much as I, I can do this, I want to keep going, I want to keep doing this. And I'll tell these kids all the time, you know, I wake up every day trying to think of things to make your life better. And that's kind of what I try to do. And I said, I won't quit as long physically able to. They. They believe that. And I believe that.

[A]

I tell people all the time when they, they thank me for the podcast. I was like, I really have to thank you because the way they support it and listen to it and keep the. You said you don't know how many people have heard it, and I almost hesitated to tell you at the time, but I'm getting ready to celebrate 20 million downloads, like total downloads and a lot, you know.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And that's because people, they listen to it, they enjoy it enough to share it with somebody else that keeps it going. And maybe one of the unforeseen things that they don't see that I hear when I'm talking to you is that allows me to get up in the morning and think about, like, I wonder what people need. Like, you know, I've heard you say a couple of times Like, I can't get big organizations to put signs and symptoms on their T shirts or their stuff. And I mean, I probably understand that it's, it probably feels like a bummer to them and it's not how they want to present. They want everything to be upbeat and we're, we're working towards something that kind of feeling all the time. But, but you know, I brought that ASL thing up to you earlier. Like no one else is doing that, Ken. Like no one's going to put the time or the effort or the money that it takes into creating helpful start out information for people with type 1 diabetes who are deaf or hard of hearing. They're going to tell you, like, there's just not enough of them. Like the juice isn't going to be worth the squeeze. Like the amount of effort they're going to put into it. They're not going to see the return. Especially in this digital age where people want to see tens of thousands of clicks on something, they want to see hundreds of thousands of downloads. They're not looking for you to reach five people anymore. You try to show something to them and say, like, try to imagine this. Like, I don't think it's hard to get them to imagine it, but I think that now that I've done it, I don't think it'll be as difficult to reach out to them and say, hey look, here's how much money it would take to, you know, fund this, to do for this kind of information or this. Like, and now there's a place and you can see people getting to it and using it and you can get them a little more excited to keep going. But yeah, I hear all your frustration. Like, I mean, what a no brainer for Ford to send somebody with a camera out to talk to you for an hour and put some, or just

[B]

follow me, you know, send somebody with me for a day. And you know, I would think there'd be, they'd sell so many more F150 trucks to people that lived with type 1 diabetes if they saw this truck going out doing all these things. And it's just sometimes the big organizations are real busy and I, you know, jdrf, which is now Breakthrough and the American Diabetes association have been nothing but great parts of my life. I just thought if they just do simply print the T shirts, you know, with the symptoms on the back, it's going to help them raise more money. And that's the hardest thing, is to make them understand that the more people know about this, right, the More people are going to donate money. And the only way to tell them to do that is by telling them and along the way you're going to save lives. I mean, you know, you said something about only reaching so many people with, you know, with the program you were on recently. But if I, you know, if we could save five kids a year, I mean, what's. What, what would be the price on that? Because you know that a lot of people are diagnosed today and most of them don't know it's coming and some of them are going to end up in ambulances and some of them on helicopters and they just need to know. I mean, you can't stop the disease, but you can stop people from dying from senseless deaths and being undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. You got to tell people, using Ford

[A]

as an example, they would get great social media out of it and it wouldn't cost them anything. And like you said, it would be good video of a 12 year old truck chugging along with 400,000 miles on it, which you would think is, you know, good for sales. I haven't done, I'm not going to ask you the number. But 26,000 T shirts, even if you're paying three, four bucks a piece for them, means you've spent a hundred thousand dollars in T shirts. That's a lot of effort from you. Like if that's the only thing you had ever done, that would have been really impressive. You know what I'm saying?

[B]

Yep. I got three orders on my desk right now. One I'm going to speak to the girl Scout troop and I just sent 99 church to a preschool that I'm going to go speak at. But like I said, this guy, his name's Tom Ron and it's 1-800-T shirts is his company in Dubuque, Iowa. I mean, it's crazy. I was at a JDRF ride in 2016 in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Sitting there on Saturday night in a bar with a bunch of crazy people from Iowa, which are great people we've met over the years. And he walks up to me and goes, Hannah, I see you guys do T shirts. And he said, both my brothers are type 1 diabetic and I own one of the largest T shirt companies in the Midwest. I want to be your guy. I'll sell them too. Cheaper than anybody. And since then it's just been a, it's perfect relationship. I mean I, they do such great work. They're quality. Yeah, I call them, I send them the order they send them right to the school. I mean, and it's just when we went by there last week, you know, they're all wearing Team snack shirts. There's 30 some employees, and they were so excited to hit that number of T shirts. And we just. I got to talk to them a little bit and take pictures and nothing probably would have happened if I wouldn't have been earning Team Snack shirt in that bar at that time. So, yeah, I just feel like I've been put in certain places and certain things over all these years to make all this grow like this and come together and, you know, just have relationships with a company like that and have relationships with, you know, Matt Fisher, who helped me design my truck. And now he's got his own riot team called Team Fish. And we're really close and we ride and he's done so much for the Breakthrough Ride program. And we're just great friends. And I just. I want to keep going for things like that because I know there's people I could still reach every day and there's people that hopefully will hear this podcast and understand that, you know, you could do something like this in area just to go to the schools and talk in front of people and to go to Rotary clubs and, you know, I can't go all over the country. I get messages when you come to this school or that I can't. I think that hopefully it's what people understand how I do it, that it's fairly simple. It's just giving somebody your time to try to help kids save lives, you know, and just give kids that empowerment that they're not different. They were. They got a bad hand accord to dealt to with this disease, but they got to deal with it. And they want people, you know, they're just looking for hope. I don't know how many times I've heard parents say, you give us hope and God, what's more powerful than that? You know, with all the medicine in the world, sometimes just knowing that somebody cares. There's a guy in Kansas that you don't even know, but look at him. He's driving a truck around the country and he's trying to do everything, not only to help kids there, but kids everywhere, including yourself.

[A]

And there's another way to help people feel less alone. Really?

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. It's a crappy disease, you know, can make you feel really bad. And just the stories I hear of how. But when I get a kids a chance to talk, give them a chance to just speak their mind and just see their Smiles and see their kids, you know, and all their peers in the audience and the teachers and you know, when we do this, we give shirts to the cooks and the bus drivers and everybody's there and it's just, they know that they're there for them. They're there for them to support them. And when I drive through these towns down that truck, I go by school and everybody's waving, kids recognize the truck and there's shirts everywhere and there's no reason not to keep doing it. I mean, as long as I'm in LinkedIn able to great support.

[A]

You're a, you're a lovely person. This is, this is an uplifting conversation. You even have a website that I could send people to or how do they.

[B]

No, I don't have a website. I mean, I really try to do everything the old fashioned way. It seems to work for me. I mean, we've got, I've got my personal Kent Snackerberg Facebook page, which I don't know, I have a lot of friends I guess on there and I try to post a lot on it. I have a team snack page still, but you know, it's one of those pages where they. You have to give a money to Facebook to promote things. And so I don't do a lot on that, but I just try and I usually email a lot and people call me and stuff, but it works for me and I think I'm too old to change much, to be honest with you.

[A]

That's okay. I think that's awesome. I think Facebook's a great way for them to find you. Right? It's just your, it's just your name.

[B]

Yeah, my name, just personal name, it's Kent Snackenberg. And if you go to the team Stack page, I think you can get to the, the other page by doing that.

[A]

But you made me think. I have the same thought. You just have all the time. Like, I have a private Facebook group, has 73, 74,000 people in it right now. And it's insane. Right? And yet if you post something, Facebook doesn't show to most of them.

[B]

No, yeah, no, no.

[A]

They want you to pay them to actually deliver your, your posts to the people that you've gathered up who have said, I'd like to know what this guy's saying. Yeah, it's really something. And can I get it? I gotta tell you now, we're done. But I want to tell you that I'm so impressed by what you're doing that I have not brought up the incredible thrashing that My Eagles gave your Chiefs in the Super Bowl. I just let that go. We don't even talk about it.

[B]

Yeah, because you're gonna beat us in

[A]

two weeks, too, because you're a good man, Ken, and you don't deserve that. Okay. Yeah, I keep that to myself.

[B]

Well, I'd like to tell you this one story, please, and, And. And see if you can fit it in towards the end.

[A]

Absolutely. This is it. You keep going, please.

[B]

So this was like in 2015 or 16, I was starting out, doing my seven rides for the year, and I was traveling to the northeast part of the country. But at that point in time, I was still trying to hit all these states. So I think this first day I drove all the way to Houston, Texas, from Kansas, and the next day I drove to Jacksonville, Florida, and then up to Hershey, Pennsylvania. And I. The next day I drove into the town where the ride was. And, you know, it was early in the day. I didn't really know how to recognize how many days it would take to get through the way I was doing it, because when I'm riding, I'm stopping or driving, I'm stopping and talking to people and giving out information. So I got there early, and I decided to just explore the town a little bit. And I went around the town and, you know, came, got some. Some of their places, they're famous landmarks and stuff. And I'm heading back to the hotel, and I come to this, you know, red light, and it was a pretty busy street. And I looked over to my right, and there's this young man sitting in a wheelchair. And sitting next to him was a lady in a folding chair. And I come to find out, you know, that was his caretaker. And I know this young man had some real health issues because his neck was like lean weight to the right, and his body was kind of leaned over. You know, I could see in his wheelchair, it was kind of custom made, where he had his left hand really clenched tightly on this tray, but with his right hand, he was reaching down and put something in his mouth. But the whole time, both of them are just staring at me. And so it's one of those red lights that seems like it goes on forever. You know, it finally turned green. I didn't know what else to do. So as I was driving away, I smiled and waved really big, and he just stared straight at me. But she waved and smiled. But, you know, it's kind of a sad smile like, you know, everybody's seen. And I got up the road two or three blocks and something and saw this, you know, inside of me just said, can't, you need to go back, you need to go back. So I turned off the street and I came up behind this building, I think it was a church. And I parked and I walked around the corner and I just said, hey, can't snack burger. I'm here to do a bike ride to help kids with type 1 diabetes. Tell me your story. And the lady looked at me and she said, well, this young man was diagnosed early in life with a very severe muscle disease. And he'll never be able to walk, he'll never be able to talk. And he needs 24 hour day care. But he likes to, on nice days we sit out here and look at traffic. And he wants to really loved your truck because he made this really loud. The whole time he still stared at traffic. And so I just looked at her and I said, you know, what can I do to make your day better? What do you guys like to do? And she thought for a moment and she said, well, when his dad comes to pick him up at night, we love to go out to eat. Nothing fancy, just different places. And she looked at me and I was wearing a bright yellow team snack shirt. And she said, and really likes bright colored shirts. And I said, well, just wait right here. And I ran back to my truck and I could just tell you, and my heart was just thumping, you know, I knew something was going to happen special that day and came back around the corner and I gave her $60 and I said, here, you just go out to your favorite place to eat tonight on me and said, just to really enjoy yourself. And I said, here's a shirt for him to wear. And she held up that yellow shirt, she held up the shirt and said, look what this man gave you. And for the very first time, you know, his head tilted up towards me and there's kind of a smile I think came across his face. And he lifted that left hand up that had been clenched in that fist and he opened it up and I put three fingers in there and he squeezed him really, really hard. And he made this really loud noise that I always think he was just saying thank you at that point, you know, and then he released my hand and he started looking back at the traffic and I just gave her one of my cards and I said, I just want to tell you I loved you guys, you know, if you ever need me for anything else, anything, I said, please just get a hold of me. And as I turned to walked away, she said, you already Have. And I looked back at her, she goes, we've been sitting here for two years. She said, two years, and you're the first person that's ever stopped to check on us. And she said, you know, that's going to make me, that's going to make his father so happy. She just said, thanks for what you do. And I left. And, you know, then her father or his father called me that night and just said, you know, I don't know who you are, but you made my family's day and you did something today nobody's ever done for us. And, you know, I like to tell that story when I'm talking to kids and because I always feel like, you know, every story should have a good message to it. And so the message to that story is, you know, when your moment in life comes, you know, and you will have a moment when you have this opportunity, just don't miss it. Right. And I said, my moment came in 2015, and standing in front of 400 people in Tucson, Tucson, Arizona. And I said, and your bubble will come. And I said, just don't miss it.

[A]

So, Ken, I have to tell you, that story is so lovely that I didn't make the joke I was going to make when you said my heart was thumping, that I knew something was going to happen that day. And I thought, yeah, those are the blockages, kind of.

[B]

Yeah, well, luckily that was 10 years ago, so I think it was doing pretty good then.

[A]

I think you've probably, by putting yourself out into the world like this, had more incredible experiences than a hundred people combined. Just by putting yourself in situations where you may or may not have an experience like that. But a little uncommon nowadays, right? Like, people don't think to do that as much as you do. And I, I, I, I hope everybody's hearing what it's given back to you, and maybe they'll, they'll do a little bit of them of it themselves, too.

[B]

Yeah. You know, you were talking about clicks earlier and stuff, and I'm not interested in, you know, the number of clicks. I'm just interested in the amount of people I can reach, the amount of kids I can save and how many kids we could send a camp and how many kids we can help with expenses, because that's, that's what's really important to me in life. I know that they talk about social influencers, they talk about all these things, but I got a feeling that some of that's a pretty empty feeling. But when you, you know, can walk in a house and the family's happy to see you after they just got from home from the hospital three days ago, and just. Just start telling them what you can do for them and just let them know they're not alone. I mean, that's worth. So that's worth everything to me.

[A]

No, I believe that, and I agree. Well, you're doing it, man. You're an angel out in the world for sure. I hope your family is as proud of you as I imagine that I am. You know, your kids are probably older now, right? In your grandchildren, they probably don't really know. I mean, to one of your grandchildren, you've got to be the. Like, I don't know, Grandpa's got a weird truck and he goes on a lot of bike rides, right?

[B]

Like, no, they just. They just say, I mean, everything. You know, team snack truck, team snack shirts.

[A]

They know about it.

[B]

They're, you know, the oldest is 12, and the youngest is, like, I think, nine. And so they're, you know, we have three in Kansas City, which is a couple hours from here, two in Denver, which is eight hours from here. So we don't get to see them as often as some people do, but we definitely make a lot of trips both places. And we're really proud of our grandkids, and I'm just thankful that, you know, they're proud of me and what we do and my wife and. And nobody's ever said anything like, you know, you missed this. You shouldn't have missed this. They're just. They know I'm helping kids, and I try to install and install in them and everybody else that, you know, that's the secret to life, is helping others when you have an opportunity to.

[A]

Can I ask a last question?

[B]

Sure.

[A]

Prior to all this happening to you and, you know, just kind of the randomness of your, you know, of your niece being diagnosed.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Were you doing stuff like this prior to that, or was this just a departure for you?

[B]

No, no. I mean, I've always tried to help people. My dad was really big with charities and clubs, and he ran a cancer golf tournament here for years, and I took over for him then, and he passed away when he was 80, and I ran it for several years.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And we, you know, we have a Certoma club here in town with a miniature train that runs. And it's very. It's been coming, I think, 1955 it started, and it holds, like, 20 kids and parents, and so it runs, like, three or four nights a week in the summer. And my wife and I pay for all the rides, for all the kids and parents, you know, all summer long for that. And we just had the last ride of the summer last Sunday night. And I think they gave 253 rides out that night. And so that's just money that those families can save. But they love the train. I mean, it reminds me when I was little, when I was riding. And it's just a really special place for me, and I want it to be special for a lot of the people. And this club's filled with, you know, men and women that are in their 60s, 70s, and 80s, and they continue to do this. And so it's a little bit just for us to Support them with $2,500 donation to. To pay for all the free rides all summer. It's been great.

[A]

You might. You really might be an angel, man. I can't thank you enough. I'm gonna call this episode. Kent has something to say.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

It's a great message. Like, I don't. I don't know another way to say, like, I. I felt the same way when I. I told you I had Ernie on from. From Cam Sweeney, and he was talking about it. I just kept thinking, like, he's been doing this for decades, and he's an older man. Like, why does he keep doing this? You know, like. Like what, What. What keeps him going? You know? And there's something about the. His conversation and the conversations I've had with you that I don't know. I. I hear a. A fire and a motivation inside that is not in any way that I can tell. Not ego motivated. Like, it. It really is about, like, just seeing other people do better. I mean, just. I mean. Ken, what's a ride on the train cost?

[B]

Well, it's only a dollar, but it. And, but if they have eight kids, that's $8. And if they want to ride four times, that's $32, and that's money they could just save.

[A]

You know, thoughtful approach. These people's kids have a nice time, and they. And they have eight more dollars in their pocket. And in your thought is they can go put that into something else and. And still have had this good time

[B]

and ice cream on the way home.

[A]

It's just you spreading joy around is what it is.

[B]

Yeah, well, I was Santa Claus for 18 years out in front of our house, and we used to do it and decorated the neighborhood, and we raised money and toys for the Salvation army. And so, I mean, that was like. Like, I don't know how many years ago that was. But. And they're still doing that today, 40 years later in this neighborhood that we moved away from. And so that's kind of cool that they continue to the tradition. I mean, we live in a very giving town. People are very nice here.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Just, I mean, it's like I almost have to have one of those hands in front of my truck waving, you know, the dashboard because so many people know the truck can wave and honk and you're just going, it's just great feeling back.

[A]

Well, listen, it sounds to me like you're still Santa Claus, so. Well, yeah, I don't know, man. You're really lovely and this is fantastic. I appreciate you jumping back on and sharing this with me again. I hope you hear about people enjoying this conversation for 10 more years.

[B]

Yeah, well, yeah, I'm sure that whenever you put it on, let me know and then I can share it.

[A]

I will.

[B]

Yeah. I shared the first episode last night. I had a lot of people come in and call me and stuff, said we'd forgot about everything you're doing and stuff. So.

[A]

Yeah, no, well, it'll be out. I'll tell you about it when we will finish up here, say goodbye and I'll tell you about the timeline.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

So thank you so much. I really do appreciate this.

[B]

You bet.

[A]

Today's episode was sponsored by Skin Grip and Skin Grip. They understand what life with diabetes is like and they know how infuriating it can be when a device falls off prematurely and they don't want that to happen to you. Juicebox podcast listeners save 20% off of their first order when you use the link skingrip.com juicebox links are also available in the show notes of your podcast player [e-mail] Summertime is right around the corner and Omnipod 5 is the only tube free automated insulin delivery system in the United States. Because it's tube free, it's also waterproof proof and it goes wherever you go. Learn more at my link omnipod.com juicebox that's right, Omnipod is sponsoring this episode of the podcast. And at my link you can get a free starter kit. Terms and conditions apply. Eligibility may vary. Full terms and conditions can be found@ omnipod.com juicebox the conversation you just enjoyed was brought to you by usmed usmed.com juicebox or call 888-721-1514. Get started today and get your supplies from US Med. Thank you so much for listening. I'll be back very soon with another episode of the Juice Box Podcast if you're not already subscribed or following the podcast in your favorite audio app like Spotify or Apple Podcasts, please do that now. Seriously, just to hit, follow or subscribe will really help the show. If you go a little further in Apple Podcasts and set it up so that it downloads all new episodes, I'll be your best friend. And if you leave a five star review, I'll probably send you a Christmas card. If you or a loved one is newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and you're seeking a clear, practical perspective, check out the Bold Beginning Series on the Juice Box Podcast. It's hosted by myself and Jenny Smith, an experienced diabetes educator with over 35 years of personal insight into type 1. Our series cuts through the medical jargon and delivers straightforward answers to your most pressing questions. You'll gain insight from real patients and caregivers and find practical advice to help you confidently navigate Life with Type 1. You can start your journey informed and empowered with the Juice Box Podcast. The Bold Beginnings series and all of the collections in the Juice Box Podcast are available in your audio app [e-mail] in the menu if you're looking for community around type 1 diabetes, check out the Juice Box Podcast Private Facebook Group juice box podcast type 1 diabetes but everybody is welcome. Type 1 type 2 gestational loved ones it doesn't matter to me. If you're impacted by diabetes and you're looking for support, comfort or community, check out Juice Box podcast type 1 diabetes on Facebook. The episode you just heard was professionally edited by Wrong Way Recording wrongwayrecording. Com.