John Brucato (0:01)

You're listening to ASBO International's School Business Insider. I'm your host, John Brucato. Each week on School Business Insider, I sit down with school business officials and industry experts from around the world to share their stories and explore the topics that matter most to you. Find out what it means to be a school business official and get your insider pass on all things school business. Hi everyone and thanks again for tuning in to School Business Insider. Today's episode is going to be short and sweet. I just wanted to take a moment in reflection of 2024 to really just thank everyone for tuning in. Today's episode really is all about reflection and gratitude and we've been able to do some really cool things here on SBI because of all of you tuning in, all of you providing suggestions and just providing inspiration to what you want to hear about episode after episode. It's pretty crazy that we started this in January of 24 and here we are in December, the very last episode of the year. And I have to say, it's just been an incredible experience. We've had incredible growth over the years, and I think that really is a testament to what we've been able to do in terms of bringing you all content and relevant content especially and what you're looking for in the profession. I mean, to be able to kind of just reach across the globe and talk to our counterparts and just hear firsthand of everyone's individual experience has just been monumental and I think that has been represented in just our overall listenership. Lacy, if you're listening, thank you for being so supportive. Lacy at ASBO International is really my go to and who I've been working with hand in hand to make sure that each episode comes out seamlessly every week and that we're pushing it out on social media and that all of you are aware of what we're doing here. So I just think that if you haven't seen it in ASBO accents that was released, I think it was last week, a couple weeks ago we did put out some stats and I just want to go over them quickly here because it is pretty cool. I mean, it's pretty exciting to know that just in just a year what we've been able to accomplish. So I have it pulled up here and if you've seen this, please bear with me, but I did just want to review some of these stats from 24. You know, it's been a year, but it's weird how one year can feel so long yet so short in one memory. But at any rate. So our most popular episode of 24 was titled Choice and the Complex Reality for Public Schools. And if you'll remember, that was really in the infancy of sbi. That was with John Wilson, the chief school financial officer at Baldwin County Schools. And he and I spoke a lot about the growing concerns for public schools around charter schools and school choice and really how that's been affecting school districts throughout the United States and diversion of state funding and potentially federal funding to private institutions. And I think that really resonated with our listeners because it just has been, as I said, a growing issue. So really cool to see that as our top episode of all time. So thank you, John, for being willing to come on School Business Insider to begin with and more importantly, just so passionate about you, your work, and all the great things that you're doing in Baldwin county schools in Alabama. So thank you for that. Let's see, what else do we have here? Episode featuring the most guests. That was another cool stat. I think that's a pretty obvious one. That was our live episode from the 2024 Annual Conference and Expo in Nashville, Tennessee. And that was a whirlwind. So if you weren't at the conference, let me just kind of set the stage for you. So, you know, if you've ever been to an ASBO International Annual conference and Expo, the expo hall is just massive. I mean, there are booths everywhere, there's vendors everywhere, and there's people everywhere. And ASBO International was kind enough to set up a booth for me next to their official ASBO International booth where I could sit down with attendees and vendors and just kind of get a reflection on their experience. And you know, I should have gotten an actual number before I started blabbering about this. But I have to say we had at least 30 to 40 guests and it was just kind of a round robin. We had ASBO International staff flagging people down a lot of voluntelling, which is a term I love that I learned from Siobhan and company. Just getting people over to again share their experience on the annual conference and Expo and really reflect on why they take so much time out of the office and prioritize something like that. Because it is a lot of time when you think of just maybe 180 day school year and you're taking three or four of those to go out of state to a conference. So that was really fun. And thanks to all those who willingly and maybe unwillingly sat down with me and told me about their experience. Because just hearing that firsthand, not only is a good barometer of the importance of ASBO International's just legacy and what they're doing for memberships and what they offer at conferences. But really the value of networking and getting to have that opportunity with your peers and really just gives me a lot of energy and excites me to be a part of all of this that we're doing here at ASBO International. As I mentioned before, one of my favorite pieces of being able to host this podcast is reach across the world to colleagues from all over the place. So we had a few international guests this year, year, and I did want to just call them out. We had Stephen Morales. He is the executive director of the Institute for School Business Leadership over in the uk. And Stephen was on with us, I think it was in April, to really talk about operational excellence and everything that they're doing across the pond, if you will, to focus all of the operational skills and efficiencies of schools and really, what does it mean to have operational excellence in school districts? Yeah, that was April 23rd of 24, so if you didn't have an opportunity to check that out, please tune in. And then we had another one in June that was with Mike McCarthy. That one was soul searching how one bad day led to a dream job. And that was particularly fun because that was an episode that talked about not the technicals of the job, but why people love the work that they do and how they've gotten involved in school business. And, I mean, Mike's story is awesome. He. And you know, I'm not doing it any justice, please tune in. But essentially was just kind of sick of the daily grind of what he was doing before, saw an opportunity to do similar work in finance, but in school districts. And I think he was living in Vermont or New Hampshire, and now he's in South Korea. So how cool is that that he kind of threw his application out there and just on a whim, wanted to see what was out there. And now he's in South Korea. So that was a little fun. Logistically challenging. I forget the time zone difference, maybe 13 hours or something like that, but I was kind of a little sleepy interviewing Mike. So I don't think that came across in the audio, but it was fun to sit down with him and just kind of reflect and explore his journey. And I think, too, that's one of the most fun parts, I will say, at least for me, is just learning everyone's journey to school business. I've said it a million times, so I'm going to say it Once more, I don't know many. I think I can count on one hand the amount of people who knew what school business officials were and wanted to pursue that career when they were younger. I think most would agree that they found this career later in their professional life and really kind of, I think everyone that I've talked to has really fallen in love with it. I know I certainly have. I'm on a microphone talking about it every week, so I hope that I like it. But again, my original point really is just, it's so cool to be able to sit down and hear everybody's journey, because no one person's journey has really been the same. And I think that just goes to show what a diverse group of professionals we have. And everybody has a little bit to offer, and no one experience is identical. So that's why you can, like I always say, you can call up the phone, you know, to anybody over the United States or over the world, it doesn't matter. And you know, there's going to be support on the other line and we can just lean on each other and draw on each other's individual experiences. So those are our two big international episodes. That was a lot of fun. I really hope that into 2025 we're able to bring you even more international episodes and really lean into the ASBO International piece of the organization. And I think that it's going to be a focus of ours coming up for 2025. So stay tuned for that. Let's see another couple episodes I wanted to highlight. One was Resilience and Hope in School Business. That was in July, and that was with Amanda VRBA in Ithaca City Schools in and the reason I particularly enjoyed that conversation is that Amanda brought a certain level of vulnerability that you don't often get. And she was just an open book and was willing to talk about her struggles with in New York, we have to do budget votes. But she talked about a failed vote and why that happened and everything that led up to a failed vote and just how visceral the communities can be and the boards can be and making sure you're not losing your own sense of self and self worth in this profession because it can be very daunting. So just her level of optimism was incredibly inspiring and a conversation I really, really enjoyed having. And then finally, I mean, so if you're listening to this and I didn't mention you, please don't take it personally. I know this is kind of cliche, but I do love all of these episodes. There's just a Few that really kind of stood out to me, not only personally to me, but I think just statistically a lot of people who tuned in, too. And I just want to highlight one more, and that was with Jim Spelos. The name of the episode was Navigating the AI Opportunities for School Business Leaders. I think this is an obvious one. AI has been in our faces for a year and a half now, maybe even more, and it's just getting ever more present. So that was a huge episode for us because he was able to really peel back the onion of all things artificial intelligence and really make it relatable to school business officials and what we can do to leverage the technology to the best of our ability. So that was a great episode. And thank you, Jim, again, for not only presenting in person to a local chapter meeting we had in my area, that's where I met you. But being able to carve out a little bit more time and talk about AI for school business officials on a broader scale. So those are just some of the few episodes. Again, I know I missed some that I also wanted to highlight. But again, I didn't want to just sit here and have you listen to me monologue for too long. But I do want to just touch on a few stats that I'm very proud of and the ASBO staff, I'm sure, are very proud of. So when I look back at 2024, there are so many incredible memories and moments that are in my mind. But I did want to just share some statistics with you because it's a point of pride, I will say. This is a lot of work to be able to schedule and record and edit and publish and market everything. It's a heavy lift. It's obviously I love doing it. It's a labor of love, but I feel rewarded in the sense that I get a lot of heartwarming anecdotal feedback. But the numbers don't lie. So I did want to share a few stats with you. We had over 1,600 listeners in 2024, which is absolutely incredible and far exceeded anything I could have imagined. If my mom and my wife were listening, I would have been proud of that. But to have so many people tuning in, and not just from the United States, but from all over the world. So, for instance, let's see here. We had the majority of our listenership in the United States, but we have a strong showing in Canada and Germany, in the uk, France, I mean, Kenya, Afghanistan. It's all over the place, which is awesome. And I'm looking in a. A stats dashboard right now. And I think the only continent we didn't hit was Antarctica. So maybe that'll be a goal for 2025. I can speak to something relevant to the few of you in Antarctica, if there are any school business officials out there. I don't know. But that was pretty exciting that we had over 1600 listeners. And I think one of the bigger pieces that I'm proud of, too, is not only did we have way more listenership than I think we ever had anticipated, especially for this being such a young production, but we've been consistently ranked in the top 10 of all United States education podcasts. And I'm talking about Apple specifically because that's where we primarily market our listenership and honestly is where most of you listen from is some kind of Apple device or Apple Podcasts. But we hover around number seven in education podcasts in the US and that's really cool. I mean, I think that means that we're reaching people that are probably not school business officials, but like to tune in anyways in excess of my mother, who is a big supporter, but maybe other educators, maybe vendors, maybe others that are in the industry. But to be kind of hovering in the top 10 on a consistent basis is really exciting. And I hope we can continue that in 2025. Not because I. I want to say that we're in the top 10, but I think that's just a reflection of the engagement from all of you. And I think, and I hope that that means that we're pushing out good content that people are willing to listen to. And we did crack the top 200 of all podcasts in the United States. And there's millions of podcasts out there. So to just squeak into the top 200 was pretty cool. I remember we were at the editorial advisory committee, and we're kind of going around the table and just kind of sharing some updates. And I've been an honored guest there for a few meetings, and I always like to kind of just bring up the stats because it is an arm of our publication piece at Asbil International. And I just happen to pull the stats up. I'm like, oh, my gosh, we're in the top 200 of all podcasts. So not quite those huge podcasts that are out there, but maybe one day, maybe we'll give like Joe Rogan or something a run for his money. But I think that all. Well, I know that all comes down to all of you tuning in and sharing. This is. Again, I don't want to gush too much. But I am just so honored and humbled by all of you who have taken time to really kind of just tune in and whether it's on your way to work or. Or maybe you have trouble sleeping and you just need something to lull you to sleep. Whatever it takes. I am just so thankful for everybody tuning in. So we had a lot of great things go on in 2024. I think if you tuned in, I believe it was, if I'm timing this right, it was last week you had an opportunity to hear from Jim Roanne, our executive director, on a comparison of he was the inaugural episode of School Business Insider in January of 24, and to be able to have him reflect on his first year as executive director what went well, what needs improvement, and what we can look forward to to 2025 is just pretty cool. I mean, it's full circle and I think that can be extended to what we're trying to do here at sbi. I think we've been able to reach a lot of different audiences. I think we've been able to cover of vast topics. But I have to say one of my favorite themes is just really the experience. The experience from all of you. The experience from those who have come in to wanting to talk about their profession and how they've ascended to being a school business official, how they may be considering being a school business official, how maybe they have tried to become a school business official, but it just hasn't worked out. I think being able to share those stories is probably one of the more meaningful and powerful aspects of this podcast, and I hope that comes through in the audio because I've had my struggles as a professional in school business before. I'm sure we all have. And I'm not saying misery loves company, but it's good to know that we've all had similar struggles. Not because of that, but in the sense that we can lean on each other and call on each other for advice and for help and for support and for love and for grace. It's just. It's a cool, unique opportunity to be able to share those stories. And I have to say, I mean, selfishly, being able to sit down with all of my guests and learn firsthand has just been great because it may sound like I'm just rattling off questions or talking about a myriad of different topics, but I am genuinely able to learn alongside hopefully all of you that are tuning in week after week. So that is just like an awesome extra benef just being able to have that firsthand so I've rambled on long enough. I didn't think this was going to be 20 minutes of me just riffing, but sorry, here it is. So thanks if you've tuned in and stuck around this long. But just quickly for 2025, we're looking at expanding our listenership even more, engaging in even more topics and really just being a frontline, relevant resource for school business officials and educators across the world. Really expanding our reach across the globe and bringing in more international guests to the podcast. I mean, that's something we're really going to focus on moving forward. We'll always have those live recaps and live episodes from events like Leadership Forum and Annual conference and Expo and you name it. I have to tell you, I much prefer sitting down with people face to face because you probably can tell, but most of my interviews are virtual because I'm located in New York in the us. I'd love to fly out to South Korea and talk to Mike again, but I don't know if ASBO has the budget for that. But stay tuned. But in all seriousness, love sitting down with all of you that have contributed to the podcast in person. So stay tuned for more live recordings and more live sessions because that is always a fun time to be able to sit across the table and really engage in those conversations. Because for me at least it feels like I can just sit down with a colleague and just kind of shoot the breeze. I'm sure it's much different because if you're a guest and have never been on, you have a microphone and headphones in front of you. So it's a little nerve wracking, but it is just a cool opportunity to really sit down. So that's really what's coming for 2025. We'll probably have some miniseries hyper focused on certain subjects, but you can count on us coming out with a new episode every week because I think just staying on top of these different topics and subjects and staying relevant is super important to us and just another opportunity for professional development. And this is really kind of our main mission here at SBI is to be another PD arm of the organization and just be maybe another opportunity to learn something on your way to work or wherever you listen. So you know, continue doing your webinars, continue doing your in person events, but I hope that you can add this to your catalog of PD and maybe share this podcast with your fellow school business officials or educators because I hope that there's a little bit of something for everyone and you know, that's really what we strive for. So I just, you know, signing off here, I want to thank all of you for an amazing 2024. I am even more excited for what's to come in 2025 and beyond. So just, I hope everybody is really enjoying their holiday season. I wish all of you a happy New Year and, you know, much love with all of your families and friends and colleagues. And, you know, just stay tuned and look for some more exciting content from School, Business Insider, and myself and the ASBO team. And, you know, again, thank you all so, so very much. I love you all. It's been an amazing 2024, and I will see you in the new year.