California Ambassador: James Gatchel

Age: 23

From: Camarillo, CA

Instrument: French Horn

Job Title: Youth Development Specialist, Freelance Musician and Educator

Favorite Brews: Black Coffee, Hot Vanilla Latte, and Institution IPA

Hobbies: DJing, Video Editing, Traveling, Hanging out with Family and Friends, and spending quality time at the beach

Three Random Facts:

  1. I have an Asian Box Turtle named Sparky

  2. I have visited 4 countries in a single day

  3. I am a serious car enthusiast

Favorite Quote: “Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you have made the effort to become the best you are capable of becoming.” -John Wooden

California Ambassador: Tommy Militello

Age: 21

From: thousand oaks CA

Instrument: horn

Favorite brew: medium americano

Hobbies: reading, gym, video games, 

Three random facts:  

1) I ride a skateboard

2) I have a black belt in Shotokan

3) I love doing impressions

Quotes: 

“Because a song can take you back instantly to a moment, or a place, or even a person. no matter what else has changed in you or the world, that one song stays the same, just like that moment.”

"Be the person your dog thinks you are"

"The Difference between 'Champ' and 'Chump' is 'U' "

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around every once in a while, you'll miss it"

Michigan Ambassador: Kristin Quint

Age: 23

From: Spring Hill, Tennessee

Job Title: Free-lance harpist; Certified Music Practitioner (CMP)

Favorite Brews: homemade French-pressed coffee + almond milk

Hobbies: reading classic literature, walking, hiking, playing piano, arranging harp covers, watching BBC shows, and crocheting.

Three Random Facts: 

1.) 2nd of seven children

2.) I am an anglophile

3.) I do random tasks with my left hand though I am right-handed

Favorite Quote(s):

"Courage, dear heart." - C.S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

"Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand." - Marjorie W. Bianco, The Velveteen Rabbit

"Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee." - Jeremiah 31:3

“The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.” - Timothy Keller

Michigan Ambassador: Steve Rothstein

Age: 26

From: Walled Lake, Michigan

Job Title: Student; Freelance Jazz Guitarist, Guitarist for the 501 Swing Street band and Green on Blue Quartet, Sinfonian

Favorite Brews: Black coffee, anything from Founders Brewing in Grand Rapids, Short's Soft Parade, 

Hobbies: tabletop games, video games, reading, composing, trumpet, traveling

Three Random Facts:

1) I was born in Newport Beach, California.

2) I won tickets to ride the Goodyear blimp as a child.

3) I spent a year abroad in Japan studying the language and music.

Favorite Quote: "Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work..." Ira Glass

Founder: Carrie Rexroat

Age: 25

From: Walled Lake, MI

Instrument: French Horn

Job Title: 2nd Horn, South Dakota Symphony Orchestra; Freelance Performer & Writer; Horn Instructor for Play with a Pro

Favorite Brew(s): black coffee brewed with cinnamon; all stouts or porters; cranberry tea

Hobbies: reading; interviewing awesome people; traveling; spending time with friends and family; writing/blogging; thinking too much

Three random facts:

1) I have a cat named Milo

2) I am partially deaf in both ears 

3) My favorite animal is the sea turtle

Favorite Quote(s): 

"A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle"-James Keller

"I never lose. Either I win or I learn."-Anonymous

"I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic then to love people."-Vincent Van Gogh

Charities/Causes to raise awareness to:

The Sea Turtle Conservancy

The Kitty Bungalow

 

For a full bio go to www.carrierexroat.com