On November 17, 2016, Jeremy Paris released episode 073 of the Veteran Resource Podcast, titled “Michael Penney – Provide Value.” Paris built the show to introduce veterans to the organizations that serve them, interviewing a different group each week about its mission and the veterans it works with. The episode runs about 45 minutes.
What the episode covered
The episode description opens with the project he was best known for at the time:
Michael J. Penney is the co-founder of Cigars and Sea Stories, a podcast devoted to sharing stories with veterans who are adding value to the world.
Veteran Resource Podcast #073 description
From there the notes lay out the rest of his story as it stood in late 2016:
- Service: a former Sergeant who served eight years as an infantryman and weapons instructor, with three combat tours in two wars: Ramadi, Iraq (2005 and 2007) and Kajaki/Sangin, Afghanistan (2011).
- Instructor work: he personally trained over 5,000 Marines and sailors in rifle and pistol combat marksmanship, foreign weapons, and precision weapons marksmanship and tactics.
- The 5 Paragraph Business Plan: described as “an actionable approach to business.”
- TEDxRaleigh: his March 2016 talk, “What’s Your IED,” presented as an effort to bridge the lives of veterans and civilians.
The notes also describe his new day job:
He currently works as program director for Bunker Labs RDU, calling upon his military experience to assess, train, advise, and assist veterans in business creation.
Veteran Resource Podcast #073 description
Why it mattered then
The Veteran Resource Podcast was a directory in audio form. Veterans listened to find out which groups could actually help them. Having Michael on as a program director at Bunker Labs RDU put a real door in front of listeners: a nonprofit that helped veterans start businesses, run by people who had made the same transition.
The phrase in the episode title, “provide value,” was the same idea behind Cigars and Sea Stories and his TEDx talk. It was the thread that tied his podcasting, his speaking and his Bunker Labs work together.
Looking back
Paris and Michael kept working together. In December 2017, American Grit wrote up a Cigars and Sea Stories episode with Grunt Style founder Daniel Alarik and described the show as “hosted by Marine veteran Michael Penney and Jeremy Paris.” The original audio file for this episode is no longer online, but the YouTube copy above is still up.
This post is part of the From the Archive series, which collects Michael’s past media appearances in one place. See the full media archive.
Work with Michael
Marine veteran, TEDx speaker and author of the 5 Paragraph Business Plan. Bring him to your stage, wear the gear, or catch him live.