Mark Ratcliffe
Toni Reece: Hi there. This is Toni Reece. Welcome to the Get Inspired! Project for Berks County Living Magazine. Today I have Mark Ratcliffe with me. Hi, Mark.
Mark Ratcliffe: Hi. How are you doing, Toni?
Toni: I’m doing great. How are you doing?
Mark: Great.
Toni: Mark, tell us a little bit about yourself.
Mark: I have been in the area for about 25 years now. Loving it. I moved here from Laguna Beach, California. I drove into the area and thought, “What a spectacular area,” and have been here ever since.
Toni: So you’re a transplant here to Berks County, but you’ve been here a long time.
Mark: I have.
Toni: You have something coming up, don’t you?
Mark: Reading Pretzelfest. It’s right around the corner.
Toni: What’s that?
Mark: It is a festival that’s set up to celebrate everything great about this area – pretzels, craft beer, music. We have some amazing people in this area that have created some great things like Unique Pretzels, and Tom Sturgis, one of the oldest pretzel manufacturers in America. We also have craft beer. This area has such a great history of craft beer and pretzel manufacturing that we thought it was time to show that off. We want to show off this area and what we’ve got to offer.
We also will have Foghat playing at the end of the event. Craig MacGregor grew up in this area and is the bass player for Foghat. It’s awesome that we have an opportunity to shine a little spotlight on him and show off some of the great talent that we’ve got in this area.
Toni: There you go. Let’s going into the Project. What does inspiration mean to you?
Mark: Inspiration I think is that little spark of something that encourages you to do something you wouldn’t otherwise do. I think it’s seeing something that inspires you and saying, “I need to make that happen. Nobody else is going to make that happen. I’m the one that needs to make it happen.”
Toni: Is it a physical feeling?
Mark: I think it’s an emotional feeling.
Toni: An emotional feeling – and then you say, “I’m going for it.”
Mark: Yes. The mind goes out the window, and the body moves forward.
Toni: I’ve been there. How do you put that emotional feeling into practice here in Berks County?
Mark: I think for me it is getting out in the community, talking to people, making connections, finding like-minded people who would also like to see whatever it is that’s driving you to move forward, trying to make those connections, and working collaboratively together. I think not only just in this area, but in a number of areas you get stonewalled by people with a lot of “nos” – there are a lot of “nos” out there, but all you need are two or three “yeses,” and you can make your way through the jungle and come out on the other end with a great success story.
Toni: For me, visually, it’s just represented almost like a chain link. That one “yes” builds on that other “yes” and then another “yes” and there you go, that emotional feeling now becomes reality.
Mark: Sure.
Toni: Have you had that happen?
Mark: Oh, absolutely. I think Pretzelfest is a great example.
Toni: How so?
Mark: it was an idea that I thought would be a good idea, and I talked to a couple of obvious “yeses” which were the pretzel manufacturers around here. But once we started going, there were so many people that were surprised that this hadn’t happened before. They thought it was such a natural. Last year, we were hoping to get 500 to 1,000 people, and we had over 2,000 people show up. That was completely out of the blue and blew me away. It just goes to show that if you do something with the right intentions and it’s a good fit that it will succeed.
Toni: I like what you said about finding the obvious “yeses.” That’s a tip that people really need to hear, that there are people out there that would be an obvious “yes” that would get it, and would help to make that happen. That’s fantastic. Who in Berks County inspires you?
Mark: You inspire me, for one.
Toni: My goodness … thank you.
Mark: There are a number of people. I think Bill Thomas of Bill’s Khaki’s is one that I really like. I have been fortunate enough to work with Jackie Hoffman a little bit, and she inspires me quite a bit. There are a number of business owners in this area that have done really great things. I think of John Weidenhammer, who is continually moving forward, and not only running a successful business, but also donating a lot of time and effort to the community. He’s been great. Tom McMahon is constantly out there, still plugging away, trying to make this city better, even though he hasn’t been mayor for quite some time now.
It’s those people that are going out and doing things and they don’t have to. They’re doing very well. They could be enjoying their life in Florida or wherever they want to be, but they choose to stay here locally and continue to push away and take on those tough tasks and try to push this community forward.
Toni: Do they inspire you to keep doing what you’re doing by building these types of festivals – the Pretzelfest, and you just did a Sustainability Festival – is it that type of mentality to just do it because it’s the right thing to do that inspires you to move forward?
Mark: I think it’s partially that. I think it’s partially that I want to live in a great area, and I believe I am in a great area, and I think that there are a number of people here that don’t believe they’re in a great area, so I feel my job is to show them that it is a great area by highlighting all those great things we have. If you travel around, whether you’re dining out or visiting different events or looking at the history in town, there are so many great things to occupy your time and be proud of in this area, and I just don’t think we see those things enough.
Toni: We also want to find those people who may not have the loudest voices, but they definitely have a “yes.”
Mark: Yes.
Toni: So you’re also giving them an opportunity.
Mark: Absolutely – as are you.
Toni: Thank you. What do you want your legacy to be?
Mark: I think all of us should try to work to make a positive change in the world in some way or another. That’s what I’m looking to do. I have to follow my emotional path on what I think is important and try to lend my help in areas that maybe other people aren’t able to, or in areas that I think maybe need help.
Sometimes I try to lend support in areas that I see are struggling. Anything that’s been successful, I don’t feel I need to support quite as much anymore – not that I won't, but … I think the Museum was a great example back in the day when they started doing their galas and trying to encourage that. I was heavily involved early, and as it became more successful, I jumped on to something else. I feel like, give it a good start, and then move on.
Toni: So a living legacy. That’s what you’re doing. You are living your legacy.
Mark: I have to do it while I’m alive, right?
Toni: That’s right. We all do, don’t we? Absolutely. Thank you so much, Mark, for doing what you do, and showing up for the Get Inspired! Project for Berks County Living. It’s been a pleasure.
Mark: Thanks for having me.
