Latest news with #BradHill
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
MAA to Present at the Nareit REITweek: 2025 Investor Conference
GERMANTOWN, Tenn., June 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc., or MAA (NYSE: MAA), today announced that President and CEO, Brad Hill, as well as other members of MAA's executive management team, will present at the Nareit REITweek: 2025 Investor Conference on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, from 8:45 a.m. ET to 9:15 a.m. ET. The Company's presentation will be webcast live. A link to the webcast as well as presentation materials are available under "Corporate Profile" on the "For Investors" page of the Company's website at About MAAMAA is a self-administered real estate investment trust (REIT) and member of the S&P 500. MAA owns or has ownership interest in apartment communities primarily throughout the Southeast, Southwest and Mid-Atlantic regions of the U.S. focused on delivering strong, full-cycle investment performance. For further details, please refer to the "For Investors" page at or contact Investor Relations at View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE MAA Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Monett blood drive aims to help local charities
MONETT, Mo. — The Community Blood Center (CBCO) is holding a charity blood drive on Tuesday, May 27. The CBCO announced they are holding their first Monett Charity Challenge Blood Drive from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Monett Area YMCA. The center said that citizens will be able to vote for a chosen local charity after giving their donations at their event. For each vote given, the charities will be entered into the cash award prize provided by Brad Hill State Farm Agency. Meet the Skyline Fire Department's newest member… a goat 'I believe in making a difference right here in our own community,' said Brad Hill, State Farm agent in a press release. 'What better way to do that than by donating blood and potentially saving the life of a family member, friend, coworker or neighbor. When you give with Community Blood Center of the Ozarks, your donation stays local and supports hospitals like Cox Monett. I am proud to sponsor this challenge, because every blood donation makes an impact close to home.' First place will be given $750, second place will receive $500 and third place will get $250. 'Our mission is to grow a healthy and strong community, and this is a perfect way to do just that,' said Elizabeth Sturgell, executive director of the Monett Area YMCA in the release. 'Every blood donation not only helps save lives, it also directly supports the programs and services we provide here at the Y. We are grateful for CBCO's generosity and excited to be part of this impactful event.' For more information on how to donate, visit their website, or call 417-227-5006. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Gizmodo
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
You Have to Check Out These Insanely Detailed Pop Culture Sculptures
Play-Doh is not generally considered a pathway to a career in art, but it was exactly that for Brad Hill. Years ago, the aspiring artist was gifted the popular children's toy and, as a thank you, molded some of it into a head. 'I was like, 'Oh wait. That's kind of fun,'' Hill said. 'Every day, I'd just wake up and sculpt a head out of Play-Doh. And I thought, 'Well, this isn't sustainable.'' He was wrong. Fifteen years later, Hill's work has gone all over the internet, and this week he's having a retrospective art show featuring not just brand new work, but pieces from throughout his still blossoming career. The show is happening May 9 from 6-8 p.m. ET at the Bottleneck Gallery in Brooklyn, NY, and to commemorate the event, io9 not only has some exclusive reveals, but we also spoke to Hill for what he believes may have been his first interview. Why Hill? Well, his strikingly unique take on your favorite TV, movies, games, and more combines a handmade, limited collectibility with an unmistakable nostalgia and childlike wonder. It's a balance that has made his 1:1 art pieces sell instantly at art shows, and his more widely available tiny sculptures, called Peeks, become some of the most sought-after pieces in the pop culture art world. Now he's even debuting 'Freeks,' a kind of mixture of the two. A 37-year-old resident of Pigeon, Michigan, Hill admits that he's largely disconnected from the fervor that surrounds his work. 'I still have a hard time believing it,' he said. 'I live in the middle of nowhere. I'm not really connected. I haven't done cons. I haven't done any of that stuff, so it's very easy for me to just be like 'Yeah, like this isn't real.'' But it's very real. Hill has built a relatively small but dedicated fan base that adores his work, covets it, and pays handsomely for it. I should know. I'm one of them. In 2019, I camped out for several days on a street to buy one of Hill's unique pop culture sculptures and continue to collect his work. Oh, and as you read this, there's already a line for Friday's show, which features almost 20 new sculptures, 1/1 APs (artist's proof) of every single Peek ever released (which is about 140 in total), five brand new pieces called Freeks, and more. Below, we talked to Hill about his origins, which included not just Play-Doh but Reddit, and his surprising process—as well as the debut of several new pieces. One you can see above, and here's another. For more details on the show, head over to the Bottleneck Gallery website. Here's our interview with Hill, which has been edited for length. Germain Lussier, io9: Take me back to the beginning. How did you get into art and specifically sculpting? Brad Hill: So I've been doing art since I was little. Drawing was mainly what I'd mess with. I never really sculpted and I didn't take art classes in high school or anything. And I don't know, it was probably like 2010, and my buddy just kind of on a lark, as a thank you for helping him out for something, was like 'Here's this, here's that, and here's a whole bunch of Play-Doh.' It was the small containers. And my first reaction was, 'Okay, thank you. I don't know what to do with this, but thank you.' To show my gratitude I just started sculpting a little head, took a picture of it, and sent it to him. And I was like 'Oh wait, that's kind of fun.' Every day, I'd just wake up and I'd sculpt the head out of Play-Doh. And I was like, 'Well, this isn't sustainable. I can't just keep using Play-Doh.' So I moved on to other air-dry clay, moved on to polymer clay. And at the same time, I had discovered Mike Mitchell's art. This is when he was doing Soul Pancake wallpapers. So I was like, 'I'm gonna try and sculpt some of his stuff.' And by following him I learned more about pop culture art like Gallery 1988. So I was like 'I gonna try doing some of this stuff.' So I posted on Reddit, just for fun. And one day, I think it was a S'more Puffed one, hit the top of Reddit. Like all of Reddit. And that gave me a lot of motivation. I started doing more pop culture stuff and posted on Reddit some more. And they didn't tell me who it was, but they said Slashfilm, so I'm guessing it was Peter [Sciretta], he shot an email over to 1988 and they were like 'Hey, you want to do a show?' I was like, 'I didn't know that was a possibility. I never knew I could go into art galleries.' Then it just snowballed from there. Eventually, I started working with Bottleneck. Note: I worked at Slashfilm around this time and talked to Sciretta about this. He doesn't remember reaching out to Gallery 1988 specifically about Hill but, more likely, someone at the gallery saw Hill's work featured on the site. Here's the first head Hill created. io9: But just being able to sculpt a head out of Play-Doh isn't something most people can do. I can try it, but I have no artistic ability. Tell me a little about your artistic ability and what made something like that even possible? Hill: I guess I can just kind of like picture stuff. When I'm working on a project, before I've even started, I have to be able to visualize it in my head from start to finish. Otherwise, I don't want to start, get lost halfway through, and just abandon it because I don't know what I'm doing. So I guess it's just like knowing to put like an eye socket in. To roll up a little ball. And you learn over time. Like putting a ball in the eye socket isn't a complete process. But you gotta put the eyelids on. You gotta do this. And you know it's been like 10 years. I'm still learning what works and what doesn't. io9: Right. Like I know when you started, your characters were a bit more block-headed in shape and now they're a bit more realistic. So over the last 15 years, how do you think you've developed a style and how has it evolved? Hill: Well, there are still times now where I'm like 'Do I have a style? What do other people think my style is?' Because I'm just kind of making. I don't know how to put that. Like when you talk about the blockheads, those I knew visually worked because it was a blockhead, a little body and then a block base. That, I knew, visually worked. So I stuck with that for maybe a little too long, where I was starting to get a little less cartoony with the style of how I was sculpting. Like early on, I didn't put noses on my sculpts. So, eventually, I was getting more detailed but without a nose, and I was like 'This doesn't work anymore. I got started putting noses on.' Then Funko was doing blockheads by that point and I was like 'Well, they have this cornered.' So I just started evolving. io9: What kind of tools do you use? Hill: Now I have my own little weird set of tools. I've tried them all. All the ones you can find out there. And I've eventually just settled on toothpicks. I just take toothpicks, get some sandpaper and they last a long time. I haven't really had to replace them. Like one toothpick's very narrow, one's very blunt, one's flat. I just sand them to what I need. io9: So you have toothpicks from years ago that you bought like in a grocery store that you still use? Hill: Yeah. io9: That's so crazy. Hill: Yeah. I use a pen, X-Acto knife, and magnifying goggles have definitely helped. They're not great but they help. io9: That's awesome. So if you break one, you would just kind of like sand another one back down? Hill: Yep io9: Wow. I love that. Okay, let's talk about Peeks. Tell me where Peeks came from. Hill: Oh, that I definitely remember. I was living with my parents and they had a bunch of decorative birdhouses. So just to amuse myself, every now and then, I'd pull little pranks and one I thought would be fun was to sculpt a little person and stick them behind the little circle window of a birdhouse. I couldn't figure out how to mount it behind it but I still had to try this somehow. So I got a block of wood, put a hole in it, made the lid— it looked exactly as Peeks do now—and I said 'This kind of works.' Plus you've got to peek through. 'Peeks.' Perfect name, and I think I put like four on Etsy just to see what the reaction would be and they sold. So I was like 'All right, this is money, I guess.' Also, at the time, I was just making one-off figures for galleries. People would go 'I wish I could get it,' but I don't know how to do prints. I'm not a photographer. I can't do pictures of my work. So Peeks were another way of getting more of my work out there. Giving more people the opportunity. io9: Right, so these days, once a month, you sell two Peeks of which you make 18 each. How does that work? Take me through the process of making those. Hill: So I sculpt in polymer clay, then I'd make my molds. I usually end up making like four or five molds just because it takes so long to cast them. I cast them in resin and that whole process, sculpting both Peeks, that's like a week from start of sculpting to getting them molded and cast. Then the next week is when I'll start painting the first character. That's like two days to sculpt the head which is—well, now people know because of the APs I do 19, but I do 18 in the lotteries and I keep one—but two days to paint the head, two days to paint the bodies and then Friday would be whatever I have to catch up on, paint-wise. Then the next week, next character, and at the same time, I have to find time to make the boxes which don't take that long. I can do that in two days, but the boxes, they're a whole separate part. io9: So it basically takes three weeks to do a set of two Peeks. Hill: Yeah. io9: Wow. Tell me about the boxes. Do you have a wood supplier? Where do you get your materials? Hill: It's usually the same stuff over and over. I use the same resin that I've been using since I started, just because it works. I think it's called like Alumilite and Smooth-On for the mold, the silicone, and I just get my wood at Home Depot. I get poplar, sticks of poplar, and I cut them down to, I think it's 38 millimeters at this point. And that's a whole process. I've always meant to document that. Cutting them down to the cube, sanding them, painting them, sanding them again, staining them, sanding them. A lot of repetition in there. io9: While it's going to be exciting for fans who attend the show to see all the Peeks together in one place, and buy old ones they may have missed, let's talk about the other facts of the show too. First, the new sculptures, which all kind of look like they are in a toy box. Where did that idea come from? Hill: I've been following people like Readful Things and Dano Brown, and they're so good at it. But I don't know how to do that with the plastic clam shells and the cardboard backers, so I was like, 'How do I do my version of this?' Which is basically a wooden shadow box but with that fake toy backer. And I love doing that because it gives me such an opportunity to put in inside jokes. It's almost like a cheat sometimes because if I'm unsure of a likeness, like I'm trying my best to nail it, I know I can take comfort in being like I can just write that name right on there. [laughs] There's no questioning it, especially with an accessory. Some people might be like 'Oh, what's that accessory supposed to be?' You just write it on there. It's very helpful. Then like halfway or maybe a third of the way through working on the pieces I realized like 'Oh I can have more fun with the packaging than I'm doing here and so like the Everything Everywhere All at Once piece [note: which you can see above], that was the first one where like I was like 'Oh wait. Why don't I mesh these together?' Like just try and cram two pieces from different multiverses into one. Then I had to plan out how to cut it in half, make it jagged. That kind of stuff is when it really started, 'Like, oh wait. What else can I do? Can I add some lights or some sounds?' io9: Like the Matt Damon from Team America who actually says 'Matt Damon,' right? Hill: Yeah, that was an early thought. I've always wanted to make that because I've made a couple of marionettes and I wanted to make an actual Matt Damon marionette but I don't know how to do that hair. I feel like if you're making a replica of a marionette that's already one, you kind of have to do it exactly or else it looks like a knock-off. It doesn't look right. So when I realized, 'Oh, I could just make a mini marionette for the show, then I can do it in my style and kind of like nail it down and just like make everything on the piece say 'Matt Damon.' io9: I love that. It's so good. And that new group of sculptures in particular definitely shows how your style has evolved. Like they have way more detail than the Peeks and especially your early work. Has the process to do those changed at all? Hill: [The sculptures are] definitely more freeing. Because when I'm sculpting Peeks, I know I have to make them a very specific size. When I sculpt them, I have a little cutout that I'll put them inside to be like 'This fits in here, right? How much space do I have for the body? Where's this gonna land with the window?' But for these, it's all is fair. I can do whatever I want. I don't really stick to a specific scale. Once I start sculpting the head, whatever size the head is, that's what it going to be and I'm gonna work with it. So that's helpful and I can do more dynamic posing because it's hard to mold a dynamic pose the way I do the Peeks. I've always wanted to do an Edward Scissorhands, but I know I can't make a mold of those tiny scissors and crazy hair so this would be the kind of piece where I have that opportunity. I don't have an Edward Scissorhands piece in the show, but for Doug Jones, I wanted to show him in that more kind of dynamic look, with his arms out, his legs kind of stretched, but he is a very physical actor. And for the Doug Jones piece, places like NECA and Sideshow, they're always doing alternative heads. I was like, 'There's gotta be a character or a person that I could do I can give alternate heads to.' I knew Doug Jones would be the perfect fit because I had so many of his characters on my list. io9: So you do have a list? Hill: Yes. I have multiple lists. I have a separate list for Peeks that has gone back to prior stuff. I just keep adding to it. Same for characters for other projects. Any character that I think is visually compelling, even if I'm not familiar, I'll throw them on the list to come back to. So like, the list for this show, I had multiple Doug Jones characters on it and finally I was like 'Oh I could just make Doug Jones and make these alternate heads.' io9: How long is the list of characters you want to make Peeks for? Hill: It's long. It's a long list and in addition to the list I have a folder full of subfolders of reference pics. Because every month, I'll be like 'Maybe I'll do this character,' and I'll grab all the reference photos and put them in a folder. So when, let's say, May 1 rolls around, I'll just open up that folder and be like 'Who looks fun to sculpt this month?' And I'll just grab like six of them, throw them on my desktop and by the time it comes time to sculpt, I'll hopefully have narrowed it down to two. A lot of times, I'll narrow it down to four and it'll be like the morning of, and I'll be like 'Uh, this one.' io9: It sounds like you have a pretty rigid schedule. Hill: Yeah. I've joked before with friends that I could tell you exactly what I'll be doing on October 2. I can tell you what what part of the process I'll be on and I have it in my calendar. This week is sculpt. This week is paint. This week is paint. And then I'll mark what day I'm aiming for to put them up in the lottery and I just do that for every month so I know how to schedule around and I stick to it pretty well. io9: Let's talk Freeks. Bottleneck previously revealed the Jessica Rabbit turned into Greta from Gremlins and I'm debuting Porky Pig into Spider Pig. What are these things in relation to your work and where did this idea come from? Hill: So the idea kind of stretches back years ago, even though I didn't have a name for them. I used to do like an April Fool's post and one year I did a Baby Raptor, but I repainted it as Yoshi, and I put it on there just kind of like 'Oh, this variant is dropping' and blah blah blah. Which, in hindsight, is kind of a mean joke. I felt bad doing it. I did it once more and was like, 'Yeah I'm not doing this anymore.' But then, as I was working on this show, I had a couple of Peeks where as I was sculpting them, I realized one character kind of looks like this other character. I'm gonna make a mental note of that and that's kind of where it started evolving. So there are five different Freeks in the show and there are four of each, and it's just a fun way to kind of like reimagine an old sculpt and use it as a new character. io9: Wrapping things up here, we talked about your humble beginnings on Reddit, at Gallery 1988, the new show at Bottleneck, and over that time we've seen some of your work like Peeks selling for $1,000 while people camp out to buy your art. What has it been like watching and experiencing that success? Hill: I still have a hard time believing it. Like when I see those listings on eBay where they go for a thousand bucks I'm like, 'What? How did this happen?' Like, 'Why?' I don't know. It's still surreal. Probably because I live in the middle of nowhere. I'm not really connected. I haven't done cons. I haven't done any of that stuff. So it's very easy for me to just be like 'Yeah, this isn't real.' Not dismissive, but it's hard to wrap your head around it. So I'm really looking forward to the show because it's the first time I'll see all these things lined up on the walls together. I don't know how to put it. It's very surreal. Thank you so much to Brad Hill and the Bottleneck Gallery for the images and interview. Head to the gallery on Friday night for your first chance to buy Hill's work and sign up for the newsletter for any online leftovers. For all future releases, including the monthly Peek release, follow Brad's Instagram: Sir Create.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
PF Chang's names Brad Hill as new CEO
US-based casual dining restaurant chain PF Chang's has appointed Brad Hill as its new CEO. Hill has been with the company for eight years since 2017 and previously held the roles of chief operating officer (COO) and chief financial officer (CFO), where he enhanced the brand's market presence for sustainable growth. He takes over from Eduardo Luz, who will move into an advisory position until the end of April 2025. Luz stated: "I am very proud to have worked for PF Chang's and its ownership group, Paulson & Company, and TriArtisan Capital Advisors, to position the company for success and to have groomed a strong successor in Brad Hill. I look forward to seeing him excel in this role and wish him the best of luck." Hill added: "I am very excited to step into this new role I have very much aspired to. I look forward to leading this great company and all its dedicated people to new heights as we move forward.' PF Chang has also appointed Corey Robertson as its chief operating officer. Robertson, who has dedicated 18 years to PF Chang's and served as regional vice-president for the Eastern US, will report directly to Hill. Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, PF Chang's was founded in 1993 by Paul Fleming and Philip Chiang. Private equity company TriArtisan Capital Advisors acquired the chain in March 2019. PF Chang's serves Asian fusion cuisine and has more than 300 restaurants in 22 countries and US airport locations. "PF Chang's names Brad Hill as new CEO" was originally created and published by Verdict Food Service, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Massachusetts clears Super Bowl coin toss for wagering
BOSTON (SHNS) – Heads or tails? The Massachusetts Gaming Commission on Thursday voted 3-2 to allow sports betting companies to offer wagers on one of the very first actions to take place at this Sunday's Super Bowl, the opening coin toss. Though commissioners said none of the sportsbooks operating in Massachusetts has asked for the ability to offer coin toss bets, the split vote gives operators the authority to let bettors wager on the result of the coin toss (heads or tails), the coin toss winner (Kansas City Chiefs or Philadelphia Eagles), whether the coin toss winner will win the game, and whether the visiting team correctly calls the coin toss. At around 1:30 p.m., Boston-based DraftKings was already accepting wagers on three of the four coin toss-related situations that the commission authorized. A $1 bet on the coin flip outcome could return $2 for bettors who pick correctly. 'This was an issue that we actually took up a year ago, and on a 3-2 vote it was decided that we would not allow these Super Bowl prop wagers. I think after witnessing last year's coin toss, and to my knowledge — and please correct me if I'm wrong — there was no problem with betting integrity that took place. I looked in all the jurisdictions and I Googled as many news articles as I could to see if any betting integrity [issues] took place,' Commissioner Brad Hill, who made the motion Thursday, said. 'There are other prop bets, like the Gatorade color over the coach, the national anthem length, and we, of course, decided we didn't want to go that far. But I think the coin toss is something we should be revisiting.' Commissioners Eileen O'Brien and Nakisha Skinner, both of whom were opposed to allowing coin flip betting a year ago, dissented again Thursday. Skinner raised issues with the process by which Hill brought the idea forward to be added to the catalog of events that can be bet on absent a request from a sportsbook. O'Brien voiced more policy-focused objections, including that no operator had made the request. 'The other part of the reason is we've had a number of non-compliance events where they're not even sure what's properly in the catalog or not. I'm not exactly for adding more, especially when they haven't asked for it. Nor am I particularly convinced it's going to drive up revenue, or am I concerned it's going to go into the black market, or people crossing the [state] line. When you talk to people in [responsible gambling] circles, most of the people going back into illegal markets are people being limited, not people on a small bet like this.' Commissioner Paul Brodeur, who has joined the commission since last year's vote on the topic, said he was in favor of allowing bets on the coin toss because 'I think it is something that that a certain segment of the market is looking for.' 'My sense is that it is very safe, not something that can be gamed,' he said. Chairman Jordan Maynard was also supportive of the idea 'because I do think people are betting on that coin toss.' Hill said he was compelled to bring the idea up at Thursday's commission meeting after being heckled while working his weekend job as a basketball referee. 'Usually when you're running up and down the court, you're getting yelled at because you made a bad call. Well, a couple of weeks ago, I was running up and down the court and someone yelled from the stands, 'Are we going to be able to bet on the coin flip at the Super Bowl?' So I stopped immediately, looked right at him, and he was as serious as serious could be,' Hill said. 'I couldn't believe that I would be in my referee clothes and they would recognize me as a commissioner. And then only a few days later, I went to a local watering hole down in Ipswich, and I wasn't even in there five minutes, and another patron came and asked the very same question, if they would be able to bet on the coin toss.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
