Off the Bench with Ben Edtl

His son was asked to write a sexual fantasy as a school writing assignment. Ben Edtl woke up during 2020 and has been challenging the status quo ever since. Business owner, active dad, and founder of FREE Oregon joins me today to share his #offthebench stories.

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Meet The Guest

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Ben was born and raised in Portland’s inner city. His family, all liberal, led careers in public education. His family, from early on, exposed him to current events and political interests, but his ideology developed in opposition of his family’s. In 1996, the year of his 18th birthday, Ben registered as a Republican and joined the Multnomah County Young Republicans where he became Vice Chair. He participated in the Kevin Mannix gubernatorial campaign and helped to pass Measure 11.

Ben adopted the value of education from his family. But he believed in the American Dream. After one year of college, Ben dropped out of school to start his first business. He became a serial entrepreneur and for the next 20 years his career would take him on an incredible adventure through many different industries.

In 2018 Ben took over a struggling coffee roastery. Filled with optimism, he and his family worked to turn the small business around. By Spring of 2020 business was promising. He owned cafes in Downtown, Northeast and Southeast Portland. His roastery served specialty cafes from Portland to Las Vegas and high profile accounts like the Portland Art Museum.

But to his shock, in March of 2020 the State of Oregon issued emergency orders barring customers from visiting restaurants. Take-out was allowed, but the government order implied, without basis, that it was dangerous to patron cafes. Within a 72 hour period all of his wholesale accounts closed. The coffee supply chain was nearly destroyed and after nearly a year of lockdowns, lawlessness and uncertainty, Ben was forced to permanently close in November, 2020.

With nothing more to lose and inspired to fight back against government overreach, Ben founded Free Oregon in January 2021.

All Things Heidi

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Heidi St. John
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About Heidi St. John

Heidi has been married to her husband Jay since 1989. Together they have seven children and three grandchildren! The St. Johns homeschooled their kids all the way through high school. Heidi is the the author of seven books, host of the popular podcast "Off the Bench," and the founder of MomStrong International, an online community of women learning God's Word and how to apply it to every day life. She and her husband Jay are also the founders of Firmly Planted Family and the Firmly Planted Homeschool Resource Center, located in Vancouver, Washington.