2024 Speakers & Celebrities

Mark Bowe worked his way through West Virginia University as a coal miner, earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He is a craftsman, a businessman, a historian, and a passable break-dancer (if you give him enough room). Mark also holds a master’s degree in safety management from WVU's College of Business.

Mark Bowe began his career as a coal miner and he keeps his blue-collar roots close to his heart and in everything he does. In 1996, Mark created his business, Barnwood Living, where he & his crew rescue pioneer-era structures and give them new life. Mark took this business and went on to host and star in the 15-seasons-strong Magnolia Network (formerly DIY) hit tv show 'Barnwood Builders.'

Commanding households around the globe, Mark’s antics and ability to connect with real people, no matter their walk of life, secures the popularity of this docu-series that was the most-watched show in the DIY network’s history. The series maintains a top spot on the Magnolia Network, as well as home on the MAX streaming platform with over 97 million subscribers worldwide. Mark has expanded Barnwood Living as a lifestyle brand including men’s gifts, apparel and home goods. These products embody the spirit of hard work, kindness, and pride In a job well done.

Over a career spanning thirty years, Mark has built and explored, pushed limits and discovered that the route to success is often outside the box. He’s honed traditional old-world skills and had the fortune to work on exceptional projects. Mark has replaced a slate roof on Andrew Johnson’s house, hand-blown glass, made bricks, built houses without a single nail, hand-cut stone from a cliffside to erect a chimney, made cedar shakes, and forged his own tools in the blacksmith shop he built. Mark has stood inside Native American cliff dwellings that less than 100 people have visited in 10,000 years and discovered Finnish settlements in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Uncovering the how and why—reanimating history not just explaining it—is what ignites Mark, and it’s what keeps his audience leaning in to see more.

In resurrecting the past, Mark lights on ways to build for the future. He has repurposed a shipping container as a log cabin and invented a folding house. He holds the patent on a R300, tornado-proof, hurricane-proof, and fireproof house design. Mark seeks to change the way we think about housing and shelter forever, but to do that, he returns to the past again and again to find the way forward.

Mark is simultaneously a fierce businessman and soulful philosopher, with a penchant for a good punchline. He is a storyteller, rooted firmly in the stories of his own rise, a laborer, still cleaning the dirt from his fingernails, and a seer with a keen eye for what’s next.  He’s a natural charmer who can read a room, or a person, in a split-second. His secret? Paying attention to the details and looking for the connections. This isn’t unrelated to his ability to uncover the stories in the walls of our oldest human dwellings. It’s all connected, which is the main concept of what’s behind everything Mark does.

Appearing live on stage Friday, October 11 at 6 pm and Saturday, October 12 at 11 am and 2 pm

In today’s world we are bombarded with information & stuff! So, there is clutter everywhere – on our phones & computers, desktops & countertops, bedrooms & basements, closets & cupboards… We crave being free of the clutter and fantasize about being organized but it feels impossible. Marla Dee is here to change that. As a professional organizer for 25 years, Marla has seen the pain!

With contagious enthusiasm and stories from real clients, Marla shares her belief that living organized is a skill anyone can learn. Why bother learning this skill? Because getting organized frees you to be present for what matters most. Her Clear & Simple Steps teach where to start, what to do and how to keep it up. Once you learn the steps, you can master the skill of organizing and use this skill for the rest of your life!

Marla is a master messenger, an international speaker, and has trained students from 9 countries. She has appeared on numerous TV, radio and podcast programs throughout the years. She is the author of “Get Organized, The Clear & SIMPLE Way” and “The ART of LettingGo” and others.

If you are ready for a change, Marla will set you free of the clutter and chaos at last! 

Appearing live on stage Friday, October 11 at 4 pm and Saturday, October 12 at 12 pm and 6 pm

https://clearsimple.com/