Hey Amarillo

A conversation with Meaghan Collier, the communications and marketing manager for the Amarillo campus of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center . Collier was recently named 2025 Volunteer of the Year at the Brickly Awards. A native of Canyon, she spent several years as a local television journalist with KAMR 4 Local News. Locals recognize her from that career, but may not know that she s...

A conversation with Greg Lusk, the executive director of Amarillo Botanical Gardens , a four-acre oasis near Medi-Park. Lusk is a trained horticulturalist, and right out of college he worked as the private gardener for legendary local businessman T. Boone Pickens. More recently, Lusk has spent the past decade with the Botanical Gardens, leading that organization through a period of growth thanks t...

A conversation with Marcee Mangiameli, who owns and operates the new Lesson Lounge in Amarillo along with her husband Taylor. This music education co-working space allows multiple music teachers to give lessons on a variety of instruments, offering a relatively new concept in Amarillo. Most of the instructors are local performers in the live music scene. A pianist herself, Marcee shares with host...

A conversation with Lindsay London Baker, a registered nurse and one of the founders of the Amarillo Reproductive Freedom Alliance (ARFA), a local nonprofit formed, in part, to oppose the City of Amarillo's sanctuary city ordinance in 2024. When voters voted against Prop A last November, Amarillo became the first city in the United States to reject an abortion travel ban proposition. Lindsay share...

A conversation with Chris Griffin, who owns Blue Crane Bakery with his wife, Donna. The Griffin family recently were named Entrepreneurs of the Year in the Brickly Awards, and have built a reputation at Blue Crane not just for unique Keto-friendly, vegan and gluten-free baked goods, but for community involvement. In this episode, Chris tells host Jason Boyett about his transition from the Fort Wor...

A conversation with Keralee Clay, the Interim President and CEO of the Amarillo Area Foundation . She's been part of the AAF team for years, but stepped into her new role after the passing of Clay Stribling in December 2024. Keralee has a deep background in operations and management, but her career has also been broad. She spent several years working for Amarillo Little Theatre and the Amarillo Ci...

A conversation with Tony Ensor, the President and General Manager of the Amarillo Sod Poodles , the Double-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks and baseball's 2023 Minor League Organization of the Year. Before Amarillo, Ensor led the front office of the Colorado Springs Sky Sox and the Birmingham Barons. The first time he appeared on Hey Amarillo (via phone) was in 2019 at the height of the loc...

A conversation with Stephani Serna, who lives in Amarillo but works for Porsche Financial Services . Stephani grew up in Amarillo but was born in Mexico, which means she spent most of her childhood in the High Plains without legal immigration status. A DACA recipient, Stephani grew up in extreme poverty and spent her childhood navigating the anxiety of deportation while also serving as a language...

A conversation with Jim Dewitz, the local owner/operator (along with his wife, Candy) of Big Jim's Pizza , the iconic KN Root Beer , and the Tascosa Drive-In Theater . Originally from the Chicago area, Dewitz came to Amarillo in his late teens, then built a career in construction and apartment management before ending up an owner of the La Bella Pizza on Olsen. He rebranded it as Big Jim's—and soo...

A conversation with Carter Estes, the executive director (and first full-time staff member) of Elevate Amarillo , a nonprofit dedicated to connecting young professionals through networking, professional development, and community service. Estes is also a City of Amarillo employee, having served in multiple positions since earning a Masters of Public Policy at the prestigious Harvard Kennedy School...

A conversation with Elizabeth Pakravan, the founder and executive director of Martha Root Community Building , a nonprofit that equips children and their parents in underserved communities. Originally from Paraguay, Pakravan spent several years in Oregon before moving to Amarillo two years ago. She is a member of the Bahá'í faith, and her work reflects the promotion of unity and betterment of soci...

A conversation with Matthew Wright, an Amarillo-based Assistant Federal Public Defender for the Northern District of Texas . This past summer, Wright argued a landmark case before the U.S. Supreme Court, United States vs. Rahimi , related to firearm possession by individuals who are subject to domestic violence restraining orders. And though the Court decided against his client, the outcome made h...

A conversation with Ben Parks, the founder and "sound wrangler" of American Cowboy Radio and a former locomotive engineer for BNSF Railway. American Cowboy Radio streams worldwide from West Texas, with the goal of preserving and promoting what Parks calls "the authentic American cowboy way of life." Prior to this career and his locomotive career, Parks spent part of two decades managing the legend...

A conversation with Lora Brown, a long-time Amarillo stylist and the owner/operator of  The Salon by Lora Brown . Brown grew up in Amarillo, started her career at 17, and opened her first salon in 1996. With nearly four decades in the industry, she has built a reputation as one of the city's best luxury salons. In this conversation with host Jason Boyett, Brown shares about her early entrepreneuri...

A conversation with Jeff Jarnagin, a veteran performer at Amarillo Little Theatre and the social media manager for Brick & Elm Magazine . Jarnagin grew up in Wildorado and spent 17 years on staff at ALT before moving to Los Angeles at the age of 40 to pursue an acting career. After two years in Hollywood, he began feeling "off," and returned to Amarillo to a cancer diagnosis. Since then, Jeff has...

A conversation with Abby Moldenhauer, a former circus performer and the founder of Flying Fitness in Amarillo, a fitness studio which teaches aerial arts. Moldenhauer grew up in Canyon before leaving to join the circus—literally—after having trained to become a performer specializing in aerial silks. She traveled for years with Ringling Bros. and other shows until injuries sustained in a carjackin...

A conversation with Ruthie Landelius, a local chef, culinary educator, and the proprietor of Black Fig Food . She's also a food contributor to Brick & Elm Magazine and the Flavorillo email newsletter. A self-taught chef, Ruthie is known for her visual and artistic approach to food, for using food to build community, and for the elevated menus she creates for local events—from intimate weddings to...

A conversation with Andy Justus , a long-time broadcast journalist and the co-anchor of Studio 4 and KAMR Local 4 News at 5, 6, and 10. A graduate of West Texas A&M, Andy has been in local news since he first joined KAMR in 1997. In this episode, he tells host Jason Boyett about growing up in poverty, moving constantly during childhood due to evictions, and how he convinced his single mother that...

A conversation with Naomi Vang, the owner/operator of S.E.A. Market Oriental Food in Amarillo. A refugee from Myanmar (Burma), Vang arrived in the area as a child after her family faced displacement due to political instability and oppression from the military regime that gained control over their country. Her family is part of the Chin ethnic group from the mountainous part of western Myanmar. Sh...

A conversation with Jason Mays , Fire Chief of the Amarillo Fire Department. An Amarillo native, Mays grew up in the River Road community and has been with AFD since 1999. He is the 10th fire chief in the history of the fire department, which dates back to 1897. He succeeded Fire Chief Jeff Greenlee in April 2020, and prior to this position had served as Deputy Chief of Operations. Mays shares wit...

A conversation with Maile Srader, the proprietor of Purposeful Play Busy Bags , an educational supply store near 34th & Georgia in Westhaven Village. This storefront offers sensory bins, learning binders and fidgets for families, teachers, therapists and more, based on materials Srader developed and used during her teaching career and then as a homeschooling parent. In this episode, she tells host...

A conversation with Tom Martin, the CEO of Milo Insulation of Texas . His company manufactures an innovative home insulation product called MILEX, made from grain sorghum grown in the Panhandle and produced at a facility in Tulia. In this episode, Martin explains to host Jason Boyett his journey from south Texas to Iowa to Amarillo, his shift from a career in education to one in farm exports, how...

A conversation with Tia Marie Hunt , a donor relations coordinator at West Texas A&M University and a singer-songwriter who'll be performing at this weekend's Hoodoo Mural Festival . Tia Marie shares with host Jason Boyett about her journey to the area after having grown up in Jasper, Texas, her transition from singing at church to performing for secular audiences, and what role Amarillo might pla...

A conversation with Will Krause, the festival director for HOODOO Mural Festival (Sept. 28, 2024) and a long-time promoter and producer. Will was a partner in Austin's Euphoria Music Festival for several years and continues to work as a production manager for SXSW. As a promoter, he recently brought Hayden Pedigo, Kristen Key and Charley Crockett to Amarillo for shows at the Globe News Center. Kra...

A conversation with Jim Wilson , the legendary piano technician, award-winning recording artist and author of Tuned In: Memoirs of a Piano Man . Wilson grew up in 1970s Amarillo before heading to Southern California to pursue a music career. He ended up becoming a "piano tuner for the stars" before helping develop the highly influential MIDI-adapter for the acoustic piano, and then composing and r...