Hey Amarillo

A conversation with Dr. Priscella Correa , Assistant Professor of Nursing at West Texas A&M University. Originally from southwest Kansas, Correa entered nursing after seeing the ways her parents were treated by the medical profession. She tells host Jason Boyett how she now hopes to educate the next generation of nurses to provide care without bias. Correa is just one of 12 Texans chosen this year...

A conversation with Eric Jenkins, Chief Executive Officer of Education Credit Union . Jenkins has been working in the credit union world for decades, but only came to ECU—and Amarillo—in 2019. He's originally from South Carolina and spent the last several years in Atlanta. He shares with host Jason Boyett about his decision to move to Amarillo, what impresses him about this community, and what rol...

A conversation with Vicki Wilmarth , an employment law attorney and business transactions lawyer with more than 30 years in the business. With host Jason Boyett, Wilmarth details the challenges local businesses have faced over the past two years, and also helps explain the worker shortages that persist today. Vicki is also a passionate birder and photographer , and shares why the Texas Panhandle i...

A conversation with Joe Bill Sherrod , the Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Amarillo College and Executive Director of the AC Foundation. What those two lengthy titles mean is that, among other duties, Sherrod serves as an institutional fundraising professional. He spent several years in a similar role for WTAMU, preceded by careers in personal insurance and youth ministry. In this c...

A conversation with Glenda Moore, the proprietor of Kind House Ukraine Bakery , an Amarillo nonprofit that has been raising money for Ukraine since 2014. A former elementary teacher and assistant principal, Moore fell in love with Ukraine and its people after a mission trip. She began baking to raise money for Ukrainians in need, and eventually left her education career to manage Kind House full t...

A conversation with Stephen Crandall , the newly named artistic director for the TEXAS Outdoor Musical. Currently finishing up a career as Department Head and Professor of Theatre at WTAMU, Crandall will assume his new leadership position for the 56th season of the storied musical in Palo Duro Canyon. In this episode, Crandall shares with host Jason Boyett about his acting career before WT, his po...

A conversation with Gayle Callahan, the President and CEO of Plains Plumbing . After a multi-faceted career that included a stint as a corporate pilot, Gayle assumed leadership of a multi-generational family business after her husband's death from cancer. Today, the Amarillo-based Plains Plumbing serves customers from Georgia to California. In this episode, Gayle shares with Jason Boyett about her...

A conversation with Katie Wieck, the broker/owner of Wieck Realty . After growing up in and around a variety of Amarillo schools, Katie got into the real estate business within a year of her high school graduation. Incredibly, she bought her first home at the age of 19. In this episode, Wieck tells host Jason Boyett how she got into the business, why she decided to become a broker, and what's happ...

A conversation with John Forbis , coordinator of district communications for Canyon ISD. A former teacher and administrator, Forbis arrived in Amarillo several years ago after working in the Metroplex and in Bryan/College Station. He and his family ended up falling in love with this area. Forbis shares with host Jason Boyett details about the new West Plains High School, how he uses social media t...

A conversation with Strecia McCaig, owner of On Target Amarillo and an honorably retired sergeant with the Amarillo Police Department. After 26 years of service with APD, McCaig opened a firearms training business that specializes in teaching women how to shoot or hunt. With host Jason Boyett, she shares about being one of just a few female officers at APD, her path from patrol officer to sergeant...

A conversation with Trevor Caviness, the president of Caviness Beef Packers , a multi-generational family business that processes nearly a million head of cattle per year. Despite being privately owned, Caviness is one of the largest beef-packing businesses in the United States, with products sold around the world. In this conversation with host Jason Boyett, Trevor discusses his decision to work...

A conversation with Marcie Steward, a local entrepreneur and minister who works at Park Central . Marcie grew up in Amarillo, dropped out of high school, and became homeless—as a single mother—before getting back on her feet through the assistance of Martha's Home. With host Jason Boyett, Marcie shares how she overcame those challenges through a combination of grit, faith, and the safety net Marth...

A conversation with Charles D'Amico, the owner-operator of local Jimmy John's locations and the proprietor of Blue Handle Publishing and Book Puma . D'Amico grew up in Detroit but moved his family to Amarillo when he saw an opportunity to buy three existing franchise locations. He tells host Jason Boyett why he specifically chose this area to sell sandwiches, why he writes thrillers and started an...

A conversation with Suzanne Talley, the executive director of the 100 Club of the Texas Panhandle , an organization that helps the families of local firefighters and peace officers who are killed in the line of duty. Before that, she spent 17 years as the executive director of Coffee Memorial Blood Center . Suzanne tells host Jason Boyett about her two decades in the nonprofit world, how the 100 C...

A conversation with Lance Garza, owner of Bitter Buffalo Records and one of the partners at Caliche . Lance grew up in Amarillo before departing during his high school years. But in 2020, at the height of the pandemic, he and his wife decided to move back here from Chicago. More than a year later, Lance tells host Jason Boyett about the growth and opportunity he recognized in Amarillo—especially w...

In a special year-end episode, Hey Amarillo host Jason Boyett and editor Angelina Marie answer listener-submitted questions about the podcast, including surprises during recording, Jason's vocal tics, how he chooses guests, what Angelina edits out, and a lot more. They also discuss Amarillo itself: local "hidden gems," their individual Amarillo-related worries, and what their dreams are for the ci...

Jason's father, Mike Boyett, passed away on December 16, 2021, after a year-long journey with cancer. As a result, there will not be a new Hey Amarillo episode this week. Instead, host Jason Boyett has recorded a quick message for listeners. Read Mike Boyett's obituary here . Contribute to the T. Mike Boyett Memorial Scholarship Fund here .

A conversation with Jim Whitton, who is officially retired but has made enormous contributions helping connect Storybridge to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. Jim has had an incredibly diverse career, from international banking to talent representation in New York City to marketing at Hastings in the 1990s, followed by a lengthy tenure with The Hunger Project . He tells host Jason Boyett about...

A conversation with Claudia Stuart, recently named Distinguished Alumni at West Texas A&M University. Decades ago, she became WT's first full-time, African American female faculty member and authored several books, including  African Americans in Amarillo , which she cowrote. In this conversation with host Jason Boyett, Stuart shares about growing up in Germany, being one of the first Black studen...

A conversation with Angela Workman, the proprietor of Aunt Eek's Books & Curiosities on historic 6th Street in Amarillo. Angela grew up in rural Amarillo, married early and left town. She eventually found her way back to Amarillo, where she spent time in the antiques world and working in temp agencies. Last year, during the pandemic, she opened the popular Aunt Eek's with a desire to create someth...

A conversation with Jill Goodrich, the executive director of Opportunity School . A native of Nebraska, Jill first came to Amarillo as an intern during her college years. She then spent the first decades of her career in marketing and communications—work that eventually brought her back to Amarillo. In this conversation with host Jason Boyett, Jill shares how she found her way into the nonprofit w...

A conversation with Natalie Schlabs , a Nashville singer-songwriter who grew up in Hereford and spent the first few years of her music career in Amarillo. After working in the food and catering for a few years, Schlabs eventually moved to Nashville to take her burgeoning music career more seriously. In this episode, she tells host Jason Boyett about getting her start singing in church, the early i...

A conversation with the Honorable Judge Doug Woodburn of the 108th District Court in Potter County. A long-time family law attorney before his election in 2008, Woodburn is nearing his retirement. In this conversation with host Jason Boyett, he shares why he committed so much time to family law, why he decided to run for judge several terms ago, and how the actual courtroom differs from what we se...

A conversation with Susan Sherali, a third-year medical student and one of nine Afghani siblings who arrived as refugees in 2000. Susan and her family fled the Taliban and happened to end up in Amarillo—and two decades later, continue to love living here. Susan tells host Jason Boyett about learning English at Lamar Elementary and First Baptist Church, practicing her Islamic faith in a predominant...

A conversation with Brady Clark, the co-founder and executive director of Square Mile Community Development , an organization working to bring long-term improvements to the San Jacinto neighborhood. A former pastor and veteran nonprofit consultant, Brady spent several years working in inner-city Dallas before returning to his hometown. He tells host Jason Boyett about growing up in Amarillo's 1990...