Hey Amarillo

A conversation with Dr. James Avery Rush IV, MD, who goes by the nickname "Jave." A psychiatrist, he shares with host Jason Boyett about the impact of COVID on local residents' mental health, plus his work with elderly dementia patients and a vital new facility coming to Amarillo. He also gives insight into the reason he and his family—including his high-achieving younger brothers and his father—h...

A conversation with Robyn Bilson, owner of the creative branding agency Hatched Studio . She found her way into her marketing business by way of the fashion world, after launching and learning to market Semblance boutique (now closed) several years ago. With host Jason Boyett, she shares about introducing some of Austin to Amarillo, the state of women's fashion, and why more and more women-owned b...

A conversation with Clay Stribling, President/CEO of the Amarillo Area Foundation . A Hereford native and former attorney with Brown and Furtunato, Stribling guides this community foundation as it serves the Texas Panhandle, from supporting nonprofits to matching donors with community needs. Clay shares with host Jason Boyett his path into this unique position and why AAF has invested so heavily i...

A conversation with the Rev. E. Courtney Jones of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church . A former science teacher at Boys Ranch High School, Courtney took on a full-time role as, in her words, "some sort of minister" during the pandemic. She and host Jason Boyett discuss Courtney's long, winding path into the ministry from Amarillo to Austin and back to Amarillo, including how she began deconstructing he...

A conversation with Scott Buchanan of Yellow City Street Food (YCSF). Half of the husband-wife team behind this high-profile restaurant, Scott combines an impressive chef's resume with a punk-rock personality and passion for food. In this episode, he shares with host Jason Boyett about his journey through the Amarillo and Austin restaurant worlds, the YCSF origin story, and why Amarillo needs to k...

RERELEASE: A conversation with Patrick Miller , a local educator and the newly elected president of the Amarillo chapter of the NAACP. Also a member of the Amarillo College Board of Regents, Patrick became the youngest person ever elected to the Board in 2015. In this interview, he tells host Jason Boyett why he got into local politics and discusses his work with refugees at Whittier and Travis. T...

RERELEASE: A conversation with Jodi Thomas , a best-selling novelist and member of the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. An Amarillo native, Jodi has written more than 50 books, from historical romances to contemporary fiction—and many are set in Texas and the Texas Panhandle. With host Jason Boyett, she shares her writing process, how her career began, and why this area is so significant t...

RERELEASE: A conversation with Dr. Ryan Pennington, founder and director of the Refugee Language Project . A linguist by profession, Pennington moved to Amarillo after several years working in Papua New Guinea. Here he discovered an extraordinary refugee population—and set about trying to remove the barriers that kept these residents from success. He and host Jason Boyett talk about Pennington's c...

RERELEASE: A conversation with Kristin Babbitt, the entrepreneur behind Dotsy's Boutique in Wolflin Square. Women's fashion is big business in Amarillo, and Dotsy's has carved out a large and loyal following despite tons of local competition. With host Jason Boyett, Kristin shares how she started her boutique, her plans for the future, and why social media remains so central to Dotsy's success. Th...

RERELEASE: A conversation with architect Mason Rogers of Playa Design Studio , the firm behind several high-profile construction projects in Amarillo—including the Six Car/Crush building on Polk and the new Ronald McDonald House . With host Jason Boyett, Mason talks about the city's architectural history, whether or not Amarillo has a particular "style," and what he thinks the future holds for dev...

RERELEASE: A conversation with Stevi Larson, special events coordinator at Sharing Hope Ministry . After years of addiction to heroin, Stevi found herself in the state prison system. During her incarceration, she got in touch with Sharing Hope, based in Amarillo. Stevi tells host Jason Boyett about her past mistakes, why she came to Amarillo after her release, and how Patsy's Place helped Stevi es...

Due to the current COVID-19 surge in Amarillo and the increasing difficulty of safe, in-person interviews during this moment, Hey Amarillo is going on a brief hiatus. The next few weeks of episodes will feature re-releases of past interviews from the first year of the podcast. In this 5-minute announcement, host Jason Boyett explains this decision.

A conversation with Scarlett Burke , the star, co-creator, director and executive producer of Make It Up as We Go , a new scripted podcast featuring Dennis Quaid, Billy Bob Thornton and others. Born in Amarillo, Scarlett lived in Canyon before leaving to pursue acting, modeling and songwriting. In this episode, she shares with host Jason Boyett about growing up in Canyon, living in L.A. during the...

A conversation with Tremaine Brown of Shi-Lee's Barbecue and Soul Food Cafe . During the pandemic, Tremaine prepared and gave out nearly 90,000 free lunches to local kids. Then he picked up tens of thousands of pounds of trash from north Amarillo neighborhoods. His activism and generosity aren't new, but 2020 offered him an unprecedented opportunity to serve the city he calls home. In this episode...

A conversation with Dallas Bell, owner and operator of Burrowing Owl Books , an independent bookstore with two locations. She and her family arrived here from North Carolina when her husband accepted a pediatrics position with Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Three years ago, they opened their first bookstore on the Square in Canyon, and recently expanded to Amarillo. Dallas speaks wi...

A conversation with Jason Herrick, president of Pantera Energy Company and president of the political action committee Amarillo Matters . An Amarillo native, Jason's lived and worked in Europe before he returned to lead his family's oil and gas company. He shares with host Jason Boyett about his career and his ongoing volunteer efforts with opportunities that impact Amarillo's future, like the Tex...

A conversation with Nikki Green of Two for the Road, the PBS travel and adventure show she created and cohosts with her husband, Dusty. Nikki tells host Jason Boyett about growing up in Claude, quitting her orthodontic career in her 30s to travel the world, and how COVID-19 has impacted production of their show, which just released its fourth season. Nikki also shares how she and Dusty split produ...

A conversation with Jason Barrett, owner of The 806 Coffee + Lounge and an active community leader in the San Jacinto neighborhood and 6th Street Historic District. The 806 is a coffee shop and vegetarian restaurant specializing in art and live music—and has had enormous influence since it launch in 2007. With host Jason Boyett, Barrett tells the origin story of The 806, details a few of its early...

A conversation with Jasmine Taylor, owner and operator of the new Oh My Fro Lash Co. , an online business based in Amarillo. A former 911 dispatcher and college basketball player, Taylor finally launched her business in the middle of the pandemic after years of dreaming and planning. With host Jason Boyett, she shares about the challenges of being a business owner, the state of Black-owned busines...

A conversation with Dr. Paul Matney , the retired past president of Amarillo College. A longtime educator, Matney spent more than three decades teaching media and communications students at WT and AC—while also serving as a weekend weatherman, a baseball umpire, and the face of AC within the larger community. He shares with host Jason Boyett about the broad scope of his career in education, and wh...

A conversation with Melynn Huntley, Elections Administrator for Potter County . With a little over a month before an enormously consequential presidential election, Melynn speaks with host Jason Boyett about her wide-ranging career. How did a former graphic designer end up managing elections—and how will it work during a pandemic? Most importantly, she shares what's on her mind as she coordinates...

A conversation with Teresa Kenedy, president of the Barrio Neighborhood Planning Committee and a retired social worker with Amarillo ISD. Teresa tells host Jason Boyett about growing up as a member of the only Hispanic and Catholic family in a small mountain town. Upon arriving in Amarillo for college, she found a much more robust Hispanic culture—and has since become a community organizer working...

A conversation with Ali Ramos, a graphic designer and Amarillo native who just graduated with a master's degree in social work from Columbia University. Ali is also a board member for NMD United , a national organization advocating for individuals with neuromuscular disabilities. She shares with host Jason Boyett about growing up with a physical disability, embracing an accidental leadership role...

A conversation with Bowden Jones Jr., Executive Vice President and Chief Consumer Officer at FirstBank Southwest . Bowden is involved with a variety of community nonprofits and is one of the creators of the Northside Toy Drive. He shares with host Jason Boyett about his military-kid upbringing, coming Amarillo after having lived in Panama, how he stumbled into a successful banking career, and why...

A conversation with Austin Sutter, executive director of the Amarillo Hockey Association . A native of Red Deer, Alberta, he tells host Jason Boyett about arriving in Amarillo 15 years ago as a professional hockey player and deciding to stay even after his playing career ended. He believes Amarillo is on the verge of becoming a thriving hockey city and explains how the Amarillo Ice Ranch—a year-ro...