Hey Amarillo

A conversation with Linda Hughes, a former Globe-News Woman of the Year and a pioneer of local children's theater. Linda was a professional ice skater who performed all over the U.S. in the 1960s before returning home to Amarillo, after which she helped launch children's theater programs at ALT and then Amarillo College. On the eve of her retirement, Linda tells host Jason Boyett about sharing the...

A conversation with Dyron Howell, the founder of Snack Pak 4 Kids . A Clarendon native who had been living and working in the Metroplex, Dyron returned to this area in 2010. He started feeding hungry kids almost immediately. Today SP4K serves more than 10,000 children every year. Dyron tells host Jason Boyett the mostly unknown story of how his organization began, and how Dyron managed its growth...

A conversation with Jake McWhorter, the lead arborist for Arborlogical Inc. Jake is a long-time outdoorsman and the only International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Board Certified Master Arborist in the region. A university-educated tree expert, Jake grew up in Amarillo—a place with very few trees. (While outsiders lament our lack of trees, locals learn to cherish every tree.) With host Jason Bo...

A conversation with Lanitra Barringer, the co-founder and executive director of the College Success Initiative , which grew out of an annual college bus tour for economically disadvantaged students in Amarillo. A former teacher, Lanitra talks with host Jason Boyett about reluctantly moving to Amarillo in 6th grade, about her own educational journey, and about the value of helping local students se...

A conversation with Stephanie Tucker, the general manager and owner of two of Amarillo's professional sports franchises. She runs the Amarillo Venom —the local indoor football team—and is launching the brand-new US Arena Soccer League as owner of FC Amarillo. Stephanie and host Jason Boyett talk about the business of sports, her failures as a track athlete and farmer, and why so many pros want to...

A conversation with Ray Wilson, who dropped out of high school and worked for Domino's Pizza before building a successful local IT business ( CatManDu ). And then Ray stepped away from the business. Today he owns and operates High Fidelity Records on Sixth Street. He and host Jason Boyett discuss Ray's winding path from high school dropout to CEO to selling vintage vinyl—and how he found happiness...

A conversation with Amy Henderson, a commercial loan officer with Amarillo National Bank who specializes in small business. An Air Force veteran, Amy grew up in Wisconsin but moved here after her military service, deciding to raise her family in Amarillo. She and host Jason Boyett discuss the local climate for small businesses, her career at ANB, her prestigious position on Governor Abbott's Commi...

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 the Amarillo-based Sharing Hope. That connection brought Stevi to Amarillo following her release. She spent time at Patsy's Place Transitional Home, worked two jobs, beat her addic...

A conversation with Travis Tidmore, a local attorney and one of the co-owners of Yellow City Comic Con , the largest annual fandom convention in the Texas Panhandle. With host Jason Boyett, Travis shares about his unique officeless law practice, the robust local "nerd culture," and why the celebrity guests who attend Yellow City Comic Con always want to come back to Amarillo.  This episode is spon...

A conversation with Colin Cummings, one of the founders and co-owners of the new Six Car Pub & Brewery in downtown Amarillo. A U.S. Army veteran who lived in Oregon and Alaska before returning to his hometown, Colin is that rare combination of entrepreneur and free spirit. He is as passionate about composting and bike commuting as he is revitalizing downtown, and in the process has become one of t...

A conversation with Julio Salazar, a local college student and a "Dreamer"—a beneficiary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA). He works full-time, is pursuing a degree, and wants to invest his talents in this community. But Julio is one of 700,000 illegal immigrants in danger of deportation because of decisions their parents made. Julio tells their story, and his story, and...

A conversation with Patrick Miller, a local educator who became, at 25, the youngest person ever elected to the Amarillo College Board of Regents. Also a board member of the Amarillo chapter of the NAACP, Patrick joins host Jason Boyett to discuss how and why he got into local politics, his work with refugees at Whittier and Travis, and the huge role Amarillo College plays in the local economy. Th...

A conversation with John Petty, who left an engineering career in the 1990s to open The Bagel Place , now an extremely popular breakfast and lunch eatery. With host Jason Boyett, John talks about his dramatic career shift, how he introduced Amarillo to bagels in the first place, and how The Bagel Place actually benefited when a national bagel chain showed up. (The chain only lasted a year in Amari...

A conversation with Alex Hunt, the director of the Center for the Study of the American West  at West Texas A&M University. A student of Panhandle history, Dr. Hunt is fascinated by Amarillo's connection with the West and the American frontier. We discuss everything from ranching and local hiking trails to how Amarillo's refugee population today compares to the original pioneers in the 1800s. This...

A conversation with Amber Morgan, the creative young entrepreneur behind the Mani-Camper , an Amarillo-based mobile nail art studio that has been getting attention across the U.S. Like many young creatives, Amber moved away from Amarillo following high school. But after beginning to build a career in New York City, she came back home—and that's when things really started rolling. This episode is s...

A conversation with Eric Barry , an opera tenor whose career has taken him all over the world. A native of Sundown, Texas, who was trained at Yale University, Eric has recently returned to Amarillo after having been based on the East Coast. He and host Jason Boyett discuss how his WTAMU professors "discovered" his natural talent, the downside of a traveling career, and Eric's recent decision to re...

A conversation with Sheldon Chick, an Amarillo native and the co-writer and producer of Bomb City . This award-winning film opens nationwide February 9 and chronicles the life and death of Amarillo's Brian Deneke. Recorded a few days before the film's Amarillo premiere, Sheldon and host Jason Boyett discuss the filmmaking process, how Amarillo has changed since 1997, and why the events of Bomb Cit...

A conversation with Jessie Story , a wildlife videographer and filmmaker based in Amarillo. While attending WTAMU, Jessie co-created the PBS program Texas Wild , and has since been working as an independent freelancer who specializes in wildlife. She and host Jason Boyett discuss how she stumbled into her career, why she loves snakes and bats more than cuddlier species, and how she gets such amazi...

A conversation with Reagan Wilcox, former lead graphic designer at Hillside Christian Church and now owner-operator of The Union Hall Workspace . Reagan and host Jason Boyett discuss her career as a designer, why her work for a megachurch involved more than just "making the bulletin," and about launching her new endeavor—Amarillo's only coworking space. In "Eight Straight," Reagan endorses an enti...

A conversation with Jonathan Baker, novelist, essayist, publishing veteran, HPPR personality and former standup comedian. Baker and host Jason Boyett discuss his winding career path from Amarillo through Chicago and New York and back to West Texas, why NYC and the Panhandle are more alike than you'd think, and why we "flatlanders" need to rediscover our pioneer-maverick personalities. We discuss B...

A conversation with Dusty Green, former Amarillo news anchor and current cohost (with his wife, Nikki) of Two for the Road, a travel and adventure show on PBS. Dusty and host Jason Boyett discuss Dusty's path into local journalism, how he and Nik quit their jobs and sold everything to pursue their travel dream, and why returning to the Panhandle always feels like coming home. This episode is spons...

A conversation with Mary Emeny, the Amarillo philanthropist and activist whose resume includes everything from being an original founding board member for Habitat for Humanity to helping establish Wildcat Bluff and develop The Greenways. Mary and host Jason Boyett discuss the history of the Frying Pan Ranch, how Mary ended up chauffeuring Vietnamese Buddhist monks around Paris during the 1970s, an...

A conversation with Mike Fuller, one of the sons of L.A. Fuller & Sons Construction , a multi-generational paving and utilities contractor in Amarillo. Mike and host Jason Boyett discuss how L.A. Fuller got started in Amarillo, how a small dirt-moving business ended up having such a huge impact on the area's streets and neighborhoods, and why Amarillo is suddenly seeing so much road construction....

A conversation with Maegan Seymour, the marketing director for Underwood Law Firm . Maegan and host Jason Boyett discuss the advertising and marketing industries in Amarillo, how her parents' Jehovah's Witness traditions influenced her upbringing, and what it's like to be agnostic while living in a highly religious culture. This episode is sponsored by  Wieck Realty .

A conversation with Pastor Anthony B. Harris of St. John Baptist Church . Anthony and his family came to Amarillo in 2012 after having lived and ministered for decades in the Pacific Northwest. He and host Jason Boyett talk about how Amarillo's religious life differs from that region, about the realities of living in poverty, and about local issues related to race. This episode is sponsored by  Wi...