Hey Amarillo

A conversation with Jamie Fleck, the travel photographer, writer and custom fine art baker behind Flecks of Love . While living in Oklahoma, Fleck spent a weekend in Amarillo, stayed in a charming Airbnb, loved the local vibe, saved the house on Zillow and then—after getting an alert that it was on the market—decided to buy it and move here. Her baked items have since become a fixture at local mar...

A conversation with Chris Israel, the executive director of Homeless Heroes , an organization serving homeless veterans in Amarillo. Chris is a formerly homeless veteran himself. He grew up in New York City and Florida before joining the U.S. Navy. After serving as a submarine sailor, he spent several years traveling across the United States for work, but never put down roots. Israel shares with h...

A conversation with Kashion Smith, the executive director of the  Amarillo Convention & Visitors Bureau . After several years in the hotel industry—including a stint as wedding specialist at the old Ambassador Hotel in Amarillo—Smith has spent the past decade with the CVB. She took over leadership of that organization in 2020. In this role, she is responsible for promoting and supporting tourism,...

A conversation with Dirk van Reenen, the founder of Merus Adventure Park in the Texas Panhandle. Born and raised in South Africa, Dirk moved to Texas during his teen years. While attending WTAMU, he became the owner/manager of the former Lifts West ski shop at Western Plaza, launched Caprock Auctions in Amarillo, and worked in real estate before moving away in 2014. He tells host Jason Boyett abou...

A conversation with Vanessa Fiaud , Ph. D., an associate professor of sports and exercise science at the WTAMU College of Nursing & Health Sciences. Fiaud was born in France, where she studied business law, and continued her education in Oklahoma and Texas. She arrived in the Texas Panhandle and at WT in 2009, and tells host Jason Boyett about her work on sports biomechanics, as well as her recent...

A conversation with Devin Barnett, owner of Renu Painting , which recently was awarded the 2024 Torch Award for Ethics (Medium Business) by the Better Business Bureau of Amarillo. Barnett grew up in Abilene and has worked in a variety of industries, from petroleum to nursing to self-employed retailing. Despite that meandering career path, he's found success with Renu Painting. He and host Jason Bo...

A conversation with Megan Reed, the communications and public affairs manager at Bell , and a former communications manager for Make-a-Wish North Texas. Reed, an Amarillo native who played Division II soccer for WTAMU, tells host Jason Boyett how she found her way into a career at the manufacturer's Amarillo Assembly Plant, what Bell's new U.S. Army assault aircraft contract means for the area, an...

A return conversation with Jason Crespin for Hey Amarillo 's 350th episode. Crespin was the guest in this podcast's second episode ever (October 9, 2017) and returns to share about his role as Managing/Artistic Director at Amarillo Little Theatre and the legacy of the late Allen Shankles, who passed away March 20, 2024. Crespin also turns the tables on host Jason Boyett to ask about Boyett's upcom...

A conversation with Cindi Bulla, the broker/owner behind Realty Central Services and a recent primary candidate for Texas House District 87 . Bulla shares the story of how she ran away from home at age 15 and ended up in Amarillo, how she found her way into  careers in banking and construction before getting into real estate, and why she decided to run for office. (Her campaign was ultimately unsu...

A conversation with Tate Atkinson, one-half of the husband-wife duo behind Free Cheese Prints , a custom screen printing shop in Amarillo. Known for their Amarillo-focused souvenir t-shirts and constant presence at local popups and community markets, Free Cheese has an intense loyal following and a compelling origin story. Atkinson shares with host Jason Boyett about his creative approach, how sob...

A conversation with Micha Boyett, Jason's youngest sister and the author of the new book Blessed Are the Rest of Us . Micha is a poet, writer, pastor and podcaster whose work includes advocacy for individuals with Down syndrome. She's the cohost of the popular podcast The Lucky Few and will be preaching in Amarillo at  St. Andrew's Episcopal Church on Sunday, May 5. She and host Jason Boyett discu...

A conversation with Isaiah Flores, a 2023 Caprock graduate who is currently completing his first year as a student at Harvard University. As profiled in the July/August 2023 issue of Brick & Elm , Flores is one of two Caprock students accepted last year into Harvard's freshman class. Home for Spring Break, Flores sat down with host Jason Boyett for a conversation about his upbringing in Amarillo p...

A conversation with Gina Woodward, the Regional Director of America's SBDC at WTAMU . Gina is a Canyon resident who grew up here and has earned multiple degrees from WT. At the SBDC, she helps clients in the top 25 counties of the Texas Panhandle start and expand small businesses. She shares with host Jason Boyett about the no-cost, one-on-one consulting offered by the SBDC, as well as the low-cos...

A conversation with Scott Houdashell, the inventor of the Eggmazing Egg Decorator and, with Curtis McGill, the owner of the toy and game company Hey Buddy Hey Pal . A former Farmers Insurance agent, Houdashell had always worked with his hands, and in 2015 came up with an idea for decorating Easter eggs without the messy dyes. What began with a hot glue stick, a spoon and an electric screwdriver so...

A conversation with Darlene Martin, a retired Amarillo ISD first-grade teacher, reading instructor, community volunteer and the founder of Westminster Presbyterian Church's Bear PAWS program, which serves students at Austin Middle School. Martin shares with host Jason Boyett about her teaching career and more than 20 years of service as a local hospice volunteer. Born with mild hemiplegia cerebral...

A conversation with Britten Ratcliff , a Tascosa High School senior. Host Jason Boyett starts this interview by explaining that he is typically uninterested in interviewing high school students for the show, but Ratcliff changed his mind about that rule. A member of the FirstBank Southwest Banking Advisory Council and founder of The Neighborhood, a Tascosa student group, Ratcliff shares with Boyet...

A conversation with Robert Altman, who is retired from two prominent local careers, first as a manager at the women's clothing store Kline's of Amarillo and then as an assistant scout executive with the Golden Spread Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Altman, whose family owned and operated multiple Kline's locations in the city until the 1990s—including along Polk Street and at Western Plaza—r...

A conversation with Sonja Gross, a Public Involvement Specialist with the Texas Department of Transportation and a former Public Information Officer for TXDOT. Gross arrived in Amarillo from Georgia around 20 years ago, and embarked on a communications career that took her from the local newspaper to the City of Amarillo to her current position with TXDOT. She shares with host Jason Boyett about r...

A conversation with Mark D. Williams, an Amarillo educator and author who has fly fished all over the world,  written a variety of fishing and travel books , been published in dozens of national magazines, and taught for nearly 30 years at North Heights Alternative School. He's also an entrepreneur, consultant and public speaker. In this episode, Williams shares with host Jason Boyett about the re...

A conversation with Kori Cooper Clements , a speech pathologist with Canyon ISD and a local volleyball legend. Kori was inducted into the Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame last year with her father, former WTAMU basketball coach Rick Cooper—making them the first father-daughter duo to be inducted. One of the best players to ever come from this area, Clements spent one season as the Amarillo High Schoo...

A conversation with Joseph Peterson, an Edward Jones Financial Advisor serving Amarillo, and the city's 2023 Black Man of the Year. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Peterson moved with his family to Amarillo when he was a child. He played football for WTAMU before opening his office in Amarillo. Since then, he's built a reputation for community involvement, from membership in 101 Elite Men to service...

A conversation with Diane Dick, a legendary model and agent who opened the  Diane Dick International Modeling and Talent Agency in Amarillo more than 50 years ago. Her agency currently places local models in films, magazines and runways all over the United States and around the world. Now 80, she shares with host Jason Boyett the details of how her own career began, how the world of modeling has c...

A conversation with Andrew Hay, Executive Director of the Cultural Foundation of the Texas Panhandle , which provides oversight for Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum and the Texas Panhandle Heritage Foundation. Before taking the reigns of the CFTP and PPHM, Hay served as executive director of the Amarillo Symphony and has a background in theology and seminary administration. Hay shares with host...

A conversation with Katharyn Wiegand, the President and CEO at the Mary E. Bivins Foundation . A product of the Texas Panhandle, Wiegand has spent the past few decades in leadership roles in the nonprofit world, including 15 years with Opportunity Plan and another 12 years with the Amarillo Area Foundation. At the Bivins Foundation since 2018, she helps lead the organization in serving older adult...

A conversation with State Representative Walter Thomas "Four" Price IV , who has decided not to run again after he completes his 7th term representing Texas House District 87, which includes Potter County. Price is from Amarillo and has been instrumental in creating significant legislation related to telemedicine, telehealth, mental health and more. A former practicing attorney and current Trust O...