Paragould Podcast

Ken Hoppe has been placed in many positions over his career where it was not specific training or expertise that led him to success but a positive and peaceful mindset combined with a strong work ethic and humbleness to learn along the way. From becoming a bank president at 28 years old, to being a car lot owner, to a college president, we had a lot of wisdom from experience to discuss with Mr. Ho...

In this special episode of The Paragould Podcast, we’re joined by Kim Webb, the director behind Greene County Tech’s marching band—a team that made history by clinching the 5A Arkansas State Championship for the very first time. Kim takes us behind the scenes of their unforgettable journey to the top, sharing the highs, the lows, and the relentless dedication it took to lead this band to victory....

It's a nightmare that nobody can imagine actually would happen to them. Three years ago Paige Mitchell was on the interstate outside St. Louis after a Cardinals game when the vehicle she and three friends were in was shot at over 30 times! Somehow three of the people in the car were not hit, but Paige had a bullet go right through the top of her head. How did she come through it? What lessons did...

The last three CEO's of PMU are Bill Fisher, Darrell Phillips, & Brett Bradford. Incredibly, they have a close positive relationship between the three and have each made a positive mark on the company and our local utility services! Listen in on some of the history of PMU, how these three have brought us through the 21st century, and how to create a successful succession plan. 

Blake Ligon grew up in a small town called Marvell, AR and had never heard of Paragould. After interning at Bellevue Baptist in Memphis, he was offered a role at Central Baptist Jonesboro. A few years later, with the wisdom of his wife in hand, he would go on to plant Central Baptist Church, Paragould. His passion, character, and authenticity has led him to be deeply loved by his congregation. 

The Edwards Family is putting a historic mark on the Paragould Cross Country program. Growing the program from 14 to 32 in just a couple years, Monica Edwards has grown to love the sport and her team clearly loves striving together. Starlyn, along with her younger sisters and many other amazing athletes are giving Paragould Schools a chance to reach the pinnacle of the sport, as they aim for a sta...

A compilation of seven unique interviews about homes and buildings in Paragould, AR that are allegedly haunted! FYI, nothing is explicit in this episode, but do take care when listening around children as the stories can definitely be spooky.  Interviewees include Angelica Gray, Judge Dan Stidham, Hailey Byrd, Judge Randy Philhours, Pricilla Jones, Jon Fulkerson with Meredith Smith, and finally Ga...

Aaron Neugebauer is the pastor at St. John's Lutheran Church in Lafe. He dropped by the studio to tell us a bit about himself, but really help setup our Ghost Stories episode to give us an in-depth background on the history of Halloween and talk about the spiritual world in general. We hope that you enjoy this episode!

Adam Butler grew up in Paragould in a family of athletes. A sports fanatic himself, Adam was not able to play organized sports because he was born with Cerebral Palsy. We learn of how he channels that competitive nature into his career as a successful attorney here in Paragould. 

Laramie LeQuieu moved to Paragould from Benton, AR in 1992, spending his formative teenage years here as a student of Ridgecrest high school and a pastors kid. He was on staff at Marmaduke Baptist Church when the tornado came through in 2006. He now pastors Harvest Baptist Church. 

Kiwanis Club president and Shelter Insurance Agent, Ty Sims joined the show to talk about how he came to Paragould, the role sports played in his life growing up, how he started a Shelter Insurance agency, Lumberjacks baseball, and much more! 

Something is different about this Paragould Rams football team. A program that won 3 total games from 2017-2022 has won 5 games in the last two seasons now, including starting this year off at 3-0. It's our best start since 1981 (if you don't count the controversial vacated wins of 1999)! Coach Randy Phillips joins us for a second time to talk about the culture they are creating to have focus, dis...

Since 1987, Jeff Evans has been a public servant as an EMT and Paramedic. He joined the show to talk to us about how he got to where he is, what it takes to be a good paramedic, and more. 

Pete Cancilla is known as one of the more successful realtors in Paragould as his Image Realty “Team Can-Sell-It” can be seen all over town. However, his journey to get there was not easy. Join us for this conversation about how his family got to Arkansas when he was a child, life lessons he’s learned, and how he’s been able to rebound from various trials. 

The Get Downtown Festival has been growing year after year! If you haven't been to the festival or been downtown recently, now's the time to plan your visit for October 4-5th for the Get Downtown Festival! Allison Hestand joined us to talk about her role with the Chamber of Commerce, all the good that's taking place around Paragould, and this wonderful festival! 

Patty Camp is a trailblazer! She was the first female assistant Principal in Paragould Schools and the first female president of the Kiwanis Club (an organization that only allowed men to even be members until 1987). We learned a lot in this episode, from proactive classroom management skills, leadership lessons, how to be empathetic to the introvert in a classroom, and how to have a taste for a w...

Kim Hunt is starting her 38th year as a Middle School at GCT. It all started back when she was in third grade with an inspiring teacher: Becky Diggs. We learned wonderful lessons on education and positive ways of influencing the next generation. 

For many reasons, we are incredibly thankful to have Big O, Brian Osborn in to record another episode of the Paragould Podcast. In this episode, Brian shares about an incredibly scary, near death experience and how it has changed his life for the better. As entertaining as always, Brian inspires us all to live a little healthier each day. 

Bob Branch returns for a record setting 5th visit, 3rd this year! He gives us a beautiful, detailed oral history of the City of Paragould. Mr. Branch spends hours doing research at the Greene County Historical and Genealogical Society to back up his memory with all the proper dates and names. On this episode he goes block by block to teach us about Paragould's history. One gem: Paragould had multi...

Jason Gazaway has spent the last 24 years bringing great businesses to help grow Paragould. He said he even spent 15 years asking on particular business to come and soon we'll be able to find out who that is because they're finally coming. Listen to this podcast to gain an appreciation for the hard work that goes into bringing all your favorites to a small town like ours. 

A 2013 PHS Graduate, Zach Mitchell has spent his adult life chasing the dream that many have when watching our favorite war movies. He has advanced through the ranks of the Army and currently serves as a company commander and black hawk pilot in Seoul, South Korea.

Award winning author and retired COO from Bunn Coffee, Mark Watson returns to the show! When Mark visited us in 2021, he was leading Bunn through the changing tides of Covid-19 while preparing to publish his book: Joyous Leadership. Now three years later, he has recently retired and seen his book win the Next Generation Indie Book Award. We talked about life in retirement, how to lead in creative...

From worldwide tours with his band to a passion for leadership in owning some of the best Freddy's franchise locations in the county, we had a lot to talk about this week with Aaron Elms. Aaron is an incredible musician who toured for over a decade with Kingsdown, an NEA based band from the early 2000's. Six years ago, after his touring days were over, he found himself in a position to open the fi...

Tim Fitzgerald has refereed basketball for local high school basketball up to Division 1. He had the opportunity to ref games with Ja Morant in college and reffed Austin Reaves first collegiate game at Wichita State. Furthermore, he is passionate about financial health in families through his work at Benjamin Edwards Investments and volunteering in his church. 

From high school dunks, to Hollywood, to police chases, to a passion of caring for families, this was an amazing, must-hear interview.   We had brothers, Jeremy and Zac Heath, on the show this week. We talked about what it was like to grow up with a family owned funeral service, how their vocational callings took them in different directions after college, and how both of them have found their way...