Paragould Podcast

Liz Nelson began running in her early 30s and didn't run her first marathon until she was 37. Now, she has completed 21 marathons and counting, including the six most respected marathons in the world (Boston, Chicago, New York, Berlin, London, and Tokyo), a feat that only 11,000 people in history have ever accomplished. The amazing part of her story, is her supernatural grit and drive to push thro...

Mike Woodside could write insightful & engaging books about many different topics, including science, engineering, and history. He has a natural curiosity and childlike wonder about the world that is contagious. That is what made him one of the favorite teachers in his years at PHS and GCT, 26 years in total. Listen today to hear some of his amazing stories. 

Since he was a kid being raised by his grandparents George and Bonnie Ray at their famous Dragstrip, Tyler Russom has known he wanted to do this forever. He's been chasing his dreams for years now and operates one of the oldest drag strips in the United States. 

From mowing yards and shining shoes in Downtown Paragould in the 1970s to leading multi-billion dollar companies, Chris Brengard is full of experience and wisdom about how to achieve the highest levels of success. In this episode, you can hear how Chris got to the position to start US Renal Care, which went on to have over 700 locations. Chris literally could (and at times maybe should have) live...

With a new official role and new official last name, Sonia F. Hagood joined the show to tell us what life is like as our district attorney. She discusses the issues we face in the legal system and shares stories about her experience of working as defense and prosecuting attorney on murder trials. 

One of the most well known names in all of NEA, Ryan Vaughn joins the podcast again. He first joined us back in February 2021 when our podcast was brand new, so we have some new stories, new insights, and a whole lot of laughs. 

Having worked at DQ since 1992, Phillip Sutton has a lot of experience with the restaurant that has been in the same location for over 70 years. In this episode, you'll hear some of the leadership principles Phillip has learned along the way, interesting history on the restaurant that has seen seven decades of Paragould history, and probably get a bit hungry for a burger and Oreo Blizzard. 

Danny Ford grew up on the East side of Paragould, attending Greene County Tech. After marrying his wife, Gail, and graduating from Arkansas State, he began working for his father-in-law, Glen Sain. He started as a car washer, eventually moving up to sales until Mr. Sain asked him to buy the original Rector dealership from him in 1983. Since then, Danny has gone on purchase car lots in Kennet, MO a...

In 1979, Clifton Garmrath's grandfather took a chance on his grandson when he loaned him $3,000 to buy a box of cardboard cards with pictures of baseball players on them. Within six weeks, Clifton had paid his grandfather back running Arkansas' first ever sports card shop in the Center Hill area of Paragould, AR. Decades later, Clifton has more stories to tell than we have time to record. He has h...

Being born with a rare birth defect called Klippel-Feil Syndrome has not deterred Trevor Thomas from proving to the world, and more importantly to himself, that he is capable of beating the odds. Though he could have been coddled to protect him from harm, his parents rarely treated Trevor differently than any other kid. This led him to being a star soccer player, but after college he felt his conf...

A 25+ year veteran in law enforcement, Brad Snyder joins the podcast for the third time. This visit he shares with us about his first few months as the new Greene County Sheriff and some of the lessons he is learning along the way. Brad shares with us a bit about what it looked like to run for office and what changes he's seen in his few several weeks on the job. Repeat guests are always great, bu...

For 31 years, Chuck Long worked in game and fish careers, most notably as the Regional Educator for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. Even though he retired last year, his passion for educating our community about hunting, fishing, and all of the nature around us has not wavered. To hear some amazing stories about how beneficial nature is to our personal growth, listen and share! 

Founded in 2018, Arrows Behavior Therapy and Consulting aims to serve families in education and therapy for individuals on the Autism Spectrum. For over 20 years, Miranda Cavaness has been passionate about kids on the Autism Spectrum. Serving 125 learners at Arrows, they develop individualized learning plans and set socially valid goals so that these young people can thrive in our society! Their p...

On this episode of The Paragould Podcast, we are visited by owner of Paragould restaurant staple Taco Rio, Brad Smith! You'll want to hear the path Brad took to become the owner of Taco Rio, how he learned through resilience and suffering to appreciate the most important things in life and trust God throughout the ups and downs. 

Brad Hyde got his start in the mental health field 29 years ago with Greenleaf, which was later St Bernard's Behavioral Health. Through his career, Brad has learned not to try to be rational with irrational people, that "No" is a complete sentence, and that health is about the whole person.

Lindsay Roberts is the Executive Director for Together We Foster. After launching the organization in 2019, they have since opened three visit centers across NEA where children in foster care can visit with their biological parents in a warm environment. They also operate clothing closets for foster parents to access the resources they need free of charge. Lindsay and her husband, Quincy, began fo...

Brock and Loranne launched Flower Shop Network in the spring of 2000. It was a humble little startup in the loft of Adams’ Florist. Today, FSN has over 100 employees and serves 4,000 florists nationwide. Brock attributes much of their success to "catching a wave," but you will quickly discover just how sharp these two are in this episode. Started Atwill Media in 2014, which has developed and maint...

On this episode of the Paragould Podcast: Derek & Taylor House. Derek is with Specialized Bicycle Components and was Jared's high school tennis doubles partner. Taylor is a pediatric nephrologist, which is a fancy way of saying she is a kids' kidney doctor. Dr. House has received specialized training in palliative care, and she now trains doctors around the world on how to break bad news to patien...

JD Stevenson got his start as a patrol officer for the Paragould Police Department in 1982. Two and a half years later, he joined the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) where he served for 18 years. He was appointed Chief of Police by Mayor Mike Gaskill in 2001, and he continued in that role until his retirement in 2009. JD has some wild stories from his 3 decades of public service. In this epi...

Ivey Herren, Jr. is the 3rd generation owner of Herren Tire in Paragould, which was founded in 1968. Ivey grew up in a Christian home and went to school at CRA, but when his best friend died in a car accident in 2006, Ivey's life took a turn that led him to addiction. His story of redemption is truly miraculous and will leave you believing that, "If your heart is still beating, you have a purpose....

Dr. Zeke Shotts is a Paragould graduate and a Radiologist with St Bernards and Associated Radiologists. After earning his bachelor's degree at Arkansas State, Zeke attended med school at UAMS in Little Rock. From there, he finished his internship and residency at Emory University. He was also accepted to a program at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN where he spent 5 years before moving back to Nor...

Roland Irwin has a PhD in clinical psychology and serves as the Associate Chief of Operations for Arisa Health. But despite his impressive resume, he was not immune to the horrors that addiction can unleash on a family. In this week's episode of the Paragould Podcast, Roland joins his daughter, Brooke, who has been in recovery for over 10 years now. Brooke works with the Paragould Podcast and The...

Mayor Josh Agee returns for an annual update on the city of Paragould. In 2022, we saw the ribbon cutting for the new 8-Mile Creek Trail, the downtown Community Pavilion, the installation of Sky Cops, airport improvements and more. As we look to 2023, there are even more ambitious projects to look forward to. Mayor Agee opens up about the partisan elections issue, which passed in November, and he...

Rhonda Thomas joins us this week on the Paragould Podcast! Rhonda is the Lieutenant of the Paragould Police Department's Criminal Division, and (according to many sources) is a superhero! Rhonda has served with the PPD for 28 years and in the Criminal Division for the past 18, which means that she and her team work every felony case in the city of Paragould. In this interview, Rhonda talks about h...

Alexander Laffoon, along with his friend Trevor, recently hiked the Pacific Crest Trail--a 2,653 mile trail from the border of Mexico to the border of Canada. You'll hear about his encounters with bears and mountain lions, almost drowning in freezing water, and being surrounded by forest fires. "Someday never happens. We love the adventure and seeing new places."