Hey Amarillo

A conversation with Whitney Dowd, DNP, founder of Blumologie Health, Beauty & Wellness . A long-time nurse and now a nurse practitioner, this Amarillo native has worked in a variety of local healthcare settings, including a decade at the Northwest J.O. Wyatt Clinic. Now at Blumologie, Dowd combines direct primary care with women's health and hormone services—as well as aesthetics. She tells host J...

A conversation with J. Pat Hickman, the founder of Happy State Bank . In 1990, Hickman led a group of investors to purchase a very small bank in Happy, Texas, that had just $10 million in deposits. He then served for 32 years as the Chairman, President and CEO of Happy State Bank. When it sold in 2022, Happy had become one of the largest banks in the state. Hickman shares that origin story with ho...

A conversation with Chris Jackson, neighborhood planner for the City of Amarillo. An Amarillo native who grew up in the foster care system, Jackson now works within the city's  Neighborhood Planning Initiative to help older and underserved parts of town "catch up" in terms of infrastructure and services. These neighborhoods include the North Heights, the Barrio, San Jacinto and Eastridge. Jackson...

A conversation with Dr. Amy Von Lintel, a professor of art history at West Texas A&M University and the director of WT's Gender Studies Program. Von Lintel also co-owns Old Tascosa Brewing Company with her husband, Matt Welch. She is the preeminent local expert on the legendary artist Georgia O'Keeffe's time in Amarillo and Canyon and has written multiple books—including next year's  Art at the Cr...

A conversation with Laura Street, a nonprofit consultant who has spent the past 25 years intimately involved in local leadership. She is the past executive director of the Laura W. Bush Institute for Women's Health at the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center in Amarillo, and served as the founding executive director of the Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts —where she led a campaign to raise m...

A conversation with Angie Duncan, who describes herself as "The Amarillo Narcan Lady." She's the founder of the nonprofit Texas Panhandle Overdose Awareness . She has made it her mission to give out, as often as possible, the over-the-counter nasal spray Narcan®/naloxone, which can be used to reverse the effects of opioid overdose. In fact, she says several local people have been rapidly rescued f...

A conversation with Tim Reid, the executive director of the Texas Panhandle War Memorial . The museum and memorial represent what he calls his "third career," following a stint in education at Ascension Academy and 30-plus years as an FBI agent. Reid shares with host Jason Boyett about growing up in the foster care system, his unsuccessful 2022 political campaign for Texas Senate 31, why he chose...

A conversation with Brittani Sullivan, the owner/operator of Sips & Giggles Mobile Bar . Sullivan was born in Amarillo but moved to Colorado when she was 10, and lived there until returning to Amarillo in 2021. A former teacher, she used the move to become an entrepreneur, launching her mobile bartending service in Amarillo. She shares with host Jason Boyett about the reasons for her return, how s...

A conversation with Jeff Whelchel, M.D., of the Healthy Hormones clinic in Amarillo and a financial advisor at Wood Financial . He's also the author of The New Thyroid Handbook . A native of Claude, Whelchel served as a family doctor in Amarillo for more than 23 years before pivoting to financial services, a transition triggered by a personal health crisis. Whelchel tells host Jason Boyett about t...

A conversation with Sharla Valdez, president of the Crown of Texas Hospice Foundation. As a young hospice nurse and entrepreneur, she became one of the founders of Crown of Texas Hospice, which operated in Amarillo from 1991 to 2004. Then in 2000, she launched Valmed Home Health & Pharmacy and served as its CEO and founder before exiting that business last year. Valdez shares with host Jason Boyet...

A conversation with Toby Giddens, the president and co-founder of Run Business Solutions (RunBiz) , which provides technology services for local companies. He tells host Jason Boyett how RunBiz grew from a small team in a local accounting firm into a firm that offers IT support for small to mid-size business across the High Plains. Giddens grew up in Canyon as the son of the Canyon football coach...

A conversation with Kristin Key , a nationally headlining musical comedian who performs in sold-out shows across North America, appeared in Last Comic Standing and Bring the Funny , and got her start in Amarillo. She's bringing her Lesbian Army Tour back home to Amarillo on June 27 at the Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts. In this episode, Kristin tells host Jason Boyett about her upbringi...

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...