A conversation with Johnny Terra, an Amarillo-based CPA and partner at LPT CPAs + Advisors . Johnny grew up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but came to the Texas Panhandle on a full basketball scholarship to Wayland Baptist University. He remained in the area after college, and work eventually brought him to Amarillo. In this conversation with host Jason Boyett, Terra shares about the culture shock of his arrival in Plainview, why he and his family made Amarillo home, and how he recently merged his C...
Jul 18, 2022•40 min•Season 6Ep. 29
A conversation with Courtney White , assistant city attorney for the City of Amarillo. Growing up the daughter of two lawyers, White initially started her legal career in a local firm before shifting her attention to municipal law—one of the most generalist occupations within the legal community. White tells host Jason Boyett what she loves about being a "low-level bureaucrat," what legal work looks like at City Hall, and why she was nominated this spring to become president-elect of the 35,000-...
Jul 11, 2022•45 min•Season 6Ep. 28
A conversation with Jim Womack , Executive Director of Family Support Services. A native of southeast Colorado, Jim arrived in the Panhandle for college, and has since served this area in a variety of different roles from the criminal justice system to the nonprofit world. In this conversation with host Jason Boyett, Womack shares about leading Family Support Services through a fire that destroyed its headquarters in 2020—all while navigating his own cancer diagnosis and treatment during the pan...
Jul 04, 2022•40 min•Season 6Ep. 27
A conversation with Jackie Nammathao Maldonao, a children's ministry director at the Hillside Amarillo North Grand Campus . Jackie was born in the United States, but her parents arrived in Amarillo as refugees from Laos. She grew up navigating a distinctly multicultural space, honoring her family's traditions while also fully embracing her American identity. In this conversation with host Jason Boyett, she shares about her upbringing, her struggles with identity and belonging, and how she transi...
Jun 27, 2022•50 min•Season 6Ep. 26
In a special Father's Day episode, 19 year-old Owen Boyett interviews his dad, Hey Amarillo host Jason Boyett, about parenting and fatherhood. Owen is a psychology student at Texas A&M University and, in this intimate conversation between father and son, the two discuss parenting, family proximity, growing up in Amarillo, and Jason's relationship with his own father, the late architect Mike Boyett. This episode is sponsored by Jimmy John's and the TEXAS Outdoor Musical ....
Jun 20, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Season 6Ep. 25
A conversation with Taylor Van Valkenburg, the VP of Operations at U.S. Cleaners , a local dry-cleaning business. After growing up here, Taylor didn't think she would return to Amarillo—and definitely didn't plan to lead the family business. But she found out that Amarillo is a fantastic place for entrepreneurship, and U.S. Cleaners has grown significantly in the past few years. She tells host Jason Boyett about her path back home, how the pandemic forced necessary business changes, and how U.S....
Jun 13, 2022•38 min•Season 6Ep. 24
A conversation with Josué "Sway" Navarro, the entrepreneur and barber behind the new Renovated Esthetics brand. Sway was born in Durango, Mexico, but grew up in Amarillo. He taught himself to cut hair while attending Caprock High School, converting his tiny bedroom into a makeshift salon to help out his single mom. After graduating, Sway connected with high-profile barbers across the U.S. and moved to Denver, where he became the unofficial team barber for the Denver Nuggets. During a return trip...
Jun 06, 2022•52 min•Season 6Ep. 23
A conversation with Gloria Cabrera , a certified health and life coach who works with women who want to lose weight. Raised in Puerto Rico by Cuban parents, Cabrera moved to Amarillo in the 1990s as a young mom with three young children. She set aside her psychology career in the process, only to return to the workforce when her kids had grown—and when her own personal weight gain required some lifestyle changes. Cabrera tells host Jason Boyett about her move to Amarillo, the dangers of emotiona...
May 30, 2022•49 min•Season 6Ep. 22
A conversation with Dr. Erin Avirett, an Amarillo-based child psychologist. A specialist in school neuropsychology, Avirett performs neuropsychological assessment and therapy for children and teenagers all over the Texas Panhandle. She also one of the founders of Mind & Child , an online parenting course designed to improve child-parent relationships. In this conversation, she tells Jason Boyett how she found her way into her career, how psychological evaluations can help children, and why t...
May 23, 2022•44 min•Season 6Ep. 21
A conversation with Jay Barrett, a longtime academic administrator and the principal of the new AmTech Career Academy . Opened in Fall 2021 by the Amarillo Independent School District, AmTech won the nationwide "Most Innovative Learning Spaces" award from Tech & Learning Magazine and has gained attention all over the United States. Barrett, who began his education in a one-room schoolhouse and taught English before moving into administration, shares the AmTech origin story—and the potential ...
May 17, 2022•57 min•Season 6Ep. 20
A conversation with Kristin DeRight, owner of Purpose + Passion Boutique . Many of the fashion, decór and gift products carried by this Wolflin Village shop are designed to give back to other organizations. This focus is a culmination of DeRight's unique background, which includes stints in the nonprofit world, fashion and retail merchandising, and online sales. In this conversation with host Jason Boyett, DeRight shares how a string of career opportunities helped steer her to the idea that beca...
May 09, 2022•52 min•Season 6Ep. 19
A conversation with Casie Stoughton, Director of Public Health for the city of Amarillo. Since COVID-19 arrived here in March of 2020, Stoughton has been the public face of the city's pandemic response. In this conversation with host Jason Boyett, Stoughton shares why she choose public health as a career, how the city rolled out its vaccine distribution so efficiently, and how she and her team have dealt with the mental health aspects of their work over the past two years. This episode is suppor...
May 02, 2022•48 min•Season 6Ep. 18
A conversation with Chris McGilvery, founder and executive director of the Leaders Readers Network (LRN) and a Ph.D. student at Texas Tech University. A long-time educator who came to Amarillo after stints in central Texas, New York State, and the Caribbean island of Dominica, McGilvery started his nonprofit to help improve literacy programming in local school districts. He tells host Jason Boyett how the grassroots LRN ensures equitable education and literacy for all students. This episode is s...
Apr 25, 2022•46 min•Season 6Ep. 17
A conversation with Kaytie Gann, the owner and creator of Hollow Dot Designs . After living in Canada and Europe, Gann eventually settled in Amarillo and launched her jewelry brand in 2016. Her delicate Welded Forever bracelets—which are permanently attached to the wrist—have gained a huge local following, turning jewelry-buying into an immersive experience. She tells host Jason Boyett how her business developed and why Amarillo has proven to be the perfect place to experiment. This episode is s...
Apr 18, 2022•45 min•Season 6Ep. 16
A conversation with Dr. Priscella Correa , Assistant Professor of Nursing at West Texas A&M University. Originally from southwest Kansas, Correa entered nursing after seeing the ways her parents were treated by the medical profession. She tells host Jason Boyett how she now hopes to educate the next generation of nurses to provide care without bias. Correa is just one of 12 Texans chosen this year for the Career and Leadership Development Institute of the Texas Association of Chicanos in Hig...
Apr 11, 2022•46 min•Season 6Ep. 15
A conversation with Eric Jenkins, Chief Executive Officer of Education Credit Union . Jenkins has been working in the credit union world for decades, but only came to ECU—and Amarillo—in 2019. He's originally from South Carolina and spent the last several years in Atlanta. He shares with host Jason Boyett about his decision to move to Amarillo, what impresses him about this community, and what role a credit union plays in the financial world. He also reveals details about Education Credit Union'...
Apr 04, 2022•52 min•Season 6Ep. 14
A conversation with Vicki Wilmarth , an employment law attorney and business transactions lawyer with more than 30 years in the business. With host Jason Boyett, Wilmarth details the challenges local businesses have faced over the past two years, and also helps explain the worker shortages that persist today. Vicki is also a passionate birder and photographer , and shares why the Texas Panhandle is such a great place for bald eagles and other species. This episode is sponsored by Wieck Realty an...
Mar 28, 2022•52 min•Season 6Ep. 13
A conversation with Joe Bill Sherrod , the Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Amarillo College and Executive Director of the AC Foundation. What those two lengthy titles mean is that, among other duties, Sherrod serves as an institutional fundraising professional. He spent several years in a similar role for WTAMU, preceded by careers in personal insurance and youth ministry. In this conversation with host Jason Boyett, Sherrod details his unique resume, his decision to live in Amari...
Mar 21, 2022•53 min•Season 6Ep. 12
A conversation with Glenda Moore, the proprietor of Kind House Ukraine Bakery , an Amarillo nonprofit that has been raising money for Ukraine since 2014. A former elementary teacher and assistant principal, Moore fell in love with Ukraine and its people after a mission trip. She began baking to raise money for Ukrainians in need, and eventually left her education career to manage Kind House full time. Moore tells host Jason Boyett how Kind House began, what locals need to know about the invasion...
Mar 14, 2022•48 min•Season 6Ep. 11
A conversation with Stephen Crandall , the newly named artistic director for the TEXAS Outdoor Musical. Currently finishing up a career as Department Head and Professor of Theatre at WTAMU, Crandall will assume his new leadership position for the 56th season of the storied musical in Palo Duro Canyon. In this episode, Crandall shares with host Jason Boyett about his acting career before WT, his portrayal of protagonist Calvin Armstrong in 1999, and his thoughts about breathing fresh air into thi...
Mar 07, 2022•53 min•Season 6Ep. 10
A conversation with Gayle Callahan, the President and CEO of Plains Plumbing . After a multi-faceted career that included a stint as a corporate pilot, Gayle assumed leadership of a multi-generational family business after her husband's death from cancer. Today, the Amarillo-based Plains Plumbing serves customers from Georgia to California. In this episode, Gayle shares with Jason Boyett about her incredible career, including a promise she made—and broke—about maintaining the family business. Th...
Feb 28, 2022•44 min•Season 6Ep. 9
A conversation with Katie Wieck, the broker/owner of Wieck Realty . After growing up in and around a variety of Amarillo schools, Katie got into the real estate business within a year of her high school graduation. Incredibly, she bought her first home at the age of 19. In this episode, Wieck tells host Jason Boyett how she got into the business, why she decided to become a broker, and what's happening right now in Amarillo's wild housing market. This episode is sponsored by The Union Hall Works...
Feb 21, 2022•48 min•Season 6Ep. 8
A conversation with John Forbis , coordinator of district communications for Canyon ISD. A former teacher and administrator, Forbis arrived in Amarillo several years ago after working in the Metroplex and in Bryan/College Station. He and his family ended up falling in love with this area. Forbis shares with host Jason Boyett details about the new West Plains High School, how he uses social media to recruit teachers, and why the Canyon school district is growing so fast. This episode is sponsored...
Feb 14, 2022•47 min•Season 6Ep. 7
A conversation with Strecia McCaig, owner of On Target Amarillo and an honorably retired sergeant with the Amarillo Police Department. After 26 years of service with APD, McCaig opened a firearms training business that specializes in teaching women how to shoot or hunt. With host Jason Boyett, she shares about being one of just a few female officers at APD, her path from patrol officer to sergeant, and why she's passionate about using her business to empower women. This episode is sponsored by W...
Feb 07, 2022•49 min•Season 6Ep. 6
A conversation with Trevor Caviness, the president of Caviness Beef Packers , a multi-generational family business that processes nearly a million head of cattle per year. Despite being privately owned, Caviness is one of the largest beef-packing businesses in the United States, with products sold around the world. In this conversation with host Jason Boyett, Trevor discusses his decision to work for the family business, Caviness's position in the beef industry, and its progressive approaches to...
Jan 31, 2022•47 min•Season 6Ep. 5
A conversation with Marcie Steward, a local entrepreneur and minister who works at Park Central . Marcie grew up in Amarillo, dropped out of high school, and became homeless—as a single mother—before getting back on her feet through the assistance of Martha's Home. With host Jason Boyett, Marcie shares how she overcame those challenges through a combination of grit, faith, and the safety net Martha's Home provided. In fact, in the years since, Marcie has earned her GED and even started and sold ...
Jan 24, 2022•44 min•Season 6Ep. 4
A conversation with Charles D'Amico, the owner-operator of local Jimmy John's locations and the proprietor of Blue Handle Publishing and Book Puma . D'Amico grew up in Detroit but moved his family to Amarillo when he saw an opportunity to buy three existing franchise locations. He tells host Jason Boyett why he specifically chose this area to sell sandwiches, why he writes thrillers and started an indie publishing company, and how Amarillo customer complaints differ from Santa Fe complaints. Thi...
Jan 17, 2022•49 min•Season 6Ep. 3
A conversation with Suzanne Talley, the executive director of the 100 Club of the Texas Panhandle , an organization that helps the families of local firefighters and peace officers who are killed in the line of duty. Before that, she spent 17 years as the executive director of Coffee Memorial Blood Center . Suzanne tells host Jason Boyett about her two decades in the nonprofit world, how the 100 Club "fills in the gaps," and how the blood center navigated the pandemic. This episode is sponsored ...
Jan 10, 2022•45 min•Season 6Ep. 2
A conversation with Lance Garza, owner of Bitter Buffalo Records and one of the partners at Caliche . Lance grew up in Amarillo before departing during his high school years. But in 2020, at the height of the pandemic, he and his wife decided to move back here from Chicago. More than a year later, Lance tells host Jason Boyett about the growth and opportunity he recognized in Amarillo—especially within the local creative scene—and why that encouraged him to invest in this community. This episode...
Jan 03, 2022•50 min•Season 6Ep. 1
In a special year-end episode, Hey Amarillo host Jason Boyett and editor Angelina Marie answer listener-submitted questions about the podcast, including surprises during recording, Jason's vocal tics, how he chooses guests, what Angelina edits out, and a lot more. They also discuss Amarillo itself: local "hidden gems," their individual Amarillo-related worries, and what their dreams are for the city. This episode is sponsored by the Discover Amarillo app , SKP Creative and Panhandle Plains Histo...
Dec 27, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Season 5Ep. 52
