Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home

What an important role the Bossier Council on Aging is serving. You can find my full discussion with Tamara Crane here.

 

Here are the questions I asked:

 

0:47 1. For the last 15 years, you have served as the Executive Director of the Bossier Council on Aging, one of the critical nonprofits in our community. Talk to me about 2-3 of your key services and programs.

 

4:58 2. Your philosophy at the Council is that senior citizens sho...

It's invaluable to have people who are able to step back and see our community as a whole and how it compares with other towns across the country. This week we sit down with one of the best that I know. You can find my full discussion with Danielle Richard here.

 

Here are the questions I asked:

 

0:29 1. I put you in with previous guests like Mack McCarter and LeVette Fuller, as one of the great thinkers about community that we ha...

This week we sit down with one of our community's most fierce defenders. You can find my full discussion with Bob Thames here.

 

Here are the questions I asked:

 

0:39 1. You have a really interesting journey, with a number of fascinating chapters and hopefully we’ll get to a number of them.

 

Let’s start here.

 

You are one of Shreveport-Bossier’s greatest advocates. An absolute fierce defender of this community. Where does that c...

Increasing the quality of life for Shreveport-Bossier residents is the focus this week when we sit down with Patrick Wesley. You can find our full discussion here.

 

Here are the questions I asked:

 

0:43 1. In 2019, you were named the Director of Parks and Recreation for the Parish of Caddo and wonderful things have been happening ever since. Hopefully we’ll cover much of it today.

 

You once said, "We want to always create and im...

We can boast about having some incredible annual events in our community and this week we focus on one of them, Mudbug Madness. You can find my full discussion with Terri Matthews here.

 

Here are the questions I asked:

 

0:25 1. Mudbug Madness is coming up. It will be held from May 23rd-May 25th this year. What will be the same about it this year as previous years and what will be different?

 

3:10 2. I am going to lean on you tod...

This week is a reminder of yet another thing we are so lucky to have in our community - high quality theater. You can find my full discussion with Logan Sledge, Chair of the Theater Department at Centenary College, here.

 

Here are the questions I asked:

 

0:32 1. You and I go way back. I believe I first met you in the summer of 1997. We’ve never talked about it I don’t think. But let’s start here today. Tell me how you first got i...

It's a very special time for football in Shreveport-Bossier. You can find my full discussion with the Shreveport Rouxgaroux here.

 

Here are the questions I asked:

 

0:28 1. Let’s just start with some of the basics.

 

Heather, you are the Fan Club Director for the Shreveport Rouxgaroux Roux Krewe and Chase you are the Center for the Shreveport Rouxgaroux. Heather, start by telling me a little about our newest pro team that we’re so...

This week we highlight one of the many reasons we are so lucky to live here. You can find my full discussion with Morgan Walker, Executive Director of the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra, here.   Here are the questions I asked:

 

0:35 1. In the spring of last year you came to us from Paducah, Kentucky to take the reins as the Executive Director of the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra. Since 1948 Shreveport has been blessed to have a...

This week we are talking with one of our community's great couples who are filling gaps and doing hard things. You can find my full discussion with Lindsi and Dany Martin here.

 

Here are the questions I asked:

 

0:34 1. Neither of you is from here yet both of you have contributed greatly to making our community better. Lindsi, for close to ten years you brought us the much beloved Well + Fed Louisiana restaurant. And Dany you ar...

This week we talk with one of our community's largest and most important employers about how to keep more of our young people in town. You can find my full discussion with Jay Johnson of General Dynamics Information Technology here.   Here are the questions I asked:

 

0:38 1. Jay, you are the Staff Vice President, Technology Shared Services, for General Dynamics Information Technology (or GDIT as many know it). GDIT is one of...

This week we talk all about what it means to be a good steward of the land, and as an extension, of your community. You can find my fascinating discussion with Archer Frierson here.

 

Here are the questions I asked:

 

0:42 1. Let’s start here today.

 

Your family came to Louisiana from South Carolina. Can you tell me about this?

 

7:19 2. Your family and you, for lack of a better phrase, had a front row seat for the Haynesville Sha...

This week's episode is all about communication and collaboration. We look at one of our community's best examples of how to tackle some of our most complex issues - the way that CADA and numerous others are working together to reform the local crisis response system. You can find my full discussion with Janet Miller here.

 

Here are the questions I asked:

 

0:36 1. In March of 2024, you were named the new executive director of the ...

I love talking about the Hispanic community which has grown and contributed so much over the last few decades to our city. You can find my full discussion with Maria Sermons, Vice President of Total Yard Care and President of the Hispanic Heritage Association, here.   Here are the questions I asked:

 

0:32 1. Your father started Total Yard Care with only his children as employees and now it’s a successful company with more ...

This week I get to share a small piece of the great legacy of The Shreveport Sun, which turns 105 later this year. You can find my full discussion with Ronald Collins Jr., the Editor, here.

 

Here are the questions I asked:

 

0:48 1. On November 6, 1920, The Shreveport Sun was founded by Melvin Lee Collins, Senior. It is the oldest weekly newspaper for African Americans in Louisiana.

 

Fast forward to 2025. You are the fourth gener...

This week I sit down with one of our community's most important leaders, Tabatha Taylor, the Chair of the Shreveport City Council. You can find our full discussion here.

 

Here are the questions I asked:

 

0:42 1. For more than 25 years, you have been advocating for autism awareness. Your adult son, Dominique, is non-verbal and was diagnosed with autism at age 2.

 

Your advocacy efforts have led to so much great change. Talk to me ...

I love sitting down with people who have taken their faith and made it their work and action. You can find my full discussion with Deidra Lewis-Robertson, Director of Friendship House for Community Renewal International, here.

 

Here are the questions I asked:

 

0:37 1. You are an integral part of Community Renewal International as the Director of Friendship House and Director of Operation H.O.P.E., Helping Our Pupils Excel.

 

Let’...

Greg Powell is bringing the fun with his company SB Rides and helping to piece together the stories that shape us with his bike and bus tours. You can find our full discussion here.

 

Here are the questions I asked:

 

0:31 1. How did you come up with the idea of Social Bike Rides or SB Rides as most know it?

 

6:52 2. Tell me about 515 Pierre Avenue.

 

11:42 3. You have led bike tours focused on black history for our local Juneteen...

The title of this week's episode is "It's all about perspective" (I title them each week for Channel 12 when they house the episodes on their KSLA 12 App). All that to say, I absolutely loved the opportunity to sit down with Emily Hays as she shared her fresh, useful and really instructive perspective. You can find the entire discussion here.

 

Here are the questions I asked:

 

0:34 1. Born and raised in Shreveport, you ended up in...