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

Episode 114 Commissioner Stormy Gage-Watts and Captain LaTienda Pierre - "Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home"

Collaboration, Communication and Capitalizing on External Resources are the themes of this week's episode. You can find my full discussion with Commissioner Stormy Gage-Watts and Captain LaTienda Pierre here.
 
Here are the questions I asked:
 
0:43 1. Commissioner, let’s start with you. You serve as the Chair of the Juvenile Justice Committee. How often does the committee meet and can you share some of the issues you are currently discussing?
 
4:22 2. Captain, it was recently announced that you will serve as the Captain of Community Programs for Sheriff Whitehorn. Can you tell me about this new role and some of the responsibilities associated with it?
 
10:38 3. Commissioner, you recently attended the North Carolina Rehabilitation and Reentry Conference. Can you tell me about this conference and some of the key takeaways for you?
 
15:41 4. Captain, I know that Sheriff Whitehorn is only about 90 days into his service, but is there anything you can share so far about his priorities?
 
20:53 5. These next few questions are for either or both of you. I know we’re having trouble with overcrowding at CCC. How’s treatment and re-entry going? Is that an area we could improve upon?
 
29:48 6. How are you working with the City in terms of combatting the issue of crime we continue to face?
 
32:14 7. For someone who wants to live in a safer city, any recommendations you have for how they can get involved as a concerned community member?
 
38:36 8. I know there has been some talk around the revitalization of the work release program. Is there anything you would like to share about that?

Episode 113 Mario Chavez - "Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home"

"If you want friends, you must first find yourself friendly" is the title of this week's episode. You can find my full discussion with Mario Chavez, Former Caddo Parish Commissioner and Owner of MersaTech, here.
 
Here are the questions I asked:
 
0:27 1. We’ll cover a lot of ground today but let’s start here.
 
On October 9th you will be the featured speaker at the free entrepreneurial event, 1 Million Cups. In the description for the event, it says, “Many years and family members’ electronic equipment later, coupled with countless times of being electrocuted and even accidentally starting a fire in his bedroom while learning the power of alternate current over direct current, it was only natural that Mario would find his way into the military, specifically the high-tech sector of FM transmissions and satellite communication."
 
Talk to me about the young Mario Chavez and his interest and curiosity about electronics.
 
5:26 2. After 12 years in the military, you hung up your combat boots to focus on your business MersaTech. Tell me how MersaTech got started, what it does, and what has come of this business that, 20 years ago, had but one customer.
 
22:30 3. In 2016, you were elected as Caddo Parish's first Latino Commissioner. From your perspective, is the Hispanic community today unified with the white and black communities in the Shreveport-Bossier area? And, if not, as you look around, what are some of the steps you feel could be taken to help bring these communities closer together?
 
27:40 4. You ran for mayor of Shreveport in 2022, with a focus on crime, cleanliness and customer service. Shreveport Citizens United is a group you are actively involved in. Tell me a little about this group and how they are working to be on the front line of combatting the issue of crime that our community continues to struggle with.
 
38:08 5. During your time as Commissioner, 2016-2023, you always struck me as someone who could work across party lines and get things accomplished. Have you always understood diplomacy and how to be diplomatic? And, in a community where politics often continues to separate us, what are some words of wisdom you can share with the rest of us to help us to get along and work better with those who may think differently than us?

Episode 112 Kempten Schwab - "Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home"

This episode is a first as I sit down with a friend and former employer who in the second half of the episode wanted to ask me the questions.  You can find my full discussion with Kempten Schwab, Managing Director for STS Capital Partners here.
 
Here are the questions I asked:
 
0:45 1. You appear to have had three large chapters in your professional career; the European Union, at Praeses here in Shreveport and now helping owners with equity transactions.
 
I can only speak directly about the second one when I worked for you at Praeses. One of the things that impressed me the most at Praeses was the talent you had assembled and the people you had working with you.
 
Can you talk about some of your hiring philosophy? How much is instinct and what types of people do you typically like to have on your teams?
 
7:31 2. You’ve talked about your parents always being consistent with the message of learning how to think critically. If you would, define and talk about this and how it’s served you throughout your career.
 
11:03 3. You are now the Managing Director for STS Capital Partners, a global mergers and acquisitions firm, specializing in sell-side consulting and advisory services for entrepreneurial business owners.
 
We will camp out on STS for a while. Let’s start here.
 
How many companies go through an exit and what’s the difference between a proactive and reactive exit?
 
16:14 4. How should a business owner decide when it is the right time to exit?
 
22:28 5. I’ve heard you talk about good housekeeping and how essential it is for businesses to maintain so that they are ready when it’s time for them to exit. Talk to me about what is meant by good housekeeping.
 
28:55 6. My final formal question is simply this - give me 5 words of wisdom or recommendations for business owners or entrepreneurs.
 
And then Kempten asked me the following questions:
'
29:54 7. You suffered a tremendous injury. Talk to me about that and how it influenced your path forward.
 
33:46 8. You spent time in France as a Fulbright scholar after college, how did that time further impact your ability to watch and observe?
 
36:42 9. From France you moved to Los Angeles, tell me about your time there and more specifically about the effect Jerry Nachman had on your life.
 
40:48 10. You sold furniture during your time in Los Angeles. What did you learn from that experience?
 
44:10 11. Where does your drive for authenticity come from?
 
47:25 12. What are your top 5 restaurant spots in the United States?

Episode 111 Dr. Aubra Gantt - "Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home"

Dr. Aubra Gantt, Chancellor of Southern University at Shreveport, sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
0:35 1. In March of 2023, you were named the first female Chancellor for Southern University Shreveport (or SUSLA as many call it). You are a Shreveport native and graduate of Green Oaks and SUSLA. I want to get into all things SUSLA in just a little bit but before we do I thought we would start here today.
 
Both the university and Green Oaks are located in the Cooper Road or MLK area of our community. You have clearly thrived when many in that neighborhood and part of our community are unable to achieve the level of success you have attained.
 
What do you attribute your success to, compared to many of your peers who grew up and/or went to school in the Cooper Road/MLK area?
 
10:02 2. Established in 1964 and opened in 1967, SUSLA is the only historically black two-year campus in the United States. You are a critical part of our community’s educational ecosystem. Talk to me about some of your priorities and initiatives.
 
18:04 3. I’ve heard you talk about a college-going culture. How do we create more of that culture across our community?
 
29:04 4. Talk to me about the age breakdown of your students. And, are most of your programs online or in person?
 
32:47 5. You come to SUSLA with more than 25 years of postsecondary educational experience from all across the country. I’ve read where you said that all along you wanted to come back home. As you come back home and look out at our community, what are some of the things that concern you the most?
 
37:55 6. What gives you hope, as you look at the Cooper Road/MLK area of our community and the community as a whole, that we are headed in a positive direction?

Episode 110 Damien Ford - "Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home"

Damien Ford, Project Manager and Associate Architect for Mike McSwain Architect, sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
0:36 1. Damien, you are a Project Manager and Associate Architect for Mike McSwain Architect. Let’s start here today. Tell me some about where and how you grew up?
 
13:38 2. What do you attribute your success to compared with some of your peers that you grew up with?
 
18:28 3. How did you end up in architecture?
 
21:24 4. What is it like being a young professional in Shreveport-Bossier?
 
32:20 5. What is it like being a young black professional in Shreveport-Bossier?
 
49:38 6. As you look out at our community, what are some of the things that concern you the most?
 
53:10 7. What are some of the things that give you hope that our community is heading in a positive direction?

Episode 109 Alexander Jeffery - "Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home"

Filmmaker Alexander Jeffery sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
0:35 1. In 2015, your short film, The Bespoke Tailoring of Mister Bellamy, won the Louisiana Film Prize. I’ve read where you called this a “life-changing moment”.
 
Talk to me about why winning the film prize was so important for you?
 
2:58 2. You moved from Canada to just outside of El Dorado, Arkansas as a kid. How and when did you decide to move to Shreveport?
 
5:17 3. You have directed short films, feature-length narrative and documentary films, promotional videos, and commercials. Simply put, you are one of the most experienced filmmakers in our community. From your perspective, tell me about the state of our film industry.
 
Are there a lot of crew members? Is there infrastructure?
 
We had a boom in our film industry beginning in late 2005. Are we currently in a second boom?
 
7:41 4. How do we grow our local crew base?
 
8:57 5. How do Louisiana's motion picture tax credits currently compare with the rest of the country?
 
13:05 6. You have done promotional videos for BRF, The Port, and Photography by Scarlett, to name but a few. Talk to me some about your process when you are making a promotional.
 
16:16 7. For those out there listening who are interested in film, is this a good place to live and work? And, where and how do you suggest someone network who wants to be a part of the film industry here?
 
20:56 8. What are we currently missing to grow our local film industry?
 
30:40 9. How many places in the country have a film industry as robust as Shreveport?
 
36:40 10. How do you make a movie that puts Shreveport filmmaking on the map worldwide?

Episode 108 Jillian Elwart - "Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home"

Paralympian Jillian Elwart sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
0:34 1. Jillian, you are a pediatric prosthetist for Shriners Hospitals for Children.
 
Let’s start here today. I once heard you tell a story about an American Girl doll and the way the team at Shriners used it at work. Can you share some of that story with us?
 
2:08 2. In speaking about Shriners, you once said:
 
”We’re more than a hospital. We are more than an appointment. More than physical therapy. We’re hope, to these kids and to their families.”
 
For many local residents, Shriners is still a bit of a hidden or unknown gem. How fortunate is this community to have Shriners and what makes it such an important resource to so many?
 
3:25 3. When you were born, you had a condition called proximal femoral focal deficiency, which required you to have your right leg amputated above the knee. Fast forward, and next month you will be competing in the 2024 Paralympics in Paris.
 
Tell me some about your training regimen and how you are preparing for next month’s competitions.
 
5:22 4. Tell me about the events you will be competing in so that we can watch and pull for you.
 
6:24 5. Lastly, you once said,
 
“I hope I’m a role model for the kids I serve. I want them to know regardless of physical differences you can do what you set your mind to.”
 
As someone who has overcome adversity and turn setbacks into opportunities, what words of wisdom do you have for others who are confronted with what seem like really daunting or perhaps insurmountable challenges?

Episode 107 Russ Mathers - "Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home"

Director of STRIKEWERX, Russ Mathers, sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
0:31 1. You are the Director of STRIKEWERX, the innovation hub of the US Air Force Global Strike Command. In a little while, I want you to tell me about a couple of STRIKEWERX projects and the problems they helped solve.
 
But before you do that, tell me about the origins of STRIKEWERX - when, why and how it started.
 
3:18 2. You were part of Operation Secret Squirrel. Take me behind the scenes and tell me about this incredible mission.
 
22:41 3. Choose two projects STRIKEWERX has been involved in. Tell me the problems they were trying to solve and how STRIKEWERX became part of the solution.
 
36:16 4. It has been suggested to me that there are growing needs and business opportunities locally to support the type of work taking place at Barksdale. I would like to spend the remainder of our discussion here.
 
First, what businesses currently exist today in our community that are supporting needs at Barksdale?
 
40:28 5. Lastly, as you see it, what are the gaps that still exist in our community in order for us to best support the evolving needs at Barksdale and for the military as a whole?

Episode 106 Kyle Pierce - "Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home"

Former US and Ghana Olympic Weightlifting Coach, Kyle Pierce, sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
0:30 1. Dr. Pierce, you are a world-renowned sports scientist. Let’s start here today. You once said the following:
 
“I wasn’t a very good athlete. It took me five years to get a half scholarship. I wasn’t doing things right. I wanted to figure out how can I do it better, and how can I help somebody else do it better. I’m still learning about how to help people with their performance in sports.”
 
Tell me about some of your day to day work today at LSUS.
 
2:03 2. We had Dr. James Andrews come and speak at the Y a couple of years ago. Like you, I believe, Dr. Andrews is strongly opposed to early sports specialization.
 
Talk to me about the dangers of early sports specialization and your perspective on why our kids should not specialize in one sport at too young of an age.
 
9:10 3. You have been the coach for US athlete, Kendrick Farris, at the Olympics, as well as the Head Coach for Ghana at the Olympics.
 
I thought this was amazing. I read that you had never traveled outside of the US until your 40s but just in recent months you had been everywhere from Saudi Arabia, Burundi, Rwanda, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, and Cuba.
 
Talk to me about some of the work you’re doing when you’re traveling to these different countries.
 
11:54 4. You were inducted into the International Weightlifting Federation Hall of Fame and I believe currently serve as the director of international relations at USA Weightlifting and are a member of the coaching and research committee with the International Weightlifting Federation.
 
On this podcast we often talk about why so many people have self-esteem issues when talking about Shreveport-Bossier being their home. For someone who Shreveport-Bossier has been great to and who has been great to Shreveport-Bossier, how have you managed to see Shreveport-Bossier as a great location for you to use as a home base, as a place that’s not limiting and as a place you can convince great people from all around the world to come to?

Episode 105 Jordan Ring Scroggs - "Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home"

Jordan Ring Scroggs, Executive Director at MLK Health Center & Pharmacy, sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
0:30 1. Let’s start at the beginning if we could.
 
The founder of MLK Health Center & Pharmacy was Doctor Robert J Jackson who in 1985 recognized a gap in our community.
 
Talk to me about the origin of MLK Health Center & Pharmacy.
 
8:18 2. There’s a tremendous documentary about MLK Health Center & Pharmacy that KSLA made several years ago entitled Chronically Heal that I recommend everyone seek out. You can find it on YouTube.
 
I want to share a couple of the stats found in the documentary:
 
It is estimated that about 15% of residents of NWLA have no Medicare, no Medicaid, no private insurance and do not qualify under state guidelines for free care
 
There’s between 40 and 45,000 uninsured adults in our area and we suspect that many of them struggle with chronic conditions
 
Our community clearly needs you and the incredible work that you do. You offer a number of different services. Tell me about all the different services one can receive when they walk into MLK.
 
22:00 3. For those in our community who are insured and who do not struggle with access to health care, paint a picture of what life looks like for the uninsured, particularly those who have yet to discover or utilize the tremendous resource that MLK is.
 
27:00 4. In addition to your critical role at MLK, you have been a strong advocate for the Shreveport-Bossier community. For instance you started the I Love Shreveport Instagram and Facebook pages.
 
I’d like to get your perspective now on our community. First, as you look at our community, what concerns you the most?
 
28:51 5. Lastly, on the flip side of the previous question, what gives you hope that we’re headed in a positive direction?