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

Episode 134 Maria Sermons - "Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home"

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 than 30 employees. Tell me about how the business got started and some of the services you offer today.
 
10:06 2. You have been an integral and active part of our local Hispanic community. Your family are a bit of Mexican pioneers in this area. Talk to me about how you have seen the local Hispanic community evolve and change over the years?
 
15:32 3. What are some steps you feel could be taken to further integrate the Hispanic community into the greater Shreveport-Bossier community?
 
22:00 4. As you look out at our community in general, what are some of the things that concern you the most?
 
26:03 5. What gives you hope that our community as a whole is headed in a positive direction?

Episode 133 Ronald Collins Jr. - "Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home"

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 generation, I believe, running the paper, and the great-grandson of Melvin Collins, the founder. How long have you been with The Sun and can you share some of your earliest memories of being around this incredible family business?
 
5:40 2. Tell me about The Sun in 2025. How often do you publish? Do you still publish a print edition? And tell me about some of your social media activity.
 
10:15 3. On February 12th of this year, The Shreveport Times published an article that according to the US Census Bureau, 56.1 percent of Shreveport is Black, 36.5 percent is white, 3.9 percent Hispanic, 1.5 percent is Asian and 0.2 percent is American Indian and Alaska Native.
 
The Sun continues to be and has always been an important resource in our community providing information on black people’s progress, noting times of black social events, and acting as a sounding board for black opinion. How do you see the role of The Sun in 2025 versus perhaps what it was in the time of the first, second, and third generation Collins editors and owners?
 
17:42 4. Newspapers.com is a tremendous online resource providing daily archives of many papers from around the country. Is it possible that The Sun would ever become part of the newspapers.com database?
 
21:06 5. As you look at our community, what are some of the things that concern you the most?
 
26:00 6. What makes you feel that our community is making progress or perhaps headed in a positive direction?

Episode 132 Councilwoman Tabatha Taylor - "Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home"

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 about where autism resources and awareness were when you first started this work 25 plus years ago and some of where they are today.
 
6:26 2. You grew up in the Cooper Road area and now represent that district, District A, as its city councilwoman. I’ve heard you talk about why your memories of going to pay the water bill with your grandmother was important. Can you share of that story?
 
9:55 3. You are one of the most positive, forward-looking leaders we have in our community. And I have always been struck by how much pride the people I have met from Cooper Road seem to have.
 
Talk a little about the Cooper Road/MLK area. How is it similar to the way it was when you were growing up there and how it is different?
 
14:50 4. As you look out at our community as a whole, what are some of the things that concern you the most?
 
19:41 5. And what are some of the things that you make you feel that we are headed in the right direction?

Episode 131 Deidra Lewis-Robertson - "Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home"

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’s start here today.
 
I believe there are currently 10 Friendship Houses in Shreveport-Bossier. What are these friendship houses and what types of programs do they offer?
 
4:02 2. How does Community Renewal determine where to place its friendship houses?
 
5:51 3. You once said, “The call had to go beyond just going to church every Sunday.”
 
Your husband Eric and you made a significant sacrifice by relocating your family to a less safe area of Highland so that you could run the Friendship House in Highland. Talk to me about that relocation process and some of what your husband, children and you went through (or still go through) as a result of making that significant transition?
 
10:37 4. As I mentioned earlier, you are the Director of Operation H.O.P.E. Tell me about this program and some of the important work it does.
 
13:53 5. Sometimes people think it is the sole responsibility of our school system to be our village and to ensure that our kids get all that they need to become responsible, productive adults. How do you see the role of schools, what can they do and what should they do, and what are the gaps that programs like yours need to fill?

Episode 130 Greg Powell - "Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home"

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 Juneteenth celebrations and recently you were the guide for the MLK 318 Dreamfest guided bus tour. Tell me about these tours, some of the sites you take people to, and a little about who taught you our local black history.
 
28:40 4. As you look out at our community, what are some of the things that concern you the most?

Episode 129 Emily Hays - "Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home"

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 Kazakhstan in your early twenties. How did you end up there?
 
4:30 2. Fast forward a few years and you are now the owner of Osborn Hays Real Estate. Tell me about Osborn Hays, how it started, and some about who you are as a company.
 
7:18 3. Let’s switch gears a little as we get to another important facet of your current life. In addition to owning and running Osborn Hays, along with your husband and father you own North Port Sports.
 
Where did the idea come from to purchase the 25-acre site which had been abandoned for more than 10 years? What is North Port Sports today and what will it be ultimately?
 
15:43 4. Like many of us, you grew up here, went away never expecting to return, returned never expecting to stay, and now you are committed to making your hometown better.
 
Your husband Phil and you are raising a family with four children. As you look around at our community, what are some of the things that concern you the most?
 
21:19 5. Lastly, what are some of the things locally that make you feel like our community is improving or has improved since you first came back to live here?

Episode 128 Maggie Martin - "Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home"

This week we sit down with the one and only Maggie Martin. You can find my full discussion with the Shreveport journalistic icon here.
 
Here are the questions I asked:
 
0:33 1. You have been an institution in Shreveport journalism. I read that it was a dream come true for you to be a journalist, one you chose many years ago when you were a young child reading The Times on your stoop in Queensboro.
 
What was it about journalism that spoke to you?
 
3:02 2. You began working with The Times in 1964 but not initially as the society reporter you would become. When did you first begin writing columns on society parties?
 
5:50 3. Tell me about one or two of the most memorable parties you ever covered.
 
10:42 4. You were part of The Times Enterprise Team, a group of reporters and editors that investigated the late Shreveport Public Safety Commissioner George D’Artois. The entire enterprise team was actually a finalist in the 1976 Pulitzer Prize competition.
 
Tell me about Jim Leslie and some of your memories of working on the Enterprise Team.
 
21:02 5. Your husband, Paul Schuetze, has been a critical part of both your personal and professional life, photographing much of your written coverage for The Times. Tell me about when and how Paul and you first met.

Episode 127 Krewe of Gemini - "Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home"

This week our focus is Mardi Gras! You can find my full discussion with Tony Richardson and Karen Baker, Krewe of Gemini, here.
 
Here are the questions I asked:
 
0:28 1. Both of you are part of The Krewe of Gemini, the oldest parading Mardi Gras Krewe in Shreveport-Bossier.
 
We recently kicked off Mardi Gras season 2025 with Twelfth Night.
 
Tell me when it was and some of what happened that night.
 
5:10 2. Tony, you are originally from Michigan but are now Captain for this year’s 36th year of Gemini. Tell me how you first got involved in Gemini.
 
8:00 3. Karen, you first joined the Krewe of Gemini in 2007, were Queen for the 30th year of Gemini, and are a current board member. What is Gemini for you and what are some of the reasons you continue to give so much of your time to it?
 
12:16 4. What many people don’t realize is how much of an economic impact Mardi Gras delivers to our local economy. According to numbers released by the Caddo Parish Commission in early 2024, the direct economic impact of Mardi Gras parades in Shreveport was estimated to be more than $9 million. Adding indirect spending, the total economic impact was estimated to be more than $16 million.
 
Do people travel into the area for our Mardi Gras? Or can you talk about some of the different ways that local Mardi Gras delivers an economic impact?
 
15:34 5. The Krewe of Gemini parade draws hundreds of thousands of spectators each year along the 5½ mile parade route.
 
When will it roll this year and talk to me some about its parade route?
 
17:05 6. For people listening who are interested in becoming a part of a Krewe, what’s the best way for them to get involved?
 
24:08 7. What distinguishes Mardi Gras in North Louisiana from Mardi Gras in South Louisiana?

Episode 126 Clarrissa Stephens - "Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home"

Like so many of my guests, Clarrissa's journey is an instructive one and so rich with valuable lessons for us all. You can find our full discussion here.
 
Here are the questions I asked:
 
0:28 1. You and I first met about a year ago. As I have mentioned several times here, I currently chair the advisory board for LSUS’ Institute for Nonprofit Administration and Research (or INAR as most people know it).
 
You were one of 15 nonprofit leaders selected to participate in an important INAR initiative, its first capacity building cohort.
 
Tell me both about your nonprofit, Uniforms For All, and why the cohort was an important initiative for you to be a part of.
 
4:04 2. For the past 14 years, you have been on staff at Northpoint Community Church in Bossier City where you currently serve as the Connections and Community Relations Pastor. Talk to me if you would a little about the church – its values and focus.
 
5:47 3. You found the church by way of a fairly circuitous path – having been a victim of domestic abuse, struggling with drugs, even finding yourself incarcerated at one point.
 
I have heard you talk about how God gave you the grace to care. And I have heard you cite Romans chapter 8, verse 1,”There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
 
For those listening today, talk to me a little about how the church has given you a reboot and allowed you to completely take your life to a different place.
 
10:07 4. Somewhat unknown fact - you are a WWII buff. If you could, tell me what it is about WWII that is so fascinating to you and perhaps share 1 or 2 of the stories from the war that you find most instructive.
 
13:27 5. I’ve heard you talk about the “circle check”. Talk to me some about this.

Episode 125 Mack McCarter - "Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home"

This week we sit down with one of the great thinkers about community that we have. You can find my full discussion with Mack McCarter here.  
 
Here are the questions that I asked:
 
0:46 1. Mack, you are the founder and coordinator of Community Renewal International, one of our community’s most impactful nonprofits that you first started in 1994. You are also one of the great thinkers about community that we have.
 
The what, where, when, who of Community Renewal are all instructive and invaluable lessons to us all but where I would like to spend the most time with you today is the why. In a little while, I will come back to you to give me a snapshot of Community Renewal but let’s start here.
 
In numerous podcasts, I have been a detective, asking numerous guests how do we move from a “Me” to a “We” world.
 
How did we get here? Why are we so me-focused as a community?
 
6:38 2. Tell me about Harry Blake. How did you first get to know him and what are some of the things you learned from Revered Blake?
 
15:02 3. You live part time in Washington DC. In an op-ed piece you wrote for The Shreveport Times in 2018, as you looked out at American society as a whole, you wrote these words:
 
“We must celebrate our diversity as we all commit to common values that transcend each of us for the good of all of us. But how?”
 
You have studied social systems, trying to discover what kind of society would make possible a world where people love their neighbors. What are some conclusions you have come to?
 
21:20 4. I don’t want to spend too much time here because I’ll have another representative from Community Renewal International on in a few weeks.
 
Community Renewal International focuses on three primary strategies– We Care Partners, We Care Neighbors, and We Care Friendship House. Can you give me a snapshot of each of these three strategies?
 
26:46 5. As you look at our community in 2024, thirty years after you first started Community Renewal, talk to me about some of the things that still concern you the most?
 
31:32 6. Lastly, what gives you hope that we’re headed in the right direction as a community?