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

Episode 148 Vernae and Lance Thompson - "Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home"

Vernae and Lance Thompson are helping our young people find purpose. You can find my full discussion with the founders of the Dream Big Interactive Initiative here.
 
Here are the questions I asked:
 
0:31 1. We’re going to talk all about the Dream Big Interactive Initiative today. But let’s start here.
 
Pretend you’re in a school and there’s a child listening and you have a chance to encourage them, what would you say?
 
1:25 2. Talk to me about starting Dream Big. We have so many challenges in our community it can be difficult to know where to start when you set out to address them. How did you decide this is what we’re going to do and where we’re going to do it?
 
4:08 3. In 2004, Dream Big impacted nearly 7,000 elementary students. Tell me how it works, what I’m going to see and experience when you go into a school?
 
6:39 4. Tell people your age 3 Michael Jackson story.
 
13:20 5. Lance, you are a contemporary R&B singer, songwriter and producer, who has amassed over one million video plays over various social media platforms. You believe in showing your gifts and talents to the community where you grew up. Why do you think this is so important? And, what do you attribute your success to compared with some of your peers that you grew up with?
 
20:10 6. As you look out at our community, what are some of the things that concern you the most?
 
30:33 7. Lastly, what gives you hope that we’re headed in the right direction as a community?

Episode 147 Tamara Crane - "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 should live independently with dignity for as long as possible. What are some proactive things seniors can do to prolong an independent quality of life?
 
10:20 3. You and I have both been very involved with LSUS’ Institute for Nonprofit Administration and Research (or INAR as most people know it). You participated in two of INAR’s cohorts, first as a mentee then as a mentor. What are some reasons that you think INAR is so valuable to have in our community?
 
15:01 4. On June 16, you will be celebrating an incredible milestone – 50 years of the Council on Aging serving Bossier Parish. What are some challenges today that maybe did not exist when the Bossier Council on Aging first started supporting our seniors?
 
20:18 5. And for those in our community listening, how can they best help you achieve your mission?

Episode 146 Danielle Richard - "Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home"

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 have. And I want to nerd out today with you talking about and looking at our community.
 
But let’s start here. Let’s just level set.
 
You grew up in Franklin Parish, in Winnsboro, LA. Tell me a little about growing up in Winnsboro.
 
4:38 2. You are the owner and creative director of Richard Creative. Tell me about Richard Creative and some of the different services you offer.
 
6:55 3. You have studied social systems, writing an extremely thoughtful book entitled System Redesign Handbook For A Humane Era: Harnessing 12,000 Years of Knowledge to Edit Systems for Human Thriving.
 
Tell me some of the things you concluded that make a system more humane?
 
14:32 4. We have a sprawl issue in this community. Talk to me about some of the ways we can begin getting our core more densely populated.
 
25:32 5. In your book, you look at systems and explain that we made them all up as humans and so we have the power to un-make them as much as we want. I have heard you talk about City Building, Historic Preservation, Infrastructure and Transportation, Planning, and Incremental Development.
 
In our community, what systems would you prioritize as ripe for a redesign?

Episode 145 Bob Thames - "Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home"

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 come from?
 
3:02 2. You are co-founder of Single Source Business Solutions. Tell me about Single Source and what sort of individuals and companies are in the wheelhouse for the services you offer?
 
5:58 3. Single Source is located in the Andress Artist and Entrepreneur Center. Andress was the vision and brainchild of the late Jim Malsch, who we loved having during one of our early episodes of the podcast and who is deeply missed by so many of us.
 
It seems from the outside that you have picked up where Jim left off in making Andress a special place of special people all working in a shared space as well as a place that convenes community and serves as a hub for Downtown Shreveport.
 
Tell me some of what’s happening in Andress today and how you see its role?
 
13:01 4. You are a relationship guy. I once heard you say, “we have to continue to push each other and celebrate each other.” I know the meaning might be obvious. But talk to me more about this, what does it mean to push each other? And what does it mean to celebrate each other?
 
16:56 5. We’re nearly 150 episodes into this podcast and numerous episodes have gotten into how we have a hard time with our overall self-esteem as a community and communicating our identity, what makes us unique and special. How do you see this? Who are we as a community?

Episode 144 Patrick Wesley - "Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home"

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 improve quality of life space where people want to be. For us, that's a year-round process, and that's our goal.”
 
Let’s start here. What is your charge or responsibility as the Director of Parks and Recreation for Caddo Parish?
 
4:58 2. In October of 2024, you achieved something quite noteworthy. Out of the 10,000 park agencies in the nation, Caddo Parish parks became one of only 214 to be nationally accredited.
 
And you made the following statement, “As a new nationally accredited parks department, this is now the standard for our Caddo Parish park system. Our resilient Caddo Parish youth and respective families deserve to have quality parks and athletic facilities in their communities.”
 
Tell me some about the accreditation process and the above quote.
 
9:10 3. The great Walter B Jacobs Memorial Nature Park is in the process of a significant renovation. Tell me about this project, what all is happening at Walter B Jacobs?
 
12:29 4. We are partners, the YMCA and Caddo Parish on the Youth Baseball and Softball Complex we are building, and you have been an extraordinary advocate for the project. Tell me about the baseball and softball programs Caddo is currently overseeing and the importance and role of sports, in your opinion, for many of our Caddo youth.
 
21:07 5. You also said, “Over the past three years, pickleball has emerged as the fastest growing sport in the country. There is a strong demand from our Caddo Parish citizens, young and old, to develop more dedicated pickleball courts, and we are listening.”
 
Share some of the other quality of life enhancement projects you are part of.

Episode 143 Terri Matthews - "Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home"

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 today for some history. Your involvement and commitment to Mudbug Madness are inspiring and deserve serious recognition. When and how did Mudbug Madness first get started? What is it today versus what was it when you first started being a part of it?
 
6:02 3. Because I have heard you talk some about it previously. Share some history of how festival plaza came to be.
 
7:50 4. You are Executive Director of Downtown Shreveport Unlimited (or DSU as many know it). You chiefly oversee four events. Tell me a little about the three others, in addition to Mudbug Madness.
 
9:08 5. You once said, “I believe we’re supposed to give back to our community. I love Shreveport. Yes, it has challenges. I face them every day. But, it’s where I’ve chosen to stay. If I’ve chosen that, I need to give back."
 
How do we get our young people to think like you do? Or the generations coming behind you to see this in the way that you see it?
 
11:57 6. DSU is housed in the Visit Shreveport-Bossier office building. I know Visit Shreveport-Bossier has done great work around trying to pinpoint the best way to brand us and find what our unique identity is as a community. Many cities similar-sized to us have large universities and/or sports teams that bring the community together. We probably will never have either of those things in Shreveport-Bossier. But we do have numerous great events like the ones that you oversee.
 
So all that to say, because I think about this all the time about the Y where I work. How do we take what happens during your events – the palpable community pride and everyone coming together - and make that more of a recurring part of our daily lives in Shreveport-Bossier?

Episode 142 Logan Sledge - "Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home"

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 into theater.
 
7:04 2. You moved back to Shreveport in 2008 after many years in California. You and I were out in California at the same time in fact. I know that Bob Buseick and Patrick McWilliams, two of Shreveport’s greatest theater legends, both of whom unfortunately are no longer with us, both had a profound effect on you.
 
Tell me a little about Bob and Patrick, what made each of them so good and tell me a thing or two or three that you learned from each of them.
 
16:11 3. You are the Chair of the Theater Department at Centenary College. Tell me what happens today in the theater department.
 
25:50 4. Last week I had Morgan Walker, the Executive Director of the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra, on the podcast and we talked about how to get new people to go to the symphony. When is the best time for someone who is new to theater to come to Marjorie Lyons to see a production?
 
39:22 5. Last week Morgan and I also talked about what our community would miss without the symphony. I know how lucky we are to have symphony, opera, ballet, community theater. In your opinion, what would Shreveport-Bossier miss if community theater ceased to exist?

Episode 141 Shreveport Rouxgaroux - "Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home"

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 excited to have. Where do you play in town? And when is your next local game?
 
2:21 2. I haven’t been to a game yet but I definitely plan to come. Chase, I’ve heard arena football described as a circus with a football game or as NFL meets hockey. I’ve heard you say, “Hopefully it will be so loud I can barely hear the quarterback tell me to snap the ball” and “Usually if you’re not scoring at least 50 points, you’re not doing your job right.”
 
Tell me what I’m going to experience when I come to a game.
 
5:14 3. It’s a special time for football in Shreveport-Bossier. We have Centenary bringing back football after more than 70 years of not having a team and in a little over a year we’ll be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Independence Bowl. It’s such a wonderful opportunity to have a professional arena football team in our community. Heather, tell me about the Roux Krewe. And tell me some things that will help encourage families to come out and support the Shreveport Rouxgaroux.
 
7:08 4. Chase, I’ve heard you say, “I just really love to play football.” Tell me some about your football history. Where are you from and where all have you played? And how about the football history of some of your teammates?
 
10:10 5. I read about an arena football team in Wyoming. It’s a town of 37,000 that sells out a 5,000 seat arena every game. I also read, in preparing for today, that the Rouxgaorux contracts each of their players to do something in the community at least two times a week. And I heard that the Rouxgaroux players stay on the field after each game to meet kids and their fans.
 
So all that to say how can we make sure that this community adopts the Rouxgaroux as their team and ensures they are here for many, many years to come?

Episode 140 Morgan Walker - "Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home"

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 symphony. In fact, it’s the oldest continuously operating symphony in Louisiana.
 
We’re going to cover all kinds of aspects of the Shreveport Symphony today. But let’s start here. I know you do a lot of work with and in the schools. Tell me about some of this if you could.
 
2:55 2. Let’s talk some about your vision and initiatives. Tell me first about some of the things that will continue or stay the same with you at the helm?
 
3:41 3. And then let’s talk about some of the things that will be different or that are priorities for you to add or change.
 
5:37 4. What are the Symphony’s greatest challenges today and for those in our community listening, how can they best help you achieve your mission?
 
9:15 5. I once heard your great Music Director Michael Butterman say the following,
 
“We are all being rewired through our connectivity, through our devices and so on. We’re looking for the next ding, the next little stimulation. The idea of being multi-tasking and scattered is something that’s just kinda creeping into our very way of being. So that’s a challenge but it’s also an opportunity. What I mean by that is that more than ever I think people are looking for chances to kinda unplug. To transcend that kind of frantic pace. They might find it through prayer. They might find it through meditation. I suggest you can also find it through really losing yourself in great music like we play.”
 
You and I are a bit in a similar business. We are both selling quality of life enhancements to the community. How do you sell that to people when it’s not necessarily easy to quantify or demonstrate a ROI for?

Episode 139 Lindsi and Dany Martin - "Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home"

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 are a Partner and Wealth Advisor at WFA, formerly Williams Financial Advisors.
 
Today I’m going to lean heavily on your perspective, because it’s so unique, and focus on some of the incredible things you’ve done beyond your professions.
 
Let’s start here today. Tell me a little about where both of you are from and who taught you this sense of caring about and service to your community.
 
4:06 2. All right, Lindsi, this one is for you. I have to ask because I am the Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana. Shreveport recently was rated the 6th most obese city in the United States in WalletHub’s 2025 rankings. As someone who owned and ran a vegan restaurant for nearly ten years, is Shreveport-Bossier becoming more health conscious? And, what are some things that we can do to continue to get listed lower in these national overweight and obesity rankings?
 
9:12 3. This podcast was created in response to what I saw as a growing sense of community apathy and low self-esteem. Both of you represent the exact opposite of that. As a couple who have done and continue to do so much for our community, what do you see as ways to get more people, like you, to focus more on WE than ME?
 
17:42 4. Dany, I heard you say in an interview that Lindsi describes the two of you and your community work as “gap fillers”. Share some of the story about how your family became bigger through your involvement with Common Ground.
 
30:20 5. Will each of you share a story of a preconception you had or a gap in understanding or awareness that you had that has changed since you became foster parents?