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

Episode 40 Drayden Dunn - ”Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home”

Drayden Dunn, Entrepreneur and Community Leader, sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
0:41 1. Drayden, you are an entrepreneur and community leader. I don’t want to spend too much time introducing your background and bio as I’m confident we’ll cover a good bit as we go through today.
 
As I prepared for today’s discussion, I came across some excellent quotes by you and I’d like to use those as jumping off points for the majority of my questions.
 
Let’s start here:
 
“If you do aspire to be an entrepreneur, own a business, first thing period is you just got to eliminate fear. The thing I can guarantee is that you’re going to fail. My Ls I can write a whole list of Ls. I’ve done lost, lost, lost, lost, lost, lost, period. But every time I took an L, you learn something from it.”
 
Talk to me about your philosophy around entrepreneurship and the way you view starting a business.
 
10:53 2. You are a leader in this community and heavily involved. The next quote of yours I’d like you to talk about is the following. You said,
 
“It is hard to change the mentality of a community….It doesn’t happen overnight. And it may not even happen for us to see. I don’t know. I just know we need to move it forward.”
 
What do you see as your role and/or responsibility to our community?
 
17:46 3. My next question is just leaning on you for a second for some guidance.
 
Every resident of this area has been in this situation at one time and will inevitably encounter it again. You are at a dinner party or around friends and someone starts putting down or bad mouthing Shreveport-Bossier.
 
What's the right way to react if we hope to correct that type of behavior moving forward?
 
28:00 4. You are the owner of Envision Media and Marketing, a local concierge media and marketing company. Tell me about your company. When it started? How it came to be? Where you’re located and some of the services you offer?
 
36:52 5. Let’s now go back to a couple of quotes of yours. When you bought 709 Texas Street to house Envision Media and Marketing, you said:
 
“I want people to be inspired by this. I want people to invest in downtown, invest in the city. Those who do should be celebrated.”
 
You have been a longtime advocate and supporter of downtown Shreveport. Why is downtown Shreveport so important to you?
 
46:24 6. Lastly, let’s talk race for a second in our community. Your wife Brittney, who was recently our guest, serves as the Chairwoman of the Shreveport African American Chamber of Commerce and you have both been deeply involved in working to mentor, lift up and advocate for other African Americans in our community.
 
You once said,
 
“Shreveport is a predominantly black city. It wasn’t always like that.”
 
As Shreveport evolves from African-Americans being the minority to being the majority population, talk to me about steps you see we can take to improve our race relations. In other words, what do you see as the white population’s responsibility in dealing with the race issue? And what do you see as the black population’s responsibility in dealing with the issue of race in our community?

Episode 39 Bonnie Moore - ”Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home”

Bonnie Moore, Director of the Department of Community Development for the City of Shreveport, sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
0:26  1.  Bonnie, let’s start here today if we could. If I am not mistaken, you have served as the Director of the Department of Community Development for the City of Shreveport since 1995. 
 
For the lay person who has no idea what the Department of Community Development is, can you define its role for the city?  We will get into the specifics of some of your major projects and initiatives next.
 
4:35  2.  I would like to spend the rest of our time talking about a number of your major projects and initiatives.  Let’s begin with Choice Neighborhoods.  What is Choice Neighborhoods, where is it located and why is it an important development for our community?
 
12:50  3.  Next I would like you to speak about MS KICK (Kitchen Incubator). Like Choice Neighborhoods, can you tell me what MS KICK is, where it’s located and why it’s important for our community?
 
18:02  4.  I have three other projects and initiatives I would like to cover with you. For each of these, can you tell me what they are, where they are located and why they are important for our community.
 
Let’s begin with the Financial Empowerment Center.
 
26:34  5.  Next can you tell me about the War Room Initiative?
 
36:50  6.  Lastly, can you provide some information about the Early Start Initiative?
 
43:35  7.  Bonnie, as you look at our community, what makes you optimistic about our future?

Episode 38 Keith Burton -”Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home”

Keith Burton, Chief Academic Officer for Caddo Parish Public Schools, sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
1:00 1. Keith, you are the Chief Academic Officer for Caddo Parish Public Schools. I believe you are a 31 year veteran of Caddo schools. Prior to serving as Chief Academic Officer, among other things, you served as the principal of Fairfield Elementary School, South Highlands and Caddo Middle Magnet.
 
I want to cover a number of different programs with you today.  Let’s start here.
 
You serve on the Advisory Council of Volunteers of America’s Community in Schools. Or CIS as many people know it.
 
I pulled this from VOA’s website:
 
“In Caddo Parish, approximately 70 percent of students live in poverty. A licensed partnership between Volunteers of America North Louisiana and Communities In Schools, the largest and most effective dropout prevention organization, is aimed at surrounding these students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.”
 
Talk to me if you could about CIS, some of the programs it offers and why it is so important that we have organizations like it in our schools.
 
9:22 2. For the moneyed community of Caddo Parish that may not understand what life looks like at some of our schools or in some of the homes or neighborhoods of some of our students, can you describe it for us?
 
12:27 3. You are part of Community Foundation’s Early Childhood Education Caddo Fund Initiative Steering Committee. In short, this initiative seeks to create more equity among our Caddo Parish students by providing access for all our students to quality childcare and early education.
 
I recently had Clay Walker on as a guest who said that when 14 year olds come to him it’s too late.
 
In your opinion, programmatically, what are some things we can do for our 6-13 year olds that level the playing field in ways similar to the incredible work you have done for 0-5 year olds with Community Foundation’s Early Start Initiative?
 
21:10 4. Like some of our community’s other more complex issues, I fully realize that there is no one magic bullet that will quickly propel Caddo Parish to be one of the highest-ranked public school systems in the country.
 
But if money were no issue, programmatically what would be other major gamechangers to our system and students, like CIS and Community Foundation’s Early Start Initiative?
 
25:17 5. What are some areas that are more challenging today in Caddo Parish Public Schools than they have been at other times during your 31 year career?
 
28:22 6. What are some areas that are better today than they have been at other times during your 31 year career?
 
34:01 7. As I look around, one of our biggest challenges as a community is that we lose a lot of our best and brightest. From your perspective, what can we do as a community to do a better job of holding on more in the future to some of our best and brightest?

Episode 37 Brittney Dunn - ”Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home”

Brittney Dunn, Owner of Brittney Dunn, CPA LLC and Chairwoman of the Shreveport African American Chamber of Commerce, sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
0:58 1. Brittney, you run your own accounting business, B&D Tax & Accounting Services LLC, and are greatly involved in our community. Let me name some of the high points.
 
You serve on the following boards: Caddo Council on Aging, Volunteers of America and United Way of Northwest Louisiana. You were recently appointed to the Democratic Parish Executive Committee for District 10 and you currently serve as the Chairwoman of the Shreveport African American Chamber of Commerce.
 
You once said, “Try not to become a person of success, rather a person of value.”
 
Why do care so much about being of value to our community?
 
8:52 2. In a historic partnership, the Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau together with the City of Shreveport, the City of Bossier City, the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce, the Bossier Chamber of Commerce, the Shreveport-Bossier African American Chamber of Commerce, and other local community organizations are working together to develop a Destination Master Plan and Community Brand.
 
While the Convention and Tourist Bureau has led the project and is funding the initiative, a steering committee with representatives from around the area has been organized to offer guidance and assistance. You are steering committee co-chair along with Lisa Johnson, President and CEO of the Bossier Chamber of Commerce.
 
Talk to me about the importance of this project and where we are so far in the process.
 
13:53 3. It is inspiring to see someone like you working so hard to give back to our community. How do we create more people like you that believe in Shreveport-Bossier?
 
18:41 4. A friend of yours is coming to visit. It will be his or her first time in Shreveport-Bossier and he or she is only in town for one full day. Where all do you go and where do you take him or her to give a sense of your Shreveport-Bossier?
 
23:10 5. As you look around our community, what concerns you the most?
 
33:01 6. What makes you hopeful about the future of our community?

Episode 36 - Dinero’ Washington - ”Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home”

SporTran Chief Executive Officer, Dinero' Washington, sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
0:52 1. Dinero', let’s start here today. Since 2015, you have served as the Chief Executive Officer of SporTran. If you could, please give everyone a basic overview - your annual budget, number of employees, hours of operation and areas served?
 
2:33 2. Public transit is an essential part of the local economy. Buses connect our citizens to employment.
 
Approximately how many riders does SporTran carry a year?
 
5:58 3. Under your leadership, SporTran went through a four year process to design a total restructure plan for the agency based on feedback from the riders. Since completing the project, SporTran is one of the few transit systems in America that has seen a growth in ridership.
 
How is SporTran different today from what it was when you started the restructure process?
 
13:32 4. I have heard it spoken about but know very little about it. Can you tell us about the downtown circulator?
 
15:29 5. In 2019, you wrote an article about the number of covered bus stops in our community. At the time, you stated there were over 800 bus stops in the City of Shreveport but only 100 were covered.
 
I believe the 2019 bond that failed included money to increase the number of covered bus stops.
 
What is the situation today? Is there still an overwhelming amount of bus stops that remain without shelter or cover?
 
18:03 6. Most people don’t know that SporTran was the first public transit agency in the state to deploy electric buses. I believe today that your fleet only consists of electric buses and alternative fuel-powered buses.
 
Is that correct? How many buses total are in your fleet? How many are electric and how many are CNG?
 
25:12 7. In doing my research on you, it is abundantly clear that you are very community minded. I came across this quote of yours:
 
“When you can transform your own community and bring things to light, that’s a great thing that you can always look back on and say, ‘Hey, one day my kids are going to be able to see this. I’m doing this for my grandkids’.”
 
How do we get more people to view this as a WE and not a ME community?

Episode 35 Caddo DA James E Stewart, Sr - ”Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home”

Caddo Parish District Attorney James E Stewart, Sr sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
0:33 1. You are the son of retired United States postman Richard G Stewart, Sr and the late Corine Stewart. Your family has an incredible legacy in this community.
 
One of your brothers is retired United States Navy Captain Judge Advocate General Richard G Stewart, Jr and your other brother is Chief Judge of the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal Carl E Stewart, Sr.
 
Talk to me about your family upbringing. How do you explain and what do you attribute you and your siblings’ unusual success to?
 
11:08 2. For the lay person out there, in fairly simple terms, talk to me about the role of the Caddo Parish District Attorney. What is your role and your main responsibilities?
 
12:23 3. You once said, “The criminal justice system, the Constitution of the United States was not built for speed.”
 
Would you mind explaining and talking more about this quote?
 
20:05 4. For people out there listening who say, “I love my community. I’ve had enough of the crime. I’m convinced I need to do my part.”
 
What do you have to say to those people? What can they do? How can they get involved and play a role in helping our crime situation in the future?
 
23:36 5. You have been the DA since 2015. Talk about some of the areas of crime in our community and/or of your position as DA that are more difficult or challenging today than they were seven years ago when you first started.
 
29:25 6. On the flip side, what are some areas of crime in our community we have improved upon? Or, in other words, in terms of your office, what are some of the things that you feel are improving or are better today than they were back in 2015? And what gives you hope we are headed in the right direction?

Episode 34 Isaiah Lee - ”Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home”

Isaiah Lee, Owner of Leeson Real Estate Investment Firm, sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
0:50 1. In June of this year you bought 513-519 Milam Street,, the former Rubenstein’s Department Store, for $50,000 and announced a major project to transform the space into The Rubenstein and Landlord Historical Apartments.
 
Tell me what we will eventually find a couple of years from now when we enter these buildings.
 
2:38 2. You are clearly a glass half full person. Twelve years ago you returned to live here and said,
 
“Instead of bashing Shreveport, I saw some great opportunities, and I put my skills to work here.”
 
No city is perfect. And every place, including Shreveport-Bossier, has tremendous room for improvement.
 
What do you attribute your optimism and positive outlook to? Or in other words how do you see opportunity when so many people only see problems and despair?
 
6:58 3. You are the founder and co-owner of Leeson Real Estate Investment Firm. Talk to me about your company and some of the projects you have been and are currently involved with.
 
9:00 4. You seem to be the perfect person for the Rubenstein’s project. From the 1940s to the mid 70s, Rubenstein’s was one of the stars of department stores downtown. But for more than 35 years, these two historic buildings have sat empty.
 
I read this quote of yours where you talk about your appreciation for history and the integrity of old buildings:
 
“I just love the way they’re built. I love the quality of material they’re built out of, how they were built, and the history that’s behind them. You look at them, and there’s some man that probably put six months of his life into really making that building look phenomenal. I just like restoring that.”
 
We live in a time where I feel like so many people just want to build new, forget the past and add to the future. How do you explain your appreciation and reverence for history?
 
15:52 5. As you look around our community, what concerns you the most?
 
23:00 6. What makes you prideful of Shreveport-Bossier?

Episode 33 Suyi Georgewill - ”Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home”

Suyi Georgewill, General Manager of Cintas Corporation, sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
0:51 1. Suyi, let’s start here today. I believe you are originally from Nigeria then lived in Toronto and came to the south on an athletic scholarship to the University of Southern Mississippi.
 
How did you first come to live in Shreveport-Bossier?
 
2:57 2. I am always interested in how athletics prepare people for successful careers as adults. Can you talk a little about how and why your athletic background has helped you thrive as a business professional?
 
6:54 3. You are a General Manager of Cintas Corporation. I know at the Y we use and love Cintas.
 
For those out there who don’t really know what Cintas does, can you tell them a little about the company and your services?
 
13:20 4. You are greatly involved in our community. I’m going to try to name a few of the things that you do. You were chosen as 40 under 40 and were a member of the 2021 Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce Leadership Class. You are on the Executive Committee of the Independence Bowl, the United Way Board of Directors, the Strategic Action Council Board of Directors, a member of the Louisiana Economic Development Corporation and a member of the Committee of 100.
 
Clearly giving back to the community is important to you. Why is that and who taught you the importance of service?
 
17:54 5. I am always interested in hearing how people who did not grow up here view our community. What did you notice when you first arrived here? And how would you describe Shreveport-Bossier to your friends who had never been here?
 
21:18 6. What concerns you the most as you look at our community?
 
23:44 7. What makes you hopeful about our future?

Episode 32 Jim Malsch - ”Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home”

Entrepreneur Jim Malsch sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
0:59 1. Jim, let’s start with some background on you. In 1994 you founded Enterprise Computing Services, LLC which grew and prospered under your leadership. On December 31, 2018, you retired from ECS, after 24 years of building this great business.
 
I’ve known you for several years now and I remember that you were the first one to tell me about the expression moving from “success to significance”. How does this idea of moving from “success to significance” apply to your life?
 
2:21 2. You are incredibly involved in our community. You were previously the chairman of Cohab and have served, to name but a few things, on the advisory board for BPCC, Northwest Louisiana Technical College, the Caddo Career & Technology Center Scholarship Foundation and the Minority Supplier Institute and you recently became the new owner of Shreveport Music Company on Kings Highway across the street from Centenary College.
 
Let’s talk for a second about the entrepreneurial community here. Specifically, talk to me about how the following three organizations – EAP, Cohab and Startup Prize - collaborate and the different role each organization serves in building a stronger entrepreneurial culture in our community.
 
4:49 3. You once said, ““It doesn’t matter if it’s beer, if it’s IT or whatever. All successful businesses kinda have the same traits.”
 
Talk to me about what some of those traits are.
 
6:42 4. You have been a mentor to countless people in our community, including me. I’m curious, who are some of the people that mentored you or who have inspired and influenced your outlook on community?
 
8:14 5. You recently completed an enormous project at 717 Crockett Street, where you took a building that had been abandoned for more than 30 years and massively rehabbed it into what is now the Andress Artist & Entrepreneur Center.
 
Talk to me about all that is happening at 717 Crockett.
 
10:59 6. As you look around, what makes you optimistic about the future of our community?

Episode 31 Mayor John Hussey - ”Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home”

Mayor John Hussey sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
0:50 1. Mayor Hussey, you were the Mayor of Shreveport from 1982-1990 and for the four years before that you served on the Shreveport City Council. For someone out there considering a career in politics, in your opinion what are some of the traits that make someone effective in politics?
 
3:10 2. One reason that we started this “Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home” initiative was because we felt our community had a self-esteem issue and we needed to spend more time highlighting the positive aspects of ourselves. Do you feel like Shreveport-Bossier has always had a negative self-image or what do you think led to this feeling that seems fairly rampant now in our community?
 
7:58 3. I would imagine one of the more difficult events you oversaw during your term in office were the riots that occurred in Cedar Grove in 1988. I came across a quote of yours that appeared in the Washington Post days after rioters looted and set fire to businesses in Cedar Grove where you said:
 
“We've got problems in our economy; we've got problems in our racism; we've got many other problems."
 
We’re now 34 years removed from the Cedar Grove event. Would you still say something similar about the state of our community now?
 
11:10 4. From your perspective, what are some of the areas of our community that may be struggling more than when you were in office?
 
14:10 5. What are some of the areas of our community where we seem to be doing better than when you were in office?
 
17:44 6. Lastly, as you look around, what makes you optimistic about the future of our community?