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

Episode 24 Liz Swaine - ”Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home”

 
Liz Swaine, Executive Director of the Shreveport Downtown Development Authority, sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development with the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
0:32 1. Liz, you grew up in North Florida, went to college in Pensacola and came to Shreveport for a job with one of the local TV stations. You never intended to stay here but man are we happy you did.
 
You were the Executive Assistant to Mayor Hightower from 1998-2006 and since 2010 you have been the Executive Director of the Shreveport Downtown Development Authority.
 
We’ll probably spend most of the discussion talking about downtown because you are such an authority on all things downtown Shreveport. Let’s start if you could by talking about this quote of yours:
 
“We’ve got to have a downtown that the sidewalks don’t roll up at 5:00 in the afternoon and (nothing) happens before 8:00 in the morning. If we don’t do that, if we’re not successful at that, we’re going to be unsuccessful at almost everything else.”
 
5:08 2. We are in the middle of one of the most major developments to happen to downtown Shreveport in 25 years – the move of the state building from Fairfield to 500 Fannin. For us laymen, talk to me about why this project is so important. Also, when can we expect the move to take place?
 
12:30 3. I read that 10-15 years ago, there was almost no place to live downtown. Talk to me about the current residential situation downtown. How many units exist? What are the major residential buildings? How many downtown residents do you expect there to be in the next 3-5 years?
 
24:29 4. As I was preparing for our discussion today, I came across something that jumped out at me. I read that until a few years ago, it was illegal to have a sidewalk café in downtown Shreveport. Talk to me for a second about this. Why was that rule in place and why did it take so long to overturn it?
 
29:03 5. I believe that we have the second largest convention center in the state. How important is the convention center to downtown? Do you see it playing a larger and larger role as you continue to work to revitalize and grow downtown Shreveport?
 
35:48 6. Lastly, I know that you wish you could wave a magic wand and immediately transform downtown Shreveport into the downtown you envision. I came across another quote of yours:
 
“We’re getting it done, building by building, step by step.”
 
Talk to me about your patient, incremental approach and what do you say to residents that look at downtown and only see how much more there is left to do?
 
56:12 7. How do we move Shreveport-Bossier from me to we?

Episode 23 Sabrina Washington - ”Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home”

Sabrina Washington, Coach at the Walmart Supercenter on Shreveport Barksdale Highway, sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development with the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
0:27 1. Let’s start here. Where do you work and what kinds of things are you responsible for in your job?
1:44 2. Did you grow up in Shreveport-Bossier? If so, in what neighborhoods have you lived and what schools did you attend?
2:16 3. If someone asks you what Shreveport-Bossier is like, what do you tell them?
2:50 4. What are some of the things you like most about Shreveport-Bossier?
3:50 5. What are some of the things you like least?
4:20 6. Are you hopeful about the future of Shreveport-Bossier? Why or why not?
4:58 7. Finally, I ask this question fairly often because I feel like my knowledge of our community is so limited. If I met you one Sunday at 8AM and said for the next 12 hours Sabrina I want you to show me your Shreveport-Bossier. Where all would you take me and where all would we go?

Episode 22 Keith Hanson - ”Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home”

Keith Hanson, Chief Technology Officer for the City of Shreveport, sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development with the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
0:42 1. You have had such an interesting life and trajectory up to this point that if I were a true completist I would need about three or four hours with you to cover it all. That said, let’s get to some of the high points.
 
First quick background on you:
 
You attended Apollo Elementary for fifth grade, Greenacres Middle School and Airline High School. And in your own words you are a long-time resident, a (failed) 2018 city council candidate, a serial entrepreneur, and now Shreveport's first Chief Technology Officer under the Perkins administration.
 
Let’s start here. How are we doing in training our technology workforce? Is the size of that population growing in size locally?
 
Talk to me about some of the programs the local schools are offering to teach some of those skills and any other STEM-based curriculum and efforts locally you would like to highlight.
 
19:39 2. You have been deeply involved in addressing the digital divide in Shreveport-Bossier. I came across this quote of yours:
 
“The internet is not affordable for many who earn $35,000 or less, which is 42.8 percent of those living in Shreveport. Why is this an issue? Well for a number a reasons. Public Safety stems from economic stability. Economic stability stems from educational opportunity and access. And with the addition of a global pandemic, education is now heavily dependent on internet connectivity.”
 
Because it’s fascinating, talk to me first about the method you conceived of to address which neighborhoods were most in need of broadband access?
 
44:25 3. Once you determined which neighborhoods were most in need of broadband access, what is involved in bringing broadband access to those neighborhoods?
 
59:10 4. Crime is obviously on our community’s mind right now and you have been deeply involved in working to address the issue. For us laymen, talk to me a little about what is happening with the installation of cameras in downtown Shreveport. Also, talk to me about the Real Time Crime Center. What is it? And how does it work in helping to bring down crime?
 
1:20:00 5. What is holding us back from being one of the next, great small cities in America?
 
1:23:49 6. What will propel us forward?

Episode 21 Dan Farris - ”Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home”

Dan Farris, Local Attorney and Community Activist, sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development with the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana to answer the following questions:
 
0:36 1. Let’s start here. You once said, “Some children are dealt a rough hand, but with some support and guidance, they are fully capable of discovering and achieving their dreams and ambitions.”
You grew up in the Lakeside/Allendale neighborhood. For those out there who don’t really know what you mean when you say, “some children are dealt a rough hand”, or who have a hard time understanding what life looks like for a number of families in these neighborhoods, let’s talk for a second about that.
What would you say that many of us take for granted or are maybe unaware of, when it comes to life for many in Lakeside and Allendale?
 
4:43 2. You are a successful attorney, highly involved in the community, serving as the Former President of the Providence House Board and on the Volunteers of America LightHouse Advisory Council. You also volunteer with Junior Achievement and participated in LANO’s Community Leaders program, which began as a means to transform nonprofit board service through diversity.
All that to say, you are highly involved and have thrived where maybe a number of your childhood peers from Lakeside and Allendale have not achieved the same level of success. What do you attribute your success to?
 
15:14 3. How do we get more people like you setting aside time to get involved in the community?
 
19:53 4. In addition to practicing law and all your community service, you are also an actor, a published author of two fantasy novels, the host of a podcast, and you do voiceover work. You clearly love and understand the importance of telling stories. As you look around the community, what stories do you feel should be given more attention or are not being told enough?
 
25:30 5. What makes you hopeful about the future of Shreveport-Bossier?
 
28:30 6. Lastly, it’s a question I’ve asked numerous times. I feel like I only interact with a very small portion of the community and I am always trying to expand my understanding of what the entire community looks and feels like.
If I met you one Sunday morning at 8AM and said for the next twelve hours I want you to show me your Shreveport-Bossier, what does our day look like?

Episode 20 Briant Garcia - ”Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home”

Briant Garcia, Owner of 318Latino, sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development with the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
0:37 1. Briant, you are the owner of 318Latino, an online radio station in Shreveport that focuses on the Hispanic community of Northwest Louisiana. 318Latino keeps newly arrived Hispanics and residents informed about the options of services, products, entertainment, education, culture, health, events, active leaders, etc.” When and how did the radio station first get its start?
 
1:51 2. How do I tune into 318Latino?
 
2:21 3. There’s also a magazine component of 318Latino. How frequently does it publish? And how do people obtain copies when new issues publish?
 
3:13 4. As I was pursuing your Facebook page, I was struck by the fact that more than 20,000 people follow your page, which is almost 3x the number of people that follow our Facebook page at the Y.
 
Talk to me about the size of the Hispanic population in Shreveport-Bossier. How large is it? What countries are most represented? And, what schools and neighborhoods in Shreveport-Bossier contain the largest Hispanic populations?
 
8:15 5. The mission of 318Latino is “to build bridges between communities”. Talk to me about what this means.
 
9:18 6. From your perspective, is the Hispanic community 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?

Episode 19 Caleb King - ”Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home”

Caleb King, Co-Owner and Co-Founder of Dripp Donuts, sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development with the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
0:25 1. I’ve heard that your wife Michelle and you were out in CA camping, came to Shreveport over Christmas and less than two weeks later decided to move here. What transpired during that trip to Shreveport that convinced Michelle and you to move here?
 
2:25 2. Let’s talk about Dripp Donuts which I’ve seen described as craft sourdough donuts on wheels. What is Dripp? How did you get the idea to start it? Do Michelle and/or you have culinary backgrounds? And, if not how did you learn such gourmet skills both in terms of taste and presentation?
 
9:37 3. Not many people have seen as many sides of our community in as short of a time as you have. Dripp has been from Blanchard to Stonewall to Benton and everywhere in between. I believe you grew up here.
 
As someone who is newly back to town, what about the community has jumped out at you as being the same as when you grew up here?
 
17:25 4. What has jumped out at you as being different?
 
25:46 5. It seems that Dripp has been a great success. For people out there listening to this who aspire to start their own businesses in town, what advice or suggestions can you provide?
 
33:59 6. I believe that Michelle is Canadian and you guys have lived in other cities. From your perspective, what can Shreveport-Bossier do to become one of the next, great small cities?
 
*Outro music provided by Bond Plus

Episode 18 Edgar Guzman - ”Shreveport: Bossier - My City, My Community, My Home”

Edgar Guzman, Entrepreneur and Founder of The Lot Downtown Shreveport, sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development with the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
0:33 1. On Friday, November 20, 2020, in the middle of the first year of COVID, you and your wife Deshea opened The Lot at the old Sportran Terminal in the 400 block of Crockett.
 
Let’s begin, if we could, by talking about how that project came about.
 
2:37 2. What are some of the events currently taking place at The Lot? What are some of the things we can expect to find at The Lot over the next six months?
 
4:52 3. You once said, “We want downtown to get back up and running, and we are going to do everything we can to help that.”
 
You are now almost two years into The Lot. I would say at this point that you are far more experienced than most of us in terms of understanding the great possibilities and challenges of revitalizing downtown Shreveport.
 
In a recent interview you did with Tim Fletcher, Fletcher said, “A stronger downtown means a stronger community.”
 
Do you believe downtown Shreveport can be great again? If so, what can all of us in the community do to help make that happen?
 
7:51 4. Correct me if I’m wrong about this. You have a full-time job and The Lot is something you do in addition to your full-time job.
 
What kind of advice can you give to people in town that say, “I really care about my city and wish I could do more but I am just so busy.”
 
10:02 5. Andrew Larson once was quoted as saying, “It’s amazing what Edgar has been able to do here. His support for the community I think should be an inspiration for all of us.”
 
Why do you care so much about Shreveport-Bossier?
 
11:49 6. I think most people would agree that our community doesn’t always come together as much as it could. In one interview, you stated that you wanted The Lot to be for “every neighborhood.”
 
How do we as a community do a better job of coming together – different races, different classes, different neighborhoods?

Episode 17 Cassie Hammett - ”Shreveport: Bossier - My City, My Community, My Home”

Cassie Hammett, Founder and Director of The Hub: urban ministry, sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development with the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
0:37 1. Let’s start with a quote of yours I came across:
 
“I believe I need to leave my city better than I found it. Community is essential for a whole, full life.”
 
We will get more into the details of your work as we talk today but your career is dedicated to making our city better.
 
Where do you think this sense of obligation to your city came from? I find it rare for people to possess such a feeling of duty and responsibility to serve our city.
 
6:48 2. For those out there who are unaware of you, let me provide some quick information:
 
In 2007, at the age of 22, you founded The Hub: urban ministries in Shreveport after getting to know homeless people in Shreveport. 15 years later, The Hub serves the poor and those in homelessness through the Lovewell Center and helps women and children trapped in the sex industry and victims of human trafficking through Purchased: Not for Sale.
 
Let’s start by talking about your work with the Lovewell Center. Talk to me about this quote of yours below and how it informs your approach at Lovewell:
 
“…(people) should be pulled in and given a seat at the table. When I meet someone in homelessness or poverty, my end goal is to eventually be able to look at them as a friend.”
 
17:19 3. I was really interested in this statement of yours, “The Lovewell Center program is not a hand-out. When accepted, a homeless or poverty-stricken person is given the opportunity to become ‘a member.’
 
Can you talk a little about how the membership program works and the guiding principles behind it?
 
17:50 4. In your opinion, are we breaking cycles? If not, what are we going to have to do differently to begin putting an end to some of the areas where our community struggles the most?
 
32:38 5. In 2011, The Hub branched out into additional ministry by forming Purchased: Not For Sale to tackle the issue of human trafficking in our community. Talk to me about some of the programs of Purchased and the different types of human trafficking that exist in our community.
 
46:40 6. Models of The Hub have expanded or are being expanded into other cities like Las Vegas, Fort Worth, Ruston and Lafayette. Compare and contrast how the communities in these other cities engage with you and your work versus how our community engages with you here. Or in other words, what is different about the level of community engagement in these other cities? What is the same?

Episode 16 Kelli Todd - ”Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home”

Kelli Todd, Executive Director of Volunteers for Youth Justice, sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development with the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
0:37 1. You once said, “Even the smallest contributions from caring individuals culminate into great achievements for our children, youth and families.”
 
Talk to me if you could about what you meant by the quote above.
 
4:48 2. Back in 2004, you were teaching biology and coaching at Captain Shreve High School when you first began volunteering for Volunteers for Youth Justice (or “VYJ”).
 
A couple of years later, a job at VYJ came up in the Court Appointed Special Advocates department. Due to a chance encounter with Virginia Shehee and Virginia advising you to “follow your heart”, you ended up applying for the position, getting the job that included a pay cut and changing the trajectory of your career and life.
 
You are now into your ninth year as the Executive Director of Volunteers for Youth Justice. Can you talk to me a little about the organization and a few of your programs?
 
11:50 3. Preparing for my discussion with you, I came across some background on the formation of Volunteers for Youth Justice, which reminded me of how Providence House first came about. Can you talk about the origin of Volunteers for Youth Justice, who first started it and how?
 
13:46 4. You have worked and continue to work with many of the families in our community who are struggling. What are some things you could share or talk about that maybe the general public doesn’t see or know about these families in crisis?
 
18:35 5. In your opinion, are we breaking cycles? If not, what are we going to have to do differently to begin putting an end to some of the areas where our community struggles the most?
 
22:35 6. What is currently your biggest challenge at Volunteers for Youth Justice? Or in other words, what could you most use more of? Volunteers? Money? Or something else?

Episode 15 Billy Anderson - ”Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home”

Billy Anderson, Community Activist, sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development with the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
1:08 1. Billy, you are greatly involved in our community. I probably won’t hit everything but let me list some of the organizations with whom you work. You are the Executive Director of the Shreveport-Bossier African American Chamber of Commerce, Board Member of the Highland Area Partnership, Red River Revel, SocialGoats Inc and a member of the New Leaders Council. And this past week you were the Parade Chairman of the area’s inaugural Juneteenth Parade.
 
Let’s start by providing some background. You are a Shreveport-Bossier native. Where in the area did you grow up? Where did you go to school?
 
3:20 2. Why do you care so much about this community?
 
4:06 3. Let’s talk about the African American Chamber of Commerce. I read that the organization’s vision is to lead the charge for advocacy, entrepreneurship and economic empowerment. Talk to me about this vision and some of the ways that the African American Chamber of Commerce impacts our community.
 
6:42 4. You obviously believe in a better Shreveport-Bossier. If someone came to you and said, “Billy I am giving you all the money and all the power to make this city into the city you dream about and the city you want us to become.” What does that city look and feel like?
 
7:52 5. 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?
 
8:38 6. 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 you go and where do you take him or her to give a sense of your Shreveport-Bossier?