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

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?

Episode 104 Chef Hardette Harris - "Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home"

Chef Hardette Harris sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
0:32 1. For the last two years, 103 podcast episodes, I have been sitting down with folks in our community asking them to help me understand why we don’t take more pride in being from here. I should have just come to you.
 
The work you have done is extraordinary, inspiring, and exactly what I’ve been hoping and trying to do in my own way. We’re gonna use a couple of quotes of yours today because I love ‘em. So hang in there because they may be a little long but they go deeply to the heart of the matter. You once said,
 
“The reason New Orleans works so well is because they love what they are. They don’t try to fix it up for anybody. They say, ‘It’s just who we are,’ and the world loves it. That’s what I’m trying to do with our food…When you go anywhere in south Louisiana, red beans and rice is listed as ‘red beans and rice.’ They don’t have some fancy name and when you get the bowl, what is it? Red beans. And rice. They don’t try to do anything to it.”
 
You were responsible for creating The Official Meal of North Louisiana. Tell me, what is our food?
 
5:40 2. You once compared our food to a toy that we hurry to put away when guests come, only to serve them more popular food like gumbo or etouffee?
 
Why do you think we “try to fix our food up for people”?
 
16:25 3. You are one of the very best authorities on North Louisiana’s foodways. What’s the best way for the general public to learn from you these days? How do they get on your schedule to spend some time with you and eat some of your food?
 
20:06 4. What’s next for you?
 
23:14 5. You once wrote,
 
“Traditional North Louisiana dishes like smothered pork chops, fried buffalo and catfish, purple hull peas, mustard and turnip greens, hot water cornbread and rice gravy can now come out of hiding. They were told to hush and not make a sound. They obeyed, sat still and quiet until company left. We let out a sigh and rushed to the table to eat and enjoy the foods we know and love. Forgive us.”
 
My last formal question is simply, as you look around at our community what gives you hope that we’re headed in the right direction?

Episode 103 Andrew Gaspard - "Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home"

Sportspectrum Owner Andrew Gaspard sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
0:26 1. Andrew, you’re one of my favorite type of guests to have on here. Someone who is not from here but who is doing great things for and in our community.
 
You are the relatively new owner of Sportspectrum.
 
Let’s start here today.
 
Take me through how you came to live here and then to your journey to succeed a local icon, Matt Brown, in a local iconic establishment, Sportspectrum.
 
6:53 2. Tell me a little about all the different things that Sportspectrum sells and offers today and what we can expect to stay the same under your new leadership and some of the ways you might expand in the future.
 
16:10 3. All right, so that brings us to the 2024 Logjammer, the first marathon Shreveport will host in several decades. When is it and why is this an important development for our community and the running community as a whole?
 
20:30 4. You once said, “Running is not fun until it is fun.” Tell me a little about what you meant by this.
 
22:48 5. Lastly, for those out there listening talk to me about what the local fitness community looks like and any advice you might have for plugging into it.

Episode 102 Poetic X - "Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home"

Caddo Parish's Poet Laureate, Poetic X, sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
0:30 1. Poetic, you are Caddo Parish’s poet laureate.
 
Let’s start here today.
 
You grew up in Shreveport’s Lakeside/Allendale neighborhoods. I’m always curious to hear the stories of how people first discover a passion. Can you take me through the beginning of when you first became interested in poetry and spoken word?
 
4:18 2. Many folks are intimidated by two things and I’m curious to hear your words of wisdom.
 
First, for people who are intimidated by poetry, who view it as a foreign language and have a hard time understanding what they are reading, do you have any advice for them?
 
10:28 3. Also, you are a multi creative. You have written fiction and nonfiction, created music, performed spoken word, and been involved in numerous visual art projects.
 
For people who have something to say but are reluctant to take those first steps to expressing themselves creatively, what suggestions or words of wisdom could you share?
 
18:18 4. As I mentioned earlier, you are Caddo Parish’s Poet Laureate. Tell me a little about how one becomes poet laureate and some of the opportunities you get to pursue in this role.
 
23:24 5. Paint a picture of your creative process. How do you decide to create something? Is this something you do daily? Is it spontaneous or is there real structure every day to what you decide to pour your energies into?
 
26:48 6. As you look out at our community, what gives you hope that we’re headed in a positive direction?
 
34:31 7. Do you want to share a few lines of something you've written?

Episode 101 Chris Brown - "Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home"

Local Music Historian Chris Brown sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:
 
0:34 1. Chris, you are the archivist of Centenary College and the Louisiana United Methodist Church. But today I would like to focus on a hobby of yours.
 
I don’t know anyone in our community who knows more about the history of music in Shreveport than you do.
 
When did your interest in Shreveport’s music history start. And what motivates you to continue unearthing it?
 
16:00 2. I want you to choose 2 of 3 of the following key figures of our musical past and tell us about them – Mira Smith, Dee Marais, and Stan Lewis.
 
39:15 3. Okay, now, if you would, please give me some history of Leadbelly and talk some about his worldwide importance.
 
50:08 4. About seven years ago I brought back the City Tennis Tournament because it had died and I thought it was important for us to continue to have it because it was rich with history and a critical part of our local sports past. A history by the way that we seemed to take for granted and so unconcerned with protecting and preserving.
 
For my last formal question, I would like for you to discuss the following. Why do we struggle as a city at knowing, preserving, and rallying around (with pride) our city’s rich musical past?