Community activist Nell Shehee sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:

0:33 1. In 2022, you partnered with KTAL NBC 6 to launch the “Operation Kindness” initiative. Tell me about the genesis of this initiative, its mission and some of how it works.

6:33 2. I’ve asked other guests a similar question. How do we move our community more from a “me” community to a “we” community?

9:00 3. As you know, like you I have a very strong and fearless mom. In fact, one of her heroes, biggest role models, and one of the few people she looked up to was your mom, Virginia Shehee.

You once said the following in speaking about your mom:

“Virginia Shehee was a phenomenon. She was a mother, she was a businessperson, she was a philanthropist, she was a politician. She was a do gooder. She was, to some people, an angel. She cared about people very much. And I am very proud to be one of her four children.”

I know your mom has had a major influence on you. Can you talk about some of the lessons she taught you and some of the ways her legacy drives and guides you today?

18:55 4. As you look around our community, what concerns you the most?

20:44 5. What are some of the things that give you hope that we are headed in the right direction as a community?