Hey Amarillo

A conversation with Lindsey Lane, one of Amarillo's most in-demand country singers and all-around performers. Originally from Lubbock, Lindsey arrived in this area to pursue an education degree from WTAMU, then taught 3rd-grade math for several years before pursuing music full-time. She shares with host Jason Boyett how she grew up learning the craft from her father, how she decided the time was right to go all-in on her dreams, and offers an expert perspective on the local music scene—including how she and her band keep their audience engaged. This episode is sponsored by Storybridge.

A conversation with Sherman Bass, the new film commissioner with the Amarillo Film Office and the former general manager of the Amarillo Civic Center. An Amarillo native with a background in acting, Bass worked for the Civic Center across two different stints before a brief retirement last year. In that previous job, he oversaw every detail of the Civic Center—which makes him an expert on the needs and challenges related to the current complex. Regarding his new role, Bass explains to host Jason Boyett how he has begun selling Amarillo as a prime location for film and television production. This episode is sponsored by Blue Handle Publishing.

A conversation with Kathy Lopez, the entrepreneur and owner of Little Bee's Playhouse, a child-focused play and party venue in Wolflin Square. Lopez was a WT grad who went on to work in the corporate event world of the Metroplex, traveling internationally as a specialist in hospitality, marketing and event management. Then she returned to Amarillo. Lopez explains to host Jason Boyett how that move—with young children in tow—inspired her to build a career that was flexible enough to involve her kids. Little Bee's is the result, and its success has put it on the cusp of expanding beyond the city. This episode is sponsored by La-Z-Boy of Amarillo.

A conversation with Matt Morgan, the interim director of Outdoor Amarillo and a longtime local volunteer, board member and nonprofit advocate. Morgan walks host Jason Boyett through his diverse career, which includes everything from marketing to human resources, personnel, grant management and more— including his current work with the International Sustainable Energy Foundation. He also shares about the goals and origin of Outdoor Amarillo, an Amarillo nonprofit dedicated to growing community and culture by improving public parks. This episode is sponsored by SKP Creative.

A conversation with Andrew Brandt, a local novelist and one of the owners of Phone Medic, a smartphone and computer repair business with locations in Amarillo, Canyon and Lubbock. With host Jason Boyett, Brandt shares about these two divergent career paths. In one, he grew a computer repair hobby into a multi-location business—including a new Phone Medic site in Lubbock—by dreaming big and partnering with the right people. In the other, this author of books like Mixtape for the End of the World and Picture Unavailable drew from a childhood love of reading and a dedication to telling stories. This episode is sponsored by Wieck Realty and Shemen Dental.

A conversation with Amelia Balderrama, the President and CEO of iDocket, a software company specializing in products for local governments, including statewide case management software used by cities and counties within the Texas judicial system—and potentially beyond. She shares with host Jason Boyett the company's origin story in Amarillo and how it now serves local courts, sheriff's offices and public entities across the state. She also details why Amarillo is the ideal place to operate her business, and why this area may soon become a tech hub. This episode is sponsored by the Texas Route 66 Festival and Storybridge.

A conversation with Mark Zimmerman, the former Missions and Campus Development Pastor at Hillside Christian Church and the new Executive Director of Transformation Park. A unique public-private partnership designed to address homelessness in Amarillo, Transformation Park serves as a collaboration between the City of Amarillo, local churches and businesses. In this episode, Zimmerman explains the concept to host Jason Boyett, highlighting its drop-in shelter, day room, pallet-home cabin community and more. He also explains his move to Amarillo two decades ago—and why he and his wife decided to stay. This episode is sponsored by the Texas Route 66 Festival, Jimmy John's and La-Z-Boy of Amarillo.

In this special live show recording, host Jason Boyett takes a seat on the other side of the host microphone as he is interviewed by former Amarillo mayor Ginger Nelson at Arts in the Sunset. (Don't miss last week's episode for Jason's in-depth interview of the mayor.) In front of an audience, Nelson asks Jason about entrepreneurship, how he would describe the current moment in Amarillo, and—not a joke—to share his thoughts about the meaning of life. This concludes a two-week celebration of 300 episodes of Hey Amarillo. This episode is sponsored by the Texas Route 66 Festival and SKP Creative.

A conversation with outgoing Amarillo mayor Ginger Nelson, recorded in front of a live audience at Arts in the Sunset. To celebrate the 300th episode of this podcast, Jason Boyett hosted a live show on May 5, 2023, interviewing Nelson—who'd served as the guest for the very first episode of Hey Amarillo in September 2017. In this episode, Nelson reflects on her tenure as mayor, answering questions about her nationally recognized COVID-19 response, her cancer treatment during the pandemic, the Civic Center controversies, the outcry related to her drag show letter, her personal faith and much more. This episode is sponsored by the Texas Route 66 Festival.

A conversation with Maegan Laughlin, AuD, a clinical audiologist with Amarillo Hearing Clinic. Laughlin is a Sunray native who returned to the Panhandle after a prestigious clinical residency at the VA Medical Center in Johnson City, Tennessee. In Amarillo, she had the opportunity to take over and rebrand Ormson Hearing, a well-known local clinic with more than four decades of history. She shares with host Jason Boyett about her path to audiology, why it's so important for adults to treat hearing loss, and how the foundation associated with the clinic helps lower-income patients get the hearing aids they need. This episode is sponsored by Shemen Dental.