Paragould Podcast

Laramie LeQuieu moved to Paragould from Benton, AR in 1992, spending his formative teenage years here as a student of Ridgecrest high school and a pastors kid. He was on staff at Marmaduke Baptist Church when the tornado came through in 2006. He now pastors Harvest Baptist Church. 

Kiwanis Club president and Shelter Insurance Agent, Ty Sims joined the show to talk about how he came to Paragould, the role sports played in his life growing up, how he started a Shelter Insurance agency, Lumberjacks baseball, and much more! 

Something is different about this Paragould Rams football team. A program that won 3 total games from 2017-2022 has won 5 games in the last two seasons now, including starting this year off at 3-0. It's our best start since 1981 (if you don't count the controversial vacated wins of 1999)! Coach Randy Phillips joins us for a second time to talk about the culture they are creating to have focus, discipline, be a brotherhood, work like a dog, and look towards moments of redemption. 

Since 1987, Jeff Evans has been a public servant as an EMT and Paramedic. He joined the show to talk to us about how he got to where he is, what it takes to be a good paramedic, and more. 

Pete Cancilla is known as one of the more successful realtors in Paragould as his Image Realty “Team Can-Sell-It” can be seen all over town. However, his journey to get there was not easy. Join us for this conversation about how his family got to Arkansas when he was a child, life lessons he’s learned, and how he’s been able to rebound from various trials. 

The Get Downtown Festival has been growing year after year! If you haven't been to the festival or been downtown recently, now's the time to plan your visit for October 4-5th for the Get Downtown Festival! Allison Hestand joined us to talk about her role with the Chamber of Commerce, all the good that's taking place around Paragould, and this wonderful festival! 

Patty Camp is a trailblazer! She was the first female assistant Principal in Paragould Schools and the first female president of the Kiwanis Club (an organization that only allowed men to even be members until 1987). We learned a lot in this episode, from proactive classroom management skills, leadership lessons, how to be empathetic to the introvert in a classroom, and how to have a taste for a wide and diverse range of music.

Kim Hunt is starting her 38th year as a Middle School at GCT. It all started back when she was in third grade with an inspiring teacher: Becky Diggs. We learned wonderful lessons on education and positive ways of influencing the next generation. 

Bob Branch returns for a record tying 4th visit, 3rd this year! He gives us a beautiful, detailed oral history of the City of Paragould. Mr. Branch spends hours doing research at the Greene County Historical and Genealogical Society to back up his memory with all the proper dates and names. On this episode he goes block by block to teach us about Paragould's history. One gem: Paragould had multiple Ice Houses that delivered blocks of ice to homes across the city because they did not have refrigeration. Blocks of ice would last 2-3 days!