Hey Amarillo

A conversation with Abhishek Sonkkar, general manager of the Amarillo Club (amarilloclub.net), a prestigious dining club at the top of the city's tallest building. "Abhi" is a native of India who came to Amarillo expecting it to be a temporary stop in his hospitality career. He and host Jason Boyett talk about Abhi's background, why he chose to stay, and how the Amarillo Club is moving forward despite its financial struggles earlier this year. This episode is sponsored by Bivins Pointe (bivinspointe.org).

A conversation with Beth Duke, executive director of Center City Amarillo (centercity.org), a nonprofit involved in the revitalization and historic preservation of downtown Amarillo. At its helm, Beth has been behind countless efforts to restore the vibrancy and energy of this part of town, from the signage on Polk Street to the Amarillo Community Market. With host Jason Boyett, she explains why a strong core is so important to the city. This episode is sponsored by Bivins Pointe (bivinspointe.org).

A conversation with Dr. Ryan Pennington, director of the Refugee Language Project (refugeelanguage.org). Pennington, a linguist, moved to Amarillo after serving as a Bible translator in Papua New Guinea. Here he discovered a huge refugee population—and set about trying to remove the barriers that kept these residents from success. He and Jason Boyett talk about Pennington's culture shock and how West Texans and Somalis are alike. This episode is sponsored by Wieck Realty (wieckrealty.com). 

A conversation with Jon Mark Beilue, the recently retired columnist at the Amarillo Globe-News. Jon Mark's decades-long career in Amarillo has covered high school sports, unlikely championships, local heroes and the unique residents of the area. Just a few days after his official retirement, Jon Mark sits down with host Jason Boyett to discuss how he got into the business and why he loves telling Amarillo's stories. They also discuss the current state of journalism amid claims of "fake news."

In a series of three shorter, "Eight Straight"-only conversations, host Jason Boyett asks the usual questions of insurance agent (and food blogger) Jason Burr, artist and shop owner Stacy Lavon, and credit card manager Jennifer Callahan. This episode is sponsored by the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation (amarilloedc.com)

A conversation with Michael Rowley, director of the upcoming documentary feature film Hurdle (hurdlefilm.com). With host Jason Boyett, Michael talks about growing up in Amarillo, his background in art and theology, and how he settled upon the idea for his new film. Central to his story is how the city's creative community 10 years ago helped launch Rowley into what he's doing now. This episode is sponsored by the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation (amarilloedc.com). 

A conversation with David Prescott, the President of Talon/LPE (talonlpe.com), a multi-state environmental services company based in Amarillo. With multiple locations and Fortune 500 clients, why make Amarillo the center of Talon's operations? Host Jason Boyett asks David that question as they discuss the company's humble beginnings and the secret that makes the local workforce so valuable. This episode is sponsored by the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation (amarilloedc.com). 

In a series of three shorter, "Eight Straight"-only conversations, host Jason Boyett asks the usual questions of entrepreneur Andrew Brandt, photographer Angelina Medina, and author/investment advisor John Early. This episode is sponsored by the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation (amarilloedc.com).

Manny De Los Santos

A conversation with John Hintz, an IT professional and prominent leader and activist in Amarillo's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. For years he represented the Panhandle on the board of Equality Texas (equalitytexas.org). June is LGBT Pride Month, so John and host Jason Boyett discuss the local LGBT community and John's experiences living as an openly gay man in such a conservative place. This episode is sponsored by the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation (amarilloedc.com). 

A conversation with Stacy Sanning, a senior project manager at Golden Spread Electric Cooperative (gsec.coop). Stacy works in a field that's typically dominated by men. For that reason, she's passionate about getting young girls interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) careers. We discuss her arrival in Amarillo as an 8th grader and why Stacy recently has been thinking so much about helium. This episode is sponsored by the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation (amarilloedc.com). 

A conversation with Steve Kersh, the chief meteorologist at ABC7. It's a big understatement to say the weather is always on the mind of locals. Panhandle people are obsessed with it. So with this being severe weather season, host Jason Boyett sits down with Steve to discuss how he got into the business, what he does on a daily basis, and how much his job reporting the weather has changed during recent decades. This episode is sponsored by ROI Online (roionline.com) and Xcel Energy (powerfortheplains.com).

A conversation with Tony Ensor, President and GM of Amarillo Professional Baseball. Last week, the team's management unveiled the five finalist names (Boot Scooters, Bronc Busters, Long Haulers, Jerky and Sod Poodles) to widespread dismay. Thousands signed a petition demanding new finalists. He and host Jason Boyett discuss naming conventions, why the team name is important, and whether the petition means anything. This episode is sponsored by ROI Online (roionline.com) and Xcel Energy (xcelenergy.com).

A conversation with Matthew Garner, PhD, a scientist and entrepreneur/CEO who manages New York businesses and microbiology labs from his home base of Amarillo. Matt is also trying to build, in his words, "a microbiology company of epic proportions" to serve the ag industry in Amarillo. He and host Jason Boyett discuss Matt's background and career, why he works remotely from Amarillo, and why he believes this area could become a technology haven. This episode is sponsored by ROI Online (roionline.com).

A conversation with Eric Miller, communications director for the Amarillo Convention & Visitor Council (visitamarillo.com). Eric is as pro-Amarillo as anyone, because promoting the city is literally his job. He spends his days advertising and marketing Amarillo as a tourism destination. He and host Jason Boyett discuss how Eric ended up here in the 1990s and how his job—and the product he sells—have changed over the years. This episode is sponsored by ROI Online (roionline.com).