This Is The Panhandle

This week we sit down with Barbara Brannon, Executive Director of the Texas Plains Trail.  Barbara explains the history of the 52-county region and her role in helping visitors to our area stay a little longer.    The Texas Panhandle is immersed with incredible history, and the Texas Plains Trail’s goal is to make sure that that history is preserved and shared with those who visit and live in our area.    Learn more about Texas Plains Trail here:  Click here to open in a new window https://texasplainstrail.com/ Email Barbara: info@texasplainstrail.com   

In this week’s episode we speak with Keith Brown, Executive Director of Opportunity Plan Inc (OPI). He explains the history and the significance OPI brings to our area and region.  The goal is to help students achieve a higher education credential or degree.  Keith is no stranger to high education as he is the former director of the Alumni Association at West Texas A&M University.  He is from Happy, Texas and “moved up to the big city” of Canyon for college, where he has spent his working life since graduation.    Keith is passionate about student success and works daily to meet the needs of students through innovative approaches, including a new program OPI has launch called Pathway Scholars.    For more information about Opportunity Plan: www.opportunityplan.com  To reach Keith: KBrown@opportunityplan.com    

This episode’s guest is Dyke Rogers. Dyke is a philanthropist and entrepreneur from Dalhart, TX.  He has owned many businesses throughout his time in the Panhandle.  Most of them located in Dalhart, the place he calls home.  He has worked to better the Dalhart community and was instrumental in attracting the Hilmar Cheese plant to the area.  In this episode, you’ll learn how that plant changed the Dalhart area from the moment it opened its doors. In addition, Dyke is a passionate supporter of his alma mater, West Texas A&M University.  He and his wife, Terry, endowed the Dyke and Terry Rogers Leadership Education and Development Program (Rogers LEAD WT) at the University.  In the episode, Dyke gives his very personal reason for supporting such a program at WT.  Dyke lives by the idea that you should leave something better than you found it and the fruits of this can be seen in many parts of the Panhandle. 

Square Mile Community Development This week we introduce you to Brady Clark, the Executive Director of Square Mile Community Development.  His organization is working to create economic development in the San Jacinto neighborhood.  Brady is also part of the St. Anthony’s Legacy and Redevelopment Corp (SALAR). working on the old St. Anthony’s property in northeast Amarillo to revitalize the economy of the historic neighborhood and property. He has worked in this space for more than a decade by creating programs and plans to help economically disadvantaged areas.  In 2018 the Amarillo Area Foundation, asked Brady to facilitate a program called PATH.  The goal is to create, foster and encourage the entrepreneur spirit in diverse neighborhoods.  The program pairs the entrepreneur with a mentor.  The mentors are successful business professionals that help guide the entrepreneur through a myriad of issues.  Brady helps source the entrepreneur and ensures they are matched with the mentor who will help them the most.

In this episode, we sit down with Jason Herrick. Jason is the President of Pantera Energy, an oil and gas operation in the Texas Panhandle.  He is the chair for the committee working to make the Texas Tech University Veterinary School a reality in Amarillo. Jason shares information about how a vet school would benefit our area and why it’s an important addition for students who are seeking to work with large animals.  Jason also shares what you can do right now to help as the critical step of funding this initiative is being discussed in the legislative session right now in Austin. For more information on the Texas Tech Vet school, you can log on to: unmetvetdemand.com or ttuvetmed.com

As the sponsor of this podcast, the Amarillo Area Foundation is delivering on their mission to improve quality of life in the Texas Panhandle.  Hear from CEO Clay Stribling about what initiatives the Foundation is focused on.