Check out the Shreveport Times Community Leaders to Watch in 2023
The Shreveport-Bossier area is shining with community leaders and for 2024, we decided to shed a light on a few people who are working in the community to make a positive impact.
Here are the 2024 Community Leaders to Watch
Briant Garcia
Owner, 318 Latino
Briant Garcia uses his platform to elevate the Hispanic cultural experience in Northwest Louisiana. The multimedia platform integrates digital media, website, mobile applications, social media and its online radio to report local news, immigration and other events.
"Being a leader means taking responsibility to solve the things you see that need fixing," he said. "That can be in your home, in your business and in your community, but it always needs to start with your self. I love Shreveport-Bossier. I Love Downtown, and I love my community. I want to see us prosper together and I know we have the potential to do it.
In 2023, Garcia co-founded the Hispanic Heritage Association of Northwest Louisiana, which serves as an umbrella for cultural projects, such as the Hispanic Heritage Festival, the Latino Day at the State Fair, Hispanic Teacher's Appreciation Day, Little Entrepreneurs Workshop and Noche de Gala.
"Having a non-profit organization has helped us better organize and fund our projects and has allowed us to better help our community," Garcia said. "We were able to bring back scholarships and help give out over $10,000 in scholarships during the Hispanic Heritage Festival thanks to Loreli Lopez' initiative. I guess I am most proud of is that I am surrounded by amazing people who give back to our community and who are at the same time experts in their fields."
He said he has many projects going into 2024 − one of which he's most excited about to marrying the love of his life.
"She is a wonderful, smart and beautiful woman, and I am lucky to have her," Garcia said.
Jeffrey Goodman
Director of Marketing and Development, YMCA of Northwest Louisiana
A native of Shreveport, Jeffrey Goodman is a graduate of Captain Shreve High School and Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Following college, he spent a year in France as a Fulbright Scholar and was a filmmaker in Los Angeles for seven years.
In April 2019, Goodman joined the YMCA of Northwest as its marketing and development director. He has used his background in sales to grow the organization's donor base while serving an instrumental in two of its growth projects − the new branch at Camp Forbing Town Center and the Youth Baseball and Softball Complex.
He led the initiative in expanding the YMCA's role as a community leader by spearheading "Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home," which consists of weekly podcast interviews and periodic community panels.
Goodman said harnessing my strengths to leave the Shreveport-Bossier community better than he found it is what being a leader means to him.
"It's up to us, all of us, to make this the community we want it to be," he said.
Jamon Turner
Founder, Just Believe Training
A native of Colorado, cowboy Jamon Turner has made a name for himself in Northwest Louisiana.
Turner founded Just Believe Training to offer local kids to new opportunities, such as horse training and other agricultural trades. The program aims to mentor and educate youth on various societal values, such as sustainability, career opportunities and mental health.
"I believe being a leader in the Shreveport-Bossier community is to serve in some capacity with empathy as well as encouragement towards those in need while utilizing my talents and assets to develop a more self-sustainable environment," Turner said.
Turner competed in season 3 of Trace Adkins's "Ultimate Cowboy Showdown." He also worked as a double on the Paramount+ show "Lawmen: Bass Reeves."
Turner said he's looking forward to the fourth year of his organization's Just Believe Youth Agricultural trade tour.
Follow Ian Robinson on Twitter @_irobinsonand on Facebook at https://bit.ly/3vln0w1.
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This article originally appeared on Monroe News-Star: Who are the 2024 Ones to Watch in the Shreveport-Bossier Community?
