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‘I Am WT’ Podcast Shines Spotlight on Kids, Inc.’s Jimmy Lackey
Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu
CANYON, Texas — The leader of Kids, Incorporated of Amarillo discusses his deep ties to West Texas A&M University in the latest episode of WT’s student-run podcast.
Jimmy R. Lackey
Jimmy R. Lackey, president and CEO of Kids, Inc., speaks with “I Am WT” hosts Tearanee’ Lockhart and Brae Foust in the latest episode, available Feb. 23 on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and SoundCloud, as well as at wtamu.edu/IAmWTPodcast .
Lackey grew up in Dumas and earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from WT. He worked for the University from 1983 to 1995, including seven years as executive director of the WT Alumni Association.
“(WT) means so much more to me than I could ever explain,” Lackey said. “I wouldn’t be doing what I do today if I hadn’t come here.”
He is now in his 27th year at Kids, Inc., which is about midway through a $30 million capital campaign to build the Rockrose Sports Park, a 90-acre, state-of-the-art athletic complex off Interstate 27 and Hollywood Road.
Lackey and the hosts discuss both the Kids, Inc. campaign and WT’s historic, $125 million One West comprehensive fundraising campaign.
“We’re very fortunate to live in a region where people are so giving,” Lackey said. “I have no doubt we’ll get this done, WT will finish theirs up … and everybody in this area will benefit.”
To date, WT’s five-year One West campaign — which publicly launched in September 2021 — has raised more than $120 million. It fuels the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World .
In the biweekly episodes of “I Am WT,” student hosts Lockhart, a senior advertising/PR major from Amarillo, and Foust, an Amarillo native pursuing his second bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism, interview WT faculty, staff, students and alumni about what WT means to them.
Audiences hear stories about how attending or working at WT changed the lives of the guests, and how they’re making a difference in their community.
About West Texas A&M University
WT is located in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT, a Hispanic Serving Institution since 2016, boasts an enrollment of about 10,000 and offers 59 undergraduate degree programs and more than 40 graduate degrees, including two doctoral degrees. The University is also home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest’s finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 14 men’s and women’s athletics programs.
—WT—