Margaret McCoy is a Texarkana native who was transplanted to New Orleans after her time at LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She spent 11 years in hospitality and hotel sales in downtown New Orleans. Once the pandemic hit in 2020, she and her husband, Bradley McCoy, purchased a 1973 houseboat in Minnesota and boated it down the Mississippi River to their home in New Orleans.
Forrest Carvajal is the founder of Pond Creek Duck Calls and co-host of the Off the X podcast. He graduated from Arkansas High School in 2006 and lived in Texarkana, Arkansas, until 2008, when he moved to Conway, Arkansas. … Raised by his grandparents, JoEllen and Gary Sutton, Forrest was actively involved in sports from a young age, with a particular affinity for baseball and golf. His talent in golf earned him a scholarship to Central Baptist College in Conway, Arkansas, where he met Leah, his future wife.
Daniel Pierce, formerly known as Danny Hall, has always been drawn to the ocean and surrounded by free-spirited and open-minded individuals. Today, he finds solace wandering the bustling Venice Boardwalk or enjoying the solitude of Malibu’s beaches. He also remains grateful for his roots. Daniel’s early life was spent on a 20-acre pasture in Nash, Texas, where he lived with his single father, whom he only met at the age of six.
Tyler S. Arnold is an accomplished artist, passionate about creating vibrant and striking works of art. He has been honing his skills for over a decade, and his unique style blends modern and traditional techniques. Born and raised in Texarkana, Arkansas, Tyler has always had a love for art and has been creating since he was a child. He studied advertising and public relations at the University of Arkansas, with an emphasis on graphic design.
Gary Kusin was born in Texarkana, Texas, in 1951, and graduated from Texas High School in 1969. Kusin is a mentor, investor, entrepreneur, business advisor, and author of the forthcoming book Always Learning: Lessons on Leveling Up from GameStop to Laura Mercier Cosmetics and Beyond, available April, 2024. Today, he advises an array of public and private companies, large and small, on strategy, management, and growth issues.
Jim Pendergast was born in Hammond, Louisiana. When he was in the fourth grade his family moved to Texarkana. He attended Texas A&M University and received a bachelor’s in aerospace engineering. Today he works at NASA in Houston, Texas, where he builds spaceships for a living. … His current position is Deputy for Avionics for the Gateway Vehicle. The Gateway vehicle is a space station designed to circle the Moon. This is where astronauts will live and work, and take Lunar Landing Vehicles to the surface of the Moon, as NASA develops a permanent Lunar base.
Hadley Stevens Smith is an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute. She is a health economist whose research evaluates the use of genomic medicine, primarily for newborn and pediatric patient populations. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health. … Hadley was born in Texarkana, Texas. She attended St. James Day School and Pleasant Grove High School, where she graduated as Valedictorian. Hadley earned her Bachelor of Science and Master of Public Service and Administration from Texas A&M University in College Station.
Will Middlebrooks is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) player who is now a broadcaster and analyst for the Boston Red Sox on NESN and a national MLB analyst for CBS Sports. Born September 9, 1988, in Greenville, Texas, Will and his family moved to Texarkana in 1999. At Liberty-Eylau, Will was a part of both the baseball and football state championship teams in 2006. He married Jenny Dell Middlebrooks in 2016. Jenny is the lead college football reporter for the SEC on CBS.
Fluent in Spanish, Ashley started her career in San Antonio at the nation’s largest (at the time) Hispanic advertising agency, Bromley Communications, where she led campaigns on global packaged goods brands like Nestle and General Mills. While part of a global network out of Paris, France, she managed multi-agency teams from one of the original “mad men” agencies in Lower Manhattan. A month after becoming Principal and CEO of Texas Creative, Ashley structured a global agency partnership with an Australian-based firm to be the US Agency of Record for a global sports-betting company.
Lauren Turner is a financial services marketing professional working on loyalty marketing campaigns for American Express. She has lived in New York City for the last seven years. She grew up in Texarkana and graduated from Pleasant Grove High School in 2016. Lauren received her Master of Business Administration from Montclair State University and her Bachelor of Arts from The King’s College.
