Beyond the Spotlight

Newly hired Coach Troy Gardner gets to tell his story of redemption in this episode. Get to know the man and his beginnings on what led him to his career and the decisions he made that nearly derailed him on that path and his second opportunity at coaching at Rosepine High School. Very inspiring story or realization, rebirth, and redemption.

New series for 2025. We will be meeting and interviewing all of our School Resource Officers (SROs) who work in our schools throughout out parish. This episode we meet SRO Amanda Westmoreland who works for the DeRidder City Police Department and is assigned to DeRidder High School. Although she was nervous it was easy to see the genuine love and care she has for all the students her city and her job.

Sheriff Mark Herford and Chief Craig Richard come back for our Christmas episode to discuss their friendship, the year 2024 for their agencies, and looking ahead to 2025 for the Sheriff's Office and Police Department and all things in between.

Meet Deputy Joy Gaspard who technically is assigned to customer service but actually does SO much more for our office day in and day out. She describes herself as simply a "helper" and she definitely has lived up to this and even before she was employed at the Beauregard Parish Sheriff' Office. (Please note that there were technical issues experienced with the audio on this episode beyond our control, but with hours and hours of editing we were able to put this episode together for you. Sound quality is a little less than other episodes and we apologize in advance.)

Dive in and get to know the City of DeRidder Police Department Chief Craig Richard. Really enjoyed getting to know the chief even better and also learning about how passionate he feels about some aspects of his job. He is a very well-versed police chief with way more professional training than you realized. You'll only find out by listening! Don't miss it! Happy Thanksgiving.

Meet the Beauregard Parish Sheriff's Office Deputy of the Month David Price. A very humble, caring, hardworking guy that our office is lucky to have. We get to know him a little better outside of his day to day work he does at our office keeping our fleet up and running. Great story about this guy who has been working fulltime since the age of 13! Don't miss this one!

Meet Rosepine Head Baseball Coach and teacher Jeff Smith. A very humble educator and decorated coach but more importantly a mentor to so many during his 27-year career. Join us as we learn more about his career, values, life lessons, and the importance of family in his life. We also talk about the upcoming baseball season for Rosepine and a possible milestone in his career.

Meet our Deputy of the Month for September Deputy T. Bailey. We got to sit down with this honest and hard-working guy and learn some interesting facts about his life before working at the Beauregard Parish Sheriff's Office working in several departments of a casino, plus the amazing work his does with his work detail of trustees daily throughout our Parish and so many events as well. He not only oversees the trustees he is responsible for but also plays the role of mentor at times as well. Don't miss this one!

City of DeRidder Fire Department Chief Ken Harlow sat down with us to discuss his life on the job, the paths it has taken him along the way, and the lessons learned. Also, being born abroad and his life growing up in DeRidder, La. eventually raising his two children with his wife there. He is a very proud and supportive dad!

A MUST listen to episode with the August Deputy of the Month Lt. Jim Cheever. Recently retired 34-year veteran at the Beauregard Parish Sheriff's Office. Long time DARE officer, Chaplain, Jail Ministry, and US Army Veteran. It was an honor to sit with and get to know Jim even better. Fun at times emotional at others this is an amazing episode.

Meet Beauregard Parish Sheriff Mark Herford pt.2. We continue this great interview with Sheriff Herford discussing later parts of his career and the state of his office today.

Meet Beauregard Parish Sheriff Mark Herford as he is beginning his second term in office and reflects on his first term, career in law enforcement before he became Sheriff, and some of his life and times outside of his profession life and career.

Meet recently promoted Lt. Brent Hudson. He has been a School Resource Officer for the Beauregard Parish Sheriff's Office for over 11 years now and was recently promoted to Supervisor over the division. Brent is a veteran of our office, and to our surprise, is a bit of a world traveler.

You're only one week away from your next favorite episode of Beyond the Spotlight.

Welcome to our podcast Beyond the Spotlight! Meet your host, two friends reconnecting after job paths took them in different directions yet somehow manage to come back together for an idea they shared over a decade ago. A lot of good memories and laughs are shared as you get to know who you will be sharing your time with as we interview community leaders in future episodes.

A sneak peek into our podcast that gives our listeners the opportunity to hear from and about, not only the professional lives of community leaders and elected officials, but also their personal lives, hobbies, passions, and challenges while not on the job. We want to get to know these leaders beyond the professional realm and what lead them to their calling to lead us through good times and bad. Let's talk Beyond the Spotlight.