El Dorado

Well, we're talking to Reagan this week.

She's down in beautiful, scenic El Dorado, Arkansas, where the Epson Tour is stopping this week.

Not anywhere near Fayetteville.

You probably had to look at Google to see where El Dorado was and realize that you're not in the heart of Hogland.

You're actually almost in Louisiana, aren't you, down there?

Yeah, we're really close to Louisiana.

And I know that deep down and it's just a matter of getting a few putts to fall whenever, you know, in good timing and just to kind of get on a momentum roll for that.

But yeah, putting is a work in progress for sure.

Here's Ronnie Dunn talking about going to school to be a preacher and realizing that that wasn't for him.

My grandfather was big, main deacon in the Emmanuel Baptist Church in El Dorado, Arkansas.

His big thing was, I was the oldest of 16 grandkids.

He just goes, "I want one of my, one of my grandsons please to be a minister," and I think that's where I picked that up.

Here's Ronnie Dunn talking about going to school to be a preacher and realizing that that wasn't for him.

My grandfather was big, main deacon in the Emmanuel Baptist Church in El Dorado, Arkansas.

His big thing was, I was the oldest of 16 grandkids, he just goes, "I want one of my, one of my grandsons please to be a minister," and I think that's where I picked that up.

You're young, and you're, you're impressionable, and you, you absorb, you know, that stuff.

He dropped out of college, got married, had a baby, and then found himself using music to support his new family.

First, he was playing with Jimmy Pryor's Imperial Serenaders in El Dorado, Arkansas.

Then he moved to Hot Springs to play with Juniebug and Selmer Tuna Boy Williams.

By the early 30s, he had moved to Philadelphia and joined the Charlie Gaines Orchestra.

So I'm actually from Arkansas.

I grew up in El Dorado.

Graduated high school from there in 2007.

Went to college at Euler.

I moved back here and literally hit the ground running when I got here.

Wow, that's awesome.

You know, I thought you were from El Dorado.

I remember when I got this in the mail, which we're going to talk about this in a second.

It's called a spotlight moment." And so every night that we play our own headline shows over the summer, I've picked a local independent artist that has jumped up in the middle of our set and got to sing an original song for the crowd, and it's one of the coolest moments.

All the people love it 'cause it's their local person to El Dorado, Arkansas, or wherever they may be.

You know, they're from there and from that state, and they're...

It's really cool 'cause a lot of people I'm seeing now that are doing this are like, "Yeah, we moved to Nashville like four months ago.

That, that was an FCA deal.

This thing tomorrow night is in El Dorado, and, uh, you know, I was...

They, they...

There was a guy, he's like, "I mean, what's going on in El Dorado?"

[laughs]

Right?

It was a juke joint.

And so-

Back in the '90s on the internet I was seeing...

Actually, in El Dorado, Arkansas, where I used to live, uh, uh, my dad, we did body work and collision repair and painting cars.

He did that on the side, and we had a body shop.

Anyway, when I moved to El Dorado I rented a shop from a guy, and it, it just so happened to have, uh, about six catalpa trees planted on the hill right up from it.

And so I would, I would paint cars, take that mask off, 'cause you gotta wait 30 minutes before you put the clear coat on it, and I was going out there to get fresh air and studying them catalpa trees.

And then I got to getting on the internet and seeing how that works, and I knew That they had to, uh, uh...

Welcome to Pretty Smart 2, where smart conversations meet real-life experience.

Today, we're talking with Amy S. Smith, a licensed professional counselor, registered play therapist, devoted mom of three, and candidate for El Dorado, Arkansas City Council Ward 2, Position 2.

With more than a decade spent listening, helping, and showing up for families, Amy brings a powerful perspective on what it means to lead with compassion, consistency, and most importantly, listening skills.

Welcome, Amy S. Smith, to Pretty Smart 2.

I wanted to

introduce my good friend here, Amy Smith.

Amy is running for city council in El Dorado, Arkansas.

And welcome to Pretty Smart Too,