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Richard C. MacDonald interview, September 20, 2016: transcript

Date

2016-09-20

Description

Henderson developer and Philadelphia native Richard MacDonald is a natural storyteller, and he has stories to tell. The man behind MacDonald Highlands and the Dragon Ridge Country Club first moved to Las Vegas as a young teen with his parents in 1959. After graduating Las Vegas High School in 1963, his parents moved to Hawaii and he enrolled at Nevada Southern University (now UNLV) and supported himself in Las Vegas by selling unfinished houses. His parents convinced him to move to Hawaii, where he attended the University of Hawaii worked with his father selling blocks of pre-developed cemetery lots to Asian buyers. In this interview, MacDonald describes his experience as a white man facing racial discrimination, of Las Vegas as Hawaii's Ninth Island, of earning his real estate broker's license, and of his father's plan to develop and sell Las Vegas property to Hawaiians. Returning to Las Vegas, MacDonald worked with Frank Sala and Chuck Ruthe to obtain his first two sections of Henderson land, which became Sun City MacDonald Ranch and the western part of MacDonald Highlands. He talks of developing Sunridge at MacDonald Ranch on Eastern Avenue and The Canyons at MacDonald Ranch. He also speaks to local prejudice against Hawaiians and to the way the City of Henderson favored Hank Greenspun and American Nevada Corporation. He recalls his twenty-year experience as a developer with the City of Henderson, its planning commission, city manager, city attorney, and city council. He reveals associations with Del Webb and the Del Webb CEO, Anthem, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Sultan of Brunei, and polo fields as well as Red Alerts, the Foothills project, and MacDonald Highlands. Along the way he talks of golf course architects and planners and the MacDonald Highlands golf course, his family, the Great Recession, and his current status with the City of Henderson and the Archaeological Institute of America.

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Maggie Arias-Petrel interview, May 3, 2019: transcript

Date

2019-05-03

Description

Maggie Arias-Petrel is a successful businessperson and philanthropist. Born in Quito, Ecuador in 1966, Maggie grew up during the Space Age, meeting astronauts through her father’s work as a NASA engineer. Her mother worked as a teacher in an all-girls school. When she was a teenager, Maggie visited her aunt in California and decided to stay in the U.S. She eventually returned to Ecuador and helped her mother run her toy store business, helping her manage multiple locations. Her entrepreneurship flourished as she helped the family business grow into a successful enterprise. Despite the success in her home country, Maggie always dreamed of coming back and living in the U.S. When her family returned, they settled in Las Vegas in 1991. Through her entrepreneurship, Maggie helped many doctors set up their practices, and began her own consulting business, Global Professional Consulting. Today, her expertise includes over 20 years of medical practice management, marketing and advertising for medical and legal, business development and consulting experience. Maggie is also the Chairwoman of the Executive Board of Directors of the Latin Chamber of Commerce of Nevada. She is responsible for changing the direction of the Chamber and helping it become what it is today. She is also the director of the Señoras of Excellence, a philanthropic organization that focuses on raising funds to help Latino students attend college. They have awarded thousands of dollars in scholarship funds to students across the Las Vegas Valley. Because of her work in the medical field, Maggie understands the importance of affordable health care and accessibility. During the Obama Administration, she was part of Senator Harry Reid’s promotion team for the Affordable Health Care Act. She also worked with Governor Jim Gibbons doing international research work in Mexico, and was invited to the White House for the Cinco de Mayo celebration through the U.S. Hispanic Chamber and the Latino Coalition. Maggie is also responsible for the partnership between the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara, one of the most prestigious and accomplished institutions of higher education in Mexico, St. Rose Dominican Hospitals, and the Nevada System of Higher Education to develop nursing programs with direct collaboration from UAG to increase the number of bilingual-bicultural medical professionals in Nevada. She is the director for the Workforce Connections of Nevada Board and the Dignity HealthCare - St. Rose Dominican Hospital Board of Directors. Maggie has also received numerous accolades and awards such as the Community Service Award from the Latin Chamber of Commerce, Señoras of Excellence Award given to woman who excel in their professions, the Excellence in Advocacy Award by The Colors of Lupus Foundation, and the “Woman in Business” Award by the National Coalition of 100 Black Women. In 2011, she was named one of the ten most influential Hispanics in the city by the Las Vegas Business Press. She is also one of the community leaders featured in the Las Vegas Latino Leaders Inaugural Edition Book. Maggie attended Los Angeles Mission College and Central University of Ecuador. She lives in Green Valley with her two sons.

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Justin Favela interview, May 16, 2019: transcript

Date

2019-05-16

Description

Interviewed by Monserrath Hernández. A native Las Vegan, Justin Favela reminisces about growing up on the east side of the Las Vegas Valley. Favela provides insights about what he refers to as the caste system he is part of, how skin color makes a difference in social hierarchies, and his personal evaluations of the litany of terms such as Latinx, Latino/a, Hispanic etc. He discusses values impressed upon him by his family, especially his grandmothers; one is Guatemalan and the other Mexican. Favela was born in 1986 and discusses his universe where pop culture, gender, ethnicity, history, and Latinidad mix. He talks about his personal artistic expressions and the two podcast series he has created and hosts.

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Irene Cepeda interview, April 24, 2019: transcript

Date

2019-04-24

Description

Interviewed by Monserrath Hernández, Nathalie Martinez and Rodrigo Vázquez. Irene Cepeda is a woman dedicated to serving the Latinx as well as all minority groups in education in Southern Nevada. As a Las Vegas native, she grew up alongside the Latinx community here and is a proud Latina from Nicaraguan roots. She is dedicated to uplifting the Latinx community through her work with the Latino Youth Leadership Conference and college access specialist at Nevada State College. Now, as representative of District D on the Clark County School District Board of Trustees, she seeks to tackle the issues the district faces from acts of White supremacy to a lack of funding for English Language Learner families.

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Transcript of interview with Jack Lehman by by Claytee White, October 17, 2007

Date

2007-10-17

Description

Judge Jack Lehman is living the life we should all strive for - a wonderful family, a work ethic that has allowed him to serve others while enjoying a magnificent life and above all a great love affair with his beautiful artistic wife, Lou Lou. From Chemnitz, Germany, at the beginning of the Nazi reign to a prominent citizen of Las Vegas, Lehman lives an extraordinary Las Vegas life. Born in Germany in the late 1920s, Jack and his sister were sent to the United States in 1935 and after a series of living situations including a orphanage in New York, they were adopted by the Lehman family in Lake Arrowhead, California. As a young boy, he wanted to become a lawyer. After a degree from Berkeley, two tours of military duty, a stint in radio broadcasting, and serving as the Director of the Nevada Department of Economic Development, he entered law school at USC. Lehman's career in the legal field began at the largest law firm in the city - Lionel Sawyer and Collins - and then into private practice and on to the bench as a District Court judge appointed by Governor Richard Bryan. In February 2008, he was honored by judges and friends statewide as the founder of Nevada's Adult Criminal Drug Court Program commonly known as "drug court." Washoe County District Judge Peter Breen said it best, "The state is a much better place because of Jack. All those people came back from the abyss of addiction because of Jack."

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Transcript of interview with Dr. John Shepherd by Lisa Gioia-Acres, November 21, 2008

Date

2008-11-21

Description

Dr. John Richard Shepherd shares the background of his early life in southern Illinois, his father's and grandfather's occupations, and his educational journey through college and medical school. His army experiences in Chicago and Alabama convinced him and his wife to look for a warm dry climate in which to live, and they relocated to Las Vegas in 1968. Dr. Shepherd recalls the businesses and housing surrounding Sunrise Hospital, the difficulties getting his specialty listed in the phone book, and renting his first office space from Nate Adelson. He also describes taking out a loan to install ophthalmology equipment, hiring an office manager with medical accounting experience, and doing cataract surgery in a way that basically hadn't changed for decades. The passing of the Medicare bill back in 1966 caused Dr. Shepherd's practice to build up quickly. He details the many ways eye surgery changed, including the invention of the intraocular lens and the phacoemulsification procedure. He mentions his and Dr. Shearing's contributions to ophthalmology — better designed lenses and surgical techniques - which they taught to other doctors from all over the country. Dr. Shepherd discusses radial keratotomy, which was a precursor to laser and later LASIK surgery, and describes a lens implant technique he learned in Russia from Dr. Fyodorov. He goes on to share anecdotes and stories of his interactions with patients, his travels as a consultant and as a surgical teacher for Project Orbis, and meeting Fidel Castro. He speaks candidly about his successes and his failures as well. Dr. Shepherd retired in 2006 and immediately enrolled in a Master's program and earned a degree in military history. After a long and distinguished career, after receiving many accolades and awards, he and his wife are enjoying life, splitting their time between Sun Valley, Idaho, and Las Vegas.

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Edith Leavitt interview, February 7, 1977: transcript

Date

1977-02-07

Description

On February 7, 1977, collector Enrico Messina interviewed Edith Leavitt (born April 12th, 1924, in St. George, Utah) at her home in Las Vegas, Nevada. In this interview, Mrs. Leavitt talks about teaching in Southern Nevada, including in the Virgin Valley and in Las Vegas. She also discusses the changing education system in Southern Nevada during her time as an educator.

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Gene Leavitt interview, February 28, 1979: transcript

Date

1979-02-28

Description

On February 28, 1979, collector Monte Leavitt interviewed Gene Leavitt (born October 6th, 1923 in Mesquite, Nevada) at his home in North Las Vegas, Nevada. In this interview, Mr. Leavitt talks about his career as a truck and bus driver. He also talks about the life in Southern Nevada, the soldiers stationed here, and gambling.

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Al McDaniels interview, February 28, 1980: transcript

Date

1980-02-28

Description

On February 28, 1980, Rodney Goosby interviewed Al McDaniels (b. 1940 in Muskogee, Oklahoma) about his life in Las Vegas and his career as an athletic coach. McDaniels, referred to as Coach by Goosby, speaks primarily about his time as a coach for track and field at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, his community involvement and the city’s recreational activities. Moreover, McDaniels speaks about his education and his current research as he works on a doctoral degree in physical education. Lastly, he talks about the city’s growth and the move from empty desert spaces to housing and shopping center constructions.

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William McLeod interview, March 16, 1978: transcript

Date

1978-03-16

Description

On March 16, 1978, Valerie McLeod interviewed her father William Lee McLeod (b. January 31st, 1937 in Los Angeles, California) about his life in Las Vegas, Nevada. McLeod begins by speaking about his career as a contractor, the growth of Las Vegas and the city’s population. Moreover, he speaks about recreational activities such as riding motorcycles and exploring mines around Nevada. McLeod also spends time going over Indian reservations around Nevada and neighboring states, the Lost City in Nevada, boomtowns and ghost towns. Lastly, McLeod talks about the history of water and springs in the state of Nevada, what he would consider to be the Old Ranch and the stagecoaches that passed through Gold Point, Nevada.

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