Ep. 26 - The Golden Seam Ft. Matt Young - Find the Good News with Oran Parker

There are people in our lives that everyone knows, and that everyone holds in high regard. That respect often comes from the actions and good works of those individuals. Sometimes it’s their good nature that places them in such high regard. More often, it’s some combination of both. I’m always looking to meet them, these people who bind good works with their good nature, and share their heart and soul with you on Find the Good News. Matt Young, the director of 1911 Historic City Hall Arts and Cultural Center in Lake Charles, Louisiana, is one of those people. I’ve spoken to Matt many, many times over the years, and while our conversations were never very long, I was always left feeling better than I did before the encounter. Some have said that's Matt’s special gift, the ability to make a person feel like their conversation was the most important one that he had all day. I wouldn’t disagree with that. Matt’s friendly, charming, articulate, and professional; precisely the person anyone would want representing their project, group, organization, or movement,… but I’m always interested in the source. Where do these good qualities come from? What gives rise to them? What’s holding them all together? For Matt, like many of us, it is in the golden seam, the gilded glue that celebrates the cracks and fractures instead of running from them or denying their existence. Like many—like all—Matt Young has faced his own doubts, insecurities, and personal pains. He’s covered his true-and-best self—as many of us have done—fearing that in revealing all our parts we would lose many in our circles of friends, family, and peers. By bringing all the parts of his life out into the open, Matt has actually been witness to something wonderful, something that I would wish for all people. It is the golden seam that binds people to each other, the shining goodness that can be found in the beings around us if we give them a chance to be brighter, the glimmer of hope that invades the cracks and fractures, that heals, that unites. Yes, we talked about his professional journey to where he is today, as well as the new and exciting things that he, and those working with him, have in store for us at 1911 Historic City Hall. While all of those things are soaked in good news for Southwest Louisiana, I believe it’s Matt Young’s heart, radiating genuine kindness and goodness, that will make all of his good works and future endeavors pure gold.

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THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY PARKER BRAND CREATIVE SERVICES >> www.ParkerBrandUp.com

FOR MORE INFO ABOUT MATT YOUNG & 1911 HISTORIC CITY HALL >> www.instagram.com/mattyoung84 or www.facebook.com/mattyoung84 and www.facebook.com/historiccityhallartsandculture