Ginger Shirley and Kathy Shirley have a lot in common besides their last name. Both warm, genuine, and kind, they each exhibit southern hospitality and outgoing personalities. Kathy admitted that she may sometimes take the word “extroverted” to a new level. “I normally say what’s on my mind—sometimes I shouldn’t, but that’s just me,” she said. “I love people, being around people, and going and doing things.” Ginger echoed the sentiment, adding that she was voted “Class Clown” her senior year of high school. The close friends can finish each other’s sentences the way lifelong pals can—but Ginger and Shirley only met ten years ago, after Kathy got a divorce, and Ginger began dating her ex-husband.

Cookbook author and content creator Will Edmond was born and raised in Douglassville, Texas, on property that has been in his family for generations.

“The land was passed down from my great-great-grandmother,” he said. “Everybody lived on the same six acres. My great-grandmother had a philosophy of family taking care of each other, and of building community.”

Throughout his childhood, community values fed Will’s soul, and fresh, home-cooked meals fed his body.

When a teenager gets their first job, it is usually somewhere like a waterpark, a fast food restaurant, or a retail store. With these part-time jobs, teens have to appeal to their managers and juggle their school and work schedules. Pleasant Grove sophomore Charly McNiel, however, works as her own manager, running her crocheting business, Faithful Made Crochet.

Jennifer Unger has always been a planner who likes to dive into the details. Multitasking is her superpower, and her visionary approach to leadership pushes her to think many steps ahead. A self-proclaimed type-A personality, Jennifer excels in her career as the executive director of the Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council (TRAHC). However, a breast cancer diagnosis forced her to travel down a path filled with variables she could not control, and it often limited her from planning anything past her next chemotherapy treatment. She described her experience as a “complete paradigm shift” in the way she approaches life and service to others.

In the midst of tragedy, priorities often shift. This happened for Suzy Osburn when, on July 23rd, 2022, her brother, Christopher Trumble, passed away unexpectedly. The family was shattered by the loss.

“I remember telling people that was the worst day of my life,” Suzy said. “I had never experienced loss quite like that. I have lost grandparents, but the loss of a younger sibling before their time . . . it’s just stabbing. It is devastating.”

A few weeks later, Suzy’s husband, Kyle, sat her down to discuss a serious matter—his desire to add a baby to their family.

According to the Mayo Clinic, type 1 diabetes affects over 1.25 million Americans. This condition requires constant attention and presents a plethora of challenges for those who live with it. Among those affected is 17-year old Emma Barr, who is a competitive dancer and senior at Texas High School. Emma is committed to living life to its fullest, not letting her diagnosis slow her down.

Practicing yoga gives Jessica Gray peace, healing, and balance. It also gave her the strength she needed to contend with two cancer journeys—her mother’s and her own.

In 2010, Jessica was one year into her career as an independent hairstylist when her mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Her flexible occupation allowed her to shift her schedule and take care of her mother as she underwent treatment for the aggressive disease.

Though we often think of health as an individual matter—concerning a person’s diet, movement, sleep, medication, and so forth—Dr. Matthew Nix is keenly aware that the pursuit of health is a community endeavor. In particular, he is passionate about the community value of family physicians.

In most high schools, it takes a lot for a student to be universally liked by their peers; it’s rare to find someone who everyone genuinely enjoys being around. But for Zephaniah Black, a junior student-athlete at Arkansas High School, popularity hasn’t been much of a challenge.

In 2013, at age 25, Jessica Pickens discovered that she carried the BRCA 1 gene, which gave her a 65% chance of a fatal breast cancer diagnosis. A busy mother of two, she closed her eyes, hoping to forget about the threat. For the next few years, she concentrated on raising her children, Karson and Quinnleigh, all the while praying for a quiet, unannounced deliverance from a cancerous fate. Yet with each fond memory the Pickens family made, the latent terror of breast cancer crept into Jessica’s idle thoughts.

Norm Lewis, an American actor and baritone singer, will take the stage alongside the Texarkana Symphony Orchestra at the Perot Theatre on Saturday, November 9th at 7 p.m. to present Blockbuster Broadway with Norm Lewis. The performance will feature musical numbers from Norm’s vast repertoire of beloved Broadway hits.

The annual Four States Living Magazine Fabulous 40 & Under issue has been a staple of the community for 18 years. Each September, 40 young people from Texarkana and the surrounding area are recognized for their outstanding achievements and community service, and this year is no exception. The 2024 honorees are innovative entrepreneurs, dedicated professionals, selfless public servants, and volunteers extraordinaire. Their stories of perseverance, hard work, and creativity serve to inspire readers of all ages. 

Books have always been a source of joy for 9-year-old Carter Wilcox. Now, he is on a mission to share that joy with as many children as he can. 

As a student at William Jefferson Clinton Primary School in Hope, Arkansas, Carter looks forward to the Scholastic Book Fair every year.

Historically, the presence of women in STEM fields has been disproportionately low. However, according to the US Census Bureau, the number of women in engineering has been steadily increasing over the past few decades, allowing for diversity in perspectives and skills across the field. Adding her name to the influx of women engineers is Texarkana’s own Taehlor Lafferty. 

Nineteen-year-old Logan Wilson returned home in June from the Para Trap Grand Prix in Hillsdale, Michigan, wearing a gold medal around his neck. 

“Trap” refers to the Olympic shooting sport, in which athletes shoot “clays” in the sky. Logan has been competitively shooting since he was a child.

Many assumptions are made about twins, the biggest perhaps being that they are just alike in every way. Teenagers, BSA Scouts, and twins Cooper and Olivia Kimmel have always challenged these stereotypes, pushed boundaries, and carved their own paths.

We recently spoke with Olivia George, the reigning Miss Louisiana, who hails from right here in Texarkana, and asked her a few questions about herself and pageant life.

Bright lights and ecstatic crowds rhythmically stomping around the dance hall: this is just what makes playing music so special for 16-year-old Anthony Price. 

Anthony, a junior at Texas High School, has always had a passion for music. He started drum lessons at 11 years old and went on to pick up the guitar and singing, but his love of music began even earlier, under the influence of his grandfather. 

Cooking professionally was always a dream for entrepreneurial pizza chef Tyler Traut. After losing his job to COVID shutdowns, Tyler ran head-first into that dream, not knowing that it would become something much bigger and more meaningful than he had ever imagined. 

“Food has always been a happy place in my home,” he said. “I have always cooked and gotten a lot of satisfaction from the joy of serving food to others.”

During his youth at Pleasant Grove, Jonathan Weaver used to do his own play-by-play commentary while watching his beloved Arkansas Razorbacks and Texas Rangers. “I quickly knew that I didn’t want to be on-camera but wanted to create the visuals from behind the scenes,” Jonathan said from his ESPN office in Connecticut. “I took PGTV as an elective as soon as I could in high school.”