1on1 with Jon Evans

Kayla Thompson had success as a member of the West Bladen High School and UNCW women’s golf teams. Since turning professional in 2019, Kayla has chased the dream of earning her card and playing on the Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour. After several years of ups and downs, Kayla has now earned the chance to take her game to the next...

Terry Hayes found international success when his 2014 debut novel I am Pilgrim became a critically-acclaimed best seller. But in achieving his lifelong ambition, the former journalist and Hollywood screenwriter suddenly found himself in an abyss, searching for the emotional drive to take readers on another page-turning thriller ride. Now, with The Year of the Locust, Hayes ha...

Jim Shockey is considered one of the world’s best outdoor sportsmen. He’s taken audiences along on wildlife adventure television shows, and led hunting expeditions and conservation efforts into some of the most remote locations on earth. Shockey’s passion for folk and tribal art can be seen in the Hand of Man Museum in his native Canada. Shockey has now embarked on a new adve...

In the decade since the death of New York Times bestselling author Tom Clancy, Don Bentley is one of the novelists that have continued to bring life to Clancy’s characters. Tom Clancy: Weapons Grade, Bentley’s newly-released fourth thriller featuring Jack Ryan, Jr., ends one chapter in the former Army Apache helicopter pilot’s writing career, while another is about to begin a...

Takayo Siddle and Nicole Woods have a lot more in common than being head basketball coaches at UNC Wilmington. They both grew up in North Carolina, played high school and college basketball in the state, and worked as assistant coaches at in-state universities before landing their first head coaching jobs in Wilmington. Woods hopes to add another similarity, by rebuilding the...

While most little league baseball players dream about making the major leagues, that’s never been enough for Walker Jenkins. Setbacks like not making the all-star team as a six-year-old have fueled his competitive fire to work harder and be better than everyone who has played the game. It made him a top draft pick of the Minnesota Twins, an...

At the height of America’s civil rights movement, a school board vote closed the only all-Black high school in Wilmington, North Carolina. Generations of families had graduated from Williston Senior High School since its’ inception in 1866. But, in June 1968, facing the possibility of losing federal funding over the school system’s delayed desegregation plan,...

With the uniform, badge, helmet, motorcycle and million-dollar smile, Erik Estrada rocketed to television stardom as Officer Frank Poncherello on CHiPs, one of NBC’s most successful shows of the 70s and 80s. More than 40 years and dozens of roles later, Estrada’s on-screen career brought him to Wilmington for Divine Renovation. It's a home remodeling show with a faith-based t...

Elle Graham already has an impressive acting resume, with appearances on high-profile projects like Stranger Things and The Walking Dead. The 13-year-old from Hampstead is riding a wave of popularity right now, thanks in part to starring in the hit Disney television show The Secrets of Sulphur Springs, which is in its third season. Elle also has a major role in a new movie, A...

Carli Batson did not enter her first pageant until her teenage years, a decision made after her father lost his job. Once Batson started, though, she found success, winning several titles and enough scholarship money to avoid the burden of college tuition debt. Now the former Miss Wilmington and Miss North Carolina is preparing to wear a new crown, as the 2023 North Carolina ...

Fans can’t wait to see what Jonas Pate and the other co-creators of the smash hit television series Outer Banks have planned for the show’s third season, which starts streaming February 23 on Netflix. The writer/director/producer has taken the Pogues on whirlwind adventures and audiences have loved it, sending OBX2 all the way to #1. The North Carolina native previews the new...

Their recognizable blue and teal canopies wave on nearly every beach in the United States. Dane Barnes, his brother Scott and best friend Alex Slater invented the Shibumi Shade after years of lugging their family’s heavy umbrellas on beach vacations. As the wind-driven sunshade gained in popularity, the three UNC grads learned that launching their own company is not a breeze, and a lot of little things must be done to achieve succe...

Bevin Prince has had many roles in her life. The best-known may be playing Bevin Mirskey on the still-popular TV show One Tree Hill. As an entrepreneur, she launched Recess by Bevin Prince, a high-intensity cycling center in Wilmington. Bevin is now cast in a role she never wanted, as a widow. On this episode of the 1on1 with Jon Evans podcast, Bevin talks publicly for the first time about the lightning strike that killed her husba...

Mark Robinson pulls no punches when it comes to his beliefs and principles. Robinson’s direct, some would even say fiery, approach to sharing his opinions is one reason for his rapid ascension into political relevance and history in North Carolina. The outspoken lieutenant governor has written a memoir, We Are The Majority, that recalls how his life’s experiences helped shape the values that Robinson’s supporters admire, and his cr...

When Morgan Myles started singing Hallelujah in her blind audition on The Voice, she got a four-chair turn from the celebrity judges within 40 seconds. The response and high praise Myles received from Camila Cabello, Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani and John Legend did more than raise her profile on the national stage. It reaffirmed Myles’s faith in her own talent and gave her a much-needed boost of confidence after years as a touring m...

Martin Jarmond knows about success. The UNCW alum has done the hard work it takes to succeed on both personal and professional levels. But had it not been for a single phone call, made at one of Jarmond’s lowest moments when self-doubt threatened to become an obstacle, his achievements may have never happened. Ground may have remained unbroken. Racial barriers may have stood for many more years. UCLA’s Athletic Director talks about...

Carson Kressley had started a career in fashion when a friend urged him to audition for a reality show. That opportunity turned into his breakthrough role as fashion savant for Bravo TV’s original Queer Eye for the Straight Guy series, which won an Emmy and changed the trajectory of Kressley’s life. The television personality, best-selling author and designer will soon be in Wilmington, to emcee a charity fundraiser to benefit the ...