Michael Heckman of Houston First sits down with Alex Gras to talk about what makes Houston a great city, and what it can do to earn that reputation. Born a Yankees fan, Heckman has a more than 20-year career with leadership roles spanning destination marketing and hotels, as well as sports and event management. As President and CEO of Houston First, Michael is one of the leaders pushing the city toward greatness. Pok-A-Talk is the official podcast for The Pokatok Festival, a mash-up of conferences, competitions, and connections to celebrate and showcase sports and the technologies disrupting them. The goal of the podcast is to explore the human side of the stories at the intersection of sports, innovation, and culture.