BBJ 2014 02.pdf

The Carnival Season (from the Latin “carnivale,” meaning farewell to flesh) is the season of merriment that begins with Epiphany of Jan. 6 (the Twelfth Nigh) and ends at Midnight on Mardi Gras.

Mardi Gras – literally “Fat Tuesday,” translated from French – is the last chance before Lent for revelry, and almost anything goes. It can occur on any Tuesday be-

tween Feb. 3 through March 9. This is due to the Grego-rian calendar designed by the Catholic Church, which sets a fixed date for Christ-mas and movable dates for other holidays. Mardi Gras is set 46 days prior to Easter — the 40 days of Lent plus 6 Sundays.

That tradition has spread from New Orleans in the Catholic colony of Loui-siana, which has parishes

instead of counties, the Na-poleonic Code instead of English common law – and Mardi Gras. In 1985, oilman George P. Mitchell and his wife, Cynthia, launched the revival of a citywide Mardi Gras celebration in Galves-ton, his hometown. It became an instant success, and Port Arthur decided to stage a celebration of its own. Mardi Gras of Southeast Texas Inc. received its nonprofit Char-

ter from the State of Texas on Feb. 18, 1992, and held its first Mardi Gras the fol-lowing year – and the rest is history. The city of Orange celebrates Mardi Gras on the Sabine, a free celebration that grows every year.

In every case, the influx of visitors intent on having a good time boosts local spirits and civic pride while making cash registers ring.

The Heart of Huntsman

PAGE 18

Volume 4 Issue 12 • February 2014

Business Journalb e a u m o n t

Serving Jefferson, Orange & Hardin Counties, Texas

COLD SNAPPropane market shivers

PAGE 26

inside

ECONOMIST 8

THE LAMARS 12

OIL & GAS WRAP 26

THE ARTS 32

FOR THE RECORD 38

index

by james shannonbusiness journal

Don’t look now, but fed-eral and state environmental officials have reached a con-ditional agreement on so-called “flexible permits” that regulate how the Clean Air Act is implemented in Texas after years of often bitter dis-agreement and lawsuits.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency deal on state permits will allow some

operating flexibility to major air-pollution sources, such as oil refineries.

“We are pleased that the TCEQ and EPA have been able to reach an agreement for EPA to propose conditional ap-proval of the Texas flexible permit program, and that the EPA now understands why the pro-gram is legal and effective,” said TCEQ Chairman Bry-

an Shaw.This compromise appar-

ently signals the end – or at least the beginning of

the end – of a con-tentious debate

between the federal and state agencies over e n v i r o n m e n -tal regulations.

Though the de-bate had been going

on for years through Democratic and Republican administrations alike, the tension ratcheted up with the

election of President Barack Obama. Under EPA admin-istrator Lisa Jackson, the EPA overturned the Texas long-term flexible permit-ting program, saying it did not meet federal clean air rules. The move forced more than 100 industries, includ-ing some of the nation’s larg-est refineries, to work directly with the EPA to get new op-erating papers.

Jackson left the EPA after Obama’s first term. She was replaced in 2013 by Gina

LAMAR UNIVERSITYCampaign tops $132 million

PAGE 16

SEE EPA, PAGE 4

SEE MARDI GRAS, PAGE 6

‘Flexible permits’ back on the tableEPA – TCEQ agreement provides clarity for oil and gas industry

Celebrations ringlocal cash registers

Celebrations ringlocal cash registers

From humble beginnings to the top of the business world

2 | Business Journal • February 2014 Business Journal • February 2014 | 3

Publisher / Editor Don J. Dodd

EditorJames Shannon

ContributorsSharon BrooksBrandi HaskettKevin KingClay Thorp

Creative DirectorAdam Balla

Copy Editing Joshua Cobb

GraphicsJustin RabbAdam Balla

Sales and Marketing ExecutivesGina Galloway

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WHAT DO YOU THINK?

The new Altus Emergency Center has opened in Lumber-ton. The freestanding emergen-cy center provides high-quality care to area residents 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A festive ribbon cutting formally chris-tened the facility Jan. 9 with company officials and staff joined by community leaders and area residents.

“We are pleased to bring this first-class facility, along with a team of board-certified emer-gency medicine physicians and nurses, to serve the residents of the Lumberton area,” said Kevin Herrington, regional ex-ecutive vice president of Altus Health.

The Lumberton facility is the second freestanding emergency center for Altus Health; the first emer-gency center was opened in Baytown in September 2013.

The Altus Emergency Cen-ter is staffed by experienced, emergency trained physicians and nurses, and equipped to treat all types of emergen-cies, including heart attacks, strokes, abdominal pain, sports injuries, pneumonia and other types of illnesses and injuries. Unlike a conventional hospi-tal ER, short wait times are promised with all commercial insurances accepted. The Altus Emergency Center is not con-tracted with Medicare, Medic-aid or CHIPS. The facility has one trauma room and six exam rooms with four observations rooms if needed.

The Altus Emergency Cen-ter facility has special equip-ment for caring for pediatric emergencies and starting IVs,

best-of-breed e l e c t r o n i c medical re-cords and patient track-

ing, X-rays, CT scans, ultra-sound, and a full service lab within the emergency center. The staff can diagnose and treat any emergency, no matter how big or small.

“The staff has been seeing a lot of patients since opening the facility, and most patients have little to no wait time to see a physician,” said Herrington. “Patient comments have been very positive, with most ex-pressing how pleased they are with the speed, efficiency and completeness of care they re-ceive in the emergency center.”

In the same building at 137 N. LHS Drive is a clinic oper-ated by Southeast Texas Medi-

cal Associates (SETMA) that also opened in early January. It can serve around 200 patients a day offering the same services SETMA’s other locations in the Golden Triangle, accord-ing to Dr. James Holly, CEO of SETMA.

“We think it’s going to be the most exciting thing in health-care in Hardin County ever,” Holly said. “We have specialists there part time and can treat anything that any family phy-sicians, nurse practitioners, or cardiologists can treat.”

Holly added that SETMA’s database is linked together so if, for instance, some-one who is a regular patient at one of the other SETMA clinics needs to go to the doctor in Lumberton, their records would be available to physicians at the clinic.

The SETMA Clinic in

Lumberton is open Monday through Thursday 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Friday 8 a.m. to

noon. Call (409) 833-9797 or (888) 833-0523 for more

information.Headquartered in

Pearland, Altus Health was established in 2004 by a network of vested,

forward-thinking phy-sicians who united to form

a consortium of aptitudes with unmatched healthcare quality, safety, affordability and patient satisfaction in various medial modalities. Altus Health’s mis-sion is to provide the highest quality patient care at the most affordable cost. Since its incep-tion, Altus Health has grown to a network of more than 1300 physicians with facilities in the Baytown, Beaumont and Hous-ton areas that include emer-gency centers, Altus Cancer Centers, Altus Hospice, Altus Imaging Centers, Altus Surgery Centers and Altus Sleep Cen-ters. For more information, visit www.altushms.com. n

Kevin King contributed to the reporting of this story.

Altus Emergency Center opensFacility houses freestanding emergency center, SETMA clinic

Taseer Badar, President and Chief Executive Officer, ZT Wealth; Kraig Killough, Chief Operating Officer, ZT Wealth; Cruize Gaj, Executive VP for Business

Development and Marketing, Altus Health; Chester Pitts

Cutting the ribbon for the grand opening of the Altus Emergency Center in Lumberton.

Kevin Herrington, Regional Executive Vice President, Altus

Health


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McCarthy, the former commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Envi-ronmental Protection who had served as assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation since 2009. McCarthy’s bio on the EPA website notes she “has been a leading advocate for common-sense strategies to protect public health and the environment,” but it is unclear if her ascension helped cement this deal.

TCEQ had challenged in court the EPA’s 2010 decision to overturn the state program, which also allowed plants to operate under an emissions “umbrella” but did not separately detail pollution from different sources.

In 2012, a divided 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled that the EPA had violated the Clean Air Act by rejecting the program.

In a statement, Shaw outlined TCEQ’s course of action.

“Although TCEQ and industry rep-resentatives successfully challenged EPA’s 2010 disapproval of the pro-gram, today’s action provides a reso-lution to implement both the court’s opinion and the necessary legal re-quirements for EPA approval. At its Feb. 12 agenda, TCEQ commis-sioners will consider proposing rule amendments to address the conditions for EPA full approval later in 2014,” said Shaw.

The agreement would require continu-ous monitoring of separate operating units under a general cap of emissions.

With important details of the condi-tional agreement still to be spelled out, there was some confusion over just what the announcement will mean. Not sur-prisingly, Texas environmentalists were divided, according to Terry Wallace of

the Associated Press, who quoted two sources:

“We were expecting this, but it’s still disappointing. EPA’s decision is a vic-tory for Texas air polluters and a loss for public health,” said Ilan Levin, as-sociate director of the Environmental Integrity Project. “This flexible permit program has a long history of abuse, and a lot of the damage is already done.”

However, Neil Carman, clean air program director of the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club, sees the EPA as the victor in the deal.

“The EPA has already addressed the illegal flexible permits,” he said. “The EPA has already gotten the of-fending industries to get new per-mits.”

Furthermore, TCEQ warnings that tighter regulations would close refiner-ies proved to be untrue, Carman said.n

EPA | FROM PAGE 1

Are you contemplating a home remodeling proj-ect in the near future or just looking to redecorate your living room? Maybe you are ready to build your dream home or just add a pool, spa or some new furniture. All these dreams and more are possible, and it all starts with a trip to the Golden Triangle Home Show, where the latest products and services will be on

display March 7-9. This year the annual event will return to the friendly confines of Beaumont Civic Center after a de-cade in Ford Park.

The trip back down-town is a little nostalgic for show producer Liz Perkins Smith, who has been involved with the show for its entire 33-year history. Her father, the late Billy Perkins, was doing home shows

in Louisiana when he came to Beaumont to do a show in 1980. He liked it so much he moved here, and the show be-came a staple on the lo-cal scene. For three de-cades, he showcased the many choices available to homeowners – every-thing from carpet, win-dows and doors and all points in between, ar-rayed for your inspection. Whether you are looking

for a specific item or just want to stroll down aisles crowded with merchan-dise, there is something for you at the Golden Triangle Home Show.

“My father believed in our local merchants, so 95 percent of the show is local,” said Smith. “We want to keep the money in our community, so you can shop from many national bands available from area businesses.”

The show provides the opportunity to talk to decorators, remodel-ers and builders in per-son. If you’re starting a new business and need clients, the Home Show is a good place to meet

people.“Take advantage of

this unique opportunity

to present your prod-uct or service to inter-ested homeowners and consumers,” said Smith. “We will bring these po-tential customers to the show with our massive saturation advertising and publicity campaign via television, radio and newspaper.”

Booth reservations are being accepted now so act early to get a prime loca-tion. Call Liz Smith at Golden Triangle Shows, LLC at (409) 422-4802 or 791-0733. n

Golden Triangle Home Show returns to Beaumont Civic Center33rd annual showcase extravaganza March 7-9

Golden Triangle Home Show founder Billy Perkins (right) and exhibitor Herman Guinton at one of the first home shows held in the Beaumont Civic Center in the 1980s.


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Th e LNVA recently presented the Big Th icket Association a check for $25,000 to sup-port the funding of the BTA’s Neches River Adventures En-vironmental Education Class-rooms onboard the Cardinal and on the Neches River. Th e Cardinal is a 45-foot Coast Guard approved pontoon boat.

Th e curriculum and the classes are under the direction of Mi-chael Hoke, who recently retired from Shangri La Botanical Gar-dens & Nature Center in Or-ange. Th e classes include a Coast Guard certifi ed captain, one fi rst mate, and curriculum-trained in-structors with teaching materials and equipment to provide hands-on instructions for all students.

Jan Ruppel, Big Th icket As-sociation President, said, “We are very pleased to have Lower Neches Valley Authority as a partner in this environmen-tal education program. With funding from the LNVA and other sponsors, the BTA plans to provide free outdoor classes

to 6,000 students in 2014.”Scott Hall, general manager

of LNVA, said, “Th e LNVA’s goal is to assist in providing area students the opportu-nity to learn more about the Neches River and its vital rela-tionship with Southeast Texas communities, businesses, and industries.”

Th is year, Th e Big Th icket Association will celebrate its 50th anniversary and the Big Th icket National Preserve will celebrate its 40th Anniversary. Th e BTA will host and co-host a number of events to promote conservation of the natural resources and rich history of the area. From March through November, BTA’s Neches Riv-er Adventures will also off er public tours and private char-ters on the river and into the Big Th icket National Preserve.

Th e Lower Neches Val-ley Authority provides for the present and long-term fresh-water needs of municipal, agri-cultural and industrial custom-

ers, protects water quality in the Neches River and Coastal Basin, ensures aff ordability of

LNVA supports Big Thicket education

Pictured left to right are Bruce Walker, Michael Hoke, Kathleen Jackson, Jan Ruppel and Scott Hall


When they block off Procter Street in downtown Port Arthur, the residents of this city will brace for the annual inva-sion of tens of thousands of their closest friends and neighbors coming in for pa-rades, concerts and a midway of carnival rides, games and tasty treats of every de-scription. Even the blocks surrounding the offi cial site will be teeming with capi-talism in its purest form as an enthusias-tic array of vendors line sidewalks, store-fronts, driveways and streets to sell food, trinkets and more. The smells wafting from various barbecue pits, taco stands and fi sh fryers will have your mouth wa-tering before you enter the gates. Turkey legs, anyone?

Thursday, Feb. 27, the action starts with the Courir Parade at 4:45 p.m. moving down Rosehill along Lake-shore to the festival grounds. On the concert stage that night, J.A.G. and The Stark Ex-periment will perform.

The Krewe of Krewes Parade is the highlight of Fri-day, Feb. 28, with American Sons and stellar singer-

songwriter Robert Earl Keen provid-ing the musical fi reworks. Keen goes on at 10 p.m., and the festival grounds will be hopping until midnight.

Saturday, March 1, is going to be a big day at Mardi Gras. Gates open at noon followed by the Royalty March parade at 1 p.m. Afternoon entertain-ment will feature The Port Arthur Play-boys followed by the Zydeco sounds of Lil’ Wayne & Same Ole’ 2 Step. The crowd favorite Motorcycle Run is fol-lowed by the spectacular Krewe of Aurora Grand Parade. Music after dark will be from Harrison Swift followed

by country heartthrobs the Casey Donahew Band.

The celebra-tion closes in style

on Sunday, March 2, with the Munch-kin Parade, which has to be seen to

be believed. Con-certs by Champagne Room and Travis

Matte and the Kingpins are sandwiched around

the Truck Parade.Street performers like

Jerry the Monkey Man and Dallas the Fire Guy

are annual staples at Mardi Gras in Port Arthur. This year’s featured attraction will be Cast in Bronze, a musical act no-tably including one of the few portable carillons, a musical instrument consist-ing of 23 or more tuned bells.

Carillons date back to 15th-cen-tury Europe where they were usually owned by communities and housed in churches or other municipal build-ings facing onto a village square. People gathered outdoors to be en-tertained by the bells. However, the musician was hidden from view with-in the cabin of the bell tower so the carillonneur was never seen, thus the reason why the player wears a black costume while performing. His face is concealed by a golden phoenix mask. All but his hands and eyes are covered as a symbolic gesture to downplay his identity and role in creating the mu-sic. In 1995, Cast in Bronze played for Pope John Paul II during a Mass cele-brated in New York City’s Central Park. Cast in Bronze will be performing throughout Mardi Gras across from the carnival. n

FAREWELLTO THE FLESH

PORT ARTHURMardi Gras of Southeast TexasPORT ARTHURPORT ARTHURPORT ARTHURPORT ARTHURFebruary 28 - March 2


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ORANGEThe celebration in Orange is basically a one-day aff air, but what a day! Residents from through-out the region and parts beyond fl ock to Orange for Mardi Gras on the Sabine, highlighted by the Krewe of Krewe’s 2014 Motor Parade, which gets underway at 5 p.m. at the Downtown Pavilion. It is a family-friendly event presented by the Great-er Orange Chamber of Commerce with plenty of beads and trinkets to be had, so the kids are guar-anteed to have a good time. The various fl oats and brightly costumed participants will be get-ting ready to parade throughout the afternoon. The Downtown Pavilion is part of a riverfront de-velopment of the City of Orange complete with a boardwalk and spectacular stage area.

After the parade, the Orange Convention and Visitors Bureau is staging what they are calling the After-Party at the Pavilion, with a free concert by

Wayne Toups and Zydeca-jun. It will start around 7:30 p.m. so the parade is

due to return to that site about a half-hour before. Toups

and his accordion provide a high-en-

ergy mix of tradi-tional and mod-ern Cajun that will have your

toes a tapping. The Orange Boat-ing Club will be on hand selling food,

sodas and adult beverages, so come on down. n

Mardi Gras on the SabineFebruary 22

BEAUMONTSenior Mardi GrasFebruary 27 - March 1The Best Years Center invites seniors age 55 and older to its signature annual event: “Celebrating Seniors Mardi Gras Style.” This popular, daylong festival features enter-tainment, food, shopping, educational seminars, and more. Senior Mardi Gras will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thurs-day, Feb. 27, at the Beaumont Civic Center. Admission is free. A weekend of tours and shows are individually priced. Weekend passes are available for $75.

DAY ONE: Thursday, Feb. 27

Senior Mardi Gras10 a.m. – 2 p.m.Beaumont Civic Center • 701 Main St.FREE

The annual “Celebrating Seniors Mardi Style” will be held at the Beaumont Civic Center. This popular annual event features more than 80 senior-friendly vendors, foods samples, and entertainment!

Variety Show at the Event Centre5:30-8 p.m.700 Crockett St.$10

Join us for a sing along, variety show, and gospel fi nale at the Event Center. Following the close of our Celebrating Seniors Mardi Gras Style, there will be a brief intermission in activities. Attendees can enjoy downtown venues such as the Art Museum, Energy Museum, Texas Fire Museum, Tyrrell Histori-cal Library, Main Library, or Riverfront Park.

Beginning at 4 p.m., food trucks will open for business near the Event Center. At 5:30 p.m., the concert will begin with Jay Cantu from the Liberty Opry, followed by a dulcimer group, followed by the very popular Master’s Men from Silsbee.

DAY TWO: Friday, Feb. 28

Faith Tour and Restaurant Tasting9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.$30

Tour starts at Market Basket at 3959 Phelan Blvd. Participants will have the opportunity to

MARDI GRAS | ON PAGE 10

Mayor Becky Ames and BYC director Lynn Huckaby enjoy

Senior Mardi Gras.


THE ECONOMIST

Th e oil industry has seen sweeping changes over the past few years, with production rising rapidly (particularly in Texas). Talk has begun as to whether we can surpass previous records, make real progress toward energy indepen-dence, and sustain the current level of activity. Here’s my take on these ques-tions.

Oil production is driven by three primary factors: prices, geology and the technology available for explora-tion and recovery. Oil prices vary in re-sponse to supply and demand. Demand fl uctuates to some extent with economic condi-tions and development, but is relatively stable. Supply is infl uenced by politics, the OPEC cartel, natural disasters, weather phenomena and other conditions we can neither control nor per-fectly predict. As I’ve dis-cussed in recent columns, however, it looks like oil prices will be staying high for a while, with countervailing pres-sures keeping prices bouncing around in a fairly narrow range (though this could certainly change). With prices at these levels, it makes economic sense to continue to drill and produce, pushing up totals.

Geology obviously doesn’t change. Aging fi elds had been contributing to shrinking production for decades (until the recent surge). In the United States, oil production peaked in 1970 at 3.5 billion barrels. Even with the extremely high prices with the supply shocks dur-ing the 1970s and 1980s, total produc-tion has never again reached that level. Th e low point in annual U.S. produc-tion was in 2008, at 1.8 billion barrels.

Over the past few years, however, pro-duction has again begun to rise, thanks to the third major driver of production: technology. With the development of hydraulic fracturing and other innova-tive recovery methods, oil in unconven-tional formations has become techno-logically feasible to produce. Th ere are also better ways to fi nd oil such as 3-D seismic mapping. Annual total produc-tion from U.S. wells began to rise in 2009, and the pace of growth is accel-erating. In 2012, total U.S. production was almost 2.4 billion barrels. If you take the latest monthly data (October 2013) and annualize it, production is on pace for 2.8 billion barrels. Given expected production growth, we could

reach and surpass prior peaks some-time in the next couple of years.

Texas annual production peaked in 1972 at almost 1.3 billion barrels. In 2012, it was just over half a billion bar-rels. Even so, Texas production made up all of the ground lost in two decades in just one year. Much of the “easy oil” is long gone. In the early 1970s (and even during part of the 1950s), wells were producing more than 21 barrels per day on average, compared to less than nine in 2012 (still better than the aver-ages just a few years ago). We’ll have to

have some major techno-logical breakthroughs to overcome this basic geo-logic fact.

As to energy inde-pendence, we are mak-ing some strides. True energy independence in the strictest application of the term is a very lofty goal that’s probably far

beyond what is practical or necessary. Energy security, where we have the do-mestic resources and sources of supply from allies whose interests closely align with our own (such as Canada) to meet essential needs is an objective worth pursuing. Th e United States imports a substantial proportion of the oil we need, but the balance is subtly shifting. With continued development of fi elds across America and construction of pipelines such as the Keystone, we are becoming less vulnerable.

With prices likely to remain at rela-tively high levels, it looks like the oil surge will be sticking around for a while. Unlike during some points in the past, demand and supply are rela-tively stable. Th ere’s not an embargo or war or cartel artifi cially infl ating pric-es. Certainly, there will be cycles, but the prospects of a notable, protracted downturn any time soon appear to be remote at present.

While 2014 might not be the year we reach all-time-high oil production, I do hope it’s a good year for you and your business. Th ere are signs that this could be a better year for the economy and job seekers, with Texas leading the way. n

Dr. M. Ray Perryman is president and CEO of Th e Perryman Group (www.per-rymangroup.com). He also serves as Insti-tute Distinguished Professor of Economic Th eory and Method at the International Instit ute for Advanced Studies.

THE ECONOMIST

m. ray perryman

Oil productionrecords in reach?


Recently, my fi fth trip to India brought me face-to-face with non-stop contradictions. How could a land, primitive in large areas, elbow its way ahead to being the world’s fourth largest economy?

At the Camel Fair in Pushkar, 50,000 camels – with their owners and traders – congregate for a colorful 17-day festival. Th at’s down considerably from what I saw on my fi rst Pushkar pilgrimage 30 years ago. Motorized options – India now ranks second in two-wheelers and third in small cars – are nudging the beasts aside. Still, the aroma that just 50,000 camels can muster is unforgettable.

Check this juxtaposi-tion: My wife and I were in a cart being pulled by a camel and led by a native driver. He had a very long rope g u i d -ing the camel in one hand, while he was talk-ing on his cell phone with the other. Th at’s India today!

Th e average camel stands at more than 7-foot-1 at the hump. Th at’s exactly as tall as Shaquille O’Neal. Sound pretty big? Depends on your vantage point. In-dians shrewdly adjust ex-pectations versus results. An old Hindu adage holds, “When a camel is at the foot of a mountain, then judge his height.”

Th e Indian economy has advanced at 9-10 percent in recent years. Now it’s slowed to 5-6 percent. Indians think they’re in trouble ... measuring that growth “camel” against the recent past. Hey, wouldn’t we in the United States love to be in that sort of trouble?

Th e Young Presidents Organizat ion/Wor ld President’s Organiza-tion – 390 strong – jour-

neyed to New Delhi for a recent university event. Indian executives, pro-fessionals and academics dazzled my colleagues and me with mind-blowing insights. Take Amity University, which I also visited. Its huge 20,000-student campus has another large campus snuggled close to it. Th e most stunning number is the 1 million avid learn-ers Amity has enrolled in 240 programs on 40 campuses and six coun-tries, plus online.

When I revisited the Gandhi Memorial Muse-um in Madurai, I was even more taken by this tribute to modern India’s found-ing father than I was de-cades earlier. Emblazoned on the wall are Mahatma Gandhi’s immortal words: “Live as if you were to die

tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live for-ever.”

P r i c e -less wis-dom for a cont inu-ous-learn-ing freak as I am. India will

need each one of those lessons as its population surpasses China’s in the near future.

Awesome challenges foster incredible creativ-ity. One of the smart-est lessons in the Indian playbook is known as trickle-up or reverse in-novation, described by Dartmouth professors Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble.

Under CEO Jeff Im-melt, GE has explored reverse innovation, too. Here’s how it works: Places like India de-velop inexpensive ver-sions of high-cost tech-nology and processes. Th ese brainstorms are then remarketed back to “advanced” economies as low-cost options.

Does evidence support this ultimate switcheroo?

• According to a Har-

vard Business Review piece, a new wave of In-dian hospitals empha-sizes “world-class health care at ultralow cost” often through selective specialization done at high volumes.

• Th roughout India, the electric grid is not effi cient, hamstringing high-power electro-tech-nology. Battery-powered medical instruments of-ten do the job.

• In 2001, a massive earthquake struck India’s state of Gujarat, killing 2,000 and leaving 400,000 homeless. In response, CNN reported, “one young entrepreneur, Man-sukhbhai Prajapati ... de-signed a low-cost clay re-frigerator that required no electricity and continued to function in the event of major catastrophes.”

• Would the challenges of poverty eject India from the continuing global space race? In November, India launched MOM – the Mars Orbiter Mission. Forbes reports the venture will “make India the fi rst Asian country, and the fourth in the world, to get to the planet.” While rich-er nations book billions lost in space, India rigged up its Mars mission on a $75-million shoestring.

Getting to “Mars on a budget” included carefully limited testing, low-cost rocket fuel technologies and acquiring older engine options.

• With 70 percent of its population rural, In-dia has been at the fore-front of solar-cooking solutions. Th ese practi-cal technologies are now drawing international at-tention.

• Having once served as a Miss America pag-eant judge, I was fas-cinated to watch Nina Davuluri crowned as the fi rst Miss America of In-dian descent in Septem-ber. Nina, who aspires to be a cardiologist, is a pragmatist. Winning an earlier pageant competi-tion landed a scholarship enabling her “debt-free” college graduation.

Much is made of India being the largest democ-racy. While wonderful and true, another power-ful bond binds America and India. It’s one we Americans would all do well to relearn: India’s passion for practical re-sourcefulness. n

Mackay’s Moral: Trickle down-economics? India’s trickling UP … all the way to the bank!

Indian innovation: How to accelerate in reverse

swimming with the sharks

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S E R V I N G G U L F C O A S T I N D U S T R Y S I N C E 1 9 6 6


by carolyn hartmannspecial to business journal

The growing value of customer reten-tion is a business reality of the 21st century. Companies are encouraged to dedicate significant resources aimed at maintaining their existing customer base despite the ongoing fixation on customer acquisition.

According to R.L. Oliver, author of “Satisfaction: A behavioral perspective on the consumer,” “Customer retention is the deeply held commitment to re-buy or repatronize a preferred product or service consistently in the future, in light of situational influences and marketing efforts having the potential to cause switching behavior.” This defi-nition speaks to the inherent market competition that drives purchasing be-havior. The Internet makes it very easy for consumers to research and compare various offers against each other. They are better informed and not always willing to accept the best offer. They have to determine which service pro-vider has their best interest at heart, and they do this by judging the quality of the business relationship.

Research shows that the majority of customers leave their service provid-ers because they believe their business is no longer appreciated. Furthermore, if their expectations are not met, they sever ties and choose another company more in touch with their individual needs and preferences. Implementing a program where you continually re-affirm your customers’ value is an in-valuable practice in customer retention. Simply and sincerely expressing your gratitude for your customers’ business is vital to your viability and profitability in the marketplace.

Here are some basic and inexpensive ways to let your customers know they are valued and appreciated for their continued patronage.

Thank your customers for their busi-ness every time you interact with them.

Use your customers’ names during conversations to show you are taking a personal interest in their needs and concerns.

Engage your customers as you ex-change pleasantries about their lives to build endearing relationships.

Send thank you notes and even birthday cards on a regular basis. This unexpected and sincere communica-tion makes a lasting impression.

Make time to call your customers on a frequent basis to see if they are sat-isfied with your products and services. This lets your customers know they are continually on your radar.

Stay in touch with your customers via newsletters, eBlasts, social media, etc. to inform and educate them on your latest products and services, as well as the latest industry trends.

Never lose sight of your customers’ loyalty. Following up after a sale is just as imperative as making the initial sale.

One of the benefits of these cus-tomer retention practices stems from the correlation between retention and repurchasing. Customers make more frequent purchases if they deem the quality of their business relationships as positive. Additionally, retained cus-tomers tend to buy other products or services if they are actively engaged with the company. Retained custom-ers also tend to be less price sensitive. A loyal customer is more likely to ac-cept a price increase as opposed to a customer who is on the fence. Further-more, repeat customers often give bet-ter word-of-mouth, which is one of the more efficient and economical ways to attract and sustain your existing cus-tomer base.

Deliberate retention strategies are an important differentiating factor be-tween companies, ultimately strength-ening your unique selling proposition.

However, what makes your relation-ship practices even stronger is your ability to choose the “right” clients for your organization. Short-lived and tu-multuous partnerships, poor return on new business, and declining morale among internal personnel are strong repercussions. You have to discern if a prospective client is conducive to the growth of your organization. Estab-lishing an open line of communication at the onset helps clarify expectations, test ideas, and design a program that aligns with your organization’s and the client’s plans for the future. It also helps to gain an understanding of the prospect’s definition of success.

Every client is unique, and while you may have generalized knowledge from the last pitch or a previous client re-lationship, it is important to know all the issues and concerns. This is where knowing your target market takes pre-cedence. Do you provide products and services that answer a particular need? Do your offerings provide added value? Do you provide a rare commodity not offered by other service providers? An-swering these questions and others will help you choose the clients right for your organization’s long-term success.

You’ll find that retention goes much smoother if you have exercised thor-ough justification for your choices.

Regardless of size or whether you’re a B2B or B2C company, having a com-prehensive customer retention strategy is key to your brand’s longevity and reputation in the marketplace. MWH Public Relations fully positions its cli-ents to engage their customers and so-lidify long-term relationships through best practices in customer retention. Regarding optimum business growth through positive customer experiences, Sandra Steen, founder and president of Sandra Steen Consulting LLC, attests, “As a business coach, I have seen first-hand how customer centric corpora-tions manage their resources to sustain their customer base. They view their customers as long-term drivers of their success and treat them as such.” n

Carolyn Hartmann with MWH Public Relations works with clients to enrich the corporate stratosphere with their wisdom and business intuition. Sandra Steen, CEO of Sandra Steen LLC, arms today’s top executives with core competencies that impact the bottom-line and enhance job performance.

Customer retentionThe next corporate battleground

learn how different denominations approach transformation, rededica-tion or revival. Stops include Saint Michael’s Greek Orthodox Church, First Christian Church, Temple Emanuel, and Saint Anthony Ba-silica. Along the way, you will have the opportunity to sample from nine restaurants on the route. A full lunch break at around 12:30 p.m. will be on your own at Westmont Shopping Center. Many choices for lunch are under $10.

DAY THREE: Saturday, March 1

Mardi Gras Parade and Cultural Tour11 a.m. – 8 p.m. $40, including lunch (limit 90)

Starting from the Best Years Senior Center at 780 S. Fourth St., the tour begins with a stop of his-toric Magnolia Cemetery, located at 2291 Pine St. Enjoy art, history and cultural connections at this important Beaumont landmark. The tour continues with a histo-

ry-based trip through Orange. Lunch is at Beau Reve in Groves. This 114-year-old home features a view of the Neches River. The restaurant offers a lunch buffet. Lunch is included in your $75 Weekend Pass. After lunch, the tour proceeds to Port Arthur for some tailgating in advance of the city’s Mardi Gras parade. The Mo-torcycles parade will start at 5:30 p.m. and the main parade begins at 6 p.m. The bus will return to the Best Years Center approxi-mately 8 p.m. n

MARDI GRAS | FROM PAGE 7


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THE LAMARS

Brent Bost, Rena Clark and Sina Nejad have been selected as the 2014 Lamar University Distinguished Alumni Awards recipients. The Distinguished Alumni Awards are the high-est awards presented by Lamar University to its alumni.

Award honorees are selected annually by a committee of the Lamar University Alumni Ad-visory Board. Eligible candi-dates must be graduates of La-mar University, distinguished in their chosen professions or life work, and persons of such integrity, stature and demon-strated ability that the univer-sity community will take pride in and be inspired by their recognition. They must also recognize the importance of their educations at Lamar, and their interest and loyalty in the university must be evident.

Brent W. Bost is a board-certified specialist in obstet-rics and gynecology, and co-founder and vice president of Southeast Texas OB/GYN Associates, PA. He earned five degrees from Lamar Universi-ty: bachelor’s degrees in chem-istry and biology in 1978, a bachelor of business adminis-tration in accounting in 1992, a master of business adminis-tration in 1996, and a second bachelor of business adminis-tration in economics in 1997. Bost is a graduate of the Baylor College of Medicine, where he was student body president, earning his M.D. in 1981. He

received specialty training in obstetrics and gynecology at the Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas.

“My decision to come to La-mar is what got me into medi-cal school” Bost said. “And, af-ter serving on the Admissions Committee at Baylor College of Medicine, I’m convinced that this is true. Lamar gave me the foundation I needed to succeed in medicine and has provided an invaluable resource to continue my edu-cation — in many fields — through the years. If I had it to do all over again, I would

choose Lamar Uni-versity in a heart-beat.”

Rena Clark grad-uated from Lamar University with

honors in 1984 with a bach-elor’s degree in mechanical en-gineering. She was very active on campus, serving as a math and engineering tutor and president and vice president of the Lamar chapter of the Na-tional Society of Black Engi-neers. She participated in the College of Engineering co-op program, with assignments at Texaco Chemical and Union 76.

Clark began her professional career with General Electric in the company’s two-year Manufacturing Management Program where she had four six-month assignments in manufacturing at GE Major Appliance, GE Factory Auto-mation and GE Flight Simu-

lation and Controls. In 1990, Clark received her master of business administration from the Harvard Business School, after which she accepted a po-sition as a management consul-tant with Bain & Company in Boston. She soon returned to the Harvard Business School as director and chief operating officer of the MBA program.

For 25 years, Clark’s com-mitment to volunteerism and community service has not wa-vered. She has served as trustee or overseer for a number of nonprofit organizations in and around Boston including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Museum of Science and the New England Aquarium.

“I am eternally grateful for my time at Lamar and to all of the folks there who played a role in shaping an incredible educational experience. From Dr. Richard Price, who I have known since I was 9 years old and who recruited me to La-mar and whose classroom I

had the honor of experiencing, to Dr. Otto Brown, Dean Fred Young, Eugene Martinez and others,” said Clark

“As a result of all of their in-fluences, I left Lamar with not only the confidence instilled in me by my parents that I could be anything I could imagine, but also with a profound sense that I was prepared for any-thing.”

Sina Nejad is the founder and president of Sigma Engi-neers Inc. He received two de-grees in civil engineering from Lamar University, a bachelor’s degree in 1980 and master’s degree in 1981. Nejad is the first engineer from Southeast Texas to be appointed to the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and one of only 22 engineers approved to engage in the practice of architecture by the Texas Board of Archi-tecture.

Nejad is a member of numer-ous state and national profes-sional societies including the

Texas Board of Professional Engineers, a charter member of the Structural Engineering Institute, founding member of the Architectural Engineering Institute, and is the past presi-dent of the Sabine Chapter of the Texas Society of Pro-fessional Engineers. He was named Engineer of the Year in 2008.

His community involve-ment includes serving as the chairman of the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Building Code Board of Ad-justment & Appeals for the city of Beaumont and service on the Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital Advisory Board. Ne-jad is a member and the past president of the Symphony of Southeast Texas, past president and member of the board of directors of the Anayat House, and former board member of the Beaumont Chamber of Commerce. He was honored as the Small Business Person

LU honors distinguished alumni

Application packets for 2014-15 La-mar University Ambassadors are avail-able through March 6 in the Office of Alumni Affairs located in the John Gray Center, Building B, Suite 102, on the Lamar University campus. Sixteen openings will be available for new Am-bassadors for the fall semester. Lamar University Ambassadors represent the LU student body at official university events and work to promote university

pride among students, prospective stu-dents, alumni and friends of Lamar.

“Ambassadors are a select group of students who serve Lamar University by assisting in building goodwill among alumni and community supporters at various public functions and represent-ing the student body to visiting digni-taries,” said Linda LeBlanc, director of alumni affairs. “They have a high level of involvement on campus and are well

informed about the university and what it has to offer students, alumni and the community.”

Prospective ambassadors must be a full-time officially registered Lamar University student who has completed one full semester at Lamar and will be classified as a sophomore or junior in the fall of 2014, maintain a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.0, submit an official application includ-

ing a letter of interest, transcript, fac-ulty recommendation and resume, and have approval from his/her college dean.

Additional information about the Lamar University Ambassadors pro-gram is available on the LU Ambas-sadors website at advancement.lamar.edu/ambassadors or by contacting the Office of Alumni Affairs at (409) 880-8921 or [email protected]. n

LU accepting applications for prospective student Ambassadors

LAMARUNIVERSITY

ALUMNI | CONTINUED ON PAGE 13

Brent W. Bost Rena Clark Sina Nejad


Stark Museum of Art is a program of the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation. ©2014 All Rights Reserved.

Unknown Diné (Navajo) artist, Rug, Wide Ruins style (detail), c. 1940, natural handspun wool; vegetal dyes, 80.5 x 55 in.,

Stark Museum of Art in Orange, Texas. 82.900.74.

◄

712 Green Ave. Orange, Texas 409.886.2787 starkmuseum.org

View Navajo weavings, including some never-before-seen from the Collection

of the Stark Museum of Art.

See textiles from the 1800’s to today and experience their beauty. Engage in various

weaving activities throughout the exhibition and tour a Trading Post replica.

NAVAJO WEAVING Tradition & Trade

Exhibition Grand Opening February 8, 2014

THE LAMARS

of the Year in 2004 by the Beau-mont Chamber.

“Lamar University has a spe-cial place in my heart,” said Nejad. “When I graduated with my engi-neering degree, I started work im-mediately and had absolutely no defi ciency in performing my work as a young engineer. I knew all my duties and designs as I had learned them at Lamar, a tribute to the great training I received from the engi-neering professors. Men like Pro-fessor Luther Beal and Dr. Morgan molded us into forward thinking and practical engineers. Th ose of us who graduated from Lamar were well ahead of young graduates from other schools.”

Th e awards ceremony will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the University Re-ception Center on the eighth fl oor of the Mary and John Gray Library on Friday, Feb. 21. Tickets for the event are $50, and reservations are required by Feb. 7. For more infor-mation about the Lamar Univer-sity Distinguished Alumni Awards, contact the Offi ce of Alumni Af-fairs at (409) 880-8921 or [email protected]. n

ALUMNI | FROM PAGE 12

Jim Sanderson, professor and chair of Lamar Univer-sity’s Department of Eng-lish and Modern Languages, has recently published a new collection of short stories, “Trashy Behavior,” through the Lamar University Press.

Sanderson decided to pro-duce the collection after win-ning the Texas Institute of Letters’ Kay Cattarulla Award for Short Fiction in 2012 for the short story, “Bankers.”

“I had these other stories lying around, and I thought ‘Bankers’ could be the anchor for the collection,” Sanderson said. “Th en the collection got published by my longtime friend and fellow writer, Jerry Craven, at the Lamar Uni-versity Press.”

Bankers” features a young character who runs into trou-ble while delivering his boss’s car and stems from Sander-son’s personal experiences.

“‘Bankers’ is one of the

most autobiographical stories I have written, although the narrator, the protagonist, is nothing like me,” Sanderson said. “It is based on a lot of stuff that I encountered work-ing at a bank in San Antonio in the late ’60s and early ’70s.”

With a total of eight short stories in the collection, Sand-erson said the stories inter-connect, sometimes through location, theme or plot, such as the stories, “Playing Scared,” “Dee Price’s Story” and “Pissed Away.”

Sanderson notes that the collection’s title, “Trashy Be-havior,” comes from “Th e Last Picture Show” in which one of the characters, Sam the Lion, states, “I’ve been around that trashy behavior all my life…,” collectively summing up the behavior of the old South.

A Lamar faculty mem-ber for 25 years, Sanderson teaches fi ction writing, and

serves as writing director within the English depart-ment. A member of the prestigious Texas Institute of Letters, Sanderson is the

author of 11 works total, in-cluding seven novels, a book of essays, a textbook and dozens of short stories and scholarly articles. n

Sanderson’s ‘Trashy Behavior’


The Chevron Phillips Chemical Compa-ny recently presented a check for $15,000 to the Lamar State College-Orange Foundation to fund scholarships for stu-dents pursuing degrees and certificates in fields related to petrochemical tech-nology. The money will be placed in an endowment that will generate the actual scholarship awards. The scholarships may range from $500 to $1,000 and will be available to full-time students who dem-onstrate academic promise and maintain a GPA of at least 2.5.

Lamar State College-Orange current-ly offers programs in Process Operating Technology; Industrial Technology; In-strumentation; and Safety, Health and Environmental Technology. These pro-grams are tied directly to the workforce needs of local industry and offer students

the opportunity to qualify for jobs that are in high demand. Enrollment is grow-ing

Vicki Derese, community rela-tions representa-tive for Chevron Phillips, presented the check to Dr. Michael Shahan, president of Lamar State College-Orange. Shahan thanked Chevron Phillips for the generous con-tribution and emphasized the impor-tance of private support for scholarships. Shahan said that the number of students needing financial assistance is increas-ing and emphasized that the funds will directly help deserving students realize their dream of a better life. n

LAMARUNIVERSITY

When Tyler Doiron enrolled at Lamar University through the Texas Academy of Lead-ership in the Humanities (TALH) program, she knew it would be a unique experi-ence.

TALH is one of only two residential programs in Texas that gives high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to start college early and earn 60 or more hours of college credit.

“This program was very enriching,” Doiron said. “I would definitely recommend it to students who are looking for a fulfilling experience.”

The Vidor native moved to Buna at age 10 and com-pleted her freshman, sopho-more and the first half of her junior year at Buna High School before coming to La-mar University. “I first heard about TALH when one of my friends told me she wanted to go,” Doiron said. “I thought it was a great opportunity, so I submitted my application and the TALH director told me I could go ahead and get in one semester sooner.”

“My parents supported me because they realized it’d be good for me,” she said. “I was taking my required courses through a college class in-stead of a high school class,

but it taught me how to take more responsibility.”

Now Doiron has completed the TALH program and is a full-time college student at Lamar with a double major in electrical engineering and mathematics. “I chose to stay at Lamar University for so many reasons,” she said. “La-mar is just a wonderful school. The teachers and programs are great, especially within the College of Engineering. And the classes are smaller. You often have multiple courses with the same people for sev-eral semesters. This creates a close-knit group of acquain-tances and friends.”

Doiron said that she is grateful to have been selected as a Mirabeau Presidential Scholar, but that the financial assistance did not influence her decision to attend Lamar. “I knew I wanted to complete my education here,” she said.

Doiron is involved on cam-pus as a tutor for the LU Stu-dent Advising and Retention Services (STARS). She main-ly tutors mathematics, physics

and chemistry. She said that she has learned a lot about the different ways students learn and how she can use her learning style to succeed.

Additionally, Doiron plans to get involved in research into Brain Computer In-terface with the Phillip M. Drayer Department of Elec-trical Engineering.

“It would be a great op-portunity to get serious about this research,” she said. “It has many real-world applications. And since it is at its begin-ning stages, it would be awe-some to have the chance to make groundbreaking discov-eries in that area of research.”

Doiron dedicates a lot of her time to volunteering for nonprofit organizations such as the Humane Society of Southeast Texas and Stable Spirit, which provides equine-assisted therapy in Rose City. She began volunteering with those organizations through TALH, where she also did volunteer work at an elemen-tary school to teach English as a Second Language (ESL).

“Looking back, I wouldn’t have changed anything,” she said. “TALH is not only about college classes; it is about get-ting involved and learning to successfully interact with people that are different than

you in so many ways.”Doiron met people from

all over the world with con-trasting beliefs and views. “TALH’s slogan was right; it truly developed my heart and mind,” she said.

Doiron graduated from TALH in May and antici-pates graduating from Lamar in May 2016. “Hopefully, it will take me three years to get my college degree,” she said.

She said the best advice she ever received was, “Enjoy life. Enjoy what you do. Life should be fun. This encom-passes your job, your hobbies, your studies, how you spend your free-time and who you spend it with. But also do what you feel is important.”

Her dream job would be to work for the space program, with either NASA or Boe-ing. She would love to travel

into space. Doiron said she is interested in learning more about opportunities at Lamar to participate in research and experiments related to space including possibly flying in a reduced-gravity aircraft.

“My favorite thing about the space programs and space travel is that they have the ability to teach us more about our universe,” she said. “I re-ally want to work in this area because I want to contribute to all of the progressions that we will make in space sci-ence.”

But for now, Doiron seems to be following her friend’s advice and enjoying her life at Lamar. “My plans for the future are up for grabs,” she said. “I’m going anywhere life takes me.” n

Springboard to collegeTyler Doiron enrolls at LU via TALH program

THE LAMARS

LSCO gets endowment from Chevron Phillips

Vicki Derese, com-munity relations

representative for Chevron Phillips,

presented the check to Dr. Michael

Shahan, president of Lamar State

College-Orange.

LAMARSTATE COLLEGEORANGE


THE LAMARS

� e Lamar State College-Orange Foundation has set Saturday, April 12, as the date for its third annual “Boot Scootin’ at the Brown Estate” fundraiser. � e evening will begin at 7 p.m. with a social hour and barbeque dinner that will be followed by dancing to the music of the band Twangsters Union. Guests will be seated under tents so that they can enjoy the springtime ambience and beauty of the Brown Estate grounds.

� e “Boot Scootin’” event is the pri-mary fundraiser for the foundation. � e proceeds support the foundation’s schol-arship program and its e� orts to aid in the development of the downtown Or-ange campus. Over the past � ve years, the foundation has awarded more than $250,000 in scholarship aid to LSC-O students and has assisted in the acquisi-tion of property for campus expansion.

� is year’s event is dedicated to the memory of Darby Byrd, who was a long-time member of the foundation board and served as treasurer of the organization. � e foundation plans to establish a scholarship in Byrd’s name to recognize his many contributions to Lamar State College-Orange.

Tables to the event are available at several di� erent sponsorship levels: Platinum Buckle Baron, $5,000; Gold Buckle Baron, $2,500; and Silver Buck-le Baron, $1,000. Sponsor tables seat eight guests and include valet parking, food and drink. A limited number of single tickets are available at $100 each. Tables and tickets can be reserved by calling (409) 882-3314. Reservations must be made by March 28 . �

Boot Scootin’at the Brown EstateLamar State College - Orange was

awarded a $2,890.19 cash incentive from the Entergy Texas SCORE Pro-gram for the energy e� cient lighting of the new Nurs-ing Building.

� e SCORE Program helps or-ganizations save energy and money by providing no-cost facility im-provement recom-mendations and � nancial incentives based on energy savings.

President J. Michael Shahan said “the program sta� ’s technical exper-tise guided us throughout the process, ensuring that we achieved maximum energy savings and all equipment functioned correctly.”

� e high e� ciency lighting will

save 58,297 kilowatt-hours of electric-ity per year, equal to eliminating the carbon dioxide emissions from 4,611 gallons of gasoline, according to U.S.

Environmen-tal Protection Agency calcu-lations. “We’re proud to serve as an energy-e� cient role model in the c o m m u n i t y, ” said Shahan.

“We identi� ed a real need for an energy e� ciency program that spe-ci� cally targets our K-12 and higher learning organizations, especially as budgets are spread thin,” said Entergy Texas Energy E� ciency Program Ad-ministrator Phil Lanier. “� is program is an organized e� ort to bring needed energy e� ciency to Texas.” �

LSC-O gets energy incentive

Jessica Callahan has joined the Lamar State College-Port Arthur athletics family as its � rst-ever volleyball coach.

Callahan, a longtime high school coach, was selected from a group of more than 50 applicants nationwide, according to Athletic Direc-tor Scott Street. “Her attention to the student-ath-lete, not just on the court but also in the classroom, helped our selec-tion committee make up its mind,” he said. “Jessica is a quality candidate with a great back-ground in coaching and student men-toring. She will make a great addition to our coaching sta� here at Lamar State College-Port Arthur.”

Callahan most recently was head vol-leyba ll coach at Atascocita High School in Humble. Before that, she was head coach at Alvin High School and was owner of the H.I.T. Volleyball Academy, where she helped teach up-and-coming

volleyball play-ers. � is school year, Callahan has been teach-ing at Lumber-ton ISD while she looked for a local volleyball coaching posi-tion.

“I had a coaching friend who told me about the position at Lamar State and was saying that it would be a great position for me,” she said. “I was kind of waiting to see what would open up for me here, and once I learned about

the job, came and visited the campus, I knew it was a good � t.

During her four seasons as head coach at Atascocita High School, she put together a 71-59 overall record with a 33-14 mark in district play. Her teams went to the playo� s each of her four years there, including a trip four rounds deep in the 2009-10 season.

Callahan is already on the recruiting road for the Seahawks, using both her Houston and Southeast Texas connections to mine local talent for the upcoming season at LSC-PA.

Callahan’s thoughts on junior col-lege volleyball come from her own experiences as a player at Utah Valley State College in Orem, Utah. She then earned a spot on the volleyball team at

the University of Houston for her ju-nior and senior seasons.

During her time at Utah Valley State, she helped lead her team to two consecutive trips to the junior college national championship tournament, including a 31-11 confer-ence championship season her sophomore year.

“I like the sense of commu-nity here at Lamar State Col-lege-Port Arthur,” she said. “� ere’s a lot of support, and

it feels like a family atmosphere. My � rst two years playing in college was for a junior college and it was the best experience for me. It was two of the best years of my life. � ere was just a great atmosphere and great coaching, I felt at home, and Lamar State reminds me of that experience.” �

LSC-PA names fi rst-ever volleyball coach

Jessica Callahan

LAMARSTATE COLLEGEORANGE

LAMARSTATE COLLEGEPORT ARTHUR


THE LAMARS

Lamar University’s first-ever compre-hensive campaign has surpassed its goal by raising more than $132 million, of-ficials announced today.

“Gifts from thousands of loyal Car-dinals and friends contributed to this historic campaign,” said Camille Mou-ton, the university’s vice president for advancement. “This campaign will allow Lamar University to take transforma-tional strides toward a bigger, brighter future.”

Members of the campaign cabinet and Spindletop Society, donors of $1 million or more, joined in a celebration of the successful campaign. Of the total raised, $72 million is for academic sup-port, $40 million for scholarships, and $20 million for athletics.

Seven years ago, with a desire to en-sure a superior university experience for generations to come, dedicated alumni and friends formed a campaign cabi-net and joined with President Emeritus James Simmons, the LU Foundation and a talented advancement staff led by Mouton to launch the campaign.

The campaign launch took place in March 2006 with an original goal of raising $50 million. At the end of the silent phase of the campaign in May 2008, the goal was raised to $100 mil-lion. In January 2012, the campaign cabinet raised the goal once again to $125 million in response to the enthu-siasm among donors on the future of Lamar University. The campaign was seeing incredible success despite an un-certain economy, Mouton said.

“When the campaign began, it would have been hard for anyone to imagine the response. We flew past the original goal and have surpassed the final goal by a significant amount,” Mouton said.

Remarkably, 70 per-cent of Lamar employ-ees - easily the highest percentage of participation at any uni-versity - made their own philanthropic investment in the future of Lamar, Mouton said. That pride extended to alumni and friends, as well as corpora-tions and foundations throughout Tex-as. Nearly half, 46 percent, of gifts in the campaign came from beyond Southeast Texas. During the campaign, 34,193 gifts were made.

“Nearly half of the campaign gifts came from Lamar alumni and that’s good,” said Greg Thompson of Beau-mont, who served as a campaign co-chair. “But it is also very impressive that nearly a fifth came from friends of the university, individuals who have come to cherish Lamar University. The balance

of the gifts came from corporations and foundations that recognized the impact they could have on the future by sup-porting our university.”

“The success at Lamar is even more remarkable given the extremely small staff that made it happen,” said Kathy Costello, who gave valuable counsel as a consultant to the campaign. “This limited staff, and a remarkable group of volunteers on the foundation board and campaign cabinet, has done something I have never seen accomplished by so few, yet done so well.”

“I also compliment the integrity and true philanthropic spir-it exhibited by all of the donors. It is amazing that Lamar only had to write off .06 percent of pledges where the norm is 1 to 4 percent,” Costello said. “That is a

clear indicator of the loyalty of Lamar’s donors. A more generous and giving group could not be found: a tribute to leadership at Lamar and the quality of the people.”

Honorary Campaign Chair Elvis Mason of Dallas said “I have been both surprised and grateful for the tremen-dous outpouring of financial support for Lamar from across the nation. This response from beyond the region shows the respect the university holds among alumni and friends who have not for-gotten their alma mater.”

As a result of the campaign, the lives of Lamar’s students are being trans-formed through enhanced campus life, new study and research opportunities,

energized and engaged faculty, and state-of-the-art facilities, laboratories and equipment.

As a direct result of the campaign, Lamar has four named departments - the JoAnne Gay Dishman Department of Nursing, the Phillip M. Drayer De-partment of Electrical Engineering, the Dan F. Smith Department of Chemi-cal Engineering, and the Mary Morgan Moore Department of Music.

More than $40 million has been raised in scholarship endowments, including support for the highly successful Mira-beau Presidential Scholars program, the Valero Scholarship in Engineering, the Legends of Southeast Texas Scholar-ships, the Larry and Cynthia Norwood Chemical Engineering Scholarship, the Gena and Albert E. Reaud Scholarship, the Jerry Rudd Memorial Scholarship, the Orange Memorial Hospital Corpo-ration Scholarship, the Garrett Scholars, and the DeWayne Layfield-Texas State University System Foundation Scholar-ship.

During the campaign 246 new pri-vately funded scholarship endowments, ranging from $15,000 to $2.5 million, were established, bringing the total number of privately funded scholarships to 601.

Gifts totaling $72 million have been committed to faculty and academic sup-port, including the establishment of many faculty enhancement/innovation funds, the Reese Construction Man-agement Program, the David J. Beck Fellowships, the Steinhagen Global Fellows, the Ben Rogers Chair in Busi-ness, the Leland Best Innovation Fund

in Education, the Byron and Connie Dyer Geosciences Innovation Fund, the Larry Lawson Research Fund in Elec-trical Engineering, the Don and Mary Ann Lyle Endowment in Engineering, and the Bart and Martye Simmons En-dowment in Business.

Every day the university sees the im-pact of the gifts received through the campaign, Mouton said.

“From the smallest to the largest gift, each person’s generosity has helped us build a better campus and enrich the lives of our students,” Mouton said. “We are a far stronger university today and are positioned for even greater accom-plishments because of the campaign.”

“The outstanding success of Lamar’s inaugural campaign is a testament to strong leadership and the dedication of alumni and friends,” President Ken Evans said. “That legacy is an incredible foundation to build on as we look to the future of our great university.”

Texas State University System Chan-cellor Brian McCall said, “The tremen-dous success of Lamar University’s first-ever comprehensive campaign illustrates the broad base of support of its alumni and friends as well as the participation of corporations and foundations.

“Lamar has experienced a period of growth and development and through this campaign is positioned for even greater accomplishment.” McCall said. “This campaign has created an opportu-nity for many donors to create a person-al legacy that will help Lamar invent its future. These are exciting times for La-mar University and Southeast Texas.” n

LU comprehensive campaign tops $132 million

LAMARUNIVERSITY


When you go to a local store and grab a couple bags of Reddy Ice, chances are you don’t think much about where it comes from. You just know that it is a clean, sanitary prod-uct, conveniently packaged – and cold.

In fact, it comes from a third-generation family concern that began as a dairy delivery busi-ness founded on Procter Street in Port Arthur in 1969 that became B&B Ice and Water, the largest independent dis-tributor of Reddy Ice in the nation.

As it happens, all three generations of this family are headed by a man named Paul Roman Benton — a father, son and grandson. All three have contributed in turn to grow the family business. The third Paul Roman, son of “Paul” Roman Jr. and fa-ther of Paul Roman IV, age 5, recently consolidated their area operations by moving from three locations – two on Gulfway Drive in Port Arthur and a plant in Groves – into a gleaming new facility.

“In order to better serve our customers, we have moved our company headquarters and all operations to our new facility in the Port Arthur Business Park. We are now more cen-trally located to the area refin-eries and the majority of our customers,” said Roman Ben-ton. “Due to our fast growth, we had become congested at

our former locations. This ex-pansion has allowed B&B to further establish itself as ‘The Clear Choice!’ when it comes to offering safety, cost-savings, and convenience.”

His business model makes clear there is a lot more to the ice business than freezing wa-ter.

“Quality and safety are top priorities; therefore, we use rigid water sanitation stan-dards and operating proce-dures,” said Benton. “We offer multiple delivery and product choices, a strong service net-work, and a qualified and ex-perienced crisis response team. These solid capabilities ensure consistent supply and reliable service.”

From sporting events to fish-ing excursions; from parties to picnics; from construction jobs to areas affected by disaster, wherever there is a need for ice and water, B&B has the prod-ucts to fill it. It is an expansive business that incorporates a wide range of business activi-ties.

“With a presence in Florida, Texas and Louisiana, we dis-tribute ice and water to re-fineries, supermarkets, conve-nience stores, clubs and mass merchandisers, drug stores, restaurants, special entertain-ment events, concrete compa-nies and construction sites,” he said. “All of our manufacturing facilities employ the most ad-vanced water filtration and pu-

rification technology and are National Sanitation Founda-tion inspected and certified by the International Packaged Ice Association.”

These inspections and guar-antees are important because of B&B’s extensive contracts supplying water and ice to oil and gas refineries, includ-ing the massive expansion projects at Total and Mo-tiva. B&B Ice and Water of-fers seven-day a week service with multiple cooler sizes and flexible ordering. They have no minimum order and don’t

require long-term contracts. Water services are offered at one flat rate per cooler. In ad-dition, B&B owns, maintains and stores the coolers, as well as delivers and lifts the 80-pound water jugs; they have water tested on a regular

basis by a third party.Just as the previous gen-

eration of Bentons saw the ice business exceed the dairy business a few decades ago, this generation of Bentons has watched the water business surpass the ice business. n

B&B Ice and WaterPort Arthur expansion as business grows

B&B Ice & Water9555 Richard Wycoff Drive

Port Arthur, TX 77640(409) 727-5714

www.bnbice.com

Spindletop Center will receive special Medicaid funding to expand its ser-vices to Jefferson, Hardin, Chambers and Orange county residents who have intellectual and de-velopmental disabilities, men-tal health issues and substance abuse challenges. Under a statewide 1115 Medicaid Healthcare Transformation Waiver program, Spindletop will implement 14 projects valued at $37 million over a 4-year period.

These projects include physical and behavioral health care integration, a hospital-based substance abuse de-

toxification program, a youth respite program to divert teens from deten-tion centers, housing for people with

mental health issues, and ex-panded behavioral health crisis services.

“The purpose of this Med-icaid waiver program is to achieve healthcare cost sav-ings and improve outcomes by providing the right care in the right setting to reduce hospi-talizations, emergency room use and criminal justice inter-

actions,” said Chalonnes Hoover, chief financial officer for Spindletop Center.

“In addition to decreasing healthcare

costs, these programs will be a boon to the local economy,” Hoover said. “They will add about 50 jobs at Spindletop Center and will increase business for the local companies we will use for renovating facilities and purchasing furnishings and vehicles.”

What cannot be counted in dollar figures is the reduction in the number of people who are suffering in the face of very difficult challenges.

“Between one in four or one in five people will struggle with mental health or substance abuse issues,” said Sally Broussard, chief authority officer for Spindletop. “About three of ev-ery 100 babies born have intellectual

disabilities. It’s important for these people to access help in places where they will be treated with dignity and respect. They deserve to have available people who will treat them as a whole person, taking into account both their physical and mental health needs. We want to be leaders and innovators in that.”

The Spindletop Center serves ap-proximately 8,000 people per year with mental illness diagnoses, sub-stance abuse issues, intellectual and developmental disabilities and early childhood developmental delays in Jefferson, Hardin, Orange and Cham-bers counties. n

Spindletop Center gets Medicaid transformation funds


by Kevin Kingbusiness journal

When Southeast Texans drive by the Huntsman Performance Products Manufacturing facility on Spur 136 in Port Neches or the Huntsman site in Port Arthur, perhaps they recognize the name, having maybe heard about the petrochemical company from friends or family that might be em-ployed at the facility. But how many know the story behind the success that is the Huntsman Corporation and the humble beginnings from which it was born?

Do they know the man behind the manufacturing behemoth— the gentle giant that is Jon Huntsman, a billion-aire philanthropist whose company’s revenue exceeded $11 billion in 2012, yet has given more than $1.3 billion to the homeless, ill and underprivileged during his lifetime, landing himself in the top 10 of Forbes magazine’s list of “America’s 50 Top Givers”?

In a recent sit-down interview, Huntsman held nothing back, open-ing his doors and heart by sharing very intimate and personal stories as well as business philosophies and ethical ide-als.

He spoke about how, shortly before serving in the White House as Special Assistant to President Nixon, he made

his fortune by partnering with his brother Blaine and a business associate to formulate a detailed business plan for a new enterprise called the Hunts-man Container Corporation. And then he spoke about matters of the heart.

In 1974, Huntsman’s big break came through a McDonald’s sandwich that became popular six years prior — the Big Mac.

“My small, three-person packaging development team created a new prod-uct — a clamshell container, that, if ac-cepted in the marketplace, would alter the concept of fast-food packaging. In point of fact, it ended up forever al-tering food packaging throughout the world,” Huntsman said.

The clamshell container was first sold to Burger King for its ham-and-cheese sandwich, which helped bring it back from the dead — the company was considering phasing it out but the new container reversed the plummet-ing sales numbers.

Huntsman had resigned his White House position with the Nixon admin-istration before Watergate because he was perturbed at unethical practices by his supervisor.

In the midst of Watergate investiga-tions, Huntsman received a visit from men in black suits whom his secretary assumed were FBI or CIA but were ac-tually McDonald’s representatives who,

having seen the container Huntsman’s company designed for Burger King, were inquisitive and interested in the product.

In fact, Huntsman Container de-signed a container specifically for the Big Mac and McDonald’s bought hun-dreds of millions of them.

This transaction would expand the Huntsman fortune, but it is impor-tant to point out that Huntsman is a self-made man. He never lived lavishly growing up. There was no silver spoon. He earned every bit of his wealth and started at the bottom.

“My folks were extremely modest. Dad was a schoolteacher in rural Ida-ho who made a little over 99 bucks a month,” Huntsman said. “I never got a penny, and I never expected anything.”

On top of the poverty that Hunts-man endured came abuse.

“My dad was a tough taskmaster and heavy drinker,” he said.

“My mother was sweet and lovely and died young of cancer. My dad never let her drive, never let her go to church, never let her write out a check, didn’t trust her. There was all this tension in the family. I said to myself, ‘I’m going to take all these tensions and do the re-verse of what my dad did.’ I look back and I think, ‘Thank the good Lord. It could have been worse.’”

Having never used his upbringing as an excuse not to achieve, Huntsman worked his way to the top. Responsible for the founding or acquisition of more than 75 manufacturing and R&D fa-cilities in over 30 countries that employ approximately 12,000 associates across five business divisions, he has experi-enced his share of hardships and trag-edy.

Huntsman and his wife, Karen, have been married for more than 54 years and have nine children — six boys: Jon Jr., Peter, David, Paul, James, and Mark; and three girls: Christena, Jennifer, and Kathleen — all of whom they are

equally proud.Speaking about his second daughter,

Kathleen, however, strikes a chord in Huntsman’s heart as her 2010 death is still fresh in his mind. But if overcom-ing tragedy is a measuring stick, then Jon Huntsman definitely measures up.

Even in his darkest hour, as his 44-year-old daughter, brain dead from anorexia and addiction, lay on her deathbed in front of her seven children, Jon Huntsman was thankful.

His daughter spent the last hours of her young existence in a hospital room designed for he and his wife, Karen, to spend their final moments — not hers.

He fought so hard to try to help her break her addiction through rehabs and relocations, but was unsuccessful.

Before shutting off his daughter’s resuscitator, he placed a handwritten note on her folded hands that read, “We have been blessed with so much. We love the Lord. We thank Thee for sweet Kathleen.”

Huntsman said he has always be-lieved in the handwritten letter, a per-sonal touch that he said modern tech-nology has eroded and may never be recaptured.

“We’re a lot smarter, but we’re not wiser,” Huntsman said. “I think tech-nology – whether it’s a cell phone, com-puter … or Facebook – has changed the make-up of people so dramatically. We’ve lost a closeness and a sense of bonding through the advances of tech-nology.”

In fact, Huntsman said he doesn’t tolerate the use of cell phones, iPods and other electronic gadgets when his 56 grandchildren come to visit him at his home in Park City, Utah.

“I make sure when my grandchildren come to visit me that they either don’t bring their cell phones or turn them off,” Huntsman said. “I will not allow them to sit there and visit with their grandfather and have a cell phone go off. So I tell them, ‘I’m your grandfa-

The heart of HuntsmanBillionaire industrialist shares the remarkable story of his rise to the top of the business world from humble beginnings

Jon Huntsman, as a young businessman, poses with wife Karen and children (from left to right) — Peter, David, Christena, Kathleen and Jon Jr.

Jon Hunts-man as a boy (center) with (from left to right) brother, Blaine; fa-ther, Alonzo and mother Kathleen, holding brother Clayton


ther. This is a special time in my life to be talking with you and you’re a bright young man or woman … let’s make this a very special time. I can’t commu-nicate with you when your mind isn’t with me.’”

Huntsman said it was a ground rule that he has had with his grandchildren for the past 10 years. Perhaps it is be-cause he knows how precious these personal relationships are and how eas-ily they can be taken away.

Huntsman found out how be-ing wealthy could have its devastat-ing drawbacks in 1987 when his son, James, 16 at the time, was kidnapped for ransom money by two of his high school classmates who had a long criminal history.

It was an atrocious act by the kid-nappers, perhaps inspired by envy and greed, something that Huntsman, in contrast, cannot be accused of.

The philanthropist billionaire has for many years often shown up unexpect-edly at Huntsman Corporation Christ-mas parties to share yuletide greetings with his employees and pass out wides-creens televisions and Caribbean cruise tickets as gifts. It was after one of these occasions, Paul, James’ older brother, received a phone call from the kidnap-per demanding to speak to Huntsman, threatening that if he didn’t speak to him by the next day or if the family went to the police he would kill James, who Huntsman describes as a hard-working and fun-loving young man who would on regular occasion go out of his way to call his dad just to tell him that he loved him.

After hearing of the news, before rushing home from across the country, Huntsman contacted an FBI agent he knew who was attending a Christmas

party, Cal Clegg, putting the wheels in motion in what would be a stressful and dangerous rescue attempt to regain his son.

“The thing I find that’s really impor-tant in life is to have hope,” said Hunts-man, who despite finding himself faced with a situation that could have ended in devastating tragedy remained strong in his faith.

The day of the rescue, the kidnapper returned to the shuttered motel where he held James prisoner, handcuffed un-der the bathroom sink, with a McDon-ald’s sandwich — perhaps kept warm by the clamshell container that Jon Huntsman masterminded.

After tracing a phone call between the kidnapper and Huntsman demand-ing a million dollars for James’ safe return to his father, the FBI made its move, sending Clegg and his partner, Special Agent Alan Jacobson, in to res-cue James and neutralize the suspects.

Jacobson, 50, was only three weeks away from retirement and was just about to lie down next to his wife after attending a Christmas party when he got the call regarding the kidnapping. He was stabbed during the rescue at-tempt, his mammary artery sliced by his assailant.

But Clegg, along with other FBI agents, was able to subdue the kidnap-per, saving James’ life and releasing him back to his father’s arms.

“I realized at that moment we easily could have lost a son,” said Huntsman, who visited Jacobson in the hospital after the agent underwent life-saving surgery. Huntsman offered both Jacob-son and Clegg security positions in his company, which they both accepted.

Tragedies like these, which can hap-pen to any American family, seem to be

even more compounded with the ac-quiring of wealth, Huntsman said.

“People think that money solves problems … it creates actually more problems, if you want to know the truth,” he said.

“Everyone looks at our family and says there’s a model family … they don’t have any problems, they don’t have any worries or any of the heartaches that we have,” Huntsman said. “There’s not such a thing as a family without heart-ache and trauma and turmoil. That’s part of our existence on earth.”

Huntsman said how families handle these problems is what defines them, and money is never a be-all, end-all solution.

“I mean this with all the sincerity in my heart: We haven’t noticed any dif-ference in our family. … We have not been any happier when we made a bil-lion dollars than when I was selling eggs,” Huntsman said.

In the early ‘60s, after receiving his undergraduate degree from Penn’s presti-gious Wharton Business School, Hunts-man passed up a job with IBM to peddle eggs for a grocer so he could learn the ins-and-outs of business first-hand. It was one of the happiest times of his life.

“We were just having a great time raising our children living in a mod-est house,” Huntsman said. “The whole key was … what is the feeling within the home? What is the feeling between our children, their parents and their grandparents? How do they relate to one another in a way that is thoughtful, full of love, kindness and graciousness?”

And while many might have held a grudge after having a son kidnapped by high school students, Huntsman continues to remain the staunch altru-ist, and has given out more than 5,000 scholarships to underprivileged teens who can’t afford college. Why does he do it?

“Part of the reason is that I want to see the expression on their faces,” he

said. “I love to see their eyes open and their faces and their feelings.”

The other part, Huntsman said, is that he, himself, has been there, and it was the kindness of another who gave him an opportunity for his education.

Harold Zellerbach, president and CEO of Crown Zellerbach Paper Cor-poration, came to Huntsman’s high school to offer a qualifying senior a full scholarship to Wharton.

Huntsman’s principal, Ray Rup-pel, recommended Huntsman for the scholarship because he was not only a bright student, had good work ethic and was well-liked among his peers, but also because he came from a less affluent background. Zellerbach upped the scholarship to $4,200 a year after Huntsman explained that the original offer wouldn’t be enough, but Hunts-man would still have to work his way through school to survive financially.

Remembering this generosity de-cades later, Huntsman donated more than $50 million to Wharton Business School.

Huntsman has battled health prob-lems in his life, as well, having survived bouts with prostate cancer, mouth can-cer and two types of skin cancer.

His sickness didn’t sour his desire to give; it only further inspired it.

The four-time cancer survivor founded the Huntsman Cancer Insti-tute in Salt Lake City, Utah, donating more than $400 million to the institute since its founding in 1995. This doesn’t include the recent announcement of a $100 million expansion, half of which Huntsman and his family funded. Do-nations like these prove the philanthro-pist’s desire to improve the livelihood of other Americans, asking for nothing in return — the definition of altruism. Huntsman has even publicly suggested that billionaires give 80 percent of their wealth in response to Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ “The Giving Pledge,”

HUNTSMAN | CONTINUED ON PAGE 33

Huntsman’s Permormance Products Division in Port Neches

Huntsman at Singapore Jurong Island facility opening, 2007


The Beaumont Convention and Visi-tors Bureau (CVB) welcomes and hosts more than 80,000 meeting attendees to the city every year. The direct economic impact from the meetings held in 2013 alone was valued at $20.9 million.

“The Beaumont CVB is the premier marketer of Beaumont,” said Stepha-nie Molina, CVB director of market-ing. “Our mission is to entice groups, conventions and meetings to choose Beaumont as their meeting destina-tion. Group business impacts the lo-cal economy through hotel occupancy taxes and tourism dollars that signifi-cantly affect the economic develop-ment of Beaumont. Tourism dollars are ‘new money’ brought into the local economy.”

According to the CVB meeting calendar, the city is in for a packed schedule of meeting business for 2014, and the Beaumont CVB sales team is working diligently to secure future business with a continuous stream of trade shows, marketing promotions and sales efforts.

CVB Convention Servicing Man-ager Susan Baertl handles organiza-tions while they are in-town and is responsible for making sure everything is on point for a successful meeting experience. From name badges and registration tables and signage, to of-ficial welcomes from the mayor and lo-gistics, Baertl is the meeting planner’s go-to Beaumont contact. In February, the CVB will honor, thank and recog-nize the planners and their planning committees who met in Beaumont in 2013 at the annual Hall of Fame Re-ception. In addition to hosting this an-nual recognition banquet, Baertl will be working to service the events that follow, ensuring 2014’s attendees will

have a wonderful meeting experience in Beaumont.

The Convention and Visitors Bureau Meeting sales team’s running schedule of first-quarter promotions is equally packed. While trade shows, sales calls

and client site visits for FY14 began this past October, the two-person con-vention sales team keeps a constant marketing presence. Freddie Willard, director of sales, handles sports mar-kets and state associations. Convention Sales Manager Rebecca Woodland works to grow Beaumont’s SMERF market (social, military, educational, religious and fraternal organizations). Meeting sales promo-tions are ongoing – the sales team is constantly bidding on convention business, exhibiting at tradeshows, conduct-ing sales calls in Austin, Houston and Dallas, and attending events that offer one-on-one appointments with decision makers speed-dating style, where Beaumont’s facilities and hospitality are pitched and presented.

Last fall, the sales team represented Beaumont at Rejuvenate Marketplace in Daytona Beach, TEAMS Sports

Conference in Salt Lake City, Plan Your Meetings in Houston and Aus-tin, RFN Military Reunion in Florida, Rendezvous South in Shreveport and conducted sales calls in Austin this past December.

Southwest Showcase, hosted by Texas Society of Association Executives, is January’s large tradeshow. Freddie Willard and local hospitality partners trav-eled to Austin recently to exhibit and generate leads for future Beaumont con-ventions. The Beaumont CVB booth was posi-tioned in a high-traffic location on the tradeshow floor and enticed planners

with TexJoy Steak seasoning samples along with themed collateral inviting planners to add a little extra spice to their meetings in Beaumont.

Upcoming promotional travel for the Beaumont CVB sales team this year includes RFN Military Reunion (Feb-ruary), Austin sales calls (March, June,

Beaumont CVB sales team scores bigAttracted 80,000 visitors and $20.9 million to town in 2013

Stephanie Molina


July and September) and TSAE sum-mer client event, Connect Sports Mar-ketplace and Meetings Focus Trade-show. Their efforts are supported by an integrated marketing presence and advertising in targeted industry publi-cations and websites. Read more about planning a meeting in Beaumont on-line at www.beaumontcvb.com/meet-ing-planners.

Beaumont meetings mean business. For more information on how the Beaumont CVB makes planning and hosting a meeting simple, contact the Convention & Visitors Bureau first to take full advantage of complimentary professional services. Like and follow @VisitBeaumontTX to stay current on the latest sales efforts and local hap-penings.

Unusual for a city of its size, Beau-mont hosted a national show – Mus-tang Club of America – in 2013. In addition, the city welcomed numer-ous other events throughout the year. Events drawing the largest numbers of overnight stays include the follow-ing:

• U.S. Fastpitch Association, Texas State Championship: 6,300 people, 2,097 room nights (held over a two weekend period)

• Texas State USBC Association, Inc., Youth Championship Bowling Tournament: 1,850 people, 645 room nights (Held over a four weekend pe-riod)

• Southern Black Softball Associa-tion, World Tournament: 1,740 people, 670 room nights

• Daughters of the Republic of Texas

annual State Convention: 564 people, 475 room nights

• Texas Association of Museums, an-nual Spring Conference: 400 people, 450 room nights

CVB Hall of FameThe Beaumont Convention & Visi-

tors Bureau (CVB) hosted its 24th annual Hall of Fame Reception at the MCM Eleganté Hotel in Beaumont on Tuesday, Feb. 4. The CVB recog-nized and honored the meeting plan-ners who chose Beaumont as their host city for reunions, sporting events

and conferences during the previous year.

“The staff and I feel the Hall of Fame Reception is the most important event of our year because it’s a time where we can share our thanks and apprecia-tion with the local planners who real-ize the financial impact their events bring to the economy of Beaumont and southeast Texas,” said Dean Con-well, CDME, Executive Director of the CVB.

The Hall of Fame Reception hon-ored inductees and extended gratitude

to planners and their committees for contributing to the success of tourism and the convention and meeting busi-ness in Beaumont during 2013. After the recognition ceremony, the CVB presented this year’s Service Award to a local citizen. The award is presented in recognition of outstanding service and dedication to the expansion of tourism and the convention and meet-ing business in Beaumont, Texas. En-tertainment for the event was provided by Matt Woodyard with On Request Music. n

Beaumont Meeting Calendarthrough April 2014

Additional meetings are listed online at www.beaumontcvb.com/meeting-planners/convention-calendar.

Feb. 15-16 USSSA February Frost Tournament

Feb. 19TX Apartment Assn. Rental Housing Legal Seminar

Feb. 21-22 Skills USA District 7 Conference

Feb. 21-23 SETX Film Alliance Boomtown Film & Music Festival

Feb. 22Wildcatter’s Cat Club Championship Cat Show

Feb. 22-23 SETX Baseball Academy Invitational Tournament

Feb. 27-March 1 Best Years Center Celebrating Seniors Mardi Gras Style

March 1-2 SETX Baseball Academy March Madness Tourney

March 6-9 American Contract Bridge League Sectional Tournament

March 8 The Gusher Marathon

March 8-9 Southern Black Softball Association Opening Tournament

March 8-9 USSSA Texas Slug Fest Super Tournament

March 15-16 SETX Baseball Academy Spring Fling Tournament

March 20-24 Texas International Spiritual Warfare Annual Conference

March 22-23 Future Stars Over Texas Open

March 26-30 Texas Society of Interpreters for the Deaf Annual Conference

March 27 – April 6 YMBL South Texas State Fair

March 29-30 SETX Baseball Academy Showdown Tournament

April 5-6 USSSA Super NIT Golden Triangle Games Tournament

April 12-13 SETX Baseball Academy Spindletop Boom Tournament

April 14-16 Magnolia Garden Club GCA Small Flower & Horticulture Show

April 26-27 SETX Baseball Academy Best of Best Tournament

April 28 – May 2 TX Water Utilities Assn. Southeast Regional School


Ice on the cars, Interstate 10 closed, and an unexpected day off will be long remembered as we roll through January and get closer to warmer weather. We enjoyed hosting an eco-nomic forecast breakfast earlier in the month, which pointed to a strong 2014, but progress has been slowed by the rarest of win-ters throughout the na-tion. We will have some ground to make up in the months ahead if the year is to keep such a promise. President Obama gave his State of the Union speech and spoke about the prospects for energy independence because of the abundant supply and the low cost of natural gas. He acknowledged the more than 800,000 jobs created by the economy in recent years as real progress. I listened to the entire speech and believe it was a good one. It was positive and opti-mistic, but weak on some of the facts. There is much more he could do to make our lives better if he really un-derstood energy.

First of all, much of what has hap-pened with 800,000 new jobs is di-rectly attributed to the natural gas revolution and new discoveries of oil reserves. The new foreign invest-ments in the country are centered on fossil fuels and chemical related manufacturing. Examples include the decision by South African Com-pany Sasol to invest $21 billion in Lake Charles, or the Netherlands Company OCI to invest $1.9 bil-lion dollars in Beaumont. We also have the French company Cheniere LNG building liquefaction facilities in Cameron Parish to export natural gas, and the plans for Golden Pass Products, partially owned by Qatar Petroleum, to do the same thing in Sabine Pass, a combined total of $20 billion invested in LNG facilities on the Sabine-Neches Ship Chan-nel. We know the Canadians built a pipeline to Nederland known as the Keystone Pipeline, which now flows with crude oil to Southeast Texas. All of this represents a tremendous and historic development that sig-

nificantly bolsters all the numbers the president highlighted in his speech.

But here is where the criticism lies. No approval of the completion of the entire Keystone Pipeline af-ter five years from the date of ap-plication by the Canadian govern-

ment. The Golden Pass project is in the second year of waiting for an export license from the Department of Energy with no indication of when such a license will be granted. Natural gas and oil exploration, which will make Amer-ica completely energy independent, can only occur on private lands. Companies are fight-ing new applications of

endangered species laws and misin-formation on water contamination attributed to fracking. Large federal tracks and most of the coasts are off limits to new drilling and explora-tion. There is no mechanism to ob-tain timely greenhouse gas permits, and more regulations are being pro-posed to limit greenhouse emissions in the name of global warming now marketed as climate change. The president’s budget continues to call for the elimination of depreciation deductions branded as tax breaks for “Big Oil.” It is a fact that the growth of jobs and investment in the oil and gas industry occurs despite the sup-port of the federal government not because of the proactive actions of the federal government.

It is what it is, as they say. … I don’t think I am being too harsh and I am open to a rebuttal. We can simply do so much better if we really embraced the opportunities for energy indepen-dence including the ability to export American goods to other parts of the world. It is reported that the Keystone XL Pipeline decision is imminent. Let us hope the right decision is made to really blow the door open for 2014, a year of action! n

Jim Rich, PresidentGreater Beaumont

Chamber of Commerce

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Jim Rich, President, Greater Beaumont Chamber of Commerce

BEAUMONTCHAMBER OF COMMERCE

THE GREATERCHAMBER NEWS ON THE SCENE


Beaumont Emergency Center 4004 College St.Beaumont, TX 77707Jill Shipp(409) 840-4004

Benchmark Plumbing601 Bach Rd. Kountze, TX Shuan VonFeldt(409) 284-0339

Cathy Cook Jewelry3695 Calder Ave.,Beaumont, TX 77706Cheryl Shuff(409) 835-9542

Gordy Bunch1201 Lake Woodlands Drive, Ste. 4020The Woodlands, TX

77380Gordy Bunch(281) 466-1164

Mathnasium – Math Learning Center420 Dowlen RoadBeaumont, TX 77706Elana Daigle(409) 896-2920

Natgasoline LLCPO Box 2008Nederland, TX 77627Taneé Coleman(409) 723-1901

Raising Canes Chicken Fingers4160 Dowlen RoadBeaumont, TX 77706Cy Martin(409) 896-2920

Thursday, Feb 6Ribbon CuttingKampus Korner

4637 Rolf Christopher, Beaumont(409) 832-6386

2 p.m.

Tuesday, Feb.11Chamber Mix & Mingle

Holiday Inn Beaumont Plaza3950 I-10 S., Beaumont

(409) 842-59954:30-6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 12Ribbon Cutting

Cathy Cook Jewelry3695 Calder Ave., Beaumont

(409) 835-954210 a.m.

Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2014Chamber Mix & Mingle

Complete Care Chiropractic Clinic3965 Phelan Blvd., Beaumont

(409) 835-76764:30-6:30 p.m.

******NEW DATE & TIME******

Friday, March 21, 2014Ribbon Cutting

Advanced Electronics5550 Eastex Freeway, Suite B, Beaumont

(409) 898-362610 a.m. – 1 p.m.

NEW MEMBERS

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

The Leadership Development Division of the Beaumont Cham-ber of Commerce is offering can-didates who have filed for public office and other interested people an opportunity to participate in a Public Service Candidate Work-shop.

The session sponsored by En-tergy will be held Saturday, Feb. 8, at The Greater Beaumont Cham-

ber of Commerce in the Board Room at 1110 Park St.

The Public Service Candidate Workshop will offer participants the opportunity to be introduced to, and gain a working knowledge of, the local political process as it relates to filing requirements, campaigning and what it means to be a public official.

Complete the registration form

at www.bmtcoc.org and return it by Wednesday, Feb. 5, to be a par-ticipant of this event.

Registration is also available on the Chamber website at www.bmtcoc.org.

Should you have any questions or receive inquiries regarding the Public Service Candidate Work-shop, call Amy Denison at (409) 720-9548. n

The Chamber’s December 2013 Business of the Month is Indus-trial Safety Training Council.

ISTC is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 educational organization providing safety, health, environmental, secu-rity and emergency services train-ing in Southeast Texas. ISTC’s corporate office is in Nederland; they operate a satellite facility in Baytown and the Beaumont Emer-gency Services Training (BEST) Complex in Beaumont.

In April of this year, ISTC will celebrate its 23rd anniversary of serving the industry in Southeast Texas. As an association, ISTC has grown, accepted new roles and responsibilities, expanded services, benefits and locations for its client facilities and contract companies in order to meet the growing safety, health, environmental, security and emergency services needs of the community, state and nation as a

whole.ISTC recently held the offi-

cial groundbreaking for its new Training and Conference Center located on Highway 69 North in Beaumont.

Interim President and CEO Patty Collins said, “Building a new training center has been a vision of

the council’s for several years, and today we begin the first step to-ward turning that

vision into reality.”The new ISTC Training and

Conference Center will be a state-of-the-art, 67,000-square-foot facility with more than 5 acres of parking. ISTC has outgrown their current facility and utilizes a park-and-ride system during turn-around seasons. “It will be nice to have all the extra room and park-ing spaces at the new facility,” said Collins.

Today, ISTC provides site-specific training for more than 75

different refineries, petrochemical plants, and manufacturing, offshore marine and energy facilities. They offer company specific training development as well as specialized training. ISTC can custom devel-op your training program to fit the needs of your business. They offer a variety of other services includ-ing background screening, drug screening, medical services, custom badge design, online pre-qualifica-tion service and pipeline operator qualification courses. ISTC has recently joined with Texas A&M Engineering Extension Services, and Region VI OSHA Education Outreach facility to offer OSHA training courses at both our Ned-erland and Baytown training facil-ities. Students who enroll in these courses can work toward obtaining their Certified Safety and Health Official (CSHO) certificate.

Call (409)724-2565 or visit their website at www.istc.net for more information on the Industrial Safety Training Council. n

Business of the Month

Industrial Safety Training Council

Calling all candidates


Each year, the Greater Beaumont Chamber of Commerce selects the Dr. Robert A. Swerdlow Small Business Person of the Year. The criteria for being selected includes staying power, growth, increase in sales, improved fi-nancial position, innovativeness, re-sponse to challeng-es, and community involvement. The award was named after Dr. Robert Swerdlow, the late assistant dean and Lamar University professor who served on the selec-tion committee for many years.

Derek Bell was recognized as the 2014 Swerdlow Award winner. Der-ek and CMS IP Technologies was

recognized Jan. 16 at the Greater Beaumont Chamber of Commerce Membership Lunch hosted by Holi-day Inn Beaumont Plaza. Since 1984, CMS IP Technologies has provided exceptional service at competitive

prices in the technol-ogy services industry. Since its inception, CMS has grown to be-come the largest solu-

tions provider between Houston and New Orleans. CMS currently oper-ates two brick and mortar locations in Beaumont and Lufkin and em-ployees over 20 full time employees.

Also recognized for their nomina-tion were:

• Becky Bellard – Beau Reve

• Derek Bell – CMS IP Technolo-gies

• Kevin Grinnell – Grinell Com-puters

• Nancy Lamson – Pop Family Popcorn

• Leslie Weaver – The Ellem Group

• Cassie Simpson – Viva South-east Texas

The Southeast Texas Economic Development Foundation and the Greater Beaumont Chamber of Commerce congratulate the award nominees and CMS IP Technolo-gies for their achievements in busi-ness. We thank each of the honor-ees for their commitment to doing business in Southeast Texas. n

Ambassador of the Month – Pam Trosclair, Mobiloil Credit Union

Ambassador Team of the Month – The Intimidators

• Pam Trosclair, Mobiloil Credit Union

• Angela Khalil, HT Staffing• Brandon Spears, Texas Farm

Credit• Connie Szuch, Wesley United

Methodist Church• Chris Lamson, Pop Family

Popcorn• Elizabeth Holden, Hibu, Pub-

lishers of Yellowbook• Glenn Hicks, Cumulus Media,

KAYD/KIKR/KQXY/KTCX/KBED

• Jacquelynn Conger, Wilton Hebert Health & Wellness Center

• Mary Alice Griffin, Proforma Promotional Products Etcetera

• Patti Standley, D’Vine Wine Winery

• Tiffane Nguyen, BBVA Com-pass, Calder

Ambassador with the most visi-tations – Dessie Richard, BBVA Compass, I-10 East

Americom MarketingAnayat House, Inc.Anesthesia AssociatesBeaumont Emergency CenterBeaumont New Car & Truck Dealers AssociationBeaumont Trace Luxury Apartment HomesBetter Business Bureau in Southeast TexasBGI ContractorsBrock Enterprises Inc.CDI Engineering SolutionsChelsea ApartmentsCompassionate Care HospiceCowboy Harley-DavidsonDavid M. Caldwell DDS & AssociatesDeep South ProductionsDomino’s PizzaFirst Fidelity ReserveFittz & Shipman, Inc.Flagship Mail RoomFurmanite Technical SolutionsGardens at SiennaGateway Village Senior ApartmentsHarris, DeVille & Associates, Inc.James J. Flanagan Shipping CorporationJefferson County Commissioner PCT 1Jerry L. Burd, D.D.S., Inc.Julie Rogers ‘’Gift of Life’’ Program

Lamar State College Port ArthurLeTourneau Lifelike Orthotics & ProstheticsLumpkin’s Insurance & AssociatesMcAlister’s DeliMoore Supply Company - A Division of HAJOCA Corp.Motiva EnterprisesMr. Transmission/MilexNance International Inc.Novrozsky’s Hamburgers Etc.NuVation TekRoy West Home Loans/AmeriPro FundingShorkey CenterSt. Anne Catholic SchoolSt. Anthony Cathedral SchoolStrong Pipkin Bissell & Ledyard, L.L.P.Terri Allred German, D.D.S.The Arc of Greater BeaumontTravelodgeTytex Properties, LtdUbi Caritas-A Healing MinistryValvoline Express CareVision33W.T. Little, Inc.Weaver and Jaynes Dentistry PLLCYates Automotive and Trucks Inc.

RENEWING MEMBERS

CMS IP Technologies wins honor

Ambassador Corner

Dr. Robert A. Swerdlow Small Business Person of the Year

Pam Trosclair

Chamber Member Employee of MonthBecki PitreBecki Pitre has been the property man-ager for NAI Wheeler for almost two years. Within this time, she has not only sold beautiful locations, but also cared for various Wheeler properties and their tenants and owners. Pitre has a wonderful way of calming down upset tenants with a good-natured attitude and a vivid smile. She is a role model for fellow employees because she is not afraid of work, even if it means coming in early and leaving late. She also takes great pride in her duties, and it reflects on the company. n

LosterFest 2014The Greater Beaumont Chamber of Commerce’s

golf tournament Monday, April 28 — part of Lob-sterFest 2014 — is sold out, but stables are still avail-able for the steak and lobster dinner Friday, May 2. Patrons will enjoy dinner at the Beaumont Civic Center hosted by Bayou Din Golf Club. Dinner starts at 6 p.m. and entertainment will be provided for guests along with a silent auction and a cash bar. Tickets are $75 per person or $1,000 for a table of ten. Spon-sors for this event include Gerdau Ameristeel, Conn’s, T&D Solutions, Market Bas-ket Food Stores, Games People Play, and Manning’s Office Solutions.

For more information, contact René Latiolais at (409) 838-6581. n


Huntsman is a global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated chemicals. Its operating companies manufacture products for a variety of global industries, including chemicals, plastics, automotive, aviation, textiles, footwear, paints and coatings, construction, technology, agriculture, health care, detergent, personal care, furniture, appliances and packaging.

Originally known for pioneering innovations in packaging and, later, for rapid and integrated growth in petrochemicals, Huntsman has approximately 12,000 employees and operates from multiple locations worldwide. The Company had 2011 revenues of over $11 billion.

Huntsman currently has several challenging positions open at our Performance Products Plants in Port Neches, Texas.

Benefits:The successful candidates will be eligible to participate in a comprehensive benefits package, to include: wages commensurate with experience, excellent health and dental plans, life insurance and pension plan.

Qualified candidates must apply on-line @ www.huntsman.comWe look forward to hearing from you. Huntsman is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

***Third Party Resumes Not Accepted***


The U.S. propane shortages and price spikes in recent weeks could lead to major changes in the industry once the biting cold exits the large portion of North America shivering under its duvets, according to an industry leader.

All-time high prices and delivery woes have in-dustry players making calls to railroads and pipeline companies to prioritize propane shipments at the moment, Rick Roldan, president of the U.S. National Propane Gas Association (NPGA), told Platts En-ergy Week.

But the impact of the record cold spell will not go unnoticed in the corridors of Washington in the longer term, Roldan said, with debate coming on whether there should be a strategic propane re-serve, similar to those for heating oil and crude oil, or perhaps whether there should be “triggers” in place when it comes to prices and supplies and the amount of exports allowed.

Hardliners may revert to the “this Made In Amer-ica fuel should be a Stay In America fuel,” Roldan said, as has been the case in the natural gas industry where the prospect of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports has alarmed some high profile and deep pocketed consumers.

Such a protectionist play in the propane sec-tor would also be ironic at a time when the U.S. is also producing more crude oil than it has since the early 1970s, particularly from shale plays, where the growth continues, as does talk of exports.

Water recycling in Eagle Ford Shale

Recently, Energy Water Solutions and EP Energy have contracted to de-ploy movable water recycling facilities in the Eagle Ford Shale close to Cotul-la, Texas, in LaSalle County. As part of this effort, a produced water unit mobi-lized in April 2013 has been effectively cleaning produced water to meet the standards for hydraulic stimulation operations.

John Jensen, executive vice president of Operation Services for EP Energy, said, “For unconventional shale players like EP Energy, reducing the amount of water from aquifers that we use is important as we continue to develop new and existing plays. We’re pleased to be working with Energy Water Solutions to implement leading-edge recycling solutions in the Eagle Ford Shale.”

Energy Water Solutions’ efforts to recycle pro-duced water from oil and gas wells in the Eagle Ford are lowering water usage from the Carrizo Wilcox aquifer in South Texas, benefiting land owners and communities who share this aquifer. In addition, by reusing cleaned water for fracture stimulation opera-tions in the area rather than hauling it to an injection well, truck traffic and disposal costs are reduced.

Economist: Opportunity for U.S. firms in Mexico

Mexico’s Congress approved energy reform legisla-tion in December that allows private firms to invest in the state-owned energy industry for the first time

in 75 years. It was lauded as the biggest economic breakthrough in the nation since the North Ameri-can Free Trade Agreement was signed in 1992.

“The 2013 reform promises to cre-ate abundant opportunities for private companies that have the technology and expertise to revive Mexico’s hy-drocarbons and electricity industries,” BBVA Compass economist Marcial Nava wrote in his report on the re-forms.

While secondary laws are still needed to translate the reforms into a workable framework and legal pro-cesses, U.S. oilfield services, shale gas and infrastructure companies, among others, stand to benefit from the re-forms, Nava wrote.

He predicts the reforms will pump around $1.2 trillion to the Texas-Northern Mexico region in the next decade. In the U.S., Mexico’s reforms will create faster growth, helping to narrow the socio-economic disparities between Texas’ border cities and metro areas like Houston, Dallas and Austin.

“If these border towns effectively seize the oppor-tunity,” Nava said, the U.S.-Mexico border “could see one of the most dramatic transformations in its his-tory.”

Direct Energy sells Texas power plants

Direct Energy, a subsidiary of Centrica, complet-ed the previously announced sale of three gas-fired power generation facilities in Texas to Blackstone.

The facilities, located in Bastrop, Mission and Paris, are part of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ (ERCOT) North and South zones and total approximately 1,295 megawatts of capacity.

As part of the transaction, an affiliate of Direct Energy has entered into a three-year call option ar-rangement for an equivalent amount of capacity with Blackstone.

Direct Energy is one of North America’s largest energy and energy-related services providers with more than 6 million residential and commercial cus-tomer relationships.

Huntsman Performance Products expands capacity

The Performance Products division of Hunts-man Corporation announced that it will expand its global polyetheramines (PEA) capacity by a min-imum of 15 percent as a result of debottleneck-ing three of its PEA manufacturing plants globally. The financial investment and capacity was not disclosed.

Expansion is currently underway in the Americas, Europe and Asia. The company expects projects at its Conroe, Texas (USA), Llanelli, Wales (United King-dom) and Singapore sites to be fully operational by May 2014.

Stu Monteith, president of Huntsman’s Perfor-mance Products division, said “In addition to an in-crease in capacity, these debottlenecking projects will enhance Huntsman’s manufacturing flexibility glob-ally.”

He added, “No disruptions in production are ex-pected during this period.”

Polyetheramines improve the performance of ep-oxy systems that are used in industrial and decora-tive coatings and sports equipment such as tennis racquets, skis and hockey sticks. With new amine applications emerging all the time, Huntsman is forecasting significant mid-term growth in the sec-tor. n

Cold snap sends shivers through propane market

Oil & GasWRAP

EP Energy’s Executive VP of Operation Services John Jensen discusses recycling produced water with Energy Water Solutions COO Jim Summers.


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Exxpress Mart local convenience stores success-fully raised approximately $12,500 during a Holiday Reindeer campaign to benefit the Julie Rogers Gift of Life Program, but the Exxpress Mart team did not stop there. Instead, Exxpress Mart principals Elias and Imad Sarkis matched the collected monies, mak-ing the total donation a whopping $25,000.

From Dec. 4, 2013 through Jan. 6, 2014, Exxpress Mart employees diligently collected donations from individuals to provide free cancer screenings and ed-ucation throughout seven Southeast Texas counties. Employees encouraged customers to make a contri-bution to Gift of Life and gave them paper reindeers in recognition of their support.

Exxpress Mart Principal and Vice President Imad Sarkis said, “So much is riding on early detection. More screenings, exams and education will save lives, and you can’t put a price tag on that. We are honored to partner with Julie Rogers Gift of Life and look forward to working with them for years to come.”

“There is so much uncertainty in our country now,” said Regina Rogers, Gift of Life founder and chair. “And yet, it is critical that lifesaving cancer screen-ings and education still be made available to under-served individuals in our region. The contributions from the Exxpress Mart chain and their customers are a blessing for the Gift of Life at a time when the need for our services is increasing, while traditional funding avenues are diminishing. We are humbled by the extraordinarily compassionate spirits of Elias and Imad Sarkis, who are truly helping us save lives.”

All three were present at the Gift of Life offices Friday, Jan. 17, for a check presentation ceremony. During the ceremony, Elias and Imad Sarkis related a story about their father, who had been diagnosed with cancer that they were told was inoperable. Rog-ers went to the treatment facility where the Sarkis family patriarch was resting. On her way to his room, she got turned around and went into the non-de-nominational chapel at the facility. Rogers stopped to say a prayer for the man, who doctors had said had

Exxpress Mart raises funds for Gift of Life

Norma Sampson, Elias Sarkis, Regina Rogers and Imad Sarkis

GIFT OF LIFE | SEE PAGE 31


PORT ARTHURCHAMBER OF COMMERCE

THE GREATERCHAMBER NEWS

Legislative issues and elections are always an important part of any Chamber’s agen-da. This year it will go to the front of the line for Texas chambers because 2015 will bring the Texas Legislature back into ses-sion. The Golden Triangle chambers will be planning the 2015 Golden Triangle Days in Austin. We take 300 to 400 area leaders to Austin to present our legislative agenda.

In February, I will be at-tending the Texas Associa-tion of Business (TAB) an-nual conference. The agenda items for this conference include:

• In-depth candidate fo-rums for offices of lieutenant governor, attorney general and comptroller

• Education and Work-force Policy discussions and how businesses can help shape Texas education

• The Impact and Innovation of Signa-ture Texas Industries

• Texas transportation and what’s next for business

• Water: How Will Texas plan for it? How will Texas use it?

While all of these issues are important I will be paying close attention to education, transportation and water sessions.

Education is at the top of my list. I am taking every opportunity to learn what business can do to assist our school dis-trict in keeping students in school through graduation. I also want to learn what some of the new policies are doing to address those students who do not wish to attend college. With Southeast Texas’ explosion of construction jobs over the next five to 10 years, we must find out how to prepare our students to take advantage of this op-portunity.

Water has always been an issue for this area. The problem is not that we do not have enough but how we keep it from being borrowed by the rest of the state. I understand that we are all Texans and are in this together (although the rest of the state doesn’t remember that when we talk about windstorm insurance), our area should not be shorted because the rest of the state ignores the problem and contin-ues to outstrip their water supply. So I will be listening closely to a presentation con-cerning water.

Our legislative policy committee will

begin formatting our issues list, and I en-courage everyone to read, learn and sub-mit your concerns to your local chamber. Remember to keep your target broad, i.e. water, transportation, education, etc. Voice your fears, ideas and suggestions.

Local elections in Port Arthur will be quiet and boring as usual, with everyone

loving each other and po-litely asking you to vote for them. Well, maybe not, but they will be important so pick your candidates, ask them hard questions and vote. Go out and sign up your neighbors. It is yet to be determined if the Chamber will host any fo-rums; we will not be host-ing debates. I have attended several large dinners and receptions and noticed that every other person is run-

ning for some office or representing a candidate. So now is a good time to plan a fundraising dinner; you are sure to sell 50 or more tickets to candidates or their representatives.

Come hear the real story about the Apollo 13 mission from flight direc-tor Gene F. Kranz. Kranz was portrayed by Ed Harris in the movie “Apollo 13.” Feb. 25, he will speak at the Port Arthur Chamber Luncheon at the Bob Bowers Civic Center in Port Arthur. Tickets are $25. So mark your calendar and call to make reservations. I am fascinated by the real story about this historical event.

Bill McCoy, PresidentGreater Port Arthur Chamber

of Commerce

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Bill McCoy, President, Greater Port Arthur Chamber of Commerce

ON THE SCENE

Amazing Point of View Eye Care

Saltgrass

ISTC Groundbreaking

B&B IceMorning Business Connection,Senior Rehab


ReginaRogers

Harvest Time Bible Church4430 Jimmy JohnsonPort Arthur, TX 77641

Occucare3717 Royal Meadows.

Port Arthur, TX 77642RUS Industrial, LLC3708 Gulfway Ste. BPort Arthur, TX 77640

Saulsbury Industries700 Highway 365

Port Arthur, TX 77640

Sunbelt Securities7980 Anchor Dr. Bldg. 700Port Arthur, TX 77642

NEW MEMBERS

Allco-Ltd.Corporate Housing Inc.Excavators & Constructors, Ltd.Port Arthur Land CompanyAssoc. Builders & Contractors of SETXDomino’s PizzaClassic Forms & Products Inc.International House of PancakesCoushatta CasinoColdwell Banker Southern HomesValeroThreadsGermer Gertz, LLPSenior Rehab & Skilled Nursing CenterClayton-Thompson Funeral DirectorsSaint Catherine of Siena Catholic SchoolLes Enfants Centre Inc.CHRISTUS Health Foundation of Southeast TLuby’s RestaurantsRichard Design Services IncCorporate Housing Inc.James J. Flanagan Shipping Corp.I.B.E.W. LU 479Twin City Dental CenterStevedoring Services of America (SSA)

Weber, RandyRecon EngineeringThe Symphony of Southeast TexasICON builders LLCPleasure Island CommissionS & S Investigations SecurityIBN Sina FoundationEntergy TexasGroves Auto Body Inc.Beau ReveJacob Field ServicesCatholic Charities of Southeast TexasDr. Mary Jean GeorgeInternational Seafarers’ CenterWilliam R. Coons Jr.YMCA of Port ArthurFlint Hills Resources Port ArthurTOTAL Port Arthur RefineryRidgewood Christian SchoolHoward’s Auto & Industrial SupplyLaGrone Services, Ltd.Energy Power Inc.Port Arthur Community Federal Credit UnionGriffith, Moseley, Johnson and Assoc.Harvest Time Bible Church

RENEWING MEMBERSTuesday, Feb. 11

Ambassador MeetingFirst Financial Bank

8535 Central Mall Drive10-11 A.m.

Thursday, Feb.13

Education Committee Meeting

PAISD Administration Bldg.

4801 Ninth Ave.9-10 a.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 19

Chamber Mixer with the Seahawks

Lamar State CollegePA Cark A Parker Center

1800 Lakeshore DrivePort Arthur, TX 77642

5-8 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 20

Morning Business Connection

YMCA, 6760 Ninth Ave. 7-9 a.m.

Tuesday, Feb. 25

Membership Luncheon Civic Center

3401 Cultural Center Dr.11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

CALENDAR


As if staging and loading a cou-ple of vessels with a deploying Army unit’s tanks, trucks and other heavy equipment wasn’t a big enough task, the Military Surface Deployment and Dis-tribution Command’s 842nd Transportation Battalion, 597th Transporta-tion Brigade, also s imultaneous ly conducted vessel offload opera-tions for equip-ment returning from Afghanistan at the Port of Beau-mont and at Port of Port Arthur, according to a release the military’s Surface Deployment and Distribution Command.

“We’ve got a lot going on, but this is what we do and we do it well. Orchestrating and executing each mission safely and as efficiently as possible is the priority,” said Army Lt. Col. Darrin Bowser, battalion commander.

The battalion loaded 360 pieces of cargo belonging to a deploying Army unit were loaded onto two vessels at the

Port of Beaumont Dec. 13-20. Additionally, in the last month, the battalion offloaded more than a thousand pieces of retrograde and unit rede-ployment cargo returning from Afghanistan from three

different vessels at Port of Beaumont and Port of

Port Arthur, which are 17 miles apart. As a side note, Port Arthur is the name of the town, which the

founder, Arthur Stilwell, named af-

ter himself in 1895, and Port of Port Arthur is the

name of the port.After the cargo was dis-

charged from the vessels and staged at both ports, it was loaded and secured onto trucks and railcars bound for de-pots and military installations around the United States.

“This is a team effort. It takes a lot of people from dif-ferent organizations to come together, [and] synchronize ef-forts, for the operation to flow smoothly,” said Bowser.

Locally contracted ste-

vedores execute the terminal operations, getting the cargo on and off of the vessels, trucks and railcars. Representatives from the vessel, stevedoring and longshoring company, battalion and the deploying or redeploying unit plan the op-eration in advance and meet throughout the process to en-sure the smooth movement of equipment and cargo.

According to the battalion’s chief of operations, Ken Pen-dergraft, on average, it takes approximately 125 longshore-men to load 300-500 pieces of cargo. A mission such as this week’s, where a load-on, load-off vessel is used, as op-posed to a roll-on, roll-off ves-sel, requires 45 longshoremen because it’s a slower process, as each piece of equipment is loaded onto the vessel via crane, and not simply driven on or off the ship.

“I think this is the stevedores’ favorite kind of cargo to han-dle. They take a lot of pride in getting this equipment where it needs to be for the men and

women of our armed forces,” said Ronnie Hicks, director

of operations at Port of Port Arthur.

When cargo arrives at a port via rail or truck, it is offloaded and staged in holding yards in a specific layout so it can be loaded as efficiently as possible onto the vessel according to a stow plan.

“Military cargo is differ-ent than general cargo, thus

requiring special training and handling procedures, including how to start and drive M1 Abrams battle

tanks, Mine-Re-sistant Am-

bush Protected vehicles and Humvees, known as High Mo-bility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles,” said Pendergraft.

The 842nd Trans. Bn. sets up training for the stevedores on how to start, move and prop-erly shut down the specialized vehicles and equipment.

“These guys and gals get to go home and tell their kids and friends they drove Army tanks, today. How cool is that!” said Beaumont’s port director and CEO Chris Fisher. “We’re all very proud to have a role in

ensuring national defense and supporting the

troops.” n

Military relies on ports of Beaumont, PAOffloading of cargo returning from Afghanistan major undertaking

Photos by Sarah Garner, SDDC, Headquarters


maybe three months to live. She greeted the man but was soon shuffled out of the room by a doctor’s arrival. After hearing what the doctor had to say, Rogers re-ceived a call from the Sarkis family. The doctors would be able to operate after all, and the cancer was removed shortly after. He has now recovered and is in remission, according to the family.

“My mother thought she was an an-gel,” Imad Sarkis said of Rogers.

Annually, the Gift of Life provides nearly 2,200 free mammograms and clinical breast exams for medically un-derserved individuals, with follow-up

care for those who require additional testing and treatment. Additionally, the Gift of Life has made available more than 7,000 free prostate cancer screenings, with diagnostic and treat-ment costs entirely underwritten by the organization. Since inception, the program has helped extend the lives of more than 200 individuals who have been diagnosed with breast or prostate cancer and navigated them through treatment and healing. For more information regarding the Gift of Life, call (409) 833-3663 or visit giftoflifebmt.org. n

GIFT OF LIFE | FROM PAGE 27

Every day, Texas senior volunteers generously give their time and service to help others. Now here’s your chance to give back by nominating a deserving older adult in your community for his or her outstanding service through the Salute to Senior Service program.

Sponsored by Home Instead, Inc., the franchisor of the Home Instead Senior Care® network, Salute to Senior Service recognizes the invaluable contribu-tions of adults age 65 and older who give at least 15 hours a month of volunteer service to their favorite causes.

“Seniors have so much to give and make a posi-tive impact on our communities daily,” said Charlie

Holder, owner of the Home Instead Senior Care of-fice in Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Orange counties. “Senior volunteerism not only benefits others, but also helps seniors stay active and socially engaged in their communities.”

Members of the community are asked to nominate and vote for these everyday heroes between Jan. 15 and March 1, 2014, at SalutetoSeniorService.com. State winners will be determined by popular vote. A panel of senior care experts will then select a na-tional Salute to Senior Service winner from among the state honorees.

Home Instead Inc. will donate $500 to each of the

state winners’ designated and approved nonprofit or-ganizations, and their personal stories will be shared online on the Salute to Senior Service Wall of Fame. In addition, $5,000 will be donated to the national winner’s designated and approved nonprofit charity.

To complete and submit an online nomination form for a senior age 65 or older who volunteers at least 15 hours a month, visit www.SalutetoSe-niorService.com. Completed nomination forms can alternatively be mailed to Salute to Senior Service, P.O. Box 285, Bellevue, NE 68005.

For more information, call your local Home In-stead Senior Care at (409) 892-7494. n

Search is on for Texas’ Outstanding Senior Volunteer

Market Basket held its annual Pre-scription Roundup Oct. 2 – Nov. 30, 2013, and more than 47,000 prescrip-tion bottles were col-lected at neighbor-hood Market Basket pharmacies.

“The goal of the Prescription Round-up is to make area homes safer. With such a large num-ber of participants, we believe we are helping make that happen,” said Sky-lar Thompson, president of Market Basket.

The annual Prescription Roundup encourages everyone to clean out their medicine cabinets, carefully discard outdated prescription medications in the safe, approved way, and bring

the empty bottles, vials and contain-ers to their neighborhood Market Basket pharmacy. In return, Market

Basket rewards cus-tomers with a 10-cent voucher for each pre-scription bottle col-lected, redeemable toward any purchase at any Market Basket

location.Thompson said, “With old medi-

cines around the house, children are at-risk of accidental poisoning. Tak-ing old medications can also hurt adults and some are even a source of drug diversion. We want to do our part to make the public aware of how dangerous it can be to keep unfin-ished, outdated medicine at home.”n

Disposing of old drugs, prescription bottles makes homes safer

Actress Melissa Joan Hart will take the stage as headliner at the seventh annual Christus LiveWell Women’s Conference, an all-day event showcas-ing the latest in health and wellness on Thursday, May 8, at Ford Park in Beaumont. She replaces Patricia Hea-ton, who unexpectedly had to cancel her speak-ing engagements after receiving her first title role in a premiere film.

“After seven years of hosting this amaz-ing conference, we have learned the ropes of show business. Things can change in a blink of an eye,” said Becky How-ard, conference lead.

“Both Patricia and Melissa Joan Hart are an amazing match for our audience in Beaumont — and Melissa’s warmth, humor and focus on family truly mir-rors what Chrustus is all about. We are grateful she is able to share her wisdom with the women of Southeast Texas. “

Hart’s down-to-earth humor and wit have entertained family audiences for a decade. She is best known for her title roles in the television series Clar-

issa Explains it All and the live action version of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, which is in syndication around the world. Currently, Hart is executive pro-ducer and co-star on the ABC Family Series Melissa & Joey.

A mother of three boys, she knows the juggling act and keeps family her focus, a trait she learned from her mother, Paula Hart, who raised Hart and her eight siblings in show business.

In addition to the keynote speech, the conference includes a full day of fun and educational work-shop sessions de-signed to empower

women to improve their physical, spiritual and mental health. The event also includes free health screenings, a Market Square shopping area, presen-tations by physicians and seminars on the latest issues in health and wellness.

Registration for the 2014 Christus Women’s LiveWell Conference begins April 1. For more information, visit www.christuslivewell.org. n

Melissa Hart to speak Christus LiveWell Women’s Conference May 8


THE ARTS

The Beaumont Public Library System is hosting a documen-tary film and forum series on the civil rights movement. The films introduce riveting foot-age illustrating this important time in American history. The forums will be hosted on six dates throughout Beaumont through February. Upcoming events include:

Saturday, Feb. 1: “Freedom Riders” (pictured) at Elmo Willard Library, 3590 East Lucas Drive

Saturday, Feb. 8: Panel Dis-cussion to be held at the Theo-dore Johns Library, 4255 Fan-nett Road

Monday, Feb. 17: “The Lov-ing Story” at R.C. Miller Me-morial Library, 1605 Dowlen Road

The Beaumont Public Li-brary System is one of 473

institutions across the coun-try awarded this set of four films chronicling the history of the civil rights movement. “Freedom Riders” received an Emmy in 2012, and “The Lov-ing Story” and “The Abolition-ists” received Emmy nomina-tions for 2013.

“Created Equal: America’s Civil Rights Struggle” is an initiative of the National En-dowment for the Humani-ties that uses the power of documentary films to encour-age community discussion of America’s civil rights history. NEH has partnered with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History to develop programmatic and support materials.

“These films chronicle the long and sometimes violent ef-fort to achieve the rights enu-

merated in the Declaration of Independence — life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all Americans,” said Geri Roberts, assistant library ad-

ministrator. “We are pleased to receive a grant from NEH to provide programming around these films. The National En-dowment for the Humani-

ties initiative, Created Equal: America’s Civil Rights Strug-gle will provide the resources to enrich the lives of commu-nity members in Beaumont.”n

Library hosts film seriesAcclaimed documentaries on civil rights movement featured

“Freedom Riders”

The Texas State-Fish Art Contest, headquar-tered at the Texas Fresh-water Fisheries Center, reminds Texas teachers and students that the deadline for entries in the 2014 State-Fish Art Contest is March 31.

The contest is open to any student in public, private or home schools in grades K-12. Students must draw or paint any recognized state fish and write an essay about it. Complete contest details and entry forms can be found at www.tpwd.tex-as.gov/fishart.

New to the 2014 Tex-as State-Fish Art Con-test will be prizes for the top 10 winners in each of the four grade categories courtesy of FishFlops. Each of the top 40 Texas win-ners will receive official FishFlops merchandise. FishFlops were created by Galveston teenager Madison Nicole Robin-son and are available at

Nordstrom.“We recognize the

spirit of the Texas State-Fish Art Contest is to inspire young talented individuals to explore the limits of their creativity,” said Nicole. “We hope our brand will inspire the winners to take their artistic skills to the next level.”

The Toyota Texas Bass Classic provides funds for prizes for first-, second- and third-place Texas winners in each of the four grade-level divisions. First place in grades 10-

12 wins $1,000; second place $750; third place $500. Prizes in the K-3, 4-6 and 7-9 grade levels are $100 for first, $75 for second and $50 for third.

Educators who wish to have their students enter the contest can download the free “State-Fish Art Contest Lesson Plan” at www.statefishart.com. The interdisciplinary curriculum includes les-sons and activities, a spe-cies identification section profiling each state fish, a glossary and student worksheets.n

Fish art Texas state contest seeks entries

The Miracle Worker tells the story of Helen Keller, deaf and blind since infancy, who finds her way into the world of knowledge and understand-ing with the help of Anne Sulli-van, her gifted tutor. In some of the most turbulent and emotion-packed scenes ever presented on the stage, Helen overcomes rage and confusion to triumph over her physical disabili-ties.

With this production, the Mon-tana Repertory Theatre continues its exploration of great American stories that penetrate the core of human experience. Over the past several years, Lutcher patrons have

enjoyed such classics as Biloxi Blues, Bus Stop, To Kill a Mocking-bird, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, all brought to Orange by Montana Rep. With each production, the company has brought new vitality and vision to time-honored the-atre pieces.

Montana Rep, an Equity com-pany based at The University of

Montana in Missoula, has been touring since 1968. The Rep has presented more than 600

performances in nearly 500 communities from

California to New York in that time.

Principal roles are played by ac-

tors whose past credits have in-

cluded both Broadway and national touring productions of A Chorus Line, Crimes of the Heart, Into the Woods, Biloxi Blues, Steel Magnolias, Pump Boys and Dinettes, My Fair Lady, Cabaret, and The Will Rogers Follies; major motion pictures; and productions at the nation’s leading regional theatres. n

The Miracle WorkerFriday, March 7

7:30 p.m.Lutcher Theater


which encouraged the wealth-iest people in the world to give half.

What’s the secret to Hunts-man’s undying desire to remain positive, despite the many tragedies that he has endured, and retaining an unfaltering, benevolent attitude?

“There’s no magic to life, just like there’s no magic that’s go-ing to cure 200 different forms of cancer, but there are some overriding principles that are very, very critical to whatever it is we do in life,” Huntsman said. “I like to think that gra-ciousness and kindness leads the list, and charity is certainly right up there with them.”

While he enjoys fly fishing with his sons and raising the only white buffalo herd in ex-istence in America, he said he mostly enjoys spending his free time fellowshipping with the hard-working men and wom-en of plants like Port Neches’

facility, where Huntsman Cor-poration invested more than $150 million in October to increase the ethylene oxide (EO) manufacturing capacity, setting itself on a course to be-come the largest manufacturer

in the country of the critical industrial substance.

“I’d rather be out with our associates almost as much as I would our children and grand-children,” said Huntsman, who added that his son Peter, presi-

dent and CEO of Huntsman Corporation, makes the busi-ness decisions now. “I just feel comfortable talking to them. It gives me a high to do this. We just talk about the things in life that are important to them and me. Some of them start to cry. I love it when you see peo-ple, particularly these kind of tough guys, or big plant work-ers and they don’t think that the old man knows anything. Pretty soon I’m putting my arm around them saying, ‘Hey, you’re one of the greatest guys I’ve ever met. You do such a terrific job and I’m so proud of you.’ Oh man, they just beam.”

His eldest son Jon Jr. has a distinguished career in public service. He was elected governor of Utah and was later appointed as U.S. Ambassador to China. In 2012, he sought the Republican nomination for president.

With the last few decades of his life ahead of him, Hunts-man said that he doesn’t ex-pect an extravagant send-off

when he returns to the dust.“I’ve had so many eulogies and

nice things said about me that we really don’t need anything else,” Huntsman said, adding that the funeral should only be around 20 minutes long.

He did request a few specifics regarding the music and post-funeral reception, however.

“I’d love to have a great African-American Baptist Choir singing and some good ol’ southern barbecue,” he said. “That would make me just as happy as can be. My wife doesn’t agree with all that, but all the kids do.”

And while he’s no doubt lived what many would con-sider a blessed life, Hunts-man has most definitely ex-emplified the old cliché of how it’s better to give than receive — a lesson that we all could learn. n

This article originally ap-peared in The Examiner news-paper.

HUNTSMAN | FROM PAGE 19

In Southeast Texas, the Business Journal is your prime source for news about busi-ness for the business community – even for younger entrepre-neurs like Isaac Tan-ner of Lumberton, who is 9 years old. En route to school to study reading, writ-ing and arithmetic, Issac takes a moment to catch up on our lo-cal economy. n

I read it in the Business Journal!

Isaac Tanner

Armenian children greet Jon Huntsman at the dedication of the Gyumri Village School. Huntsman donated more than $53 million to the coun-try of Armenia following a devastating earthquake in 1988.


Laissez les Bons Temps Rouler trans-lated means “Let the good times roll.” The Greater Orange Area Chamber of Commerce will let the good times roll Saturday, Feb. 22, as we host the Krewe of Krewe’s Grand Mardi Gras Parade. The parade will start at 5 p.m. leaving from the City of Orange downtown Riv-erfront Pavilion at the new Boardwalk. The creatively decorated and illuminated floats will feature Krewe members throwing beads, stuffed animals, and other trinkets to onlookers. This year’s theme is Broadway Plays. For more informa-tion, please contact the Chamber at www.orangetexaschamber.org or call (409) 883-3536. Taylor Warner, CVB coordinator for the City of Orange, is pleased to announce Wayne Toups & ZydeCajun as the performer for the Mardi Gras After Party at the River-front Pavilion scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 22, at 7:30 p.m. There is no admis-sion fee to attend this community-wide concert event, but coolers, dogs and pets will not be allowed. Attendees are invited to bring lawn chairs and blan-kets. The Orange Boating Club will serve as an event partner by providing sale items such as adult beverages, so-das and food items. The Wayne Toups concert has been scheduled to support the Chamber Mardi Gras Parade and to showcase the new Riverfront Board-walk & Pavilion, and to bring out-of-town visitors to Orange to stay in local hotels and visit other attractions. For additional information regarding the

concert and other events, please con-tact the CVB office at (409) 883-1011, visit the website at www.orangetexas.org, or look on Facebook and Twitter.

The Greater Orange Area Chamber of Com-merce is a membership-based organization. One of the greatest reasons to be a Chamber member is the networking opportunity you will have. The old say-ing out of sight, out of mind rings true when it relates to networking. The Chamber gives you several opportu-nities to meet people and other business owners. The monthly Breakfast Con-

nection held the first Thursday of every month at 7:30 a.m. is a prime example of one of the opportunities you have as a Chamber member. It also gives you an opportunity as a host of the event to highlight your business and facil-ity. Please join us for the next Break-fast Connection on Thursday, Feb. 6, at Wells Fargo Bank, 400 N. 16th St. The Chamber refers your businesses through phone inquiries, online or e-mail. Visitors coming into the Cham-ber office can find brochures or busi-ness cards about your business. The Chamber also does relocation packages for any inquiry by phone. We also work with local industry by providing reloca-tion packages when they are recruiting for employment. We want our commu-nity to grow, so as new people move to our area, we want them to live in Or-ange County.

Ida Schossow, PresidentGreater Orange Chamber of Commerce

ORANGECHAMBER OF COMMERCE

THE GREATERCHAMBER NEWS

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Ida Schossow, President, Greater Orange Area Chamber of Commerce

Jerry Hughes Realty; Debbie HughesCecil Atkission Motors Chrysler Dodge JeepDal Sasso RealtyArceneaux and Gates EngineeringInvistaRepresentative Allan RitterDonovan Industrial ServicesSabine Title CompanyOrange Lions ClubAdvanced Cardiovascular SpecialistsMetal DepotDr. Keith KyleDixie Glass

Chicken ExpressEdward Jones- George MortimerRotary Club of OrangeKFDMTrinity Baptist ChurchOrange LeaderClear Channel RadioRiver City HospiceJulian Salter InsuarancePECK Travel Star Graphics

DISTINGUISHED MEMBERSW.H. Stark HouseStark Museum of ArtShangri La Botanical Gardens & Nature CenterFrances Ann Lutcher TheaterHeather Montagne State Farm InsuranceSabine Federal Credit Union

ELITE MEMBERMCT Credit Union

PREMIER MEMBERFirst Financial Bank

RENEWING MEMBERSChisum Resource Management595 19th St.Beaumont, TX 77706Bessie Chisum(409) 832-4466

Friends of the Orange Depot5427 Longmont DriveHouston, TX 77056Carrie Woliver(713) 540-3195

NEW MEMBERS

The American Red Cross Beaumont and Orange Chapters recently com-pleted their second annual Sending Comfort project. This project, unique to our area, starts with direct requests to the American Red Cross Service from Armed Forces Stations across the world, es-pecially in the Middle East and Africa. The communities across the Golden Triangle Region responded in force and collected the most care items in comparison to other parts of the country.

The Beaumont Chapter, which cov-ers Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson and Ty-ler counties, shipped 15 boxes which included 381 care items. The Orange County Chapter, which covers Ange-lina, Nacogdoches, Newton, Orange, Sabine, San Augustine and Shelby counties, shipped 371 boxes, which included 23,644 items.

“We really want to thank the schools, businesses, community groups and individuals who took part in the Sending Comfort Project and collected treats to make Red Cross

Stations feel like home,” said Cam-eron Ballantyne, interim executive di-rector, Beaumont and Orange County Chapters of the American Red Cross. “We’ve already heard from the troops

who received the gum, hard candies, toothpaste, noodle soup and Pop Tarts, etc. from home.”

The American Red Cross Movement began in 1881 to aid military troops neu-trally and impartially. This same tradition lives on today through projects such as the

Sending Comfort Project. The Red Cross is proud of the response from our community. The future of the proj-ect is currently unknown. The needs of support from the American Red Cross adapt to the requests from the Service to Armed Forces units across the world. Should the Beaumont and Orange County Chapters participate again … the community will again be a major part of the project.

“Again, thank you so much for your support of your American Red Cross,” said Ballantyne. n

Sending Comfort

American Red Cross chapters in area lead military support project


Thursday, Feb. 6

Breakfast ConnectionWells Fargo Bank

400 N. 16th St.Orange

7:30 a.m. – noon

Saturday, Feb. 8

Mardi Gras Ball

Feb. 13-23

Tuesdays with MorriePresented by Orange Community

Players708 West Division

Orange

Feb. 14-16

Orange Trade Days200 W. Turrett

Orange 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Feb. 14-15

Million Dollar QuartetLutcher Theater

707 MainOrange

7:30-9:30 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 22

Mardi Gras ParadeDowntown Orange

5 p.m.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

ON THE SCENE

The Greater Orange Area Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting cer-emony (above) for Subway. New owners Rocky and Surekha Korpal purchased the Subway in October of 2013. They are very excited to be in Orange at at 2469 MLK Drive. For more information, call (409) 670-0929.

The Greater Orange Area Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting cer-emony (left) for Way Service. Way is one of the nation’s largest and most ex-perienced mechanical contractors, specializing in the design and building of commercial air conditioning, plumbing and piping, energy retrofits, and the maintenance of these systems. Their commitment to building excellence began 90 years ago, and four generations later, will continue into the future. Way was one of the first companies in the 1980s to utilize performance contracting to track energy efficiency and to use energy savings to pay for building improve-ments. Innovation and education remain two of the cornerstones of the Way “building excellence” philosophy.

Two Amigos


Gopher Industrial has announced a program developed for schools and the community called “Tools For Success: Catch Your Dreams.” This program will have a positive impact in a major way on our area’s youth by empowering them with the tools they need to lead success-ful, productive lives. The program centers around the GOPHER ap-proach and is presented to students by The Gopher and Bassmaster Elite Pro Angler Dennis Tietje during their visits to local schools.

GOPHER is an acronym that refers to each of the six core val-ues that Gopher Industrial feels are the keys to leading a successful,

productive, and happy life. Includ-ed are Goals, Organized, Prepare, Honest, Education, and Reading.

Together these six values form the tools kids can use on a daily basis to be successful in their aca-demic and personal endeavors and help them catch their dreams. Starting early and equipping kids with these tools at a young age is an important way to get them on the right track achieving more.

For a program to be successful with a young audience, it must be exciting and engaging. The Gopher and Bassmaster Elite Pro Angler Dennis Tietje com-prise the perfect team to capti-

vate the young students’ attention and inspire them to “Catch Their Dreams.” The Gopher is a fun-loving mascot that easily connects with kids, and Tietje is a profes-sional fisherman who can relate the information in the workshop into real-life sportsman examples.

The Tools For Success: Catch Your Dreams workshop is offered free by Gopher Industrial as part of our way of giving back to the com-munity that has supported us. To get more information or to book a free visit by The Gopher and Den-nis Tietje, contact David Jones of Gopher Industrial at (409) 735-3300. n

The Jefferson County Tourism Committee is now accepting applications for grants award-ed to tourism related projects and events ben-efiting Jefferson County. Applications are due Friday, March 7, by 5 p.m. and are to be turned in to Kathi Hughes, director of the Ben J. Rogers Regional Vis-itors Center.

Applications may be obtained by calling (409) 842-0500 or online at www.co.jefferson.tx.us. The application is listed under “Economic Development” and followed by “Hotel Occu-pancy Tax Funds Application.” Note that new applications are now online. Older versions of applications will not be accepted.

With the addition of the 2 percent Jef-ferson County Hotel Occupancy Tax imple-mented in October 2001, the county is able to offer grants utilizing these funds. These funds are limited to use for tourism and other guidelines set forth by the Office of the At-torney General. These grants are awarded bi-annually.

The mailing address and other contact in-formation can be found on page 4 of the ap-plication. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered for the review process. The person filing the application may be asked to appear before the Tourism Committee. n

‘Tools For Success: Catch Your Dreams’

Tourism grants now available

Gopher Industrial develops school program

Wanda Shugart, or “Granny” as she is affectionately known throughout the Bridge City school district, is a faithful volun-teer within Bridge City Schools. She is instrumental in getting teachers set up for the school year, carrying out helpful tasks, and performing other duties. She is also essential when it comes to baking up goodies for fundraisers.

As the Bridge City Chamber of Com-merce Employee of the Month, Shugart received a plague sponsored by David Self Ford along with gift certificates donated by Peggy’s on the Bayou, Total Impressions Sa-lon, Dupuis Tire and Service Center, Geaux Mail, The Record, Dairy Queen, Complete Staffing, Michele Michelle Day Spa, Tiger Rock Martial Arts and David Self Ford. n

The Bridge City Chamber recog-nized Bridge City Market Basket as its Business of the Month. The award was presented at the Cham-ber’s Monthly Networking Coffee held at The Classy Peacock at 1860C Texas Ave. in Bridge City.

The first Market Basket was opened by Bruce Thompson in 1961, and the chain remains privately owned with 16 stores in Southeast Texas and 18 in Louisiana. The Bridge City grocery has been part of the Bridge City and Orangefield area for several decades and current-ly employs 92 people.

The community remembers a very nostalgic moment of history for the

store, which occurred following Hur-ricane Ike when the huge challenge of continuing to serve the needs of the community was met by setting up modular buildings resulting in “Mini-Basket.” While continuing to serve from this modified set up, the Bridge City store was remodeled

with an expansion providing resi-dents with a larger selection of items.

For many years Market Basket has been a strong supporter of the Bridge City Chamber, and they look forward to serving the Bridge City and Orangefield area for many more years to come. n

BRIDGE CITY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Employee of the Month

Market Basket recognized

Market Basket employees and Bridge City Chamber Ambassador Lucy Fields

Chamber Business of Month


SMART STREET APARTMENTS2516 SMART ST. • BEAUMONT, TX 77702

$329,000

8 UNIT APARTMENT BUILDING LOCATED ON SMART STREET WITH UP TO DATE APPLIANCES, .25 ACRES, AND A LARGE

FENCED YARD. CONCRETE PARKING FOR TENANTS AND GUESTS WITH COIN OPERATED WASHER AND DRYER IN THE CENTER BREEZEWAY. RENTAL INCOME OF +/-4,800/MONTH. GREAT INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY. CALL YOUR LOCAL REAL ESTATE

AGENT FOR MORE INFO.

CARE FACILITY 2675 MCFADDIN, BEAUMONT, TEXAS 77701

$92,500

1,694 SF FREESTANDING BUILDING WITH OFFICE BUILD OUTS (5-6), RECEPTION AREA, LARGE KITCHEN/CONFERENCE ROOM, CENTRALLY LOCATED WORK AREA, LAUNDRY ROOM, (1) FULL RESTROOMS. A PRIVATE CONCRETE PAVED PARKING LOT WITH

ACCESS FROM MCFADDIN STREET. CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE DOWNTOWN AREA. JUST ONE BLOCK OFF THE NEWLY CONSTRUCTED CALDER AVENUE LINKING DOWNTOWN TO

THE RETAIL/ RESIDENTIAL AREA. THIS LOT IS LOCATED JUST OUTSIDE THE OAKS HISTORIC DISTRICT OF BEAUMONT.

CALL YOUR LOCAL REAL ESTATE AGENT FOR MORE INFO.

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

2895 FORSYTHE • BEAUMONT, TEXAS 77702$80,000

THIS 2,400 SF WAREHOUSE HAS CLIMATE CONTROLLED AIR AND HEAT, DIMENSIONS ARE APPROXIMATELY 60’ X 40’ *

ATTACHED FENCED AREA FOR STORAGE*8’ FENCE WITH 10’ SINGLE GATE, PARKING AVAILABLE IN FRONT OF BUILDING, AP-PROXIMATELY 16’ EAVE HEIGHT, *APPROXIMATELY 17’ CREST HEIGHT, CONCRETE FLOOR THROUGHOUT WAREHOUSE, SINGLE PHASE ELECTRICAL SERVICE (200 AMP) AS WELL AS 3 PHASE

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FOR MORE INFO.

7516 SHADY LN. • BEAUMONT, TX 77713$695,000

OFFICE / WAREHOUSE FACILITY LOCATED JUST OUTSIDE OF BEAUMONT’SCITY LIMITS AND WELL POSITIONED JUST OFF HWY 90 ONE OF THE MAJOR

EAST/WEST THOROUGHFARES BETWEEN HOUSTON AND BEAUMONT; ~3,057 SF OFFICE AREA WITH 9 OFFICES, FOYER, CONFERENCE ROOM, KITCHEN/BREAK ROOM,

COMPUTER EQUIPMENT ROOM, MENS BATHROOM W/ SHOWER, 2 WOMEN’S RESTROOMS, TOOL ROOM; ~6,395 SF WAREHOUSE WITH FULLY FUNCTIONING 5 TON CRANE THAT CAN TRAVERSE THE ENTIRE WAREHOUSE, ZONED OVERHEAD LIGHTING,

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425 S. 4TH STREET • BEAUMONT, TX 77701$176,900

APPROXIMATELY 3,932 OFFICE/WAREHOUSE; METAL/BRICK TRIM; METAL ROOF; 7 OFFICES; 2 RESTROOMS; IT ROOM; RECEP-

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1021 Magnolia Ave. Port Neches, TX • $350,000

Don’t miss this opportunity! Share your family recipes and own your own business. This beautifully remodeled and updated restaurant has charm, functionality and the equipment you need to get started. Located on well-traveled FM 366 or Magnolia Ave. in Port Neches. Seats 80 and has drive-thru window. Call Chelle Blanchard of Coldwell Banker at 409-363-1879 today for more information!


FOR THE RECORDAssumed Names

ORANGE Trimm, LawrenceDba Texas Borderline Photography3285 Brent Dr.Orange, TX 77632

Sov, KhongDba HomeMade Donut3304 Hillcrest St.Orange, TX 77632Filed 1/02/14 cert no 17734

Martin, SteveDba Dirty South HydroDip-ping3401 AncarOrange, TX 77630Filed 1/02/14 cert no 17734

Enard, EdwardBda Edward J. EnardP. O. Box 2339Orange, TX 77631Filed 1/03/14 cert no 17736

Kovatch Holdings, LLCDba Rose Thayer Academy of Dance1201 N 16th St.Orange, TX 77630Filed 1/03/14 cert no 17737

Johnson, Eric D

Dba In The Flesh4900 Caribou Dr.Orange, TX 77630Filed 1/03/14 cert no 17739 Erwin, JamesDba Guardian Pest Man-agement555 NeedlesVidor, TX 77662Filed 1/03/14 cert no 17740

Crosson, Deborah ElaineDba Ms. B’s Cafe1111 Green AvenueOrange, TX 77630Filed 1/06/14 cert no 17741

Juelza Donuts, Inc.Dba Donut Palace5603 16th St.Orange, TX 77632Filed 1/06/14 cert no 17743

Garza, JoshDba Josh Lawn & Land-scape Service1940 Maple Ave.Orange, TX 77632Filed 1/08/14 cert no 17746

Le, Anh HoaDba Super Nails3734 N. 16th St.Orange, TX 77630Filed 1/09/14 cert no 17747

Tran, Jason Thien Nhat

A+ Seafood Restaurant1609 N. 16th St.Orange, TX 77630Filed 1/09/14 cert no 17748

Sammy & Frank LLCDba Worldwide Wireless1607 Suite B 16th St.Orange, TX 77630Filed 1/09/14 cert no 17749

Ellison, EricDba Capt. Cornmeal Charters4433 Brown Ave.Orange, TX 77630Filed 1/09/14 cert no 17750

Witt, Robert Jr.Dba Vidor Transmission Specialist1820 S. Main St.Vidor, TX 77662Filed 1/10/14 cert no 17751

Eldridge, CodyDba Texas Cake Walk319 Dixie Dr. Bridge City, TX 77611Filed 1/10/14 cert no 17752

Mooney, Jimmy L. Dba Giant Pest ControlP. O. Box 602Vidor, TX 77670Filed 1/13/14 cert no 17753

Mooney, Jimmy Jr.

Dba Mooney Boys Jiu JitsuP O Box 602Vidor, TX 77670 Filed 1/13/14 cert no 17754

Moore, JamesDba James Ural1506 W. CurtisOrange, TX 77630Filed 1/13/14 cert no 17755

Bensler, PeteDba Southest Texas Home Show9405 Andy Ln.Orange, TX 77632Filed 1/14/14 cert no 177526

Bensler, PeteDba CC Concrete Polish & Floor Prep9405 Andy Ln.Orange, TX 77632Filed 1/14/14 cert no 17757

Lewis, KarenDba Southern Peddlers Gift Store10967 HWY 12 (BX 30)Mauriceville, TX 77626Filed 1/15/14 cert no 17758

Breaux, CurtisDba Gulf Breezes Pizza715 Texas Ave.Bridge City, TX 77611Filed 1/15/14 cert no 17759

Wilson, Deborah M.Dba Cardinal Dollar Express2013 Texas Ave.Bridge City, TX 77611Filed 1/16/14 cert no 17760

Telliano, AndrewDba J&A Construction8417 Aviel St.Houston, TX 77074Filed 1/16/14 cert no 17761

Watters, Laura E.Dba Watters Mini Storage & U-Haul1510 IrvingOrange, TX 77630Filed 1/17/14 cert no 17762

Grissom, SharonDba Tiger’s Flag Co.400 E. TramVidor, TX 77662Filed 1/17/14 cert no 17763

Grissom, SharonDba Brushstrokes and Blessings400 E. TramVidor, TX 77662Filed 1/17/14 cert no 17764

York, RobertDba Cut above the Rest820 Concord St.Vidor, TX 77662Filed 1/21/14 cert no 17765

Cole, Steven Dba Lucky Dog2730 Highway 12Vidor, TX 77670Filed 1/21/14 cert no 17766

Maddey, KevinDba K1 Custom Rods & Tackle590 WilsonVidor, TX 77662Filed 1/21/14 cert no 17767

Gartley, HarveyDba Donner 3-D Offset Joint Venture401 E. Sonterra Blvd, Suite 215San Antonio, TX 78258Filed 1/21/14 cert no 17768

Stipelcovish, JoelDba Turn Key Specialist540 St. Hwy 12Orange, TX 77632Filed 1/21/14 cert no 17769

Harris, RandallDba Harris Adjusting215 Tyler Dr. Orange, TX 77630Filed 1/23/14 cert no 17770

Corkern, Mollie R.Dba Wall to Wall7595 Mason Rd.Orange, TX 77632Filed 1/23/14 cert no 17771

Scarburough, KellyScarborough Hearing Aids, LLC8480 Hwy 87 N. Suite # 1Orange, TX 77632Filed 1/23/14 cert no 17772

Choate, VanDba Hushpuppy Seafood Catering Co.1202 N. Main St.Vidor, TX 77662Filed 1/24/14 cert no 17773

Townle, TimothyDba Pa T Honeybees

3195 Lakeview cutoff Rd. Vidor, TX 77662Filed 1/27/14 cert no 17774

Townly, DebraDba TDJC Solutions5195 Lakeview Cutoff Rd.Vidor, TX 77662Filed 1/27/14 cert no 17775

Adams, DustinDba Adams Janitorial16690 S. HWY 62Orange, TX 77630Filed 1/27/14 cert no 17776

DeCorte, JamieDba DeCorte Agency4175 Idylwood Dr.Vidor, TX 77662Filed 1/27/14 cert no 17777

JEFFERSON Pelton, Dean JustinDba J P Construction 6357 Easy Ave. Port Arthur, TX 77640Filed 12/20/2013 cert no 41253

A & M Wireless LLCDba Albasha Grill & Hookah Lounge2578 IH 10 EBeaumont, TX 77703Filed 12/20/2013 cert no 41300

Wallace, JamailDba Over the Struggle Records3318 Hwy 365 #115Nederland, TX 77627Filed 12/20/2013 cert no 41302

Hendriks, Angela F.Dba Helping Hands Home Care2574 N. 11th St. Ste. #2Beaumont, TX 77703Filed 12/20/2013 cert no 41305

Fusilier, MegeniaDba Awesome Care Home Health Services2574 N. 11th St. Beaumont, TX 77703Filed 12/20/2013 cert no 41330

Fusilier, MegeniaDba Above & Beyond Home Health Services2574 N. 11th St. Beaumont, TX 77703Filed 12/20/2013 cert no 41331

Husband, Drake S. Dba Hard Riders Motor-cycle Club Beaumont Chapter301 5th StreetPort Arthur, TX 77640Filed 12/23/2013 cert no 41463

Moye, KendallDba Precision One Industries1920 AngelinaBeaumont, TX 77701Filed 12/23/2013 cert no 41453

Sherwood, Jacob M. Dba Sherwood Animal Clinic4530 W. Cardinal Dr. Beaumont, TX 77705

Filed 12/23/2013 cert no 41471

Dengler Sr., JeffreyDba S & J Enterprises2048 Nall StreetPort Neches, TX 77651Filed 12/23/2013 cert no 41500

Trimble, StacyDba Trimble Photography5418 W. Groves Cir. Groves, TX 77619Filed 12/23/2013 cert no 41501

Marshall, EvelynDba MS Arboretum2267 Pierce St.Beaumont, TX 77703Filed 12/23/2013 cert no 41502

Orr, WilliamDba Beaumont Home Improvement2914 Eastex FwyBeaumont, TX 77703 Filed 12/23/2013 cert no 41517

Adonay Ministries IncDba Kumbia of Saints Kos3315 Gulfway Dr.Port Arthur, TX 77642Filed 12/23/2013 cert no 41537

Falgout Jr., Charles EdwardDba Charles Edward Falgout Jr.7135 River Bend Dr.Beaumont, TX 77713Filed 12/30/2013 cert no 41532Brumley, BrandonDba Brandon Brumley1065 Harriot St. Beaumont, TX 77705Filed 12/30/2013 cert no 41735

Johnson, LeeDba Superflagstore.com12710 KoawoodBeaumont, TX 77713Filed 12/30/2013 cert no 41798

Molina, ArmandoDba Saltillo Granite304 Nederland Ave. Nederland, TX 77627Filed 12/30/2013 cert no 41830

Carr Brothers Corp Inc.Dba Hometeam Inspection Service6550 Concord Rd. Beaumont, TX 77708Filed 12/30/2013 cert no 41832

Delacruz, MarcoDba C & D Painting & Maintenance 4648 Lakeshore Dr. Port Arthur, TX 77642Filed 12/30/2013 cert no 41838

Speers, BaliDba Balis Unique Gifts & More6049 Moonstone St. Port Arthur, TX 77640Filed 12/30/2013 cert no 41841

McClain, Oshonda Y. Dba OTM Stylez3150 Fannin St.

Beaumont, TX 77701Filed 12/30/2013 cert no 41856

Morgan, MarcieDba Streamline Consulting1625 Amelia St. Beaumont, TX 77707Filed 12/30/2013 cert no 41911

Green, KeyshawnaDba K G Photography Etc.9205 WashingtonBeaumont, TX 77707Filed 12/30/2013 cert no 42022

Vernum, ChrisDba Chris Vernum1560 AntlerVidor, TX 77662Filed 12/30/2013 cert no 42101

AV Trading IncDba Electronic Trader 20113827 Phelan Blvd. Beaumont, TX 77707Filed 12/30/2013 cert no 42105

Triangle Driving Inc.Dba Triangle Driving Institute8683 9th Ave. Port Arthur, TX 77642Filed 12/31/2013 cert no 42178

Wilson, April L. Dba Ace Preservation148 South DowlenBeaumont, TX 77707Filed 12/31/2013 cert no 42179

Matuska, RyanDba Matuska Law Firm3800 Park LanePort Arthur, TX 77642Filed 12/31/2013 cert no 42213

Washington, ElyssaDba Eccentric Concepts3010 East 7th St. Port Arthur, TX 77642Filed 12/31/2013 cert no 42224

Covarrubias, Aurora I. Dba New Vision Tire Shop16637 Hwy 124Beaumont, TX 77705Filed 12/31/2013 cert no 42291

Jackson, LarryDba Jackson Electric8675 Newfield Ln. Beaumont, TX 77707Filed 12/31/2013 cert no 42318

Payne, MonicaDba Payne’s BBQ3195 Concord Rd. Beaumont, TX 77703Filed 12/31/2013 cert no 42319

Carrizal Jr., RodolfoDba Carrizal Custom Works520 Twin City Hwy, Ste. 106Nederland, TX 77627Filed 1/02/2014 cert no 00027

Samuel, AudwinDba Committee to Elect Audwin SamuelCounty Court at Law #3

Verrett, Brian KeithVerrett, Glenda GailChapter 13Filed 12/27/2013Hardin County

Huff, James H.Chapter 13Filed 12/30/2013Jefferson County

Mace, MatthewChapter 13Filed 12/30/2013Hardin County

Johnson, James W. Johnson, Debra O. Chapter 13Filed 12/30/2013Hardin County

Jones, Rita D. Chapter 13Filed 12/31/2013Jefferson County

White, Brenda L. Chapter 7Filed 12/31/2013Orange County

Rodgers, Mikel KareemSandles-Jackson, GailChapter 13Filed 12/31/2013Jefferson County

Ferguson, Elizabeth N. Chapter 13Filed 1/02/2014Jefferson County

Hollands, Russell D. Hollands, Rose E. Chapter 13Filed 1/02/2014Jefferson County

Roach, Marilyn M. Chapter 13Filed 1/02/2014Jefferson County

Carranco, Juan J. Carranco, Shawna R. Chapter 13Filed 1/02/2014Jefferson County

Pipps, Stephen C. Chapter 13Filed 1/03/2014Orange County

Kirkland, Billy DChapter 13Filed 1/06/2014Jefferson County

Murray, Monica R.Chapter 13Filed 1/06/2014Jefferson County

Olmedo, Jason D. Chapter 13Filed 1/6/2014Jefferson County

Wykoff, Clarence L. Chapter 13Filed 1/6/2014Jefferson County

Loe, Sharon KelleyChapter 13Filed 1/6/2014Orange County

Moore, Michelle B. Chapter 7Filed 1/6/2014Jefferson County

Ponder, Sandra N. Chapter 13Filed 1/6/2013Jefferson County

Fuller, Russell D. Chapter 13Filed 1/6/2014Orange County

Davis, Kathryn M. Chapter 13Filed 1/7/2014Orange County

Williams, Kevin J. Chapter 13Filed 1/7/2014Jefferson County

Stahl, Kent E. Stahl, Colette R. Chapter 7Filed 1/7/2014Jefferson County

Sherwood, Robert A. Sherwood, Lisa W. Chapter 13Filed 1/8/2014Jefferson County

Linder, TracyChapter 13Filed 1/9/2014Orange County

Posey, Cheryl E. Chapter 7Filed 1/13/2014Orange CountyBurris Transfer & Storage Co.Chapter 11Filed 1/13/2014Jefferson County

Faulk, Regina G. Chapter 7Filed 1/14/2014Jefferson County

Ogazi, Paula G. Chapter 13Filed 1/15/2014Jefferson County

Miller, Edward E. Miller, Laurie L. Chapter 13Filed 1/15/2014Orange County

Girlinghouse Jr., John R. Girlinghouse, Glynis E. Chapter 13Filed 1/15/2014Jefferson County

Tezeno, CharlieTezeno, JoyceChapter 13Filed 1/16/2014Jefferson County

Ursin, NyChriston R.Chapter 13Filed 1/16/2014Jefferson County

White Sr., WilfridWhite, Verna M. Chapter 7Filed 1/17/2014Jefferson County

Banks Jr., Johnny L. Chapter 13Filed 1/17/2014Jefferson County

Koshkin, Jack L. Chapter 7Filed 1/20/2014Jefferson County

Smith, Tina R. Chapter 13Filed 1/22/2014Jefferson County

Roff, LeonardRoff, Dawn L. Chapter 13Filed 1/23/2014

Orange County

Thibodaux, David L. Chapter 7Filed 1/23/2014Orange County

Allen, Everett L. Chapter 13Filed 1/27/2014Jefferson County

Ramirez, Carlos G. Ramirez, Rose L. Chapter 7Filed 1/28/2014Jefferson County

Ramirez Enterprises, LLCChapter 7Filed 1/28/2014Jefferson County

Barnes, Donna M. Chapter 13Filed 1/29/2014Jefferson County

Welch, SherrimeeChapter 13Filed 1/30/2014Jefferson County

Smart, James LewisChapter 7Filed 1/30/2014Jefferson County

Jackson, Cynthia A. Chapter 13Filed 1/30/2014Jefferson County

Wingate, William R. Wingate, Leslie A. Chapter 7Filed 1/31/2014Orange County

Bankruptcies


FOR THE RECORD1965 Park St. Beaumont, TX 77701Filed 1/02/2014 cert no 00031

Sims, William D. Dba Sims Logistics145 Pineburr St. Vidor, TX 77662Filed 1/2/2014 cert no 00034

Wilkes, RichardDba Hunt Logistics18484 Wilber Rd. Hamshire, TX 77622Filed 1/2/2014 cert no 00052

Ward, AprilDba Beyond RelaxationP O Box 467Beaumont, TX 77704Filed 1/2/2014 cert no 00053

RPH Partners, LLCDba Prescription Mart6388 Folsom Dr. Beaumont, TX 77706Filed 1/3/2014 cert no 00068

Fidelity Exterminating CoDba Safeway Exterminat-ing Co1233 Twin City Hwy, Ste. CNederland, TX 77627Filed 1/3/2014 cert no 00082

Melancon, Michael D. Dba C & M Trucking13252 Fig Plant Rd.Hamshire, TX 77622Filed 1/3/2014 cert no 00084

AH Grocer Inc.Dba Buddys Mart 3370 Concord Rd. Beaumont, TX 77703Filed 1/3/2014 cert no 00162

Ukeje, NgoziDba L & B Kingdom Klean-ing Services3530 Briar Creek Dr. Beaumont, TX 77706Filed 1/3/2014 cert no 00182

Three M Home Health LLCDba Three M Home Health 1805 Nora StreetBeaumont, TX 77705Filed 1/3/2014 cert no 00183

Hervey, PageDba Collection Fine Gifts 4300 Lincoln Groves, TX 77619Filed 1/6/2014 cert no 00222

Nguyen, VanDba Tiny Restaurant8597 9th AvenuePort Arthur, TX 77642Filed 1/6/2014 cert no 00260

R F Royal IncDba Royal Furniture4221 Gulfway Dr. Port Arthur, TX 77642Filed 1/6/2014 cert no 00280

Mitcham, MorganDba Southern Belle Guitar Co

9275 Lombard St. Beaumont, TX 77707Filed 1/6/2014 cert no 00281

Galmor Stovall PLLCDba Galmor Stovall & Gilthorpe485 MilamBeaumont, TX 77701Filed 1/6/2014 cert no 00282

Gordon, RobinDba Involution4410 Memorial Dr. Orange, TX 77632Filed 1/6/2014 cert no 00287

Schade, RogerDba Rogers Mobile MunchiesP O Box 36China, TX 77613Filed 1/6/2014 cert no 00315

Jordan, Charles DavidDba Jordan Enterprises550 21st StreetBeaumont, TX 77706Filed 1/6/2014 cert no 00339

Martin, MikeDba Mike Martin550 21st Street Beaumont, TX 77706Filed 1/6/2014 cert no 00340

Zacarias, VictorDba Zacarias Painting1834 Cripple Creek Dr. Garland, TX 75041Filed 1/6/2014 cert no 00341

PJBJ Trucking LLC Dba PJBJ Trucking LLC4835 Galveston St. Beaumont, TX 77703Filed 1/7/2014 cert no 00414

Young, CurryDba A1 Contracting Services3663 Delaware St. Beaumont, TX 77706Filed 1/7/2014 cert no 00433

Smith, TommyDba 550 Custom Slings3107 Monroe St. Nederland, TX 77627Filed 1/7/2014 cert no 00454

Valencia, GriseldaDba Guadalupe2040 58th StreetPort Arthur, TX 77640Filed 1/7/2014 cert no 00465

Sanders, BobbyDba Great American Solutions4375 Eastex FreewayBeaumont, TX 77706Filed 1/8/2014 cert no 00504

Gary, ChadDba Ternion Athletics3824 N. Twin City Hwy Ste. 2Nederland, TX 77627Filed 1/8/2014 cert no 00507

A & Q Enterprises IncDba Smoke Plus1725 College St. Ste. ABeaumont, TX 77701Filed 1/8/2014 cert no 00515

Sensat, JasonDba M&W Fabrication 11501 W. Clubb Rd. Beaumont, TX 77713Filed 1/8/2014 cert no 00523

Alimi, YisaDba Haleem Auto520 Dowlen Rd. Apt. 140Beaumont, TX 77706Filed 1/8/2014 cert no 00529

Barry Jr., AnthonyDba Cajun Soul5340 Dewberry Ln. Beaumont, TX 77708Filed 1/8/2014 cert no 00535

Hassler, HowardDba Trailer Hitch Depot 22395 Cardinal Dr. Beaumont, TX 77705Filed 1/8/2014 cert no 00551

Cormier, Beulah M. Dba B C Professional Cleaning Service1005 12th Ave. Port Arthur, TX 77642Filed 1/8/2014 cert no 00555

Zuniga, Carlos C. Dba T L B Mexican Food2005 Calder St. Beaumont, TX 77701Filed 1/9/2014 cert no 00582

Medina, JesusDba A&V3109 Memorial Blvd. Port Arthur, TX 77640Filed 1/9/2014 cert no 00589

Quintana, GuadalupeDba Quintana Auto Repair2387 Pope St. Beaumont, TX 77703Filed 1/9/2014 cert no 00593

Allen, CarolynDba R L Transport15707 Kipland Bend Dr. Houston, TX 77014Filed 1/9/2014 cert no 00613

Thompson, TyroneDba Tyrones Car Detail1990 Gilbert Beaumont, TX 77701Filed 1/10/2014 cert no 00703

Pricewise LLCDba Pricewise 105107 Twin City HwyNederland, TX 77627Filed 1/10/2014 cert no 00712

Solleys IncDba Liquor Stop8180 9th Ave. Port Arthur, TX 77642Filed 1/10/2014 cert no 00713

Wow Food Concepts LLCDba Beaumont Country Club

5355 Pine St. Beaumont, TX 77703Filed 1/10/2014 cert no 00714

Faggard, KatrinaDba Print Junkies Ink4425 Calder Ave. Beaumont, TX 77706Filed 1/10/2014 cert no 00757

Thomas, LatisheDba T & T Enterprise4210 ShalomBeaumont, TX 77705Filed 1/10/2014 cert no 00768

Garcia, GaryDba M & W Fabrication7806 Patterson Rd. Beaumont, TX 77705Filed 1/10/2014 cert no 00786

Snider Land Company LLCDba W Properties550 Fannin Ste. 111Beaumont, TX 77701Filed 1/10/2014 cert no 00788

Nilofar Inc.Dba Dans Grocery7924 Willowood Ln. #1506Port Arthur, TX 77642Filed 1/10/2014 cert no 00804

Adams, HeatherDba HC Creations2845 DelawareBeaumont, TX 77703Filed 1/10/2014 cert no 00849

Flakes Sr., GarlandDba 3AG Services748 W. 18th StreetPort Arthur, TX 77640Filed 1/13/2014 cert no 01089

Thompson, TreyDba Everlasting Images Photography754 Morningview Ln. Port Neches, TX 77651Filed 1/13/2014 cert no 01114

Gerlach, KellyDba Sweet Cheeks Macarons1217 Boston Ave. Nederland, TX 77627Filed 1/13/2014 cert no 01118

Davis, TiekeyahDba Infinity CollectionP O Box 20162Beaumont, TX 77720Filed 1/13/2014 cert no 01140

Hayes, StevenDba Coach You Right705 N. 5th Street Unit 8Beaumont, TX 77701Filed 1/13/2014 cert no 01144

People Hire USA LLCDba FMLA UniversityP O Box 166Nederland, TX 77627Filed 1/13/2014 cert no 01148

Seagrass Cremations & Funerals LLC

Dba Seagrass Properties550 Fannin Ste. 600 Beaumont, TX 77701Filed 1/13/2014 cert no 01197

Adeboyejo, AdebayoDba Open Doors Tax Scvs1393 Calder Ave. Beaumont, TX 77701Filed 1/13/2014 cert no 01198

Crawford, Ronald L. Dba RC Services7540 Pebble BeachBeaumont, TX 77707Filed 1/13/2014 cert no 01207

Payne, JustinDba Big Deenas Lawn Service3190 Eastex Freeway #276Beaumont, TX 77703Filed 1/14/2014 cert no 1270

Yarbrough, Laura Musem-echeDba More Yoga1193 Moore Rd. Beaumont, TX 77713Filed 1/14/2014 cert no 01478

Breaux, Richard W.Dba Richards Construction Services2727 Susie Dr.Port Arthur, TX 77640Filed 1/15/2014 cert no 01512

AM&D Enterprises LLCDba Postnet3827 Phelan BlvdBeaumont, TX 77707Filed 1/15/2014 cert no 01548

Mitchell, Mack C Jr.Bda Mitchell Appraisal ServicesP O Box 22091Beaumont, TX 77720Filed 1/15/2014 cert no 01596

Thomas, LakieshaDba All Things Baby2349 Shirley St.Port Arthur, TX 77640Filed 1/15/2014 cert no 01627

Thomas, LakieshaDba Booskis2349 Shirley St.Port Arthur, TX 77640Filed 1/15/2014 cert no 01628 Williams, RobertDba Money Mouth230 AlmaBeaumont, TX 77705Filed 1/16/2014 cert no 01702

Nichols, FloydDba Melvia Motors3985 E. LucasBeaumont, TX 77708Filed 1/16/2014 cert no 01730

Richardson, MoniqueDba Creating Businesses225 DeckerVidor, TX 77662Filed 1/16/2014 cert no 01732

Sanchez, AngeloDba Comtech Group2390 AvalonBeaumont, TX 77707Filed 1/16/2014 cert no 01733

Bremer, JamesDba Bremer Medical Transport184 Orgain St.Beaumont, TX 77707Filed 1/16/2014 cert no 01765

Huber, DavidDba Curb Tattoo Company3205 HWY 69 North, Suite 109Nederland, TX 77627Filed 1/16/2014 cert no 01765

Avila, MaximinoDba IL International Night Club4863 60th St Port Arthur, TX 77642Filed 1/16/2014 cert no 01780

Ahmed, RafiqueDba Rafique Ahmed2323 HWY 90Nome, TX 77629Filed 1/16/2014 cert no 01784

Reed, KevinDba Rags Detail Center250 PineBeaumont, TX 77701Filed 1/17/2014 cert no 01882

Safar, AntoinetteDba Catherine Enterprises6955 Westgate Dr.Beaumont, TX 77706Filed 1/17/2014 cert no 01901

Siggco Inc.Dba Lacy Socks & Boots II80 N. Major Dr. Beaumont, TX 77707Filed 1/17/2014 cert no 01902

Eldridge, EricDba G&M Investments2 Acadiana CT.Beaumont, TX 77706Filed 1/17/2014 cert no 01913

Mosely, Stephen ADba Vision1440 Barbara LanePort Arthur, TX 77640Filed 1/17/2014 cert no 01947

Boutte, Alisa DDba Born 2 Truck LLC4105 Nissi St.Beaumont, TX 77705Filed 1/17/2014 cert no 01956

Pierre, Allen John Jr.Dba Grace & Mercy Mis-sionary Baptist Church2375 FillmoreBeaumont, TX 77703Filed 1/17/2014 cert no 01963

Saleeby, AlexDba Sunbelt Trader3195 Dowlen Rd. Suite 101 PMB 309Beaumont, TX 77706Filed 1/17/2014 cert no 01968

Brazile, Courtney DDba On live Entertainment1046 W. 14th St.Port Arthur, TX 77640Filed 1/17/2014 cert no 01987

Shepherd, Willie Jr.Dba Shepherd Quailty Roofing2325 Ave APort Arthur, TX 77642Filed 1/21/2014 cert no 02115

Ware, Donald RDba Ware Investments1809 Magnolia AvePort Neches, TX 77651Filed 1/21/2014 cert no 02144

Luom & Tham LLCDba Luom & Tham2916 E. Lucas Dr.Beaumont, TX 77703Filed 1/21/2014 cert no 02213

Moore, David ADba Beaumont Printing2098 McFaddinBeaumont, TX 77701Filed 1/21/2014 cert no 02221

JC Garner II Inc.Dba RDA Beauty Supply1730 W. Commerce Pkwy.Beaumont, TX 77707Filed 1/21/2014 cert no 02213

Jackson, Larry DDba Jackson Electrical Services8675 Newfield Lane Beaumont, TX 77707Filed 1/21/2014 cert no 02224

Quraishi, TaheruddinDba Elite General Contrac-tor1050 S. 11th St. Beaumont, TX 77701Filed 1/21/2014 cert no 02226

S T C Medicus Enterprises LLCDba SETX Home Care4347 Phelan Blvd. STE 102Beaumont, TX 77707Filed 1/21/2014 cert no 02227

Darwish, AhmadDba Gulf Coast Motor Company2847 Blue BonnettPort Arthur, TX 77640Filed 1/21/2014 cert no 02254

Leukert, SharonDba Unashamed MarriageP O Box 202 Jefferson, TX 75657Filed 1/21/2014 cert no 02255

Durham, Del GenoDba Del Geno Photogra-pher4570 CorleyBeaumont, TX 77707Filed 1/22/2014 cert no 02302

Kleypas, DesireeDba Shear Madness1028 Nederland AveNederland, TX 77627

Filed 1/22/2014 cert no 02338

Smith, Brian AnthonyDba True + Real Entertain-ment3500 Normandy Dr. Apt 1106Port Arthur, TX 77642Filed 1/22/2014 cert no 02379

Stoker, JamesDba Mr. Stoker Handyman1075 PinchbackBeaumont, TX 77707Filed 1/22/2014 cert no 02383

Castro, Jesus RicardoDba Castro Consulting Group 95 N. 11th St.Beaumont, TX 77702Filed 1/22/2014 cert no 02403

2011 American Real Estate Company LLCDba American Real Estate ERA Powered3550 Dowlen Rd Suite ABeaumont, TX 77706Filed 1/23/2014 cert no 02430

Southeast Texas Photo Group LLCDba Pro Action Photos1520 S. Major Drive, Ste. CBeaumont, TX 77707Filed 3/22/2013 cert no 82957

Long, Donald P. Dba Random Tees1031 N. MainLumberton, TX 77657Filed 3/22/2013 cert no 82958

Fisk, Ricky WayneDba Rick’s Lawn Service1117 14th St.Port Arthur, TX 77640Filed 3/22/2013 cert no 82959

Nash, James EricDba Nash’s Transportation14995 Labelle RoadBeaumont, TX 77705Filed 3/22/2013 cert no 82960

Bowie, Kimsheka ShonteDba Accessory D’Va5585 Ada St.Beaumont, TX 77708Filed 3/22/2013 cert no 82961

Weber, LisaDba KSE Enterprises1460 PrairieBeaumont, TX 77701Filed 3/22/2013 cert no 82962

Starsouth Enterprises LLCDba The UPS Store #51193195 Dowlen Road, Ste. 101Beaumont, TX 77706Filed 3/22/2013 cert no 82963

Shippard, GregoryDba L.A.G.G. Windshield Repair1955 TulaneBeaumont, TX 77703Filed 3/25/2013 cert no 82965

40 | Business Journal • February 2014 Business Journal • February 2014 | PB

Beaumont Business Journal • February 2014795 Willow Beaumont, TX 77701Change Service Requested

PRSRT STDUS POSTAGE

PAIDBEAUMONT TXPERMIT NO 10

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Documents

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