Bay Area Houston Magazine February 2013

L E A DI NG

A N D

I N F OR M I NG

O U R

C OM MU N I T Y

Remembering Space Shuttle Columbia

February 2013 www.BayAreaHoustonMag.com

DreamSaver

Representing Innovation and Achievement in Bay Area Houston

BAHEP Quasar Banquet

Bay Area Economy is Booming!

Mike Coats Retires in Grand Style

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Page 34

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features

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ON THE COVER

Chris Shiver holds up a piece of the DreamSaver’s heat resistant material in front of the shuttle replica.

Photo by Brian Stewart.

President & Chairman Rick Clapp Publisher & Editor in Chief Mary Alys Cherry

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Executive Vice President Patty Kane Vice President & Art Director Brandon Rowan Director of Graphics Media Victoria Ugalde Sales & Marketing Patty Bederka Natalie Epperley Ashley Karlen Amber Sample

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Bay Area Houston Magazine is produced monthly. All rights reserved.

Material may not be reproduced by any means whatsoever without written permission.

Advertising rates are available upon request.

Please address all correspondence to: Bay Area Houston Magazine P.O. Box 1032 Seabrook, TX 77586

281.474.5875

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Dental Health

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When you should be concerned

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DreamSaver protects your valuables with shuttle tech

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Sprouting up all over the Bay Area Houston

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Bidding farewell to a once weak economy

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Enrollment up for most local universities

40

Former JSC Director’s farewell party

A Racing, Pounding Heartbeat Preserving the Past New Bay Area Developments Bay Area Cities Bustling With Activity Local Colleges Flourish Mike Coats Retires in Grand Style

42 Finance

When investing, diversifying is key 44

Bay Cup I and J/105 Mid-Winter Championship

Lakewood Yacht Club Sailing

53

Celebrating 25th anniversary

South Shore Harbour Resort

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Clear Lake Chatter Fred Griffin honored at BAHEP gala

16 CLICK!

Kelly McGuire’s new year’s eve bash

Photography Mary Alys Cherry Brian Stewart

www.BayAreaHoustonMag.com R.Clapp@Baygroupmedia.com

How do we lose bone volume?

columns

Editorial Don Armstrong Mary Alys Cherry Michael Gos Capt. Joe Kent Betha Merit Pat Patton Dr. Edward Reitman

Distribution Heather Joseph Tim Shinkle

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Bay Area Houston Magazine | FEBRUARY 2013

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Hiding from reality

Nourishing the Mind

23

The three trout on the third coast

The Admiral’s Log

in each issue 10

Advertiser’s Index

20

Lakewood Yacht Club News and Events

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CCISD News

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Main Events

FEBRUARY 2013

Medical Community Frantically Trying to Keep Up With Growth Few sectors are growing faster in the Bay Area Houston than the medical community

F

ive new Pearland facilities were completed or in the works this past year as the Brazoria County city continued to boom. But it was not alone.

Webster has construction under way at two hospitals, while League City, Galveston, Dickinson and Pasadena all have several new projects as doctors try to keep pace with the area’s rapid growth.

Here’s a rundown: PEARLAND • University General Health Systems plans to build University General Hospital, a medical complex on a 31-acre Pearland Parkway site that will include a 50-bed acute care hospital, a 10-bed emergency room, an 8-bed intensive care unit, 4 operating rooms and an endoscopy and cardiac catheter lab, plus a 50,000-square-foot medical office building adjacent to the hospital, and a 42-unit memory care facility.

It hopes to begin construction in 2013.

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•

HCA Gulf Coast Division announced in October it is building Pearland Medical Center, a 30-bed acute care hospital at Highway 288 and County Road 2234 (Shadow Creek Parkway) on the 48-acre site that is currently home to a 24-hour emergency department, imaging center and a three-story, 80,000 square foot medical office building. Groundbreaking for the 144,000-square-foot, $71 million facility will be this year, with completion by the end of 2014.

Kelsey-Seybold has started construction on its new 170,000-square-foot administrative building on an 18-acre site on Kirby Drive and Shadow Creek Parkway and expects to complete it this summer. The $21 million office project will support Kelsey-Seybold’s

complement of medical and surgical clinical services and is designed to withstand 225 mile-per-hour winds – well in excess of a Category 5 hurricane.

370 physicians, who provide primary and specialty care at 20 Houston area clinics and is expected to provide 800-1,200 Pearland jobs.

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Pearland Surgery Center opened the city’s first state-of-the-art multispecialty Ambulatory Surgery Center in July – offering a broad continuum of procedures including ENT, pain management, endoscopy, general surgery, orthopedic, spine and podiatry in one location, at 15015 Kirby Drive near McHard and Beltway 8. The 13,000-squarefoot facility is on the ground floor of a three-story medical office complex with two main operating rooms and room for future expansion.

Memorial Hermann Southeast in Harris County near Pearland opened a new perioperative unit with four additional operating rooms and 25 pre-op rooms.

WEBSTER • Clear Lake Regional Medical Center is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a $92 million expansion that will include a 154,000-square-foot Patient Tower with state-of-theart operating rooms, pre-op and recovery rooms, plus a 30-bed adult Intensive Care Unit and a wide range of innovations. The hospital on Medical Center Boulevard has been providing care for the Bay Area since 1972 and for a number of years was the only medical center in the area.

•

Bay Area Regional Medical Center, the new 375,000-square-foot, $160,000 million, 176-bed facility with 10 operating rooms at the intersection of Highway 3 and Blossom Street, moved a step closer to opening in late 2013 as work began on its six­-story, 674-space parking garage. It will offer a full

LEAGUE CITY • The University of Texas Medical Branch announced plans for an $82 million expansion at its Victory Lake Specialty Care complex that will include emergency services. The 142,000-square-foot addition to the 110,000-square-foot Specialty Care Center, built at a cost of $61 million and opened in 2010, will include 39 impatient beds, more operating rooms, an emergency department and support space that will allow for procedure and surgeries requiring up to an average 72-hour stay.

PASADENA • Kelsey-Seybold Clinic is building a new clinic on a 5.6-acre site at 5049 E. Sam Houston Parkway near Crenshaw Road with completion expected this spring. The two-story building will have 36,400 square feet of space and offer many specialties, additional capacity for OB/GYN and primary care physicians and medical and diagnostic testing.

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Medical Resort at Bay Area, a 55,919-square-foot facility offering skilled nursing for short-term stays plus physical, occupational and speech therapies, expects to open soon at 4900 E. Sam Houston Parkway. The $11 million facility will employ about 200.

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Pristine Hospital of Pasadena, a 32-bed special acute care hospital with two psychiatric partial hospitalization programs has opened at 1004 Seymour St. When all three floors are eventually built out, it will include a psychiatric ward, inpatient and out-patient services, an emergency department and ob-gyn, lab and diagnostic services and employ 150 initially and ramping up to 300 within three years.

Methodist Retirement Communities also announced plans to build a $75 million project, The Crossings, a 190-unit skilled nursing facility offering memory support and assisted living on 18 acres along Egret Bay Boulevard near FM 518 that will provide 150 full-time jobs.

Construction is expected to start in 2014.

GALVESTON • UTMB also announced plans for two major projects at its complex in Galveston. One is a $15.3 million project to modernize 75,000 square feet of corridor and lobby space at John Sealy Hospital there, using flood resistant building material to minimize potential flooding damage.

•

UTMB also broke ground this past spring on the new $438 million Jennie Sealy Hospital, which will contain 310 patient rooms, a 28unit surgery unit and 20 operating suites. Being built on the site where the former Jennie Sealy building

stood before it was demolished, the new facility is expected to be completed in 2015.

DICKINSON • A new 24,000-square-foot medical office building is in the works on FM 517 West near the intersection of Highway 646.

FEBRUARY 2013 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

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Advertiser’s Index THE MORTGAGE MAN PRESENTED BY ENVOY MORTGAGE, LTD AND CASEY MONTGOMERY

Let’s face it.

Everyone has in some way been affected by housing uncertainty over the last few years. New programs, lowered home values, and evolving credit/income requirements have only added to the complexity of the mortgage process. It is now more vital than ever to have a highly experienced and reputable company to turn to for trusted advice. Because of this, I have decided to feature a Q and A section in Bay Area Houston Magazine to answer any questions readers might have about their current or future mortgages.

Q: Casey, I refinanced my mortgage several years ago. Will the cost associated with refinancing outweigh the benefits of a lower rate?

From Nancy in League City A: Nancy, every situation is unique and it’s vital that a cost-benefit analysis is performed to develop a strategy that works best for you. How long do you plan to live in your home? How much money will you save each month? How much interest will you save over the life of the loan? What are the total expenses?

These are just a few of the questions we will take into consideration when assessing your potential refinance.

We will look at many scenarios including no cost/ low cost refi’s to suit your specific needs. Typically, the only out of pocket cost will be your appraisal.

To fully answer your question...I would suggest that if you refinanced a few years ago you should definitely explore your options now as rates are significantly lower. You will probably be very pleasantly surprised!

Q: Casey, I owe more than the current value of my home. I’ve made my payments on time for years but am stuck with a high interest rate. Are there any products available to help me?

From Mike in Friendswood A: Yes, there are! A major economic hurdle since the housing collapse has been the markets ineffectiveness to address this exact situation. Underwater homeowners were left paying high interest rates even though they were perfect borrowers. Thankfully, we now have programs that specifically address this issue and will enable you to refinance to a much lower rate.

Please submit any questions to cmontgomery@envoymortgage.com and they will be addressed immediately and possibly published in a future edition.

Alan’s Swampshack

Page 49

www.theswampshack.com

Assistance League

Page 44

www.bayarea.assistanceleague.org

Back Bay Boutique

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Baubles and Beads

Page 45

Bay Area Kitchens

Page 46

www.bayareakitchens.com

Bayway Homes

Page 33

www.baywayhomes.com

Big Splash Web Design

Page 3

www.bigsplashwebdesign.com

Birra Poretta’s

Page 13

www.birrarestaurant.com

Bronze Bliss

Page 52

www.bronzedblisstan.net

Casanova’s Downfall

Page 13

City of Dickinson

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Clothes Horse

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Coastal Plastic Surgery

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Cock and Bull Pub

Page 13

Crazy Krewe Fun Run

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www.ci.dickinson.tx.us www.tadammd.com www.ccisd.net/alliance

Cullen’s Page 57 www.cullenshouston.com Di Amici Upscale Events

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www.diamiciupscaleevents.com

Dr. J. Derek Tieken

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www.tiekensmiles.com

Encore Resale Shop

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Envoy Mortgage

Page 10

www.envoymortgageapp.com

Floyd’s Cajun Seafood

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www.floydsseafood.com

Fondren Orthopedic

Page 2

www.fondren.com

Gehan Homes

Page 37

www.gehanhomes.com

Ginger Snaps

Page 45

Glass Mermaids

Page 19

www.glassmermaids.com

Go Red for Women

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www.heart.org

Green Links

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www.greenlinksinc.com

Gulf Coast Palapas

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www.gulfcoastpalapas.com

Harbour Plastic Surgery

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www.harbourplasticsurgery.com

Houston Technology Center

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www.houstontech.org

Island Furniture

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Jeter Memorial Funeral Home Page 51

www.islandfurniture.net www.jeterfuneralhome.com

Kemah Boardwalk

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www.kemahboardwalk.com

Las Haciendas

Page 47

www.lashaciendasgrill.com

Lee College

Page 35

www.lee.edu

Mamacita’s Page 49 www.mamacitasmexicanrestaurant.com Marine Max

Page 22

www.marinemaxseabrook.com

Martha Turner Properties

Page 36

www.marthaturner.com

MD Anderson

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www.findyourMDAnderson.com

Mediterraneo Market & Cafe

Page 12

Memorial Hermann-SE

Page 5

Men Who Cook

Page 51

www.memorialhermann.org

The Meridian

Page 48

www.themeridiangalveston.com

Norman Frede Chevrolet

Page 24

www.fredechevrolet.com

Oasis Salon and Medispa

Page 7

www.oasisclearlake.com

Opus Bistro

Page 13

www.opusbistro.net

PodZu’s Page 56 Ron Carter Clear Lake

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www.roncartercadillac.com

Salon La Rouge

Page 12

www.salonlarouge.org

Schlitterbahn Page 6 www.schlitterbahn.com SignCo Page 12 Southern Sophistication

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South Shore Harbour Resort

Page 53

www.sshr.com

Space Center Auto

Page 47

www.spacecenterautomotive.com

Star Toyota

Page 41

www.startoyota.com

Stylin’ With Linda

Page 52

www.stylinwithlinda.com

Sunsation Tanning

Page 44

www.clearlaketanning.com

Texas First Bank

Page 42

www.texasfirstbank.com

Unicare Dental

Page 60

www.drnoie.com

Unleashed Page 44 UTMB Page 13 www.utmb.edu Wild Bill’s Page 18 www.wildbillsstore.com

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Bay Area Houston Magazine | FEBRUARY 2013

By Dr. Farid Noie DDS, DICOI, FAGD, AFAAID

O

ur bone is made of complex, constantly changing, living tissue. They are able to grow and heal, and are also susceptible to changes in diet, body chemistry, infection, and stimulation levels. If we compare our skeletal system to a house’s wooden frame work, then bone loss is similar to termite invasion. The process is slow and painless until it is too late. So, let’s examine the main contributing factors.

Body chemistry Estrogen plays an important part in maintaining bone strength. Starting at about age 30, up until the onset of menopause, women lose a small amount of bone every year as a natural part of the aging process. When women reach menopause, the estrogen levels decrease significantly and the rate of bone loss increases. That is the main reason why women are four times more likely to develop osteoporosis than men.

DIET Successful treatment of bone loss usually involves a proper diet. As it turns out, daily consumption of milk and other dairy products (even low or non-fat) does not prevent bone loss. Countries where people consume large amounts of dairy products— places such as the United States, Australia, and northern Europe are also among nations that suffer the highest rate of fractures due to osteoporosis.

While the calcium in the milk adds to our body’s calcium level slightly, the acidity of the milk forces our body to withdraw a larger amount of calcium from

our bones to maintain pH balance. Almond milk and Coconut milk are great source of Calcium, Protein, and a variety of vitamins and minerals. They are readily available and are reasonably priced.

Soy milk can be beneficial if it is fermented.

Unfortunately most soy milks sold in the supermarkets (including Silk brand) are not fermented. The high content of “enzyme inhibitors” in unfermented soybeans interferes with digestive enzymes in saliva and makes carbohydrates and proteins from soybeans indigestible.

When soy milk is not completely digested, bacteria in the large intestine try to finish the job, and this can cause discomfort, bloating, and embarrassment.

AGE Throughout life, our body keeps a balance between the loss of bone and the creation of new bone. Early in life, more bone is laid down than is removed by the body. People typically achieve peak bone mass by around age 30.

Then, sometime between age 30 and 35, your body begins to lose bone faster than it can be replaced, unless we step up the stimulation process.

The bones in the extremities and spine can benefit from activities such as walking or resistant training. Many experts believe that at least 20 minutes a day of exercise is needed to reduce the rate of bone loss adequately.

BONE LOSS OF THE JAW There is another form of bone loss that has been getting little attention. That is bone loss in the jaw bone following loss of tooth. Teeth contact each other thousands of times a day. These

small stresses prompting the bone to remodel and rebuild continually. The lack of stimulation that follows after tooth loss will lead to loss of jaw bone volume.

There is a 35 percent decrease in width of bone during the first year after tooth loss and an additional one millimeters decrease on each following year.

As bone loses continue, gum tissue also gradually decreases. Ability to chew and to speak can be impaired.

Tooth loss also leads to loss of function. This leads to some serious cosmetic and functional problems, particularly in completely edentulous (toothless) people.

Over the years the distance from nose to chin decreases and with it, the lower third of the face partially collapses. The chin rotates forward and upward, and the cheeks, having lost tooth support, become hollow.

Extreme loss of bone can also make an individual more prone to jaw fractures as its volume depletes more and more.

About the author: Dr. Noie has been in private practice in the Bay Area since 1996. He is a Diplomate of Int’l Congress of Oral Implantologists, Fellow of Academy of General Dentistry, and Assoc. Fellow of American Academy of Implant Dentistry. He has completed his surgical training at New York University as well as Medical University of South Carolina, Temple University, and Wright state University School of Medicine. He completed his oral Anesthesiology training at University of Alabama in Birmingham. He is a member of American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. To find out if you are a suitable candidate for dental Implants, please contact Dr. Noie via his web site: www.drnoie. com or call his office at (281) 332-4700 to schedule a complimentary consultation.

FEBRUARY 2013 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

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Bay Area Houston Magazine | FEBRUARY 2013

M A R K E T P L A C E

M A R K E T P L A C E

FEBRUARY 2013 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

13

Photos by Mary Alys Cherry

Quasar Award winner Fred Griffin shows the trophy to his wife, Betsy.

BAHEP Chairman Richard Allen, right, welcomes Johnson Space Center Director Ellen Ochoa and her husband, Coe Miles, and Lockheed Martin Vice President Rick Hieb to Quasar Banquet.

BAHEP President Bob Mitchell, left, greets Galveston County Judge Mark Henry.

Fred Griffin honored at BAHEP Gala

Few have played a more significant role in the development of the Clear Lake area than Fred Griffin – this year’s Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership Quasar Award winner.

So it was no surprise when South Shore Harbour Resort’s Crystal Ballroom was filled to nearly overflowing that the crowd of 600 saluted him with a standing ovation at the annual Quasar Banquet.

Early in his career he helped Friendswood Development Co. with the purchase, planning and development of the planned community it named Clear Lake City. Today, after having a hand in the construction of many buildings around the area, he is taking Nassau Bay to a whole new level as his company, Griffin Partners, builds Nassau Bay Town Square, where aging and empty office buildings once stood.

And, what a crowd it was -- elected officials from all over the area, and many of our best known business and education executives.

New Johnson Space Center Director Eileen Ochoa and her husband, Coe Miles, headed a crowd that included State Sen. Larry Taylor and State Reps. John Davis and Dr. Greg Bonnen and their wives, Kerri,

Eva and Alberto deCardenas were among the crowd at the Quasar Banquet.

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MARY ALYS CHERRY Jayne and Kim; Galveston County Judge Mark Henry and Commissioners Ryan Dennard and Ken Clark and wives, Melissa and Sherry; and Harris County Commissioner Jack Morman and his wife, Andi.

Along with UH-Clear Lake President Bill Staples, San Jacinto College Chancellor Brenda Hellyer, retired UHCL President Glenn Goerke, Clear Creek ISD and Friendswood Superintendents Greg Smith and Trish Hanks and their spouses; Constable Phil Sandlin, Harris County Tax Assessor Mike Sullivan and Judge Holly Williamson.

Jeff and Mengo Carr look for their table at BAHEP’s Quasar Banquet.

Bay Area Houston Magazine | FEBRUARY 2013

Diane and Frans Gillebaard arrive at the Quasar Banquet.

Plus Mayors Glenn Royal of Seabrook, Mark Denman of Nassau Bay, Floyd Myers of Webster, Tim Paulissen of League City, Julie Masters of Dickinson, Kevin Holland of Friendswood, Vic Pierson of Jamaica Beach and Louis Rigby of La Porte and Mayors Protem Andy Mann of League City, Ron Swofford of Nassau Bay, Laura Davis of Seabrook and Jim Hill of Friendswood – and their spouses.

City councilors joining them in congratulating Fred and his wife, Betsy, included Carl Joiner of Kemah; Todd Kinsey, Geri Bentley and Dennis OKeeffe of League City; Jonathan Amdur, Brad Bailey, David Braun, Sandra Mossman and Bob Warters of Nassau Bay; Alexandra Dietrich, Natalie Dolan, Mel Donehue and Bill Jones of Webster; Mike Giangrosso, Gary Johnson, Thom Kolepski and Robert Lowrenta of Seabrook; Dave Martin, Andrew Burks, Jerry Davis and Melissa Noriega of Houston; Jay Martin of La Porte; and Dr. William King III and Mary Dunbaugh of Dickinson – many accompanied by their wives.

The evening began with an hour-long reception where BAHEP President Bob Mitchell and his wife, Brenda, new Chairman Steven Jones and his wife,

Three Bay Area legislators and their wives were in the Quasar Banquet crowd – from left, Rep. John Davis and his wife, Jayne; Rep. Greg Bonnen and wife, Kim; and Sen. Larry Taylor and his wife, Kerri.

Long-time Webster Councilman Mel Donehue and his Jerry and Peggy Clause celebrate their 50th wife, Connie, await the start of the Quasar Banquet. wedding anniversary.

Yvette, and outgoing Chairman Richard Allen and his wife, Lori, welcomed Fay Dudney, whose husband, the late Dr. Ned Dudney, helped found BAHEP; Clear Lake Chamber President Cindy Harreld and Chairman Mike Furin; attorneys Joe Barlow, Robert Jones, Dick Gregg Jr. and Dick Gregg III; bankers Tom Watson, Paul Maaz and Mike Huss; BayTran President Barbara Koslov and Chairman Karen Coglianese and Norman Frede Chevrolet GM Joan McKinney.

Aerospace faces included JSC Director of Mission Operations Paul Hill, Boeing GM John Elbon, Barrios Technology President Sandra Johnson, GB Tech owners Gale and Jean Burkett and their son and daughterin-law, Ivan and Beanne Burkett; Jacobs Engineering GM Lon Miller, Mei Technologies GM David Cazes, Oceaneering GM Mike Bloomfield, and Lockheed VPs Cleon Lacefield and Rick Hieb and NASA’s Brian Freedman and his bride, Erica, and John Shannon.

One of the most popular couples of the night was Jim Reinhartsen, who was president of BAHEP for 15 years, and his wife, Lee. Many who hadn’t seen them in four years or more since they moved north of Houston after he retired were happy to see them back in Bay Area Houston if only for an evening.

Several in the crowd had close ties to the honoree – Griffin Partners Co-Chairman Drew Lewis and his wife, Sandy; former Nassau Bay Mayor Don Matter and his wife, Sherry; plus, a foursome from the Martin Fein Interests that built the Voyager Apartment Complex, the Town Square’s first occupant – Executive VP Timm Wooten, Crystal Jackson, Frank Vargas and Monica Fife.

Making your way through the crowded lobby, you might bumped into Banquet Chairman Marcus Havican and his wife, Marie; Robin and Joe Mayer, Gwen Griffin and Al Saylor, Jeff and Mengo Carr, T.J Aulds, Yvette and John Shannon, John and Shari Wilkins, Donny and Shari Sweeney, Mark and Tracy Kubena, Carol and Bob Robinson, Marcy and Jack Fryday, Jim and Jane Sweeney, Emmeline Dodd and Gene Hollier and Janet and Randy Brown.

And, Frans and Diane Gillebaard, Larry and Monica Millican, Kira Blackwell, Sue and Jack Garman, Harriet Lukee, Joyce Abbey, Holly and Mike Kincaid, Mary Proudy, Pat Patton, Pamela Archer and Simon Urbanic, Trey and Suzanne Frede Bonner,

Amanda Laudermilk, Dr. Chris Coleman and Sandra and Dr. David Dominquez, from left, join the crowd at the Bay Oaks home of Lauri and Dr. David Gordon in Clear Lake celebrating Dr. Gordon’s birthday and happy the world did not end that day.

Hosts Lauri and Dr. David Gordon, from left, stop to chat with Cindi and Karl Priebe, who were among the crowd at the Gordon’s Bay Oaks home in Clear Lake rejoicing that the world did not come to an end and celebrating Dr. Gordon’s birthday Dec. 21.

Patty Kane, Billy and Marilyn Burt, Walt and Mary Jane Clinton, Dee Scott, Jan and Brian Duffy, Jim and Lynda Guidry, Rachel and Carlos Villagomez, Bo and Donna Rogers, Moraq and Wayne Sabo, Mark and Karen Keesler and Beverly and Dennis Peterson.

Coasting around . . . .

DR. DAVID GORDON and his wife, Lauri, and a host of friends had a great time celebrating his birthday at the Gordons’ Bay Oaks home in Clear Lake Dec. 21 and the fact the world did not end as predicted . . . .

Jerry and Peggy Clause got in a little celebrating, too, as dozens of long-time friends and family joined them Jan. 5 at the Galveston Country Club for their 50th wedding anniversary….

Tom Wong, Judge Louie Ditta, Marie Sharp, Renee Ditta and Mike Plank, from left, were among the many who helped Dr. David Gordon celebrate his big 5-0 on Dec. 21 and rejoice that the world did not come to an end.

Jim Reinhartsen, center, catches up on the news with Glenn Freedman, left, and Larry Price at the Quasar Banquet.

This foursome, from left, Crystal Jackson, Timm Wooten, Skylin Brezina and Frank Vargas came to represent Martin Fein Interests, which built the Voyager.

Fay Dudney, Brenda Mitchell and Betsy Griffin, from left, share a light moment at the Quasar Banquet.

JSC General Consul Bernie Roan and his wife, Debbie, pick out their table as they arrive at South Shore Harbour Resort for the Quasar Banquet.

FEBRUARY 2013 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

15

Nourishing the MIND

By Dr. Ed Reitman

Hiding from

REALITY

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ohn is a third-year college student, who is on academic probation. If he doesn’t bring his grade-point average, GPA above 2.0, he won’t be permitted to return to school. But he still oversleeps most mornings, parties almost every night, and seems oblivious to the consequences of his behavior.

Yet, he knows better. All you have to do is ask him, “Will smoking pot every night, missing classes and not studying help you to stay in school?” He’d answer, “Of course not.” It would seem that what he says and what

Bay Area Houston Magazine | FEBRUARY 2013

he wants are radically different from what he does.

Is he crazy? Out of touch with reality? He may well be. But if he is, he isn’t alone.

Bradley is a high-powered executive who is very visible in his community. To the world, he is an ideal husband, a good father, a leader in his church, and a wise human being. He is, however, sexually involved with his secretary, a supposedly happily married woman with three children. I might add that this isn’t his first affair. He’s had numerous others, all of which caused him anxiety and guilt. He states that he is in constant

fear of being found out and “acutely aware that what I’m doing could drastically hurt my wife, my children and myself. But, despite that, when I’m with her, there is a feeling inside that obscures my good judgement. Is it love?” Sometimes he thinks so. But, after every one of his previous involvements, he discovered it wasn’t.

Is he crazy as well?

Helen is an attractive, successful attorney. She’s 42, never been married, and rarely dates. She claims she desperately wants a spouse and one or more children, and she truly believes it. But her closest friends, who have repeatedly introduced her to available single men, tell her that she’s too picky, only minimally emotionally demonstrative and tends to intimidate most men.

It would appear that her behavior also belies her desires.

Lilian is morbidly obese. For years she refused to face it. In spite of it, she functions very well, has a far better than average job, and performs at an exceptional level. She is friendly, emotionally warm, and personable.

She maintains close relationships with a fairly large number of girlfriends, most of whom are extremely attractive, and actively date. However, after one of her closest friends became engaged, reality hit Lilian hard.

She decided, in her own words, “It’s time to shed some pounds.” She came to therapy and talked, openly for the first time in her life about her embarrassment over her weight, and her jealousy toward her “thin friends,” but refused to delve into what may have contributed to her condition. Sadly, the more she came to therapy, the more she spoke about overeating and her desire to lose weight, the more pounds she put on. She eventually

stated that she was considering giving up on therapy and “accepting the inevitable”, i.e., “being fat and single for the rest of my life.”

Does she really want to shed the pounds?

I can provide countless other examples of the same type of duplicitous conflicts demonstrated by all too many human beings. Each of them would differ in their verse, but they would all be part of the same song. I suspect that if you stop for a moment and reflect about your own behavior, you’d discover that you sing the same song. Whether it’s a case of, “I have to study for a test tomorrow, but I decided to go out with my friends;” “My doctor told me I have to exercise at least 30 minutes, five times a week, but I always find an excuse;” “I want to get organized and get rid of the mounds of paperwork around the house, but they continue to grow despite all my efforts;” or “I know he or she treats me horribly. If a friend told me she was dating someone who treated her that way, I’d immediately say, ‘get out’, but I can’t do it. I stay. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Why can’t I follow up on what I know is best for me?” Countless individuals, in and out of therapy, might ask themselves the same question regarding actions or reactions that they have remorse or guilt over, but can’t seem to stop.

The answer is obvious, but not necessarily to those individuals who feel trapped by their own states of confusion. Think about it this way: people don’t engage in behaviors that have no pay-off. Generally speaking, most employees stop going to work if the boss stops paying them. If they continue to go, they have a problem and have to ask themselves, “What am I

getting out of being a victim, and letting this individual use and demean me to myself? Is my pain, upset and distress my pay-off? Is it possible that when I experience sufficient turmoil or conflict in my life, it can serve as a smokescreen that keeps me blind to what’s inside me that is too painful for me to face?”

I would not only have you think about this, I’d have you ask yourself, “When I behave in ways I know are hurtful to me, what am I hiding from?” Because I promise you, there’s something inside you that you don’t want to look at, recall or deal with.

I believe that, if you are ever going to live an emotionally healthy life, you have no other alternative but to face you, own you, forgive you, learn to laugh at you, and to share openly the person you truly are, first with yourself and then with others in the world. You will fear taking that step, thinking that no one could love you or accept you if they knew how you felt, what you experienced as a child, or were aware of the mistakes you made. But let me reassure you, no one will judge you as harshly as you judge yourself. Others will be more prone to accept you with your shortcomings, idiosycrancies, fears and true emotions far easier than you can accept yourself. Therefore, you need to have the courage to look behind your smokescreens, to love you in spite of or because of your perceived shortcomings, and give others the chance to love you, as well.

To learn more about Dr. Reitman, read more of his articles, or to obtain copies for family or friends, please visit his website, dredreitman.com.

FEBRUARY 2013 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

19

News & Events LYC Ladies Association Installation Luncheon

New Lakewood Yacht Club Ladies Association President Rosemary Bettis, left, goes over the program for the installation luncheon with outgoing President Jane O’Neal.

Lakewood Log Editor Sandy Drechsel, center, talks with two new Ladies Association officers, Secretary Barbara Duckworth, left, and Vice President Roz Clayton during reception preceding installation luncheon.

Photos by Mary Alys Cherry

Joy Edwards, from left, stops to visit with LYCLA Fleet Capt. Sue Collier, center, and Assistant Fleet Capt. Marilyn Mitchell as the crowd begins arriving for the installation luncheon.

Treasurer Evey Leavens, Susan Allen and Debbie Saba, from left, join the crowd attending the reception preceding the Lakewood Yacht Club Ladies Association installation luncheon.

Commodore Carl Drechsel, right, was among several fellas in the crowd attending the Lakewood Yacht Club Ladies Association installation luncheon Jan.18. Others included, from left, Past Commodore Tom Taylor, Fleet Capt. Don Mitchell, Jay Bettis and Vice Commodore Tom Collier.

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Bay Area Houston Magazine | FEBRUARY 2013

Daily Bag Limits Speckled Trout

10 fish, 15” minimum* (Only 1 fish over 25” may be retained daily)

Sand Trout

No size or bag limit

Gulf Trout

Spotted Seatrout

No size or bag limit

(Cynoscion nebulosus)

The Three Trout on the Third Coast

By Capt. Joe Kent

Sand Seatrout (Cynoscion arenarius)

Silver Seatrout (Cynoscion nothus)

Trout are probably the most popular fish sought after in the Galveston Bay Complex and for good reason. They offer a good fight as well as excellent table fare. Now, which of the three fish called trout are we talking about?

Actually, we are describing all three.

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peckled trout or spotted sea trout, as they are officially called, are the most popular of the three fish. Why? Mainly because of their overall larger size and the fact that a speckled trout is a game fish, while its cousins, the silver sea trout and sand trout, are considered pan fish. At the table, when freshly cooked, hardly anyone can tell the difference in taste.

There are no bag and size limits on silver sea trout and sand trout, while their cousin has a bag limit of 10 per day and a slot limit of 15 to 25 inches. Yes, one speck over 25 inches may be retained.

When I first started fishing, anglers recognized only two trout in Texas waters. As far as fishermen were concerned, there were the speckled trout and the speck’s less regal cousin, the sand trout. Marine biologists, however, were persistent enough to finally get Texas and other Gulf Coast Fishermen to accept the fact that the so-called sand trout could be either of two species, silver sea trout or sand trout.

Early on, Gulf coast anglers eventually adopted the name Gulf trout for the other specie and some say that party boat operators were responsible for the name as Gulf trout sounds more sophisticated than silver sea trout. Others say that the name came from sports fishermen who found so many in the offshore Gulf of Mexico.

Today, most coastal fishermen use the names sand trout and Gulf trout interchangeably, with one or the other referring to both species.

Now, for the hard part for most fishermen and that is identifying which of the two fish you have caught.

Even when both are caught on the same trip it is often difficult for the average angler to distinguish between the two.

The dark spots on the upper body, fins and tail immediately set the speckled trout apart from the Gulf and sand trout. An easy distinction does not exist for laymen to separate the other two.

The best way to identify the two pan fish is to closely examine the fins. On the Gulf trout, the spine and ray areas on the back connect, while on the sand trout they are separated. Gulf trout have eight or nine soft rays on the anal fin while the sand trout has eleven.

The Gulf trout is noted as the heavier of the two species. When looking at the State of Texas Fish Records, the record Gulf trout weighed 6.91 pounds and 6.25 pounds for the sand trout.

Other distinguishing factors include a more rounded tail for the Gulf trout while the sand trout has a square tail. A couple of canine teeth in the front of the top jaw of the Gulf trout also set it apart. The mouths of large female Gulf trout are yellowish-orange and the sides are bright silver.

Both fish are common in the bays during the warm months while sand trout tend to gather along the beachfront and jetties during cold weather and Gulf trout find refuge around structure farther offshore at the same time.

Reverend Mike Kent of San Antonio and his family with a catch of Gulf Trout, along with a few other inshore species.

Gulf trout and sand trout are much easier to catch than specks and are as easily taken on dead bait as live.

Wintertime is one of the better times to catch both species. Sand trout especially will be hovering around deep holes close to the passes and often Gulf trout are mixed in with them.

Now, the next time you land one or the other hopefully you will be able to identify what you have.

Whichever you catch, enjoy a good, tasty meal from it.

FEBRUARY 2013 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

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Education

CCISD slams Mandate

CCISD Releases 2013-14 Calendar The calendar for the 2013-14 school year has been approved

by Clear Creek ISD with an opening date of Monday, Aug. 26, and classes ending on Wednesday, June 5.

Although classes start on Aug. 26, teachers will be working the two weeks beforehand, preparing classrooms and the year’s agenda.

Plenty of holidays are scheduled: Thanksgiving: Monday-Friday, Nov. 25-29

Students getting reprieve from 15 percent test rule

This year’s winning designers include, from left, Rida Siddiqi, Arkadia Berdich, Jessa Westheimer, Alexandra Trevino, Sara Gerke, Brittany Vasquez and Raquel Jaeger. Another winner, Ted Shi, is not pictured.

CCISD Card Design Winners Announced

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raditions are such a fun part of the holiday season.

One of the Clear Creek School District’s most cherished traditions is its annual Holiday Card Design Contest.

That’s when kindergarten through 12th grade art students brings their own magic to the season by creating their very own card designs.

“Every year it gets harder and harder to select the winning designs,” Superintendent Greg Smith said as he announced the winners whose work was featured on more than 800 district holiday cards.

This year’s winners are: Rida Siddiqi, Landolt Elementary fourth grader; Arkadia Berdich, Mossman Elementary fifth grader; Jessa Westheimer, Seabrook Intermediate eighth grader; Alexandra Trevina, Seabrook Intermediate eighth grader; Ted Shi, Clear Lake High sophomore; Sara Gerke, Clear Creek High senior; Brittney Vasquez, Clear Falls High senior; Raquel Jaeger, Clear Springs High senior.

Christmas: Friday, Dec. 20 to Tuesday, Jan. 7, with early release Dec. 20 Spring Break: Monday-Friday, March 10-14, with early release Friday, March 7 Student-teacher holidays also are planned Sept. 18, April 18 and May 26.

Lacey Mcleod, right, Mossman Elementary School student teacher at Education Village in League City, has been named Student Teacher of the Year at Stephen F. Austin University.

Her student teacher and field experience coordinator, Barbara Morrison, congratulates her on all of her hard work.

Six Bay Area students pose for a photo with Clear Creek ISD Superintendent Dr. Greg Smith, left, and Dr. Rosalind Perez, superintendent of Bay Area Charter Schools, as they were awarded $1,500 college scholarships by the Space Center Rotary at its weekly luncheon at Bay Oaks Country Club in Clear Lake. The winners are, from left, Nicholas Morciolaro, Kevin Cyr, Rishi Suresh, Nancy Martin, Allison Rankin and Jacob Arend. Morciolaro and Suresh attend Clear Lake High and Cyr and Arend are students at Clear Brook High. Martin and Rankin attend Ed White Memorial High.

Photo and story by MAC

Education

CCISD voters get look at $387 million bond package

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lear Creek ISD needs some $387 million in updates and repairs, a Facility Advisory Committee told the Clear Creek School Board at its January workshop.

Included in its recommendations are a complete rebuild of two aging schools, Clear Lake High and McWhirter Elementary, construction of a second district stadium and a major technology upgrade to increase wireless access to accommodate all the electronic learning devices currently being used or needed in the future.

The 32-member committee also suggested major renovations and additions at Clear Brook High, Clear Creek High, Creekside Intermediate, Green Elementary, Seabrook Intermediate and Clear Lake Intermediate.

Since presenting its suggestions to CCISD trustees, the committee has been holding Town Hall meetings to secure community input and then make modifications needed, if any, at a meeting Feb. 5 and present its modified recommendations to the trustees at their Feb. 11 workshop.

Then, the school board will make a final decision on calling for a bond election at its Feb. 25 meeting. A $387 million bond would push the tax rate to $1.45 and would mean $199 per year in additional taxes for the owner of a $177,000 home, FAC Chairman Trent Martin told trustees.

He said the committee spent many hours inspecting schools across the district and then determining the ones needing immediate attention. The 40-year-old Clear Lake High School, for example, experiences flooding during heavy rains in parts of the school, he said, and some of the classrooms built for 18 students are now holding 30. “Large portions of the building have severe foundation cracking,” he added.

McWhirter, he explained, serves the Webster community from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Besides CCISD classes, it is a Professional Development Lab School and offers ESL, Citizenship and GED classes, a Children’s Literacy program, Parent Education & Support classes.

About 51 percent of its students are English language learners. Built in 1954, it has multiple structural issues and drainage problems.

The committee actually started with a list of $600 million in needs but after five months, numerous tours

and exhaustive reviews settled on those with the greatest need.

Martin said the committee was not recommending construction of any new schools, despite the fact the district is adding 400-600 students per year, but prefers additions to Green Elementary and Creekside Intermediate to relieve overcrowding.

“While the district has been making do with one stadium for its five high schools, it has not been easy,” he said. “Veterans Memorial Stadium (originally built just for Clear Creek High) is at capacity all the time. It is used Thursday through Saturday during football season.

That not only impacts Clear Creek High, which has to deal with all of the extra cars coming in and out, but also the students from other schools who have to come in on a Thursday night, stay late and then have to get up at 5 a.m. to go to school.

Martin outlined the committee’s list of projects: n Clear Lake High, $98.6 million -- complete rebuild. n McWhirter Elementary, $30.8 million -- complete rebuild. n Seabrook Intermediate, $7.2 million -- add 10 classrooms, new stage, plus addition to library, repairs, etc. n Clear Creek High, $26.4 million –renovation of Carlisle gym, Spring Sports Building, kitchen and snack bar areas, correct foundation problems and addition of third gym. This will complete the rebuild of Clear Creek High, where a section of the 1956 building remains untouched. n Clear Lake Intermediate, $1.1 million – Renovate locker rooms, labs and refurbish elevator. n Clear Brook High, $9.7 million – Two-story additions for classroom, administration and library expansion; new entry lobby, cafeteria expansion, kitchen and auditorium renovation, second courtyard, new dressing rooms, addition to coaches office, etc. The school suffered significant foundation failure which caused the building to separate near the main entrance. n Creekside Intermediate, $2.5 million – Add new classrooms and science facilities. Will save having to build another intermediate school to keep up with area’s growth.

n Greene Elementary, $3.2 million – Add 6 classrooms, restrooms and music room; enlarge cafeteria, renovate clinic, and extend parent dropoff and pickup, and add staff parking. n Clear Spring High, $3.9 million – Add 3rd gym and additional facilities to accommodate growth. n 2nd District Stadium, $43 million – Construct 10,000-seat steel stadium next to Central Support Facility on W. Bay Area Boulevard. Scheduling said difficult with five high schools and one stadium. n Transportation Center, $7.2 million – Add 18,000-gallon propane storage tank and fueling dispensers, canopy, emergency generator and replace 40 aging buses. n Veterans Stadium, $1.9 million – Replace lighting and existing field turf, add guardrails and ticket booth, repair bleachers, etc. n Eastside Ag Center, $3.5 million – New Ag Barn to support Creek and Falls. n Westside Ag Center, $2.8 million – Add pens and storage for Brook, Springs and Lake. New practice and exhibit area. n Technology, $50 million – To ensure CCISD students have access to 21st century tools by improving the wireless structure and providing tablets for all students 4th grade and up phased in over 4 years so students can access curriculum 24 hours a day. All books would be electronic. Implement WiFi in all schools to support the tablet concept.

A Racing, Pounding Heartbeat: When You Should Be Concerned

Our hearts beat 50 to 100 times a minute but we are usually not aware of it. When we do notice our heart beats, we may think of them as “palpitations.”

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enign palpitations are often caused by our everyday activities: when we exercise, drink caffeine or alcohol, or are nervous or excited. Some people become more aware of their own hearts beating while lying down at night when the distractions from the surrounding environment are minimal. Those types of palpitations are normally not associated with other symptoms and don’t usually require specific medical treatment.

On the other hand, abnormal palpitations are caused by either an abnormally fast heart rate, which causes pounding sensations in the chest, the neck or the jaw, or by occasional extra beats that give the feeling of a skipped heart beat. These types of palpitations are caused by abnormal electrical signals in the heart, known as “arrhythmias.”

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Most of these conditions are not life threatening, but they can be a source of real concern for individuals suffering from them. The symptoms associated with these arrhythmias vary from a merely skipped beat sensation or racing in the chest, to chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness or even passing-out.

Bay Area Houston Magazine | FEBRUARY 2013

“It is important for individuals who have abnormal palpitations to seek medical attention.”

The definite diagnosis is made by recording and analyzing the electrical heart signals using electrocardiography (ECG or EKG). Many arrhythmias can be treated or managed either with medications or sometimes with more invasive procedures. The medical field that deals with these issues is known as cardiac electrophysiology. An electrophysiologist is a cardiologist who manages patients with arrhythmias.

“It is important for individuals who have abnormal palpitations to seek medical attention, especially since many of these arrhythmias affect young, otherwise healthy individuals who may not think that they have a heart condition,” says Mossaab Shuraih, M.D., a cardiac electrophysiologist affiliated with Memorial Hermann Southeast Hospital.

It’s an Emergency!

Call 911 immediately if you are having heart palpitations and you are short of breath, lightheaded or dizzy, feel faint or have chest pain or unusual sweating.

For more information about heart and vascular services at Memorial Hermann Southeast Hospital, visit www.memorialhermann.org/southeast.

FEBRUARY 2013 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

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The fear was palpable; the kind that makes it hard to sleep at night. With his Austin home badly damaged by flood waters, Chris Shiver was engulfed by waves of anxiety as his mind raced with the thought that a life’s worth of photos lay ruined under several inches of muddy, murky water.

S DreamSaver founder and President Chris Shiver, third from left, shows off a sample of the heat-resistant material. With him are, from left, DreamSaver advisor and interim CEO Jeff Cartwright, Houston Technology Center President and CEO Walter Ulrich, and Kathleen McNeil, Shiver’s executive assistant.

Thermal Protection Systems

hiver could finally exhale when he returned to his home after a couple of days to find his cherished photos still dry and intact. That close call over 20 years ago planted the seed that grew into the founding of DreamSaver, a company that is poised to alter the landscape of the fire, heat and water protection industry.

“I was distraught after the flood when I realized my life’s worth of pictures and scrapbooks had probably been destroyed,” Shiver, 50, recalls. “As it turned out, they were all fine, but I thought, ‘That would have sucked’ and I immediately began thinking there has to be a better way to protect people’s priceless and irreplaceable belongings.”

The Quest Begins

DreamSaver box (in frame) before burn test and box after burn test.

Shiver, a serial entrepreneur who started raising money for startup companies while in college, allowed the idea of devising a better way to save people’s valuables to germinate for a few years while he pursued other business interests. The son of an entrepreneur, Shiver graduated from Texas Christian University with a degree in Economics and a double minor in marketing and communications. He co-founded Boulder, Colo. based Pelion Systems in 1996, which developed manufacturing software and helped clients solve a myriad of manufacturing issues.

The company was a profitable entity before Shiver resigned his position as Director and VP of Business Development in 2001 to make an attempt at climbing Mount Everest, prior to the company being sold in 2004. Shiver then embarked upon a career working for high end island resort properties in exotic locations such as Fiji, Belize and the Philippines. “I wanted to get paid to go scuba diving, so I ran six different resorts in three countries, including an attempt to build Poseidon Undersea Resort in Fiji,the world’s first

Contents of box unharmed after burn test.

DreamSaver uses Space Shuttle heat shield technology to protect your valuables

By Rod Evans 30

Bay Area Houston Magazine | FEBRUARY 2013

Chris Shiver with box before burn test.

seafloor resort,” says Shiver, a lifelong bachelor with no children.

But the idea of developing a fire, heat and water proof container that would be better than the costly and minimally effective products currently available was still just a dream. Through extensive research, he learned that current fire proof safes are merely “flame proof ” and do not prevent the build up of internal heat that can melt photos and other valuables stored inside. But Shiver didn’t have an answer for the central question: “What kind of material should a truly effective flame and heat proof safe be made of?” To find that answer, the New York born Shiver, who thanks to the global reach of his father’s career, lived in several domestic and international locations as a kid, looked back to his childhood.

“I had family here (Texas) and like most kids in the 1960s and ‘70s, I was an Apollo and, later, Space Shuttle junky.

To me, one of the greatest aspects of all those missions was being able to bring those spaceships back from space through the heat generated upon re-entry. I was fascinated by the kind of material that could do that, yet the people inside weren’t burnt to a crisp,” Shiver says.

HTC to the Rescue In 2006, he learned of the Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program (SATOP) at the Johnson Space Center (JSC). The program helps people like Shiver with a kernel of an idea navigate through the labyrinth of regulations necessary when trying to work with NASA. Through SATOP, he met Dr. Paul Ledoux, a heat transfer prevention specialist who’s worked with NASA since the Apollo program. Ledoux, now on DreamSaver’s advisory board, told Shiver developing the material to construct the heat proof safe is feasible; it’s simply a matter of making it cost effective. By 2010, Shiver had moved back to the U.S. and was ready to go all in on the idea.

“I spent a year banging my head against the door of NASA,” Shiver recalls. “NASA is very sensitive about its intellectual property, obviously. I knew NASA had all kinds of materials, but I didn’t want their stuff; I wanted to develop our own stuff based on theirs.”

Fortunately, the Houston Technology Center (HTC) had recently entered into a partnership with JSC that was designed to further expand HTC’s mission of accelerating the growth of emerging technology companies in

the Houston area, and to develop the foundation required to support NASA’s long-term goals of increasing private/ public collaboration. Shiver, who founded DreamSaver Enterprises, LLC in March 2011, was first in line to sign up for the HTC’s “Incubator” program at JSC. The company received a huge shot in the arm when it won third place— and $15,000—in the 2012 Goradia Innovation Prize program, presented by the HTC and the Greater Houston Partnership, with founding support by Vijay and Dr. Marie Goradia. The award recognizes early stage Gulf Coast region companies seeking to bring innovations to the marketplace.

“I needed help breaking through the firewall at NASA and finding the people and resources that would help us develop our product. The HTC program allowed us to begin that process,” he said.

At about the same time, Shiver met retired astronaut Dr. Scott Parazynski, now DreamSaver’s chairman and CEO, and a veteran of five Space Shuttle missions and seven spacewalks. More importantly, Parazynski was the lead astronaut for Space Shuttle thermal protection system inspection and repair following the 2003 Columbia tragedy.

“Scott and his team developed a composite goo that would harden and was effective up to 4,500 degrees. That’s what we needed, but we didn’t need 4,500 degrees; we needed about 1,800 to 1,900 degrees,” Shiver says. “So we took the foundation of knowledge of how to stop the transfer of heat and dumbed it down and made it cheap, which opens up new markets and applications. That’s what DreamSaver is all about.”

Shiver and Parazynski developed a plan to construct what would become DreamSaver’s initial product offering: a box that can store valuables that would prevent them from being damaged due to

extreme heat or flooding, but in order to take the plan from the drawing board to reality, the team needed a “mad scientist” to find the right mixture of composites.

Enter Clark Thompson.

Developing the Prototype

The enigmatic Thompson, DreamSaver’s chief technology officer, worked with Parazynski’s team on the development of the shuttle heat transfer project and is regarded as a brilliant engineer. He was even recognized by NASA with the 40th Anniversary Space Flight Award for Leadership for his efforts in helping the Space Shuttle return to flight post-Columbia.

“Clark is the napalm flame thrower of reality,” Shiver chuckles. “There’s no BS with Clark.”

The group began gathering at Thompson’s rural property near Alvin to blend and test various composite concoctions to find the ideal mix of heat transfer properties and affordability.

After several tests, the team settled on the current mixture, which withstood

game for DreamSaver. Shiver says the company intends to use future proprietary composite formula in a wide range of customer driven applications. To promote the box, Shiver plans to launch a marketing campaign that highlights the product’s ability to preserve highly personal and emotionally charged photos and other artifacts. In addition NASA Executive to selling the box direct to on Loan to consumers, he says making the JSC Houston box available through consumer Technology Center, Pat homeowner’s insurance carriers Kidwell, left for a nominal monthly fee and Tim Budzik, is being considered. While a JSC Campus manufacturer for the box has Managing Director for not been selected, Shiver says, Houston “I guarantee it will be made in Technology the USA.” Center, right.

In addition to the box, exposure up to 3,400 degrees for 30 Shiver says DreamSaver, which recently minutes and was cool to the touch after added Jeff Cartwright, former President 30 seconds. and COO of Igloo Corp. as an advisor, The team then purchased a nesting box interim CEO and investor, seeks to secure at Hobby Lobby, made sheets of the newly partnerships with companies in a variety formed material and secured it inside the of industries that rely upon fire prevention box. After placing it in a bonfire, it came and heat transfer technology, such as the through with flying colors. A company oil and gas industry. He’s had preliminary was contracted to make a one foot by one discussions with officials at Shell Oil foot by one foot welded, precision cut box Company, and he can also see the material that performed even better in testing. The being used in roofing shingles or in a new current prototype is about the size of a type of sheet rock for home construction. foot locker.

“I look at where there’s a problem in the “We’ve taken the box up to 1,700 market and try to find a solution,” he says. degrees for 30 minutes and the Shiver says he’s grateful for the support temperature stayed below 175 degrees DreamSaver, whose offices are in the inside. That’s impressive because the walls HTC-JSC Accelerator building #35 at are just an inch thick and the box weighs JSC, has received to get this far in the about 88 pounds. A comparable fire proof rough and tumble startup business world. safe doesn’t exist, but if it did, it would “There’s no way DreamSaver would be weigh about 300 to 400 pounds and alive without the HTC. The amount of might cost $2,000,” Shiver says. time, resources and encouragement that they have offered has been invaluable,” he Beyond the Box says. “It’s a brutal game now for startups, But manufacturing and selling the but we’re surrounded by like minded box, which Shiver says the company people who are positive, optimistic and is planning by June, is not the end energetic.”

FEBRUARY 2013 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

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Residential developments

Several large residential developments also are under way around the area including a massive one in Clear Lake City just announced.

Trendmaker Homes has bought 372 acres of a 412acre tract with plans to build a new subdivision near the intersection of Clear Lake City and El Dorado Boulevards and Ellington Field. Homes are expected to start in the $300,000s.

Originally owned by Exxon Mobil and then Kinder Morgan, the land has long been eyed by developers as land for new homes slowly disappeared. Most recent owner before Trendmaker was Fidelis Realty Partners of Houston, which purchased the land in 2007.

Fidelis said it plans to retain about 40 acres of the land and construct neighborhood shopping centers for the convenience of residents.

In Friendswood, some 1,500 homes are planned for the 213-acre West Ranch with West Boulevard under construction to connect FM 518 with Friendswood

“What was a prairie along the Gulf Freeway in League City a few short years ago has been developed by Victory Lakes Town Center, League City Towne Center and Bay Colony Town Center and is now home to a jaw-dropping number of businesses.”

New developments sprouting up all over the Bay Area

By Mary Alys Cherry

The continuing popularity of the Bay Area is reflected

in the many new developments either in the planning stages or about to take off -- from one end of Bay Area Houston to the other.

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ne of the newest and biggest is planned in League City, Barbara Cutsinger of Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership reports.

“A Houston development group, Pinnacle Alliance Fund,” Cutsinger says, “is planning a sizeable, high-quality mixed use project along the Gulf Freeway in League City. Spread over 100 acres between Big League Dreams and the Bay Colony shopping area, the group envisions restaurants, entertainment venues, retail, hotels/hospitality, office, medical and some multifamily.”

The development has been in the works for the last 18 months, she says, adding that we can expect more details in the next couple of months. Pinnacle purchased the land from Compass Bank and finalized the deal in early January.

It is one of dozens of projects that have transformed League City from a sleepy little village that it was in the 1980s to the bustling city it is today. Someone who has been away for several years will no doubt be startled when riding down the Gulf Freeway toward Galveston.

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What was a prairie along the Gulf Freeway in League City a few short years ago has been developed by Victory Lakes Town Center, League City Towne Center and Bay Colony Town Center and is now home to a jawdropping number of businesses.

Among them are Walmart, JCPenney, Best Buy, Sears, Hobby Lobby, Sports Authority, Kohl’s, PetCo, HEB, Bank of America, Walgreen’s, Lowe’s, TJ Maxx, Super Target, Chase Bank, Logan’s Roadhouse, Chickfil-A, Michael’s, CapitalOne Bank, Office Depot, Ross Dress for Less, Staples, Petsmart, Home Depot and the UTMB Multi Specialty Center – all in about a one-mile stretch near FM 646 and Victory Lakes Intermediate School.

Tanger Outlet Mall, which opened this fall in Texas City on 55 acres near Holland Road and the Gulf Freeway, is still another large commercial development.

Tenants include Ralph Lauren, Brooks Brothers, Cole Hahn. Kasper, Guess, Banana Republic, Tommy Hilfinger, Nine West, Perry Ellis, Calvin Klein and Coach. The project created some 400 construction jobs and about 900 retail jobs.

Bay Area Houston Magazine | FEBRUARY 2013

Lakes Boulevard. A new builder, Toll Brothers, has been added and more estate home sites have been platted to keep up with the demand. The Southside development will include lakes, a community clubhouse, larger pool, parks, trails and commercial development.

League City, Galveston County’s largest city, is home to several large projects: -- Hidden Lakes, when finished, will have about 800 homes with about 100 acres for commercial development. Current 214 lots are under contract and another builder has purchased 125 acres from the developer.

-- Tuscan Lakes, which already has some 900 homes on the ground in the Highway 96 area, will one day be home to 1,800 families.

-- Beacon Island on Light House Boulevard off Marina Bay Drive offers an exclusive and distinctively secluded community with Southern Charm and a Boardwalk Promenade along the water’s edge.

-- Cypress Bay on FM 2094 between South Shore Harbour and SH 146 is an environmentally friendly waterfront community that offers 99 home sites on canal lots with southern Italian architecture.

-- The Peninsula at Clear Lake is a gated community on Davis Road, where homes range from $375,000$999,852.

Seabrook is home to a number of residential projects developed by Bayway Homes – Searidge, Seaside Village and The Cove at Todville.

In Webster, Edgewater – being developed by Johnson Development Corp. and Cherokee Investment Partners -- continues to build new homes on its 538acre site between NASA Parkway and Clear Creek – a development that will include a marina large enough for 50-foot yachts and a 35-acre nature preserve along Clear Creek. When completed, it will be home to 2,600 residents.

Bay Area cities bustling with activity

By Mary Alys Cherry

Everywhere you go around the Bay Area, new buildings are

going up, new businesses are opening and hundreds of homes are being built as we bid farewell to what was once a weak economy.

Clear Lake City got some welcome news this fall when Universal Weather and Aviation purchased the 158,600 square-foot building at 1150 Gemini that formerly housed United Space Alliance and announced plans to relocate its world headquarters and some 700 employees from the Hobby Airport area.

It was one of a number of new businesses locating in Clear Lake, including the Cheesecake Factory which built a facility across from Macy’s at Baybrook Mall, H&M, See’s Candles, Qdorba Mexican Grill and Wolfies. Meanwhile, the $50 million, 117,000-square-foot Coast Guard headquarters at Ellington Field is moving right along and expected to be completed in June to house more than 300 personnel. It is one of several new facilities on the drawing board or under construction at Ellington.

Deer Park, founded in 1892, celebrated its 120th anniversary this year while adding several new businesses. Among them is its new Chick-fil-A, which is now the company’s No. 1 franchise in the country, serving some 2,000 customers each day.

Friendswood’s Memorial Hermann Urgent Care Center at 1505 E. Winding Way Drive will soon complete its 9,000 square-foot expansion.

Galveston’s University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston began construction in April on the new $438 million Jennie Sealy Hospital, with completion expected in 2015.

Other new businesses under construction include the restaurant Skallywags at Sixth and Bradford¸and the Human Maze amusement at Bradford, between Fourth and Fifth Streets.

The city also has approved a plat for an ALDI market on FM 518, and just held the first public hearing on annexation of the site.

League City celebrated its 50th anniversary as a municipality with a big gala at South Shore Harbour Resort while Helen Hall Library marked its 40th anniversary. Highlights of its year included the renovation of City Hall, start of construction of a new public safety building across the street, and expansion of UTMB’s Victory Lakes complex.

City officials also got word that’s Studio Movie Grill will build a $9 million theatre at the corner of the Gulf Freeway and Victory Lakes Drive The Galveston County municipality took the unusual step of moving its May city elections to November, hoping for a bigger turnout. It worked as some 27,000 voted during the presidential election,

“Nassau Bay seems be adding a new business every week as its $150 million Nassau Bay Town Square project keeps growing and growing.”

The new facility on the site of the Jennie Sealy Building, which was demolished, will have 310 patient rooms, including 54 ICU beds, a surgery unit and 20 operating suites.

Kemah is currently working on plans for a 30-acre tract fronting on Galveston Bay between FM 518 and League City Parkway that possibly will include an upscale resort hotel and convention center, plus recreational facilities.

compared with 4,400 in the previous mayoral and city council elections in May. During the year, League City also got a new city manager, Mike Loftin, and League City Police Capt. Mike Kramm was named police chief.

Nassau Bay seems be adding a new business every week as its $150 million Nassau Bay Town Square project keeps growing and growing. The development’s centerpiece, the 124-room Courtyard

by Marriott, opened in July and another piece of the pie is under way across from the first commercial (Story continued on page 37)

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(Continued from page 37)

wing that includes a bank, several restaurants and eateries and the offices of Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership.

The newest addition to the square, which ultimately will create about 495 jobs, sits in front of one of four office buildings offering 600,000 square feet of space planned for the site. A 27,000-square-foot conference center also is planned. The city provided the infrastructure for the 31-acre development with a $2.5 million federal grant.

Pasadena is home to the Port of Houston, one of the world’s busiest ports and a large and vibrant component of the regional economy with cargo terminals at Bayport and Barbour’s Cut, just north of Seabrook. A 2012 study by Martin Associates says ship channel-related businesses contribute 1,026,820 jobs throughout Texas, up from more than 785,000 jobs cited in a 2007 study. Additionally, more than $4.5 billion in state and local tax revenues are generated by business activities related to the port, up from $3.7 billion.

Its Bayport Industrial District is home to a $15 billion petrochemical complex, the largest in the nation and second largest in the world. About 100 steamship lines offer service linking the Houston area with 1,053 ports in 203 countries. The ship channel

“2012 study by Martin Associates says ship channel-related businesses contribute 1,026,820 jobs throughout Texas, up from more than 785,000 jobs cited in a 2007 study.” also intersects a very busy barge traffic lane, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.

Late in 2012 it was announced that Princess Cruise Lines and Norwegian Cruise Lines have signed up to sail to the Caribbean from the Bayport Cruise Terminal, starting the latter part of this year.

Plans also are under way to add two new medical facilities – the $11 million Medical Resort at Bay Area, a skilled nursing facility that will employ about 200, and the 32-bed Pristine Hospital, an acute care facility employing 150.

Pasadena also continued to add new businesses and more traffic. So it began paving the way to a smoother tomorrow by updating Fairmont Parkway, adding a lane in each direction between Beltway 8 and Space Center Boulevard – the first of four projects along the busy roadway.

Seabrook began the year by saying goodbye to long-time City Manager Chuck Pinto, who retired, and welcoming new City Manager Kelly Templin.

Texas City is now home of Tanger Outlet Mall and its dozens of stores on I-45 and Holland Road, drawing big crowds for its opening this fall.

Webster is just bustling with activity. With the rebuild of El Camino Real from Bay Area to NASA Parkway now complete, the city is turning its attention to its new $5.5 million fire station under construction on Highway 3 next to the City Hall. The 22,860-square-foot facility, being built to withstand winds of 149 miles per hour, is expected to be finished this spring.

The city also has two massive medical projects under way.

Clear Lake Regional Medical Center has a $92 million expansion program under way next to its 595-bed hospital, building a 154,470 square foot tower that will include a 30-bed adult ICU and stateof-the-art operating rooms.

And, work on the new $160 million, 176-bed Bay Area Regional Medical Center at the corner of Blossom Street and Highway 3 with a late 2013 opening expected, along with a 674-space parking garage.

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Enrollment up at most colleges around the area

University of Houston-Clear Lake School of Education graduates Jehovanissi “Jo” Solis and Martha Pacheco, and student intern Evelyn Aaron, from left, have been named Exceptional Teacher Candidates by the Texas Quest for Quality project. Quest for Quality is the first phase of a three-part program that partners with Texas universities to identify and highlight exceptional students and faculty, exemplary instructional and programmatic practices, and applicable research. Solis is a third-grade bilingual teacher at Greta Oppe Elementary in the Galveston School District. Pacheco graduated midDecember 2012 after completing an internship in the Goose Creek School District and Aaron, a student intern in the Galena Park School District, will graduate in May 2013.

By Mary Alys Cherry

W

hile enrollments at Texas colleges have slowed down during the recession, most have continued to grow – especially those in the University of Houston System.

UH-Clear Lake, typical of all UH campuses, enrolled 8,301 students this fall, compared to 8,188 last year.

The UH Main Campus had 40,747 this year, compared with 39,824 for the 201112 school year. And, UH-Victoria grew from 4,330 to 4,398, while UH-Downtown increased its enrollment from 12,918 last year to 13,916 this year.

The University of Texas at Austin also registered an increase from 51,145 last year to 52,213 while the enrollment at Texas A&MCollege Station increased from 51,895 to 52,378, making it the largest university in the state.

However, the community colleges did not fare so well, most showing a slight dip as the long recession began taking its toll.

San Jacinto College’s enrollment was 33,106 this year, compared with 33,382 this year.

Ditto for Alvin Community College, from 5,393 last year to 5,190 this year; and College of the Mainland, which enrolled 4,007 this year, but had 4,168 students last year.

Houston Community College dipped from 51,413 last year to 47,784 this school year, and Lee College dropped from 6,416 to 6,216.

The Texas community colleges were typical of community colleges all over the country as students had to balance the desire to get an education with the need to earn money.

Rising tuition costs and rising transportation costs prevented many from continuing their education.

In other college news, College of the Mainland in Texas City has named Dr. Beth Lewis as its seventh, and first female, president, coming from Northeast Lakeview College, where she was vice president of academic affairs.

Earlier, Lewis, who has 25 years experience in higher education and instruction, served as dean of academic affairs at Blinn College in Brenham. She has a B.A. in English from UT in Austin and a M.A. in English, and a Ph. D in Educational Leadership from Sam Houston State University.

Texas A&M at Galveston opened two new dorms this school year, each with 294 beds when construction on the $29 million project was concluded this summer. Current enrollment is about 2,000.

UTMB at Galveston has more than 2,900 students enrolled – 900 in the school of medicine -- and just graduated more than 200 physicians

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Downward expansion awards help UHCL build on success

By Karen Barbier

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he University of Houston-Clear Lake continues building on success as it welcomes the new year.

In spring 2012, UH-Clear Lake introduced its new creative marketing campaign, “The Choice is Clear,” featuring slogans such as “What do you call a UHCL grad? Boss” and “Created for NASA in 1974. Still Launching Careers.”

In anticipation of its first freshman class in fall 2014, UHClear Lake also added slogans such as “Be First. Accepting Freshmen Fall 2014.”

UH-Clear Lake wrapped up a five-phase mascot search process by selecting a hawk as its new mascot in fall 2012.

The search process, which began in fall 2010, included input from students, alumni, faculty, staff and the community.

“Our Hawk mascot logo reflects attributes such as courage, spirit and adventure, as well as the natural beauty of our campus and the historical relationship to the alumni association’s hawk logo from the 1980s,” said UH-Clear Lake President William A. Staples in the fall announcement introducing the final mascot artwork.

For a third time, the university was named to the 2012 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll by the Corporation for National and Community Service. The honor recognizes higher education institutions that reflect the values of exemplary community service and achieve meaningful outcomes in their communities.

Examples of such service include the university-wide Day of Service, which gives faculty, staff, students, alumni and community friends an opportunity to give back to the

community. More than 185 volunteers participated in 2012 at one of three off-campus service projects including the Baytown Habitat for Humanity, Houston Food Bank and Armand Bayou Nature Center.

New degree programs added in late 2011 and made available in 2012 included the Master of Arts in Industrial/ Organizational Psychology. Other degree opportunities included the addition of the university’s Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership to the University of Houston System at Cinco Ranch offerings.

UH-Clear Lake Pearland Campus continues to grow with a record 732 students in fall 2012 pursuing their educational goals at the campus that opened in 2010.

Other highlights from 2012 • UH-Clear Lake’s Art Gallery reopened after a renovation and expansion project.

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The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement granted accreditation to the university’s Police Department.

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To provide legal studies students a more realistic learning environment, the university added a new mock trial courtroom.

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UH-Clear Lake’s Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, along with The University of Texas Health Sciences Center, University of Houston and Texas Women’s University, was awarded a shared five-year federal grant.

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Associate Professor of Biology and Biotechnology and Program Chair Larry Rohde received a $146,717 grant from NASA.

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The Institute of Museum and Library Services’ 2012 Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program awarded $463,857 to Associate Professor of School Library and Information Science Jane Claes.

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UH-Clear Lake’s School of Education received a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to provide professional development activities focusing on improving classroom instruction for English learners.

A brave shuttle crew remembered

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he Bay Area paused to remember one of the darkest days in its history Feb. 1 – the 10th anniversary of the loss of Space Shuttle Challenger over the skies of the Western United States.

Seven astronauts perished as the shuttle broke apart – Commander Rick Husband, Pilot William C. McCool and Mission Specialists Michael P. Anderson, David M. Brown, Laurel B. Clark, Dr. Kalpana Chawla and Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon.

An investigation determined that a hole was punctured in the leading edge of one of Columbia’s wings when a piece of

Bay Area Houston Magazine | FEBRUARY 2013

The crew of the STS-107 from left to right, David M. Brown , Rick D. Husband, Laurel Clark, Kalpana Chawla, Michael P. Anderson, William C. McCool and Ilan Ramon.

insulating foam from the external fuel tank peeled off during the launch 16 days earlier and struck the shuttle’s wing, causing it to break apart on reentry.

Precinct 2 planning several big projects

By Mary Alys Cherry

W

hen Harris County Commissioner Jack Morman was running for the post back in 2010, he said he was accused of being an infrastructure commissioner.

Today, “I’m doing my best to prove them right.

Infrastructure is the first job of a commissioner. If you don’t do it well, if you aren’t efficient, then everything else falls apart. Infrastructure is the vital component to the economic growth of East Harris County.

“From a regional standpoint, we’re looking at a billion dollars in new construction to improve transportation in East Harris County.”

He’s working with the state to jump-start the Highway 146 project through Seabrook and Kemah and expansion of the Highway 146 bridge.

And, soon his office will be entering the design phase for four really big projects: n Ship Channel Bridge, new or expanded; n Widening of Beltway 8 east of I-45; n Direct connectors from Highway 225 to Beltway 8; n Direct connectors from the Hardy Toll Road north to Beltway 8.

“These projects all take time, but everything important takes time. My goal is to get them done faster and more efficiently than anyone ever thought possible,” he told the audience at the Clear Lake Association of Senior Programs’ Distinguished Speaker Series at UH-Clear Lake Jan. 10.

San Jac works to support Bay Area Houston industries

By Mary Alys Cherry

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ith its 50th anniversary celebration behind it, San Jacinto College turned its eyes to the future this past year – upgrading and enhancing facilities to ensure students are prepared to transition to four-year universities or ever changing career fields.

Biggest project is the three-story, 150,000-square-foot science and allied health building going up on Beamer Road at the South Campus. Scheduled for completion in Fall 2013, the $52 million building will house nine areas of scientific study and include nursing simulation labs, an astronomy observatory and laboratories designed to model pharmaceutical environments.

“This building is a physical manifestation of our commitment to the STEM fields – science, technology, engineering and math,” said Dr. Maureen Murphy, South Campus president. “Our science faculty are practicing scientists with extraordinary credentials, rivaling major universities, and our health science faculty synthesize industry experience and innovative teaching strategies to prepare this generation of health care workers. This building will enable our faculty to spark the imaginations of our students in a high-tech state-of-the-art facility.”

As San Jac worked to meet the needs of both

Bay Area projects Several Bay Area roads are due for resurfacing, he said.

Among the projects are: n Various roads in the Seabrook area; n Reconstruction of the concrete curb and gutter at Harbour Drive and Basilan Lane in Nassau Bay; n Resurfacing of asphalt streets and drainage improvements in El Cary Estates off NASA Parkway; n Resurfacing of Red Bluff from Kirby Drive to Fairmont.

The Port of Houston also came in for kudos from the commissioner for its selection of Col. Len Waterworth as executive director, Janiece Longoria as commission chairman and the appointment of Col. John Kennedy, the former Nassau Bay city manager, to the commission.

Morman also feels the Port is moving in the right direction. “The commissioners deserve our support and assistance as they continue to build on the hundreds of thousands of jobs their efforts provide to the region.”

Not fun at first While he is enjoying his job now, it hasn’t always been easy, he said, explaining that he had to initially lay off 99 employees and cut his budget $12 million to avoid deficit spending.

Today he oversees 373 employees, operates 49 parks, 11 libraries and 9 community centers, over 1,000 miles of roads, a tunnel and a ferry. “And, I’m happy to report that the Precinct 2 team stepped up to the plate and did a great job with less for the last year and a half.”

As for taxes, no problem. Commissioner’s Court just recently adopted the same tax rate as last year’s, he said.

“My priority is to recognize that this community cannot handle an increase in property taxes, and I will not support any sort of tax increase absent a major natural disaster. Homeowners can’t afford one . . . . small businesses can’t afford one . . . . and Mrs. Morman wouldn’t approve.”

students and the business community, it pulled back the curtain on three new programs to support growing local industries Maritime Technology, Construction Management and Dental Assisting.

Maritime Technology: Aware of the anticipated employment demands of the maritime industry with the widening of the Panama Canal in 2014 and the growth of the Port of Houston, San Jac began offering an Associate of Applied Science in Maritime Technology degree this year.

In an effort to meet these needs, San Jac purchased 13 waterfront acres along the Port of Houston to build a U.S. Coast Guard-approved maritime center that will prepare mariners for a rapidly growing industry in need of an increasing workforce.

Employment in water transportation occupations within the Gulf Coast region is expected to increase by almost 22 percent in the next six years, with an approximate 20 percent growth for the Texas Gulf Coast region, according to the Texas Workforce Commission.

“There is a significant need for people to work aboard the vessels,” said Mike Kane, dean of business and professional services at SJC Central. “With the associate degree in maritime technology, a graduate can immediately work as a deck hand, and then, after additional hours at sea, progress to qualify as an ablebodied seaman.”

“With Houston ranked as one of the largest ports in the United States, maritime employers are looking for this type of training,” said Gordie Keenan, vice president of Higman Marine Services.

Construction Management: To meet a shortage of trained workers in a high-demand career field, SJC is reinstating a construction management program -- a two-year construction management associate of applied

science degree option, and a one-year certificate of technology option it offered in years past.

Students will be trained in commercial and industrial construction management fields. Construction managers work in the coordination and supervision of construction projects, not the manual labor part of projects and students learn about the conceptual development and organization of projects, pricing and procurement, cost scheduling, estimating, scheduling, and implementation of projects. Students also will become knowledgeable in civil, carpentry, mechanical and piping and plumbing systems, electrical/electronic, building envelopes, legal contracts, codes, permit processes and commercial and industrial blueprint reading to meet a high demand in the greater Houston area for well-trained construction managers. For example, a job search for the Houston zip code 77049 produces 1,959 job postings.

Dental Assisting: As public demand for dental care increases, so do the employment opportunities.

Job prospects for dental assistants are predicted to be excellent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which estimates that employment in dental offices will increase by approximately 31 percent over the next eight years.

To meet this demand, SJC introduced a dental assisting program this year to offer students a one-year certificate toward becoming nationally certified in one of the fastest growing occupation areas.

“People are taking better care of their teeth, and they are having more procedures done to sustain their natural teeth,” said Veronica Jammer, dean of health sciences at the SJC Central Campus.

Dentists, she added, hire assistants to perform more of the routine dental tasks, which allow them to have more time to perform more complex procedures.

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AEROSPACE

Kay Bailey Hutchison to Receive National Space Trophy

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ecently retired U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) has been named the 2013 recipient of the National Space Trophy by the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Foundation.

Hutchison was nominated by Lockheed Martin Space Systems Executive Vice President Joanne Maguire. In nominating her, she credited Hutchison as a “long standing champion of the NASA and Department of Defense space programs” and recognized her bi-partisan leadership ensuring passage of the three-year NASA Authorization Act. Maguire went on to cite Hutchison’s dedication to education excellence, her promotion of the International Space Station Program, and her recent efforts into the preservation of the Orion crew exploration vehicle, Space Launch Systems and commercial space transportation amidst “dramatic program and policy shifts.”

“The RNASA Board of Advisors chose a very deserving candidate for recognition. We’re thrilled to be honoring Senator Hutchison this year,” Rodolfo González, president of the RNASA Foundation, said. Senator Hutchison will receive the award at a gala at the Houston Hyatt Regency on April 26.

Hutchison served from June 1993 through January 2013. As the first and only woman elected to the Senate from the State of Texas, she also became the first Texas U.S. Senator to receive four million votes in a single election.

“A pioneer throughout her career, Senator Hutchison reflects the spirit of exploration and discovery that characterizes

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America’s space program” wrote Maguire.

Exercising strong leadership on the Senate Commerce Committee’s Science and Space Subcommittee, Hutchison worked handin-hand with NASA and the National Science Foundation on behalf of America’s space and science programs.

In 2005, the Senator helped to draft a five-year plan outlining NASA’s exploration and research future which was signed into law by President George W. Bush.

In 2010, under President Barack Obama, Hutchison was instrumental in forging a NASA reauthorization bill which balanced future NASA missions with commercial space investments, while providing funds for an additional shuttle mission.

She also led the charge to promote the International Space Station as a National Science Lab. Her support and this designation has allowed for groundbreaking research among government agencies, universities and the private sector.

Originally from La Marque, Hutchison graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1962 and went on to earn a J.D. from the University of Texas Law School. She served in the Texas House from 19721976 and went on to serve as vice chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board from 1976 to 1978. In 1990, she was elected Texas state treasurer.

The foundation was founded by the Space Center Rotary Club of Houston in 1985 to organize and coordinate an annual event to recognize outstanding achievements in space and create greater public awareness of the benefits of space exploration.

Bay Area Houston Magazine | FEBRUARY 2013

Photos: Mary Alys Cherry

New Johnson Space Center Director Eileen Ochoa and retiring JSC Director Mike Coats, right, visit with Congressman Pete Olson during the farewell party for Coats at Space Center Houston.

Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana, right, is happy to see former NASA Administrator Mike Griffin at the Mike Coats retirement party.

JSC Director Mike Coats Retires in Grand Style

By Mary Alys Cherry

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ecently retired Johnson Space Center Director Mike Coats got quite a surprise when his JSC pals tossed a retirement party for him Jan. 11 at Space Center Houston.

He felt sure few would come and told JSC Director Ellen Ochoa so. “No one will come,” he insisted.

Imagine his surprise when nearly 600 showed up to give Lockheed Martin Vice President Rick Hieb, left, talks him a grand sendoff – many rockets with RD Amross CEO Bill Parsons, a former center director at both Kennedy and Stennis space coming from all over the centers, at Mike Coats retirement party. country.

Folks like NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, who jetted down from Washington to honor his former Naval Academy classmate, and former NASA Administrator Mike Griffin, who appointed Coats to the JSC post -- coming with his wife, Becky, from Huntsville, Ala. Plus, most of the space agency’s center directors and NASA higher-ups and several members of Coats’ 1978 astronaut class of “35 New NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, from left, Guys” – even two from his first welcomes Congressman Pete Olson and Bay Area shuttle flight in 1984, Harv Houston Economic Partnership President Bob Mitchell to Mike Coats retirement party.

Hartsfield and Mike Mullane.

They came not only to praise him but to roast him, and planning a party, he was against the Ochoa, the new director, quickly idea, she explained. ”And, when we showed off her great sense of humor. told him we were going to have the “We are gathered here to show event anyway, he said he didn’t want our appreciation and admiration for to have it; he didn’t think anybody an extraordinary leader,” she said. would come. Did we really have When we told him we were someone that foolish as our center

director? I guess it is time for a change.”

The crowd loved it.

With JSC Director of Center Operations Joel Walker as the emcee, a rollicking evening ensued with humor mixed with praise as Coats and his wife, Diane, children and grandchildren looked on.

Speakers included Congressman Pete Olson; General Bolden; former JSC deputy director and now Kennedy Space Center Director Robert Cabana; America’s first woman to walk in space and now Assistant Secretary of Commerce Dr. Kathy Sullivan; former astronaut and now Lockheed Martin Vice President Rick Hieb; Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership President Bob Mitchell and Jacobs Engineering General Manager Lon Miller – all praising him for his great leadership during some of JSC’s toughest times.

Bolden presented Coats with NASA’s Distinguished Service Medal, calling him “an absolutely outstanding center director -- an incredible gentleman.”

Some of the others in the crowd included UH-Clear Lake President Dr. William Staples; Clear Creek ISD Superintendent Dr. Greg Smith and his wife, Kathy; Clear Lake Area Chamber President Cindy Harreld and Vice President Shari Sweeney; retired Clear Lake High basketball coach, Bill Krueger; Space Center Houston President Richard Allen and many from both the business and aerospace community.

WITH INVESTMENTS, DIVERSIFYING IS KEY

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ver wonder why Mom and Pop stores sell wildly unrelated products side by side, like umbrellas and sunglasses, or Halloween candy and screwdrivers?

Customers probably would never buy these items on the same shopping trip, right?

That’s exactly the point. By diversifying their product offerings, vendors reduce the risk of losing sales on any given day, since people don’t usually buy umbrellas on sunny days or sunglasses when it rains.

The same diversification principle also applies in the investment world, where it’s referred to as asset allocation.

By spreading your assets across different investment classes (stock mutual funds, bonds, money market securities, real estate, cash, etc.), if one category tanks temporarily you may be at least partially protected by others.

You must weigh several factors when determining how best to allocate your assets:

Risk tolerance This refers to your appetite for risking the loss of some or all of your original investment in exchange for greater potential rewards. Although higher-risk investments (like stocks) are potentially more profitable over the long haul, they’re also at greater risk for short-term losses. Ask yourself, would you lose sleep investing in funds that might lose money or fluctuate wildly in value for several years; or will you comfortably risk temporary losses in exchange for potentially greater returns?

Time horizon This is the expected length of time you’ll be investing for a particular financial goal. If you are decades away from retirement, you may be comfortable with riskier, more volatile investments. But if your retirement looms, or you’ll soon need to tap college savings, you might not want to risk sudden downturns that could gut your balance in the short term.

Diversification within risk categories is also important. From a diversification standpoint it’s not prudent to invest in only a few stocks. That’s why mutual funds are so popular: They pool money

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Bay Area Houston Magazine | FEBRUARY 2013

from many investors and buy a broad spectrum of securities. Thus, if one company in the fund does poorly, the overall impact on your account is lessened.

Many people don’t have the expertise – or time – to build a diversified investment portfolio with the proper asset mix. That’s why most 401(k) plans and brokerages offer portfolios with varying risk profiles, from extremely conservative (e.g., mostly treasury bills or money market funds) to very aggressive (stock in smaller businesses or in developing countries).

Typically, each portfolio is comprised of various investments that combined reach the appropriate risk level. For example, one moderately conservative portfolio offered by Schwab consists of 50 percent interest-bearing bond funds, 40 percent stocks and 10 percent cash equivalents. Usually, the more aggressive the portfolio, the higher percentage of stocks it contains (i.e., higher risk/higher reward).

401(k) plans and brokerages. With these, you choose the fund closest to your planned retirement date and the fund manager picks Another possibility is the so-called “targeted maturity” or lifecycle funds offered by many an appropriate investment mixture.

As retirement approaches the fund is continually “rebalanced” to become more conservative.

Although convenient, this one-sizefits-all approach may not suit your individual needs; for example, you may want to invest more – or less – aggressively, or may not like some of the funds included.

These may seem like complicated concepts, but the Security and Exchange Commission’s publication, “Beginner’s Guide to Asset Allocation, Diversification and Rebalancing,” does a good job explaining them (www.sec.gov).

This article is brought to you by a partnership between Visa and Texas First Bank and was authored by Jason Alderman, who directs Visa’s financial education programs. For more information, follow Texas First Bank on Facebook, Twitter and You Tube or visit us at www.texasfirstbank.com.

LAKEWOOD TO HOST BAY CUP I ON MARCH 2 akewood Yacht Club Race Committee Chairman Gerhard Wittich has announced that the 2013 Bay Cup I will be held on Saturday, March 2.

Open to the public, this is a long distance race on Galveston and Trinity Bays. Racers can register on line at www. lakewoodyachtclub.com under the race button. “Bay Cup I is the first of a two race series with races having multiple legs totally about 15 - 20 nautical miles,” explained Wittich. Bay Cup II is slated to be held on Saturday, August 3. Overall trophies will be presented for the two-race series at the conclusion of Bay Cup II. Racing classes will be the Cruising Classic Canvas, Cruising Poleless Spinnaker, PHRF Spin and Non Spin, Shorthanded Offshore Sailors (SOS), Multihull and One Design Classes. A minimum of four boats constitutes a class.

In addition to the long legs of the races, the course will also present a navigational challenge.

The entry fee of $75 includes post-race activities on Saturday, March 2, which

will be one dinner and drink ticket, and complimentary musical entertainment in the club’s lounge. Photos of the day’s race will be shown on the lounge’s plasma television for all to enjoy.

The entry deadline for Bay Cup I is Wednesday, February 27 at 9 p.m.

There will be a Skippers’ Meeting in the Lakewood Yacht Club Ballroom, 2425 NASA Parkway, Seabrook, on Friday, March 1, 7:30 p.m. All skippers are urged to attend for last minute regatta updates.

Wittich related that Bay Cup I is made possible by the support DonQ (Puerto Rico’s premium rum), Caliche Puerto Rican Rum, and Bay Access, a not-for-profit charitable organization which promotes youth and adult amateur sailing.

For questions, please e-mail Lakewood Yacht Club at lyc@lakewoodyachtclub. com.

Lakewood to Host J/105 Mid-Winter Championship

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he J/105 Fleet Captain and Lakewood Yacht Club racer Bill Lakenmacher has announced that Lakewood will host the national J/105 Mid-Winter Championship Regatta to be held March 8-10, 2013 on Galveston Bay. “We are very pleased to once again have this regatta come to the Houston area as they did last year,” related Lakenmacher. Before 2012, the J/105 Mid-Winters were held in Key West, Florida. Last year, the top four trophies were captured by Lakewood racers.

Hoping for approximately 20-25 J/105 regatta participants from around the country, race organizers are looking forward to three days of “as much racing as possible” said J/105 racer Bee Bednar.

It will be a windward/leeward course with the first gun at 10 am all three days.

Cost for the regatta is $350, which entitles racers to a free crane to splash their boats into the water, a Saturday night dinner and party, along with the Sunday Awards Ceremony following the

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last race. Those who arrive early will enjoy the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo on Wednesday.

For further information and to register for the regatta which is open to the public, please check Lakewood’s website at www.lakewoodyachtclub.com under the racing button.

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4 Million View NASA Johnson Style Parody “NASA Johnson Style,” the Gangnamstyle spoof created by students in the Pathways Intern Employment Program at Johnson Space Center, has garnered more than 4 million views since its Dec. 14 release, making the video the most watched clip on the agency’s “Reel NASA” YouTube channel.

NASA Johnson Style parodies South Korean pop-star Psy’s viral hit, taking advantage of its popularity to promote NASA’s efforts to increase interest in science, technology, math and science through unique internships and student experiences.

The leading character is played by Pathways Intern Eric Sim, a North Carolina State University student, and features cameos by astronauts Clayton Anderson, Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Mike Massimino, plus Johnson Space Center Director Eileen Ochoa and former Director Mike Coats.

“I’m hoping the video reaches even more people. There is so much going on at NASA and there is plenty more planned for the future,” said Gary Jordan, editor of the video and a Pathways Intern from Penn State University.

The video highlights the center’s achievements in human space exploration and research through footage of the International Space Station,

Mission Control, and JSC’s Rocket Park, while Sim sings and breaks into the famous “Gangnam Style” dance.

“I’m thrilled to see the response NASA Johnson Style has received – it’s clear the public is still captivated by space exploration. Our Pathways Interns represent the best and the brightest from across the nation, and the video really showcases the valuable experiences our students gain while working at Johnson Space Center,” said Bryan Grant, JSC Pathways programs and recruiting manager.

Although NASA Johnson Style is a light-hearted parody, the video sends a real message to the public that the space agency is alive and well and developing future business leaders, engineers, and scientists. Brian Schwing, a Pathways Intern from Ohio State University, and the song’s lyricist and video director, hopes the video makes a long-lasting impact. “I want NASA Johnson Style and future videos to inspire kids to pursue careers in science or engineering.

Someone recently posted a video of their children dancing and singing the “NASA Johnson Style” song. As I watched the footage, I could not have been more proud. That is exactly the impact I hoped the video would have.”

CCISD Graduation Rate Higher Than U.S. Average

By Mary Alys Cherry

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raduation rates across the country are climbing with Clear Creek ISD’s four-year graduation rate much higher than the national average.

The National Center for Education Statistics estimates that 78.9 percent of the students across the country in the Class of 2010 graduated within four years of starting high school – the highest rate in nearly four decades -while 93.7 percent of the CCISD Class of 2010 picked up their diplomas.

The overall 2010 rate for Texas was 84.3.

CCISD’s Class of 2011 had an even higher graduation rate – 95.6, while Texas as a whole was at 85.9, according to figures in the district’s Academic Excellence Indicator System Report.

Vermont had the highest graduation rate of 91.4, followed by Wisconsin at 91.1 percent and North Dakota at 88.4

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percent. Nevada had the lowest, with only 57.8 percent of its public school students graduating on time – even worst that the District of Columbia’s rate of 59.9 percent.

One center commissioner felt the weak economy was probably to blame for the improvement in graduation rates, noting that if no jobs were available, a student was likely to stay in school.

But while many were graduating, some 514,000 dropped out of high school across the country during the 2009-10 school year, many in urban areas.

The Texas Education Agency said that “out of 314,079 Texas students in the class of 2010, 84.3 percent graduated, 7.2 percent continued in high school the year following their anticipated graduation and 1.3 percent received GED (General Educational Development) certificates.” That’s 92.8 percent.

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Adopt a Pet in Need!

Skittles is a shiny six-month-old female domestic short hair. She was found as a tiny kitten living alone in an apartment complex. She is sweet, playful, and VOCAL! Please consider giving this precious girl a home. Statistically, black cats and dogs are often the last to be adopted in shelters and among rescue groups. Second Chance Pets shows its pets each Saturday at the Clear Lake Petco (Bay Area Blvd. at Space Center Blvd) from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Skittles is fully vetted, spayed, and fostered in a private home. Her adoption fee is $95. Email pets2adopt@yahoo.com for more information on Skittles. Visit all of SCP’s adoptable pets online at www.secondchancepets.org.

SCP is always looking for fosters since it is a shelterless rescue group. If you have a spare bedroom to house a cat or dog, please consider volunteering. Every foster situation absolutely saves a life. As always, please spay and neuter your pets. SCP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit rescue organization. All donations are tax deductible.

Webster Proud of Veteran’s Memorial

The city of Webster pulled together with CCISD to create a memorial honoring veterans on the 400 block of NASA parkway. Visitors have enjoyed this little known alcove by leaving wreathes, flags and flowers at the site over the past four years. This beautiful symbol was the product of a team effort by Carlos Villagomez, a Navy veteran and former councilman, as well as the Superintendent of Schools, Sandra Mossman and the Webster city manager and city engineer. The comunity invites you to visit the memorial and pay tribute to those who fight for the freedoms we enjoy daily.

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A Great Tan the Safe Way

B

ronzed Bliss is locally established and operated

by Clear Lake native Kayla Porterfield. With years of experience, she strives to bring the best of the spray tanning world to her clients from the comfort of their own home.

From brides to beauty-queens to business professionals, she has tanned just about anyone for any reason. “Everyone wants to look and feel good, and that’s where Bronzed Bliss comes in.”

We offer solutions that come out clear and develop over an 8-hour period, solutions that offer immediate results, and a new innovative solution that gives you color in just 1 hour or over 2-4 hours for more dramatic results. This concierge service is convenient for persons with a demanding schedule and no time to spare. Likewise, it is a great way to add some “color” to your next group party.

Bronzed Bliss brands spray tanning as easy, affordable, personalized, and convenient by offering a range of options from individual sessions to unlimited monthly memberships. “Safe tanning is essential. There is no reason to risk your health anymore.”

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Bay Area Houston Magazine | FEBRUARY 2013

South Shore Harbour Renovates Just In Time to Celebrate Its 25th Anniversary in 2013

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On the 3rd Thursday of each month from 5 p.m.to 9, Chef Kyburz will offer a Family Night Dinner Buffet in the Paradise Reef Restaurant. Cost will be $13.95 for adults with up to 3 children under the age of 12 eating free. It’s half price for additional children.

By Ashley Karlen

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South Shore Harbour Resort & Conference Center is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, marking the special year with a series of hotel updates and special events.

A Customer Appreciation Event is planned for August or September - more details to come.

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The Lobby Lounge is open Sunday through Thursday from 2 to 10 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday from 2 p. m. until midnight, with live entertainment on Friday nights, from 7 to 11 p.m.

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The hotel also will be continuing the tradition of its Best of the Bay Brunch each Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. This $19.95 all-you-can-eat brunch includes one of three lunch options with Mimosas and Bellinis at $3 each.

enovations have been made to the lobby, lobby lounge, public restrooms, four meeting rooms, the Hunt Room and amphitheater, as well as the smaller Marina Plaza Ballroom, which has already seen rave reviews. In addition, behind the scenes updates included energy efficient lights in the parking garage and parking lots.

During this past year as the Bay Area economy picked up steam, group and business levels picked up, weekend and transient business was steady, and weekday business rose, along with an increase in church retreats and high school reunions. Already this year, their booking pace is

ahead of this same time last year.

Ending 2012, General Manager Roy Green said the hotel staff was excited to participate in the League City Holiday Magic. They hosted the Interfaith Caring Ministries Festival of Trees with live music in the lobby, family dinners, as well as various other festivities -- in addition to many Christmas parties. They look forward to their participation next year, he added.

Founded in August of 1988, the League City landmark will celebrate this anniversary all year long in a variety of ways:

“South Shore Harbour Resort & Conference Center is very proud of our commitment to the community for over 25 years providing hospitality and accommodations,” the general manager said. “We are very proud of the service and quality we offer and we hope to be around for another 25 years.”

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