Bay Area Houston Magazine September 2014

LEADING AND INFORMING OUR COMMUNITY SINCE 1999

September 2014 www.BayAreaHoustonMag.com

ALLEGIANCE BANK TEXAS Community Strong, Allegiance Bank Texas Puts Customers’ Needs First U

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2014 Petrochemical & Maritime Outlook Conference

features

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ON THE COVER Allegiance Bank Texas Team, from left, Libby McGee – VP/ Office Manager, James Waguespack – VP/Lender, Frank L. Law – Bank Office President, Jamie Ballard – VP/Lender, Leslee Farley – VP/Lender

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President & Chairman Rick Clapp Publisher & Editor in Chief Mary Alys Cherry Executive Vice President Patty Kane Vice President & Creative Director Brandon Rowan Graphic Designer Kelly Groce Sales & Marketing Shannon Alexander Debbie Salisbury

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Photography Mary Alys Cherry Brian Stewart

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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

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Dental Health

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2014 Petrochemical & Maritime Outlook Conference

September marks Ike’s sixth anniversary Sleep your dental fears away

Featured speakers, program, floor plan and more

30 Local Amy Goodman Co-authors Rethink Food A closer look at what’s on the plate

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1st Annual Webster AARP Senior Health Fair

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Community Strong

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Let Us Entertain You

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Lakewood Yacht Clubs News & Events

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UH Student Named Miss Kemah 2014

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Rotary Club

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Lifting Independence

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Business Buzz

Tuesday, Sept. 30 at Bay Area Community Center Allegiance Bank Texas puts customers’ needs first The best restaurants, bars and entertainment spots 28th annual Harvest Moon Regatta Kenda Carroll to represent area in Miss Texas USA Pageant Local clubs announce leadership and officers Replica shuttle placed atop new home Pasadena chamber gets new president

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Clear Creek board named tops in region Dates to Remember Mark your calendars now!

columns

Distribution Tim Shinkle Company

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

It’s Time To Plan For Another Ike

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Editorial Don Armstrong Mary Alys Cherry Rod Evans Michael Gos Capt. Joe Kent Betha Merit Cathy Osoria Pat Patton Jarred Roberts Dr. Edward Reitman Digital Strategy Consultant Pierr Castillo

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Bay Area Houston Magazine | SEPTEMBER 2014

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Clear Lake Chatter

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Movers & Shakers

Allison Powell crowned Lunar Rendezvous queen Judge Holly Williamson

37 CLICK!

Rotary 50th annviersary celebration 42

The Admiral’s Log

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Texas Meditations

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Home Sweet Home

Where have all the trout gone?

Missed opportunities What’s your decorating style?

SEPTEMBER 2014 Photo by Mary Alys Cherry

Remembering ‘Mr. Clear Lake’

By Mary Alys Cherry

C

harlie Whynot, a

BayTran Chairman Jon Branson, from right, thanks Dr. Bill Merrell, Col. Len Waterworth and Bay Area Houston President Bob Mitchell for all their work on the proposed storm surge protection system after Merrell addressed the BayTran luncheon crowd at Cullen’s.

It’s time to plan for another Ike, crowd warned

By Mary Alys Cherry

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his month will mark the sixth

anniversary of Hurricane Ike’s visit to the Bay Area, leaving behind about $36 billion in damages. Yet, despite numerous warnings and calls for action, almost nothing has been done to protect the Galveston Bay area from another devastating blow.

Despite the lack of urgency on the part of the state and federal governments, Dr. William Merrell, the George P. Mitchell chairman of Marine Sciences at Texas A&M-Galveston, continues to warn the public of the pending danger and explain that a storm surge barrier protection system similar to one which has successfully protected The Netherlands from storms would protect the entire area.

He shared his thoughts with the crowd at the monthly Bay Area Houston Transportation Partnership luncheon at Cullen’s Upscale Grill that included a number of area mayors and public officials, prefacing his remarks by noting that a major hurricane hits this area on average every 14.7 years.

“It’s time to plan for it,” he warned, explaining that Ike did not hit where it had been forecast to make landfall. “We

dodged a bullet.” Had Ike made landfall further west and not moved eastward at the last minute, he said, the Galveston Bay area would have taken a direct hit, creating a major disaster for both Texas and the nation.

“This would have put the storm surge at 25 feet up the Ship Channel. It would have wiped out all those tanks, all the plants.

We would have lost 2,000 people and would still be trying to recover, if it had hit as forecast. This would have been a $100 billion hurricane,” he said, adding that “West Galveston Island would have looked like Bolivar. We would have been totally devastated.”

Merrell first began to explore ideas for protecting the coast shortly after Ike, coming up with the Ike Dike concept of building a gate across the mouth of Galveston Bay that would only close as a hurricane approached. Added protection would come from a six-mile-long storm surge protection barrier advocated by the Bay Area Coastal Protection Alliance, which is working to make it happen.

The federal government spent $16 billion to protect New Orleans and they have only about one-sixth of the population of the Bay Area Houston area, he pointed out. Merrell hopes we will be so lucky in getting federal funds.

Merrill was accompanied by Col. Len Waterworth, former Port of Houston chairman who is now executive maritime professor at Texas A&M-Galveston.

BayTran Chairman Jon Branson, who is also the Pearland city manager, welcomed the crowd.

congenial man who helped shape the face of the Clear Lake area and was lovingly known as “Mr. Clear Lake” died July 27.

He was 88.

The Beaumont native and World War II veteran who fought in the Battle of the Bulge was instrumental in developing Nassau Bay and Clear Lake City into thriving communities; plus many area properties.

He founded Space City Realtors in Clear Lake after he and his wife, Billie, and five children moved to Clear Lake from Beaumont, where they owned a successful furniture business. It was his love of the space program that led him to move here and one of his most thrilling moments was witnessing the launch of Apollo 11. Later, he founded Allied Commercial Investments, which he still served as president at the time of his death.

Well known Bay Area lawyer Ron Krist offers a look back at his long-time friend.

“Charles Whynot was a man of his word,” Krist said.

“He was a very good business man and a loyal friend.”

They both came to Clear Lake about the same time.

“When I first moved to the Clear Lake area, I had three preschool age children and very little money. I had an embarrassing office located in the strip center on the corner of NASA Road 1 and El Camino Real. Charlie’s real estate office was located in the same center (where Frenchies is currently located).

“Charlie had a copy machine, whereas I could not afford one. I made my first of many deals with Charlie, whereby he allowed me to use his machine at so much per page -- I can’t remember the exact amount but I believe it was 1 cent per page. This was the beginning of a long friendship.

“I bought several pieces of real estate from Charlie, including the lot on which the Krist Samaritan Center is currently located. We jointly invested in other undertakings, including the purchase of a local bank. I bought two houses from him, as well.”

Charlie, he added, “will be missed by many and forgotten by very few.”

He was a charter member of Space Center Rotary and helped organize what is today the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership.

He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 65 years, Billie; and two daughters, Susie Overton and Connie Whynot; and survived by his daughter, Deanie Whynot; sons Stephen Whynot and Mike Whynot and his wife, Teri; daughter-in-law, Kimberly Whynot; and a number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Funeral services were held at Bay Area Baptist Church in League City with burial at Forest Park East Cemetery.

SEPTEMBER 2014 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

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14 Summer’s End Party Prep Tips Summer parties are always special. Here are some tips to help you plan your party so you can relax and enjoy it!

1. Take inventory. Before you invite everyone, see what party supplies you need and get them now.

2. Timing is everything. Summer weekends can fill up quickly. Think about throwing your party Friday after work or Sunday at brunch time.

3. Make it potluck. Ask guests to bring beverages or food that needs little preparation. That leaves you free to put together one or two fancier menu items.

4. Start cleaning when you invite. Do a little each day and you’ll get it all done without stress.

5. Plan whenever you can. Put your playlist together over lunch. Do the menu while you commute. Make dishes ahead in the week preceding.

6. Practice. Pick a few menu items and special beverages. Then practice making them, so you can quickly whip them up at the party.

7. Consider comfort. Have sunscreen and bug spray on hand, S’mores supplies and blankets if people stay into the cool summer evening.

8. Do a grill check. Make sure you have propane and a clean cooking surface and that everything works properly.

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9. Offload the fridge. Party food takes up lots of fridge space, so where do you chill the beverages? Fill up coolers or tubs with ice, and put in the cans and bottles.

When the ice melts, the water can be recycled by watering outdoor plants or emptied onto the lawn.

10. Be ready with nibbles. Offer a couple of simple appetizers for guests to enjoy right away. Keep it simple–chips and salsa, raw veggies and dip.

11. Have backup. If you underestimate your food or get some last minute guests, know your backup options. Check that a takeout place will be open and if they’ll deliver.

12. Simplify cleanup. Copy the caterers.

Take an out of the way area such as the garage and set up barrels for trash and recycles. If you use dishes and flatware, put out a few buckets with soapy water.

Let everything soak overnight, then finish cleaning the next day.

13. Build up a stash of party supplies.

Buy one upgrade a year, such as cloth napkins that cut paper waste and don’t come apart on sticky fingers.

14. Hunt for bargains. Keep an eye out at discounters for party platters, cake stands, candles, and serving bowls.

Bay Area Houston Magazine | SEPTEMBER 2014

DENTAL HEALTH

Sleep Your Dental Fears Away

By Farid Noie DDS, DICOI, FAGD, AFAAID

I

magine this: you are going

about your daily business and all of a sudden a single thought crosses your mind.

Almost instantly your heart starts racing. You find yourself feeling anxious and uneasy.

You might even notice that your blood pressure has gone up. Many people report sweaty palms or a knot in their stomach. What could it be?

Well, there are only a handful of thoughts that can affect us to that degree. You are either in love, getting ready to be audited by the IRS, or you just remembered you have a dental appointment. Of course I am making light of the dental fear, but for many people these responses are very real. Your logical side knows that you need to keep your appointment, and you will. But your emotional side does not want to be anywhere near your dentist’s office.

When it’s time to go to your dentist, do any of these physical and emotional reactions sound familiar?

Regrettably for too many people they do. There are those who express their fear of dentists openly but most of us take the brave route and keep it together by hiding our fear. Then there is the third group, people who completely give in to fear and just avoid going to the dentist altogether until something hurts to a point that it can no longer be tolerated. They then reluctantly go see their dentist and usually do just enough to relieve the pain. They might even decide to get as much as they can done on the same visit because they know once they leave, they will not come back until the next toothache becomes unbearable. What percentage of population do you think belong to each of these three groups?

More than thirty percent of people belong to the third group according to Dental Organization for Conscious Sedation (DOCS).

Even for those in group two who bravely visit their dentist regardless of their apprehension (like me), the experience is not very pleasant or relaxing. After all, it is completely natural to get uneasy when a sharp, long needle is approaching your mouth. Over the last 18 years I have rarely seen a patient who enjoys getting dental work done. Actually, on rare occasions (maybe once in a couple of years), I have come across some who enjoy getting anesthetic injections or teeth pulled. I always find that alarming and usually proceed to ask a few more questions to assure they are mentally sound.

There are some special occasions in life that you want to remember. Getting dental work done is not one of them. The damage caused by dread of dental work goes beyond just sweaty palms and heavy palpitations. It causes many people to avoid routine dental checkups and early detection of the oral problems

when they are still small and easily correctable (and inexpensive). Some common oral health problems like Gingivitis are painless, so they get very little attention simply because they don’t hurt. Other problems such as development of tooth decay remain pain-free until the nerve of the tooth gets infected. By then the problem becomes more complicated, more painful to treat, and far more expensive. All of which further reinforces the original fear theory. I call that “oral catch 22.”

Wouldn’t you rather be sound asleep while getting your dental work? That would be ideal, wouldn’t it? Well, the delivery of sedative drugs during the dental procedure will eliminate feelings of discomfort and ensures a pleasant experience for the patient. Even though there are other forms of sedations available, they are usually not as effective or easily to titrate as intravenous (IV) sedation. The process is extremely simple.

It is very similar to getting blood work done or donating blood. The specially trained dentist will establish an IV line and then give you some sedative drugs intravenously until you fall asleep. Next thing you remember, you wake up and your dental work is completed. It all seems like minutes as opposed to hours. Most people don’t even remember the whole experience. It is as though your mouth got magically fixed while you were sound sleep.

I understand there are some of you who still prefer to feel and remember the whole experience. Those are usually the ones who have never experienced IV Sedation in a dental office. I dare say that if you try it, you would not go back to awake dentistry.

“It is as though your mouth got magically fixed while you were sound sleep.”

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.

SEPTEMBER 2014 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

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WELCOME TO THE 2014 PETROCHEMICAL & MARITIME OUTLOOK CONFERENCE

Greetings, As Mayor of the City of Houston, I welcome all attending the Petrochemical/Maritime Outlook Conference (PMOC). This conference provides a forum for networking and the opportunity for the exchange of ideas within the petrochemical and maritime industries, while featuring speakers such as Janiece Longoria, John Cornyn, Dr. Bryan W. Shaw, Silvia de Marucci and Lori Ryerkerk.

Houston has evolved into a dynamic city, boasting the most diverse population in the nation, a strong economy, affordable housing and sustainable growth in a wide range of industries. Houston has the hottest economy and is the job producing capital of America. We are a city built on dreams that are powered by hard work, guided by common sense and inspired by creativity.

I hope you will share in the Houston experience, taking with you lasting impressions of the spirit, vitality and tradition that characterize our city.

Best wishes for a rewarding event.

Annise D. Parker Mayor of Houston

Greetings!

Welcome to our 5th Annual Petrochemical and Maritime Outlook Conference. We are glad you are here, and we look forward to a comprehensive and valuable dialogue today about the economic development opportunities and challenges our region is facing over the next few years.

The environment has changed significantly since our first Conference in 2010. At that time, presentations included an introduction to the lock expansion projects at the Panama Canal, a unique view of the national economy by economist Dr. Loren C. Scott, economic projections by panelists from The Dow Chemical Company, Shell Chemical LP, ExxonMobil Chemical Company, and a keynote presentation from Robert Moore, Director of the American Institute for International Steel.

The prospects for the region in 2010 looked very different. For example, during his presentation, Dr. Scott painted a rather bleak picture for the future of expansion and attraction of new business to our region, citing the high cost of resources, an inadequate workforce, and unfavorable taxing and regulatory regimes. This sentiment was echoed throughout the conference that day.

Attending company representatives stated they had no plans to expand their local operations and were considering redirecting their resources to locations outside the region, outside Texas, and even outside the U.S., where more favorable business conditions existed.

Since 2012 however, the growth in this region can only be described as a tidal wave of capital investment, featuring growth this region has not seen since World War II and the days of Spindletop, which signaled the onset of the oil and gas age.

Now is our time. From the over $40 billion in capital projects already announced in our region to the opportunities for shipping through the newly expanded Panama Canal, we are positioned for economic prosperity and growth for several years to come.

This conference has mirrored this growth - from an audience of almost 400 in 2010, to an audience of over 600 last year. We anticipate this year’s conference to be just as successful. This success is in large part due to our sponsors, speakers, members, staff, and volunteers. At this time, the Economic Alliance would like to share a sincere note of thanks to the Port of Houston Authority for their generous support over the past four years as the presenting sponsor.

Again, I welcome you to our conference, enjoy the presentations, share a business card or two, and please don’t forget to visit our members’ booths.

We are glad you came.

Chad Burke President/CEO Economic Alliance Houston Port Region

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Bay Area Houston Magazine | SEPTEMBER 2014

Featured Speakers Janiece M. Longoria Port Commission Chairman

Ms. Longoria is an honors graduate of the University of Texas, and received her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 1979. She is a partner with the Houston law firm of Ogden Gibson Broocks Longoria & Hall LLP. On January 8, 2013, she was unanimously appointed by the City of Houston and County of Harris as the Chair of the Port of Houston Authority, the leading economic engine for the greater Houston region. She is the first woman to hold this position in the 100 year history of the Port of Houston. She served as a commissioner for 10 years before becoming its first female chair.

She serves on the Board of Directors of CenterPoint Energy, Inc., the provider of electricity transmission and distribution service for the Houston metropolitan area and natural gas distribution service in six states. She serves on its nominating and governance committee and on its audit committee.

She is the former Vice Chairman of the University of Texas System Board of Regents, where she chaired Health Affairs, and is a former board member of UTIMCO, the investment management company overseeing the multibillion dollar endowment for the University of Texas.

She has been active in many non-profit organizations, and has served on the Board of Directors and the executive committee of the Board of Visitors of the UT MD Anderson Cancer Center. She currently serves on the board of directors of the University of Texas Law School Foundation, the Greater Houston Partnership, and the Texas Medical Center, among others.

She is also a founder of the Center for Women in Law, and the Kay Bailey Hutchison Center for Business And Energy at the University of Texas School of Law. She was selected by Direct Women, an initiative of the American Bar Association, the ABA Section of Business Law and Catalyst, Inc., as a recipient of the 2008 Sandra Day O’Connor Board Excellence Award, and has been named by Texas Diversity Magazine as one of the “Most Powerful and Influential Women in Texas.”

She received the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2013, which is an award granted to UT alumni who have distinguished themselves professionally and through service to the University of Texas.

She has also received other honors and recognitions for her community leadership from various organizations including Communities in Schools and Crisis Intervention of Houston. She was also named the Female Executive of the Year by the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (2010), and was recognized as a “breakthrough woman” and inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce (2013).

PETROCHEMICAL & MARITIME OUTLOOK CONFERENCE Thursday, September 4, 2014 7:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Pasadena Convention Center

Event Agenda 7:00 a.m.

Exhibit Booths open Breakfast Available 8:00 a.m.

Welcome & Opening Remarks

Congressional Update Congressman Randy Weber, 14th District Congressman Gene Green, 29th District -Networking Break-

Port of Houston Authority Update and Centennial Celebration Janiece Longoria, Port Commission Chairman

U.S. Senate Update John Cornyn, U.S. Senator

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) Dr. Bryan W. Shaw, TCEQ Chairman -Networking Break-

Petrochemical Panel Kaneka – Steve Skarke, Plant Manager LyondellBasell – Todd Monette, Plant Manager Texas Chemical Council - Hector Rivero, President Braskem – Alec Dobson, Facility Manager -Networking Break-

John Cornyn

Lunch lines open

U.S. Senator

Senator John Cornyn is serving his second term in the U.S. Senate. Sen. Cornyn was first elected to the Senate in 2002 and previously served in Texas as a district judge, a member of the Texas Supreme Court, and as Texas Attorney General.

In 2012, Senate Republicans elected Sen. Cornyn to serve as Minority Whip, the number two spot in Senate Republican leadership. Sen. Cornyn currently sits on the Senate Finance and Judiciary Committees and is cochairman of the Texas Caucus on Shale Oil & Gas. In the Senate, Sen. Cornyn has distinguished himself as a leader on a variety of issues important to Texans and has earned a national reputation as an articulate and powerful voice for conservative values in Washington. Sen. Cornyn is committed to bolstering our national defense, strengthening the economy, and encouraging more robust domestic energy exploration that will lead to greater longterm security and prosperity for Texas and the nation.

With Texas leading the nation in the production of traditional energy sources and emerging as a trailblazer in the area of renewable energy, Sen. Cornyn is committed to maximizing Texas’ energy resource potential to make our nation more energy independent. Sen. Cornyn knows that the keys to continuing Texas’ role as the nation’s energy leader include creating a competitive tax and policy environment, providing for a trained workforce, securing a robust transportation network, and involving supportive communities. Sen. Cornyn was born in Houston and raised in San Antonio.

Sen. Cornyn is married to Sandy, his wife of 34 years. They have two daughters.

(Continued on page 16)

Noon

Panama Canal Authority Update and Centennial Celebration Silvia deMarucci, Manager Marketing and Forecasting of Exec VP for Planning and Business Development -Networking Break-

Transportation & Logistics Panel Barge Industry – Tom Marian, Buffalo Marine Services, Inc. Rail Industry – Jeff Norwood, Port Terminal Railroad Association (PTRA) Liquid Bulk Storage & Transfer – Lawrence Waldron, Vopak Infrastructure Funding – Matt Woodruff, Kirby Corporation

-Networking Break-

Shell Oil Economic Development Lori Ryerkerk, Executive Vice President for Global Manufacturing 3:00 p.m.

Concluding Remarks

SEPTEMBER 2014 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

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Dr. Bryan Shaw Chairman TECQ

Dr. Bryan W. Shaw of Elgin was appointed to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality by Gov. Rick Perry on Nov. 1, 2007. The Texas Senate confirmed his appointment on May 5, 2009 and he was appointed chairman on Sept. 10, 2009.

Shaw is an associate professor in the Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department of Texas A&M University (TAMU) with many of his courses focused on air pollution engineering. The majority of his research at TAMU concentrates on air pollution, air pollution abatement, dispersion model development and emission factor development. Shaw was formerly associate director of the Center for Agricultural Air Quality Engineering and Science, and formerly served as Acting Lead Scientist for Air Quality and Special Assistant to the Chief of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Shaw served as a member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory Board (SAB) Committee on Integrated Nitrogen, as well as the EPA SAB Environmental Engineering Committee and the Ad Hoc Panel for review of EPA’s Risk and Technology Review Assessment Plan. Additionally, he is a member of the U.S. Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Air Quality Task Force. Since his appointment to the TCEQ, Shaw has served on the Texas Environmental Flows Advisory Group and as chair of the Texas Advisory Panel on Federal Environmental Regulations.

Shaw received a bachelor’s and master’s degree in agricultural engineering from TAMU and a doctorate degree in agricultural engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Silvia de Marucci

Manager of the Market Analysis and Forecasting, Panama Canal Authority Ms. Marucci graduated as Honours B.A., Major in Economics/Minor in Marketing Research from Concordia University, Montreal P.Q., Canada, in 1989. Master in Business Administration from NOVA University, Panama Branch, in 1992.

Previous work experiences include positions such as Operations Coordinator for South America for Samsung Latin America identifying and advising on business opportunities in the Latin American region, coordinating activities of local managers from each one of the Samsung branches in South America, and developing and implementing a corporate intelligence system among Samsung Offices in South America.

From 1992 through 1994 was appointed Economic Advisor to the Embassy of Japan in Panama, acting as liaison between Panamanian Government Officials and the Embassy; coordinating the donations program of the Embassy, including negotiations of soft loans to the government of Panama in 1992; attending meetings of the Tri-Partite Commission for the study of alternatives to the Panama Canal; and organizing commercial missions from Japanese private investors to Panamanian companies.

Currently, as Manager of the Market Analysis and Forecasting section at the Panama Canal Authority, she performs in depth analysis of transportation, supply chains, and international markets in connection to Canal traffic, with emphasis in the oil sector. Her responsibilities include the development of the market demand forecast, pricing strategies, and the analyses of the competition that the Panama Canal route faces. She is an official spokesperson for the Canal expansion project.

In addition, Mrs. Marucci participates as speaker in national and international conferences, such as the Bulkforum in Oslo, Norway; the Port of Houston, U.S; United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLAC), in Chile; Platts Bunker Annual Conference in Houston, among others. She has published papers in international professional forums such as the International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), and teaches Maritime Economics and Administration at the University of Panama and at the International Maritime University of Panama, and other private universities in the Republic of Panama.

Lori Ryerkerk

Executive V.P. Global Manufacturing, Shell Oil Company Lori Ryerkerk is the Executive Vice President of Global Manufacturing, the largest business in Shell Downstream Inc. She leads a team of 30,000 people, employees and contractors, at refineries and chemical sites around the world.

She joined Shell in May 2010 as the RVP for Manufacturing in Europe and Africa, responsible for the operation of five Shell manufacturing facilities and five joint ventures within the region. In October 2013, she was appointed EVP Manufacturing.

Lori combines deep technical and commercial skills with a passion for the Manufacturing business. After completing her Chemical Engineering degree from Iowa State University, Lori began her career as a process technologist with ExxonMobil’s refinery in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

During her 24 years at Exxon Mobil, she took on a variety of operational and senior leadership roles in Refining and Chemicals Manufacturing, Power Generation, and various other groups including Supply, Economics and Planning, HSSE, and Public Affairs/Government Relations. Those assignments took Lori across the globe, from the U.S. to Europe to Asia.

She also spent one and a half years with Hess Corporation with responsibility for two refineries, 21 terminals (and distribution network) and supply and trading.

Lori is married and has two children. She is a dedicated runner and enjoys scuba diving on her holidays.

Congressional Update Congressman Gene Green 29th Congressional District of Texas

Congressman Gene Green was first elected to Congress from the 29th Congressional District of Texas in 1992 after twenty years in the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate. In 1996, Green was appointed to the powerful U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, which he continues to serve on today.

For the 113th Congress, he serves on the Subcommittee on Health, Subcommittee on Energy and Power, Subcommittee on Environment and Economy, and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

Since being elected to the House of Representatives, Rep. Green has been a champion of education, labor, energy, domestic manufacturing, health issues, and preserving Social Security and veterans benefits. He has worked hard to improve access to quality health care, support initiatives to improve our economy and job training, and maintain financial aid for students.

Rep. Green has been involved in a number of local issues and projects. He has been instrumental in securing federal funds for the expansion of the Port of Houston and Houston METRO’s light rail; supporting the expansion of community health centers in the Houston area; and pushing legislation to declare the Buffalo Bayou a National Heritage Area. Rep. Green also organizes many annual events in the 29th District that serve the community. His annual “Citizenship Day” and “Immunization Day” are two of his most successful annual events, along with dozens of neighborhood town hall meetings each year.

Green, a native Houstonian, graduated from Jeff Davis High School. He received a degree in Business Administration from the University of Houston in 1971. He attended Bates College of Law at the University of Houston and was admitted as a member of the State Bar of Texas in 1977.

Congressman Randy Weber

14th Congressional District of Texas

Congressman Randy Weber is a public servant, proven conservative and successful small business owner representing the 14th District of Texas.

Weber is a member of the Science, Space and Technology committee as well as the House Foreign Affairs committee.

He holds leadership roles on both committees: Vice Chair (Continued on page 20)

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Bay Area Houston Magazine | SEPTEMBER 2014

of the Energy subcommittee and Vice Chair of the Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations subcommittee.

Weber built his air conditioning company, Weber’s Air & Heat, in 1981, and grew his business by using, what his grandfather used to call, good old-fashion Texas horse sense and a strong work ethic. Prior to being elected to Congress, Weber served four years in the Texas State House.

As the Vice Chair of the Energy subcommittee of Science, Space, and Technology, Weber has been a leader in the effort to unleash the energy industry. Weber’s first amendment passed the House floor incorporates the scientific findings to provide further reason why the Keystone XL Pipeline permits should be approved.

As a freshman Congressman, Weber is committed to advocating for America’s job creators and hardworking families. He understands that lower taxes and less government mandates will help relieve taxpayers’ tightened purse strings and allow job creators to grow their business in a more stable environment.

Weber has lived in a 20-mile radius for all his life, and has been married to Brenda Weber, a retired schoolteacher, for over 37 years. Randy and Brenda have three children and six grandchildren.

Petrochemical Panel Todd Monette

Site Manager, Houston Refining, LP, LyondellBasell Todd Monette is the Houston Refining, LP site manager for LyondellBasell, one of the world’s largest olefins, polyolefins, chemicals and refining companies. He is responsible for the refinery’s safe, environmentally sound and reliable operation.

He has 25 years of experience in the refining industry, including leadership positions with Shell and Motiva. Monette has driven culture change and personnel development while providing senior leadership in engineering, operations, maintenance, turnarounds, reliability, cost reduction, process safety, work process and refinery management.

Monette is also a leader in industry trade and advocacy organizations formerly serving as the workforce development chairman for the Golden Triangle’s Southeast Texas Plant Manager Forum. Currently Monette serves as the board chairman for EHCMA and sits on the board of directors of the Houston East End Chamber of Commerce and Galena Park Education Foundation.

Monette holds a master’s degree in business administration from Rice University in Houston and a BA degree in chemical engineering from Mississippi State University in Starkville. He and his wife Terri are the parents of three daughters.

Hector Rivero

President and CEO, Texas Chemical Council Hector L. Rivero is President and CEO of the Texas Chemical Council (TCC), the statewide trade association for the chemical industry in Texas.

Founded in 1953, TCC is the largest U.S. state trade association representing chemical manufacturers.

The Council represents 70 public and private companies that operate more than 200 chemical manufacturing plants across Texas. As the state’s #1 export, the chemical industry accounts for over $35 Billion in annual exports and pays more than $1 Billion in state and local taxes annually.

Rivero has served on the Board of Directors of several business organizations including the Texas Association of Business, Texas Civil Justice League, Texas Taxpayers and Research Association, Mississippi Manufacturers Association, and the Austin Chamber of Commerce. A government affairs professional for over 20 years, Rivero has been instrumental in the passage of major tax reforms, civil justice reforms, environmental laws, and constitutional amendments.

Rivero is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He has two children and resides in Austin, Texas.

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Bay Area Houston Magazine | SEPTEMBER 2014

Jim Griffin

Director of Operations Dianal America, Inc. James entered the petrochemical industry in 1981, as an associate engineer for The BF Goodrich chemical division, following his master’s degree studies at the University of Wisconsin.

Since that time he has held positions in engineering, technology, plant management and corporate leadership. In 2005 James left the PolyOne organization (formally BF Goodrich) and accepted the Site Manager position for Dianal America; a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Chemical.

James is past chairman of The East Harris County Manufacturing Association and serves on various boards in the greater Houston area. James lives in League City with his wife Patty and twin daughters.

Steve Skarke

Executive Vice President and Site Manager, Kaneka North America, LLC Steve Skarke is Executive Vice President and Site Manager of Kaneka North America LLC. Steve has been actively engaged in the chemical manufacturing industry since 1983 when he earned a BSChE degree from Texas A&M University. He also holds a MSIE (Engineering Management) degree from the University of Houston.

Steve is active in industry and the local community serving on the boards of Armand Bayou Nature Center, the La Porte Chamber of Commerce, La Porte Education Foundation, Texas Chemical Council, East Harris County Manufacturer’s Association, Association of Chemical Industries in Texas, and the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership.

Transportation & Logistics Panel Tom Marian

General Counsel, Buffalo Marine Services, Inc. Thomas P. Marian serves as Buffalo Marine Service’s general counsel and administrative manager. Tom retired from the U.S. Coast Guard in 2005 as Commanding Officer of Vessel Traffic Service, Houston-Galveston and Judge Advocate after 21 years of commissioned service. As a Coast Guard attorney, he specialized in environmental law, regulatory compliance, administrative law, international law and military justice in his various tours with the U.S. Coast Guard from Key West, FL to Honolulu, Hawaii. Tom has been active throughout the Houston port community and is currently Chairman of the Greater Houston Port Bureau Board of Directors, a member of the Board of Trustees for the Houston Maritime Museum, Towing Company representative for the Southeast Texas Waterways Advisory Council, member of the Houston-Galveston Area Maritime Security Committee, and an active member of the American Waterways Operators and the Texas Waterways Operator’s Association. He has written numerous articles on port security, port reconstitution and a host of port-related topics.

Jeff Norwood

General Manager, Port Terminal Railroad Association Jeff Norwood was appointed to his current position as General Manager of the Port Terminal Railroad Association on January 1, 2012. He is responsible for Operations, Marketing, and Technology Services, overseeing day-to-day operations in safety, service, growth, efficiency and technology.

Jeff began his career with the Santa Fe Railway Company in 1979. During his 35 years in railroad, he has held various positions, such as, Trainmaster, Manager of Corridor Operations, Terminal Superintendent, and Division Superintendent. While Terminal Superintendent at Argentine, Kansas his expertise met customer’s needs while the freight yard underwent a $105 million renovation.

Jeff designs strategic plans meeting his customers’ daily shipping needs, while seeking new and innovative ways with cutting edge technology and resources.

Jeff has been married for 33 years and has three sons. He enjoys golf and spending time on his boat in Galveston.

2 0 1 4

PETROCHEMICAL & MARITIME OUTLOOK CONFERENCE Presenting Sponsor

Lawrence Waldron

Global Account Director, Vopak Lawrence Waldron presently works for Vopak, the largest bulk liquid terminal company worldwide as a Global Account Director. He is responsible for key customer accounts for companies based out of the USA. In the past, Lawrence has worked for the chemical companies AkzoNobel and Bayer in engineering, production and site management positions. Lawrence has earned an M.B.A. from UT, Masters of Chemical Engineering from UH and a BS in Chemistry from the University of California, Davis. Lawrence is a professional engineer licensed by the state of Texas.

Gold Sponsors

Silver Sponsors

Matt Woodruff Kirby Corporation

As Director of Government Affairs for Kirby Corporation, the nation’s largest tank barge operating company, Matt Woodruff spends much of his time working on industry issues and with industry associations, advocating for more thoughtful maintenance of our waterways infrastructure and a sensible scheme of regulation to ensure an efficient, safe and secure American merchant marine. A maritime lawyer by background, Matt has spent most of his career representing inland marine interests.

He is a 1982 graduate of Texas A&M University and a 1985 graduate of the University of Houston Law Center. Matt is the Chairman of the Waterways Council, Inc. and a director and Southern Region Vice Chairman of the American Waterways Operators. He is the Vice Chairman of the Inland Waterways Users Board, the Federal Advisory Committee that advises the Corps of Engineers and Congress on issues relating to inland waterway investments. He is an officer or director of several other industry groups and serves many civic organizations. In 2005, he retired as a Commander from the U.S. Naval Reserve.

Bronze Sponsors Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.

Gulf Winds International, Inc.

Amegy Bank of Texas

Houston Area Safety Council

Andrew Myers, P.C.

Hunter Buildings, LLC

AT&T

Meador Staffing Services, Inc.

BJ Superior, Inc.

Neighborhood Centers

Brown & Gay Engineers, Inc.

Neighbors Emergency Center

Change Magazine

Texas Industrial Medical

Dimension Energy Services

Tolunay-Wong Engineers, Inc.

Excel Modular Scaffolding & Leasing Corp.

Vopak Terminal Deer Park, Inc.

Gexa Energy, LP

West Gulf Maritime Association

SEPTEMBER 2014 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

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2014 PETROCHEMICAL AND MARITIME OUTLOOK CONFERENCE FLOOR PLAN 36

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Texas Industrial Medical Roberts Markel Weinberg Butler Hailey PC Trustmark Bank

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Gexa Energy

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Meador Staffing Services, Inc.

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Lee College

10

Delane's Ad Specialties

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Air Value, Inc.

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Brown & Gay Engineers, Inc.

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Shell Federal Credit Union/First Choice Emergency

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Excel Modular Scaffold & Leasing Corp

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Wayne Wicks & Associates, Inc.

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ABS Group

17

Dimension Energy Services

18

Bendel Tank & Heat Exchangers

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XTL, Inc.

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Tolunay-Wong Engineers, Inc.

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Economic Alliance Houston Port Region

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East Houston Regional Medical Center

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Bayou City Wings

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Bay Star Ambulance

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Alpha Technical Services

26

Cintas

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Neighbors Emergency Center

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Nassau Bay Agency LLC

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Koza's Inc.

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Bay Group Media

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San Jacinto College

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Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr PC

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Beacon Federal Credit Union

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B.J. Superior

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Energy Edge Consulting

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Neighborhood Centers

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ABC Greater Houston

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BIC Alliance

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Versa Integrity Group, Inc.

40

Remedial Construction Services, L.P. (RECON)

41

Houston Area Safety Council

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University of Houston-Clear Lake

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Equipment Depot

44

ST Labs

45

Upskill Houston

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Harris County Patrol Boat

47

Harris County Mobile Command Vehicle

48

Parkway Chevrolet

49

Equipment Depot - Pink Forklift

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SEPTEMBER 2014 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

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The Road to Success Miguel Hernandez’ career illustrates the value of education

By Rod Evans

S

hortly after emigrating

from Mexico to the United States at age 18, Miguel Hernandez quickly discovered that getting a good education would be the key to success in his new home.

Hernandez was born in the U.S., but his family moved back to its native Mexico when he was four and it was there in the small town of Zaragoza where he lived until he headed north to Houston in 1986.

Once in Texas, Hernandez was able to find work, but his inability to speak English led to him being fired after just a few days on the job.

“I came here with no skills and didn’t speak English at all. I struggled to find a job for six months before I landed a construction job,” Hernandez recalls. “But I was fired because I couldn’t speak English and management thought I posed a safety risk to myself and my co-workers because I couldn’t communicate properly.”

Now, 28 years later, Hernandez has not only learned English, he serves as a prime example of the value of education, hard work and focus. Hernandez, 45, works

at the Shell Deer Park refinery as a specialist in the Maintenance Excellence group, teaches pipe fitting courses at Lee College and provides career counseling advice for area high school students. A certified pipe fitter, Hernandez owns two associate’s degrees—in pipe fitting and instrumentation—and is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in industrial technology at Lamar University in Beaumont. His brother, who came to the U.S. a year after Miguel, attended Lee College to become a millwright and works for Lyondell in the Houston area.

In his current position, Hernandez analyzes data to ensure that any maintenance issues at the plant are resolved quickly and safely.

“Maintenance is similar to an assembly line in that you start with notification of a problem identified by someone in operations and as the work order goes through the maintenance process, everyone adds information to it,” Hernandez said.

“One of my main goals is to make sure we have quality information added to the process in order to make the next person’s job easier.”

Hernandez, who’s been in his current job for a little over two years, says the plant’s maintenance procedure consists of five steps: notification of an issue, development of a work order, planning, scheduling and, finally, execution.

(Continued on page 27)

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Bay Area Houston Magazine | SEPTEMBER 2014

SEPTEMBER 2014 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

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Bay Area Houston Magazine | SEPTEMBER 2014

With 1,600 employees and over 3,000 contractors working at the expansive Shell Deer Park facility, the fifth largest U.S. refinery and the top supplier of jet fuel to the U.S. military, staying on top of maintenance issues is a constant process that requires diligence and a keen attention to detail, which just happen to be skills that Hernandez has in abundance thanks to his training as a pipe fitter.

“After I got fired from my first job, I was fortunate to get hired as a laborer at the Exxon refinery in Baytown. I was working for Brown & Root (now KBR) and the company was sending laborers to school to learn English, so I went to Lee College in Baytown for a couple of semesters before I

“If we can get those kids to go directly into these jobs right out of high school, they can be making $65,000 a year by the time they’re 21.” decided to go into pipe fitting. I got my certification in 1991 and within a couple of years I became a supervisor and I’ve been in leadership roles ever since,” he says. “I was fortunate to find a job in this industry. I could’ve been hired to work in a restaurant, but I just happened to find a job in this industry. Where I came from in Mexico, there was no industry; it was mainly ranches.”

For Hernandez, his ascent from laborer to supervisor began with his ability to master English, which allowed him to pursue a pipe fitting certification, followed by an associate’s degree in the field, which helped separate him from the pack.

“Going to college as a pipe fitter gives you skills that you won’t learn just by doing it,” he says. “You learn a lot of basic things and that’s the big difference between someone who learned in school versus someone with no formal training. But after getting my certification, I found I was lacking in some skills, so I went back and got my associate’s degree.”

After signing on at Shell as an entry level pipe fitter in 2006, Hernandez worked in special assignments before being promoted to the Maintenance Excellence group. Even though he had landed a secure position with one of the world’s largest corporations, he wasn’t content to sit back quietly and let his career play out; he had a desire to give back and help others who come from meager beginnings

achieve their goals of gaining solid employment to support their families.

That’s why he teaches pipe fitting courses a few nights a week at Lee College and visits area schools to speak with high school students who are struggling to figure out what to do with their lives.

“I tell students that everything starts with a self assessment. You have to determine what you like to do and have a vision and purpose of why you want to do whatever it may be,” he said. “I tell them that junior colleges are a great place to start, even if you don’t know what you want to be when you grow up. That’s why you take basic courses because they expose you to different fields, then you can decide what you like. It’s Ok to not know what you want to do.”

After visiting with students at schools throughout the area, Hernandez believes schools should make more of an effort to inform kids that not everyone needs to attend a four-year college and that there are good paying jobs for young people who elect not to go that route.

“Not everybody wants a four-year degree, but people don’t know there are great careers in our industry,” Hernandez said. “Those students that don’t go to college aren’t going anywhere instead, so many of them wind up in my pipe fitting classes when they’re 24 or 25 years old and by then many of them have kids, are married and have been working dead end jobs for a while, and some have been in trouble with the law. If we can get those kids to go directly into these jobs right out of high school, they can be making $65,000 a year by the time they’re 21.”

Hernandez and his wife, Maria, are fully ensconced in the Bay Area and have three sons, Miguel, 21, Ricardo, 19, and Leo, 13. Hernandez says Miguel is majoring in biology at the University of Houston, while Ricardo is studying to be a commercial pilot at San Jacinto Junior College. While he has carved out a comfortable life for himself and his family, he never intends to stop working to achieve more in his career.

“I would like to have a bigger impact with the company,” he says.

“I’d like to finish my career as a manager, maybe a maintenance manager, but I also want to have an impact in the community. That’s why I’m involved with groups like the Economic Alliance that work to make sure people know about the jobs available in our industry. It’s up to us to plant the seed and tell our story. It’s been a great career for me and I get satisfaction seeing others accomplish what I have.”

SEPTEMBER 2014 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

27

Photography by J. Pamela Photography and Mary Alys Cherry

Coronation Ball Chairman Lea Bodie gets a The 2014 captain, Jack Mullen, a Clear Falls hug from her husband, Jason, who served as High senior, dances with Queen Alternate emcee at the Lunar Rendezvous Festival finale. Demerle Monks.

Queen Allison Powell, a Clear Lake High senior, poses for pictures with her parents, Justine and Patrick Powell of Clear Lake.

Two queens – 2015 Lunar Rendezvous Queen Allison Powell, at left, and 2014 Queen Sydney Schroder – share a special moment during the coronation ceremony at the ball in Galveston.

Allison Powell crowned Lunar Rendezvous queen ALLISON POWELL, who is a senior at Clear Lake High, is the new queen of Lunar Rendezvous.

The pretty brunette daughter of Justine and Patrick Powell of Clear Lake was chosen by a vote of her fellow princesses and crowned by 2014 Queen Sydney Schroder at the Coronation Ball at the San Luis Convention Center in Galveston.

Demerle Monks, daughter of Annette Dwyer and her husband, Pat Monks, and a senior at Clear Brook High, was elected Queen Alternate and will join Allison in reigning over next summer’s festival, along with Capt. Jack Mullen, son of Sara and Lt. Col. Joseph Mullen and a senior at Clear Falls High, who was chosen by

MARY ALYS CHERRY

the lieutenants to represent them.

2014 Queen Alternate Ashton Reason and 2014 Capt. Grant McGough also assisted in the coronation ceremony as the other 56 princesses, 13 lieutenants and 13 little ladies in waiting and pages and their escorts looked on, along with Festival King Jerry Foyt and his wife, Kate.

Janel Salmen, Janet Rushing and Ruth Beecher, from left, catch up on each other’s news before heading to the pool at the Alpha Chi Omega swimming party.

28

Bay Area Houston Magazine | SEPTEMBER 2014

Festival General Chairman Lea Bodie and her husband, Jason, who emceed the presentation of the royal court, were on hand to greet the black tie crowd of more than 500, as were Ball Chairmen Debby Reichert, Laura Parker and Clair Reichert Peters.

Inside, they found the ballroom elegantly decorated in white satin, accented with blue lighting and illuminated by chandeliers and centerpieces filled with candlelight.

The Sassy Sistas mark anniversary TEN YEARS AGO 12 women formed a group for social purposes only. Each anniversary has involved

King Jerry Foyt dances with his wife, Kate, during the coronation ceremony at the Lunar Rendezvous Ball, held in the Galveston Convention Center ballroom.

a weekend trip. This year for the 10th anniversary Emmeline Dodd planned the trip to her hometown and university alma mater - Nacogdoches, and Stephen F. Austin University.

The group – Pam Culpepper, Angie Weinman, Anita Fogtman, Jan Larson, Sandi Allbritton, Becky Reitz, Diane Vest, Karen Keesler and Carol Bergman, stayed with Emmeline in the Jones House, a Victorian bed and breakfast near old town Nacogdoches where they shopped and played and danced at the Liberty Bell Wine Bar on Main Street. Another of their many activities involved a golf cart tour of the SFA campus. Linda Flores Olson missed the event.

The Sassy Sistas enjoy dinner at the Jones House. They are, from left, standing, Jan Larson, Angie Weinman, Becky Reitz; seated, Sandi Allbritton, Emmeline Dodd, Diane Vest, Pam Culpepper, Carol Bergman, Karen Keesler and Anita Fogtman. Linda Flores Olson is missing from the photo.

Hostess Karen Todd, from left, welcomes Michelle Richardson, Aggie Bourgeois and Monica Lewis to Alpha Chi Omega swimming party at her home. The sorority alumnae group found it to be a great way to beat the heat.

2 fashion shows on the horizon THE LONG, HOT summer is slowly coming to an end – yes, ever so slowly, but we’ll get there one day.

Promise!

Meanwhile, there’s good news for the ladies – fashion shows. Two of them – in air conditioned comfort!

The first will be Tuesday, Sept. 9, when the Bay Oaks Country Club Women’s Association puts on its annual fall fashion show for members and their guests at the club.

BOWA Vice Presidents Becky Hensley and Cambry Rogers are chairing the event and have already signed up Grace Cameron, Veronica Hernandez, Jennifer Simmons, Lea Bodie and her daughter, Olivia, as models while waiting for confirmation from others and preparing to model fall fashions from six area boutiques

-- Back Bay Boutique, Casanova’s Downfall, Melinda’s Boutique/Grand Central Station, The Clothes Horse, Adelaide’s and Christina Marie’s.

CLEAR LAKE PANHELLENIC members are busy these days, preparing for their big annual fundraiser, the fall fashion show. It’s on the calendar for Friday, Oct. 24, with Chairman Holly Williamson and Co-Chairman Sandy Records as co-chairman.

“Flashback 1964 – 50 Years of Style” will be this year’s theme as they continue celebrating Panhellenic’s 50th anniversary. And yes, Lenny Matuszewski will be back working his magic as producer, helping Panhellenic models show off the latest fashions from Dillard’s at Baybrook Mall.

Tickets are already on sale with

Cindy Lewis, third from left, who with her husband, Slade, hosted the Lunar Rendezvous Sponsor Party at Lewis Jewelry in Webster, stops for a photo with the princess she sponsored, Kasey Drapela, right. With them are Casey’s mom, Wendy Drapela, with the princess she sponsored, Kristin Elam.

Lts. Marques Lynch, left, and Marcus Spellman make their way through the crowd at the Lunar Rendezvous Coronation Ball in Galveston.

runway seats going for $100 and general seating for $75. Reserve yours by emailing Kelli Baliker at clearlakeareapanhel@gmail.com or call her at 281-488-3943. Make out your reservation check to C-Z Scholarship Foundation and mail to P.O. Box 58355, Webster, Texas 775988355.

Ballet planning season kickoff BAY AREA HOUSTON Ballet & Theatre will host its season kickoff at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11, at Space Center Houston to mark a metamorphosis into the next chapter in its history.

Guests will preview vignettes from each of their upcoming productions while enjoying cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.

The event will honor inductees into

Bay Oaks Women’s Association Vice Presidents Becky Hensley, left, and Cambrey Rogers go over plans for their Fall Fashion Show Tuesday, Sept. 9.

Queen Alternate Demerle Monks, a Clear Brook High senior, shares her happiness with her parents, Pat Monks and Annette Dwyer of Clear Lake at the Lunar Rendezvous Ball.

the BAHBT Volunteer Hall of Fame, along with the City of Webster, which will be the recipient of the coveted Bravo! Award for its very generous support through the years.

The award was created in 2003 to honor those individuals who have greatly furthered efforts to bring cultural enrichment to the community. Previous winners include Kimberly DeLape (2003), Sheree Frede (2003), Martha Ferebee (2003), Kippy Caraway (2004), Councilwoman Addie Wiseman (2004), Jim Reinhartsen (2005), Dr. Pat Wilson (2006), Mary Alys Cherry (2007), Pam Culpepper (2008), Bob Mitchell (2009), Matt Wiggins (2010), Councilman Mike Sullivan (2011), Jill Reason (2012) and Ellen King, (2013).

The event is free and open to the public. To RSVP, call 281-480-1617 by Sept. 2.

Alpha Chi Omega Alumni Chapter President Monica Gibbs, right, goes over plans for the year with Carolyn Waidhoffer, left, and Ellen King during swim party.

SEPTEMBER 2014 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

29

Movers &Shakers Name: Holly Williamson

My favorite writer is: Scott Turow

Occupation: Justice of the Peace, Precinct 8 Place 1

Someone I’d like to meet: Laura Bush

Hometown: Grew up in the military -- Air Force Current home: Nassau Bay Family: Husband Dr. Danny Williamson, chiropractor; Daughter Mary Kate Williamson, engineer, and two labradoodles, Liberty and Justice.

If I could switch places with someone for just one day, I’d choose: Carl Edwards #99 My favorite performers are: Jason Mraz and Paul McCartney I like to spend my leisure time: Reading, cooking, boating and the gym If I could travel any place, I’d go to: Spain

As a youngster, I wanted to grow up to be: A teacher You’ll never catch me: Bungee jumping The thing that bugs me the most is: People who talk on cell phones in public places like doctor’s offices, restaurants and businesses.

My favorite movie is: The Philadelphia Story, 1940 romantic comedy Few people know: My husband and I were married in Montego Bay, Jamaica in 1987

My favorite meal is: Homecooked

A Closer Look At What’s on the Plate Local Amy Goodman co-authors Rethink Food Meet local author Amy-Lee Goodman Hometown – Clear Lake, Texas College – Wellsley College Degree – Undergraduate, BS Political Science Passion – Reading and Writing. Grandmother and mother influenced her passion to read Little Women and Little House on the Prairie.

Thesis – Ethics of Climate Change Negotiations Philosophy – Everything to this point taught about our food and nutrition is misconstrued and not exactly correct. I want to set the truth about our food, nutrition and environment.

Favorite music – All, especially The 60s, 70s Classics, like The Beatles.

Favorite Movie – Erin Brockovich Cannot tolerate – Injustice and massaging the truth.

30

T

oday more than ever in the

history of mankind have people been so consumed with food.

We all eat food daily and some of us consume more than others. There are many reasons why we prefer to eat certain diets such as the protein based, plant based or a combination of the two diets. Do we eat to live? Or to live to eat? That is the question. Is nutrition a priority in making a choice of what foods you consume?

Rethink Food is an awesome book which addresses many of today’s issues and questions about food and nutrition.

It was written recently and published

by Co-authors, local writer Amy-Lee Goodman and Shushana Castle.

Amy-Lee Goodman had a younger sister who for years suffered with a debilitating case of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis when she was nine years old. For seven years she tried all conventional types of treatment, one form of chemotherapy, and the popular Enbrel injections twice a day. Nothing worked.

“After reading the China Study

by Dr. T. Colin, my mother took my sister off all animal products (meat, dairy, eggs) and within three months the arthritis went into remission,” Goodman said. After interviewing doctors and food experts from her other popular book, The Meaty Truth, she realized that there wasn’t one resource out there that combined all these expert

Bay Area Houston Magazine | SEPTEMBER 2014

voices together from around the world into one resource. Most resources are country specific.

Rethink Food is different as it has both power in numbers and power in context that will hopefully persuade readers and the public to redefine our relationship between nutrition and disease. It is time to put health back into healthcare. It was not until most recently physicians have been educated

about the correlation between nutrition, good health and disease.

Amy-Lee Goodman will be releasing her second book, The Meaty Truth, How our food is destroying our health, environment and who is responsible, in October 2014. Her book takes a hard look at the connections between our food, health and environment. Her books are available on Amazon, Kindle, Barnes & Noble and most bookstores.

1st Annual Webster AARP Senior Health Fair FREE Health Screenings

Tuesday, September 30, 2014 8:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

FREE Breakfast and Lunch

Bay Area Community Center 5002 NASA Pkwy, Seabrook, TX 77586

Flu Shots Please accept this VIP invite to the 1st Annual Webster AARP Senior Health Fair, a premiere affair promoting senior education presented by local pharmacies, nursing homes, assisted living centers, hospitals, home health agencies, hospices and local physicians.

Door Prizes

Vendors

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AARP Alzheimer’s Association At Your Side Home Care Bay Area House Calls Bay Area Regional Medical Center Bay Oaks Healthcare Center Brooksdale of Clear Lake Clear Lake City Freeman Library

Bay Area Houston Magazine | SEPTEMBER 2014

Dignity Memorial Providers of Houston Elik Dialysis Home Therapy Memorial Griswold Home Care Health Markets Insurance Hegwood & Associates JuicePlus Light Heart Memory Care

Mind Body Solutions Palmetto GBA Medicare Right at Home San Jacinto College Central SENIORific NEWS Seniors Choice Shaklee Stat Home Health

Texas State Securities Board The Cottages of Clear Lake Thrivent Financial United Healthcare United Way Vitas Walgreens WellCare

AARP Senior Health Fair Speaker Subjects and Bios Care for Alzheimer’s Medicare Fraud

Program: • Registration Starts at 8:30 a.m.

• Free Breakfast Served 8:30 – 9 a.m.

• Breakfast Speakers 8 – 9 a.m.

• Health Fair Opens at 10 a.m.

• Free Lunch Served 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

• Lunch Speakers 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

• Event Closing and Grand Prize Giveaway 2:00 p.m.

Sponsorship and Vendors Dear Potential Vendor, The Webster American Associated Retired Persons (AARP) chapter will be hosting its first Senior Health Fair on September. This will be a Hollywood Celebrity Themed Event. This event is open to the general public and we hope to have a majority of seniors in attendance.

A nutritious and healthy breakfast will be served from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. There will be guest presenters on Nutrition, Senior Health and other subjects of interest for seniors from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. The health fair will open promptly at 10 a.m. and continue until 2 p.m. Lunch will be served from 11:30 to 12:30 accompanied with additional guest speakers.

Our goal for this indoor event is to make our attendees feel like they are Hollywood Stars and so we are asking that all vendors participate along with the Hollywood theme in your attire and table design and decorations. We will be presenting our V.I.P. Vendors awards as well throughout the event. We believe that this will be a great opportunity for you to advertise your business and expose your expertise of services. Giveaways and brochures, along with your business cards and flyers can be placed at your V.I.P. Vendors Booth that includes the 4’ x 6’ table and is only $150. Each vendor will be required to provide a door prize, valued at $25 or more, and stay for the duration of the event.

All attendees will be eligible for door prizes, which will be distributed by members of the AARP Senior Health Fair committee. We look forward to working with you and making this a successful event!

Richard Lehman, committee chair c/o Webster AARP Chapter 199 3217 White Sands Way League City TX 77573 281-455-2651 richard.a.lehman@comcast.net

S po n sore d

by

By Matthew Henson with At Your Side Home Care

By Barbara McGinity with Texas Senior Medicare Patrol

Matthew Henson is the Marketing Director for At Your Side Home Care, the leading home care agency in the Clear Lake area. Matthew also performs a music therapy program, specifically designed for Alzheimer’s patients, in many of the area nursing homes

As a Program Director for the Texas Senior Medicare Patrol for the past 12 years, Barbara Parrott McGinity works to educate seniors about Medicare, Medicaid fraud and abuse, and the importance of reporting suspected fraud.

Are You Being Avoiding Investment Harmed by the Most Fraud

By Kim Wandle with Texas State Popular Diet Myths?

By Dr Serge Gregoire with Mind Body Solutions

Securities Board

Kim has been employed at the Texas State Securities Board (TSSB) for over 29 years. During her tenure at the TSSB, she has reviewed numerous broker/dealer and investment adviser applications for the Registration Division, and assisted the attorneys and investigators in the Enforcement Division, often conducting undercover investigative work.

In 2006, Kim joined the agency’s Investor Education Team and is currently the agency’s Investor Education Coordinator. She is a member of the North American Securities Administrators Association, Financial Fitness Greater Austin, and First Wednesday Senior Networking.

Kim has exhibited and presented at numerous events across the state in an effort to further the agency’s mission of protecting Texas investors.

Medicare Made Clear

By Teresa Vega with United Healthcare Teresa Vega has been in the Medicare Advantage (MA) business for 9 years. She started as a field agent and quickly progressed into managing, recruiting, and training agents. Her success in the MA industry lies in doing what is best for the Medicare Beneficiary and utilizing the successful tools and resources United Healthcare has to offer. She has a degree from the University of Houston, a B.S. in Hotel and Restaurant Management. She has also attended the New School University, NYC, NY, MS-Graduate School of Management & Urban Policy

Dr. Serge owns a doctorate degree in nutrition from McGill University in Canada. In addition, he completed seven years of postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School in Massachusetts. He holds an advance certification in Nutrition Response Testing (NRT) from Ulan Nutritional Systems in Florida and he is a certified herbalist through the Australian College of Phototherapy.

Saving The Family Advanced Care Planning

By Robert Lampkin with Vitas Hospice Care Robert joined the staff of VITAS Innovative Hospice Care of Houston in 2013, but has been passionate about hospice for a long time.

As a community liaison working with faith communities, Robert educates parishioners and their leaders about the benefits of hospice, the myths about hospice and the services VITAS provides. “People who dread hospice don’t understand hospice,” he says. “Hospice is as much about the caregiver as it is about the patient. It’s as much about emotional pain as about physical pain near the end of life.”

Robert was formerly a licensed counselor and is a published author.

Prior to joining VITAS, he worked with an organization that provided medical equipment and supplies to women and children in 80 developing countries.

SEPTEMBER 2014 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

33

Community Strong Allegiance Bank Puts Customers’ Needs First

By Rod Evans

Y

ou’ve got a great idea

for your business. You have a solid business plan and the knowledge to carry out the plan, but what you don’t have are the resources you need to make it happen. Now comes the tough part… securing a loan.

For many business owners that means walking into a bank and sitting down with a banker who then sends your information to an underwriter to decide whether or not to authorize your loan, without ever actually meeting you.

But if you are a customer of Allegiance Bank, your experience will be entirely different. Why? Because Allegiance Bank, which opened its Clear Lake office this spring, is a company that takes its title of “community bank” very seriously.

“Our culture is we’re all about people,” said Clear Lake Bank Office President Frank Law. “Our motto is, ‘It’s not what we do, but what we do together that makes the difference.’

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We are a decentralized model, which means most loan decisions can be made here in our local office.”

With $1.2 billion in assets, Allegiance Bank, founded in Houston in 2007, has 11 locations in the Houston area. Law says a pending merger with Enterprise Bank, expected to be finalized in the fourth quarter of 2014, will give Allegiance additional locations and increase assets to $1.75 billion. But even as the company grows, Law says its overriding philosophy of providing a one-on-one banking experience remains intact.

“Our bank stresses community banking and we’re committed to helping small to medium enterprises achieve commercial success,” Frank stated. “We focus on helping companies with $500,000 to $50 million in revenue, so we’re not focused on Fortune 500 companies.

We look for companies that want answers and local decision makers.

All of our bankers on the senior staff in the Clear Lake office are community bankers who are already well entrenched with established customers in the community.”

Allegiance Bank’s customers benefit directly from working with experienced bankers who are given autonomy to make decisions in-office, which allows them to have open and honest communication with their customers. While the industry standard is to make lending decisions

Bay Area Houston Magazine | SEPTEMBER 2014

based solely on numbers, Allegiance Bank chooses to get to know its customers on a personal level, incorporates a trust factor into its approach to banking and pledges to give customers access to the decision makers.

Giving community bankers such a high level of autonomy requires a team of skilled, veteran bankers and the Clear Lake office team is just that.

Vice President/Office Manager Libby McGee, and Vice President/Lenders James Waguespack, Jamie Ballard and Leslee Farley all meet this high standard.

Leslee’s 30-year banking career includes over 20 years of working with Bay Area customers and her background includes experience in real estate lending. Libby has been serving clients in the Bay Area since 1984 and has vast experience in all areas of banking. James has been serving customers in the area for nine years and has extensive training in credit and underwriting business loans, while Jamie has been in the banking industry for eight years and brings a wealth of experience in medical practice, partnerships and real estate.

During his 46-year banking career, Law has led management teams that have opened three de novo (i.e. brand new) banks and has led the development of multiple branch offices.

“The challenge of starting a bank

The spacious lobby at Allegiance Bank Texas Clear Lake branch.

or opening a new branch is always in finding the right team and knowing the right bankers in the community,” Law said.

Located in a beautiful, 6,000-square foot office at the corner of St. John Drive and NASA Parkway, the Clear Lake office offers a “concierge” feel and extraordinary service. Allegiance Bank operates differently from traditional banks. Everyone who comes in gets personal attention from our customer service representatives and is seated at a desk instead of standing in line at a teller station.

There is no traditional drive through banking, but customers can use the drive through ATM to make deposits, transfers and withdrawals 24 hours, 7 days a week. The bank’s commitment to personal service also means that when someone calls the bank during business hours, they will speak to a real person, not an automated phone system.

Law said, “I believe in mobile banking. I believe in remote deposit capture for businesses. Allegiance Bank is on the forefront of using emerging technology to improve the banking experience for its customers but when a customer needs to speak with their banker, they don’t have to stand in line and talk to a teller.

They sit down in a private setting and discuss their needs. In fact, most of my customers have my cell number, so they can get in touch with me when they have questions.”

T E S T I M O N I A L S C L I E N T In addition to remote deposit capture, which allows businesses to use a small scanning device directly from the convenience of their office, the bank provides a host of modern banking conveniences, such as positive pay, an anti-fraud cash management system, and real time deposits, which provide immediate access to cash from deposits.

While Allegiance bankers are knowledgeable in all aspects of real estate and business lending, including revolving lines of credit, working capital support, treasury management services and equipment lending, Law insists their philosophy of personal service is what separates them from other banks.

“We’re an extraordinary bank with extraordinary people who foster a culture of contribution to the community,” Law said. “That’s who we are.”

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anni Demartinos, co-owner of Stellar Financial in Friendswood, says large banking institutions could learn a thing or two from the Allegiance Bank model.

“It’s called the personal touch and it’s something the big institutions have forgotten,” Yanni stated. “The big banks only care about the bottom line and if you want a loan, you have to talk to someone in Arizona or some place.”

Leslee Farley, Allegiance VP/Lender, left,Yanni Demartinos, co-owner of Stellar Financial and Frank Law, bank office president, standing.

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eth Williams, owner/CEO of Houston language and logistics company Tech Trans International, has been banking with Law for over 18 years and says he has brought his personal banking style to Allegiance Bank.

“Frank was one of the original bankers from the beginning of our company. I love banking with Frank because he makes it feel like I’m the most important client he has, and he makes everyone feel that way. He’s fast to react and gives you answers quickly so you don’t have to wait. He also gets involved in your project and offers great advice,” Beth said.

Allegiance Bank Office President Frank Law, left, with Beth Williams, owner/CEO of Tech Trans International.

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andy Williams, owner of Clear Creek Equipment in La Porte, has been banking with Law for nearly 10 years and appreciates that he has brought his highly attentive, personal banking style to the Clear Lake office.

“I’ve never had a banker that responded to me so fast,” Randy said. “Frank knew us when we were a flea on the back of a dog’s butt, so he’s seen our company grow from nothing to what it is today, a very successful rental company in southeast Houston.

But even when we weren’t as strong as we are now, he treated us as if we were.”

VP/Office Manager, James Waguespack, left, David Banda, Lobby Services Representative, center, and Clear Creek Equipment owner, Randy Williams.

SEPTEMBER 2014 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

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T he

C o c k

&

B u l l ’ s

007 James Bond Ball 2014

Where Have All The Trout Gone?

By Capt. Joe Kent

With few exceptions most fishing guides and other anglers will tell you that trout catches are down considerably from the same period in recent years.

T

he same period I refer to is the summer months when trout action at the Galveston and Bolivar jetties, also called the North and South Jetties, normally is prolific.

Other areas known for consistent summertime trout action are the spoil banks along the Houston Ship Channel and deeper shell reefs and pads around gas wells in Trinity and lower Galveston Bays.

Surveys by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department during late spring this year indicated healthy stocks of speckled trout in the Galveston Bay Complex. So, why aren’t we catching a lot of trout this summer?

Many of the complex’s better known fishing guides have told me that this has been an off year for them on trout. This situation is not unique to Galveston Bay and the surrounding areas, but on the middle Texas Coast as well.

For example, Rockport area guides are expanding their trips to include a focus on black drum, a tasty alternative to trout, and of course, red fish.

Interviews were held with several Galveston area fishing guides who have been in the business for years and all told me that they were not experiencing the typical summertime trout patterns that allowed easy limits to be caught well before noon. This year, instead of limiting out a party of three with 30 trout, they are lucky to end up with 2/3rds of that number and to do so requires spending much more time on the water So, with our bay complex seemingly in good shape with speckled trout, why are trout not being

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Bay Area Houston Magazine | SEPTEMBER 2014

caught in the numbers and with the ease of past years?

Several guides have cited our unusually long cold winter as a starting point. The colder than normal weather that lasted into May took its toll on the shrimp harvest in the estuaries. This resulted in a short period of an overabundance of shrimp in the bays followed by sparce numbers later in the summer.

Salinity levels in the Galveston Bay Complex have been increasing each year as the long drought continues. Trout are quite sensitive to salinity levels and will normally gravitate to deeper waters or the beach front in order to find more acceptable water.

During July and much of August the better reports of trout action have come from anglers fishing in eight to 10 feet of water over shell. The surf has been producing good quality trout but not in the quantities of past years. The spawners apparently still are heading to the surf but what about the school size trout in the 15 to 20 inch range?

Most guides are saying that they are having to work longer and harder to find anywhere close to limits of trout and many are diverting to other fish in order to send a fresh catch home with their customers.

During my survey I looked at the tide charts and quickly observed that the tides during prime fishing time, that being between daybreak and noon, have been among the weakest this season.

That in itself could be contributing to the overall poor results.

Fortunately, we have not had a significant fish kill this year and let’s keep our fingers crossed that a red tide or other catastrophic event does not crop up and further add to our miseries .

Hopefully by the time our fall fishing patterns commence next month, trout will be in there competing with other fish to add layers of fat for the upcoming winter.

Personally, I have missed those days in July and August where easy limits of trout were caught.

SEPTEMBER 2014 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

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News & Events HARVEST MOON SKIPPERS MEETING

A Harvest Moon Regatta racer studies the Clean Regatta materials at their booth in the Port Aransas Pavilion after last year’s regatta from Galveston across the Gulf of Mexico.

Long time Lakewood Yacht Club racer and Race Committee member Rita Matthews helps hand out skipper bags at last year’s Skipper’s Meeting for the Harvest Moon Regatta.

L Keels & Wheels gives back to Boys & Girls Keels & Wheels Concours d’Elegance has presented the Boys & Girls Harbor with a check for $100,000 -- the proceeds of the event held in May at Lakewood Yacht Club – for the benefit of children and families in crisis living in the Greater Houston Metropolitan Area. Joining Keels & Wheels Chairman Bob Fuller, seated at left, at the check presentation, were Boys and Girls Harbor Chairman of the Board Gladney B. Darroh, Concours Co-Chairman Paul Merryman; Event Manager Laura Power; Keels & Wheels Board Directors Jim Sweeney, Harvey Denman and Tom Timmins; Boys and Girls Harbor CEO & President Don Sweat and Director of Development Richard Gruen.

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Bay Area Houston Magazine | SEPTEMBER 2014

akewood Yacht Club’s Harvest Moon Regatta Chairman Jack Seitzinger has announced that the Skippers Meeting for the 28th Annual Harvest Moon Regatta will be held Friday night, Oct. 3, at 7:30 p.m. in the club’s ballroom, 2425 NASA Parkway in Seabrook.

“Since this is a highly attended event of up to several hundred people, we are encouraging racers to come early to pick up their skippers’ packets at 6:30 p.m.,” Seitzinger said. “Then they will have time to review the sailing instructions before the start of the meeting.” The packets can be picked up in the Chart Room, which is down the hall from the ballroom. T-shirts and race paraphernalia can be purchased from volunteers in the ballroom lobby and wristbands for the Welcome Sailors Rum Party in Port Aransas on Saturday, Oct. 11, will be on sale in the ballroom.

“The Skippers Meeting is a critical one for racers to attend,” Lakewood’s Fleet Capt. Jim Winton said, “as additional information will be addressed, such as expected weather conditions, any changes to the racing rules or the dockage in Port Aransas.”

The Harvest Moon Regatta is a 150 mile race from Galveston to Port Aransas which will be begin on Thursday afternoon, Oct. 9, and ends at the race finish in the channel at “Port A.”

Racers will be arriving in “Port A” at varying times on Friday, Oct. 10, depending on the wind conditions over the Gulf of Mexico. The popular Welcome Sailors Rum Party will take place Saturday, Oct. 11, during late afternoon at the City Pavilion. After a barbecue buffet, an awards ceremony will be held where race winners receive their trophies and the overall winner of the coveted Bacardi Cup is announced.

The regatta is a Category 3 Open Regatta for all racing cruising spinnaker and non-spinnaker sailing yachts with a minimum length of 27 feet. Over 220 boats are expected to race this year with close to 2,000 racers, friends and family attending the awards ceremony.

The regatta is organized by Bay Access, a charitable organization supporting amateur racing. It is hosted by Lakewood Yacht Club, City of Port Aransas and Port Aransas and Mustang Island.

A record number of sponsors this year include founding sponsor Bacardi U.S.A., the City of Seabrook, Nautic, Hays, Little Yacht Sales, West Marine, Volvo Penta, OJ’s Marine, Banks Sails and Sea Lake Yachts. “Through the support of these enthusiastic sponsors, we are able to provide a first-class event for our racers,” Seitzinger explained.

For information, check the race website, www.HarvestMoonRegatta.com

TEXAS MEDITATIONS

By Michael Gos

Missed Opportunities Nacogdoches, Texas

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here are two kinds of places in the world:

those you drive through and those you drive to. No one ever just drives through Terlingua or Luckenbach. They are destinations. If you find yourself in either of these towns, it is because it is a place you wanted to go to. On the other hand, I regularly drive through Houston on my way to Big Bend or Hill Country, but I never drive to Houston. Nacogdoches is in that latter category. I have driven through it many times on my way to other destinations, but not once have I stopped. A friend who did her college years there calls it Naca-nowhere, and for more than 20 years, I treated it as such. But after a day at Mission Tejas State Park, with another at Caddo Mounds to follow, it was a convenient place to bed down for the night.

I suppose I could have done what most people do—stay at a Holiday Inn Express or a Motel 6, but if I had to be in Naca-nowhere, I figured I’d at least try to make some kind of an adventure of it. A couple of days before the trip I got on the Internet and found what looked like just the ticket—an old

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cabin deep in the woods built by Tol Barret, the man who drilled the first productive oil well in Texas (and only the second in the world—he missed being first on that count by just a matter of days). The Barrets lived in the house from 1848 till 1920. Today it is a B&B of sorts, but not in the usual sense.

When you rent the Barret house, you are there alone. There are no employees around to mar your tranquility. Breakfast fixings are placed in the refrigerator prior to your arrival, but when morning comes you have to cook them yourself. In fact,

Bay Area Houston Magazine | SEPTEMBER 2014

you don’t even see the management. A bill is left for you on the kitchen table and you leave your payment, either cash or check, on that table when you leave.

It wasn’t easy to find, especially in the fading light. A country road on the edge of town led to an old Jeep trail that went back about a mile into the woods. When we finally found the cabin we were out of daylight. We unloaded what we needed for the night from the Jeep. The rest could sit there.

Who would be out here to steal it? Then with a

sense of exhaustion, we sunk into the benches on the cabin’s front porch with beverages in hand.

We were in dense woods with not another sign of human existence anywhere, no power lines, no road noise. The only sound was that of a few birds serenading the fading twilight. In our barelyabove-a-whisper voices, we talked ourselves into drowsiness. It was barely 10 p.m. when we finally called it a night and went to bed.

I am an early riser, so at dawn I was back on the porch. I had hoped to take in the morning concert and the birds were certainly doing their part.

Even the squirrels chirped along for rhythm. It was the perfect start to the morning—but it didn’t last. I’m not sure why it happens, but sometimes my thoughts just run wild with no recognizable pattern and with quantum leaps at inconvenient times to unrelated new thoughts. It’s like trying to follow a James Joyce or Virginia Wolff stream of consciousness novel. I tried to remember whether it was butter or margarine that would kill me this week, I tried to plan a summer trip that would take me outside of Texas for the first time in years, and I wondered why my second toes were longer than my big toes. (I know that doesn’t sound important, but after you have stubbed them for the 2,648th time, you think about these things.) Finally, I gave up, went back inside and cooked the enormous breakfast that came with the cabin.

We had planned a trip to see the Caddo Mounds that afternoon but after breakfast, we had a few hours available, so we decided that since we were here, we would take a look around town. The first stop was the arboretum and gardens at Stephen F.

Austin University. It was a good choice; they were magnificent.

I can only imagine what they look like in the spring when the hundreds of azaleas are in bloom. Then we drove around the old part of town to have a look at the grand old houses and neighborhoods. Along the way, we stumbled across a sign that said “Old University Building” and pointed to the left. I thought it was a part of the SFA campus and figured I’d have a look. As it turns out, by accident really, we had stumbled onto the site of the first college in the newly founded Republic of Texas. I was absolutely delighted when I realized what I was looking at. Being a professor, that probably had more meaning for me than for most people. But that tie to history, to education, to the days when Texas was a republic, had a haunting effect on me. I’d not had this feeling since that moment long ago on a train out of London, when I first saw the spires of the Oxford University campus. It was almost a religious experience.

As the mid-day approached, it was time to move on. We headed out to the Caddo Mounds site and spent a couple of hours there before coming back to town and a fantastic dinner at Clear Springs Café.

What a day it had been. I realized that somewhere in the last 12 hours, I had changed my way of looking at Naca-nowhere.

That night, back on the cabin porch my thoughts

went in a very different direction.

This time the randomness was gone. There was no stream of consciousnessno James Joyce novel.

I was focused on just one thing. I had seriously misjudged this town and, as a result, for 20 years I had missed the opportunities I found here this weekend.

And then I thought about all the other opportunities I may have missed in my life because of my hardheaded propensity for preconceived notions of this type. Were there places that could have been special to me? Were there people who could have been important? Were there experiences that would have been life-changers but never had a chance because I just blew them off? I can’t say that I recommend this kind of self-examination to anyone; the answers you get might be scary.

But there is always a bright side. Everything that happens, especially the unpleasant things, are learning experiences. I had a lot to learn from this weekend. In looking back now, I think I can more clearly see the lesson. In the time left to me, I suspect I will be far more open-minded about the places and experiences that present themselves.

Will I drive to Houston? Probably not—for me it is still a place to drive through. But I’m pretty sure the number of places I drive to in my life will increase greatly. You can count on that.

“There are two kinds of places in the world: those you drive through and those you drive to.”

SEPTEMBER 2014 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

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DESIGN By Cathy Osoria contemporary. Transitional furniture designs are classic, timeless and clean.

Curves combined with straight lines deliver a look that balances both masculine and feminine attributes for a comfortable, contemporary design.

The lines of transitional furniture are less ornate than traditional but not as basic as contemporary lines. n Modern: This style might be considered the opposite of traditional.

Modern is a very organized, scaled back disciplined style. Modern is clean, simple but sophisticated design. This design style often uses iconic furniture pieces from early 20th century architects and designers like Eames and Miles van der Roche.

n Glam: This style, as its name suggests, is glamorous. This look tends to be more feminine. This style can include damask prints usually layered with some bling. Mirrored furniture and crystal chandeliers add sparkle to give a space the sophisticated glam look. n Industrial chic: This style may come across as more masculine and raw with a very casual feel. It gained popularity with recycling and reusing industrial items like machine parts and weathered wood and worn textures to create unique furniture with a warm feeling. n Global chic: This style is inspired by world travels. It may include

Home Sweet Home What’s your decorating style?

Decorating can be overwhelming with all the accessory

and furniture selections that need to be made to create a beautiful space. There is so much to choose from, so where to begin?

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etermining a personal style can be helpful in keeping a room cohesive and staying on budget by not purchasing items that do not add to or blend with that personal style. n Look online or in magazines: Home decor magazines or online websites like HOUZZ.com can be great sources for inspiration. Don’t analyze too much. Just save pictures of rooms you find appealing. If there is something really special in the room, then make a special note.

Same if you see something that is disliked a lot -- make note of that, too. I have clients who tell me they cannot decide if they like dark or light kitchen cabinets. I have them bring me pictures of kitchens they find attractive. It never fails; almost all their pictures will be either dark or light. That helps me make decisions in creating a space that I know they will

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enjoy. Looking online and through home decor sources can also help determine what design style fits one’s home best. Once pictures have been collected, one can see similar patterns or trends (whether most are formal, casual, dark, light, cozy or sparse).

Some popular decorating styles are: n Traditional today: Traditional interiors are less formal than they once were but continue to include classic elements. Drapery now is scaled down without swags and toppers, and fabric choices are usually subtle patterns or colors. The overall ambience of traditional decor is homey, understated, and non- jarring.

Furnishings tend to match and are consistent. A marker of traditional decor is typically rolled arms found on upholstered chairs and couches. n Transitional: This design style is a mixture between traditional and

Bay Area Houston Magazine | SEPTEMBER 2014

n Contemporary: This interior style is the most current and relevant style of the moment. It’s really about fashion, and it tends to follow current trends. It is sometimes confused with modern design because of the simpler, clean lines. Modern follows stricter guidelines following 20th century designers. Contemporary is more fluid and tolerates a bit of rule-breaking. Less is more: smooth profiles instead of ornamentation, solid or subtly patterned fabrics in lieu of colorful prints, minimal accessories rather than big collections.

Current contemporary trends are pops of color, text, less but larger scale accessories, mixing metals and trellis patterns. n Rustic chic: This style can also be called farmhouse modern, shabby chic or French country. All these styles incorporate rustic and distressed items. This style is appealing to many people with its inviting, casual, “down home” feel. To achieve this look, mix rustic pieces with modern furniture and clean lines to obtainan overall eclectic comfortable inviting space.

natural manmade materials and Moroccan patterns and furnishings.

These accessories and collected souvenirs can create an exotic and intimate vibe that guests will admire.

This style generally consists of textured fabrics, natural woods, bold patterns and colors. n Coastal chic: This style was once only associated with sea side living, but it has become more mainstream as an overall design that inspires calm and relaxed settings through the use of light colors, textures and an organic accessory. Lots of natural light with warm whites, soft furnishings and reflective surfaces will provide the relaxing environment of coastal living.

Decorating becomes a simpler task when one is aware of their likes and dislikes and is able to categorize them.

Few people, even interior designers, decorate strictly with one style. A mix of two styles, but with different and unequal proportions, keeps the space from becoming predictable and boring.

SEPTEMBER 2014 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

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UH student named 2014 Miss Kemah

By Mary Alys Cherry

K

enda Carroll, a beautiful blonde University of HoustonDowntown student, is the 2014 Miss Kemah and will represent the area in the Miss Texas USA Pageant.

She was crowned by 2013 Miss Kemah Peyton Saverance in ceremonies at the University of Houston-Clear Lake. The daughter of Alenda and Arthur Lara and Kenneth Carroll, she has three sisters Lina, Stephanie and Johnna.

Former Miss Texas USA Nicole O’Brian Lassiter and Fox 26 anchor Ruben Dominguez served as hosts for the pageant and Kelly Williams sang the National Anthem.

Livia Lavender, a lovely young brunette who attends the High School for the Performing Arts, was selected the 2014 Miss Kemah Teen and crowned by the 2013 Miss Kemah Teen, Sara Mohebpour. She will represent the area in the Miss Texas Teen USA. Her parents are Jay and Jala Lavender of Pasadena, where she was born and raised. She has a big sister, Lexa, who was second runnerup in the Miss Kemah contest, and a little brother, Lucas.

Other Miss Kemah contestants included Brianda Carrasco, Kesha Clark, Kelly Cleland, Ashley Free, Nancy Gonzalez, Brianna Key, Lexa Lavender, Kourtney Magnes, Courtney Newman, Harli Rose, Jenny Smith and Dresdynn Warnell.

Joining Livia Lavender, 16, in the Miss Kemah Teen competition were Kristen Alfrey, Lauren Borden, Estella Brooks, Dasha Brotherton, Rachel Gitomer, Taylor Leigh Kessler, Kylie Layfield, Olivia Lee, Maddison McCarson, Mary Frances Nance, Megan Whittaker and Fallon Williams.

The new Miss Kemah, 24, who grew up in College Station and recently moved to Lake Jackson also won the swimsuit competition and was in the top three for the Most Photogenic title. She is a former Miss Bay Area USA and represented the community at the 2014 Miss Texas USA Pageant, where she placed in the top 15 and won the Best in Swimsuit Fitness Award.

She attended Houston Baptist University and hopes to complete work on her Master’s in Administration at UH and become a mathematics educator and small business owner.

Judges included Sheree Frede, Hannah Johannes, Pierr Castillo, Dr. Roxanne Edrington, Chris Reed, Kym Jackson, Terri Jaggers and Tony Fitzpatrick.

Judges for the swimsuit competition were Rick Clapp, T.J. Aulds, Erin Webb, John Ennis and Jimmy Simms.

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Rotary Clubs Elect New Officers Photo by Mary Alys Cherry

Space Center Rotary’s new officers get together for a photo after being sworn in to head the Clear Lake service club for the coming year. They are, from left, Secretary Darryl Smith, President Scott Rainey, Treasurer Ralph Kramer, Sgt.-at-Arms Nancy Anderson and Past President Sheryl Berg. The club meets Mondays at noon at Bay Oaks Country Club.

Photo by Chris Glass

League City Rotary Officers for 2014-2015 include, from left, Secretary Jan Laman, President-elect Amy Kilgore, who is also the past president, Treasurer Kim Buttrum and President Roy Green. The club meets Thursdays at noon at South Shore Harbour Resort on South Shore Boulevard.

Photo by Marcy Fryday

Seabrook Rotary Club officers for the coming year include President Jack Boteler, second from left, Secretary Lynn Miller, President-elect Scott Stillman, and Treasurer Bob Martin, from left. The ceremony was conducted at Lakewood Yacht Club, where the club meets at 7:30 a.m. each Thursday.

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Lifting Independence

Independence is lifted by crane for her 40-minute Journey across the Space Center Houston parking lot to its new home atop the Boeing aircraft that carried many a shuttle across country when they could not safely land back at Kennedy Space Center.

Dr. Ellen Ochoa, director of the Johnson Space Center, and Boeing Space Exploration Vice President John Elbon finally see a dream realized as the Shuttle Replica Independence is safely secured atop the Boeing aircraft during ceremonies Aug. 14 at Space Center Houston.

The most entertaining moment during the shuttle lift ceremonies came as these six little girls played their tiny violins for the crowd, getting a thunderous applause from the crowd of hundreds.

Touchdown! As hundreds watched in awe in the Space Center Houston parking lot Aug. 14, the Space Shuttle Replica Independence is hoisted atop the Boeing aircraft that was used for years to carry space shuttles across country when they were unable to land in Florida.

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Chris Premont, from left, winner Caroline Davies, her mother Lori Davies and Denise Stanley.

Ron Carter Clear Lake Cadillac Hyundai Awards Scholarship To Graduate from Pasadena

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n outstanding 2014 high school graduate who wants to become

an emergency room surgeon is one of the five recipients of the $1,000 scholarships offered to Bay Area high school graduates this year by Ron Carter Clear Lake Cadillac Hyundai.

She is Caroline Davies of Pasadena, who graduated with a 4.02 grade point average.

Next stop is Baylor University, where she will major in medical humanities as she prepares to apply to attend medical school at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

While being home schooled she took dual credit classes at San Jacinto College for the past two years and already has 55 transfer hours, meaning she can graduate from Baylor early. “I strive to do my best in whatever I pursue. I have held a job for almost six years now to help me afford a better education at Baylor,� she explains.

She has been inducted into two honor societies and participated in many extracurricular activities such as piano, choir and band while also doing volunteer work.

The scholarships are open to seniors in the Alvin, Clear Creek, Dickinson, Friendswood, La Porte, Pasadena and Pearland school districts and parochial schools. Recipients are chosen on academic achievement, character, leadership and community service.

TCC Board of Regents name Dr. Richard G Brassard President Emeritus Texas Chiropractic College (TCC) has named Dr. Richard G. Brassard, DC, FICC, as President Emeritus. The Board of Regents met on July 19, 2014 during the TCC Annual Convention in Galveston Texas where they voted unanimously to grant President Emeritus status to Dr. Brassard.

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Bay Area Houston Magazine | SEPTEMBER 2014

BUSINESS BUZZ

Pasadena Chamber gets new president The Pasadena Chamber of Commerce has a new president and CEO. She is Cristina Burt Womack, who has a long history of leadership and community involvement, including work with 10 different chamber and non-profit organizations.

She is a Sam Rayburn High alumna and a 2006 Magna Cum Laude graduate of Sam Houston State University, where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a double minor in both Management and Entrepreneurship.

She also has received multiple awards for her Chamber commitments across the Houston area, and was honored as Pasadena’s 2012 and 2011 Volunteer of the Year. She has also been affiliated with the Houston East End Chamber of Commerce, Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, and North Pasadena Business Association.

She and her husband, Nathan Magee Womack, are newlyweds, both born and raised in Pasadena.

They recently returned to reside in Pasadena and are members of Pasadena’s First Baptist Church.

He is currently furthering his education after working as a police officer in both West Lake Hills and LaGrange.

Ellington road repairs OK’d Houston City Council has approved a contract funding improvements at Ellington Airport which had been included in the city’s Capital Improvement Plan. The contract, which appropriates $3.1 milliom to ISI Contracting, Inc., provides for the replacement of the asphalt section of Challenger Parkway south of Hillard Street with concrete pavement, the reconstruction of Morton Avenue and Hutchinson Street with a

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wider concrete section and larger turning radii, and the replacement of the existing storm drainage system along Hutchinson Street and between Hillard Street and Aerospace Avenue.

These improvements serve to address sub-standard conditions for truck traffic to and from the hangars in the immediate vicinity of the airport. The approved contract also provides for the relocation of existing overhead electrical and telecommunication utilities to accommodate the future construction of the new Lone Star Flight Museum, which is coming to Ellington Field from its previous location in Galveston.

City employees get big pay raise

League City Chamber Chairman Bonnie Benkula welcomes three area lawmakers to the chamber’s luncheon at Landry’s Seafood Restaurant on the Kemah Boardwalk. The three, from left, are State Rep. Greg Bonnen, Congressman Randy Weber and State Sen. Larry Taylor, who updated the crowd on the work of their legislative bodies.

Pasadena Mayor Johnny Isbell is raising the minimum starting hourly rate to $12.50 per hour for full-time employees of the City of Pasadena. The new hourly rate is more than 70 percent higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

“Our employees work hard to serve our community and the residents who live here, and I think that shows in the quality of projects and services the city provides,” Isbell said. “I want to make sure we reward those employees and recognize their contributions.”

The adjustment will bring all current full-time employees who earn less than $12.50 per hour up to that minimum by the beginning of fiscal year 2015.

Hobby adding more parking The 3,000-space parking garage now under construction at Hobby Airport will feature a number of enhancements and innovations designed to make a driver’s overall experience as smooth as possible, from entrance to exit – including a climate-controlled skybridge connecting the garage

Bay Area Houston Magazine | SEPTEMBER 2014

to the terminal, so drivers won’t be exposed to the weather when crossing between the two.

Designed with the future in mind, the new garage will meet parking needs anticipated in 2030 and offer LED lighting, atriums, even 10 charging spaces for electric vehicles when it opens late next year.

Kennedy to get new headquarters A gleaming and “green” new headquarters building will rise at Kennedy Space Center over the next two years.

NASA announced the award of a two-year, $64.8 million contract to build the multi-story structure to Hensel Phelps Construction Co. of Orlando.The new building will be the centerpiece of what KSC calls the Central Campus, an initiative to replace aging Industrial Area facilities with more energyefficient structures occupying a smaller footprint.

It will replace the center’s existing headquarters, a roughly 50-year-old building that eventually will be razed.

SEPTEMBER 2014 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

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EDUCATION Clear Creek ISD School Board trustees are, from left, seated, Win Weber, Superintendent Dr. Greg Smith, Ann Hammond; standing, Charles Pond, Dee Scott, Page Rander, Dr. Laura DuPont and Ken Baliker.

Tax impact for CCISD much less than expected

By Mary Alys Cherry

T

here’s good news today for taxpayers.

Property owners in the Clear Creek School District will not see a tax rate increase this year either from the bond or the 2014-15 district budget.

In May 2013, voters overwhelmingly approved a total tax rate increase of $0.1125 to fund $367 million in school improvements. Originally, the tax rate increase would have been spread out over the course of three years.

However, the total tax rate will be significantly less than projected.

Through the district’s financing plan and an increase in local taxable values, the school board will not increase the tax rate this year.

“We are pleased we can keep the debt service rate at $0.36 this year. We are also hopeful that we will be able to hold at this rate as the maximum increase for the entire bond program,” said Paul McLarty, deputy superintendent of business and support services. If his projections hold true, McLarty says the total tax rate increase may be closer to $0.0400 versus the voter-approved $0.1125, which is less than half of what voters OK’d.

On Aug. 18, the school board held a public hearing and then passed the budget and proposed tax rate.

The proposed tax rate is $1.04 for the Maintenance and Operations Fund and $0.36 for Interest and Sinking Fund, also known as the debt service tax rate.

The $302.6 million budget is an increase of $13 million over last year’s budget – most of which is for teacher and staff raises approved earlier this year. Expenditures include $198 million for instruction, $21 million for leadership, $31 million for student support services, $6 million for administrative support services, $20 million for plant maintenance and operations, $3 million for security, $7 million for technology and $15 million for miscellaneous services.

McLarty said $180 million in revenues will come from local property owners and $199 million from state and federal sources. Plus, $2.8 million from other resources and non-operating revenues.

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Bay Area Houston Magazine | SEPTEMBER 2014

Clear Creek School Board named for top state award

T

he Clear Creek School Board

has been recognized as the Regional Board of the Year and is one of the five finalists for the annual Texas School Board of the Year Award.

“School boards in Region 4 districts provide effective leadership and dedicated service that benefit more than 1.1 million school children. On July 30, 2014, the Clear Creek ISD Board of Trustees was selected as the 2014 Region 4 Honor Board by a committee of superintendents from other Region 4 school districts. The Clear Creek ISD Board has provided visionary leadership, working with Dr. Greg Smith and the CCISD team leading the way in the 21st Century,” said Region 4 Executive Director Dr. Pam Wells.

“Clear Creek ISD is well respected in Region 4 and across the state. CCISD will be a tremendous representative of the school boards in our region. We congratulate the

Clear Creek ISD Board of Trustees for this well-deserved award and wish them well as they join the prestigious group of school boards who were nominated for state Outstanding School Board.”

The annual statewide search for the Texas Honor Board is organized by the Texas Association of School Administrators. The criteria for consideration is lengthy with topics ranging from educational vision and fiscal management to community involvement and personal commitment to duty.

“If who we are supersedes what we do, then the Clear Creek ISD Board of Trustees have served the 40,000 children, 5000 employees, and 13 municipalities effectively, efficiently and honorably over time,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Greg Smith,.

“The team of seven trustees may come from different cultures, careers, and opinions but they are united by a spirit of exploration and the desire to see the possibilities beyond what is present or obvious.”

The CCISD Board of Trustees is one of five finalists in Texas. The Texas Association of School Administrators will name the state’s Outstanding Board in September.

SEPTEMBER 2014 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

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Dates to remember Sunday, Sept. 7 Clear Lake Panhellenic’s Fall Friendship Tea, 2-4 p.m. home of Jenny Frantz.

Sunday, Dec. 7 Bay Area Museum Guild Holiday Open House, 5 p.m., museum.

Tuesday, Sept. 9 Bay Oaks Women’s Association Fall Fashion Show and Luncheon, 10:30 a.m., Bay Oaks Country Club, Clear Lake.

Monday, Dec. 8 Bay Oaks Women’s Association Holiday Market, 9 a.m., Bay Oaks Country Club.

Thursday, Sept. 11 Houston Symphony League Bay Area Wine & Cheese Membership Party, 5:30-8 p.m.

Bay Area Houston Ballet & Theatre season kickoff reception, 7 p.m., Space Center Houston, 1601 NASA Parkway.

Tuesday, Sept. 23 Bay Area Museum Guild Shower and Cocktails, 5:30 p.m., Museum, Clear Lake Park, 5200 NASA Parkway, near Seabrook.

Friday, Oct. 3 Clear Lake Area Chamber’s Chairman’s Ball, 6:30 p.m., Crystal Ballroom, South Shore Harbour Resort.

Wednesday, Oct. 8 Just A Pretty Table Luncheon hosted by Bay Area Museum Guild, 10:30 a.m., Bay Oaks Country Club, Clear Lake.

Saturday, Oct. 11 Bay Area Turning Point’s annual Bootin’ & Scootin’ Out Violence, 8 p.m. to midnight, Campbell Hall, Pasadena Fairgrounds, Pasadena.

Thursday, Oct. 16 Second Chance Pets’ annual fundraiser and 20th anniversary casino night celebration, Viva Paws Vegas, 6:30 p.m., The Admiral at Endeavour Marina, 3101 NASA Parkway.

Friday, Oct. 24 Clear Lake Area Panhellenic Fall Fashion Show, 10:30 a.m., South Shore Harbour Resort, League City.

Saturday, Oct. 25 Space Center Rotary Shrimporee and Auction, 11 a.m., Landolt Pavilion, Clear Lake Park. 5200 NASA Parkway, near Seabrook.

Tuesday, Oct. 28 Music at the Museum, 6:30 p.m., Bay Area Museum, Clear Lake Park.

Saturday, Nov. 1 Clear Creek Education Foundation Gala, 6:30 p.m., South Shore Harbour Resort.

Wings Over Houston 2-day Air Show, Ellington Field.

Saturday, Nov. 8 Bay Oaks Women’s Association Gala, 7 p.m., Bay Oaks Country Club, Clear Lake.

Go Texan Cowboys and Cowgirls Who Cook, 6 p.m., NASA’s Gilruth Center.

Saturday, Nov. 15 Samaritan Center 2014 Gala, 7 p.m., River Oaks Country Club, Houston.

Saturday, Nov. 22 Bay Area Houston Ballet’s 24th annual Breakfast With the Sugar Plum Fairy, 8 a.m., South Shore Harbour Resort, League City.

Thursday, Dec. 11 Clear Lake Panhellenic Holiday Brunch, 11 a.m., home of Diane Schuman.

Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership holiday party, 4 p.m., Lakewood Yacht Club.

An Evening With Elvis, 6:30 p.m., Butler Longhorn Museum, League City.

Friday, Dec. 12 Bay Area Turning Point Holiday Market, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Nassau Bay Hilton, NASA Parkway.

Saturday, Dec. 13 League City Historic Homes Tour, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Christmas Boat Parade, 6 p.m., starts on Clear Lake.

Junior League of Galveston County Holiday Ball, Galveston Island Convention Center at the San Luis Resort.

Thursday, Dec. 18 Clear Lake Chamber’s Holiday Open House, 5 p.m., chamber, NASA Parkway.

Friday, Jan. 16 Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership Quasar Banquet, 6:30 p.m., Crystal Ballroom, South Shore Harbour Resort.

Friday, Jan. 23 Bay Area Go Texan 50th Anniversary Rodeo Style Show, 10:30 a.m., NASA’s Gilruth Center.

Thursday, Feb. 5 Clear Lake Chamber Epicurean Evening, 6:30 p.m., Space Center Houston.

Friday, Feb. 20 Go Red for Women Luncheon, hosted by the American Heart Association, 10:30 a.m., South Shore Harbour Resort, League City.

Tuesday, Feb. 24 Bay Area Go Texan Trail Ride Dance, 7 p.m., Gilruth Center.

Monday, March 16 Clear Creek ISD spring break starts.

Tuesday, April 7 Picnic at the Museum, 5:30 p.m., Bay Area Museum.

Friday, April 10 Houston Symphony League Bay Area Home Tour PreTour Party.

Saturday, April 11 Houston Symphony League Bay Area 2-day Home Tour.

Assistance League Gala, 7 p.m., Space Center Houston.

Friday, April 24 Rotary Space Banquet, 6 p.m., Downtown Houston Hyatt Regency Hotel.

Thursday, Dec. 4 InterFaith Caring Ministries’ annual Festival of Trees, 6 p.m., South Shore Harbour Resort.

Saturday, May 2 Keels & Wheels starts, 10 a.m., Lakewood Yacht Club in Seabrook.

Friday, Dec. 5 Dickens on the Strand opens at 2300 Strand, Galveston, for a three-day festival.

Sunday, May 3 Bay Area Museum Guild Silver Tea, 3 p.m., Bay Area Museum.

Friday, Dec. 5 Clear Lake Symphony’s Christmas Pops Concert, 7:30 p.m., Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Nassau Bay with additional concert Saturday.

Thursday, May 14 Clear Lake Panhellenic installation luncheon, 10 a.m., TAD Akers Event Center, League City.

Saturday, Dec. 6 Toyland Fantasy, hosted by the Bay Area Museum Guild, 10 a.m., Bay Oaks Country Club

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Tuesday, July 21 Lunar Rendezvous Festival Fashion Show, 10 a.m.

Saturday, July 25 Lunar Rendezvous Coronation Ball, 5 p.m.

Bay Area Houston Magazine | SEPTEMBER 2014

Gym offers relief ‘every mom needs’

By Jarred Roberts

D

ionna Glover and Kara Cranfille

pick up the groceries, pick up the kids, pick up the mess in the living room and and few times a week, pick up weights in a warehouse.

These two moms aren’t the only unexpected things at Warehouse Gym. Despite the dusty environment, the gym has powerlifters, parents, their kids and anyone who wants to get in shape, “It’s very family oriented,” Kara says.

“A lot of women may be turned off by the dirt and sweat,” but Kara admits she was hooked at the first class.

“It’s stress relief that every mom needs.”

They work out several times a week with gym owner Zach McVey leading their sessions, which combine crossfit with Zach’s knowledge of powerlifting and chiropractics.

Dionna still enjoys her spin and dance classes, but those can get repetitive and she enjoys the muscle confusion she gets at the warehouse and has increased her deadlift record.

Zach has always had a passion for training, for enabling others to strengthen themselves. That’s what drove him to open Warehouse Gym in 2006, despite his already busy schedule as a chiropractor.

“The bigger vision is overall health,” Zach says.

As a chiropractor Zach couldn’t completely do everything he wanted, but he enjoyed his time training at 24 Hour Fitness while in college.

The final straw occurred when he witnessed someone exercising while drinking coffee at a more standard gym.

So he stepped back and returned to his passion, but why a warehouse style gym?

“It’s easy to see now that crossfit is popular and I saw that trend starting years ago,” Zach says.

It’s about having applicable exercises and staying on your feet. A workout should simulate the motions people normally do such as lifting groceries or yard work, and with less automated machines at the gym people are more in tune with the workout and their body.

Zach blends his training and chiropractic knowledge in more ways than one. He continues his chiropractic work by working out of the gym.

He wants the people he rehabilitates in his chiropractic office to transition to helping themselves at the gym. Though it works both ways to his surprise, as several gym members now also see him for their chiropractic needs.

The gym has developed a few family-like traditions through the years such as friendly competitions and pizza and beer nights every few weeks.

It could be this odd unintended form of recruitment, the Crossfit craze, his location or the easily accessible nature of the Warehouse Gym, but Zach still has one more thing that makes his gym unique.

Every year a powerlifting meet is held in the southern Houston area and five years ago Zach took over. Lifters from the warehouse, all around Texas and even a few from out of state come to compete in squats, benchpresses and deadlifts. This year’s was the largest yet with over 70 competitors ranging from teenagers to more “seasoned” lifters, from moms to a man two weeks away from heart surgery.

For anyone interested in the meet or warehouse gym, it is located at 3830 W. Main St., League City and the phone number is 281-557-2122.