Levelland In Focus

Winter Magazine • L e vel land & Ho ck le y C ounty Ne ws-Press • Fre e

Table of Contents Derek Dunn.............................................................Pg. 7

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“I never wanted a real job” “I never wanted a real job,” said Derek Dunn, a local entrepreneur who has spent the majority of his career finding niche ways to make an income.

Dunn’s desire to have his own business began from an early age, but Dunn mostly knew he just wanted the freedom to do what he wanted and live the lifestyle he wanted.

Now, Dunn has that freedom to leave and do what he wants, when he wants. Not just the freedom, but the style, too, as Dunn flies his own helicopter.

The two are somewhat integrated in that when he was just a kid, Dunn and his family would visit Possum Kingdom Lake. While there, Dunn noticed a man who would fly his helicopter to the restaurant every weekend to eat dinner.

“I finally went over and asked him what he did for a living,” Dunn said.

The man told Dunn he invented a piece that made the microwave oven work.

“For a long time, I thought you had to invent something to be successful then realized that wasn’t the case,” Dunn said.

When he was 12 years old, Dunn started saving money to buy a corn roaster. He would do odd jobs for people, like mowing yards, and basically anything someone would hire a 12-year-old to do.

“I couldn’t do a whole lot with it until I turned 16,” Dunn said.

When he got his driver’s license, Dunn started taking the corn roaster to a lot on College Avenue, in front of where Dickey’s is now.

“I had that lot for several years, up until the day Dickey’s opened,” Dunn said.

In Focus 2021 | 7

“We were killing it up there”

8 | In Focus 2021

Dunn started roasting corn and selling it to people two or three times a week and was shocked at the income he was generating.

“We were killing it up there,” Dunn said. “I saved up enough money to buy my first rent house out there.”

Dunn bought his first rent house the year he graduated high school, 2011, and bought a second one shortly after that.

“I would rent out those houses and I still lived at home,” Dunn said. “From there, it grew to six rent houses real quick.”

While owning the rent houses and still operating the corn roasting business, Dunn was also attending school at South Plains College.

“I was trying to go to medical school so I was taking all medical classes,” Dunn said. “I didn’t last three or four semesters at SPC.” Dunn said while attending SPC, he also bought his first limousine and started his first business.

“The limousine business had taken off then and I was done with school,” Dunn said.

In that first year after owning his own limousine business, Dunn bought out the other two limousine businesses in Lubbock, Limousines of Lubbock and Purple Tie. Unfortunately, when Covid-19 hit, it hit hard for the transportation business and Dunn ended up selling everything and getting out of the limousine business for good.

“It hit everybody, it didn’t matter what end of it you were in,” Dunn said. “I was smart enough that I held on for five months and then I couldn’t see a future in it. I didn’t think it would ever be the same and we sold everything.”

Through that experience, Dunn said he learned that diversity is everything when it comes to revenue.

“Be more diverse, and two don’t have any debt,” Dunn said. “We weren’t in a lot of debt, but we were in business debt. Now, I wouldn’t do it for any amount of money. Stay out of debt, don’t buy things you don’t need and cash is king, as Dave Ramsey would say, and it’s true. Being diverse is the biggest thing.”

Dunn also started a side business during this time, Texas Trailer, that is a trailer rental service that operates solely on an online interface with customers.

For Dunn, being a successful entrepreneur is about identifying a need, or something that is missing in the marketplace, and filling that need or gap.

For his trailer business, Dunn simply didn’t have time to answer the phone to handle the Texas Trailer business and set up a fully online portal for customers to access rentals.

“We found a way we could book and rent everything through the portal and never talk to anyone,” Dunn said. “You can’t do that with U-Haul.”

He also bought a golf cart in the middle of Covid-19 and noticed when he was looking to buy, every dealership he went to wasn’t very attractive on the outside.

“I saw that Lubbock didn’t have any good golfcart dealerships at all, they’re run down and that’s why I didn’t buy one in Lubbock,” Dunn said.

Instead, he went to a dealership in Dallas and noticed it was doing it right.

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“They were killing it, absolutely killing it, they were up 400 percent,” Dunn said. “I thought Lubbock would be the area that could use this and we started here in Levelland selling golf carts out of my shop. For the first six months, we just saw an opportunity there that nobody else had capitalized on.”

Now, Dunn has the Texas Trailer business, a golf cart dealership in Lubbock and 18 rental properties, including 17 residential properties and one commercial property.

His goals for the future revolve around expanding his golf cart business to be a multi-line dealership, and to

expand more into commercial real estate.

“It’s not about the idea, it’s about who executes it,” Dunn said. “I’m a huge fan of passive income, it just comes in.”

Dunn said in order to be a successful entrepreneur, one needs to first understand the difference between an asset and a liability.

“A liability is something that costs you money and an asset is something that makes you money,” Dunn said. “If you don’t know the difference between those, you’re going to have a problem.

People buy liabilities and think they’re assets. You have to know that or you

won’t get anywhere.”

In addition to some basic knowledge about business, Dunn said it’s important to have a positive attitude and never give up.

“Have a positive attitude and always look at the bright side because negativity brings you down,” Dunn said “I’ve seen it happen to other businesses. If you just blame everybody for your problems, you’re probably the problem. If you quit worrying about everything else, you get so much further in life.”

But Dunn credits most of his success to having someone who saw him and believed in him.

“The hardest thing was getting started because I was so young but I was fortunate to have Scott Wade at what was Aim Bank,” Dunn said. “I couldn’t be where I’m at today without him.”

At 20, Dunn said he remembers going into the bank looking for a loan and talking with Wade.

“What 20-year-old could go in there and buy a limousine that a bank would finance, that just doesn’t happen,” Dunn said. “He told me, ‘You’re going to learn a lesson either way,’ and he financed all of it. When things got really good, he financed all those businesses, too.

“Not a lot of young 20-year-olds have that option...he treated me like I was somebody and I was a nobody,” Dunn said. “Sometimes it’s just about finding someone who believes in you.”

Dunn said he and his wife Sabrina have continued to stay in Levelland because it is and always has been their home.

“It’s home, we travel a lot and come back and sometimes we ask ourselves, why do we even come back to the dirt,” Dunn said. “But Levelland will always be home, no matter what.”

“Levelland will always be home, no matter what” 10 | In Focus 2021

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American Dreamer Matt Gray at Renegade Wireline Services credits employees with business success Behind every great business endeavor is the team of individuals who made it possible.

At Renegade Wireline Services, Matt Gray holds this to the highest esteem and gives his employees all the credit for what his business has become since its inception.

After leaving Gray Wireline in 2009, Matt decided to strike out on his own and create the business he envisioned where values were held to the highest priority.

Two months after leaving Gray Wireline, Matt and his partners had their first job in the northeastern portion of the United States.

“We started with two trucks in the northeast and ordered a third truck when we got there,” Matt said. “We started getting trucks in and everybody started coming to work and we began building Levelland.”

Gabe Coronado is one of the first guys who joined Matt at Renegade, followed shortly

by Steve Villanueva.

Steve Gray, Matt’s father, started Gray Wireline in 1983. Gabe, Matt and Steve Villanueva all previously worked for Steve Gray at Gray Wireline.

The business sold and Steve Gray, along with Matt’s older brother, signed noncompete clauses. However, Matt did not and was able to start his own business venture.

“Me and Randy Cassidy got together and decided we wanted to start our own business,” Matt said.

The business began growing organically as Steve Gray was able to join in 2010, spurring the business forward.

“Levelland, at its prime before the pandemic, we were probably up to nearly 30 trucks and 102 employees,” Matt said.

“As a company, our peak was 630 employees.”

Matt said the key to the business’ growth was mostly timing, combined with the loyalty and dedication of the team members.

“We were really growing organically,” Matt said. “The people we were hiring is what was really making it grow. The work ethic that everybody took along with it, the examples that were set.”

Matt credits his father with inspiring him to work hard to provide for not only his own family, but for his employees’ families.

“We grew up with my dad who used to work day and night and my mom was so proud of my dad for doing it, we were so proud of my dad,” Matt said. “It’s the only way I knew how.”

Matt said his father also showed him the values necessary to not only run a successful business, but to produce happy and loyal employees.

In Focus 2021 | 13

Matt said his father also showed him the values necessary to not only run a successful business, but to produce happy and loyal employees.

“I grew up in the business with my dad who started Gray Wireline in the 1970s, we were always around,” Matt said. “I always had it in the back of my mind to do something like Renegade.

“Just like everyone who works for us, we have a passion for what we do,” he continued. “It’s long hours and lots of driving, lots of time away from family. These guys have had to make sacrifices in their life and with their families, so the basic thing we wanted to provide was a good place to work.

“We do focus on the bottom line, but we’re not going to sacrifice high quality service and nice equipment for money,” Matt continued. “Above all, I want to take care of our people, which includes making sure they have nice equipment.”

Matt said when he was watching his father run a business, things were different than they are now with growth and expanding the business.

“Times were a lot different then, we didn’t have the opportunity to grow like we had toward the end of Gray Wireline and the start of Renegade,” Matt said. “We’ve done a real good job of growing organically...It’s all about the simple idea that you want to elevate your employees’ lifestyle, my dad beat that into my head.

“It instills loyalty, a sense of pride and the American dream,” Matt said. “It’s about coming up from nothing or not having much and working very hard to provide for your family and being able to give your kids more than you ever got. That’s the biggest success story of Renegade, it’s what we do and we try do that for everyone who comes to work for us.”

Matt said that loyalty is instilled in his employees because of his and the company’s dedication to providing for their employees “We try to elevate people’s lifestyle, we’ll take a 21-year-old kid and take their lifestyle to a new level if they’re willing to put forth the effort,” Matt said.

14 | In Focus 2021

“It’s the only way I knew how”

That was the case with Klay Brock who is now a manager at the company. When he first started, about 10 years ago, Brock was just a kid who wanted a job.

“Klay ran the ranks through Renegade and he can run every tool we have,” Matt said.

Brock said he remembers coming to Matt, who “didn’t want to hire him.”

“I remember I walked in here and Matt told me if I got my CDL, he’d hire me,” Brock said. “Later that day, I went and got my CDL and I think he was a little surprised. He’s a man of his word and he kept it.”

Brock said as he was making his way through the ranks, Matt never hesitated to offer advice and knowledge to help Brock learn.

“Matt and I developed a close friendship and he took a lot of extra time to help me out with any questions I ever had,” Brock said. “No matter what time of day it was, and it was usually in the middle of the night, he never minded explaining and passing on knowledge to me. To have him take the time away to help me and better me, that really meant a lot and it still means a lot.”

then it’s trying to hold on to your people,” Matt said. “As soon as times get good, our objective is to prepare for the next downturn.”

When the most recent downturn happened, it impacted Renegade significantly where their employee total was cut by more than 50 percent, from 630 employees throughout the whole company to 224.

“We tried to hang on with everyone but there wasn’t going to be a way,” Matt said. “We all sat here and tried to decide who we could keep and who we couldn’t. We didn’t have an HR department to come in here, it was these guys who had to tell people to go home and it was horrible.

“That was the worst thing I’ve ever been through at Renegade or Gray Wireline,” Matt said.

Now, the company has come back up to about 350 employees, which Matt is proud of, and says the company will continue to try and bring people back.

“That was everybody’s focus, trying to get everybody back,” Matt said “It’s almost impossible not to lay off during downturns in the oilfield, but we’ve always tried to hold on to our people.”

“I want people to be proud of where they work” Steve Villanueva and Gabe Coronado said they joined Renegade for the same reasons that Matt prides the company for, a quality place to work with a company that cares for its employees.

“I’ve been with Matt and his dad since 1998, it was something I’ve always done and knew it would fit my lifestyle,” Coronado said.

“It’s the family aspect around here, the Grays are good people and they care about all of us,” Villanueva said.

Brock said another thing the company prides itself on is being the best wireline company there is, in all aspects.

“In how we do everything, from our relationship with everybody who works here and the quality of work,” Brock said.

Matt said family is important to him, as well, especially knowing the time his employees have to spend away from their families for Renegade.

“I want people to be proud of where they work, I want them to be proud of their family members who work for Renegade,” Matt said. “That’s the kind of company I wanted to be a part of.”

Matt said it’s always challenging to run an oilfield business that values its employees in a market that can be unpredictable sometimes.

“It seems like it’s the same challenges, it’s trying to hire people and build and build and then when the market turns,

In Focus 2021 | 15

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Matt points out that because Wireline Services are a more niche market inside the oilfield industry, it’s interesting that after every downturn, the field seems to reinvent itself.

“It’s a little different, a little more technology and there’s always a change in the way it come back, you never stop learning,” Matt said.

“It keeps it interesting, it’s what keeps me interested.”

Currently, Renegade has 14 locations throughout the United States, including Texas, Mississippi, New Mexico and Pennsylvania.

“We’re going to keep doing what we’re doing,” Matt said. “So much of our business is driven by our customer base. When they grow, we grow and we just try to keep the pace.”

But again, Matt credits everything about the success of Renegade back to his employees.

“The reason why we’re here and why we’re successful is because of our employees,” Matt said. “We are who we are because of our employees. I believe they are the face of Renegade, whether they’re out in the community or on the job site.”

Matt said Renegade values community involvement because it’s about reaching out to those high school graduates who might not see a future at a four-year university and instead are ready to go to work.

“I want the kids in high school to know who Renegade is so those who don’t go to college and go to work and want to make something of themselves can come to us,” Matt said. “We can push them along because I want to provide opportunities for people.”

In Focus 2021 | 17

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Life in style Sam O’Connor and Jayme Pearson share passion for styling clients for everyday life Never underestimate the power of a new outfit and fresh haircut is the motto of Sam O’Connor and Jayme Pearson at Wild West Salon and Boutique in downtown Levelland.

Sam and Jayme have a passion for making women, and men, feel better about themselves whether it be through a

20 | In Focus 2021

quick trim or a completely new hairstyle, and while they’re at it, they also have plenty of trendy fashion choices to choose from, too.

Sam says the adventure started in 2015 when she saw the building was available in downtown Levelland. She and her husband began renting the building in March 2015 and started renovations.

They turned the vacant building into a stylish salon that had personality and color. Sam said she envisioned the salon and boutique as her “home away from home,” and somewhere she could be comfortable.

Prior to opening the salon, Sam worked as a cosmetologist after deciding she didn’t want to pursue a career in law enforcement.

“The style we have really vibes” “I had always wanted to be a hair dresser but didn’t have the backing for it,” Sam said. “Then, I went for law enforcement and I met my husband and he said he wasn’t going to marry a cop, so bam!” school, she managed a sleep lab but when her son got old enough to start school, she went back and got her license.

“It’s something I had always wanted to do because of the independence and creativity that came with it,” Sam said.

She worked at Sahara’s Salon in Levelland for six years before the building in downtown became available and she knew she had to have it.

“We jumped on it,” Sam said.

“Bart and I rented the building and turned it into the salon and did all the work,” Sam said. “After those first seven months, the guy was just ready to sell it and we bought it.”

Jayme Pearson joined the salon shortly after it opened in June 2015 after hearing there was a space available.

When Jayme first started at Wild West, she was doing

permanent brows for the salon’s “brow bar.”

Jayme’s history actually goes back to when she opened a lash salon in Dallas before going back to school to get her cosmetology license.

“I thought I wanted to do lashes so I got my esthetician’s license,” Jayme said. “I wanted to do it for 10 years but both of my kids were in college and it just wasn’t the right time.”

In Focus 2021 | 21

But Jayme enjoyed doing lashes because it gave her what she wanted, to make other women feel beautiful.

“It was helping make other women beautiful by doing their lashes and permanent make-up,” Jayme said. “Then, it led into me going back and getting my cosmetology license.”

Jayme said she loves being in the beauty industry because it’s artwork and requires a sense of creativity.

“Everybody is an artist in their own way, no one does any technique the same,” Jayme said. “Hair can be like an open canvas and you get to create different styles and different color.”

Jayme said she was drawn to Wild West Salon because of its aesthetic, the atmosphere and the location.

“I liked being downtown, but I also liked the vibe of the salon, that had a lot to do with it,” Jayme said. “Where I was, you were in a suite by yourself and salons can be ‘gossipy’ but we don’t do that here. We don’t this be a breeding ground for gossip.”

Jayme and Sam agree there is a common trust among them at the salon

with their business and their clients.

“Trust is there, for sure,” Jayme said. “Sam has been doing hair so much longer than me and when you go into a salon, you need to go somewhere where they’re willing to help you. Sam has always been willing to help where other salons, they wont, they’re usually out for themselves and that’s not how it is here at all.”

Sam said with Jayme joining the salon, it brought it all together for her and Wild West Salon and Boutique.

“Jayme and I, the style we have, together it really jives,” Sam said. “She brought her ideas and I brought mine and it went together. There’s no drama, this is what we’re doing.”

The pair is always looking at new ways to add their own unique style to the boutique, from colorful and fun mannequins to chandeliers.

The style the two have also carries over into the boutique side of the salon, which offers everything clothing options including pants, blouses, graphic t-shirts and sweaters, to accessories and personal items.

“Everybody is an artist in their own way” In Focus 2021 | 23

“It’s perfect for women who are sitting, waiting for their appointment or for their hair to process, they can browse the options and it’s more of a grab and go,” Jayme said. “It’s convenient and it brings new clients in the door because sometimes they don’t read the door and think it’s just a boutique.”

“When they’re waiting, they always say, ‘Oh, you know how to get us!’ And by the end of the hour, they’ll have a pile stacked up,” Sam said.

Outside of the salon, Sam and Jayme have other ventures in personal training. During Covid-19, when the salon was shut down due to state restrictions, Sam saw an opportunity to do something a little extra.

“The personal training I do on the side with my extra time,” Sam said. “I do it out of my garage and we do weight training, cardio–the workouts are never the same and I do modifications for everybody.”

Sam said it all goes back to the same prerogative as the salon–helping others feel good about themselves.

“I just like making people feel good about themselves,” Sam said.

24 | In Focus 2021

“Everybody struggles every now and then and they need a little push and accountability.”

She said the same thing carries over into the salon and she and Jayme see the impact of how a new haircut or a fresh outfit can turn someone’s whole day around.

“Just like here, people can be complaining about their whole life falling apart but all they needed was some fresh hair,” Sam said. “Some people are stressed and they work out and feel better and leave.”

Jayme agrees that working at the salon is fun because of how people feel when they leave.

“It’s making feel better about themselves,” Jayme said. “Most people come in and can’t wait to get their hair done. It’s just about how much better you feel and also the people you meet.”

Jayme said sometimes, she and Sam are just a shoulder to lean on in hard times.

“Sometimes, they just need someone to talk to,” Jayme said. “They gain your trust and tell you how things are going. It’s like therapy.”

Sam said she doesn’t have any plans to go anywhere anytime soon.

“I hope to be here for awhile, until I’m doing hair as a little old lady,” Sam said.

Sam and Jayme said they’ve seen a lot of trendy hair cuts come and go through the years and haven’t had many problems with them, but have noticed a new trend coming up among teenagers, especially teenage boys.

“The mullet is coming back,” Sam said. “Even like the shag mullet for women is coming back and the Farrah Faucet bangs. Even in the fashion industry, older trends are coming back like bell bottoms and tie-dye.”

“Everything comes back around,” Jayme said.

Sam and Jayme also agree on that the best part of what they do is getting to know the people who sit in the chair and seeing how happy they are when they leave.

“I love being around the people, you see their life and their personalities,” Jayme said.

“For me, it’s the smile on their face when they leave the salon,” Sam said.

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Fa La La Fun for the girls night out

This year’s Fa La La, Fun for the Ladies Night Out, is set for December 9 at the Mallet Event Center and Arena.

The event was cancelled last year out of an abundance of caution related to the Covid-19 pandemic. This year, the committee is excited to see the event come to fruition.

Tickets for the event went on sale at 8 a.m. on November 19 at the Levelland Chamber of Commerce office, located at 1101 Avenue H. There will only be a limited number of tickets available with some being reserved for individuals purchasing sponsorships.

Each table will have two complimentary bottles of wine for the ladies to partake in at their pleasure.

There will be several vendors for shopping and a style show will be put on for vendors to showcase their trendiest items.

Each ticket comes with a free pampering station for ladies to use for a massage.

There will also be a drink ticket for each lady to use on a cocktail of their choice.

Mary Siders, president of the Levelland Chamber of Commerce, said in early November the committee still intended to host the pampering stations with sanitizing guidelines in place.

Attendees will also receive a commemorative Fa La La t-shirt, along with a gift bag full of different goodies.

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28 | In Focus 2021

This is the ninth year for Fa La La to be held at the Mallet Event Center.

Fa La La came to be after three charter members of the Fa La La committee traveled to Engleton to attend a similar event.

The charter members came back to Levelland and formed the Fa La La committee, which traditionally consists of about 12 ladies in Levelland.

The purpose of the event was to raise funds to put back into event, except 10 percent that is put into a building fund for the Levelland Chamber of Commerce.

Siders said the Fa La La event is also an important quality of life event that gives ladies in Levelland something fun and relaxing to do before the hectic holiday times.

"Many times, people say there isn't anything to do here so it's important for us to create activities here to keep people here and money here," Siders said. "It's also just some pampering and relaxation for women before the holiday season."

It's also a chance for ladies to get some last minute shopping in before the holiday season kicks into overdrive.

Siders said being a small community, it's also about tradition and Fa La La has become a holiday tradition in Levelland.

"It's about tradition and rural communities are about tradition," Siders said. "This event has become a holiday tradition in Levelland."

Siders said the chamber supports events like Fa La La because it attracts outside people to the Levelland community, too.

"Quality of life is important in economic development because when we are recruiting businesses to Levelland, those businesses have wives and families tied to those decisions," Siders said. "These events make Levelland more appealing."

Committee members include: Christina Waters, Janna Worley, Toni Methvin, Kellie McDonald, Breann Buxkemper, Stephanie Latham, Barbra Pinner, Kelly Read, Sarah Waters, Melonie Brooks, Amber Smith, Megan Damrell, and SuAnn Alexander.

Tickets for Fa La La went on sale Tuesday, November 16. There were a limited number of tickets available and cost $75 each.

For more information, contact the Levelland Chamber of Commerce by calling 894-3157.

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In town and out-of-town trips for residents of Bailey, Lamb, Hale, Floyd, Motley, Cochran, Hockley, Rural Lubbock, Crosby, Dickens, King, Yoakum, Terry, Lynn, Garza, Scurry, and Mitchell Counties. SPARTAN provides safe, quality, and affordable transportation services to the residents of the South Plains. The transit services offered enable the general public to access employment, education, shopping, recreation, medical service providers and medical appointments (Medicaid), and social service agencies. Anyone can ride!

To discover more about transportation services in your area or to schedule a ride, please call us toll free at 1-800-462-8747.

ABC PRO RODEO

Returns for 79th annual rodeo at Mallet The ABC Rodeo will host the 79th annual rodeo at the Mallet Event Center in Levelland March 31 through April 2, 2022.

This will the second year for the rodeo to be held at the Mallet after previously being held at the Lubbock Municipal Coliseum. After its demolition in 2019, the rodeo found its new home in Levelland.

In 2020, the rodeo was cancelled as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and new restrictions that had been its place to stop the spread of the virus.

But, the rodeo committee was happy to return in the

spring of 2021 to host the 78th annual rodeo for the first time in Levelland.

The rodeo went off without a hitch and the committee was very happy with the support of the community and the facility.

As a result of the 78th ABC Rodeo, the committee was able to present a check of $15,000 to the Boys and Girls Club of Lubbock.

“We were pleased with that for it to be the first time in Levelland and not knowing what to expect, I was very pleased,” said Leslie Cox, past chair of the ABC Rodeo committee.

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34 | In Focus 2021

For that first year in Levelland, the ABC Rodeo introduced a variety of new events that they weren’t able to do before as they had previously been restrained by space.

“We were very pleased with the Mallet, it turned out to be a great building and gave us opportunities to try and do new things,” Cox said. “That’s the biggest thing, it gave us so many opportunities that we had never had the space for.”

When the rodeo first announced its move to Levelland, there was concern about the Mallet not having enough seats for spectators.

However, Cox said everything worked out alright in the end.

“Sure, we would love to have more seats, but if we don’t we don’t,” Cox said.

“We’re happy with that.”

Both Friday and Saturday night rodeos had sell-out shows, which Cox said was a positive indication.

“That just told us we had people who wanted to come and see the rodeo,” Cox said.

Last year, the rodeo hosted a whole Rodeo Week prior to the rodeo performances. While the committee does plan to

kick off the rodeo with some fun events prior to the rodeo weekend, Cox said things will look slightly different.

“We have modified things, while we are still going to do some of those events, they will be modified,” Cox said. “It was the first time for a lot of things, we were trying them out and we figured out better ways and different ways to do things for various reasons.”

There will still be a barbeque cook-off competition the weekend before the rodeo, as well as Mutton Bustin’ tryouts.

“Every year, our plan is to make it bigger and better,” Cox said.

Coby Wright is the new chair of the ABC Rodeo Committee and said things are kicking into high gear as the holiday season approaches.

“It’s going full blast ahead,” Wright said. “We’re selling ads and getting our sponsorships in line.”

Wright said its always hard to hit the ground running with sales around the holidays, as people aren’t as eager to give money for sponsorships but that the committee is dedicated to the cause.

“We hope to give them a good venue for entertainment” “We don’t have much time, we’re one of the first rodeos after the start of the year,” Wright said.

“Christmas will be here before you know it and then boom, it’s March.”

In securing those sponsorships, Wright said the committee is consistent with the fact that all the proceeds from the rodeo the sponsorships support benefit local kids.

“Our biggest goal is giving as much as we can to the Boys and Girls Club of Lubbock,” Wright said.

“That’s what we’re raising money for.”

Wright said it’s often overlooked that the ABC Rodeo also supports the AMBUCS organization, which provides tracks and bicycles for children with disabilities.

“That’s a pretty big deal and it’s really cool when you get to give one of those bikes to a kid who can’t ride a regular bike,” Wright said. “Everything we do is centered around raising money for the Boys and Girls Club and AMBUCS.”

Wright said in looking to the 79th annual rodeo, the committee wants to provide quality entertainment for the local community while also raising as much money as possible for their causes.

“We try to make it a little better than last year,” Wright said. “That was our first year in Levelland and we didn’t really know what to expect. There were a few problems to work out but it turned out as a really neat event. We just want to add a few things.

“We’re just looking forward to making it a bit better than last year

and let Levelland know we have very much appreciated their support from last year and hope they come back this year,” Wright continued.

“We hope we can give them a good venue for entertainment.”

Saturday, March 25, events will kick off at the Mallet with the BBQ cook-off starting at 8 a.m. Mutton Bustin’ registration will take place at 1 p.m. followed by the competition at 3 p.m. inside the Mallet Arena.

Wednesday, March 30, the slack competition will begin at 6 p.m.

The first ABC Rodeo Pro performance will take place Thursday, March 31 at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, April 1, the vendor show will open at 1 p.m. and close at 5 p.m. followed by the rodeo performance at 7:30 p.m.

There will be a dance that night, beginning at 9:45 p.m.

Saturday, April 2, the vendor show will open at noon and the first rodeo performance will begin at 1:30 p.m. followed by a second performance at 7:30 p.m. A dance will be held that night, beginning at 9:45 p.m.

In Focus 2021 | 35

MISSION STATEMENT To ensure a high quality of life for Levelland citizens and visitors through effective and efficient municipal services and economic growth.

Visit us online @ levellandtexas.org or follow us on Facebook @ Levelland Texas

Our commitment to all of Levelland-

Core Value #1 - Customer service of the highest quality to our customers.

Core Value #2 - Dependability in our service and commitment to our customers and team.

Core Value #3 - Trustworthiness and integrity in our words, actions, and deeds.

Core Value #4 - Continuous improvement in all that we do.

Levelland, We Work For You. Street Department - The Street Department includes 6 employees plus supervision and is responsible for the maintenance of streets, alleys, and drainage systems in Levelland. Duties of the Street Department include pavement maintenance, repair, and patching, alley maintenance and improvement, mowing of city rights of way, street sweeping, weed spraying and control within city rights of way, mosquito spraying, cleaning and maintenance of drainage systems, installation and maintenance of traffic control and direction signage, support and barricading of streets for special events, and similar activities. The City’s Shop Department includes one mechanic who maintains 140 city vehicles, including large specialized equipment.

Sanitation Department - The Sanitation Department has 7 employees including one part-time position that help with the operations of the City of Levelland Landfill, the Recycling Center, and the Alley Clean-up program. The City of Levelland Landfill is an arid exempt landfill which opened in August of 2015. With separate arid exempt disposal areas for Type I and Type IV wastes, the Levelland Municipal Landfill

handles all Levelland Type IV waste and well over half of Levelland’s Type I waste. The City of Levelland’s Recycling Center is a permitted Type V Processing Facility that handles an average of 40 tons of recyclables and over 20 tons of Type IV waste each year. The Sanitation Department also operates an alley cleanup program which removes Type IV waste from alleys to assist in beautifying Levelland. The City of Levelland’s garbage collection and disposal is contracted through Republic Services.

Water Department – The Water Department has 7 employees including a Public Works Administrative Aide. The City purchases water from the Canadian River Municipal Water Authority and blends it with 11 available active City wells. The City has two elevated storage tanks and 4 ground storage tanks with the storage capacity of 2.8 million gallons of water. The system includes 3 pump stations, with each station having the capability of chlorination. This helps distribute the water throughout the City. The water system consists of approximately 140 miles of water line, with a peak delivery amount of 3 million gallons of water a day. The City has over 5500 water meter connections and is always improving with technology. They currently use an automated vehicle meter reading system that reads each meter every month The City also has a SCADA monitoring system in place to help run the system more efficiently.

Wastewater Department – The Wastewater Department has 4 employees and each is responsible for the cleaning and maintaining of the sewer system. The system is divided into a treatment and a collection side. On the treatment side, the treatment facility consists of a pond system and includes a lift station, bar screens, comminutor, grit chamber, and 3 aerated lagoons. The facility also includes a holding pond for storage of treated effluent prior to irrigation. The City is authorized to dispose of treated domestic wastewater effluent at a daily flow not to exceed 1.8 MGD through surface irrigation on City owned agricultural land. The collection system consists of 13 lift stations, 450 manholes, and several miles of sewer lines ranging from 6” to 18” in diameter. The city has a vactor truck and a trailer to help clean the lines and help with customer service on city mains. The wastewater system is also on the SCADA system to help monitor the lift station.

A PROCESS OF ADJUSTMENT Larry McIlroy is dedicated to improving patient lifestyles Sometimes all you need in life is a little adjustment.

Larry McIlroy is a third generation chiropractor and has been serving patients in Levelland for 30 years.

“When I got out of school, I started working with my cousin who was a chiropractor in Lubbock and he had this practice over here part-time,” McIlroy said. “I started over here with that and have been here ever since.”

McIlroy said he moved to Levelland after his business had been open for 10 years and loves the town.

“I love Levelland,” McIlroy said. “I like the size of the town and I haven’t met many people who weren’t nice. Most people are very friendly and I’ve enjoyed getting along with them and my patients.”

In the chiropractic business, McIlory said he deals mostly with pain whether it be with the spine or nervous system.

In Focus 2021 | 39

“We consider the nervous system the master system of the body that is controlled by nerves and the spine houses it,” McIlroy said. “That’s why we focus on the spine to free up that nerve interference so everything functions better. The pain dictates where I adjust to try to free up that area to be pain free.”

But, McIlroy said chiropractics is about more than just pain and actually contributes to the overall well-being of the body.

“I didn’t see a medical doctor for the first 30 years of my life,” McIlroy said.

Growing up with a dad and grandfather as a chiropractor, McIlory hardly made it through a week without an adjustment.

“My dad would always find that spot that hurt on me,” McIlroy said. “I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen a medical doctor.”

McIlroy said when he gets together with other chiropractors, they never pass up an opportunity for an adjustment.

“It’s almost a sin in our profession that if there’s another chiropractor in the room and you don’t use them,” McIlroy said.

For years, there has been tension between the chiropractic practice and the medical field, but McIlroy said it’s all about working together.

“No one has all the answers and sometimes I have a bigger piece of the puzzle,” McIlroy said. “We all work together and do nothing that doesn’t benefit the patient.”

McIlroy said he has a well-developed relationship with Covenant Health Levelland and often sees referrals from doctors within the clinic system.

“People just don’t realize how important the mechanics of the body are,” McIlroy said. “And how little pressure it takes to create this pain.”

“When the mechanics of the body are out, you’re going to have pain”

40 | In Focus 2021

THIRD GENERATION

1

McIlroy said when those “mechanics” aren’t functioning properly, it results in pain that often times is left untreated.

“When the mechanics of the body are out, you’re going to have pain somewhere,” McIlroy said.

“There have been many times where someone has come in and can’t hardly walk. I find that spot and they get an adjustment and walk out. I’ve had patients walk in with crutches and walk out without them.

“I can’t guarantee that for everybody, but it happens,” McIlroy said.

“Your body tells you what you need and I have ways of challenging that and seeing what’s wrong.”

McIlroy has patients of all ages and has even done adjustments on all his grandchildren the same day they were born.

“I had my first adjustment before I ever got out of the delivery room and I have adjusted all of my grandchildren, one while he was still in NICU,” McIlroy said.

McIlroy said while he was in school, he learned that percentage of SIDS deaths could be attributed to an issue with the atlas at

the top of the spine, which can become impacted after birth.

“It’s to make sure the atlas is not jammed,” McIlroy said. “I’ve done all our kids and grandchildren to make sure that’s moving.”

McIlroy also does adjustments on pregnant women, some up until the day of delivery.

“It can make the delivery go so much smoother,” McIlroy said.

McIlroy said seeing a chiropractor can get injured workers back on the job faster and even prevent them from getting injured as easily.

“I can get people back to work much faster and they’re more productive and less likely to be hurt as bad if everything is aligned,” McIlroy said.

Charlene, McIlroy’s assistant who has been with him for years, said she has witnessed elderly patients who had all but given up on a normal life who actually got their mobility back.

“He keeps our elderly community going,” Charlene said. “A lot of people think they can’t move any more and just stay home. He works on these people and they get their life back.”

McIlroy sees patients from across the area, state and region.

“He has some patients who come see him all the way from Tennessee,” Charlene said.

McIlroy said he pursued a career in chiropractic care because it was basically “written in the stars.”

“It was kind of written in the stars,” McIlroy said.

“My grandad, dad and about four of my uncles and a cousin were in it,”

McIlroy said. “As a kid, I’d hang around my dad’s practice and people would come out and I’d hear them say ‘praise God, say ‘praise Dr. McIlroy,’ and things like that.

“It was the only treatment I had growing up and I made it all the way through grade school without ever missing a day of school,” McIlroy said. “It boosts the immune system in younger kids and we can see the benefit of it in everything.”

After being in Levelland 30 years, McIlroy said he considers himself rooted in the community.

“My daughter and grandchildren live here and I’m still seeing one or two patients who I saw when I first graduated,” McIlroy said.

McIlroy is trained in many different techniques and offers a variety of services to his clients to ensure he is meeting their needs.

“There aren’t many who come in and request something I can’t do,” McIlroy said.

In Focus 2021 | 43

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Coming home

Gene and Katie Allen are excited to return home to focus on Krestridge Funeral Home in Levelland It’s official! Gene and Katie Allen are coming home.

The owners of Krestridge Funeral Home say they are both ready to return to Levelland.

They also own Kerrville and Junction funeral homes but have sold their home in Kerrville.

“It was listed for six days,” reported Gene.

As for the future, they have not decided whether to buy or build, having multiple temporary

housing options with apartments near all three funeral homes.

During their lives, they have lived and worked in the oil patch, moved to the Metroplex, then to the Hill Country and soon, back to Levelland.

“I have been blessed,” Allen admits as he discusses the course of his life, which started here, has taken him from working for a national oil company for 20 years, to mortuary school and

into the funeral home business which now includes three locations.

As a result, Katie, has worked as a counselor in five different school districts.

“It’s been a wild ride,” says his wife of nearly 30 years. “It’s been fun!”

Gene is the son of Elbert and Frankie Allen and was born in Hockley County. His dad invested 30 plus years working for the old Texas Pacific Coal and Oil Company and Gene followed in his footsteps, going to work in the oil patch after graduating from Plains High School and attending South Plains College and Wayland Baptist University.

Katie was the daughter of a career Air Force officer who retired as a Lt. Colonel. She considers San Angelo home.

Gene worked for National Oilwell in Denver City and Sundown for 20 years until May, 1999, when another slow down in the oil economy sent him looking for something else to do.

“I knew exactly what I wanted to do,” he says, explaining that his mom and dad were good friends with George and Butch Price and he grew up riding his bicycle up the hill to the funeral home.

Reflecting on some of his many memories, he says that Jerry Boudreaux was a positive influence on him and recalled seeing Jerry mowing his lawn in a suit and tie and helping put Christmas lights up on the George Price Funeral Home in a suit and tie.

In Focus 2021 | 45

We Are Levelland!

PRIDE P

reparation for college, career readiness, and productive citizenship

r

espect for the educational process, teachers, and discipline

i d e

• Improvement of student scores • Improvement of student services • Involvement in community

• Understanding the value of education and discipline • Application of the student code of conduct • Recognize the importance of character and self-worth

ntegrity of LISD shown through consistent actions

• Communication district wide and with community • Demonstration of character on and off campus

ependability of the educational process at LISD

• Developing and maintaining exemplary programs • Maintaining a safe environment • Responsibility to ensure highest level of education • Fiduciary and custodial responsibility of public funds

ffort to promote district-wide pride

• Through continuity from Pre-K through 12th grade • Through district wide parent and community involvement

LEVELLAND ISD Levelland ISD Vision The LISD board, administration, and teachers are committed to challenging each student to reach his or her full potential. We envision a LISD graduate as a well-rounded, life long learner who will work to develop his or her abilities and contribute productively to a diverse and democratic society. The graduate will seek balance personally, professionally, and intellectually and will respond positively to the demands of an ever-changing world.

“I knew exactly what I wanted to do”

48 | In Focus 2021

He put his active civic life on hold and enrolled in the Mortuary Science program at the Dallas Institute of Funeral Service, leaving his beloved Katie at home where she finished out her contract as an counselor with Levelland ISD. Prior to enrolling in that mortuary program, Gene served four terms on the Levelland City Council, served as president and chairman of the board for the Senior Citizens Association, on the city’s Planning and Zoning Board, on the Advisory Board for the Levelland Opportunity Center, South Plains Association of Governments Advisory Board on Aging, and was a Sheriff’s Department reserve deputy, earning Interim Peace Officer Certification.

Gene says he intended to return to Levelland to work with George Price Funeral Home after completing his mortuary degree, but the business had been sold and the new owners did not need his services.

Today, he can be philosophical about that turn of events in his life. “I hated to see it happen but it has worked out well for us,” Allen said.

After serving an apprenticeship and being fully licensed, Gene and his wife, Katie, purchased Kerrville Funeral Home on Dec. 18, 2001.

Again, he moved to Kerrville, leaving Katie to finish out her contract as a counselor in Rockwall.

Moving to Kerrville, they immediately immersed themselves in the community with Katie becoming a counselor with Kerrville ISD while also becoming a licensed funeral director herself. Gene became involved not only in growing the funeral home, but also becoming involved in the Kerrville community, eventually being elected to three terms on that city council.

He was appointed to a six-year term to the Texas Funeral Service Commission

by Governor Rick Perry.

He has recently been appointed to the Upper Guadalupe River Authority.

“Growing up in West Texas, we know the importance and value of water,” he says of that appointment.

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In September, 2010, he and Katie purchased Kimbrell Funeral Home in Junction.

One of their sons, Reese, is also a licensed funeral director and embalmer and has become increasingly involved in the business.

Since becoming involved in the funeral business, Gene has been active in both state and national funeral directors associations. After serving on the board of the Texas Funeral Directors Association, he was elected and served as president in 2019.

Change of Pace

He considers his service to the professional associations as an honor and says through those organizations, he has met and gotten to know a lot of great people.

“We have been blessed with some great experiences,” he adds.

Despite living and owning the two funeral homes in the Texas Hill Country, Gene and Katie have always considered Levelland their home.

“This is where I was

raised and this is where my heart is,” he says. Katie agrees!

Back in 2013-14, he started getting calls from friends in Levelland encouraging him to come home.

“Those calls just kept coming so I spent a week just visiting and rekindling old friendships and decided maybe we ought to run some numbers,” he reflects.

“We looked at two or three different buildings but they just left me cold. Then, the realtor called me and told me about the old bowling alley so I agreed to come back

up. We measured it and got the footage, left and went to the Pizza Hut, drew out the plan on my napkin and gave it to an architect. We bought the building on Dec. 2 and on Jan. 2, the contractor started work. We opened on Sept. 1, 2016. It seems like yesterday.”

The building was originally constructed as a Furr’s Supermarket in the 1960s. In 1989, Donnie Guess and Don Kendrick purchased the building and turned it into a bowling alley, which was purchased by the Lawson family in 1993. The bowling alley closed in 2006.

“It seems like yesterday”

50 | In Focus 2021

Over the past five years, he has spent hours driving between the three locations and routinely spends time in Levelland so his staff can have much-needed time off.

Every moment spent here is important to both he and his wife.

Their roots are still so firmly rooted in the sandy loam of West Texas, they are excited to be moving back to Levelland.

Katie says she loved her job as a school counselor, adding, however, “Retirement is more fun.”

She credits Freda Schooler for giving her the opportunity to “be what I always wanted to be.”

She was originally a case worker for Children’s Protective Services but Mrs. Schooler hired her as a counselor at the Pep School before she had finished her certification.

Gene and Katie met while she was working with CPS and he was serving as a reserve sheriff’s deputy. They married a year after meeting and have been married almost 30 years.

As a licensed funeral director, she is actively involved in the business and is looking forward to being back in Levelland.

Their middle son, Reese and his wife, Amanda, are just as rooted and committed to Kerrville and plan on continuing their careers with that funeral home.

Gene credits the success of Krestridge Funeral Home to the support of local residents and the loyalty of staff, including Mike Box and Karen Pence.

“I have worked with them forever. They are my eyes and ears when I can’t be here.

There aren’t enough words to express my appreciation for them and this community,” he says, adding that he is developing the same type of relationship with staff members Brian and Tammy McNett and with Chad Moore.

“Chad is a local boy.

Everyone is a good fit.

We’ve got a great team!” he emphasizes.

“I don’t worry about this place. Every member of this team has the best interests of the community at heart,” he adds.

“We are so blessed that the community has embraced us and allows us to grow,” he says.

He admits that Covid-19 hammered everyone in the funeral business and says his team is still tired.

“There were a lot of weeks when we burned the candle at both ends over and over again. When you have people working 70-80 hours a week just trying to keep up, it takes a toll. Add that three of us aren’t spring chickens,” he states.

He says that the pandemic took a toll on the funeral industry as a whole, not only claiming lives, but causing some to just quit out of shear fatigue and heartache as they repeatedly buried friends and loved ones.

A lot of people left the profession because they were scared, Gene says.

“Beyond the physical, it took a great emotional toll.

We buried a lot of folks, a lot of good friends, close friends,

week after week after week.

It was tough and my folks are still tired,” Allen said.

As for the future, Gene says he is still learning. In June, 2020, he completed a bachelor’s degree and is currently working on an master’s of business degree.

He values education and is a member of the South Plains College Foundation.

He believes in being actively involved not only in business, but also in the community. He also knows that to be fully involved, “you gotta be present.”

Gene and Katie are looking forward to making their presence in Levelland permanent and are delighted with the latest turn in their lives.

In Focus 2021 | 51

Communi ion anges eo le s li es embodies e s iri o o e im ro es ommuni ies and ma es meri a a be er la e o li e e are abou e en ire ommuni and e are dedi a ed o el ing eo le el emsel es and ea o er ese ords i ma e u e romise o Communi ion a e guided C sin e our s ar in s an agen e a e al a s been ommi ed o im ro ing e li es o our ommuni members roug arious rograms all o i are designed o romo e sel su ien and e onomi eal ese are an ious imes i e er da bringing ne un er ain ies ere on inue o be more ques ions an ans ers and none o e ans ers seem sim le or lear I is eas o eel on used or ear ul During is ime o so ial an ie C a rms a e eal o our ommuni ies lies in s reng ening our onne ions as neig bors amil members and o or ers

M E CHILD C

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806-744-3572

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806-894-4560 I

806-894-3800

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806-894-6104

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800-765-5038

806-894-2207

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isit our website for more information. www.spcaa.org www.spartanpublictransit.com

M

KRESTRIDGE

FUNERAL HOME

We are proud to serve you with pre-planning and handling of your needs. Visit our beautiful, state-of-the-art facility and meet our friendly, capable and professional staff.

Gene Allen, CFSP, CPC Kate Allen, M. Ed., LPC

Allen Whitley

Funeral Home Associate & Chaplain

Jerry Boudreaux Funeral Director

H. Reese Taylor Vice President of Operations

Karen Pence

Funeral Director & Operations Manager

Amanda S. Taylor Funeral Director

Mike Box

Funeral Home Associate

Frankie S. Allen

Funeral Home Associate

Five Years and Counting

We are proud to have served this great community for the last five years, and hope to continue to provide the amazing service you’ve come to expect for many more.

505 Austin Street • Levelland, Texas • Office: 806-897-1111 • Fax: 806-897-1114 • TFSC Lic. #4294 • www.krestridgefuneralhometx.com

MCDONALD’S OF LEVELLAND

OPEN 24/7

On your way around town today, look for McDonald’s. We’re always close by. Just remember, good food and good fun are right on your way every day.

605 College Ave. • Levelland TX

SOUTH PLAINS COLLEGE Development, Alumni & Institutional Advancement The offices of development and alumni relations and institutional advancement work closely together to ensure the college’s future is fueled by former and current students.

In the past year and a half, the offices have seen a complete transformation. Stephen John, former vice president of institutional advancement, retired in August and Julie Gerstenberger, former director of development at SPC, was promoted to the position.

Jordan Flores was hired by the college to replace Gerstenberger as the development director, and earlier this year, Missy Passmore was hired for the alumni relations position.

Gerstenberger says her transition into the vice president for institutional advancement seemed to be the natural progression for her and her career.

“I felt it would be a good challenge because Stephen John and I had worked so closely for 11 years and during that time, I was able to observe what he did and I was familiar with the work,” Gerstenberger said.

The goal for these offices is to build on existing relationships with alumni, students, faculty and community members to ensure the story of SPC and what it provides for students is known.

58 | In Focus 2021

“It all goes back to the students,” Gerstenberger said.

“We are story tellers, and so when we can introduce potential donors to a person, it has such a huge impact.”

Everything the offices do begins with relationship building. Missy Passmore, as the coordinator for alumni relations, says her goal is to make alumni and current students aware that the college wants to hear from them.

“It’s all about continuing that relationship and letting them know they’re still an important part of SPC, not only our history, but our future,” Passmore said.

For Passmore, her goal is to share the success stories of former students and current students.

“SPC is nothing without its students, whether that’s current or former students,” Passmore said.

She points out that SPC is different than any other community college and strives to provide a place for students to know they are a priority.

“Most people who start at SPC, it makes such an impact on their life and sets a solid foundation for their future and their success,” Passmore said . “Keeping those students engaged and hearing their stories helps to inspire current students–it’s an ongoing circle.”

Passmore said often there is a misconception among former students regarding the alumni association.

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“SPC is nothing without its students”

60 | In Focus 2021

“The biggest question I hear when talking to former students about joining the alumni association is, ‘are you going to ask me for money,’” Passmore said. “We’re not asking you to be a part because we want your money.

That’s not at all what we’re doing. It’s about building, and not even building as that relationship has already been built, it’s about continuing that relationship.”

The new director of development at SPC, Jordan Flores, said he was excited to take on the new position as a way to be more involved in the community and the college.

Flores previously worked for AimBank and then First Bank and Trust. He worked in Levelland before the bank changed ownership and then was moved back to Lubbock.

“I wasn’t too happy with that transition,” Flores said. “This was something I wanted to do because of how relationship-based it is and how important it is for the college.”

Flores graduated from SPC in 2010, and said returning as the director of development seemed to bring it “full circle.”

“Coming back to SPC was just full circle for me,” Flores said.

Flores said in the past month as director of development, he has learned the importance and impact of the scholarships SPC donors provide for students and wants to see that continue well into the future.

“We have several students who receive these scholarships, some of whom wouldn’t be able to come

to college if we didn’t have these scholarships,” Flores said. “This is a way to help the community, to bring these students to SPC and hopefully, spread the word about SPC.” Flores said he is excited to be a part of SPC because of the various programs and certifications the college offers outside of educational opportunities.

“There are a variety of educational opportunities that students can seek out at SPC,” Flores said. “That allows us to reach out to anyone who can potentially bring in new students and help further their development in their career paths.”

He adds that the diversity of opportunities at SPC provides a broader field for his office to seek out new community partners for the college.

“This allows us to reach out to anyone who can potentially bring in new students to further their development and their career paths,” Flores said.

Passmore added that SPC is known for producing high quality graduates, regardless of what their next step in life is going to be.

“This is just going to further that brand for SPC, in that we’re going to be producing top quality candidates for the workforce,” Passmore said. “These businesses are going to want to be involved in that, they’re going to want to get these people back.”

Passmore said the alumni association wants to continue to grow its dual membership program with Texas Tech University, a foundation that was laid by Stephanie Smith.

evell nd e s is vibr nt co unity of h rdworking people on the south pl ins of northwest e s. oc ted in the he rt of the -st te region co prised of e s ew e ico olor do ns s nd kl ho the co unity is blessed with n tur l resources th t drive thriving econo y do in ted by griculture nd energy production. Agriculture products include gr in gr pes wine nd pe nut production ong others but cotton is king. About twenty-five percent of the world’s cotton is grown in the evell nd re . o unity pride is evidenced throughout the city fro the school syste to city p rks the downtown business district evell nd ndustri l il rk nd ore. irst cl ss college educ tion nd workforce tr ining re provided through outh l ins ollege or co unity p rtner. or ore infor tion on how your co p ny c n grow in our co unity ont ct s n evell nd we re rogressive n urpose

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STUDENTS ARE THE FUTURE OF SPC “She has laid a great foundation for our alumni association and it’s something I think we can really build upon,” Passmore said.

Passmore said she wants to continue to partner with other colleges and universities to provide more opportunities for current and former students to connect with each other.

“I want our alumni association to stand apart from the standard alumni association,” Passmore said.

“We want our alumni to be engaged and to feel like this is their association, they can be involved. That’s my ultimate goal.”

Gerstenberger said that the office of development falls directly in line with institutional advancement, in that all the pieces lead to growing SPC for the future.

In the past, the offices played a significant role in the establishment of the downtown Lubbock center on Avenue Q and the implementation of the culinary arts program.

The offices also played a significant role in bringing about the renovations for the science building on the Levelland campus.

“One thing we continue to work on in advancement and development is relationship building, and showing people, alumni or not, how they can

62 | In Focus 2021

really have an impact on the people and the programs at South Plains College,” Gerstenberger said.

Gerstenberger said the college’s focus has been and always will be the students and the stories they have to tell about their experiences at SPC. “College students are unique, and for the student

to tell their story, sometimes it’s the source that’s the most powerful element in the story,” Gerstenberger said.

Gerstenberger said those relationships extend across the college, students to faculty members and other divisions throughout the college.

“We can’t just sit in our offices and expect awesome students and their

stories to walk in the door,” Gerstenberger said. “We have to seek them out. If we keep good relationships with others on campus, that really helps.”

Gerstenberger said it’s also about matching people, whether it be students and programs or donors and students.

“It’s about matching people and their uniqueness,” Gerstenberger said. “I need to find a supporter who has that type of interest. It’s a good reciprocal relationship. If we stay aware of our students and their uniqueness and their needs, we remain sharp in seeking donors.

“If we stay sharp and continue to seek donors who have unique interests and abilities, we’ll circle back around and be able to find those students who they can help,” Gerstenberger said.

In looking at the new faces in all these offices, Gerstenberger said she is excited and believes SPC has a bright future.

“They both bring fresh experiences and both being former students, they know South Plains College as they return in professional positions,” Gerstenberger said. “I did it for 11 years, and that’s a long time. This is always an office that is a seeker, they always have to be seeking people and opportunities.”

Levelland & Hockley County Fun Facts

Average rainfall for Levelland over the past 20 years is 16.93 inches per year although measurements have ranged from 4.75 inches in 2011 to a high of 28.01 inches in 2014. Just 7.30 inches of rain fell in 2020 but 16.73 inches had been recorded in Levellanda through October, 2021.

The Hockley County Memorial Library has over 30,000 books on its shelves and about 4,000 active library members.

Hockley County is the 110th most populated county in Texas with 21,537 residents counted in the 2020 Census.

Levelland’s population, according to the 2020 Census, is 12,652, down from an estimated 13,527 in 2019.

Levelland is the 287th most populated of the state’s 1,741 cities.

According to the 2020 Census, Sundown’s population was 1,414, Smyer’s was 480, Ropesville’s was 419, Opdyke West’s was 196 and Anton’s was 1,089.

The largest Hockley County ethnic groups are Hispanic, 49.3%, followed by White at 45.2% and Black at 2.6%.

In 2019, the median household income of Hockley County households was $48,248.

The county’s total personal income in 2019 was $970,619,000.

The median age for Hockley County residents is 33.8 years young.

Levelland celebrated its 20th year as a Main Street City in 2018.

Thank you for letting us tell your story!

“Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.”

- Thomas Jefferson 711 Austin St. • Levelland, TX 79336 • (806) 894-3121 Ads: levellandads@valornet.com Classifieds: levclassified@valornet.com News: levellandnews@valornet.com

Levelland & Hockley County Fun Facts

Hockley County’s land area is 908.4 sq. miles and the population density is 25.25 per sq. mile.

Levelland’s land area is 10.4 sq. mile or 6,656 acres and includes 170 acres of parks including two lakes and seven playgrounds.

There are over 60 active oil producers in Hockley County who are pumping and maintaining over 3,700 producing wells. Over 12,000 wells have been drilled in the county over the past eight decades.

The average depth of an oil well in Hockley County is 5,359 feet.

Hockley County is routinely ranked the 25th most oil productive county in Texas. It is also ranked the 115th most productive oil Hockley County has 47.7 miles of U.S. Highways running county in the United States. across it, 31.99 mile of state highways, 256.5 miles of Farm to Market roads, 1,134 miles of county roads and 132 miles of city streets.

Hockley County’s unemployment rate in 2020 was 7.9 percent with 10,671 people in the labor force and 9,826 working. The unemployment rate was the highest in decades because of the crash in oil prices and Covid-19. In 2019, the unemployment rate was 2.9 percent with 11,218 people in the labor force and 10,936 working.

The South Plains College Foundation celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2019 and is awarding nearly $1 million in scholarships annually.

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anitation epartment provides a wa for the citi ens to dispose of their trash in a wa that meets tate re uirements and health standards. e strive to provide the est possi le waste management service to our customers through wee l household waste collection. his service is outsourced to epu lic isposal. or an concerns relating to our trash service please call . evelland offers rec cling programs for man items and the ma orit of the rec cling programs are free to the citi ens of evelland. xamples of the free programs include free wood mulch drop off locations to dispose of used oil limitations appl drop off location for card oard and paper. he used oil drop off locations are at the ec cling enter at ane and ve. .

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Clovis Horse Sale finds new home in Levelland The Clovis Horse Sale has made Levelland its new home after being held in New Mexico for more than 20 years.

Last year was the first year for the sale to be held at the Mallet Event Center in Levelland and continued to have sales throughout the past year, as well.

The sale has already announced dates for 2022, including February, March, June and August.

The sale recently concluded its biggest sale of the year in November where yearlings are entered into the futurity program.

“Our futurity program has elevated the value of yearlings we sell now by 20 to 30 percent,” said Steve Friskup, horse sale manager.

Friskup said the recent

show went very well, despite the number of competitors being less than past years.

“The number of competitors was down from the previous year for various reasons,” Friskup said. “But, the event altogether was very successful and the sale was very successful. We’re doing good.”

This was the sixth year for the futurity program show, with the program being in operation for the past eight years.

Friskup noted that the Mallet Event Center has been fantastic for the sale and said he had always wanted to host the sale at the facility since he first saw it.

“Every time I was here I wanted to bring my horse sale over here,” Friskup said.

“Everybody has come together to make it happen” In Focus 2021 | 67

“We can be more creative with our event because of the facility”

68 | In Focus 2021

Sights set on Levelland But, timing is everything.

When the Covid-19 pandemic shut down a lot of events in New Mexico, the horse sale had no choice but to find a new home.

“Everybody has come together to make it happen,” Friskup said. “The staff at the Mallet treats us like kings and we’re glad to be here.”

Since making the Mallet Event Center the new home for the horse sale, Friskup said the program has seen the many benefits of the facility and the community.

“We have experienced continual growth and an uptick in the quality of our horses,” Friskup said. “I think all of that is due to the facility.

We’re also experiencing new opportunities for creating new events.”

Friskup said because of the capabilities of the facility, the horse sale will bring a new event in February, the CHS Cowboy Freestyle.

“This will be a whole new concept to how you present your horse,” Friskup said.

“We’re working with some partners and it will be more entertaining and bring a whole new type of customer and a new type of horse.”

The horse sale typically features performance horses, western performance horses and an abundance of ranch roping horses.

Each scheduled sale for 2022 will feature something special for those in attendance.

The February sale, set for February 11-12 at the Mallet, will feature United Country.

Friskup said the roping events are great for the horse sale because it not only shows the abilities of the horses that are in the spotlight, but also appeals to the local interest.

“We’re a fan of the sport of horses,” Friskup said. “It suits this area because there are a lot of team ropers.”

Additionally, Friskup said the facility in Levelland has allowed the event to be more creative in what they offer alongside the horse sale to bring in more people.

“We can be more creative with our own event because of the facility,” Friskup said.

The horse sale typically draws customers from across the United States, bringing name recognition to the facility and town itself.

“We provide a lot of name recognition so other events now look at Levelland for their own event,” Friskup said.

Friskup said the horse sale is thankful for the Levelland community and the support they have shown the horse show over the past two years.

“They have contributed to our events in a major way,” Friskup said. “The community in Levelland is awesome.

“We’re very blessed and very thankful to be there in Levelland,” Friskup said. “It’s changed our lives.”

In Focus 2021 | 69

Ad Index

Ad Index A

Ag Texas pg. 59 llied il eld achine Alvo’s pg. 25 tchison s ewelry pg.

J ump pg.

B

est nn e as pg. est Western pg. ill shley State arm pg. illy rice s E ardware pg. illy rice s ac pg. rent s int pg. rown Realty pg.

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apital arm pg. hampion Sports pg. ity an pg. ity of Levelland pg. ity of Levelland pg. ity of Levelland Sanitation pg. lean o pg. ovenant ealth pg. rescent ar otel pg.

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Edward ones rian Lewis Shelby Lewis pg.

Edward ones anner errell pg.

F orrest ire pg.

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uardian gency pg.

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ead Duarte uneral ome pg. oc ley ounty bstract pg. oc ley ounty School Employees redit nion pg.

ac son Real Estate pg. oey ierce S Security orp pg. ohn Roley s uto enter pg.

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restridge uneral

ome pg.

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Law f ces of rian S. Walsh pg.

Levelland hamber of ommerce pg.

Levelland hamber of ommerce ourism Lodging pg.

Levelland hamber of ommerce eep Levelland eautiful pg.

Levelland hristian School pg.

Levelland ED pg.

Levelland Eye ision pg.

Levelland oc ley ounty ews ress pg.

Levelland SD pg.

Levelland SD pg.

Levelland Li uor pg.

Levelland ursing Rehab pg.

Levelland itle ompany pg.

Lou Dee s pg.

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acha nsurance pg. cDonald s pg. c lroy hiropractic pg. osaic offee pg.

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ur Stuff pg.

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almer s Rent o wn pg. ate, Downs in erton pg. etro roducts pg. lains otor pg.

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S D il hange pg.

Scooter s pg.

Smith uto amily pg.

South lains ollege pg.

South lains ollege oundation pg.

South lains ommunity ction pg.

S R pg.

S R S pg.

Studeba er s pg.

Sundown State an pg.

T

S pg. he Edwards gency pg. he urniture Store pg. he Stache pg. ienda s pg. ri RE pg.

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niversity ar

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Wanda s Designs

partments pg.

Embroidery, pg.

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our Shop pg.

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