Seguin Magazine - February 2021

G u a d a l u p e C o u n t y l i v i n g

February 2021

GRMC

citizen of the year Battling the pandemic on the front line

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in this issue February 2021

Mary Lee Roberts

Citizen and Visio n Awards AWARD HONOREES 10 GRMC FRONTLINE WORKERS

Demonstrating the essential, tireless, innovative and too-often undervalued role of health workers 18 FATHER GREG NEVLUD Caring for the community through the organization of multiple charity drives 24 BERNY CROAN Leading the women of tomorrow through exemplary examples or hard work and determination

31 FATHER DENNIS DARILIK

Continuing 47 years of priesthood by mentoring the ministers of the future

36 SONDRA & YOMI AJASIN

Constructing a village to build a strong foundation for children in need

AROUND TOWN 42 FACES OF SEGUIN

4

Submitted photos from our readers

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FROM THE

G u a d a l u p e C o u n t y l i v i n g

publisher

E

ach year, the Seguin Gazette receives many nominations from within our great community of people doing extraordinary things. We are honored to continue this tradition. After all we have been through this past year, I can’t think of a better time to recognize some of our very own local heroes.

We have all seen and heard stories of people going above and beyond the call of duty, even those that do it on their own time and usually with no recognition. It is because of people like this we are blessed with some of the most incredible resources around.

The 2021 honorees are a diverse group of individuals who come from all different backgrounds, but serve causes bigger than themselves. You may not have heard of them before, but once you read their stories in the pages ahead, I’m sure that you will quickly realize how they have impacted you or someone in our community.

Normally, we host an in-person event to present the winners with their awards and honor them with a reception among their peers. Unfortunately, due to the ongoing global pandemic we had to change things up this year and presented the winners their awards individually, socially distanced last month as you will see in their features ahead.

I encourage each of you to take time to read about the amazing accomplishments of these individuals.

We are so fortunate to have them doing such great things right here in Seguin and Guadalupe County.

They are true inspirations and testaments to their individual callings and I am proud to introduce you to our 2021 Mary Lee Roberts Citizen of the Year and VISION Award winners!

Vol. 7, No. 9 Seguin magazine is published twelve times a year by the Seguin Gazette.

Publisher

Elizabeth Engelhardt Editor

Desiree Gerland

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Elizabeth Engelhardt Elizabeth Engelhardt - Publisher, Seguin Gazette

All material herein c. 2020 Southern Newspapers Inc., dba The Seguin Gazette, 1012 Schriewer Road, Seguin, TX, 78155.

All rights reserved

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Mary Lee Roberts

citizen of the year

GRMC Frontline Workers more than 800 individuals at grmc are the backbone of the community, ensuring a strong, resilient health system for everyone.

S tory by Dal ondo Moultrie

H

eroes don’t always wear capes, but many are known to don masks.

Masks became ubiquitous accessories for much of the world at the start of 2020. But, for many of this year’s Seguin Gazette Citizens of the Year award winners, they were already a staple.

COVID-19 turned the world upside down and made for a very different year, indeed. So, with a non-traditional year came a non-traditional nomination and choice for the 2021 Mary Lee Roberts Citizen of the Year.

This year, the winners are frontline workers at the Guadalupe Regional Medical Center.

“We’ve all had to adapt to learn in the beginning what this disease even was,” said Amy Anderson, director of the public health emergency unit and the hospital’s Southwest Texas Regional Advisor Council representative.

In that transition came a lot of questions that needed answering, Anderson said.

“How do we keep people safe?” she said. “Who are taking care of these patients? How do we keep other people safe who are coming into the hospital for procedures? Even looking at

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have a group of people “ We that really enjoy taking care of these patients, and they’re very passionate about it,

housekeeping, how do we clean these rooms? Everything takes more time now with what they do.”

Then came education and training.

“Everybody had to learn to don PPE (personal protective equipment) and what PPE we needed to wear,” she said. “You had a whole organization of people that have stepped up and been willing to tackle this head-on day in and day out.”

From the beginning of the pandemic, health officials shared information to get everyone in the country to buy in and help “flatten the curve.”

That meant helping to stem the tide of patients flooding into our hospitals. Hospitals, everyone knew early on, would be crucial in the nation’s response to the disease and would need help to perform at their peaks.

Still, surges occurred, numbers of patients increased, and hospital personnel began to feel the effects, Anderson said. But they stood strong and stayed the course, which staff members continue to do.

“We have a group of people that really enjoy taking care of these patients, and they’re very passionate about it,” Anderson said. “You have these patients who are dying; they have no family; the nurses are trying to take care of these patients, staying with them. It does take a toll on them mentally and emotionally dealing with them day in and day out.”

While momentary thoughts of doubt creep into some staff members’ minds, they shake off the reservations and strive to get the job done, said Kelly Cole, executive director of clinical operations with the Guadalupe Regional Medical Group, which manages the hospital’s physician group.

She is not a licensed clinician but pitches in, as does most everyone else, wherever she can to help hospital and clinic operations run smoothly, said Cole, who contracted COVID-19 in July.

Throughout the pandemic, GRMC’s team has improved at caring for the community, Cole said. And, the GUADALUPE COUNTY LIVING ~ SEGUIN 13

“

presence of vaccines to fight the disease are adding additional hope, she said.

“I went with one of our doctors to get our vaccine; we went together,” Cole said. “He cried because it is the right at the end of the tunnel for us.

It is the hope that we need to know that this is not going to continue and we’re going to stop losing people, we’re going to stop losing patients, our friends and our families.”

It’s not just the vaccines, but new therapies, more information and advancing technology that help improve the COVID-19 outlook in this community, Anderson said. It all keeps GRMC personnel moving forward, fighting for their neighbors here in Guadalupe County.

Just to name a few, Anderson rattled off a few departments, staff members and disciplines taking the fight to the novel coronavirus at GRMC. Physicians, intensivists, physician’s assistants and nurses have been exceptional. Housekeepers, nutritionists, employees in the imaging department and lab departments have worked tirelessly to keep things running smoothly.

Respiratory therapists, certified nursing aides and administrators are among the heroes, Anderson said.

There are many more, too many to name. But all of these healthcare workers support the common goal of treating patients, and everyone is a hero in her mind, Anderson said.

“Speaking for the people that are really in the trenches every day, taking care of these people, absolutely [they are heroes],” she said. “I don’t really fully think if you haven’ been affected

by COVID or know someone in the medical field taking care of these patients, I don’t think people really understand how terrible it is and how taxing it is on healthcare workers.”

Members of this community try to understand. For that continued dedication and hard work, this community and the Seguin Gazette recognize all of frontline workers at Guadalupe Regional Medical Center as the Mary Lee Roberts Citizen of the Year.

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vision award

Father Greg Nevlud Charitable, devoted, and dedicated to compassion, Father Greg continues to impact his community.

S tory by L izz danie l s

A

ny real Texan knows summers in the Lone Star State are brutally hot. With temperatures typically breaching the triple digits for weeks on end, air conditions work overtime and still don’t always do enough to ward off the heat.

For people living without ample modern amenities, living in these conditions can become life-threatening.

In Guadalupe County, the Seguin Fire Department has hosted two “Keep Seguin Cool” campaigns, which were assisted by Father Greg Nevlund of St. James Catholic Church.

“I collected 20-inch box fans working with the Seguin Fire Department, and we’ve donated over 1200 fans,” he said. “I then asked the police department if I could do something. The plan was to do a teddy bear drive, but they already have one, so I went back with the idea of doing a smoke alarm drive.”

With the confidence boost of his previous success and a goal of helping those in need, Nevlud collected and donated more than 500 smoke alarms to the community. He has worked with the Salvation Army and local women’s shelter. He also organized a baby bottle campaign within his parish that yielded more than $7000 for mothers in need.

Nevlud’s work makes him stand out, but his vivacious personality and ability to connect with others make him a true visionary.

The youngest of five boys, Nevlud, spent 12 years in a private Catholic school before deciding to become a priest. He was a year and a half into seminary studies when he realized a shocking self-truth –– he was too young to be making such an important decision.

So, at 21 years old, he left the priesthood behind.

“I needed more life experience and wanted to complete my personal journey a bit more,” he said. “I went to Texas A&M the next few years, and when I was about to finish, I realized that priesthood really was what I wanted to pursue.

I was ordained in 1982 and got to help plan the papal ceremony when Pope John Paul visited in September of 1987.

So I’ve got that on my resume even though it doesn’t do much.”

Nevlud downplays the significance of his role in a papal visit because modesty is an ingrained trait that springs from his affinity for St. Francis of Assisi, who lived a life dedicated to compassion.

“I guess the first thing is I live by is the motto of St. Francis of Assisi who said ‘preach the gospel at all times, when necessary, use words;’ that has been such a powerful rallying cry for me,” Nevlud said. “Sometimes we get too caught up in words, and not enough in action. Even before coming to Seguin, I was doing volunteer work, but when I got here, I made the decision to be able to share my gifts with the community.”

While priests are as diverse as their parishes, all have their individual approaches to their role. Some take a traditional stiff upper lip approach, while others may be more approachable and modern. Nevlud’s strategy is to stay true to himself.

“My mother always asked why I wasn’t like other priests because I’d be at home in a Hawaiian shirt,” he said, laughing. “She’d always want me to put my collar on because I’m FATHER Greg.”

Despite his mother’s complaints, an affinity for floral button-downs hasn’t stopped the man from developing a practice that focuses on ministering through presence and 20 SEGUIN ~ GUADALUPE COUNTY LIVING

“

I guess the first thing is I live by is the motto of St. Francis of Assisi who said ‘preach the gospel at all times, when necessary, use words;’ that has been such a powerful rallying cry for me,

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“I want to be where the people are, in a place where we can develop relationships,” he said. “There are dark times I’ve walked with people, and I don’t always have the right words, but even just sitting with them letting them know they aren’t alone and they have support, helps people.”

Nevlud is insistent he could not have achieved his many goals without the support of his life-long friend and fellow St. James priest, father Dennis Darlek. The two have known each other for more than 50 years, with a family history that goes back over a century. Their mothers even when to elementary school together.

“Dennis and I had a dream that someday we might be able to work together, and nine and half years ago, the opportunity presented itself at St. James,” Nevlud said. “He’s a dear, dear friend.

When I first moved to Seguin, we sat on the back porch deck at his house and toasted a bottle of wine to the best and worst of times. We built St. James into the community that it became.”

In November 2020, the members of St. James bid farewell to Nevlud after eight years of dedicated leadership, which uplifted his Parish as well as the entire local community. He now spends his time visiting friends and enjoying some much-deserved relaxation but will keep his eyes open for a chance to be of service.

“I will continue looking for opportunities to assist wherever I might be able to,” he said. “I’ve learned so much from my relationships over the years.

People have challenged and affirmed me and encouraged me, helping me have clarity about what God is calling me to do, and He just keeps opening doors for me.”

As Nevlud enjoys his downtime, his positive impact continues to be present in the Guadalupe County area and will be much appreciated when summer arrives, and temperatures climb. It is his contributions to the community that earned him a Seguin Gazette VISION award.

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vision award

Berny Croan A youth leader offering wisdom, guidance, and opportunity to her Girl Scout troops.

S tory by l izz danie l s

B

eing a girl is tough. Being a tough girl can be almost impossible, but that’s why the Girl Scouts exist. While famous for their cookie sales, Girl Scouts offer young women much more than just the opportunity to learn the intricacies of supply and demand; they provide a chance to learn leadership skills while getting into the great outdoors and learning new skills. Local Guadalupe County resident Bernice (Berny) Croan made sure troops under her leadership get to try things they might never have had the opportunity to otherwise for more than 20 years.

A vision for learning is why fellow troop leader Karen McMillan nominated Croan for a Seguin Gazette VISION Award this year.

“Berny and I have been good friends for a long time,” McMillan said. “She taught at Seguin High School for many years and was an absolute fighter for those kids and the school.

She’s retired now, but has three Girl Scout troops in Navarro now, where her grandkids live.”

As a young girl Croan started as many scouts do –– in the Daisies. Decked out in vibrant blue from kindergarten to first-grade, Daisies learn the Girl Scout Promise and Law

26 SEGUIN ~ GUADALUPE COUNTY LIVING

“

She creates terrific opportunities, and the little things she does make the kids love her so much.

“

while making new friends and earning badges.

Growing up, Croan’s family didn’t get outdoors much and certainly didn’t go camping in the woods. This lack of opportunity initiated a curiosity about nature, which developed into a desire to explore the wilds. When Croan joined Girl Scouts as a Daisy, she dreamed of hiking rocky trails before roasting marshmallows over a fire while a canopy of stars sprawled across the night sky overhead.

Since Croan is so well-known for her connection to the organization today, it might come as a shock that she quit Girl Scouts not long after joining.

“The main reason I dropped out was all we ever did was arts and crafts,” Croan said. “I love crafting, but I knew I wanted to do more than that. I became a troop leader when my daughter was growing up, and my goal was to do more. I wanted to get outside and do stuff.”

Lacking a foundational knowledge in outdoor skills, Croan educated herself and is now a veteran camper who has redefined what it means to lead a troop. She is always on the go, taking her troops all over the place to provide experiences that help them grow as people in an environment where girls are empowered to develop their potential.

“Berny is so creative –– I’ve seen her recycle a pizza box and turn it into a sun-baked oven with the girls,” McMillan said. “She even took her troop on a backyard campout when it was cold and the girls enjoyed every single moment of it. She creates terrific opportunities, and the little things she does make the kids love her so much.”

Croan’s troop even dedicated a drop-off box outside of Navarro Elementary where community members can donate food for Panthers Feeding Panthers any time.

“My older troop thought it would be more convenient for working parents to have a drop-box at the school to make donations,” Croan said.

“When the girls came up with the idea,

Congratulations to Berny Croan and all the award recipients of this years Citizen of the Year.

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they felt so proud of themselves, and I wanted them to have that feeling to carry forward with them.”

The impact they made in doing their drop-box project became a foundation to stand on in a year that made the world feel like a foreign place.

Quarantine procedures and lockdowns meant troops couldn’t meet in person and have hands-on experiences. Coronavirus changed everything.

“I was going to take my second graders to overnight at the zoo this year, but that was canceled,” Croan said. “My fifth graders were going to go camping at the lake, but that was also canceled. Everything we usually do like Panthers Feeding Panthers and Pack the Bus were impacted, so we’ve done a lot of Zoom.”

The virus even prevented her sixth-graders from bridging from Junior to Cadette level. Bridging is a Girl Scout tradition that honors a scout’s achievements by symbolically “crossing the bridge” to the next stage of their Girl Scout journey. This year’s ceremony was set to take place back in December but was postponed due to statewide COVID cases.

Fortunately, Croan is just as resourceful now as when she first became a troop leader. She says the key is to get the girls up and active. Scavenger hunts have worked great while also maintaining social distancing.

While a former teacher, Croan still lets her passion for education drive her forward and relied on that resourcefulness to navigate the challenges of 2020.

“You’ve just got to think outside the box. It just takes a little time. I loved teaching and worked probably eighty or more hours a week. When you retire, you’ve got to have something to do or you’ll go crazy.”

And if staying busy is any way to keep sane, cookie season is when Croan at her best. According to fellow McMillan, Croan is pretty much a ghost when cookies are on sale.

“We don’t even see her that much during cookie season because she’s so busy with the kids,” McMillan said with 28 SEGUIN ~ GUADALUPE COUNTY LIVING

Congratulations, Berny!

a laugh. “It’s just insane how much time she puts in for her troops. I saw a story in a San Antonio publication about an incredible scout leader. She was great, but Berny is something else.

She’s just on another level, and I genuinely feel she deserves the recognition –– even if she doesn’t.”

Croan certainly doesn’t think she deserves to be recognized. In her mind, she’s just doing what she’s always done –– teaching –– but that’s precisely what makes her special. Many individuals teach, but very few can be called “great” educators –– the kind of person a former student thinks about years later because of the impact they made.

In Girl Scouts, girls get to take on the unknown and experience adventure. Whether it’s exploring the hill country via horseback at Camp La Jita or taking a day trip to a local swimming spot, Croan inspires a generation of women through innovation and strength of character.

Something that started as a way for Croan to keep busy while having fun with her grandkids has become so much more than she could have imagined. Girl Scouts has become a way to show young ladies they can be a force for positivity in their community while discovering that even though it can be tough being a girl –– it feels really good to do good for others.

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vision award

Father Dennis Darilek With a history contributing to community and church, his future holds mentorship and a helping hand.

S tory by katy o’bryan

T

here is a rule that Catholic ministers can only serve 12 years at any one church before the archbishop relocates them.

Father Dennis Darilek spent 16 years at St. James Catholic Church.

“I was lucky to stay on the extra years,” Darilek said. “I just love Seguin because there is such relationships you can form with all the community members, whether it’s the police, fire department, or the Ministerial Alliance I was part of.”

The archbishop placed Darilek at St. James to fill a vacant role left by the late Father Gerry Hubertus. During his tenure, Darilek was named Best Pastor in Seguin for three years and St. James as the Best Place to Worship by the Seguin Gazette readers three times.

Looking back over the years, Darilek spearheaded countless efforts in engaging his parish, community and school through numerous initiatives. Darilek volunteered to ring bells for the Salvation Army, spent three years on the Guadalupe County Ministerial Alliance board, and hosted a parish event that saw nearly 800 attendees, to name a few.

“I know most of the ministers in Seguin as well, and we

did a lot of things back then before COVID came,” he said. “I just liked that working together. The Lutheran church and us did Thanksgiving services together; that was a great thing we did community-wise.”

Longtime friend and Father Greg Nevlud said nine years as co-pastors to compliment a lifelong friendship made Darilek most special to him.

“Our mothers went to elementary school together, and we’re talking 95 years ago, so our families have known each other for a long time,” Nevlud said. “The story he tells me and tells other people is that he’s been waiting to minister with me since he was first ordained. He just knew that we were compatible. He’s been incredibly generous with his time, with his affirmation, with his support. He had done a lot for St. James, but when the two of us were together, we really created a wonderful community.”

As the pastor for St. James, Darilek held a responsibility to St. James Catholic school as well and led new programs to have students interacting with members of the parish.

“It’s important that the pastor and the principal are seen working together, supporting together,” Darilek said. “I had different organizations of the parish be buddy groups to different classes, and that seemed to work pretty good after a period of time. It wasn’t the church and school dichotomy; it was like we all worked together for the good of our kids because we saw the school as a ministry for our community.”

Darilek turned to retirement in July of 2020, and he said it was both a difficult decision but a muchneeded one.

“I’m my own worst enemy sometimes,” he said. “I get ideas about this and ideas about that, and then to make it happen takes work to do it. I can’t keep up with my own self anymore.”

But before he was gone from the church for too long, former mayor Don Keil made sure to give formal recognition to Darilek by proclaim32 SEGUIN ~ GUADALUPE COUNTY LIVING

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ing Nov. 20, 2020, as Father Dennis Darilek Day. “Father Dennis, you got deprived of the great farewell you really do deserve,” Keil said at the November meeting. “This is the least we can do.”

What comes next for Darilek in retirement is open to the imagination, he said, but he intends to follow his passions.

“I’ll be working with younger priests, visiting them,” he said. “I’ll be doing spiritual direction at the seminary, so I’ll have stuff that I like doing — mentoring younger priests as well.

My 47 years of priesthood, I’m not just going to sit on the back porch and walk away. I want to put that to good use.”

But the community should not miss his presence for long, and Darilek plans to stick around the area, helping out where he can.

“God usually always has a plan somehow,” he said. “I help out where I can doing masses. I was in New Braunfels (recently), I was in Schertz, and I’ll be helping St. Dominic’s. So I’ll be helping out when I’m asked to and helping out where I can.”

His 16 years of service to the community earned him one of the Seguin Gazette’s VISION awards.

When learning about his VISION award, he stated he was “very humbled.”

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vision award

Sondra & Yomi

Ajasin

The extensive efforts of this couple have reached many children statewide, and they continue to provide a positive path for many more moving forward.

S tory by F e l icia f razar

A

s the saying goes, “It takes a village,” and Sondra and Yomi Ajasin have created their own filled with caring volunteers and supportive community members.

In the past five years, the Ajasins have opened their hearts and doors to help about 1,000 kids and hundreds of families through TruLight 127 Ministries.

Through their mission, the couple has helped give children who were taken from their family a place to call home, whether in the TruLight Village, with a foster family, with other family members or adoptions.

“God is not a God of circumstance,” Sondra said. “He called TruLight to be. We started in our garage and just thought we were going to hand out a few items to people — diapers, wipes, school supplies. Now here we sit, over five years later, and we’ve helped nearly 1,000 kids finding placement.”

The path that Sondra and Yomi began had them helping people long before TruLight began.

Yomi, a registered nurse, is originally from Lagos, Nigeria.

He came to the United States on an athletic scholarship with a plan to graduate, make it as a professional basketball player, return home and build a hospital in Nigeria.

“I always wanted to go back to Nigeria for medical missions,” he said.

“I was telling Sondra, and she was telling me you want to go to Nigeria and help children, which is great, but there are kids right here that need your help.”

Sondra began her career path as helping the elderly. But through persuasion from a mentor, she shifted her focus from adults to children.

“In 2006, my career path before was with the elderly. My course changed when I started back to college, and I realized that one of my teachers, professors, kept pushing me to go to CPS,” Sondra said. “She kept pushing me. So when I started that, I knew that’s where I was going to be. It was the fit that I never knew I needed, but I needed it. I am blessed by them just as much as they are blessed by me.”

Sondra worked in Child Protective Services, and with CASA, she began to see a much bigger issue.

During a conference Sondra attended, a pastor talked about his start at fostering children and how he got his 200 congregants to take charge and make a difference.

The pastor lit up a Texas map showing where churches supplied resources for children in the foster system, and Sondra was shocked at the lack of resources in the South Texas area.

“I really felt the prick of the Spirit saying you really have to start shining truth and light,” she said. “I just kept thinking, I’m already doing something, but there was this constant pull. That map never left my vision; this should not be so. This should be lit up everywhere for people to come together and help these kids.”

It wasn’t long after the couple began collecting donations from family and friends to help foster families.

“Gone were the days when Yomi could park in the garage,” she said. “We had shelves everywhere, people were giving us stuff, and they started before we became a full nonprofit. They were just bringing us stuff to give to people.

That was really neat because all I felt like I did was say ‘Yes’ to God.” 38 SEGUIN ~ GUADALUPE COUNTY LIVING

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The Ajasins reached out to churches and saw them open their doors and their hearts, especially in a year when so much was closing.

“I think this is a reflection of the community we have around us,” Yomi said. “Even in this very difficult time for them to say yes.”

TruLight licensed its first foster family in 2016 and, by the end of the year, had helped 40 children find placement, Sondra said.

The Ajasins’ work grew from assisting families with resources to helping them get licensed to foster or adopt and eventually blossomed into a place for children to live in a home that supported them and helped them thrive in the TruLight 127 Ministries Village.

“Our beginnings was just one blessing after another,” Sondra said.

“It was simply a yes to God and a yes to helping these kids. I felt like I was doing something, but it felt like we should be doing more.”

From the first time Heather McMinn met Sondra, she felt the woman’s passion for helping children and saw her motivation for making a difference. The more she has gotten

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to know Sondra and Yomi, the more McMinn has seen God’s work become a reality through the couple.

“She has a very strong belief in Christ, and I believe that Yomi truly has the servant’s heart,” McMinn said.

“It’s not that they just tell you that.

They show you that by their actions.”

The Village started with a single house large enough for 10 children and a building where the social work happened.

In the years since, the organization has expanded its licensing and can house 35 children. It’s rare when it has less than capacity. But for the Ajasins, it is not about filling beds; it is about giving the children a place they can call home. Most of them call Sondra and Yomi “mom and dad.”

The couple and the staff do what families do; they celebrate the accomplishments, cheer at events and embrace the hard days, Sondra said.

“We try to give them some sort of normalcy,” she said. “We go to their sports if we can, we try to get our staff to go, so they have someone to cheer them on. They’ve come home with student of the month and honor roll, and we make a big to-do about it here. Everything you would get if you were at home.”

Yomi and Sondra agree it’s all about letting the kids know they matter.

“There are a lot of hurt kids out there, and they do not feel worthy of being fought for,” she said. “The truth is these kids are worth fighting for and letting them know they are still worth it is the heart of what TruLight is.”

TruLight helps the children with therapies and families understand traumas — both physical and emotional — and tries to help keep families together.

“That’s not just helping them for a one-day fix,” Sondra said. ‘That is finding them and serving them for however long they needed use — whether that be two weeks or two years. It’s not just a quick fix for these kids. We try to stick with them for the long term, through their tragedy, through their crisis.”

It’s that passion and those philosophies of why McMinn said her family and 40 SEGUIN ~ GUADALUPE COUNTY LIVING

The truth is these kids are worth fighting for and letting them know they are still worth it is the heart of what TruLight is. her family’s law firm has invested time and financial support to the nonprofit.

“I think the idea and the dream of being able to have a facility where these children can stay together while people are trying to figure out what is going on is a tremendous asset,” McMinn said. “Sondra’s vision for that is based on trying to heal these kids too, not to just place them in places. Her dream of developing a place where all of the kids’ needs are met, without having to be shuffled from place to place to place is just amazing.”

TruLight 127 Ministries was born out of the Bible verse James 1:27, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

“That was part of our mission statement when I saw those lights; I knew we were supposed to shine truth and light,” Sondra said. “Those were the two words that rang true to me.

That’s our mission, shine some truth and light into these kids by putting James 1:27 into action.

Sondra and Yomi’s work in creating TruLight 127 Ministries earned them one of the Seguin Gazette’s VISION Awards (Volunteers In Service In Our Neighborhoods.)

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CITIZEN OF THE YEAR We couldn’t be more proud.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, our entire staff has been tireless about keeping our community as safe as possible. What an honor it is to see the hard work and dedication of all our Frontline Workers recognized by receiving Seguin’s 2021 “Citizen of the Year.”

Thank you, Seguin!

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