April 3, 2025 • 41 mins
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Good afternoon, Southeast Texas.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Welcome to the Roy West Show on News Talk five
six e KLVI.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
I am obviously not Roy West.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
I am April Tolbert's guest host today of Roy's Show.
We have an amazing lineup of guests for you that
are coming this hour. We are going to hear from
We've got Rachel Valdez going to be talking about a
family funday that is coming up for the Southeast Texas
Strong Families Coalition.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
There's so many amazing.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Things happening in Southeast Texas. You cannot say that Beaumont
is boring. You cannot say that anymore. There's so much
and the show is just going to highlight just a
few things today.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
The boys Haven.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Crawfish Festival is on the way. That's coming up as well.
The United Way is having events that are happening as well.
And don't forget today is the last day of the
South Texas State Fair. So if you have not gone
and gotten your pork Bob and your funnel cake and
all the things that you have to have once a
year in Southeast Texas, today is your last chance to
(01:06):
do that. It's actually fantastic Sunday, so bring your cans.
You can get a free admission and that does support
Boyce Haven. So lots of great things happening in Southeast
Texas and one of the champions of Southeast Texas is
joining me in this first segment. And if you have
not gotten an opportunity to know mister Elton Hollis the third,
(01:28):
you're going to get a chance to find out who
he is today and all the things that he's got
his hands in helping to make our community at just
an even better place to live, work, and play. Elton Hollis,
welcome to the show. Thank you for being with us.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
Oh I sure appreciate the invitation. It's great to sit
here and visit with you. April.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Well.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
I know that you and I we are paths cross
often in some of the I call it the give
back work, right, the things that we're doing out there
in Southeast Texas, trying to you know, build a better community,
trying to keep our community as strong. We do a
lot of things together with the BBB, the Better Business Bureau.
(02:07):
You and I serve on several boards and committees together
trying to help build stronger business And so I knew
when Roy asked me to host the show this week
that I wanted to kick it off with you and
you in your life, You've got several different hats that
you wear, So tell us a little bit about who
(02:28):
Elton Hollis is. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
I don't have much of a social life, so yeah,
I'm the general manager of RT Technical. We do instrumentation
and electrical work. We also build turnkey instrumentation buildings for
the pipeline industry over in Neederland and most people know
it for Casey Taylor, she's a rock star down here
(02:54):
that a lot of people know. So that's kind of
a day job. But I was also on Hale Tech Resources,
so I do safety training, safety consulting. I have a
lot of clients in the industry, and man, that's been skyrocketing.
I've enjoyed it. It's not every day you to have
a day job and then enjoy your passion as well.
(03:19):
And so Casey had some foresight and she was like, hey,
I want you to explore it. And it's helped our
tea and it's helped myself and so it's gotten real busy.
So I've had to bring my son Tyler into it
and we've done some expanding and going to do some
more expanding, so that's been great. And then also the
(03:41):
co founder of the Golden Triangle Industrial Group with my
partner Travis Woods. And so we just bring folks together
for a monthly meeting, tell them about all the local projects,
the billions of dollars that's coming into the industry, and
let folks shake some hands, hug some necks, and hear
(04:01):
about all the good news that's happening in the area.
And that's all I got the breath to say.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
I'll give you just a minute to catch your catch,
get you in back after after going through all of that.
But you know, you really intrigue me whenever you start
talking about Golden Triangle Industrial Group and what you do there,
because those of us who have chosen to live and
work and raise families here in Southeast Texas, we are
all affected by industry. Industry success is our success, it's
(04:31):
the success of our local community here. In a lot
of ways, of many of us work for or work
in conjunction with, someone who does business in industry. So
tell us a little bit about what Golden Triangle Industrial
Group does to help foster that.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
Okay, So what we do is we kind of take
what we call a we call it a a stone
in the pond approach, And what that is is we
don't we want to touch the business owners. Obviously, we
want to let them know what is out there so
that they can succeed. Because when your business owners succeed,
(05:14):
then their employees succeed. When their employees succeed, then their
families succeed, and then the suppliers and the folks that
run the donut shops and you know, all of that
that tends to have an effect. But the other thing
we want to do is we want to let everybody
know that it's not just about traditional oil and gas business.
(05:35):
It's not just about Hey, I hear that they're building
a new plant and I don't work for Motiva, I
don't work for Valleiro, So it doesn't mean anything for
me because I work at Target. Well, it does mean
something for you. What it means is it's going to
be a bigger fair. It's going to be nicer restaurants.
(05:56):
It's going to mean that, you know, it's not just
going to be called Avenue that's going to look good.
It's going to be you know, the whole city of
Beaumont or Salsby or you know, the greater Southeast Texas area.
That's what it means in Southeast Texas. Not every area
of Texas does this, but in this area, when business succeeds,
(06:20):
when things happen like this in our area, so does
the cities and the surrounding areas. And I tell you
the folks listening and watching. I've been to other areas
of Texas, other states, even Louisiana. There's a lot of
towns in Louisiana that they've got an l in g
F facility and they don't take care of their towns
(06:42):
like we do here. And it's real great within a
mile of the Llen g facility, and then it falls off. Man,
we're blessed in Southeast Texas that that money spreads out
and people take care of themselves. I just don't think
we see that all the time.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
You are so You're so right. Industry is a trickle
down effect. As you and I you know, have talked
about many times. It's a trickle down effect. I'm a
small business owner. You're a small business owner. You know
that the fact that the industry that we are blessed
to have here brings in so many people from not
only across the country, but across the world. I have
(07:22):
had customers, you know, from many, many different countries, many
different cultures that we bring in here to Southeast Texas.
And so what we are seeing is I feel like
a momentum, right of a of a shift from what
it felt like when we were growing up here. I
(07:42):
am seeing more people that are wanting to raise their
families and encourage their kids to go to Lamar and
to stay here and to start businesses or work in
either industry or a field that services the industrial you know,
facilities here. They're so much opportunity. And now this this
(08:03):
culture of of you know, I want to say inclusion.
I want to say more more so than it ever
has been before, you know. I want to see the
cultural festivals, you know, I want to see the different
the arts. I want to see all of the things
that are starting to really pick up momentum here and
(08:25):
for us to really embrace people from all over the
world that are moving here and for our industry and
for the opportunities that are here.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
What are you seeing?
Speaker 3 (08:37):
Oh man, You're gonna get me excited here, Abel's That's
exactly what I'm seeing. Forever I feel like Beaumont Port
Author Orange. You know, people felt like we were just this,
you know, it was pollution and it was just kind
of the gray in the dark industry. That is not
what we are. Industry are people, and we are a
(08:58):
diverse network. And I'm not talking about just color and language.
I'm talking about our ideas. I'm talking about people that
enjoy different things. They enjoy the outdoors, the fishing, they
enjoy art and culture and different languages and just it
is amazing the people you can meet and that I
meet in these meetings at the Golden Trig Industrial Group.
(09:20):
And I think that the Beaumont pulled Author Orange the
greater Southeast Texas area. We are not Facebook Southeast Texas,
you know what I mean. We're not the fights at
the fair. We're not the garbage you see on there
all the time. Man, that truly is that's garbage. That's
not what we are. You know, We're the people that
(09:41):
I see like men die. You know, man, what he's
done with beautifying Beaumont and the new types of restaurants
and not just having forty two thousand different Mexican restaurants.
You can go out and do whatever you want to
and the different cuisines and people taking a chance on
growing businesses, you know, and saying, hey, I want to
(10:05):
do underwater basket weaving. You know what I mean. It
may not succeed, but hey, I want to take a
chance on it, you know what I mean? That kind
of excitement and taking chances in business. That's the kind
of stuff that excites me about Beaumont. And the other
thing is the young people. You know, they always want
to find something to do. Sometimes finding something to do
(10:27):
is not finding a new bar, is not finding a
new field to go drink in it. I'm not saying,
you know, one way or another, but I'm saying sometimes
that might be starting to do business. Sometimes that might
be working in a business and trying to find your
way and moving up in it. It is an exciting
time for businesses and four people in Southeast Texas. You
(10:50):
just got to have the right perspective.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
And if you're not following and liking and loving and
all the things that we do on social media right
all of the positive things that are happening, just take
a look. Follow Elton Hollis on Facebook because you know,
if there's if there's something that's happening, and it is exciting,
it's positive towards Southeast Texas. He's gonna be out there
talking about he's going to be out there sharing it,
(11:15):
and in following what he's doing, you're gonna connect with
other people that are like minded like Elton, and you're
gonna see that Southeast Texas, if you haven't figured it out,
is not a boring, old dud place to be like.
I honestly just lets be real Like I feel like
it was back years ago when we were growing up,
(11:36):
it's not that anymore. So thank you again, Elton for
being with us. Thank you for all that you do
for our community to make it stronger and better.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
We appreciate you. And again you can.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Connect with Elton Hollis on Facebook. And we've got the
rest of the Roy West Show coming up right after
this break.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
We'll be right back.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
And welcome back to the Roy West Radio Show. I
am April Tolbert's guest hosting today and we have an
amazing lineup of guests with us today and in this segment,
we're going to be talking to Rachel Valdez. She is
a community engagement coordinator for Buckner Children and Family services.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
But today we're.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
Actually talking about something else, an exciting event that's coming
up and a wonderful organization that she's a part of,
and that is Southeast Texas Strong Families Coalition. Welcome Rachel,
and thank you for being with us.
Speaker 4 (12:37):
Thank you, thank you for having me happy to be here.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Of course, and you have got your hands in so
many wonderful things that provide amazing services to our community.
So you and I met at an event a week
or two ago, and you were talking about this particular organization,
the Southeast Texas Strong Families Coalition, and the Family Day,
the Family Funday that is coming up, that's coming up
(13:04):
next Saturday. So it's coming up pretty quick here on
April the twelfth. First of all, tell us about Southeast
Texas Strong Families Coalition for those that have not heard
of it or know what that wonderful organization does. Tell
everybody about.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
It, all right, Yeah, So the Southeast Texas Strong Families
Coalition was head started by Buckner, going on three years ago.
Buckner had started it, but we happily joined with thirty
around thirty eight other local nonprofits and organizations. We have
dfps iea COSA, we have some of the school districts involved,
(13:43):
a garth house, just a plethora of local resources and
agencies that have the same mindset to strengthen and help
families and help them find out about resources they may
not know are available in our local community.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Absolutely, and this has been This has been just.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
One more outreach program that's provided by Buckner. And those
of us who have worked with and and done events
and helped volunteered with Buckner, we know what amazing services
are provided to families here in South East Texas.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
So we are so grateful for what Buckner.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Children and Family Services does here in our community. But
you know a lot of people haven't heard of this
strong family coalition.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
So you guys have put together.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
This is actually the second annual Family Funday that is
coming up this weekend. Tell us about that and about
what's going to be going on this Saturday.
Speaker 4 (14:48):
Yeah, so we're very excited. We had our first annual
last year and we had over four hundred come out
to our first Family Funday, So we were really excited
to offer families a completely free day of fun. You
can come, engage together, have a good time, and not
have to spend any money. So another perk of that is.
We also have local resources set up at the Family
(15:10):
Funding so they're able to come have that fun and
spend that time together, but also connect with some of
the local agencies and organizations that are able to help
them that they may not know about. So we do.
We have all kinds of fun activities planned. We have
some large inflatable games. We have bubble Blitzers coming out.
It's a really fun time. The kids love playing with
(15:31):
the bubbles and the phone. We feed them lunch. We
have some great door prizes and giveaways, plus those local resources,
so it's just a it's a big day of free
family fund with some educational and good community resources available
as well.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
Sure, and this is happening at Anti Missionary Baptist Church.
If you're not familiar with where that is, you obviously
haven't driven down Cardinal Drive because it's a very large church.
You can miss it on Cardinal Drive thirty nine to
twenty with Cardinal Drive in Beaumont. And I assume you
guys will be set up out there where somebody driving
(16:09):
by there on Cardinal Drive will will not miss it.
They will be able to see you guys.
Speaker 4 (16:13):
Yes, we're very excited and we will have some volunteers
out there holding up signs trying to draw people in.
We do have pre registration, but it's not required. It'll
just give us an idea. So it's open to anybody
in the community, all families, all family types. We'll be
there from eleven am to three pm, so a pretty
good time if you want to come before lunch, after lunch,
(16:34):
or for the full day. We're just excited to draw
in even more families than we did last year. And
Antioch has been a gracious host. BIC is partnering a
little more with us on this event, so they'll have
some literacy resources available as well, and pre registration for
the upcoming school year for bisD.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
And if I heard you correctly, everyone is welcome. They
do not have to pre register, they cannot have to
show up. If you don't know really what your day
is gonna look like this Saturday on April the twelfth,
but you wake up and you're like.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
Oh, it's a perfect day.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Let's get out, let's go bring the family, let's do something.
Come out to anning Out Baptist Church from eleven to three.
And you said you're gonna have food, You're gonna have inflatables.
You're gonna have games, You're gonna have lots of different
activities for kids and families.
Speaker 4 (17:27):
Right, yes, many activities and big outdoor games, a pop
snow cones, popcorn, plus food. We'll have an ice cream
truck out there as well, so plenty of free food,
which is always is always a bonus, but all kinds
of activities for all ages and again, any family type,
single parents you know, can join families, whatever your family
looks like. It's just a great day to come out
(17:48):
and enjoy some fun for free and engage.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
That's amazing. Thank you guys for doing this. And if
somebody wants more information about the event itself, where would
they go to find that?
Speaker 4 (18:01):
Yeah, so we would love to get more followers on
our Facebook page. It's set X Strong Families Coalition on Facebook.
We have the flyer out there generating and that's a
good place to go. See the flyer, ask some questions.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
You can inbox.
Speaker 4 (18:14):
I handle the social media directly. We also have a
website and the link is on the Facebook. You can
visit our website or if you have questions, you can
always email at sct X Strong Families at gmail dot com.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
It's set X Strong Families with an s right at
gmail dot com if you have any questions about that.
But social media is such a great outreach in a
place that we can go on Facebook there and follow
Southeast Texas Strong Families. After I met you, I went
on and just did that quick search and was able
(18:51):
to find it and follow it and see some of
the things that you guys are doing. And you know,
we've got a couple of minutes left. I really would
like to talk about the families that you serve. I mean,
we are all out in the community. We all have
friends and neighbors, and our kids go to school and
we are.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
In this community.
Speaker 2 (19:12):
What kind of families can we direct to Buckner for
services when we see someone that may be able to
take advantage of that?
Speaker 4 (19:21):
Absolutely for Buckner, we have so many primitive programs for
families and for parents that a lot of people don't
know about. We're associated with foster care, adoption and kinship,
which we do love to help those families that are
looking to adopt, looking to foster. We're always recruiting foster families,
but we also have programs for expectant parents. We have
(19:43):
a Hopes program and that's for expecting all the wa
up until age five. So we have what we call
parents as Teacher curriculum and we have parent educators that
go into the homes and help those parents learn to
play with their child and help them develop those milestone
and prepare them for school. So that's a great program
that we have that many don't know about. We have
(20:05):
our THHV program. It helps the same age group. They
go into the home, just make sure that that family
has what they need. They can refer them to outsource,
they can outsource them to other resources and help them
get what they need. We also have a Phase program
and that's for our six to seventeen year old families.
So it may be a family that just has some
they have some issues, or they have some things going
(20:26):
on and they don't know that there is help for it,
or they don't know where to look for that help.
We have case managers that work very closely with those families.
We'll get a lot of school referrals with those churches
or refer families, and sometimes it's the courts. But we
just go in and kind of assess what the family's
dealing with and then come up with our own game
plan of how we can help them and then bring
(20:46):
in some of those other local resources that we work with.
And we also have a fatherhood program, so it's called
the it's called the Fatherhood Program, and we have a
Fatherhood Summit every year and that's just specifically towards fathers
or any father figures, so it can be uncles, big brothers,
you know, grandpas who have stepped into that role. And
it's just aimed at strengthening fathers because it just statistically
(21:09):
it shows that involved fathers and cohesive parenting is very
good for the family and for the children. So we
do work with those families, and we do Transitioning program,
which is for our age doubt foster youth. We can
work with anybody who is in foster care in the
state of Texas all the way up into the age
of twenty six and help so many housing and grants
(21:31):
and all those great things.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
So many amazing things. I love whenever we have an
opportunity to talk about your children and family services, because
most people may not realize what all you guys do,
be sure and come out if you'd like more information
about any of these services to the Family Funday This Saturday,
April the twelfth at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church on Cardinal
(21:52):
Drive in Beaumont. Free for all, bring the family and
come enjoy. Rachel, thank you for being with us.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
Right back with the Roy West Show right after that,
and we're back with the Roy West Show. I'm April
Tolber sitting in for Roy West today with a great
lineup of guests talking about some of the amazing things happening,
events happening. There is always so much to do in
Southeast Texas. Our next guest for this segment is Karen Husbands.
(22:20):
Karen is actually with the United Way of Beaumont and
North Jefferson County.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
Welcome and thank you for being with us. Karen.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
Oh, April, it's so good to be here.
Speaker 5 (22:29):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
So I really wanted to have you on because last week,
a week ago Friday, United Way did the Day of Caring.
And I want everyone to know what this is so
that next year they can if they own a business,
they can participate, or they can get with their employer
(22:53):
and say, hey, could we do this Day of Caring.
My team, April Tolbert Insurance Agency, we participate every year
in United Way's Day of Caring and we were assigned
a project.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
In the community. This year.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
We got to go to the Girl Scouts of Santiacento.
They have a local office here in Beaumont, and my
team and I got to sort Girl Scout cookies and
count Girl Scout cookies. We got to be in a
room full of cases and cases and cases of Girl
Scout cookies. So let me tell you, I think my
team and I got more out of that than the
(23:30):
Girl Scouts did. But there are so many projects, and
there's so many companies big and small from all over
that were in that room of hundreds and hundreds of
people with us last Friday. And so tell us a
little bit about number one Day of Caring and number
(23:50):
two about United Way. Tell us where that money goes
and why we're out there volunteering.
Speaker 5 (23:55):
Oh, I would love to you just hit on two
of my favorite things to talk about. Day of Carrying
And as you said, that is just a great community
wide effort that has arguably become our most well loved event,
if you will, because it is an opportunity for employers
(24:15):
and their employees to get together for a day of service,
rolling up their sleeves, getting some dirty some not so dirty,
but just giving back to the community, you know, making
South East Texas and Beaumont a better place for everyone.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
So we truly love that day.
Speaker 5 (24:36):
And as you referenced in the beginning, we am host
to kick off and we bring all of those employers
and employees together number one, because it's just remarkable how
many people show up. And as you know, the the
weather as it can be, was a little questionable, but
(24:58):
we were able to kick it off. Often, as you know,
most often those that are volunteering on that day get
back probably more than they feel like they churned out
that day. So we provide opportunities for nonprofits, and we've
expanded that day to include organizations outside of what we
(25:20):
would call our partner agencies, and I'll talk a little
bit more about United Way partner agencies, but it is
doing work anywhere from sorting cookies to landscaping to painting
into your wall, striping parking lots. And for those that
may not have a working knowledge of nonprofits, those are
(25:41):
critical dollars that we often can include in our budget
because we want to make sure that we are providing
programs and critical services to the communities.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
So those are.
Speaker 5 (25:52):
Oftentimes things that are just left for another day because
you know, as you know, it takes a lot of
money to hire the labor and to bring the resources
together to do such things. So's it's an amazing day
and it can be a great team building opportunity for
the companies that participate. And you know, like you said,
(26:14):
sometimes the employers are the lead, but we've also seen
the employees lead their employer into signing up for that day,
and multiple companies return year after year, just like your
group an April Tolbart Insurance agency, and there's all kinds
of projects for a few people to you know, thirty
(26:36):
individuals to work. So again, just just a great day.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
It absolutely is, and it is such like you said,
a good team building exercise.
Speaker 1 (26:45):
But it's a.
Speaker 2 (26:46):
Way for you to show your team right how important
it is to give back to our community. And that's
one of the things I love about United Way, and
I hope that you're going to talk about that a
little bit, talk about who United Way is and all
the partner agencies that you serve, so that when those
(27:07):
dollars are given to United Way, how you guys are
able to spread that amongst multiple nonprofits.
Speaker 5 (27:14):
So our mission on the surface, sounds simple. You know,
we bring together the resources in our community, whether that's volunteers,
financial resources, or the nonprofit agencies that you know, we
help to form collaborations amongst but there's so many different
aspects that go into that. Currently. You know, what I
(27:37):
think is by far one of the most valuable things
that we bring to our donors but isn't necessarily spoken to,
is that we meet with all of our agencies annually.
And when I say we, it's United Way staff, but
it is a committee that hosts community leaders, industry leaders,
(28:00):
you know, people that have the expertise in their field
to make some of these decisions. Because it's very important
to us when we go before a donor and we
ask them to entrust their funds to us, that it's
crucial that we be able to say at the end
of the year that we know your money was spent, well,
(28:22):
we know exactly the services that were afforded through those contributions,
and we can tell you how many individuals, you know,
a finite number of individuals were served.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
And so we do that.
Speaker 5 (28:35):
Currently we have twenty agencies, and of those twenty agencies,
we actually fund thirty six programs so oftentimes an agency
has more than just one program. You know, they may
provide you know, a variety of therapies, and they may
have a counseling service and a homeless shelter, they may
have an after school program. So we look at all
(28:59):
of those numbers and you know, tell people, the great
thing about giving to United Way is you're impacting your
entire community, from youth services to affordable health care, to
mentorship programs to substance abuse counseling, and we are expecting
we are affecting you know, a broad spectrum of services.
(29:21):
And because we're able to bring our agencies together to collaborate,
they are leveraging the dollars that you donate to United
Way because they do what they do well and then
they refer to other United Way agencies to provide additional services.
So for companies, it's a great value. For individuals, it's
(29:42):
a great value because we can provide those very important
statistics on how your dollars were spent. And at the
end of the day, we just all want a great Beaumont,
a great place to live and work and play.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
That's right, and add love that the Unit Way does
the work for us as someone who wants to give
back to the community. Let's say that someone doesn't know.
They don't they don't know what nonprofit they want to serve.
They want to give back, they want to volunteer, they
want to give dollars whatever that.
Speaker 1 (30:17):
Is that they have to give.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
They want to give something to help make the community better.
United Way is a great place to start because they
they know they've done the hard work for you. They've
vetted the nonprofit, they know the programs, they know where
the your dollars are going to go, and they also
know where the services are needed. If you're wanting to
(30:40):
volunteer your time, is that correct?
Speaker 3 (30:42):
Absolutely?
Speaker 5 (30:44):
And you know, if anyone wants to volunteer and they
can reach out to the United Way four zero nine
eight three five four five seven five and we can
match their interests with what the volunteer need in the community.
And again, you know, it's it's educational for our agencies
as well, because you know, they truly have a working
knowledge of what's available in the community. You know, sometimes
(31:06):
people will think of a program that's needed, but not
necessarily have the knowledge that that programs already exists elsewhere.
So you know, again, to me it's just a great
service to the community to ensure that dollars are well spent.
Speaker 2 (31:23):
That's your United Way of Beaumont and North Jefferson County.
If you want to get involved at any level, volunteer,
donate dollars, find out more about the day of carrying
or the programs that are offered through United Way. Tell
us again how someone can contact you guys and get
more information.
Speaker 5 (31:41):
So the easiest way is to call four zero nine
eight three five four five seven five, also through our
website uwbmt dot org or stop buyer offices at seven
hundred North Street.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
Thank you for being with us today, Karen. We'll be
right back on the Roy West Show. Welcome back to
Roy West Radio Show on April Tolbert sitting in for
Roy West today and we have had such an amazing
lineup of guests today and no other than Nicole Hayes
(32:14):
from Boyce Haven is gonna wrap it all up in
a nice little package for us because boys Haven has
so much going on. As a matter of fact, today
they have fantastic Sunday going on at the South Texas
State Fair with today being the last day of the
South Texas State Fair and that's just one of the
many things that Boyce Haven has their hands in with
(32:36):
lots of upcoming events, including the Crawfish Festival on May tenth,
that we're going to be talking about too, So welcome
Nicole and let's see if we can let's Southeast Texas
know all the exciting things that are happening with Boyce Haven.
Thank you for being here.
Speaker 6 (32:51):
Yeah, well, thank you so much, April for having me.
Today's going to be an awesome day at the fair.
And the great thing about Fantastic Sundays, it's a super easy.
Speaker 2 (33:02):
Way to get in.
Speaker 6 (33:04):
You know, you just bring in six full or empty
cans of soda and we give you a free entry ticket.
We donate the empty or we recycle i'm sorry, the
empty cans, so you're you know, recycling that's great for
the earth and all that. And then our full cans
we actually sell back to you at the Crawfish Festival
and that's how we're able to keep our prices down
(33:25):
for that, so they're only a dollar a can, which
is really great.
Speaker 3 (33:28):
Well is always going.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
Up so we can get get our cans together, get
to the fair today, get free entry for the last
day of the fair, and we're helping boys Haven for
the future, right for the Crawfish Festival, which is coming
up when.
Speaker 6 (33:48):
Yeah, the Crawfish Festival is May tenth. It's always Mother's
Day weekend, so and it's that ten to six all day,
and we're having it at boys Haven on our campus
on Major three six five work Major Drive. So that's
a little bit change of location, but we're really excited
to be able to have it on our campus and
open up our facility to the public.
Speaker 1 (34:08):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (34:09):
Are you going to be doing tours there? Since you're
moving it there, are you going to be able to
show people around the property anything different than having it
where you guys.
Speaker 1 (34:19):
Have had that in the past.
Speaker 6 (34:21):
Yeah, Well, it makes it a lot easier to have
our like headquarters station for counting things and accountability stuff
like that here in our office. It's going to make
it a lot easier for moving things at the last minute,
wrapping things up, cleaning, clean up, set up, all of
that will be so much easier having it on our property.
And then I don't think we're going to do tours
that day, but we're going to have like a sign
(34:42):
up sheet to set up for tours because I do
tours every week to let everybody.
Speaker 2 (34:47):
Know more about what we do.
Speaker 6 (34:48):
Since now we have adults on campus instead of children,
we're able to open it up to the public about
all the cool things that we're doing here.
Speaker 2 (34:56):
Well, tell us a little bit about that, because you know,
we'll talk a little bit more about the upcoming events,
because I know you've got a couple of more. But
you know, we naturally here in Southeast Texas want to
support boys Haven because we know Boyce Haven does great
works in the community. But tell us a little bit
about how that is morphed, what that has developed into,
and what all you guys are doing as far as
(35:18):
services for the community.
Speaker 5 (35:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (35:20):
Absolutely, We've got our new program, Journey House. It's just
a little over a year old. It's for eighteen to
twenty four year old young men. They live on campus
up to two years and we help them find jobs,
get into school, teach them life skills. We've got community
partners like the workforce and Goodwill, doctors offices, therapy things
(35:41):
like that, you know, so we're well rounded in services available.
And that's what's great about you know, being a nonprofit
being in the community is we're always how can we
partner with others so that we can get the services
for those that need it, because a lot of times
it's just why I didn't know that was an option.
So getting all that information out there is really important.
Speaker 1 (36:02):
That's exactly right.
Speaker 2 (36:03):
And how do people find out more about boys Haven?
How did they get in touch with you guys? And
how do they follow you on social media? How do
they get involved in the great works that you guys
are doing here in the community. Yeah, well, they can.
Speaker 6 (36:17):
Always follow us on on social media Facebook, Instagram. Our
website is boyshaven dot com and then email me directly.
Speaker 2 (36:25):
Like I said, I do tours every week Nicole.
Speaker 6 (36:28):
At boyshaven dot com and I'm happy to share any
information from where we've been to where we're going and
all the great things that we have coming up. And
then you can also apply to our journey House program
at our website at boyshaven dot com. All the infos
on there for any questions.
Speaker 2 (36:44):
And if we know of someone that can take advantage
of that program, is it best to get them in
touch directly with you?
Speaker 1 (36:52):
Do we send them to the website?
Speaker 2 (36:54):
How would we go about helping connect boys Haven with
the people in the community that need your service.
Speaker 6 (37:01):
Absolutely, so applying for the Journey House application is a
great way to start. But if maybe you're not quite
sure if the program's right for you, you can always reach
out to Patricia. Her email as Patricia at Boyshaven dot com.
She's our program director and she runs the whole thing,
so she can answer any questions and we can always
have a conversation, interview to or things like that for
(37:21):
somebody who's not sure if this is the right program
for them before they just jump in all the way.
Speaker 2 (37:26):
That's right, that's right, And you know, knowledge is power,
we like to say, and doing your research at boys Haven,
even if you don't know anyone right now that you
can think of that could take advantage of this, you
never know who you're going to come across, and so
having that information about all the amazing services that boys
Haven provides is so extremely important because when you come
(37:48):
across somebody in need, you want to be able to
connect them to the right services. And boys Haven has
just such a unique mission and does such a beautiful
and has for so many years here in our community.
So let's go back to the fun part events Today's
fantastic Sunday. Grab your cans go to the South Texas
(38:11):
State Fair. They're open till nine o'clock tonight, so get
your free admission, bring your cans in, get your free
admission at the fair. That's going to support Boys Haven.
And then what do you guys have coming up in
the coming weeks as well?
Speaker 6 (38:23):
Okay, so April tenth, we also have our media party
that's going to be at Madison's from five pm to
eight pm, and that's to kind of kick off with
the media about Hey, our Crawfish Festival is coming up,
so we're.
Speaker 2 (38:35):
Excited about that.
Speaker 6 (38:36):
And then of course the Crawfish Festival is a month
after that. It's going to be May tenth. It's from
ten to six, free admission, great food, live music, and
a free kids area. As always, now we are super
excited about our music line up this year. We've got
a few different bands and then we've also got the
mc Supa is going to be there and that's a
(38:57):
total change of pace and we're really excited to have
him on board. But we're also going to have the
k Not Brothers, the Get Right Bramblers, the Aces and
Barbara Hickey and the Daybreakers. So it's going to be
a lot of fun to grab a lawn chair and
come hang out.
Speaker 2 (39:13):
I'll be there all day. Yes, a lot of us
do like to just come out and hang out all day,
get our first round of crawfish, get that down early,
enjoy live music, enjoy the activities, and then get our
second round of crawfish in later in the day. So
you've got to know the inside scoop as to how
to navigate the boy Shaving Crawfish Festival because it is
(39:35):
definitely an all day event. Nicole, thank you so much
for being with us, Thank you for providing all this
great information, and thank you to you and your team
there Boyshaven and all that you do for our community.
Speaker 1 (39:47):
We appreciate you so very much.
Speaker 6 (39:50):
And thank you for having me. I love that I
could that I could be on the show and support
and all that.
Speaker 2 (39:55):
Well, we appreciate you again, and we'll be right back
on the Roy West Show.
Speaker 1 (40:00):
Here.
Speaker 2 (40:00):
We are back on the Roy West Show on News
Talk five sixty KLVI and also on the podcast on
Iheartsmedia KLVII dot com. You can find this podcast every week,
so tune in to The Roy West Show every Sunday
at noon on AM five sixty KLVI. I am April
(40:22):
to Holbird sitting in today. It was a pleasure to
guest hosts in Roy's absence. We had some amazing guests today,
Rachel Valdez from the Southeast Texas Strong Families Coalition.
Speaker 1 (40:34):
Be sure and find them on social.
Speaker 2 (40:36):
Media Facebook their sett Strong Families Coalition. They have the
Family Fun Day coming up next Saturday, which is April
the twelfth at Anty Missionary Baptist Church on Cardinal Drive.
So go for a free event for eleven from eleven
to three next Saturday, and then we've got We had Boyce.
Speaker 1 (40:56):
Haven represented today.
Speaker 2 (40:58):
To Nicole Hayes was here from talking about the upcoming
Crawfish Festival. You have never been, or even if you have,
it is definitely something you want to attend. Amazing crawfish
and all for a great cause, live music, a day
of fun, and that one this year is going to
be on May the tenth. It's always Father's Day weekend
(41:19):
and that I'm sorry, it's Mother's Day weekend at Boyce
Haven out here on Major Drive in Beaumont. So be
sure to make plans to join the Boyshaven Crawfish Festival
on May the tenth and you can thank me later
for that.
Speaker 1 (41:33):
So great crawfish and great fun.
Speaker 2 (41:36):
And thank you to Elton Hollis for joining us. He
is with Golden Triangle Industrial Group talking about some great
things happening in Southeast Texas and Karen Husbands with United Way.
So tune in next week to the Roy West Show
right here on KLBI. Have a great weekend and rest
of your week.
Good afternoon, Southeast Texas.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Welcome to the Roy West Show on News Talk five
six e KLVI.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
I am obviously not Roy West.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
I am April Tolbert's guest host today of Roy's Show.
We have an amazing lineup of guests for you that
are coming this hour. We are going to hear from
We've got Rachel Valdez going to be talking about a
family funday that is coming up for the Southeast Texas
Strong Families Coalition.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
There's so many amazing.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Things happening in Southeast Texas. You cannot say that Beaumont
is boring. You cannot say that anymore. There's so much
and the show is just going to highlight just a
few things today.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
The boys Haven.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Crawfish Festival is on the way. That's coming up as well.
The United Way is having events that are happening as well.
And don't forget today is the last day of the
South Texas State Fair. So if you have not gone
and gotten your pork Bob and your funnel cake and
all the things that you have to have once a
year in Southeast Texas, today is your last chance to
(01:06):
do that. It's actually fantastic Sunday, so bring your cans.
You can get a free admission and that does support
Boyce Haven. So lots of great things happening in Southeast
Texas and one of the champions of Southeast Texas is
joining me in this first segment. And if you have
not gotten an opportunity to know mister Elton Hollis the third,
(01:28):
you're going to get a chance to find out who
he is today and all the things that he's got
his hands in helping to make our community at just
an even better place to live, work, and play. Elton Hollis,
welcome to the show. Thank you for being with us.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
Oh I sure appreciate the invitation. It's great to sit
here and visit with you. April.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Well.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
I know that you and I we are paths cross
often in some of the I call it the give
back work, right, the things that we're doing out there
in Southeast Texas, trying to you know, build a better community,
trying to keep our community as strong. We do a
lot of things together with the BBB, the Better Business Bureau.
(02:07):
You and I serve on several boards and committees together
trying to help build stronger business And so I knew
when Roy asked me to host the show this week
that I wanted to kick it off with you and
you in your life, You've got several different hats that
you wear, So tell us a little bit about who
(02:28):
Elton Hollis is. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
I don't have much of a social life, so yeah,
I'm the general manager of RT Technical. We do instrumentation
and electrical work. We also build turnkey instrumentation buildings for
the pipeline industry over in Neederland and most people know
it for Casey Taylor, she's a rock star down here
(02:54):
that a lot of people know. So that's kind of
a day job. But I was also on Hale Tech Resources,
so I do safety training, safety consulting. I have a
lot of clients in the industry, and man, that's been skyrocketing.
I've enjoyed it. It's not every day you to have
a day job and then enjoy your passion as well.
(03:19):
And so Casey had some foresight and she was like, hey,
I want you to explore it. And it's helped our
tea and it's helped myself and so it's gotten real busy.
So I've had to bring my son Tyler into it
and we've done some expanding and going to do some
more expanding, so that's been great. And then also the
(03:41):
co founder of the Golden Triangle Industrial Group with my
partner Travis Woods. And so we just bring folks together
for a monthly meeting, tell them about all the local projects,
the billions of dollars that's coming into the industry, and
let folks shake some hands, hug some necks, and hear
(04:01):
about all the good news that's happening in the area.
And that's all I got the breath to say.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
I'll give you just a minute to catch your catch,
get you in back after after going through all of that.
But you know, you really intrigue me whenever you start
talking about Golden Triangle Industrial Group and what you do there,
because those of us who have chosen to live and
work and raise families here in Southeast Texas, we are
all affected by industry. Industry success is our success, it's
(04:31):
the success of our local community here. In a lot
of ways, of many of us work for or work
in conjunction with, someone who does business in industry. So
tell us a little bit about what Golden Triangle Industrial
Group does to help foster that.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
Okay, So what we do is we kind of take
what we call a we call it a a stone
in the pond approach, And what that is is we
don't we want to touch the business owners. Obviously, we
want to let them know what is out there so
that they can succeed. Because when your business owners succeed,
(05:14):
then their employees succeed. When their employees succeed, then their
families succeed, and then the suppliers and the folks that
run the donut shops and you know, all of that
that tends to have an effect. But the other thing
we want to do is we want to let everybody
know that it's not just about traditional oil and gas business.
(05:35):
It's not just about Hey, I hear that they're building
a new plant and I don't work for Motiva, I
don't work for Valleiro, So it doesn't mean anything for
me because I work at Target. Well, it does mean
something for you. What it means is it's going to
be a bigger fair. It's going to be nicer restaurants.
(05:56):
It's going to mean that, you know, it's not just
going to be called Avenue that's going to look good.
It's going to be you know, the whole city of
Beaumont or Salsby or you know, the greater Southeast Texas area.
That's what it means in Southeast Texas. Not every area
of Texas does this, but in this area, when business succeeds,
(06:20):
when things happen like this in our area, so does
the cities and the surrounding areas. And I tell you
the folks listening and watching. I've been to other areas
of Texas, other states, even Louisiana. There's a lot of
towns in Louisiana that they've got an l in g
F facility and they don't take care of their towns
(06:42):
like we do here. And it's real great within a
mile of the Llen g facility, and then it falls off. Man,
we're blessed in Southeast Texas that that money spreads out
and people take care of themselves. I just don't think
we see that all the time.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
You are so You're so right. Industry is a trickle
down effect. As you and I you know, have talked
about many times. It's a trickle down effect. I'm a
small business owner. You're a small business owner. You know
that the fact that the industry that we are blessed
to have here brings in so many people from not
only across the country, but across the world. I have
(07:22):
had customers, you know, from many, many different countries, many
different cultures that we bring in here to Southeast Texas.
And so what we are seeing is I feel like
a momentum, right of a of a shift from what
it felt like when we were growing up here. I
(07:42):
am seeing more people that are wanting to raise their
families and encourage their kids to go to Lamar and
to stay here and to start businesses or work in
either industry or a field that services the industrial you know,
facilities here. They're so much opportunity. And now this this
(08:03):
culture of of you know, I want to say inclusion.
I want to say more more so than it ever
has been before, you know. I want to see the
cultural festivals, you know, I want to see the different
the arts. I want to see all of the things
that are starting to really pick up momentum here and
(08:25):
for us to really embrace people from all over the
world that are moving here and for our industry and
for the opportunities that are here.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
What are you seeing?
Speaker 3 (08:37):
Oh man, You're gonna get me excited here, Abel's That's
exactly what I'm seeing. Forever I feel like Beaumont Port
Author Orange. You know, people felt like we were just this,
you know, it was pollution and it was just kind
of the gray in the dark industry. That is not
what we are. Industry are people, and we are a
(08:58):
diverse network. And I'm not talking about just color and language.
I'm talking about our ideas. I'm talking about people that
enjoy different things. They enjoy the outdoors, the fishing, they
enjoy art and culture and different languages and just it
is amazing the people you can meet and that I
meet in these meetings at the Golden Trig Industrial Group.
(09:20):
And I think that the Beaumont pulled Author Orange the
greater Southeast Texas area. We are not Facebook Southeast Texas,
you know what I mean. We're not the fights at
the fair. We're not the garbage you see on there
all the time. Man, that truly is that's garbage. That's
not what we are. You know, We're the people that
(09:41):
I see like men die. You know, man, what he's
done with beautifying Beaumont and the new types of restaurants
and not just having forty two thousand different Mexican restaurants.
You can go out and do whatever you want to
and the different cuisines and people taking a chance on
growing businesses, you know, and saying, hey, I want to
(10:05):
do underwater basket weaving. You know what I mean. It
may not succeed, but hey, I want to take a
chance on it, you know what I mean? That kind
of excitement and taking chances in business. That's the kind
of stuff that excites me about Beaumont. And the other
thing is the young people. You know, they always want
to find something to do. Sometimes finding something to do
(10:27):
is not finding a new bar, is not finding a
new field to go drink in it. I'm not saying,
you know, one way or another, but I'm saying sometimes
that might be starting to do business. Sometimes that might
be working in a business and trying to find your
way and moving up in it. It is an exciting
time for businesses and four people in Southeast Texas. You
(10:50):
just got to have the right perspective.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
And if you're not following and liking and loving and
all the things that we do on social media right
all of the positive things that are happening, just take
a look. Follow Elton Hollis on Facebook because you know,
if there's if there's something that's happening, and it is exciting,
it's positive towards Southeast Texas. He's gonna be out there
talking about he's going to be out there sharing it,
(11:15):
and in following what he's doing, you're gonna connect with
other people that are like minded like Elton, and you're
gonna see that Southeast Texas, if you haven't figured it out,
is not a boring, old dud place to be like.
I honestly just lets be real Like I feel like
it was back years ago when we were growing up,
(11:36):
it's not that anymore. So thank you again, Elton for
being with us. Thank you for all that you do
for our community to make it stronger and better.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
We appreciate you. And again you can.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Connect with Elton Hollis on Facebook. And we've got the
rest of the Roy West Show coming up right after
this break.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
We'll be right back.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
And welcome back to the Roy West Radio Show. I
am April Tolbert's guest hosting today and we have an
amazing lineup of guests with us today and in this segment,
we're going to be talking to Rachel Valdez. She is
a community engagement coordinator for Buckner Children and Family services.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
But today we're.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
Actually talking about something else, an exciting event that's coming
up and a wonderful organization that she's a part of,
and that is Southeast Texas Strong Families Coalition. Welcome Rachel,
and thank you for being with us.
Speaker 4 (12:37):
Thank you, thank you for having me happy to be here.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Of course, and you have got your hands in so
many wonderful things that provide amazing services to our community.
So you and I met at an event a week
or two ago, and you were talking about this particular organization,
the Southeast Texas Strong Families Coalition, and the Family Day,
the Family Funday that is coming up, that's coming up
(13:04):
next Saturday. So it's coming up pretty quick here on
April the twelfth. First of all, tell us about Southeast
Texas Strong Families Coalition for those that have not heard
of it or know what that wonderful organization does. Tell
everybody about.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
It, all right, Yeah, So the Southeast Texas Strong Families
Coalition was head started by Buckner, going on three years ago.
Buckner had started it, but we happily joined with thirty
around thirty eight other local nonprofits and organizations. We have
dfps iea COSA, we have some of the school districts involved,
(13:43):
a garth house, just a plethora of local resources and
agencies that have the same mindset to strengthen and help
families and help them find out about resources they may
not know are available in our local community.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Absolutely, and this has been This has been just.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
One more outreach program that's provided by Buckner. And those
of us who have worked with and and done events
and helped volunteered with Buckner, we know what amazing services
are provided to families here in South East Texas.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
So we are so grateful for what Buckner.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Children and Family Services does here in our community. But
you know a lot of people haven't heard of this
strong family coalition.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
So you guys have put together.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
This is actually the second annual Family Funday that is
coming up this weekend. Tell us about that and about
what's going to be going on this Saturday.
Speaker 4 (14:48):
Yeah, so we're very excited. We had our first annual
last year and we had over four hundred come out
to our first Family Funday, So we were really excited
to offer families a completely free day of fun. You
can come, engage together, have a good time, and not
have to spend any money. So another perk of that is.
We also have local resources set up at the Family
(15:10):
Funding so they're able to come have that fun and
spend that time together, but also connect with some of
the local agencies and organizations that are able to help
them that they may not know about. So we do.
We have all kinds of fun activities planned. We have
some large inflatable games. We have bubble Blitzers coming out.
It's a really fun time. The kids love playing with
(15:31):
the bubbles and the phone. We feed them lunch. We
have some great door prizes and giveaways, plus those local resources,
so it's just a it's a big day of free
family fund with some educational and good community resources available
as well.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
Sure, and this is happening at Anti Missionary Baptist Church.
If you're not familiar with where that is, you obviously
haven't driven down Cardinal Drive because it's a very large church.
You can miss it on Cardinal Drive thirty nine to
twenty with Cardinal Drive in Beaumont. And I assume you
guys will be set up out there where somebody driving
(16:09):
by there on Cardinal Drive will will not miss it.
They will be able to see you guys.
Speaker 4 (16:13):
Yes, we're very excited and we will have some volunteers
out there holding up signs trying to draw people in.
We do have pre registration, but it's not required. It'll
just give us an idea. So it's open to anybody
in the community, all families, all family types. We'll be
there from eleven am to three pm, so a pretty
good time if you want to come before lunch, after lunch,
(16:34):
or for the full day. We're just excited to draw
in even more families than we did last year. And
Antioch has been a gracious host. BIC is partnering a
little more with us on this event, so they'll have
some literacy resources available as well, and pre registration for
the upcoming school year for bisD.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
And if I heard you correctly, everyone is welcome. They
do not have to pre register, they cannot have to
show up. If you don't know really what your day
is gonna look like this Saturday on April the twelfth,
but you wake up and you're like.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
Oh, it's a perfect day.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Let's get out, let's go bring the family, let's do something.
Come out to anning Out Baptist Church from eleven to three.
And you said you're gonna have food, You're gonna have inflatables.
You're gonna have games, You're gonna have lots of different
activities for kids and families.
Speaker 4 (17:27):
Right, yes, many activities and big outdoor games, a pop
snow cones, popcorn, plus food. We'll have an ice cream
truck out there as well, so plenty of free food,
which is always is always a bonus, but all kinds
of activities for all ages and again, any family type,
single parents you know, can join families, whatever your family
looks like. It's just a great day to come out
(17:48):
and enjoy some fun for free and engage.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
That's amazing. Thank you guys for doing this. And if
somebody wants more information about the event itself, where would
they go to find that?
Speaker 4 (18:01):
Yeah, so we would love to get more followers on
our Facebook page. It's set X Strong Families Coalition on Facebook.
We have the flyer out there generating and that's a
good place to go. See the flyer, ask some questions.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
You can inbox.
Speaker 4 (18:14):
I handle the social media directly. We also have a
website and the link is on the Facebook. You can
visit our website or if you have questions, you can
always email at sct X Strong Families at gmail dot com.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
It's set X Strong Families with an s right at
gmail dot com if you have any questions about that.
But social media is such a great outreach in a
place that we can go on Facebook there and follow
Southeast Texas Strong Families. After I met you, I went
on and just did that quick search and was able
(18:51):
to find it and follow it and see some of
the things that you guys are doing. And you know,
we've got a couple of minutes left. I really would
like to talk about the families that you serve. I mean,
we are all out in the community. We all have
friends and neighbors, and our kids go to school and
we are.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
In this community.
Speaker 2 (19:12):
What kind of families can we direct to Buckner for
services when we see someone that may be able to
take advantage of that?
Speaker 4 (19:21):
Absolutely for Buckner, we have so many primitive programs for
families and for parents that a lot of people don't
know about. We're associated with foster care, adoption and kinship,
which we do love to help those families that are
looking to adopt, looking to foster. We're always recruiting foster families,
but we also have programs for expectant parents. We have
(19:43):
a Hopes program and that's for expecting all the wa
up until age five. So we have what we call
parents as Teacher curriculum and we have parent educators that
go into the homes and help those parents learn to
play with their child and help them develop those milestone
and prepare them for school. So that's a great program
that we have that many don't know about. We have
(20:05):
our THHV program. It helps the same age group. They
go into the home, just make sure that that family
has what they need. They can refer them to outsource,
they can outsource them to other resources and help them
get what they need. We also have a Phase program
and that's for our six to seventeen year old families.
So it may be a family that just has some
they have some issues, or they have some things going
(20:26):
on and they don't know that there is help for it,
or they don't know where to look for that help.
We have case managers that work very closely with those families.
We'll get a lot of school referrals with those churches
or refer families, and sometimes it's the courts. But we
just go in and kind of assess what the family's
dealing with and then come up with our own game
plan of how we can help them and then bring
(20:46):
in some of those other local resources that we work with.
And we also have a fatherhood program, so it's called
the it's called the Fatherhood Program, and we have a
Fatherhood Summit every year and that's just specifically towards fathers
or any father figures, so it can be uncles, big brothers,
you know, grandpas who have stepped into that role. And
it's just aimed at strengthening fathers because it just statistically
(21:09):
it shows that involved fathers and cohesive parenting is very
good for the family and for the children. So we
do work with those families, and we do Transitioning program,
which is for our age doubt foster youth. We can
work with anybody who is in foster care in the
state of Texas all the way up into the age
of twenty six and help so many housing and grants
(21:31):
and all those great things.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
So many amazing things. I love whenever we have an
opportunity to talk about your children and family services, because
most people may not realize what all you guys do,
be sure and come out if you'd like more information
about any of these services to the Family Funday This Saturday,
April the twelfth at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church on Cardinal
(21:52):
Drive in Beaumont. Free for all, bring the family and
come enjoy. Rachel, thank you for being with us.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
Right back with the Roy West Show right after that,
and we're back with the Roy West Show. I'm April
Tolber sitting in for Roy West today with a great
lineup of guests talking about some of the amazing things happening,
events happening. There is always so much to do in
Southeast Texas. Our next guest for this segment is Karen Husbands.
(22:20):
Karen is actually with the United Way of Beaumont and
North Jefferson County.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
Welcome and thank you for being with us. Karen.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
Oh, April, it's so good to be here.
Speaker 5 (22:29):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
So I really wanted to have you on because last week,
a week ago Friday, United Way did the Day of Caring.
And I want everyone to know what this is so
that next year they can if they own a business,
they can participate, or they can get with their employer
(22:53):
and say, hey, could we do this Day of Caring.
My team, April Tolbert Insurance Agency, we participate every year
in United Way's Day of Caring and we were assigned
a project.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
In the community. This year.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
We got to go to the Girl Scouts of Santiacento.
They have a local office here in Beaumont, and my
team and I got to sort Girl Scout cookies and
count Girl Scout cookies. We got to be in a
room full of cases and cases and cases of Girl
Scout cookies. So let me tell you, I think my
team and I got more out of that than the
(23:30):
Girl Scouts did. But there are so many projects, and
there's so many companies big and small from all over
that were in that room of hundreds and hundreds of
people with us last Friday. And so tell us a
little bit about number one Day of Caring and number
(23:50):
two about United Way. Tell us where that money goes
and why we're out there volunteering.
Speaker 5 (23:55):
Oh, I would love to you just hit on two
of my favorite things to talk about. Day of Carrying
And as you said, that is just a great community
wide effort that has arguably become our most well loved event,
if you will, because it is an opportunity for employers
(24:15):
and their employees to get together for a day of service,
rolling up their sleeves, getting some dirty some not so dirty,
but just giving back to the community, you know, making
South East Texas and Beaumont a better place for everyone.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
So we truly love that day.
Speaker 5 (24:36):
And as you referenced in the beginning, we am host
to kick off and we bring all of those employers
and employees together number one, because it's just remarkable how
many people show up. And as you know, the the
weather as it can be, was a little questionable, but
(24:58):
we were able to kick it off. Often, as you know,
most often those that are volunteering on that day get
back probably more than they feel like they churned out
that day. So we provide opportunities for nonprofits, and we've
expanded that day to include organizations outside of what we
(25:20):
would call our partner agencies, and I'll talk a little
bit more about United Way partner agencies, but it is
doing work anywhere from sorting cookies to landscaping to painting
into your wall, striping parking lots. And for those that
may not have a working knowledge of nonprofits, those are
(25:41):
critical dollars that we often can include in our budget
because we want to make sure that we are providing
programs and critical services to the communities.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
So those are.
Speaker 5 (25:52):
Oftentimes things that are just left for another day because
you know, as you know, it takes a lot of
money to hire the labor and to bring the resources
together to do such things. So's it's an amazing day
and it can be a great team building opportunity for
the companies that participate. And you know, like you said,
(26:14):
sometimes the employers are the lead, but we've also seen
the employees lead their employer into signing up for that day,
and multiple companies return year after year, just like your
group an April Tolbart Insurance agency, and there's all kinds
of projects for a few people to you know, thirty
(26:36):
individuals to work. So again, just just a great day.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
It absolutely is, and it is such like you said,
a good team building exercise.
Speaker 1 (26:45):
But it's a.
Speaker 2 (26:46):
Way for you to show your team right how important
it is to give back to our community. And that's
one of the things I love about United Way, and
I hope that you're going to talk about that a
little bit, talk about who United Way is and all
the partner agencies that you serve, so that when those
(27:07):
dollars are given to United Way, how you guys are
able to spread that amongst multiple nonprofits.
Speaker 5 (27:14):
So our mission on the surface, sounds simple. You know,
we bring together the resources in our community, whether that's volunteers,
financial resources, or the nonprofit agencies that you know, we
help to form collaborations amongst but there's so many different
aspects that go into that. Currently. You know, what I
(27:37):
think is by far one of the most valuable things
that we bring to our donors but isn't necessarily spoken to,
is that we meet with all of our agencies annually.
And when I say we, it's United Way staff, but
it is a committee that hosts community leaders, industry leaders,
(28:00):
you know, people that have the expertise in their field
to make some of these decisions. Because it's very important
to us when we go before a donor and we
ask them to entrust their funds to us, that it's
crucial that we be able to say at the end
of the year that we know your money was spent, well,
(28:22):
we know exactly the services that were afforded through those contributions,
and we can tell you how many individuals, you know,
a finite number of individuals were served.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
And so we do that.
Speaker 5 (28:35):
Currently we have twenty agencies, and of those twenty agencies,
we actually fund thirty six programs so oftentimes an agency
has more than just one program. You know, they may
provide you know, a variety of therapies, and they may
have a counseling service and a homeless shelter, they may
have an after school program. So we look at all
(28:59):
of those numbers and you know, tell people, the great
thing about giving to United Way is you're impacting your
entire community, from youth services to affordable health care, to
mentorship programs to substance abuse counseling, and we are expecting
we are affecting you know, a broad spectrum of services.
(29:21):
And because we're able to bring our agencies together to collaborate,
they are leveraging the dollars that you donate to United
Way because they do what they do well and then
they refer to other United Way agencies to provide additional services.
So for companies, it's a great value. For individuals, it's
(29:42):
a great value because we can provide those very important
statistics on how your dollars were spent. And at the
end of the day, we just all want a great Beaumont,
a great place to live and work and play.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
That's right, and add love that the Unit Way does
the work for us as someone who wants to give
back to the community. Let's say that someone doesn't know.
They don't they don't know what nonprofit they want to serve.
They want to give back, they want to volunteer, they
want to give dollars whatever that.
Speaker 1 (30:17):
Is that they have to give.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
They want to give something to help make the community better.
United Way is a great place to start because they
they know they've done the hard work for you. They've
vetted the nonprofit, they know the programs, they know where
the your dollars are going to go, and they also
know where the services are needed. If you're wanting to
(30:40):
volunteer your time, is that correct?
Speaker 3 (30:42):
Absolutely?
Speaker 5 (30:44):
And you know, if anyone wants to volunteer and they
can reach out to the United Way four zero nine
eight three five four five seven five and we can
match their interests with what the volunteer need in the community.
And again, you know, it's it's educational for our agencies
as well, because you know, they truly have a working
knowledge of what's available in the community. You know, sometimes
(31:06):
people will think of a program that's needed, but not
necessarily have the knowledge that that programs already exists elsewhere.
So you know, again, to me it's just a great
service to the community to ensure that dollars are well spent.
Speaker 2 (31:23):
That's your United Way of Beaumont and North Jefferson County.
If you want to get involved at any level, volunteer,
donate dollars, find out more about the day of carrying
or the programs that are offered through United Way. Tell
us again how someone can contact you guys and get
more information.
Speaker 5 (31:41):
So the easiest way is to call four zero nine
eight three five four five seven five, also through our
website uwbmt dot org or stop buyer offices at seven
hundred North Street.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
Thank you for being with us today, Karen. We'll be
right back on the Roy West Show. Welcome back to
Roy West Radio Show on April Tolbert sitting in for
Roy West today and we have had such an amazing
lineup of guests today and no other than Nicole Hayes
(32:14):
from Boyce Haven is gonna wrap it all up in
a nice little package for us because boys Haven has
so much going on. As a matter of fact, today
they have fantastic Sunday going on at the South Texas
State Fair with today being the last day of the
South Texas State Fair and that's just one of the
many things that Boyce Haven has their hands in with
(32:36):
lots of upcoming events, including the Crawfish Festival on May tenth,
that we're going to be talking about too, So welcome
Nicole and let's see if we can let's Southeast Texas
know all the exciting things that are happening with Boyce Haven.
Thank you for being here.
Speaker 6 (32:51):
Yeah, well, thank you so much, April for having me.
Today's going to be an awesome day at the fair.
And the great thing about Fantastic Sundays, it's a super easy.
Speaker 2 (33:02):
Way to get in.
Speaker 6 (33:04):
You know, you just bring in six full or empty
cans of soda and we give you a free entry ticket.
We donate the empty or we recycle i'm sorry, the
empty cans, so you're you know, recycling that's great for
the earth and all that. And then our full cans
we actually sell back to you at the Crawfish Festival
and that's how we're able to keep our prices down
(33:25):
for that, so they're only a dollar a can, which
is really great.
Speaker 3 (33:28):
Well is always going.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
Up so we can get get our cans together, get
to the fair today, get free entry for the last
day of the fair, and we're helping boys Haven for
the future, right for the Crawfish Festival, which is coming
up when.
Speaker 6 (33:48):
Yeah, the Crawfish Festival is May tenth. It's always Mother's
Day weekend, so and it's that ten to six all day,
and we're having it at boys Haven on our campus
on Major three six five work Major Drive. So that's
a little bit change of location, but we're really excited
to be able to have it on our campus and
open up our facility to the public.
Speaker 1 (34:08):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (34:09):
Are you going to be doing tours there? Since you're
moving it there, are you going to be able to
show people around the property anything different than having it
where you guys.
Speaker 1 (34:19):
Have had that in the past.
Speaker 6 (34:21):
Yeah, Well, it makes it a lot easier to have
our like headquarters station for counting things and accountability stuff
like that here in our office. It's going to make
it a lot easier for moving things at the last minute,
wrapping things up, cleaning, clean up, set up, all of
that will be so much easier having it on our property.
And then I don't think we're going to do tours
that day, but we're going to have like a sign
(34:42):
up sheet to set up for tours because I do
tours every week to let everybody.
Speaker 2 (34:47):
Know more about what we do.
Speaker 6 (34:48):
Since now we have adults on campus instead of children,
we're able to open it up to the public about
all the cool things that we're doing here.
Speaker 2 (34:56):
Well, tell us a little bit about that, because you know,
we'll talk a little bit more about the upcoming events,
because I know you've got a couple of more. But
you know, we naturally here in Southeast Texas want to
support boys Haven because we know Boyce Haven does great
works in the community. But tell us a little bit
about how that is morphed, what that has developed into,
and what all you guys are doing as far as
(35:18):
services for the community.
Speaker 5 (35:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (35:20):
Absolutely, We've got our new program, Journey House. It's just
a little over a year old. It's for eighteen to
twenty four year old young men. They live on campus
up to two years and we help them find jobs,
get into school, teach them life skills. We've got community
partners like the workforce and Goodwill, doctors offices, therapy things
(35:41):
like that, you know, so we're well rounded in services available.
And that's what's great about you know, being a nonprofit
being in the community is we're always how can we
partner with others so that we can get the services
for those that need it, because a lot of times
it's just why I didn't know that was an option.
So getting all that information out there is really important.
Speaker 1 (36:02):
That's exactly right.
Speaker 2 (36:03):
And how do people find out more about boys Haven?
How did they get in touch with you guys? And
how do they follow you on social media? How do
they get involved in the great works that you guys
are doing here in the community. Yeah, well, they can.
Speaker 6 (36:17):
Always follow us on on social media Facebook, Instagram. Our
website is boyshaven dot com and then email me directly.
Speaker 2 (36:25):
Like I said, I do tours every week Nicole.
Speaker 6 (36:28):
At boyshaven dot com and I'm happy to share any
information from where we've been to where we're going and
all the great things that we have coming up. And
then you can also apply to our journey House program
at our website at boyshaven dot com. All the infos
on there for any questions.
Speaker 2 (36:44):
And if we know of someone that can take advantage
of that program, is it best to get them in
touch directly with you?
Speaker 1 (36:52):
Do we send them to the website?
Speaker 2 (36:54):
How would we go about helping connect boys Haven with
the people in the community that need your service.
Speaker 6 (37:01):
Absolutely, so applying for the Journey House application is a
great way to start. But if maybe you're not quite
sure if the program's right for you, you can always reach
out to Patricia. Her email as Patricia at Boyshaven dot com.
She's our program director and she runs the whole thing,
so she can answer any questions and we can always
have a conversation, interview to or things like that for
(37:21):
somebody who's not sure if this is the right program
for them before they just jump in all the way.
Speaker 2 (37:26):
That's right, that's right, And you know, knowledge is power,
we like to say, and doing your research at boys Haven,
even if you don't know anyone right now that you
can think of that could take advantage of this, you
never know who you're going to come across, and so
having that information about all the amazing services that boys
Haven provides is so extremely important because when you come
(37:48):
across somebody in need, you want to be able to
connect them to the right services. And boys Haven has
just such a unique mission and does such a beautiful
and has for so many years here in our community.
So let's go back to the fun part events Today's
fantastic Sunday. Grab your cans go to the South Texas
(38:11):
State Fair. They're open till nine o'clock tonight, so get
your free admission, bring your cans in, get your free
admission at the fair. That's going to support Boys Haven.
And then what do you guys have coming up in
the coming weeks as well?
Speaker 6 (38:23):
Okay, so April tenth, we also have our media party
that's going to be at Madison's from five pm to
eight pm, and that's to kind of kick off with
the media about Hey, our Crawfish Festival is coming up,
so we're.
Speaker 2 (38:35):
Excited about that.
Speaker 6 (38:36):
And then of course the Crawfish Festival is a month
after that. It's going to be May tenth. It's from
ten to six, free admission, great food, live music, and
a free kids area. As always, now we are super
excited about our music line up this year. We've got
a few different bands and then we've also got the
mc Supa is going to be there and that's a
(38:57):
total change of pace and we're really excited to have
him on board. But we're also going to have the
k Not Brothers, the Get Right Bramblers, the Aces and
Barbara Hickey and the Daybreakers. So it's going to be
a lot of fun to grab a lawn chair and
come hang out.
Speaker 2 (39:13):
I'll be there all day. Yes, a lot of us
do like to just come out and hang out all day,
get our first round of crawfish, get that down early,
enjoy live music, enjoy the activities, and then get our
second round of crawfish in later in the day. So
you've got to know the inside scoop as to how
to navigate the boy Shaving Crawfish Festival because it is
(39:35):
definitely an all day event. Nicole, thank you so much
for being with us, Thank you for providing all this
great information, and thank you to you and your team
there Boyshaven and all that you do for our community.
Speaker 1 (39:47):
We appreciate you so very much.
Speaker 6 (39:50):
And thank you for having me. I love that I
could that I could be on the show and support
and all that.
Speaker 2 (39:55):
Well, we appreciate you again, and we'll be right back
on the Roy West Show.
Speaker 1 (40:00):
Here.
Speaker 2 (40:00):
We are back on the Roy West Show on News
Talk five sixty KLVI and also on the podcast on
Iheartsmedia KLVII dot com. You can find this podcast every week,
so tune in to The Roy West Show every Sunday
at noon on AM five sixty KLVI. I am April
(40:22):
to Holbird sitting in today. It was a pleasure to
guest hosts in Roy's absence. We had some amazing guests today,
Rachel Valdez from the Southeast Texas Strong Families Coalition.
Speaker 1 (40:34):
Be sure and find them on social.
Speaker 2 (40:36):
Media Facebook their sett Strong Families Coalition. They have the
Family Fun Day coming up next Saturday, which is April
the twelfth at Anty Missionary Baptist Church on Cardinal Drive.
So go for a free event for eleven from eleven
to three next Saturday, and then we've got We had Boyce.
Speaker 1 (40:56):
Haven represented today.
Speaker 2 (40:58):
To Nicole Hayes was here from talking about the upcoming
Crawfish Festival. You have never been, or even if you have,
it is definitely something you want to attend. Amazing crawfish
and all for a great cause, live music, a day
of fun, and that one this year is going to
be on May the tenth. It's always Father's Day weekend
(41:19):
and that I'm sorry, it's Mother's Day weekend at Boyce
Haven out here on Major Drive in Beaumont. So be
sure to make plans to join the Boyshaven Crawfish Festival
on May the tenth and you can thank me later
for that.
Speaker 1 (41:33):
So great crawfish and great fun.
Speaker 2 (41:36):
And thank you to Elton Hollis for joining us. He
is with Golden Triangle Industrial Group talking about some great
things happening in Southeast Texas and Karen Husbands with United Way.
So tune in next week to the Roy West Show
right here on KLBI. Have a great weekend and rest
of your week.
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