August 25, 2023 • 41 mins
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(00:02):
Good afternoon in Southeast Texas. You'relistening to the Roy West Show here on
News Talk five sixty k l vI, and you can hear it anytime
on the free iHeart radio app aswell as Apple podcast and Android podcasts.
And folks, this is the seasonand we are here in August and we're
talking about October. We're excited aboutOctober because we know at some point it's
(00:24):
gonna start cooling off. Diane Thompsonwith the Big Thicket Association that I call
that, right, But y'all arehaving Big Thicket Day and I've been before.
It is Saturday, October seventh,from eleven thirty to three pm.
It's going to be a perfect day, I predict, weatherwise, and it
(00:46):
is gorgeous out there on the Natus. But let's talk a little bit about
the Big Thicket Association and what itis that y'all do, and then what
to expect on October seventh. I'dbe happy to tell you. Big Ticket
Association is a friend group of theBig Ticket National Preserve and we were founded
(01:06):
in nineteen sixty four to preserve,conserve, protect, and educate others about
the Big Thicket region of Texas,which we have a big area, and
we had a member who was active, very active in lobbying Congress to have
the Big Thicket Region named a Nationalpreserve back in nineteen seventy four, and
(01:30):
they actually passed that and it becamethe first National preserve in the United States
in nineteen seventy four. So whatwe do is we teach the public about
the Big Thicket Region and the BigTicket National Preserve. We have the Ivory
Bill Boat. We take passengers intothe Big Thicket National Preserve when we're on
(01:51):
the river here in Beaumont, we'reactually in the Big Ticket National Preserve.
We have education classes for all studentsin a county surrounding the Big Thicket Region.
Our environmental educator does science experiments,water quality testing, all kinds of
things in class on the boat withstudents, and we do public and private
(02:12):
tours. So we'll have that boathere by the way at Big Thicket Day
for people to just have a littleride on it, go out on the
river and experience a little bit ofthat. But then we also so we
are telling people about the Big Thicketwhen we take them out on the boat,
and we're teaching them about the ecologyof the area in the history on
the river. And then you know, we also do this Big Thicket Day.
(02:34):
This is our celebration with the communityfor the founding of our organization in
nineteen sixty four. So this isour forty ninth celebration anniversary. And then
we also are celebrating the Big ThicketNational Preserves Birthday. They were founded again
in nineteen seventy four and it's theirforty ninth anniversary. Does say that right,
(02:57):
No, we're fifty nine years,they're forty nine years, so they're
fiftieth is next year, and sowe're celebrating the founding of these two organizations.
So we put on every year thisfree community event. It's family friendly
and you know, we bring ina lot of exhibitors and vendors. Nonprofits
come and share their knowledge with thepublic also about what they're doing, and
(03:22):
like for example, Stable Spirit comes, they're nonprofit and they will bring one
of their therapy horses. And I'veheard some really neat stories about from them
about when someone comes to Big ThicketDay and makes a connection with that horse.
And it's an amazing story that theywere telling me about when someone had
(03:45):
a connection with the therapy horse andso we have that. We have Big
Thicket authors coming and selling their books. We have a lot of vendors,
exhibitors. I'll tell you more aboutthat. We have music also, musical
entertainment. John Sasak is coming.We have acts throwing from Copper Bullet we'll
(04:06):
be here, and then kind ofice we'll be here. Gator Countries coming.
What do you think Gator Countries bringin? And that is so fun
it is, and you know,I would say it's fun for the kids,
but I'm gonna tell you I alwaysenjoy it Toode because they put on
fight a show with the reptiles andvarious creatures that they Yeah, so you
(04:30):
know we'll have that. But thenwe also have a falconer coming. So
let's see, we'll have the horsefrom Stable Spirit, the falconer with his
bird, and then we have youknow, prospee gators and snakes from Gator
Country. So that's a nice littlecombination there that we might have out on
the river. But it'll be funand the kids will love it. We
(04:51):
have face painting going on and thenour outfitter that works with us during the
Nature's River Rally, Big the getOutfitters they're coming, and what they will
do is bring kayaks and they willteach people how to kayak and then they
will let them practice out on theriver. Of course, they have the
life vest and everything. So itwas so much fun to see people who
(05:14):
had never been in a kayak beforelast year out on the river with confidence,
paddling around. They want to comeback in, but they were having
a good time. So that willbe going on also during Big Ticket Day
and let me think who else iscoming? Of course, free rides on
the Ivory Bill we'll have that.Oh something else really exciting. Lamar State
(05:41):
College, Orange has a maritime schooland they have a brand new trailer,
a million dollar trailer, says eighteenwheeler, and they are promoting careers in
the maritime industry and so students andthe parents you can also go on and
do the activities that they have onthis new trailer they're bringing. We haven't
(06:03):
even seen it yet, so we'reexcited to see that as well. And
I've heard about that as well.Right, that's super cool. They work
with us because all of our captainsand deck hands or US Coast Guard license,
so our captains go to maritime schoolat Lamar and we're always looking for
new captains, of course, butanyway they're coming to support that endeavor as
(06:26):
well. Well. This is thereis so much going on, and haven't
been out there for the River Rallyand other times. You know, I
know, I was born and raisedhere in Beaumont, and I mean we
have the Big Thicket, you know, right up the road. I mean
we are so for it. Imean we've got the beach, we've got
the lakes, we've got the river. But you know, we've got so
much right here. And what Iknow I've been guilty of in the past
(06:49):
and learned recent years is oftentimes whenyou live here, you don't appreciate what
you have, the history of it, and also all that's available. You
know, you may take the timewhen you go on a vacation to explore,
but oftentimes we're less likely to explorein our own neighbor you know,
backyard, because we've all got we'rebusy lives and kids, grandkids, whatever.
(07:12):
There's always something to do. Andyou know, by going out to
Big Thicket Day or Nature trib Rally, you get really a good education and
then you get reminded of all thatyou're missing. It's true, Roy and
so many people don't realize that theBig Ticket National Preserve is right here.
You don't have to even go allthe way up. I mean when we
(07:34):
go out on the boat, weare going into the big Ticket National Preserve,
and you're it's right there. You'renext to it, and you're in
the swamp, and you know you'relearning about all the trees and the plants
you're seeing. So you're right therein the Big Thicket right here in balmat
and actually going into Orange County aswell when you're on the river. Well,
(07:55):
and you know, one thing I'vegot to also say is we don't
know, you know what other placeswould would just absolutely die to have what
natural research as we have right here. And but what's true with us all
is oftentimes we just take for grantedwhat we have, you know, in
our own backyard, and other peoplecome in and have a real appreciation.
(08:18):
So I'm grateful that the Big ThicketAssociation is out there constantly reminding people because
if you go out like do TurkeyCreek Trail or any of that, and
I've gone out there and that's aneighteen mile trail, I've about killed me.
But we got it done in oneday. But you know, you
the people you run into are fromother countries. You know, it's like
(08:41):
people are out there, they've comefrom a long ways off and you know
you're and you're sitting here thinking,well, I live right up the road
and I can I can come uphere, and you know, don't take
advantage of it is often and uhbut but y'all, but you know,
part of that's just education and understandinghow to do it exactly. You just
(09:03):
can't believe how many people we meetwho are from this area. And they
might come out on a charter andsay, I've never been out here before.
I had no idea this was here. And they live here, they've
been here their whole wife and theydon't even realize it. So it's it's
a great experience and we'd love toshow it to anybody that comes out that
day. I don't know if Imentioned, but we have free lunch.
(09:24):
Also, well y'all are and y'allare a five oh one c three.
So this is not this isn't amoney making venture. This is you know,
an educational venture and it's and it'sfor everybody and the people that uh
from from you and everybody else associatedwith it is because of your love with
(09:46):
outdoors and for the Big Thicket thaty'all do this, and you know,
and we need to take a coupleof minutes, and this is a great
thing to take your your kids toor grandkids are And like you know,
I'm using that as an excuse becauseit's great to have kids and grand kids
to be able to use excuse asfar. But I mean, you're gonna
(10:07):
have fun as an adult. Imean, this is things you don't get
to see every day. Exactly.They will have a great day. We
had so many people last year andso many kids, but they were all
over it and having face painting.We'll do that again this year also.
It was a great day and itwill be the same. And I'm sure
(10:30):
too that y'all will for people thatwant to give the give donation, y'all
also can probably take those. Icould take those, yes, well,
y'all. Y'all got a great website, Big Thicket dot org. So for
anybody that lost any part of this, they can always play it back.
(10:52):
But you know, they can gocheck that out get information about what's going
on, also about the organization,but the upcoming events and you know,
this is an opportunity where we needto take advantage of right, and this
is going to be a perfect timeof year, October seventh. I have
a feeling, you know, it'sgonna be a whole lot cooler than it
(11:13):
is right now. We can onlyhope that's right. We're gonna we're gonna
feel like it's air conditioned outside andit's gonna be a fun day and yall,
y'all got it's gonna be eleven thirtyto three pm. True. And
they can go to Big Ticket dotorg or they can go to our Facebook
pages. We have a Big ThicketAssociation page, and we also have a
(11:35):
Nature's River Adventures page and of coursea Nature's River Rally page as well.
So we have three different Facebook pages, so you can check any of those
also, so they should have BigThicket Day listed on those pages. If
you need more information, if youwant to learn about organization more, you
can go to our website Big Ticketdot org. Well, thank you so
much. It's at call yours FerryLanding in Bowmont Saturday, October seven thirty
(12:01):
to three pm. And I'll lookforward to see you soon. Thank you,
Roy you having me. We're backwith the Roy West Show here on
News Talk five sixty k hill V. And remember you can always listen to
us on the free iHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts and Android podcast in.
(12:22):
Folks, this is summertime. Itis August, and there is a lot
going on and we are looking aheadto the fall because everybody's wanting a little
bit cooler temperatures. And I've gotColleen with boum Up Botanical Gardens. Welcome
to the show. Hello, happyto be here. Well, We're glad
(12:43):
to have you. And first ofall, welcome to the baum Up Botanical
Gardens. Because I know you.This is a recent change for you,
but Beaumont wins in this. BoemUp Botanical Gardens win in this, so
welcome. I'm glad to have youhere. But tell people are people that
they may be aware of it,they may have seen it, but they
(13:03):
may just not understand what Bonmot BotanicalGardens is. Right. Well, and
so I'm the new executive director hereat the Balmont Botanical Gardens. I started
last week, so I'm pretty new, but I grew up coming out to
the gardens. My grandmother married AllScott was very instrumental in the building of
this place, and we are situatedon twenty three acres out here. We
(13:26):
have cultivated eleven of those acres,so we have about twelve acres of untapped
potential at the moment. We alsohave a ten thousand square foot conservatory that
hosts a variety of tropical plants.And we've also got rental facilities on our
site. Excuse me, rental facilitieson our site. Oh my gosh,
(13:54):
this is what happens on radio.It's not a big meal. I thought
I needed that. It's okay,And so people people host weddings out here,
birthday parties, and yeah, it'sjust as just a great little hidden
gym in Beaumont. And my missionis to make it not so hidden.
Well, you know, it's seenTarot Park is such an incredible place.
(14:16):
And and again a lot many peoplein Beaumont hadn't been out the Tarot Park
before. But then when you getin there, you've also got Bom Mechanical
gardens and the nature Center. Andtell Marsh, I mean it's easy to
go out there and spend the wholeday, or shoot with the golf course,
you can spend two or three days. But like you said, I
(14:39):
think it's flown a little bit underthe radar and uh, but you're going
to be continuing to get the wordout and one way you do that is
through different events, right right,So we have a few events coming up.
The most uh, the one comingup as soonest is our nine to
eleven event at nine to eleven Memorial. It is happening on Saturday, September
(15:03):
the ninth. It starts at tenam and I will be gathering at our
nine to eleven Memorial that we haveon the grounds, and then we'll move
inside the facilities for some people aregoing to be speaking and so that'll that'll
be a nice time. And thenwe have coming up on October the twentieth.
(15:26):
It's a it's a Friday evening.The Beaumont Potanical Gardens is peering up
with the Symphony of Beaumont, Sothat's really exciting for us. They're going
to play on our back patio behindour Garden Center building and we will have
a lot of chairs set up onthe lawn. That is a free event,
so please spread the word, pleasecome out and join us. That
(15:48):
starts really starts at five, butthe concert will start at six and end
around around seven o'clock. And thenthe last thing that we have going on
is we have an event called Ghostsand Goblins. It's our third annual time
to do this. All the groundswill be decorated with pumpkins and hay bales
(16:10):
and uh it's also a free event. It's from ten to three pm.
Bring your kids out. There'll belots of activities and games set up all
over the grounds. Well, soyou were, you were hitting the ground
running, and so this is andthis is gonna this is super exciting because
you know, getting people out there, getting people familiar with it. Y'all
(16:34):
got an incredible website. I've beenperusing it as we talk here, and
uh, you know, and andy'all you know, and I've been out
there many times. I didn't realizey'all had a nine eleven memorial and that's
only but and the fact that y'allare having an event, uh this on
(16:56):
the ninth is awesome. And andI'm looking through here and obviously the conservatories
gorgeous. You know, so ifpeople are wanting to get I can certainly
understand why people go out there anddo pictures and have weddings, But you
also have a real my sive venueout there that people can do. Yes,
(17:17):
and so if anybody wants any information, please please reach out and contact
us. We can hold up totwo hundred and fifty people, and it's
just it's just a really nice,nice please to have your reception or birthday
parties, you name it well.And I imagine y'all have quite a few
volunteers because there's a lot to keepup out there. There is. As
(17:42):
I said at the beginning of this, this is my second week, so
I'm I'm really just trying to havemy listening ears on right now. I
am learning the lay of the landand meeting all kinds of people. It's
it's been really really awesome. I'veI've noticed that Beaumont just has to many
people that are so generous with theirtime and with their resources. It's been
(18:04):
really amazing to see. But thisis something if somebody, you know,
as people reach different seasons alive,have a little bit more time and they
love gardening, this would be agreat opportunity to get plugged into. Absolutely,
so if anybody wants to get involved, please reach out. We are
(18:25):
we have front desk volunteers and weare kind of reworking how we want to
best put our volunteers out into thegarden right now. As we all know,
the water is under control and itis hot, so we are having
to just kind of be on damagecontrol right now with our gardens and try
(18:49):
and make sure that we keep asmuch as we possibly can alive. Well,
I certainly understand that. And y'all'swebsite is b b g t X
and that's pretty simple, five lettersbb GTX dot org and H And I
like it when y'all make it simplebecause it's easy for y'all. Remember,
(19:11):
And you still have a phone linethere which we heard earlier and ravage all
the time. Four zero nine eightfour two three one three five Is that
correct? Yes, that's it.And the grounds are open from dawn to
dusk on Monday through Friday. Sodo y'all get many I imagine this as
we as we talk right now,with it being so hot, it probably
(19:33):
doesn't. You probably don't have asmany midday visitors for sure, because it
is We have a couple show upand they're fanning their faces a little bit.
And you know we have we havethe conservatory. If you walk through
our our main banks building, youcan access it through there. It's humid
(19:53):
in there. That's just that's justhow it is these days. But I
imagine as as it starts cooling off, the more and more visitors will we'll
be showing up here. Well.And when people go out there, I'm
gonna give a quick plug to thenature centers open out there and also cat
Tell Marsh as well as the golfof course, as well as the staples
(20:15):
out there. So there's a lotto see. So if you go out
there, you could, you know, you could check it all out.
And certainly as you get into thefall and uh, you know both or
well, you know, you canspend a long time at the Botanical gardens,
you can spend a long time acat Tell Marsh and the Nature Center
is still you know, it's it'sgot new information in there now, but
(20:38):
there's and there's walking paths, there'sjust a little bit of everything. So
you know, I want to encouragepeople to go out there because Tarrell Parks
is really a gym and h anddespite the heat, there's a lot of
trees out there, so less concrete, so it is a little bit cooler
than a lot of other places thatyou could go midday in August. That's
(21:00):
kind of hard to say, butbut Colleen, I want to thank you
for being on the show and welcomeyou to your new position as executive director.
Thank you so much. I'm soexcited to be here and your family.
You come from a tradition of givingback to the community and being involved,
and I know that is a partof who you are as well.
(21:22):
So I'm excited because I know bomight gets a victory in this because because
of you being a part of theBotanical Gardens, and I know that it's
gonna thrive. So I just wantto thank you and I'm glad to have
you on the show, and we'llget you back on again soon so that
we could talk about these events,all right. Thank you so much for
having me. Okay, folks,and you can check with out the website
(21:45):
at b b g TX dot organd the phone number is four zero nine
eight four two three one three fiveand we'll talk again soon. Talk to
you later, Colleen. Thank you. We are back with the Roy West
Show here on News Talk five sixtyk l v I, and remember you
(22:10):
can listen to us anytime on thefree iHeart radio app, Apple podcast or
Android podcasts and I have with meChristina Loki with the Baumont Convention and Visitors
Bureau. Welcome back to the show. Hi, thank you for having me.
Well, it's my pleasure. Andcertainly, you know, most people
are aware of their city's convention atVisitors Bureau. Most you know, most
(22:33):
cities aren't as fortunate as we areto have such a you know, incredible
CVB that we do, and y'allare always bringing people into Baumont. You
are hosting events to engage people inBeaumont and in the surrounding areas. Let's
talk a little bit about CVB andwhat it is that y'all do on a
day to day basis absolutely well.At first, it started off with heads
(22:57):
and beds. It's so important forus to understand that all the funding we
receive actually comes from our hotel partners. It's a tax that existing curt by
anybody who stays in our hotels,and then from heads and bets. It
really started to realize that our customers, Cynthia starts with our residents. So
if we don't have our residents goingout and telling people how great Boma is,
then who really is going to comeand visit and see everything that Boma
(23:18):
really has to offer, and soI think that it as much as it's
heads and bets, it really doesstart with the community. And we have
been so focused at the Beaumont CVBto not just be sure to embrace the
community, but to let the communitysee what's in their own backyard, to
go out and experience all the travelthat there is. And I'm just so
excited for the future because real festivaland so many things that we have been
(23:41):
bringing into Bomat hasn't just gotten thecommunity out, it's coming people from all
across Texas and Louisiana and several otherstates coming to visit Bomat and bringing that
money here that's actually helping and makinga huge economic impact well, and it's
also letting people know that are outthere how special Bomat is. You know.
The mureau Fest is just, youknow what an incredible, incredible example,
(24:03):
and it was through CVBS partnership withlocal business that this was able to
happen. And you know, nowwe've got murals all over downtown Boma,
across the city actually that are gorgeousand people we actually y'all publish something that
shows the different murals and where theyare. I mean, it actually just
(24:23):
brings people to town besides all theother features that we have, of course
we do. We have a muralguide that's available online and as well as
printed virgins and many of our museums, attractions and at the boem on CBB
we have an awesome welcome center rightdowntown and you're able to get not just
the mural Guide, but several otherguides to Boma so that he can plain
(24:44):
your trip accordingly when you have friendsand family visiting from all over well,
and you know with that, We'vegot several events that happened throughout the year.
Obviously Maddy Graws a big one,and you know, so many of
these are partner groups, but itthe CBB plays such a big role in
the marketing of it and getting theword out as well as the other activities,
(25:07):
because you know, you can havea great event, but if people
don't know that it's happening, andyou know, we're we are new at
these events relatively, I mean,they've been happening a while now, but
you know, I believe they're reallygetting a lot of traction. They really
are, And I mean, there'sso much to say about Marty ral.
Not only is it a four dayfestival, which is a multi day festival,
(25:30):
which means overnight stays. We haveto understand it's the second largest marty
raw in the state of Texas.They've got huge, huge numbers, and
they're making a strong economic impact andin only three years of being in the
city of Beaumont. I mean itreally does say something. But I think
what's the Bumont CVV does so wellwith is not just joining together with helping
with these events, but to makeit multi days. So Dogtoberfest it's coming
(25:52):
up this October. We are literallyon the phone right now working with museums
and attractions to host other things withyour pup friends. Let's get a puppet
Chino had several of our local coffeeshops. Let's make a weekend full of
dogs friendly activities, and then workwith our hotel partners to give us a
discounted rate that includes the dog inthe day, and we're gonna be able
to market it all over. Andwho's to say you don't need to take
(26:15):
your dog with you on vacation,because you know, and for those of
us that love our dogs, youknow, that's certainly an attraction and and
like you said, incorporating it otherwith other activities that are already around Bowmont
and making those dog friendly activities atthe same time. I know that is
one of the things that y'all continueto work on, is thanking outside the
(26:38):
box, coming up with these creativeideas. I mean, you know,
we have cat Tael Marsh out there, the Nature Center out at Tarot Park,
and it's a it's a gym thatmany people here in Bowmont are you
know, aren't as familiar with asthey should be, because people from all
over the world come there, trulyall over the world. You can actually
see all the different countries and wherethey've sign in. And I think what's
(27:00):
so important is how much there isto do inside Tarrel Park. We have
a botanical gardens, there's a horsetable, a full eighteen horse golf course
and eighteen whole disc golf course.I mean, there really is so much
to see and do in Katso.March is beautiful. It's twelve hundred acres
of a wetlands. It's also aconservation project with so many birds and alligators
and wildlife that you're able to see. We actually do free yoga on every
(27:22):
Saturday at nine thirty and if youhaven't gotten out there, please I encourage
you to. You could never doyoga before. We have extra mats there
and everything is free, and there'salso kids activities from eleven to two every
Saturday at Katso Mars. Well.I know that whenever I go out there,
I always enjoy it, enjoy takingthe grandkids out there, because you
(27:42):
know, people forget that it's righthere. And you know, then you
have the Nature Center. Carrol Park'sgot so many trees, it's a huge
park. There's a tenant. Imean, there's a golf course out there
as well, there's stables, there'sbotanical garden. You can easily ache an
all day event of it. Butyou know, we oftentimes it takes us
(28:06):
going places to get away from ourbusyness of life, and we don't always
appreciate what we have here. Iknow, yesterday I was talking to Colleen
Hortel, who just became the newexecutive director at the Beaumont Botanical Guards.
I was talking to Diane Thompson withthe with the Big Thicket Association. They're
having Big Thicket Days coming up,and you know, I mean, we
(28:29):
are so blessed here in Southeast Texasto have so many We've got the Big
Thicket, We've got the Nature's River, We've got the port, we've got
beaches, lakes, you know,I mean so many different things that are
right here in our backyard that peoplecome here to experience, and oftentimes we
don't experience, we don't take thetime to experience them locally. You couldn't
(28:51):
have said it better. I mean, honestly, that's exactly a big thicket.
We have Sea Room, Safe Park. I mean, there's so many
there's forty seven different birding locations withina forty five mile radius. It's incredible
all the things that I've to seein doing Baumont and I just encourage everybody
to get out there and see itfor themselves well and birding. You know,
we've we've got an aging population.I'm sitting here being able to say
(29:14):
that as entering the fourth quarter,and you know, it's support, you
know, so you some of youractivities change, and I didn't realize how
much activity is surrounded by birding.And that's got quite a community, and
it's multigenerational. You have to understandkids enjoy it, people of all ages,
and you don't necessarily have to knowabout the birds. Truly, it's
(29:34):
just taking binoculars and being able towitness or experience their behaviors and the color
of their patterns. And I thinkit's really unique. It's just how many
birds we actually have in Beaumont.We are located on two migratory flyways,
which makes us a birdhaving and manypeople just don't realize it. Well,
I know that y'all do a greatjob of promoting it. And also you
(29:55):
know another thing that y'all do isy'all are out selling Beaumont acrawl the state,
across the country to other places.And you know, we're we're hoping
to be presenting a downtown convention center, hotel de turning the civic Center,
refacing that which could really generate awhole lot more people coming here in other
downtown development, as far as evena river walk for our downtown, which
(30:22):
this would take time, and certainlythe voters would be a part of that.
But you know, we are adestination location just by our position.
Now we need to have all theother tools to make it such that the
rest of the world will know this. And as I learned recently that Oklahoma
City has a riverwalk. I mean, I'm thinking, come on, Beaumont,
(30:45):
Texas. We got this. Yeah, and Oklahoma City was much further
from the river than we are atdowntown. And you have to understand three
hundred and sixty seven million dollars.That is how much visitors spending brought to
Beaumont, Texas just in twenty Andif that number happened with these very you
know, outdated and are appreciated.We love our hotels, but let's they've
(31:07):
they've been here for a while.But if we could get capture that number
without you know, the convention centeror our sales team does so much to
sell Boma. In fact, anytimeyou're in a group or organization, you
could bring that group or organization toBoma. You just call the Boma tvb
Our sales team has had over thirtyyears experience and they do an incredible job
with that. And it's just it'sso nice to see how much money of
(31:29):
an economic impact they've already been ableto do without actually having a convention center
to sell. So this whole proportionof everything y'all are proposing for downtown,
we are not just supportive of it, we are just begging for it.
Because there's just even more of aneconomic impact we'd be able to have having
something more to sell. Thank youso much, and I appreciate you being
on the show and I'll look forwardto having you back and we will talk
(31:52):
again. Thank you so much.Bye, We are back with the Roy
West Show here on News Talk fivesixty k l v I. And remember,
folks, if you ever miss uson Sunday from noon to one,
you can always download the free iHeartRadio app and stream us live or our
podcast anytime, also on Apple podcastin Android podcast. And I have with
(32:16):
me Molly Moore with the Natures RiverFestival. Welcome back to the show,
Molly, thank you, thank youso much for having me. It is
my pleasure in Natures River Festival datesback decades here in Southeast Texas. And
I can say that safely because itwas in nineteen seventy nine that I was
(32:38):
an escort. So that was afew years for some you can't even imagine
it because you weren't here. Forme, it was a great time a
senior year in high school. Buttell people about the Natures River Festival,
and this is the time, y'allhave already begun recruiting yes, so we
have started going to the schools tomeet these seniors that are going to be
(32:59):
princesses and escort. This is ourseventy sixth year and we're super excited.
Our social chair this year is JuliaMetheni and our president's Jeffrey Wheeler, and
we already have over thirty princesses signedup from the recruiting and just being live
on our website. So you canactually go and register to be a princess,
(33:20):
an escort or a duchess right now. It's on our website Nature's River
Festival dot com under the forum's tab. Well and tell people, you know,
for folks that you are a newerto Beaumont or pardon me if they've
lived under a rock and they're notfamiliar with the Nature's River Festival, to
give people the five thousand foot viewwhat it looks like for I mean for
(33:42):
the community, but also for thefor the youth that are involved. Yes,
so our festival is it's year round. Basically, we start recruiting in
the fall, but mainly our eventsare in the spring, and we highlight
the seniors that are here locally andthen juniors and seniors that are outside of
Beaumont are considered duchesses and we're opento everybody. We want everybody to be
(34:06):
involved. There's no criteria except thatto be a junior or senior as a
duchess and a senior to be aprincess. Escorts can be any age and
usually that's about a junior or senior. Being our seventy sixth year, we
are rich with history. One ofour biggest things is that we have a
parade during the festival and that's oneof our favorite things, as well as
(34:30):
a five k and we're partnered withSoutheast the Southeast Marta gral Or martigralf Southeast
Texas and that's February tenth this year, twenty twenty four, so that's all
another exciting event and we're just lookingforward to having a great year and growing
and involving everyone in the community.There's a lot of community events that are
(34:52):
held in the spring, and thenwe have some events that are just for
the Princesses, Duchesses and their escortswell, and a number of those events
and there are a number of eventsfor the young people that are participating.
They learn a lot of life skillsas well, which is uh. They
you know, in the in today'sworld, they may not always have gotten
(35:14):
exposed to which you know, younever know which where your journey is going
in life. So the more experiencesyou have, the more you learn,
the better you're going to do navigate. Yes, So we have an interview
process and that's how the Royal Courtis selected. And that interview process is
really great. It's a great resourcefor these young women because it might be
(35:37):
the first interview they've ever gone through. We prepare them for that. They
also do resume building and the escortscan come to these different events and learn
how to network and socialize and meetpeople and a lot of these connections that
they'll get through Nature's River will lastwith them throughout their lifetime. So we
(35:58):
like to bolster up those relationships betweenthe community and these young women and men.
And I know with social media thingshave certainly changed in many ways,
but I know for me, whenI was in high school, that was
my first interaction with a lot ofpeople from other high schools and other schools,
(36:19):
you know, which was really cool. And I'm sure that's still a
big part of it for a lotof the kids because when you're in school
you know, you're in school certainnumber of hours every day and these are
your people. I mean, thatis that is it? And then as
you leave high school, all ofa sudden, the world gets a lot
bigger in many ways and and Nature'sRiver Festival is just kind of opening the
(36:40):
door to that. And we know, we're really proud that we have someone
represented in each high school in Beaumont. For the past couple of years,
we've had a representation from each localhigh school. And another thing that we're
proud of are the scholarships that weprovide. So when you are at just
depending the Nature's River, you becomeeligible to apply for seven of our board
(37:04):
scholarships and then two of the LamarScholarships that we award through Nature's River.
Well, and that's you know,this is a great community event and uh
and certainly, but the other thingthat it's so important is as as our
young people are growing up, isshowing them a perspective that they many of
(37:24):
them, will not have had beforethen. And uh and again, you
know, learning is a life issomething you're going to do throughout your life.
Oftentimes people don't think about it thatway, but and the more you
learn, you can learn how funlearning is and what you get exposed to.
And I think Nature's River Festival beginsthere because you know, people are
(37:46):
attending parties and coronations, things thatthey wouldn't normally get to go to and
learn how to act in that.And also but they're meeting all the all
these new relationships and meeting new people. Yes, I mean, we definitely
have a good mixture of fun anda good mixture of learning. So we
have a lot of fun as wellas really like to nurture the relationships that
(38:09):
we create with these young men andwomen through Nature's River. It's one of
my favorite things is getting to knoweach group of princesses and duchesses and escorts
that come through. They're also amazingand it's just a really great group of
kids and events where we could tospend time together. Well, I know,
(38:30):
in a world with so much socialmedia and other things, negativity becomes
kind of you know, it's realprevalent in the news, and you know,
people talk about what's wrong, andlike you say, when you see
something like this, you're reminded abouthow many great youth there are coming up
in this world and that we arein pretty good shape because they are our
future. But the better we canhelp prepare them, the more we can
(38:52):
show them, the better off weall are going to be. And I
know for me that's one reason Ilove getting to watch the Nature's River Festival
and going to the parade, becauseyou know, the kids are always they
enjoy themselves so much, but they'realso always a joy. Yes, absolutely,
well, we are running out oftime here before too long, but
(39:15):
I want to I want to remindeverybody the actual festival itself start is it
will be this coming spring. We'llhave you back on. But for youth
that are out there, they checkout the website. What's y'all's website again,
it's Nature's River Festival dot com andwe are live for registration, so
you can go on there and geton the appropriate form registration form and get
(39:38):
involved. Well, thank you somuch, Molly. I look forward to
it. I know it's going tobe a great year. Also, I
know y'all are in the high schoolsso kids will have opportunities to interact that
way. But thank you for allthat you do for the community and for
your leadership with Nature's River Festival.And we will talk again soon. Thank
you. Good afternoons, East Texas. We are wrapping up another Roy West
(40:01):
show here on Newstop five sixty kl V. I also heard worldwide on
the free iHeartRadio app and Apple podcastand Android podcasts. This has been a
great week of shows. And Ihad Diane Thompson with the Big Thicket Association
talking about Big Thicket Days that iscoming up right around the corner, Folks,
(40:22):
be sure to check it out andyou can check out their website at
Big Thicket Association dot org for moreinformation. Then I had Colleen Scott Prtel
who is the new executive director forthe Beaumont Botanical Gardens and exciting time for
them. She's doing a great job. She's new to the job. But
(40:43):
it is out there in Tarroll Parkwhere there is so much going on out
there. We've got cat Tell Marsh, We've got the Nature Center. We
clearly have Tarrell Park golf Course aswell, so be sure to check them
out. And it's a great venueas well as a conservatory out there,
so check that out. Christina Lokiwith the Beaumont Convention and Visitors Bureau talking
(41:06):
about all the upcoming activities that theCity of Beaumont is participating in and also
how important tourism is and overnight staysis to the Bowmont economy. And then
Molly Moore with the Nature's River Festival. This is the season of the Nature
River Festival, folks, and itwill be actually in the spring, but
(41:29):
this is the time that the kidsstart signing up, so this is a
great time. They're getting into allthe high schools to make sure that it's
available to all the students and sobe sure to check that out. And
folks, we just do this showone hour a week. The other one
hundred and sixty seven hours over atthe Roy Roy West team of Guild Mortgage,
they're doing Homeland. So give hima call at four O nine eight
(41:51):
six six nineteen oh one until wetalk again. God bless you Off
Good afternoon in Southeast Texas. You'relistening to the Roy West Show here on
News Talk five sixty k l vI, and you can hear it anytime
on the free iHeart radio app aswell as Apple podcast and Android podcasts.
And folks, this is the seasonand we are here in August and we're
talking about October. We're excited aboutOctober because we know at some point it's
(00:24):
gonna start cooling off. Diane Thompsonwith the Big Thicket Association that I call
that, right, But y'all arehaving Big Thicket Day and I've been before.
It is Saturday, October seventh,from eleven thirty to three pm.
It's going to be a perfect day, I predict, weatherwise, and it
(00:46):
is gorgeous out there on the Natus. But let's talk a little bit about
the Big Thicket Association and what itis that y'all do, and then what
to expect on October seventh. I'dbe happy to tell you. Big Ticket
Association is a friend group of theBig Ticket National Preserve and we were founded
(01:06):
in nineteen sixty four to preserve,conserve, protect, and educate others about
the Big Thicket region of Texas,which we have a big area, and
we had a member who was active, very active in lobbying Congress to have
the Big Thicket Region named a Nationalpreserve back in nineteen seventy four, and
(01:30):
they actually passed that and it becamethe first National preserve in the United States
in nineteen seventy four. So whatwe do is we teach the public about
the Big Thicket Region and the BigTicket National Preserve. We have the Ivory
Bill Boat. We take passengers intothe Big Thicket National Preserve when we're on
(01:51):
the river here in Beaumont, we'reactually in the Big Ticket National Preserve.
We have education classes for all studentsin a county surrounding the Big Thicket Region.
Our environmental educator does science experiments,water quality testing, all kinds of
things in class on the boat withstudents, and we do public and private
(02:12):
tours. So we'll have that boathere by the way at Big Thicket Day
for people to just have a littleride on it, go out on the
river and experience a little bit ofthat. But then we also so we
are telling people about the Big Thicketwhen we take them out on the boat,
and we're teaching them about the ecologyof the area in the history on
the river. And then you know, we also do this Big Thicket Day.
(02:34):
This is our celebration with the communityfor the founding of our organization in
nineteen sixty four. So this isour forty ninth celebration anniversary. And then
we also are celebrating the Big ThicketNational Preserves Birthday. They were founded again
in nineteen seventy four and it's theirforty ninth anniversary. Does say that right,
(02:57):
No, we're fifty nine years,they're forty nine years, so they're
fiftieth is next year, and sowe're celebrating the founding of these two organizations.
So we put on every year thisfree community event. It's family friendly
and you know, we bring ina lot of exhibitors and vendors. Nonprofits
come and share their knowledge with thepublic also about what they're doing, and
(03:22):
like for example, Stable Spirit comes, they're nonprofit and they will bring one
of their therapy horses. And I'veheard some really neat stories about from them
about when someone comes to Big ThicketDay and makes a connection with that horse.
And it's an amazing story that theywere telling me about when someone had
(03:45):
a connection with the therapy horse andso we have that. We have Big
Thicket authors coming and selling their books. We have a lot of vendors,
exhibitors. I'll tell you more aboutthat. We have music also, musical
entertainment. John Sasak is coming.We have acts throwing from Copper Bullet we'll
(04:06):
be here, and then kind ofice we'll be here. Gator Countries coming.
What do you think Gator Countries bringin? And that is so fun
it is, and you know,I would say it's fun for the kids,
but I'm gonna tell you I alwaysenjoy it Toode because they put on
fight a show with the reptiles andvarious creatures that they Yeah, so you
(04:30):
know we'll have that. But thenwe also have a falconer coming. So
let's see, we'll have the horsefrom Stable Spirit, the falconer with his
bird, and then we have youknow, prospee gators and snakes from Gator
Country. So that's a nice littlecombination there that we might have out on
the river. But it'll be funand the kids will love it. We
(04:51):
have face painting going on and thenour outfitter that works with us during the
Nature's River Rally, Big the getOutfitters they're coming, and what they will
do is bring kayaks and they willteach people how to kayak and then they
will let them practice out on theriver. Of course, they have the
life vest and everything. So itwas so much fun to see people who
(05:14):
had never been in a kayak beforelast year out on the river with confidence,
paddling around. They want to comeback in, but they were having
a good time. So that willbe going on also during Big Ticket Day
and let me think who else iscoming? Of course, free rides on
the Ivory Bill we'll have that.Oh something else really exciting. Lamar State
(05:41):
College, Orange has a maritime schooland they have a brand new trailer,
a million dollar trailer, says eighteenwheeler, and they are promoting careers in
the maritime industry and so students andthe parents you can also go on and
do the activities that they have onthis new trailer they're bringing. We haven't
(06:03):
even seen it yet, so we'reexcited to see that as well. And
I've heard about that as well.Right, that's super cool. They work
with us because all of our captainsand deck hands or US Coast Guard license,
so our captains go to maritime schoolat Lamar and we're always looking for
new captains, of course, butanyway they're coming to support that endeavor as
(06:26):
well. Well. This is thereis so much going on, and haven't
been out there for the River Rallyand other times. You know, I
know, I was born and raisedhere in Beaumont, and I mean we
have the Big Thicket, you know, right up the road. I mean
we are so for it. Imean we've got the beach, we've got
the lakes, we've got the river. But you know, we've got so
much right here. And what Iknow I've been guilty of in the past
(06:49):
and learned recent years is oftentimes whenyou live here, you don't appreciate what
you have, the history of it, and also all that's available. You
know, you may take the timewhen you go on a vacation to explore,
but oftentimes we're less likely to explorein our own neighbor you know,
backyard, because we've all got we'rebusy lives and kids, grandkids, whatever.
(07:12):
There's always something to do. Andyou know, by going out to
Big Thicket Day or Nature trib Rally, you get really a good education and
then you get reminded of all thatyou're missing. It's true, Roy and
so many people don't realize that theBig Ticket National Preserve is right here.
You don't have to even go allthe way up. I mean when we
(07:34):
go out on the boat, weare going into the big Ticket National Preserve,
and you're it's right there. You'renext to it, and you're in
the swamp, and you know you'relearning about all the trees and the plants
you're seeing. So you're right therein the Big Thicket right here in balmat
and actually going into Orange County aswell when you're on the river. Well,
(07:55):
and you know, one thing I'vegot to also say is we don't
know, you know what other placeswould would just absolutely die to have what
natural research as we have right here. And but what's true with us all
is oftentimes we just take for grantedwhat we have, you know, in
our own backyard, and other peoplecome in and have a real appreciation.
(08:18):
So I'm grateful that the Big ThicketAssociation is out there constantly reminding people because
if you go out like do TurkeyCreek Trail or any of that, and
I've gone out there and that's aneighteen mile trail, I've about killed me.
But we got it done in oneday. But you know, you
the people you run into are fromother countries. You know, it's like
(08:41):
people are out there, they've comefrom a long ways off and you know
you're and you're sitting here thinking,well, I live right up the road
and I can I can come uphere, and you know, don't take
advantage of it is often and uhbut but y'all, but you know,
part of that's just education and understandinghow to do it exactly. You just
(09:03):
can't believe how many people we meetwho are from this area. And they
might come out on a charter andsay, I've never been out here before.
I had no idea this was here. And they live here, they've
been here their whole wife and theydon't even realize it. So it's it's
a great experience and we'd love toshow it to anybody that comes out that
day. I don't know if Imentioned, but we have free lunch.
(09:24):
Also, well y'all are and y'allare a five oh one c three.
So this is not this isn't amoney making venture. This is you know,
an educational venture and it's and it'sfor everybody and the people that uh
from from you and everybody else associatedwith it is because of your love with
(09:46):
outdoors and for the Big Thicket thaty'all do this, and you know,
and we need to take a coupleof minutes, and this is a great
thing to take your your kids toor grandkids are And like you know,
I'm using that as an excuse becauseit's great to have kids and grand kids
to be able to use excuse asfar. But I mean, you're gonna
(10:07):
have fun as an adult. Imean, this is things you don't get
to see every day. Exactly.They will have a great day. We
had so many people last year andso many kids, but they were all
over it and having face painting.We'll do that again this year also.
It was a great day and itwill be the same. And I'm sure
(10:30):
too that y'all will for people thatwant to give the give donation, y'all
also can probably take those. Icould take those, yes, well,
y'all. Y'all got a great website, Big Thicket dot org. So for
anybody that lost any part of this, they can always play it back.
(10:52):
But you know, they can gocheck that out get information about what's going
on, also about the organization,but the upcoming events and you know,
this is an opportunity where we needto take advantage of right, and this
is going to be a perfect timeof year, October seventh. I have
a feeling, you know, it'sgonna be a whole lot cooler than it
(11:13):
is right now. We can onlyhope that's right. We're gonna we're gonna
feel like it's air conditioned outside andit's gonna be a fun day and yall,
y'all got it's gonna be eleven thirtyto three pm. True. And
they can go to Big Ticket dotorg or they can go to our Facebook
pages. We have a Big ThicketAssociation page, and we also have a
(11:35):
Nature's River Adventures page and of coursea Nature's River Rally page as well.
So we have three different Facebook pages, so you can check any of those
also, so they should have BigThicket Day listed on those pages. If
you need more information, if youwant to learn about organization more, you
can go to our website Big Ticketdot org. Well, thank you so
much. It's at call yours FerryLanding in Bowmont Saturday, October seven thirty
(12:01):
to three pm. And I'll lookforward to see you soon. Thank you,
Roy you having me. We're backwith the Roy West Show here on
News Talk five sixty k hill V. And remember you can always listen to
us on the free iHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts and Android podcast in.
(12:22):
Folks, this is summertime. Itis August, and there is a lot
going on and we are looking aheadto the fall because everybody's wanting a little
bit cooler temperatures. And I've gotColleen with boum Up Botanical Gardens. Welcome
to the show. Hello, happyto be here. Well, We're glad
(12:43):
to have you. And first ofall, welcome to the baum Up Botanical
Gardens. Because I know you.This is a recent change for you,
but Beaumont wins in this. BoemUp Botanical Gardens win in this, so
welcome. I'm glad to have youhere. But tell people are people that
they may be aware of it,they may have seen it, but they
(13:03):
may just not understand what Bonmot BotanicalGardens is. Right. Well, and
so I'm the new executive director hereat the Balmont Botanical Gardens. I started
last week, so I'm pretty new, but I grew up coming out to
the gardens. My grandmother married AllScott was very instrumental in the building of
this place, and we are situatedon twenty three acres out here. We
(13:26):
have cultivated eleven of those acres,so we have about twelve acres of untapped
potential at the moment. We alsohave a ten thousand square foot conservatory that
hosts a variety of tropical plants.And we've also got rental facilities on our
site. Excuse me, rental facilitieson our site. Oh my gosh,
(13:54):
this is what happens on radio.It's not a big meal. I thought
I needed that. It's okay,And so people people host weddings out here,
birthday parties, and yeah, it'sjust as just a great little hidden
gym in Beaumont. And my missionis to make it not so hidden.
Well, you know, it's seenTarot Park is such an incredible place.
(14:16):
And and again a lot many peoplein Beaumont hadn't been out the Tarot Park
before. But then when you getin there, you've also got Bom Mechanical
gardens and the nature Center. Andtell Marsh, I mean it's easy to
go out there and spend the wholeday, or shoot with the golf course,
you can spend two or three days. But like you said, I
(14:39):
think it's flown a little bit underthe radar and uh, but you're going
to be continuing to get the wordout and one way you do that is
through different events, right right,So we have a few events coming up.
The most uh, the one comingup as soonest is our nine to
eleven event at nine to eleven Memorial. It is happening on Saturday, September
(15:03):
the ninth. It starts at tenam and I will be gathering at our
nine to eleven Memorial that we haveon the grounds, and then we'll move
inside the facilities for some people aregoing to be speaking and so that'll that'll
be a nice time. And thenwe have coming up on October the twentieth.
(15:26):
It's a it's a Friday evening.The Beaumont Potanical Gardens is peering up
with the Symphony of Beaumont, Sothat's really exciting for us. They're going
to play on our back patio behindour Garden Center building and we will have
a lot of chairs set up onthe lawn. That is a free event,
so please spread the word, pleasecome out and join us. That
(15:48):
starts really starts at five, butthe concert will start at six and end
around around seven o'clock. And thenthe last thing that we have going on
is we have an event called Ghostsand Goblins. It's our third annual time
to do this. All the groundswill be decorated with pumpkins and hay bales
(16:10):
and uh it's also a free event. It's from ten to three pm.
Bring your kids out. There'll belots of activities and games set up all
over the grounds. Well, soyou were, you were hitting the ground
running, and so this is andthis is gonna this is super exciting because
you know, getting people out there, getting people familiar with it. Y'all
(16:34):
got an incredible website. I've beenperusing it as we talk here, and
uh, you know, and andy'all you know, and I've been out
there many times. I didn't realizey'all had a nine eleven memorial and that's
only but and the fact that y'allare having an event, uh this on
(16:56):
the ninth is awesome. And andI'm looking through here and obviously the conservatories
gorgeous. You know, so ifpeople are wanting to get I can certainly
understand why people go out there anddo pictures and have weddings, But you
also have a real my sive venueout there that people can do. Yes,
(17:17):
and so if anybody wants any information, please please reach out and contact
us. We can hold up totwo hundred and fifty people, and it's
just it's just a really nice,nice please to have your reception or birthday
parties, you name it well.And I imagine y'all have quite a few
volunteers because there's a lot to keepup out there. There is. As
(17:42):
I said at the beginning of this, this is my second week, so
I'm I'm really just trying to havemy listening ears on right now. I
am learning the lay of the landand meeting all kinds of people. It's
it's been really really awesome. I'veI've noticed that Beaumont just has to many
people that are so generous with theirtime and with their resources. It's been
(18:04):
really amazing to see. But thisis something if somebody, you know,
as people reach different seasons alive,have a little bit more time and they
love gardening, this would be agreat opportunity to get plugged into. Absolutely,
so if anybody wants to get involved, please reach out. We are
(18:25):
we have front desk volunteers and weare kind of reworking how we want to
best put our volunteers out into thegarden right now. As we all know,
the water is under control and itis hot, so we are having
to just kind of be on damagecontrol right now with our gardens and try
(18:49):
and make sure that we keep asmuch as we possibly can alive. Well,
I certainly understand that. And y'all'swebsite is b b g t X
and that's pretty simple, five lettersbb GTX dot org and H And I
like it when y'all make it simplebecause it's easy for y'all. Remember,
(19:11):
And you still have a phone linethere which we heard earlier and ravage all
the time. Four zero nine eightfour two three one three five Is that
correct? Yes, that's it.And the grounds are open from dawn to
dusk on Monday through Friday. Sodo y'all get many I imagine this as
we as we talk right now,with it being so hot, it probably
(19:33):
doesn't. You probably don't have asmany midday visitors for sure, because it
is We have a couple show upand they're fanning their faces a little bit.
And you know we have we havethe conservatory. If you walk through
our our main banks building, youcan access it through there. It's humid
(19:53):
in there. That's just that's justhow it is these days. But I
imagine as as it starts cooling off, the more and more visitors will we'll
be showing up here. Well.And when people go out there, I'm
gonna give a quick plug to thenature centers open out there and also cat
Tell Marsh as well as the golfof course, as well as the staples
(20:15):
out there. So there's a lotto see. So if you go out
there, you could, you know, you could check it all out.
And certainly as you get into thefall and uh, you know both or
well, you know, you canspend a long time at the Botanical gardens,
you can spend a long time acat Tell Marsh and the Nature Center
is still you know, it's it'sgot new information in there now, but
(20:38):
there's and there's walking paths, there'sjust a little bit of everything. So
you know, I want to encouragepeople to go out there because Tarrell Parks
is really a gym and h anddespite the heat, there's a lot of
trees out there, so less concrete, so it is a little bit cooler
than a lot of other places thatyou could go midday in August. That's
(21:00):
kind of hard to say, butbut Colleen, I want to thank you
for being on the show and welcomeyou to your new position as executive director.
Thank you so much. I'm soexcited to be here and your family.
You come from a tradition of givingback to the community and being involved,
and I know that is a partof who you are as well.
(21:22):
So I'm excited because I know bomight gets a victory in this because because
of you being a part of theBotanical Gardens, and I know that it's
gonna thrive. So I just wantto thank you and I'm glad to have
you on the show, and we'llget you back on again soon so that
we could talk about these events,all right. Thank you so much for
having me. Okay, folks,and you can check with out the website
(21:45):
at b b g TX dot organd the phone number is four zero nine
eight four two three one three fiveand we'll talk again soon. Talk to
you later, Colleen. Thank you. We are back with the Roy West
Show here on News Talk five sixtyk l v I, and remember you
(22:10):
can listen to us anytime on thefree iHeart radio app, Apple podcast or
Android podcasts and I have with meChristina Loki with the Baumont Convention and Visitors
Bureau. Welcome back to the show. Hi, thank you for having me.
Well, it's my pleasure. Andcertainly, you know, most people
are aware of their city's convention atVisitors Bureau. Most you know, most
(22:33):
cities aren't as fortunate as we areto have such a you know, incredible
CVB that we do, and y'allare always bringing people into Baumont. You
are hosting events to engage people inBeaumont and in the surrounding areas. Let's
talk a little bit about CVB andwhat it is that y'all do on a
day to day basis absolutely well.At first, it started off with heads
(22:57):
and beds. It's so important forus to understand that all the funding we
receive actually comes from our hotel partners. It's a tax that existing curt by
anybody who stays in our hotels,and then from heads and bets. It
really started to realize that our customers, Cynthia starts with our residents. So
if we don't have our residents goingout and telling people how great Boma is,
then who really is going to comeand visit and see everything that Boma
(23:18):
really has to offer, and soI think that it as much as it's
heads and bets, it really doesstart with the community. And we have
been so focused at the Beaumont CVBto not just be sure to embrace the
community, but to let the communitysee what's in their own backyard, to
go out and experience all the travelthat there is. And I'm just so
excited for the future because real festivaland so many things that we have been
(23:41):
bringing into Bomat hasn't just gotten thecommunity out, it's coming people from all
across Texas and Louisiana and several otherstates coming to visit Bomat and bringing that
money here that's actually helping and makinga huge economic impact well, and it's
also letting people know that are outthere how special Bomat is. You know.
The mureau Fest is just, youknow what an incredible, incredible example,
(24:03):
and it was through CVBS partnership withlocal business that this was able to
happen. And you know, nowwe've got murals all over downtown Boma,
across the city actually that are gorgeousand people we actually y'all publish something that
shows the different murals and where theyare. I mean, it actually just
(24:23):
brings people to town besides all theother features that we have, of course
we do. We have a muralguide that's available online and as well as
printed virgins and many of our museums, attractions and at the boem on CBB
we have an awesome welcome center rightdowntown and you're able to get not just
the mural Guide, but several otherguides to Boma so that he can plain
(24:44):
your trip accordingly when you have friendsand family visiting from all over well,
and you know with that, We'vegot several events that happened throughout the year.
Obviously Maddy Graws a big one,and you know, so many of
these are partner groups, but itthe CBB plays such a big role in
the marketing of it and getting theword out as well as the other activities,
(25:07):
because you know, you can havea great event, but if people
don't know that it's happening, andyou know, we're we are new at
these events relatively, I mean,they've been happening a while now, but
you know, I believe they're reallygetting a lot of traction. They really
are, And I mean, there'sso much to say about Marty ral.
Not only is it a four dayfestival, which is a multi day festival,
(25:30):
which means overnight stays. We haveto understand it's the second largest marty
raw in the state of Texas.They've got huge, huge numbers, and
they're making a strong economic impact andin only three years of being in the
city of Beaumont. I mean itreally does say something. But I think
what's the Bumont CVV does so wellwith is not just joining together with helping
with these events, but to makeit multi days. So Dogtoberfest it's coming
(25:52):
up this October. We are literallyon the phone right now working with museums
and attractions to host other things withyour pup friends. Let's get a puppet
Chino had several of our local coffeeshops. Let's make a weekend full of
dogs friendly activities, and then workwith our hotel partners to give us a
discounted rate that includes the dog inthe day, and we're gonna be able
to market it all over. Andwho's to say you don't need to take
(26:15):
your dog with you on vacation,because you know, and for those of
us that love our dogs, youknow, that's certainly an attraction and and
like you said, incorporating it otherwith other activities that are already around Bowmont
and making those dog friendly activities atthe same time. I know that is
one of the things that y'all continueto work on, is thanking outside the
(26:38):
box, coming up with these creativeideas. I mean, you know,
we have cat Tael Marsh out there, the Nature Center out at Tarot Park,
and it's a it's a gym thatmany people here in Bowmont are you
know, aren't as familiar with asthey should be, because people from all
over the world come there, trulyall over the world. You can actually
see all the different countries and wherethey've sign in. And I think what's
(27:00):
so important is how much there isto do inside Tarrel Park. We have
a botanical gardens, there's a horsetable, a full eighteen horse golf course
and eighteen whole disc golf course.I mean, there really is so much
to see and do in Katso.March is beautiful. It's twelve hundred acres
of a wetlands. It's also aconservation project with so many birds and alligators
and wildlife that you're able to see. We actually do free yoga on every
(27:22):
Saturday at nine thirty and if youhaven't gotten out there, please I encourage
you to. You could never doyoga before. We have extra mats there
and everything is free, and there'salso kids activities from eleven to two every
Saturday at Katso Mars. Well.I know that whenever I go out there,
I always enjoy it, enjoy takingthe grandkids out there, because you
(27:42):
know, people forget that it's righthere. And you know, then you
have the Nature Center. Carrol Park'sgot so many trees, it's a huge
park. There's a tenant. Imean, there's a golf course out there
as well, there's stables, there'sbotanical garden. You can easily ache an
all day event of it. Butyou know, we oftentimes it takes us
(28:06):
going places to get away from ourbusyness of life, and we don't always
appreciate what we have here. Iknow, yesterday I was talking to Colleen
Hortel, who just became the newexecutive director at the Beaumont Botanical Guards.
I was talking to Diane Thompson withthe with the Big Thicket Association. They're
having Big Thicket Days coming up,and you know, I mean, we
(28:29):
are so blessed here in Southeast Texasto have so many We've got the Big
Thicket, We've got the Nature's River, We've got the port, we've got
beaches, lakes, you know,I mean so many different things that are
right here in our backyard that peoplecome here to experience, and oftentimes we
don't experience, we don't take thetime to experience them locally. You couldn't
(28:51):
have said it better. I mean, honestly, that's exactly a big thicket.
We have Sea Room, Safe Park. I mean, there's so many
there's forty seven different birding locations withina forty five mile radius. It's incredible
all the things that I've to seein doing Baumont and I just encourage everybody
to get out there and see itfor themselves well and birding. You know,
we've we've got an aging population.I'm sitting here being able to say
(29:14):
that as entering the fourth quarter,and you know, it's support, you
know, so you some of youractivities change, and I didn't realize how
much activity is surrounded by birding.And that's got quite a community, and
it's multigenerational. You have to understandkids enjoy it, people of all ages,
and you don't necessarily have to knowabout the birds. Truly, it's
(29:34):
just taking binoculars and being able towitness or experience their behaviors and the color
of their patterns. And I thinkit's really unique. It's just how many
birds we actually have in Beaumont.We are located on two migratory flyways,
which makes us a birdhaving and manypeople just don't realize it. Well,
I know that y'all do a greatjob of promoting it. And also you
(29:55):
know another thing that y'all do isy'all are out selling Beaumont acrawl the state,
across the country to other places.And you know, we're we're hoping
to be presenting a downtown convention center, hotel de turning the civic Center,
refacing that which could really generate awhole lot more people coming here in other
downtown development, as far as evena river walk for our downtown, which
(30:22):
this would take time, and certainlythe voters would be a part of that.
But you know, we are adestination location just by our position.
Now we need to have all theother tools to make it such that the
rest of the world will know this. And as I learned recently that Oklahoma
City has a riverwalk. I mean, I'm thinking, come on, Beaumont,
(30:45):
Texas. We got this. Yeah, and Oklahoma City was much further
from the river than we are atdowntown. And you have to understand three
hundred and sixty seven million dollars.That is how much visitors spending brought to
Beaumont, Texas just in twenty Andif that number happened with these very you
know, outdated and are appreciated.We love our hotels, but let's they've
(31:07):
they've been here for a while.But if we could get capture that number
without you know, the convention centeror our sales team does so much to
sell Boma. In fact, anytimeyou're in a group or organization, you
could bring that group or organization toBoma. You just call the Boma tvb
Our sales team has had over thirtyyears experience and they do an incredible job
with that. And it's just it'sso nice to see how much money of
(31:29):
an economic impact they've already been ableto do without actually having a convention center
to sell. So this whole proportionof everything y'all are proposing for downtown,
we are not just supportive of it, we are just begging for it.
Because there's just even more of aneconomic impact we'd be able to have having
something more to sell. Thank youso much, and I appreciate you being
on the show and I'll look forwardto having you back and we will talk
(31:52):
again. Thank you so much.Bye, We are back with the Roy
West Show here on News Talk fivesixty k l v I. And remember,
folks, if you ever miss uson Sunday from noon to one,
you can always download the free iHeartRadio app and stream us live or our
podcast anytime, also on Apple podcastin Android podcast. And I have with
(32:16):
me Molly Moore with the Natures RiverFestival. Welcome back to the show,
Molly, thank you, thank youso much for having me. It is
my pleasure in Natures River Festival datesback decades here in Southeast Texas. And
I can say that safely because itwas in nineteen seventy nine that I was
(32:38):
an escort. So that was afew years for some you can't even imagine
it because you weren't here. Forme, it was a great time a
senior year in high school. Buttell people about the Natures River Festival,
and this is the time, y'allhave already begun recruiting yes, so we
have started going to the schools tomeet these seniors that are going to be
(32:59):
princesses and escort. This is ourseventy sixth year and we're super excited.
Our social chair this year is JuliaMetheni and our president's Jeffrey Wheeler, and
we already have over thirty princesses signedup from the recruiting and just being live
on our website. So you canactually go and register to be a princess,
(33:20):
an escort or a duchess right now. It's on our website Nature's River
Festival dot com under the forum's tab. Well and tell people, you know,
for folks that you are a newerto Beaumont or pardon me if they've
lived under a rock and they're notfamiliar with the Nature's River Festival, to
give people the five thousand foot viewwhat it looks like for I mean for
(33:42):
the community, but also for thefor the youth that are involved. Yes,
so our festival is it's year round. Basically, we start recruiting in
the fall, but mainly our eventsare in the spring, and we highlight
the seniors that are here locally andthen juniors and seniors that are outside of
Beaumont are considered duchesses and we're opento everybody. We want everybody to be
(34:06):
involved. There's no criteria except thatto be a junior or senior as a
duchess and a senior to be aprincess. Escorts can be any age and
usually that's about a junior or senior. Being our seventy sixth year, we
are rich with history. One ofour biggest things is that we have a
parade during the festival and that's oneof our favorite things, as well as
(34:30):
a five k and we're partnered withSoutheast the Southeast Marta gral Or martigralf Southeast
Texas and that's February tenth this year, twenty twenty four, so that's all
another exciting event and we're just lookingforward to having a great year and growing
and involving everyone in the community.There's a lot of community events that are
(34:52):
held in the spring, and thenwe have some events that are just for
the Princesses, Duchesses and their escortswell, and a number of those events
and there are a number of eventsfor the young people that are participating.
They learn a lot of life skillsas well, which is uh. They
you know, in the in today'sworld, they may not always have gotten
(35:14):
exposed to which you know, younever know which where your journey is going
in life. So the more experiencesyou have, the more you learn,
the better you're going to do navigate. Yes, So we have an interview
process and that's how the Royal Courtis selected. And that interview process is
really great. It's a great resourcefor these young women because it might be
(35:37):
the first interview they've ever gone through. We prepare them for that. They
also do resume building and the escortscan come to these different events and learn
how to network and socialize and meetpeople and a lot of these connections that
they'll get through Nature's River will lastwith them throughout their lifetime. So we
(35:58):
like to bolster up those relationships betweenthe community and these young women and men.
And I know with social media thingshave certainly changed in many ways,
but I know for me, whenI was in high school, that was
my first interaction with a lot ofpeople from other high schools and other schools,
(36:19):
you know, which was really cool. And I'm sure that's still a
big part of it for a lotof the kids because when you're in school
you know, you're in school certainnumber of hours every day and these are
your people. I mean, thatis that is it? And then as
you leave high school, all ofa sudden, the world gets a lot
bigger in many ways and and Nature'sRiver Festival is just kind of opening the
(36:40):
door to that. And we know, we're really proud that we have someone
represented in each high school in Beaumont. For the past couple of years,
we've had a representation from each localhigh school. And another thing that we're
proud of are the scholarships that weprovide. So when you are at just
depending the Nature's River, you becomeeligible to apply for seven of our board
(37:04):
scholarships and then two of the LamarScholarships that we award through Nature's River.
Well, and that's you know,this is a great community event and uh
and certainly, but the other thingthat it's so important is as as our
young people are growing up, isshowing them a perspective that they many of
(37:24):
them, will not have had beforethen. And uh and again, you
know, learning is a life issomething you're going to do throughout your life.
Oftentimes people don't think about it thatway, but and the more you
learn, you can learn how funlearning is and what you get exposed to.
And I think Nature's River Festival beginsthere because you know, people are
(37:46):
attending parties and coronations, things thatthey wouldn't normally get to go to and
learn how to act in that.And also but they're meeting all the all
these new relationships and meeting new people. Yes, I mean, we definitely
have a good mixture of fun anda good mixture of learning. So we
have a lot of fun as wellas really like to nurture the relationships that
(38:09):
we create with these young men andwomen through Nature's River. It's one of
my favorite things is getting to knoweach group of princesses and duchesses and escorts
that come through. They're also amazingand it's just a really great group of
kids and events where we could tospend time together. Well, I know,
(38:30):
in a world with so much socialmedia and other things, negativity becomes
kind of you know, it's realprevalent in the news, and you know,
people talk about what's wrong, andlike you say, when you see
something like this, you're reminded abouthow many great youth there are coming up
in this world and that we arein pretty good shape because they are our
future. But the better we canhelp prepare them, the more we can
(38:52):
show them, the better off weall are going to be. And I
know for me that's one reason Ilove getting to watch the Nature's River Festival
and going to the parade, becauseyou know, the kids are always they
enjoy themselves so much, but they'realso always a joy. Yes, absolutely,
well, we are running out oftime here before too long, but
(39:15):
I want to I want to remindeverybody the actual festival itself start is it
will be this coming spring. We'llhave you back on. But for youth
that are out there, they checkout the website. What's y'all's website again,
it's Nature's River Festival dot com andwe are live for registration, so
you can go on there and geton the appropriate form registration form and get
(39:38):
involved. Well, thank you somuch, Molly. I look forward to
it. I know it's going tobe a great year. Also, I
know y'all are in the high schoolsso kids will have opportunities to interact that
way. But thank you for allthat you do for the community and for
your leadership with Nature's River Festival.And we will talk again soon. Thank
you. Good afternoons, East Texas. We are wrapping up another Roy West
(40:01):
show here on Newstop five sixty kl V. I also heard worldwide on
the free iHeartRadio app and Apple podcastand Android podcasts. This has been a
great week of shows. And Ihad Diane Thompson with the Big Thicket Association
talking about Big Thicket Days that iscoming up right around the corner, Folks,
(40:22):
be sure to check it out andyou can check out their website at
Big Thicket Association dot org for moreinformation. Then I had Colleen Scott Prtel
who is the new executive director forthe Beaumont Botanical Gardens and exciting time for
them. She's doing a great job. She's new to the job. But
(40:43):
it is out there in Tarroll Parkwhere there is so much going on out
there. We've got cat Tell Marsh, We've got the Nature Center. We
clearly have Tarrell Park golf Course aswell, so be sure to check them
out. And it's a great venueas well as a conservatory out there,
so check that out. Christina Lokiwith the Beaumont Convention and Visitors Bureau talking
(41:06):
about all the upcoming activities that theCity of Beaumont is participating in and also
how important tourism is and overnight staysis to the Bowmont economy. And then
Molly Moore with the Nature's River Festival. This is the season of the Nature
River Festival, folks, and itwill be actually in the spring, but
(41:29):
this is the time that the kidsstart signing up, so this is a
great time. They're getting into allthe high schools to make sure that it's
available to all the students and sobe sure to check that out. And
folks, we just do this showone hour a week. The other one
hundred and sixty seven hours over atthe Roy Roy West team of Guild Mortgage,
they're doing Homeland. So give hima call at four O nine eight
(41:51):
six six nineteen oh one until wetalk again. God bless you Off
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