April 21, 2025 • 43 mins
- Dayna talks with Blaine Callier of First Financial Bank about the services the bank offers and gives some advice to homebuyers. And Becky Howard with the Baptist Hospital Foundation explains the goals and projects of the foundation.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, hello Southeast Texas. I hope you are enjoying this
wonderful Saturday before Easter, preparing for a wonderful day tomorrow,
celebrating the death and resurrection of our Savior on Sunday.
So hope you're out and about finalizing all of those
things you need to do to get ready for that.
I know at my house we're having lots of people,
(00:24):
probably about thirty five to forty ten of which are
under seven. So you know, we're going to have a
wonderful time, and I hope you guys are going to
have a wonderful time as well. With me today, I
have Becky Howard. She is the assistant director at the
Baptist Hospital Foundation and she is going to be talking
a little bit about what does the foundation do at
(00:46):
Baptist Hospital. Also with me, I have Blank Kaye and
he is the president and CEO of First Financial Bank
here in Southeast Texas. He is going to share with
us just different things that are going on at the
bank and what are rates doing. I know he can't
quote rates, but he can kind of give us an
idea about what's going on in the world of banking.
(01:08):
But before we do that, I want to just visit
with you first about what is the market doing. You know,
wherever I go in town, it's what I hear. Hey, Dana,
how's the market? So I want to give you a
little bit of an update March twenty twenty four over
March twenty twenty five. Not a lot of difference in that.
We saw in twenty twenty four two hundred and seventy
(01:29):
seven homes closed and in twenty five two hundred and eighty,
so pretty close to the same amount of properties selling
year over year. The months of inventory has increased slightly
from five point nine to six point five. What has
changed a little bit is the average sold price has
(01:51):
gone down just a hair The average sales price in
twenty four was two hundred and thirty seven thousand, and
this year it is two hundred thirty one thousand. The
biggest change that I'll tell you is impactful is the
total number of pendings. In twenty twenty four, we had
(02:12):
a total of two hundred and sixty eight pendings at
this point, and in twenty twenty five we have three
hundred and thirty three. The pending volume is also something
that struck me because in twenty twenty four, we had
a pending volume of just under sixty million dollars, but
(02:34):
shockingly enough, our pending volume for this month is almost
seventy eight million, five hundred thousand, so that's a pretty
significant increase. I have seen in our office that many
of the higher priced homes that have been sitting on
the market for a while are starting to move. We
(02:55):
are seeing that the market is definitely picking up across
the board. I have experienced multiple offers like I have
not in a while, so we are seeing that come
back where there are more offers on a property. The
good thing, and what's different from last year to this
(03:15):
year is that we do have a little bit more inventory.
At six and a half months of inventory, that's a
pretty even market, so it's not a buyer's market and
it's not a seller's market. And the overall market, but
what I will tell you is as you go up
in price range, you do have a little bit of
a shift there. So in the higher price points we
(03:38):
are seeing more inventory, and so those houses are having
a little bit of a higher number of days on
market and requiring a little more time to get sold.
So I think in the long run, everything is looking
very positive. People are asking me, so, what do you
what do you think is causing that? Well, the interest
(04:00):
rate went down a hair, but it's not that much.
What I contribute the increase to is just the fact
that we have so much going on here in Southeast Texas,
with the plants that are moving here, with the additional
people we see coming into the area, and I think
people are just a little more comfortable with the fact
(04:23):
that we're not going back to a three percent interest rate.
That where we are right now in our interest rate,
which has been under seven percent, is really lower than
the average interest rate over the last thirty years. So
every time I ask someone, I'll say, so, tell me,
what do you think the average interest rate would be
(04:43):
if you did it over the last thirty years, And
usually they come in much lower. But it's actually seven
point seven percent, So if you're looking at the average,
we are definitely below average right now on mortgage interest rate.
So if you're thinking about buying or selling, now is
a great time. We have a decent interest rate, we
(05:06):
have a really good inventory, So if you have any questions,
don't hesitate to call my office. And yes, we're open
today Saturday at four nine, eight six six eight three
two six, and we'll have someone get you the information
you need. There is never any pressure. We just want
to provide you with whatever you need to make a
(05:27):
decision that you feel confident about. Well, let me introduce
you to our guests and let you find out a
little bit about them. Now, Becky, how long have you
been in Southeast Texas? Tell us a little bit about you.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
I am raised in Beaumont. I went to South Park
High School. So I just stated myself and I've lived
in this area except for one year I lived in Austin.
I've been in Southeast Texas. Very involved with the community.
Just very important to me. I have I've been married.
(06:01):
I'll have my forty fourth way anniversary.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
That's wonderful.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
You two sons, and it really dated myself. I have
two sons, three grandchildren. Yeah, so actually five grandchildren because
I have a couple of wonderful bonus girls. So gautiful,
very active. You were talking about Easter and I thought, yes,
I'm doing all the things, and.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
So will they be at your house?
Speaker 2 (06:29):
They will? Yeah, you know, I love playing events. It's
a lot of what I do, and I have everything
so planned for Easter. We have lots of fun activities
and you can bring your ten over and I'll take
care of them.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
I may need to get a few tests after the
show today, so you can tell me some of those things,
because I was just saying, you know, hopefully we're not
going to see rain, but if we do, I might
need some of those tips for activities indoors.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
I know this morning, I was looking at the forecast
and kind of replany. I mean, okay, I can take
this intoor. This is what I'm going to have to
do that.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
But how old are those your grandchildren? What ranges do
you have? Fourteen to five? Okay, thirteen to five. You've
got to satisfy a large range of them.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Well, you know three of them are twelve, thirteen, and fourteen. Okay,
so as they get older, you've really got to change
up what you do too, Yeah, to get them excited.
So I have some fun things.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
That's so good. I love that. Well, Becky, we're so
glad you're on the show. I love having people who
are lifelong residents of Southeast Texas who want to see
our community thrive. And the fact that you are on
this foundation and what you do to impact so many
people in Southeast Texas. We'll get into that in our
next segment. But thank you for being here. Okay, Blaine,
(07:53):
So Blaine Kye with First Financial Bank. So start off
with a little bit about you, and then I'd love
to hear your Easter plans.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
Awesome. Well, thank you for having me, Dana, and thanks
for all you do for our community. And but I'm Blank.
I A I'm born and raised in Orange and I've
lived here in Southeast Texas my entire life. And kind
of like Becky, I spent a little stint in Lake Charles,
but came back and graduated from Lamar University and been
with the bank for the most part ever since, did
(08:21):
a little bit of working insurance. Then I've been with
the bank for about fifteen years after that. But I'm
married my wife Regina, and we have three kids. We
have Gabrielle who is six, Jet who is eight, and
then Clara who is ten. So they are busy doing
Easter parties and getting ready for getting ready for tomorrow
(08:41):
for Easter, and getting ready to hide eggs, and everybody
will be coming to our house for the beginning of
the day. Then we're going to go to my in
laws to finish the day. So looking forward to it,
and they're excited and uh, but we'll see how it goes.
I may send them to Becky's house. We'll see how
it goes there.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Well, you know, it's such a blessing to have all
the family here, but it does require sometimes that shifting
of half the day in one and half the day
and the other, and it is just part of it.
But it's so wonderful to be able to connect with family.
And for those of you who don't have family, give
me a call, come hang out. You know, what's a
few more thirty five, forty fifty. It's all kind of
(09:22):
the same thing. You know, I won't I promise you
I won't even notice. But we're super excited to have
the two of you, and Blaine and I both are
on the foundation board and we see the benefit of
what this foundation does to impact Southeast Texas. So I'm
so excited for all of you to hear from Becky
so she can share exactly what does the foundation do.
(09:46):
And there are some exciting events coming up that you're
not going to want to miss, So stay tuned. We'll
be right back. This is the Danis Simmons Show. Welcome back.
This is Dana Simmons and I'm joined today by Becky Burton,
the assistant director at Baptist Hospital Foundation. And Becky, we
were talking in the first segment about the fact that
(10:08):
you're a lifelong resident here in Southeast Texas and we
are so excited that you are a part of the foundation.
You see the benefit of contributing to the community and
all that you have to do. But I want the
audience to understand what exactly is the Baptist Hospital Foundation
and what does it do. Give us a little history
(10:29):
on that.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
That's a really great way to start. Excuse me because
when I tell people where are work, they look at
me funny and go, what is the foundation?
Speaker 1 (10:39):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (10:39):
So the foundation is simply it exists to support the
mission of Baptist Hospital right now. And you think what
does that mean? So you think about all the technology
that we have within the hospital and so forth. So
we work to support number of initiatives throughout the hospital,
(11:00):
including new equipment, UH for a number of different departments.
We're nick you. Nick You is one of the top
departments that we work with a lot to get new equipment,
to get things a say break to to provide things
for those families.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
If no one's example, if no one's ever met doctor
Doshi over at Baptist Hospital, he is an amazing he is.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
A wonderful doctor. Just a fine guy.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
Yeah he is, and he wants only the best for
his patients and his staff. Yeah, the nurses there to
provide them with technology. So we come in to that.
We have frequent meetings and we we try to help
provide for them what we what we can as well.
So that's one really good example. Lots of renovation projects,
whether it's something down in r and a lot of
(11:47):
those are like an e R like the children's waiting
room if you've seen that. That that's an example of
that throughout the hospital. When we when we UH either
do renovations or new buildings or new projects. There's always
naming opportunities. Uh. And for people like us that have
(12:09):
are such a big part of the community, those are
real important. You know, this is your hospital, this is
where your family. So many were born and come through
their life all their life, no matter the stage of life.
So a lot of people want their name on UH.
So there's lots of naming opportunities and you can also
(12:32):
just donate on a regular basis, knowing that it's going
to go to We have a Chaplain's Fund. We have
Oncology Oncology Relief Fund, that is our oncology patients that
need funds for transportation, or they need medicine, or they
(12:55):
have to stay at the rio house. We help on
a regular basis. We get daily requests for funds for
these patients and we are not able to do that
if we do not have these donations.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
And those are challenging times in life where really, you know,
the focus should be on your health and trying to
get better, keeping your mental capacity positive and working towards
that healing, and so not having to think about some
of those physical needs when it comes to where to
sleep or some other things that they need. This is
(13:31):
a huge.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
Part and how to get to their treatments, right Yeah,
as simple as just guess yeah, are a way to
get there. So these are this is a small sample
of some of the things that we do. We have
some big projects coming up. I'm talk about those in
just a moment. But how do we raise funds In
addition to just asking for donations, we have events. Events
(13:54):
are fun you may be familiar with the Lasoirree. It's
every January. We just had that. Our thing was the
Golden Age of Hollywood. It was so much fun. It
was just a fabulous event. That one, of course, is
in every January. We're already looking forward to and working
towards that one. Yes that in May ninth, we have
(14:16):
a golf tournament. We have our Cajun Classic is at
the Belmont Country Club. This fund funds from here we'll
go toward our cancer our new cancer program and actually
Donaldson Motor is doing you can win a truck with
the hole in one sponsored by Donaldson speaking a good people,
(14:40):
speaking about people, more good people that are just trying
to do what they can for the community. You're right.
We do still have some slots open for teams. You
can just go to our b h set Foundation dot org.
There's a few sponsorships still available and like scoreboard sponsor
whole sponsorship forms. But and then, like I said, a
(15:03):
few teams available. So that one is coming up at
the Beaumont Country Club May ninth. Excited about that one.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
My son and son in law are super excited because
they're they've put together a little team and you know,
I'll just tell you they think they're gonna win.
Speaker 4 (15:17):
Soay uh huh, little competitives walk away with the truck
they want.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
They may, they may.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
Yeah. And so if you love to play golf, this
is a great way to get back, give back, but
also have a ball, you know, and enjoy the day
and be able to give back to sacred work that
hospital does.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Absolutely, that's our mission every day. And I will say
that as a walk through the halls the Baptist I
see that followed. Yeah, completely, Yeah. And if you're not
a golfer, we have the clay shoot coming up October
seventeenth at the one and one Hunter Club in Lumberton,
and registration on that same website is already open for
(15:59):
that and that is a really great day. The weather
is usually really nice about that time. We have sponsorships
and actually Jefferson Electric is our title sponsor for that event.
We already have that. Another one of those great community
people that is always there for us. We appreciate them.
So that's a couple of the events coming up pretty soon.
(16:23):
We have some new ones that we're working on. I'll
give just a little tease on both of those. We
have a barbecue cookoff that's coming up and we'll have
more information on that later. That's going to be a
lot of fun and dear to my heart, we're going
to have a women's event coming out. We're going to
(16:45):
do a women's brunch and that will be November first.
It's going to be a fun, fun day. These are
just a couple of things to look for. I don't
want to give too much information on them yet.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Yeah, but so that women's event, though, is to raise
funds also for what you do over in the cancer
treatment area around those.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
Are that is going The funds from the women's event
that we're planning are going to go to the oncology
relief that I spoke briefly about a second ago. Again,
in addition to that, we're wigs, you know, just just
simple little things that you and I don't We never
had to think about that for the most part. And
so yes, that is going to go to that. That'll
(17:28):
be uh again, these simple everyday things that they need
to survive during those treatments.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
I know a couple of the ladies who work in
that part of the cancer treatment area. Amy is one
of those, and she just so has a passion to
do everything that she can to help women going through
those treatments to feel beautiful again because she's part of
the challenge for them.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
She has a room full of just she's got a
shelf full of jewelry just for them to come pick from,
and unscarves and different kinds of hats and lotions because
her skin gets dry, and just different things and it's
just fill back take, you know, and people are just
(18:14):
in awe and they're blown away that when they walk
in there, that that she has this form. Yeah, and
you know one of her We're working on a new
cancer center. This is our huge, big, fifty million dollar
project that we're working on.
Speaker 4 (18:31):
And they already family was a part of that, right, yes, yes, yes,
to talk about another you know pillar in our community.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
Yes they have Mason Construction. But Becky Mason and her son,
Chad Mason, they are very active in our community and
also givers and are continuing to support what we have here.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
They are and you know, you talked about Amy. She's
so excited about what she's going to be able to
do at the News Center. The new center is going
to you know, we have a couple of centers. We
have got the Rogers Cancer Center. Julian Benn Rodgers Cancer
Center and ALTUS. So we're going to consolidate so that
a lot, so that everything will be in the same
(19:17):
facility instead of having to go here for chemo, there
for radiation, different things. You know, this is going to
be a forty three thousand square foot buildings.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
Amazing.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Yeah, right now we've got I think ALTUS is ten
like ten thousand or a little over ten thousand, and
the other one maybe around twenty three or something something
around like that. But this is going to be just huge.
If you drive down College and you see it, it's
just it's just fabulous to watch that going up.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
And so Baptist is stepping out to be on the
cutting edge of making sure they're taking care of so
many things here in Southeast Texas. Cancer are a huge one,
so you don't have to travel to Houston because that's
such a challenge on families to do that. And so
there's the cancer center, but you also have behavioral health,
behavioral health that you're growing as well.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
We are. We have we are going to completely remodel that,
We're going to add a floor to it. We have
so we're the only mental health facility I think between
Louisiana and Houston. That right, that's right, right, So, and
(20:32):
we know that mental health needs are not going to
go down just like cancer. Yeah, those numbers are both
growing and to be able to And you know, until
I came to work for Baptists, I knew that facility
was there, but what I did not know is that
it is for all ages. We take care of children
(20:53):
there all the way up. I never knew that until
I came to work here, and they do. And then
the care and the program the increase in programs that
they're going to be able to do at behavioral health
are just they're so needed. But we have we already
have the best staff that we can possibly have. And
(21:16):
then when you pair that with the best facility, and
it's right here, your need will be taken care right here.
I don't have to sit home and say, I know
I need to do something, but there's I don't know
who to go to.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
There's not a place, there's not a place.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
How do I start right, Just go down the road.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
Or I have to worry about transportation to Houston. Kind
of like Dana said, it's all right here in our backyard.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
But both of these are and again there are naming
opportunities for both of these facilities.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
Yeah, and if you just want to, you know, it
doesn't have to be a huge grant, although they love
you know, nice big gifts, but if the majority of
people would give what they could to help this, it
would be phenomenal. And you can do it while you're
having a great time. When you talk about the Cajun Classic.
That's again Friday, May ninth, eight am at the Beaumont
(22:12):
Country Club And they can register online at b h.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
S Etfoundation dot org.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
So simple, just go there. If you have any questions,
you can call them at the foundation and that what
is that number.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
For nine two one two sixty one one three comes
straight to me.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
That's great. Well, if you have questions, reach out to
Becky let her help you answer those, or go online.
Lots of great information there that you can find all
that Becky has just talked about, and they are adding
to it on a weekly basis. I am so thankful
that you were able to come and share what Baptist
Hospital is doing. I'm so thankful for what Baptist Hospital
(22:54):
is doing. They are stepping up to make a difference
in our community, to make us safer and to get
of us what we need where there is a void,
and both of those cancer center and the mental health
are voids where we need additional resources. So Becky, thank
you so much.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
Thank you. I appreciate it and I'm so grateful that
I get to be a part of what Baptist is
doing for this community.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
Absolutely. Well, when we come back, we're going to visit
more with Becky, but also talk to Blaine Kaye with
First Financial Bank. And you're like, well, how does that connect, Well,
let me tell you how it connects. Blaine is so
active in the community. In one of the ways he
does that, he is on this foundation board as well,
So don't go away. We'll visit with him shortly. This
(23:38):
is the Dana Simmons Show. Welcome back. This is Dana
Simmons and I have been joined by Becky Howard, who
is the assistant director at Baptist Hospital Foundation. And if
you have any questions, go to the Baptist Hospital website,
the foundation website, and they can give you information about
(23:59):
what she's just been talking about about the Cajun Classic,
Clays to raise and all the amazing work that she
is doing and their group is doing to improve our
area in health here in Southeast Texas. Also with me
Blaine Kaya. He is the CEO and president at First
Financial Bank and Blaine so often as I'm talking to people,
(24:22):
they don't understand the difference between you know, a Capital
One or a Wells Fargo and First Financial. So talk
to everyone about what Financial First Financial does, who they are,
and what makes you different.
Speaker 3 (24:38):
Yeah, I'd love to. So we are a Texas base bank.
We've been around for roughly about one hundred and thirty
five years, and I'm going to kind of go back.
So when I first got into the banking industry, I
was with a bank called Orange Savings Bank. A lot
of people in Southeast Texas have heard of Orange Savings Bank.
We were predominantly in the Orange County area, and then
we started venturing into Jefferson County and then we sold
(24:59):
to First Financial Bank eleven years ago. And First Financial
Bank they're headquartered in Abilene, Texas, but we operate as
eight regional banks throughout the state of Texas. Only in
the state of Texas. We like the state of Texas.
It's got a very strong economy, and you know, Texas
is where everybody's moving, It's where everybody wants to be.
But how our regional banks work is I oversee our
(25:21):
Southeast Texas region, which is Orange, Jefferson, Harden, and Newton counties,
and our other regions. For example, we have a Greater
Houston region, we have a Bryan College Station region. We
have an Abilion or region of Fort Worth region. So
there's kind of, you know, different regions throughout the state.
But you know, the difference between us is we are
We're about a fourteen billion dollar bank as far as
(25:43):
assets go, so we're pretty pretty like a medium sized
community bank, but we operate kind of like a smaller bank,
like a hometown bank credit union style. All of our
loan officers, even me, including myself my cell phone numbers
on my card. We're all about relationships and customer service
and taking care of our customers and being involved in
(26:05):
the community. We're involved in all different kinds of community,
including I'm on the Baptist Foundation board and it's an
honor and privilege to be a part of that board.
They're doing such great things. But you know, we're we're
involved throughout the community over the entire region. But for us,
it's just about taking care of our people and building
(26:26):
lifelong relationships with our customers and with prospects in the area.
And we just we like to figure a way to
help people out. You know, sometimes we don't have all
the right answers or something, but we try to figure
a way to help them out and guide them to
be successful and for them to fulfill their dreams.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
So and got I've been able to watch that. I've
been able as a board member at First Financial, I've
been able to watch how they do business. And sometimes
when you get inside the inner workings of how people
do business, you get disenchanted, right, not me. Yeah, I
have been so impressed with how the entire organization functions.
(27:09):
I'm so impressed with the culture of people and how
they do things and the way they do things. But
one of the things that I really love, Blaine is
and you can talk about this, is that most loans,
the decisions are made here local.
Speaker 3 (27:23):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
You know.
Speaker 3 (27:24):
One of the things I didn't mention with the different regions,
and a thing that makes us very unique is you know,
each region has its own president CEO, each region has
their own boarder directors. So we have so basically we
run our region like it's our own bank and so
we our board of directors approves our loans. Dana is
the chair of our board actually, and then just some
(27:45):
other names that she's mentioned this this morning. Doctor does
she is on our board. Chad Mason's on our board.
And there's a lot of great people. We have ten
directors who are all Southeast Texas, you know, really Orange
and Jefferson County for the most partusiness owners and entrepreneurs
that are on our board. And we're still old school banking.
(28:05):
Our board still meets every week for a loan committee
and loans that go through there. We talk about them.
That it may have to be loans, you know, of
a certain size, but we talk about them. We talk
about how it's going to impact the community. And you know,
it's just how our board is so diverse. We know
what's going on. We know about the Golden Triangle Polymers
facility going on in Orange and we know about you know,
(28:26):
construction going on in it. And if somebody's got an
office that sits right on there, how's construction going to
affect what's going on in the area. So it's it's
very beneficial to have our board involved.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
Yeah, I think one of the benefits that that brings
is that you get to hear from different aspects of
the community. You know, we all have different positions, we're
all interacting with different people, and so I learned so
much each week about what's going on in Southeast Texas
to where it does help us make decisions cumulatively for
(29:03):
the benefit of our area. But I also love that
we all know different people. So if something comes across
and it may be a little I don't know about this,
and someone actually knows the person is able to talk
about what good people they are, pillars of the community.
They can bring the personal side. Right, The numbers all
(29:27):
have to make sense, but bringing the personal side of
who they are and their impact here also plays a role.
Speaker 3 (29:34):
Sure and a good thing about how our bank is
throughout the state of Texas and the multiple regions. So
each region has those directors, and there's a lot of
times if we run across an opportunity that it may
be a first for us. We could pick up the
phone and call somebody in the Houston area, or in
the Hereford area or San Angelo, wherever it may be,
(29:54):
and talk to one of their directors or one of
their employees who has expertise in that field, and that's
been very benefit.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
You know.
Speaker 3 (30:01):
I tell people all the time how the regional bank
model really works good for us because we have a
region in Herford, Texas. Up in the Panhandle and our
Herford region, they're roughly about ninety five percent ag bank.
That's all they do is ag lending. And I tell
people all the time, I can't spell ag lending down here.
I wouldn't know what to do if somebody wanted to finance,
you know, two hundred acres of crop or two hundred
(30:23):
head of cattle. But up there, that's what they do,
and they're experts at it. Down here, we do some
marine financing for tug boats and barges and shipyards up
in Hereford, Texas. They wouldn't know what to do if
somebody called them about financing a tug boat. So it's
a it's a really good.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
Model, very diverse. Yeah, and First Financial Bank has been locally.
This region has been growing. So you've opened a Lumberton
office years ago.
Speaker 3 (30:50):
We have in the last I would say we opened
up Beaumont probably eight years ago. We opened up our
Lumberton location, which is our newest location, about two years ago,
and then we're getting ready to break ground on a property,
our second location in Beaumont. It'll be our eighth location
in this region. But it's on Beaumont. It's actually, I
(31:11):
tell everybody, it's on the Baptist campus. We're actually we're
on the corner of College and eleventh Street, right in
front College and eighth Street, sorry, right in front of
the Shorky Center. So we're hoping to break ground this
summer and be in it probably this time next year.
It'll be a great location. We love the growth that
(31:31):
Baptists has there in that area, and that area just
in general is growing. There's a lot of things moving
to that area, not only with Baptist. The v A
clinic is coming in directly across the street from us.
It's a great opportunity and we're really looking forward to it.
Speaker 1 (31:49):
Yeah, there's a void, there's white space, there's a need,
and so you guys saw a need and you said,
how can we fulfill that need and help our community
continue to grow there. I love that. I love that
they give you. The entire region has the opportunity to
grow internally as well. Absolutely, So when we come back,
(32:12):
we're going to talk a little bit more, you know,
We've talked a little bit about residential real estate in
the very first segment, but I'm going to talk to
Blaine a little bit more about what he's seeing on
the commercial side. What's going on. Have they seen things increase?
So don't go away. We're going to visit with him shortly.
This is the Dana Simmons Show. Welcome back. This is
(32:33):
Dana Simmons on this wonderful Saturday before Easter. I know
you're probably out and about finalizing all of your preparation
and plans for the big event tomorrow. We've been chatting
about our Easter plans and Becky has everything together and
in order and all of the fun ready for her grands.
I feel like I'm gonna have to go do some
(32:55):
things this afternoon to be a little more prepared. Becky,
you made me feel like Martha Stewart, and I'm like not,
So I'm going to work on that today. But also
with us, we have Blaine Kaya and he is the
president and CEO of First Financial Bank, and we were
just talking a little bit about what is First Financial Bank,
(33:16):
what is the difference, what do they do and how
do they do it? But I also want to get
into Blaine. We talked in the first segment, I gave
everyone a little bit of an update on how the
residential market is picking up. It is. We are definitely
seeing a trend with more people in the market. So
on the commercial side of banking, because that's what you
(33:37):
do every day, give me a little picture of what
you're seeing.
Speaker 3 (33:41):
Commercial side, it's been steady. I would not say it's
really ticked up, but it has not gone. It has
not declined any You know, we all for a variety
of different products when it comes from commercial, we do
everything from commercial real estate owner occupied on honor occupied
investment properties, to lines of working capital, lines of credit,
(34:02):
equipment loans, across the board. But specifically the real estate
market here in Southeast Texas, the investment property real estate
has been pretty steady. Consumers are still but consumers and
people are still buying investment properties. I think the rental
market and data you can probably be attest that the
rental market is still strong, still very strong. I think
with people with rates where they're at, still people are
(34:24):
still a little hesting on buying a house and they'd
rather rent, and so rental markets strong. We have a
lot of investors who do it just as a secondary
source of income. They work at a refinery or their
teacher or whatever it may be. Within they have a
rent house or two on the side. But then on
the larger commercial it's been we have not seen obviously
the the refinance. You're not seeing a lot of refinances
(34:47):
right now which we were seeing. You know, in rates
we're at an all time low. However, purchases have been steady.
I would say they're probably in line with where they
have been for us to last two years. You know,
if some of the larger investment properties, strip centers, multifamily
(35:08):
have been down, you know the reason there, it's the
rates are higher than what they're used to property insurance taxes.
I mean, you add all those components together, and their
returnal investments just not where it was, you know, three four,
five years ago. So when they're doing the math, it
doesn't really add up. So you have to either one
(35:30):
come up with more equity and put more down on
the project, or you know, find just a property that's
that you know makes sense and you know the math
adds up and you can make a little money on it.
Speaker 1 (35:42):
Well, and I know First Financial had a record year
last year.
Speaker 2 (35:45):
We did.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
We did, and the bank cumulatively also was ranked in
Fords magazine, So talk a little bit about it.
Speaker 3 (35:52):
We were we were ranked number three on the Forges
list for the top banks in the USA. So very
very proud of that. It goes back before my time
just as a as first financials culture in general, we've
been a conservative bank. We're very well capitalized, have a
very strong balance sheet and for a lot of a
(36:15):
lot of consumers don't look at that or that historically
may not have paid attention to that. But then over
the last couple of years, especially when we had the
couple of banks that failed in California and New York,
people really started focusing on where they're keeping their money,
you know, because we're holding their their you know, their
biggest asset, and uh, you know, you want to make
(36:35):
sure you're with the institution that can that is safe,
secure and sound. And you know, we've always you know,
that's been a pride of virus to you know, be
able to say that we are the best bank. And
so we've actually been ranked in the Forbes probably the
top within the top five, probably three out of the
(36:55):
last five years, I would say, but we are we're
extremely thrill to be at rank number three.
Speaker 1 (37:02):
Well, I'll tell you the thing that I love about
that is you're not too big that the little person
like me when I was starting out, that the bank
is willing to sit down. I mean every single one
of the banks here that in the region that you
go over as a personal banker at every single bank
(37:24):
and you can walk in and actually speak to a
person absolutely give them your information and they can go
with it.
Speaker 3 (37:31):
We do not have to you don't have schedule appointments
like some of the larger banks. You walk in, you
get a live person. You call, you get a live person.
I mean, once you come in and build a relationship
with us, you're gonna have whoever your officer is, whoever
your contact there, You're gonna have their cell phone. You
can call me. I have customers that called me in
the evening time and say hey, I'm buying a car
from my daughter tomorrow, and I'll be like, hey, all right,
(37:52):
we'll take care of you. They'll call me on a
on a Saturday morning say hey, my debit card has
been hacked and I may not personally what to do,
but I know who to call it and we'll get
them taken care of. We can get them shut down
and you know, help them out. And but kind of
like I mentioned earlier, how I really explained the bank
is we're like a Wells Fargo Chase as far as
(38:13):
the products and services that we offer, but we operate
a lot like a credit union. We're we're personal, personal,
we're there. We are all about building life on relationships
and generations of relationships. That's one of the things I
love is when I see younger people come in the
bank and it's like, yep, we bank there, we bank
their parents, we bank their grandparents, and they've had a
(38:35):
relationship with us for for years and decades. And another
thing that I get that I even I was at
an event earlier this week, and the size of our bank.
You know, we're a fourteen billion dollar bank. We've done
loans forty million, sixty million dollars. We can we can
take care of some some larger customers, and a lot
(38:55):
of people don't realize how how big we are. So
we kind of, like you said, we're across the We
take care of anybody just with a one hundred dollars
checking account or a ten dollars checking account and we'll
take care of you to a very very large commercial.
Speaker 1 (39:08):
Customer and lots of options. That's absolutely so many options.
One of my favorite things that you guys do that
I attended one of the Fraud Lunch and Learns a
couple of years ago. Yes, you don't realize how much
and you think you're protected, and there is so much
fraud out there. But one of the things that First
Financial has done that I'm so impressed with is you
(39:31):
go and do Lunch and Learns to try to educate
people so that they are not taken advantage of.
Speaker 3 (39:37):
And we don't do them just for customers. We do
them and everywhere. If somebody calls us and wants us
to come talk to them about fraud, I mean, for us,
what we tell people is that's really our main way
to defend fraud is to educate people. And I could
talk on fraud for hours and days. But it's the
new it's the day's version of bank robbery.
Speaker 1 (39:56):
You know.
Speaker 3 (39:56):
Fortunately you don't see it's not the wild wild West
where people are knocking down your doors and that does happen,
but today it's fraud. I mean, banks are get robbed
daily by fraud and these fraudsters are not you know,
you know, they're not just uneducated people. These are highly
educated people. A lot of them are overseas and it's very,
(40:18):
very sophisticated. It changes daily. Just when we think we've
seen it all, something else happens, and there's a lot
of tools out there. I'll be happy to We've talked
in the past. There's several tools and I'll be happy
to talk to anybody on the on the radio. Feel
free to reach out to me. You can call me
on my direct line. It's four zero nine six seven
(40:41):
zero nine four five one. Be happy to come talk
to you, your business, your church, whoever it may be
about fraud some of the things we're seeing and just
you know, help out and educate your people.
Speaker 1 (40:54):
We'll do another one of those on our radio as well.
Sure we can get you guys to kind to give
us the information about where are you seeing the most
fraud right now, and so we will do that here
in the next couple weeks, get you guys to do that.
But I want to say thank you to both of
you for coming on the show today. Becky. I want
(41:15):
to go back to you and let you remind everyone
about the events that are coming up for the Baptist
Hospital Foundation.
Speaker 2 (41:22):
Okay, in just a few weeks May ninth. It's a
Friday Beaumont Country Club. We start at eight o'clock. That
is the Cajun Classic. And there are still a few
team slots available and there's some sponsorships available as well.
You can go to Bhsetfoundation dot org or if you
(41:43):
don't remember that, give me a call. My direct line
is four O nine two one two six one one three.
And then also our clay shoot even though it's not
till October. Registration and sponsorships are also up on that
same website to go and check that out. And when
you go on the website, go around there and look
(42:04):
kind of kind of kind of surf around a little
bit and see what the foundation does and maybe where
you fit in, where your where your heart tells you
to go.
Speaker 1 (42:15):
Yeah, and I know if that uh Cajun Classic, there
will be prizes, there will be oh my goodness.
Speaker 2 (42:21):
There will be food. There will be got to mention,
food will be food, great food, food, always great food.
And we we do have as some Baptist Hospital will
be providing food. Acadian Ambulance and Rock and A will
be providing food that day for us, just graciously. Again.
(42:41):
We are just so blessed with such a wonderful community,
we really are. And we'll have food again at the
at the Clay shoot as well. Always got to feed
you and give us some great prizes and just fun.
Speaker 1 (42:55):
Well, I want to thank you Becky Howard, Assistant Director
Baptist Hospital Foundation. Blane Kaye, President and CEO of First
Financial Bank. Thank you both so much for coming on
the show and for what you both do to make
our community a better place. And so I hope you
guys out there have a wonderful Easter tomorrow and we
(43:15):
will see you back next week at noon. This is
the Dana Simmons Show.
Well, hello Southeast Texas. I hope you are enjoying this
wonderful Saturday before Easter, preparing for a wonderful day tomorrow,
celebrating the death and resurrection of our Savior on Sunday.
So hope you're out and about finalizing all of those
things you need to do to get ready for that.
I know at my house we're having lots of people,
(00:24):
probably about thirty five to forty ten of which are
under seven. So you know, we're going to have a
wonderful time, and I hope you guys are going to
have a wonderful time as well. With me today, I
have Becky Howard. She is the assistant director at the
Baptist Hospital Foundation and she is going to be talking
a little bit about what does the foundation do at
(00:46):
Baptist Hospital. Also with me, I have Blank Kaye and
he is the president and CEO of First Financial Bank
here in Southeast Texas. He is going to share with
us just different things that are going on at the
bank and what are rates doing. I know he can't
quote rates, but he can kind of give us an
idea about what's going on in the world of banking.
(01:08):
But before we do that, I want to just visit
with you first about what is the market doing. You know,
wherever I go in town, it's what I hear. Hey, Dana,
how's the market? So I want to give you a
little bit of an update March twenty twenty four over
March twenty twenty five. Not a lot of difference in that.
We saw in twenty twenty four two hundred and seventy
(01:29):
seven homes closed and in twenty five two hundred and eighty,
so pretty close to the same amount of properties selling
year over year. The months of inventory has increased slightly
from five point nine to six point five. What has
changed a little bit is the average sold price has
(01:51):
gone down just a hair The average sales price in
twenty four was two hundred and thirty seven thousand, and
this year it is two hundred thirty one thousand. The
biggest change that I'll tell you is impactful is the
total number of pendings. In twenty twenty four, we had
(02:12):
a total of two hundred and sixty eight pendings at
this point, and in twenty twenty five we have three
hundred and thirty three. The pending volume is also something
that struck me because in twenty twenty four, we had
a pending volume of just under sixty million dollars, but
(02:34):
shockingly enough, our pending volume for this month is almost
seventy eight million, five hundred thousand, so that's a pretty
significant increase. I have seen in our office that many
of the higher priced homes that have been sitting on
the market for a while are starting to move. We
(02:55):
are seeing that the market is definitely picking up across
the board. I have experienced multiple offers like I have
not in a while, so we are seeing that come
back where there are more offers on a property. The
good thing, and what's different from last year to this
(03:15):
year is that we do have a little bit more inventory.
At six and a half months of inventory, that's a
pretty even market, so it's not a buyer's market and
it's not a seller's market. And the overall market, but
what I will tell you is as you go up
in price range, you do have a little bit of
a shift there. So in the higher price points we
(03:38):
are seeing more inventory, and so those houses are having
a little bit of a higher number of days on
market and requiring a little more time to get sold.
So I think in the long run, everything is looking
very positive. People are asking me, so, what do you
what do you think is causing that? Well, the interest
(04:00):
rate went down a hair, but it's not that much.
What I contribute the increase to is just the fact
that we have so much going on here in Southeast Texas,
with the plants that are moving here, with the additional
people we see coming into the area, and I think
people are just a little more comfortable with the fact
(04:23):
that we're not going back to a three percent interest rate.
That where we are right now in our interest rate,
which has been under seven percent, is really lower than
the average interest rate over the last thirty years. So
every time I ask someone, I'll say, so, tell me,
what do you think the average interest rate would be
(04:43):
if you did it over the last thirty years, And
usually they come in much lower. But it's actually seven
point seven percent, So if you're looking at the average,
we are definitely below average right now on mortgage interest rate.
So if you're thinking about buying or selling, now is
a great time. We have a decent interest rate, we
(05:06):
have a really good inventory, So if you have any questions,
don't hesitate to call my office. And yes, we're open
today Saturday at four nine, eight six six eight three
two six, and we'll have someone get you the information
you need. There is never any pressure. We just want
to provide you with whatever you need to make a
(05:27):
decision that you feel confident about. Well, let me introduce
you to our guests and let you find out a
little bit about them. Now, Becky, how long have you
been in Southeast Texas? Tell us a little bit about you.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
I am raised in Beaumont. I went to South Park
High School. So I just stated myself and I've lived
in this area except for one year I lived in Austin.
I've been in Southeast Texas. Very involved with the community.
Just very important to me. I have I've been married.
(06:01):
I'll have my forty fourth way anniversary.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
That's wonderful.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
You two sons, and it really dated myself. I have
two sons, three grandchildren. Yeah, so actually five grandchildren because
I have a couple of wonderful bonus girls. So gautiful,
very active. You were talking about Easter and I thought, yes,
I'm doing all the things, and.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
So will they be at your house?
Speaker 2 (06:29):
They will? Yeah, you know, I love playing events. It's
a lot of what I do, and I have everything
so planned for Easter. We have lots of fun activities
and you can bring your ten over and I'll take
care of them.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
I may need to get a few tests after the
show today, so you can tell me some of those things,
because I was just saying, you know, hopefully we're not
going to see rain, but if we do, I might
need some of those tips for activities indoors.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
I know this morning, I was looking at the forecast
and kind of replany. I mean, okay, I can take
this intoor. This is what I'm going to have to
do that.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
But how old are those your grandchildren? What ranges do
you have? Fourteen to five? Okay, thirteen to five. You've
got to satisfy a large range of them.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Well, you know three of them are twelve, thirteen, and fourteen. Okay,
so as they get older, you've really got to change
up what you do too, Yeah, to get them excited.
So I have some fun things.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
That's so good. I love that. Well, Becky, we're so
glad you're on the show. I love having people who
are lifelong residents of Southeast Texas who want to see
our community thrive. And the fact that you are on
this foundation and what you do to impact so many
people in Southeast Texas. We'll get into that in our
next segment. But thank you for being here. Okay, Blaine,
(07:53):
So Blaine Kye with First Financial Bank. So start off
with a little bit about you, and then I'd love
to hear your Easter plans.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
Awesome. Well, thank you for having me, Dana, and thanks
for all you do for our community. And but I'm Blank.
I A I'm born and raised in Orange and I've
lived here in Southeast Texas my entire life. And kind
of like Becky, I spent a little stint in Lake Charles,
but came back and graduated from Lamar University and been
with the bank for the most part ever since, did
(08:21):
a little bit of working insurance. Then I've been with
the bank for about fifteen years after that. But I'm
married my wife Regina, and we have three kids. We
have Gabrielle who is six, Jet who is eight, and
then Clara who is ten. So they are busy doing
Easter parties and getting ready for getting ready for tomorrow
(08:41):
for Easter, and getting ready to hide eggs, and everybody
will be coming to our house for the beginning of
the day. Then we're going to go to my in
laws to finish the day. So looking forward to it,
and they're excited and uh, but we'll see how it goes.
I may send them to Becky's house. We'll see how
it goes there.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Well, you know, it's such a blessing to have all
the family here, but it does require sometimes that shifting
of half the day in one and half the day
and the other, and it is just part of it.
But it's so wonderful to be able to connect with family.
And for those of you who don't have family, give
me a call, come hang out. You know, what's a
few more thirty five, forty fifty. It's all kind of
(09:22):
the same thing. You know, I won't I promise you
I won't even notice. But we're super excited to have
the two of you, and Blaine and I both are
on the foundation board and we see the benefit of
what this foundation does to impact Southeast Texas. So I'm
so excited for all of you to hear from Becky
so she can share exactly what does the foundation do.
(09:46):
And there are some exciting events coming up that you're
not going to want to miss, So stay tuned. We'll
be right back. This is the Danis Simmons Show. Welcome back.
This is Dana Simmons and I'm joined today by Becky Burton,
the assistant director at Baptist Hospital Foundation. And Becky, we
were talking in the first segment about the fact that
(10:08):
you're a lifelong resident here in Southeast Texas and we
are so excited that you are a part of the foundation.
You see the benefit of contributing to the community and
all that you have to do. But I want the
audience to understand what exactly is the Baptist Hospital Foundation
and what does it do. Give us a little history
(10:29):
on that.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
That's a really great way to start. Excuse me because
when I tell people where are work, they look at
me funny and go, what is the foundation?
Speaker 1 (10:39):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (10:39):
So the foundation is simply it exists to support the
mission of Baptist Hospital right now. And you think what
does that mean? So you think about all the technology
that we have within the hospital and so forth. So
we work to support number of initiatives throughout the hospital,
(11:00):
including new equipment, UH for a number of different departments.
We're nick you. Nick You is one of the top
departments that we work with a lot to get new equipment,
to get things a say break to to provide things
for those families.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
If no one's example, if no one's ever met doctor
Doshi over at Baptist Hospital, he is an amazing he is.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
A wonderful doctor. Just a fine guy.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
Yeah he is, and he wants only the best for
his patients and his staff. Yeah, the nurses there to
provide them with technology. So we come in to that.
We have frequent meetings and we we try to help
provide for them what we what we can as well.
So that's one really good example. Lots of renovation projects,
whether it's something down in r and a lot of
(11:47):
those are like an e R like the children's waiting
room if you've seen that. That that's an example of
that throughout the hospital. When we when we UH either
do renovations or new buildings or new projects. There's always
naming opportunities. Uh. And for people like us that have
(12:09):
are such a big part of the community, those are
real important. You know, this is your hospital, this is
where your family. So many were born and come through
their life all their life, no matter the stage of life.
So a lot of people want their name on UH.
So there's lots of naming opportunities and you can also
(12:32):
just donate on a regular basis, knowing that it's going
to go to We have a Chaplain's Fund. We have
Oncology Oncology Relief Fund, that is our oncology patients that
need funds for transportation, or they need medicine, or they
(12:55):
have to stay at the rio house. We help on
a regular basis. We get daily requests for funds for
these patients and we are not able to do that
if we do not have these donations.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
And those are challenging times in life where really, you know,
the focus should be on your health and trying to
get better, keeping your mental capacity positive and working towards
that healing, and so not having to think about some
of those physical needs when it comes to where to
sleep or some other things that they need. This is
(13:31):
a huge.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
Part and how to get to their treatments, right Yeah,
as simple as just guess yeah, are a way to
get there. So these are this is a small sample
of some of the things that we do. We have
some big projects coming up. I'm talk about those in
just a moment. But how do we raise funds In
addition to just asking for donations, we have events. Events
(13:54):
are fun you may be familiar with the Lasoirree. It's
every January. We just had that. Our thing was the
Golden Age of Hollywood. It was so much fun. It
was just a fabulous event. That one, of course, is
in every January. We're already looking forward to and working
towards that one. Yes that in May ninth, we have
(14:16):
a golf tournament. We have our Cajun Classic is at
the Belmont Country Club. This fund funds from here we'll
go toward our cancer our new cancer program and actually
Donaldson Motor is doing you can win a truck with
the hole in one sponsored by Donaldson speaking a good people,
(14:40):
speaking about people, more good people that are just trying
to do what they can for the community. You're right.
We do still have some slots open for teams. You
can just go to our b h set Foundation dot org.
There's a few sponsorships still available and like scoreboard sponsor
whole sponsorship forms. But and then, like I said, a
(15:03):
few teams available. So that one is coming up at
the Beaumont Country Club May ninth. Excited about that one.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
My son and son in law are super excited because
they're they've put together a little team and you know,
I'll just tell you they think they're gonna win.
Speaker 4 (15:17):
Soay uh huh, little competitives walk away with the truck
they want.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
They may, they may.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
Yeah. And so if you love to play golf, this
is a great way to get back, give back, but
also have a ball, you know, and enjoy the day
and be able to give back to sacred work that
hospital does.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Absolutely, that's our mission every day. And I will say
that as a walk through the halls the Baptist I
see that followed. Yeah, completely, Yeah. And if you're not
a golfer, we have the clay shoot coming up October
seventeenth at the one and one Hunter Club in Lumberton,
and registration on that same website is already open for
(15:59):
that and that is a really great day. The weather
is usually really nice about that time. We have sponsorships
and actually Jefferson Electric is our title sponsor for that event.
We already have that. Another one of those great community
people that is always there for us. We appreciate them.
So that's a couple of the events coming up pretty soon.
(16:23):
We have some new ones that we're working on. I'll
give just a little tease on both of those. We
have a barbecue cookoff that's coming up and we'll have
more information on that later. That's going to be a
lot of fun and dear to my heart, we're going
to have a women's event coming out. We're going to
(16:45):
do a women's brunch and that will be November first.
It's going to be a fun, fun day. These are
just a couple of things to look for. I don't
want to give too much information on them yet.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Yeah, but so that women's event, though, is to raise
funds also for what you do over in the cancer
treatment area around those.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
Are that is going The funds from the women's event
that we're planning are going to go to the oncology
relief that I spoke briefly about a second ago. Again,
in addition to that, we're wigs, you know, just just
simple little things that you and I don't We never
had to think about that for the most part. And
so yes, that is going to go to that. That'll
(17:28):
be uh again, these simple everyday things that they need
to survive during those treatments.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
I know a couple of the ladies who work in
that part of the cancer treatment area. Amy is one
of those, and she just so has a passion to
do everything that she can to help women going through
those treatments to feel beautiful again because she's part of
the challenge for them.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
She has a room full of just she's got a
shelf full of jewelry just for them to come pick from,
and unscarves and different kinds of hats and lotions because
her skin gets dry, and just different things and it's
just fill back take, you know, and people are just
(18:14):
in awe and they're blown away that when they walk
in there, that that she has this form. Yeah, and
you know one of her We're working on a new
cancer center. This is our huge, big, fifty million dollar
project that we're working on.
Speaker 4 (18:31):
And they already family was a part of that, right, yes, yes, yes,
to talk about another you know pillar in our community.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
Yes they have Mason Construction. But Becky Mason and her son,
Chad Mason, they are very active in our community and
also givers and are continuing to support what we have here.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
They are and you know, you talked about Amy. She's
so excited about what she's going to be able to
do at the News Center. The new center is going
to you know, we have a couple of centers. We
have got the Rogers Cancer Center. Julian Benn Rodgers Cancer
Center and ALTUS. So we're going to consolidate so that
a lot, so that everything will be in the same
(19:17):
facility instead of having to go here for chemo, there
for radiation, different things. You know, this is going to
be a forty three thousand square foot buildings.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
Amazing.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Yeah, right now we've got I think ALTUS is ten
like ten thousand or a little over ten thousand, and
the other one maybe around twenty three or something something
around like that. But this is going to be just huge.
If you drive down College and you see it, it's
just it's just fabulous to watch that going up.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
And so Baptist is stepping out to be on the
cutting edge of making sure they're taking care of so
many things here in Southeast Texas. Cancer are a huge one,
so you don't have to travel to Houston because that's
such a challenge on families to do that. And so
there's the cancer center, but you also have behavioral health,
behavioral health that you're growing as well.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
We are. We have we are going to completely remodel that,
We're going to add a floor to it. We have
so we're the only mental health facility I think between
Louisiana and Houston. That right, that's right, right, So, and
(20:32):
we know that mental health needs are not going to
go down just like cancer. Yeah, those numbers are both
growing and to be able to And you know, until
I came to work for Baptists, I knew that facility
was there, but what I did not know is that
it is for all ages. We take care of children
(20:53):
there all the way up. I never knew that until
I came to work here, and they do. And then
the care and the program the increase in programs that
they're going to be able to do at behavioral health
are just they're so needed. But we have we already
have the best staff that we can possibly have. And
(21:16):
then when you pair that with the best facility, and
it's right here, your need will be taken care right here.
I don't have to sit home and say, I know
I need to do something, but there's I don't know
who to go to.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
There's not a place, there's not a place.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
How do I start right, Just go down the road.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
Or I have to worry about transportation to Houston. Kind
of like Dana said, it's all right here in our backyard.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
But both of these are and again there are naming
opportunities for both of these facilities.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
Yeah, and if you just want to, you know, it
doesn't have to be a huge grant, although they love
you know, nice big gifts, but if the majority of
people would give what they could to help this, it
would be phenomenal. And you can do it while you're
having a great time. When you talk about the Cajun Classic.
That's again Friday, May ninth, eight am at the Beaumont
(22:12):
Country Club And they can register online at b h.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
S Etfoundation dot org.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
So simple, just go there. If you have any questions,
you can call them at the foundation and that what
is that number.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
For nine two one two sixty one one three comes
straight to me.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
That's great. Well, if you have questions, reach out to
Becky let her help you answer those, or go online.
Lots of great information there that you can find all
that Becky has just talked about, and they are adding
to it on a weekly basis. I am so thankful
that you were able to come and share what Baptist
Hospital is doing. I'm so thankful for what Baptist Hospital
(22:54):
is doing. They are stepping up to make a difference
in our community, to make us safer and to get
of us what we need where there is a void,
and both of those cancer center and the mental health
are voids where we need additional resources. So Becky, thank
you so much.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
Thank you. I appreciate it and I'm so grateful that
I get to be a part of what Baptist is
doing for this community.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
Absolutely. Well, when we come back, we're going to visit
more with Becky, but also talk to Blaine Kaye with
First Financial Bank. And you're like, well, how does that connect, Well,
let me tell you how it connects. Blaine is so
active in the community. In one of the ways he
does that, he is on this foundation board as well,
So don't go away. We'll visit with him shortly. This
(23:38):
is the Dana Simmons Show. Welcome back. This is Dana
Simmons and I have been joined by Becky Howard, who
is the assistant director at Baptist Hospital Foundation. And if
you have any questions, go to the Baptist Hospital website,
the foundation website, and they can give you information about
(23:59):
what she's just been talking about about the Cajun Classic,
Clays to raise and all the amazing work that she
is doing and their group is doing to improve our
area in health here in Southeast Texas. Also with me
Blaine Kaya. He is the CEO and president at First
Financial Bank and Blaine so often as I'm talking to people,
(24:22):
they don't understand the difference between you know, a Capital
One or a Wells Fargo and First Financial. So talk
to everyone about what Financial First Financial does, who they are,
and what makes you different.
Speaker 3 (24:38):
Yeah, I'd love to. So we are a Texas base bank.
We've been around for roughly about one hundred and thirty
five years, and I'm going to kind of go back.
So when I first got into the banking industry, I
was with a bank called Orange Savings Bank. A lot
of people in Southeast Texas have heard of Orange Savings Bank.
We were predominantly in the Orange County area, and then
we started venturing into Jefferson County and then we sold
(24:59):
to First Financial Bank eleven years ago. And First Financial
Bank they're headquartered in Abilene, Texas, but we operate as
eight regional banks throughout the state of Texas. Only in
the state of Texas. We like the state of Texas.
It's got a very strong economy, and you know, Texas
is where everybody's moving, It's where everybody wants to be.
But how our regional banks work is I oversee our
(25:21):
Southeast Texas region, which is Orange, Jefferson, Harden, and Newton counties,
and our other regions. For example, we have a Greater
Houston region, we have a Bryan College Station region. We
have an Abilion or region of Fort Worth region. So
there's kind of, you know, different regions throughout the state.
But you know, the difference between us is we are
We're about a fourteen billion dollar bank as far as
(25:43):
assets go, so we're pretty pretty like a medium sized
community bank, but we operate kind of like a smaller bank,
like a hometown bank credit union style. All of our
loan officers, even me, including myself my cell phone numbers
on my card. We're all about relationships and customer service
and taking care of our customers and being involved in
(26:05):
the community. We're involved in all different kinds of community,
including I'm on the Baptist Foundation board and it's an
honor and privilege to be a part of that board.
They're doing such great things. But you know, we're we're
involved throughout the community over the entire region. But for us,
it's just about taking care of our people and building
(26:26):
lifelong relationships with our customers and with prospects in the area.
And we just we like to figure a way to
help people out. You know, sometimes we don't have all
the right answers or something, but we try to figure
a way to help them out and guide them to
be successful and for them to fulfill their dreams.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
So and got I've been able to watch that. I've
been able as a board member at First Financial, I've
been able to watch how they do business. And sometimes
when you get inside the inner workings of how people
do business, you get disenchanted, right, not me. Yeah, I
have been so impressed with how the entire organization functions.
(27:09):
I'm so impressed with the culture of people and how
they do things and the way they do things. But
one of the things that I really love, Blaine is
and you can talk about this, is that most loans,
the decisions are made here local.
Speaker 3 (27:23):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
You know.
Speaker 3 (27:24):
One of the things I didn't mention with the different regions,
and a thing that makes us very unique is you know,
each region has its own president CEO, each region has
their own boarder directors. So we have so basically we
run our region like it's our own bank and so
we our board of directors approves our loans. Dana is
the chair of our board actually, and then just some
(27:45):
other names that she's mentioned this this morning. Doctor does
she is on our board. Chad Mason's on our board.
And there's a lot of great people. We have ten
directors who are all Southeast Texas, you know, really Orange
and Jefferson County for the most partusiness owners and entrepreneurs
that are on our board. And we're still old school banking.
(28:05):
Our board still meets every week for a loan committee
and loans that go through there. We talk about them.
That it may have to be loans, you know, of
a certain size, but we talk about them. We talk
about how it's going to impact the community. And you know,
it's just how our board is so diverse. We know
what's going on. We know about the Golden Triangle Polymers
facility going on in Orange and we know about you know,
(28:26):
construction going on in it. And if somebody's got an
office that sits right on there, how's construction going to
affect what's going on in the area. So it's it's
very beneficial to have our board involved.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
Yeah, I think one of the benefits that that brings
is that you get to hear from different aspects of
the community. You know, we all have different positions, we're
all interacting with different people, and so I learned so
much each week about what's going on in Southeast Texas
to where it does help us make decisions cumulatively for
(29:03):
the benefit of our area. But I also love that
we all know different people. So if something comes across
and it may be a little I don't know about this,
and someone actually knows the person is able to talk
about what good people they are, pillars of the community.
They can bring the personal side. Right, The numbers all
(29:27):
have to make sense, but bringing the personal side of
who they are and their impact here also plays a role.
Speaker 3 (29:34):
Sure and a good thing about how our bank is
throughout the state of Texas and the multiple regions. So
each region has those directors, and there's a lot of
times if we run across an opportunity that it may
be a first for us. We could pick up the
phone and call somebody in the Houston area, or in
the Hereford area or San Angelo, wherever it may be,
(29:54):
and talk to one of their directors or one of
their employees who has expertise in that field, and that's
been very benefit.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
You know.
Speaker 3 (30:01):
I tell people all the time how the regional bank
model really works good for us because we have a
region in Herford, Texas. Up in the Panhandle and our
Herford region, they're roughly about ninety five percent ag bank.
That's all they do is ag lending. And I tell
people all the time, I can't spell ag lending down here.
I wouldn't know what to do if somebody wanted to finance,
you know, two hundred acres of crop or two hundred
(30:23):
head of cattle. But up there, that's what they do,
and they're experts at it. Down here, we do some
marine financing for tug boats and barges and shipyards up
in Hereford, Texas. They wouldn't know what to do if
somebody called them about financing a tug boat. So it's
a it's a really good.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
Model, very diverse. Yeah, and First Financial Bank has been locally.
This region has been growing. So you've opened a Lumberton
office years ago.
Speaker 3 (30:50):
We have in the last I would say we opened
up Beaumont probably eight years ago. We opened up our
Lumberton location, which is our newest location, about two years ago,
and then we're getting ready to break ground on a property,
our second location in Beaumont. It'll be our eighth location
in this region. But it's on Beaumont. It's actually, I
(31:11):
tell everybody, it's on the Baptist campus. We're actually we're
on the corner of College and eleventh Street, right in
front College and eighth Street, sorry, right in front of
the Shorky Center. So we're hoping to break ground this
summer and be in it probably this time next year.
It'll be a great location. We love the growth that
(31:31):
Baptists has there in that area, and that area just
in general is growing. There's a lot of things moving
to that area, not only with Baptist. The v A
clinic is coming in directly across the street from us.
It's a great opportunity and we're really looking forward to it.
Speaker 1 (31:49):
Yeah, there's a void, there's white space, there's a need,
and so you guys saw a need and you said,
how can we fulfill that need and help our community
continue to grow there. I love that. I love that
they give you. The entire region has the opportunity to
grow internally as well. Absolutely, So when we come back,
(32:12):
we're going to talk a little bit more, you know,
We've talked a little bit about residential real estate in
the very first segment, but I'm going to talk to
Blaine a little bit more about what he's seeing on
the commercial side. What's going on. Have they seen things increase?
So don't go away. We're going to visit with him shortly.
This is the Dana Simmons Show. Welcome back. This is
(32:33):
Dana Simmons on this wonderful Saturday before Easter. I know
you're probably out and about finalizing all of your preparation
and plans for the big event tomorrow. We've been chatting
about our Easter plans and Becky has everything together and
in order and all of the fun ready for her grands.
I feel like I'm gonna have to go do some
(32:55):
things this afternoon to be a little more prepared. Becky,
you made me feel like Martha Stewart, and I'm like not,
So I'm going to work on that today. But also
with us, we have Blaine Kaya and he is the
president and CEO of First Financial Bank, and we were
just talking a little bit about what is First Financial Bank,
(33:16):
what is the difference, what do they do and how
do they do it? But I also want to get
into Blaine. We talked in the first segment, I gave
everyone a little bit of an update on how the
residential market is picking up. It is. We are definitely
seeing a trend with more people in the market. So
on the commercial side of banking, because that's what you
(33:37):
do every day, give me a little picture of what
you're seeing.
Speaker 3 (33:41):
Commercial side, it's been steady. I would not say it's
really ticked up, but it has not gone. It has
not declined any You know, we all for a variety
of different products when it comes from commercial, we do
everything from commercial real estate owner occupied on honor occupied
investment properties, to lines of working capital, lines of credit,
(34:02):
equipment loans, across the board. But specifically the real estate
market here in Southeast Texas, the investment property real estate
has been pretty steady. Consumers are still but consumers and
people are still buying investment properties. I think the rental
market and data you can probably be attest that the
rental market is still strong, still very strong. I think
with people with rates where they're at, still people are
(34:24):
still a little hesting on buying a house and they'd
rather rent, and so rental markets strong. We have a
lot of investors who do it just as a secondary
source of income. They work at a refinery or their
teacher or whatever it may be. Within they have a
rent house or two on the side. But then on
the larger commercial it's been we have not seen obviously
the the refinance. You're not seeing a lot of refinances
(34:47):
right now which we were seeing. You know, in rates
we're at an all time low. However, purchases have been steady.
I would say they're probably in line with where they
have been for us to last two years. You know,
if some of the larger investment properties, strip centers, multifamily
(35:08):
have been down, you know the reason there, it's the
rates are higher than what they're used to property insurance taxes.
I mean, you add all those components together, and their
returnal investments just not where it was, you know, three four,
five years ago. So when they're doing the math, it
doesn't really add up. So you have to either one
(35:30):
come up with more equity and put more down on
the project, or you know, find just a property that's
that you know makes sense and you know the math
adds up and you can make a little money on it.
Speaker 1 (35:42):
Well, and I know First Financial had a record year
last year.
Speaker 2 (35:45):
We did.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
We did, and the bank cumulatively also was ranked in
Fords magazine, So talk a little bit about it.
Speaker 3 (35:52):
We were we were ranked number three on the Forges
list for the top banks in the USA. So very
very proud of that. It goes back before my time
just as a as first financials culture in general, we've
been a conservative bank. We're very well capitalized, have a
very strong balance sheet and for a lot of a
(36:15):
lot of consumers don't look at that or that historically
may not have paid attention to that. But then over
the last couple of years, especially when we had the
couple of banks that failed in California and New York,
people really started focusing on where they're keeping their money,
you know, because we're holding their their you know, their
biggest asset, and uh, you know, you want to make
(36:35):
sure you're with the institution that can that is safe,
secure and sound. And you know, we've always you know,
that's been a pride of virus to you know, be
able to say that we are the best bank. And
so we've actually been ranked in the Forbes probably the
top within the top five, probably three out of the
(36:55):
last five years, I would say, but we are we're
extremely thrill to be at rank number three.
Speaker 1 (37:02):
Well, I'll tell you the thing that I love about
that is you're not too big that the little person
like me when I was starting out, that the bank
is willing to sit down. I mean every single one
of the banks here that in the region that you
go over as a personal banker at every single bank
(37:24):
and you can walk in and actually speak to a
person absolutely give them your information and they can go
with it.
Speaker 3 (37:31):
We do not have to you don't have schedule appointments
like some of the larger banks. You walk in, you
get a live person. You call, you get a live person.
I mean, once you come in and build a relationship
with us, you're gonna have whoever your officer is, whoever
your contact there, You're gonna have their cell phone. You
can call me. I have customers that called me in
the evening time and say hey, I'm buying a car
from my daughter tomorrow, and I'll be like, hey, all right,
(37:52):
we'll take care of you. They'll call me on a
on a Saturday morning say hey, my debit card has
been hacked and I may not personally what to do,
but I know who to call it and we'll get
them taken care of. We can get them shut down
and you know, help them out. And but kind of
like I mentioned earlier, how I really explained the bank
is we're like a Wells Fargo Chase as far as
(38:13):
the products and services that we offer, but we operate
a lot like a credit union. We're we're personal, personal,
we're there. We are all about building life on relationships
and generations of relationships. That's one of the things I
love is when I see younger people come in the
bank and it's like, yep, we bank there, we bank
their parents, we bank their grandparents, and they've had a
(38:35):
relationship with us for for years and decades. And another
thing that I get that I even I was at
an event earlier this week, and the size of our bank.
You know, we're a fourteen billion dollar bank. We've done
loans forty million, sixty million dollars. We can we can
take care of some some larger customers, and a lot
(38:55):
of people don't realize how how big we are. So
we kind of, like you said, we're across the We
take care of anybody just with a one hundred dollars
checking account or a ten dollars checking account and we'll
take care of you to a very very large commercial.
Speaker 1 (39:08):
Customer and lots of options. That's absolutely so many options.
One of my favorite things that you guys do that
I attended one of the Fraud Lunch and Learns a
couple of years ago. Yes, you don't realize how much
and you think you're protected, and there is so much
fraud out there. But one of the things that First
Financial has done that I'm so impressed with is you
(39:31):
go and do Lunch and Learns to try to educate
people so that they are not taken advantage of.
Speaker 3 (39:37):
And we don't do them just for customers. We do
them and everywhere. If somebody calls us and wants us
to come talk to them about fraud, I mean, for us,
what we tell people is that's really our main way
to defend fraud is to educate people. And I could
talk on fraud for hours and days. But it's the
new it's the day's version of bank robbery.
Speaker 1 (39:56):
You know.
Speaker 3 (39:56):
Fortunately you don't see it's not the wild wild West
where people are knocking down your doors and that does happen,
but today it's fraud. I mean, banks are get robbed
daily by fraud and these fraudsters are not you know,
you know, they're not just uneducated people. These are highly
educated people. A lot of them are overseas and it's very,
(40:18):
very sophisticated. It changes daily. Just when we think we've
seen it all, something else happens, and there's a lot
of tools out there. I'll be happy to We've talked
in the past. There's several tools and I'll be happy
to talk to anybody on the on the radio. Feel
free to reach out to me. You can call me
on my direct line. It's four zero nine six seven
(40:41):
zero nine four five one. Be happy to come talk
to you, your business, your church, whoever it may be
about fraud some of the things we're seeing and just
you know, help out and educate your people.
Speaker 1 (40:54):
We'll do another one of those on our radio as well.
Sure we can get you guys to kind to give
us the information about where are you seeing the most
fraud right now, and so we will do that here
in the next couple weeks, get you guys to do that.
But I want to say thank you to both of
you for coming on the show today. Becky. I want
(41:15):
to go back to you and let you remind everyone
about the events that are coming up for the Baptist
Hospital Foundation.
Speaker 2 (41:22):
Okay, in just a few weeks May ninth. It's a
Friday Beaumont Country Club. We start at eight o'clock. That
is the Cajun Classic. And there are still a few
team slots available and there's some sponsorships available as well.
You can go to Bhsetfoundation dot org or if you
(41:43):
don't remember that, give me a call. My direct line
is four O nine two one two six one one three.
And then also our clay shoot even though it's not
till October. Registration and sponsorships are also up on that
same website to go and check that out. And when
you go on the website, go around there and look
(42:04):
kind of kind of kind of surf around a little
bit and see what the foundation does and maybe where
you fit in, where your where your heart tells you
to go.
Speaker 1 (42:15):
Yeah, and I know if that uh Cajun Classic, there
will be prizes, there will be oh my goodness.
Speaker 2 (42:21):
There will be food. There will be got to mention,
food will be food, great food, food, always great food.
And we we do have as some Baptist Hospital will
be providing food. Acadian Ambulance and Rock and A will
be providing food that day for us, just graciously. Again.
(42:41):
We are just so blessed with such a wonderful community,
we really are. And we'll have food again at the
at the Clay shoot as well. Always got to feed
you and give us some great prizes and just fun.
Speaker 1 (42:55):
Well, I want to thank you Becky Howard, Assistant Director
Baptist Hospital Foundation. Blane Kaye, President and CEO of First
Financial Bank. Thank you both so much for coming on
the show and for what you both do to make
our community a better place. And so I hope you
guys out there have a wonderful Easter tomorrow and we
(43:15):
will see you back next week at noon. This is
the Dana Simmons Show.
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