August 31, 2025 • 28 mins
On this episode of the El Paso Public Forum, we have a 3 parter!
Segment 1: FREEZE! The El Paso FBI is back in the station to talk about their FBI recruiting event September 5th at UTEP. They will have real agents and various FBI employees all in one place to give you answers from people actually doing it and in it! They will have SWAT demonstrations and computers available for on the spot sign-up. The FBI is SO much more than kicking down doors and flashing the badge, (which is pretty cool though). They have positions for engineers, clerical, technical, social media, and so much more. For more informtion find them on social media at FBI El Paso, or go to FBIjobs.gov
Segment 2: Get out your midieval garb and weapons, it's time for a food fight! Amptgard "Kingdom of the Burning Lands" is this area's Live Action Role Playing organization, (LARPing). For the whole month of September they are challenging other kingdoms to a food fight and need your help to battle food insecurity. They are accepting in kind and monetary donations to be able to give back to our community's food banks. For more information and to donate find them on Facebook @Amtgard Kingdom of the Burning Lands.
Segment 3: You've heard of a 5k and 1 mile fun walk, but arre you ready for an 8k?! Rudolph Helping Hands is the Rudolph Auto Group's non-profit that gives back to the community in many ways. They are back for their 2nd annual "Changing Lives in the 915" 5k, 8k, and 1 mile fun walk. Following the massive success of their first run with over 450 participants, Rudolph Helping Hands hopes to get bigger and better this year! There will be live music from the Roulettes, raffles, prizes for participants in various age groups, FREE alcohol, and new this year they are offering the VIP experience with private tented area, mimosas, a breakfast bar, comfortable seating, VIP parking and more.
.
To register and get more information visit rudolphhelpinghands.com
Segment 1: FREEZE! The El Paso FBI is back in the station to talk about their FBI recruiting event September 5th at UTEP. They will have real agents and various FBI employees all in one place to give you answers from people actually doing it and in it! They will have SWAT demonstrations and computers available for on the spot sign-up. The FBI is SO much more than kicking down doors and flashing the badge, (which is pretty cool though). They have positions for engineers, clerical, technical, social media, and so much more. For more informtion find them on social media at FBI El Paso, or go to FBIjobs.gov
Segment 2: Get out your midieval garb and weapons, it's time for a food fight! Amptgard "Kingdom of the Burning Lands" is this area's Live Action Role Playing organization, (LARPing). For the whole month of September they are challenging other kingdoms to a food fight and need your help to battle food insecurity. They are accepting in kind and monetary donations to be able to give back to our community's food banks. For more information and to donate find them on Facebook @Amtgard Kingdom of the Burning Lands.
Segment 3: You've heard of a 5k and 1 mile fun walk, but arre you ready for an 8k?! Rudolph Helping Hands is the Rudolph Auto Group's non-profit that gives back to the community in many ways. They are back for their 2nd annual "Changing Lives in the 915" 5k, 8k, and 1 mile fun walk. Following the massive success of their first run with over 450 participants, Rudolph Helping Hands hopes to get bigger and better this year! There will be live music from the Roulettes, raffles, prizes for participants in various age groups, FREE alcohol, and new this year they are offering the VIP experience with private tented area, mimosas, a breakfast bar, comfortable seating, VIP parking and more.
.
To register and get more information visit rudolphhelpinghands.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to El Paso Public Forum, a weekly half hour
public affairs presentation of iHeartRadio El Paso for over twenty years,
featuring local news and interviews of interest to our listeners
in West Texas and southern New Mexico. All views and
opinions expressed on this program are those of the host
and guest, and not necessarily those of iHeartRadio Management and
now El Paso Public Forum.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Welcome back to the al Paso Public Forum. I am
your host, Amber Banda, and today the FBI is back.
My besties, we have Jeanette Harper's special agent for fbil
passal Janette, thank you for coming back with us.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Thanks for having us again, of course.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
And we have a new face here, a new victim.
I hear that, Sarah Ramo's FBI recruiter. Sarah, thank you
for being here with us today. Thank you for welcoming
of course. So today we're going to talk a little
bit about FBI al Passo and then we're going to
talk about a recruitment event that you have coming up
fbil Passo. What kind of service does this provide to
(00:56):
the community.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
So, fbil Paso, we are again a federal law enforcement
entity here we've been over here over in our Passo
region over one hundred years, Like we started in nineteen
oh nine and we've had a presence here since then.
So we work all the same violations that you see
across the country right now, where the priorities are crush
vilent crime, defending the homeland, rebuilding that public trust, which
(01:19):
is important. That's why we're here today, and that's our
community outreach program. So we go out we give a
lot of presentations on how people can protect themselves from
falling victim to scams. There's so many of them out there.
We get out there and we talk to the elderly
community so they can protect themselves from investment fraud, crypto fraud,
and you know all this other scams out there that
they're trying to target their retirement or their fixed incomes.
(01:42):
So it's more of a kind large gentle air bureau, right.
And then we get out to schools and we talk
to kids so they can see what the FBI is
about and see that we're humans, we're not just the bad, right.
So we're part of this community. We've grown up in
this community, and we're here to protect this community. Right.
So that's with the FBI in a nutshell, is what
we are here, so or an investigative team at a
(02:04):
federal level. We help all our local partners, state partners,
as well as the other federal entities here. But we're
also a community service. So if anybody out there wants
the FBI to come talk to an organization or a school,
just reach out to us and then we can look
to schedule that to give a variety of different presentations
and even active shooter training and that sort of thing.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Are there any misconceptions that you might want to address
with the listening audience? You know, I only know about
the FBI well of course before I met you all
what I saw in the movies or you know, on
the show. So are there any misconceptions that you would
want to address?
Speaker 3 (02:38):
So, I think the biggest misconception, like especially right now
the hot topic is the immigration issues. We are not
an immigration agency. We are assisting our partners with that role.
Our primary role is to defend the US Constitution, so
any of the laws that are in there, that is
what our job is. We are here for hate crimes,
(02:58):
we are here for public corruption, here to defend our
nation from domestic terrorism incidents. Right. So, and then counterintelligence,
we have a lot of spies that live across the
border in Mexico and they travel across and they target
for bliss you tip right, and a lot of our
clear defense contractors white sands missile range. So I think
that's the miss biggest misconception. We're not driving around in
(03:20):
black suburbans or tahols every day. We're not going to
just go on the street and grab anybody off the street. Right,
You're not lying in the conversation your library text night.
There takes a lot of a judge has to approve
any warrant that we do. We're not just showing up
to violate people's rights. Is that is the biggest misconception.
(03:43):
There are a lot of checks and balances and a
lot of legalities that we have to go through before
we can enforce that at law enforcement action.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Yes, And Sarah as an FBI recruiter, what is what
is your job entail?
Speaker 4 (03:57):
So I go onto the community and kind of to
share what we look for in people. You know at
the FBI. So we have more than special agents. We
have professional staff. We have intelligence analysts, careers and stem
computer scientists and so my job is to go out
and find people with those those.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Backgrounds perfect and that perfectly segues into what we're going
to talk about for the rest of the interview. So again,
if you're just tuning in, I have special Agent Jeanette
Harper and Sarah Lamos, FBI recruiter for FBIL pass. So
now this event I went last year. It's an amazing event. Again,
when you think FBI, you think, okay, you just kick
(04:33):
down doors and pull out the gun. No, it's like
its own little world. So they are having their FBI
recruitment event at UTIP September fifth, from three to six pm,
and I just want to plug in there that they're
having if one of you wanted wants to go into
this a little bit more September fourth, Media versus FBI
agents that I don't know why I said yes to it,
but I did. So whoever would like to start talking
(04:55):
about this FBI recruitment event at UTIP.
Speaker 4 (04:58):
So the event is going to be you open to
the public and we welcome everyone to come and ask questions.
You know, you get to talk to special agents as
well as intelligence analysts, professional staff and get their experience
with the Bureau, especially here in apasso, and some people
can even give you insight to traveling and being assigned
to other field offices and their experiences.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Yeah, so you're going to be able to get the
real life explanation because most people have never met an
FBI employee, Right, I never did more great, they probably
wouldn't know, right, they wouldn't know because we don't wear uniforms.
So this is going to be a great opportunity. It's
going to be very interactive. So after you hear like
a short presentation on the steps that it takes, because
it's quite an extensive process to get hired into the
(05:36):
bureau because you get a top secret clearance. But it's
going to be fun. We're going to have our SWAT
team out there, We're going to have our evidence recovery
team out there. We're going to have our physical fitness
advisors out there. We have a pull up bar to
see if anybody can do pull ups. And now'll just
be FBI trivia and you'll get to see we have
automotive mechanics. We're going to talk to our bomb text,
you're going to talk to the secretaries that we have
(05:58):
on board. Right, so you're going to see over five
hundred different job types that the bureau has all end
one evening, so and then we're gonna have computers there
to see if you guys. Actually, when you get hyped
up and you want to join, you can start submitting
your application right then.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
There.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
It's perfect scene at UTEP.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Oh perfect. Yes. Like I said, I went last year
and I don't know why this was surprising to me,
but all of the people that were there representing, you know,
whatever area they were in in the FBI were super friendly,
super passionate about what they did, and they will answer
your questions. And it is very hands on. There's so
many different departments. So again, if you think it's just
about carrying a weapon or breaking down a door, it
is not. They have, you know, people they need for
(06:35):
social media, they have people that they need for computer things,
they have people for everything. So again, the FBI recruitment
event at UTEP September fifth, from three to six pm.
Like Sarah said, it is open to the public. And
even if you're just considering it, you're maybe you're not
sure what you want to do, there is more than
likely going to be something there for you. So, Jeanette,
(06:57):
is there anything else that you would like to tell
the listening audience.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
So I think it's also important to know that the
special agent position is the only one we have to
have the physical fitness exam. So if you don't want
to be the gun totor in the eighteen eleven that's
what we're called, you want to do something else, you
don't have to have the physical fitness exam. You Also,
as agents, we have to retire by fifty seven, but
professional staff and intelligence analysts, all the other positions do
(07:22):
not have an age requirement. And the only reason why
we have that is back in the day, Hoover and
Congress felt that fifty seven was too old to continue
the job, so we are mandated to retire by that time.
We also would like to talk to the veterans that
are out there if you're over that age, because you
have to get in before you're thirty seven, right, We
have age waivers, so we have veterans preference. That's the
(07:44):
only DEI program that's still out there is our veterans preference.
So those of you guys on Fort Bliss and our
veterans please stop buy. We can talk to you guys
about joining the FBI family. Bring your service in the
drive to protect our communities over to us. It's very important,
Like if you have that drive, Like we don't make
a lot of money compared to the private sector, but
(08:06):
if you have that drive to protect the nation, this
is a great place to do it.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
I love that. And Sarah, is there anything else that
you would like to tell the listening audience, maybe a
plea to come to the event or anything like that.
Speaker 4 (08:17):
I just want to give them the opportunity to come
talk to real FBI employees and get that one on
one experience with them and ask any questions that they
might have, yes or any concerns that they might have,
then we can answer right then and there and for
them to have a good time.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
I think that's the best part is being able to
ask in real time. They're actually in that field and
you get to ask them the questions. And like I
said when I talked to them last year, there were
more than willing to share and ask you questions and
answer any questions you may have. So you can find
more information at fbijobs dot gov. You can also find
them on Instagram and Facebook at fbil Paso and on
(08:52):
Power two point one. Sunday ninety nine point nine and
ninety six point three k Country, Instagram and Facebook. We
will also have pictures and all that information available to you.
Jeanette and Sarah, thank you so much for being here
with me today.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
Thank you for having us.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
And Kim Gattio, thank you for taking pictures behind the scene.
We'll talk to you all soon. Welcome to the Alpaso
Public Forum. I am your host, Amber Banda, and today
we have two members of AMPT Guard LARPing Organization. We
have Dusty Marshall, Executive Executive Committee Chair for AMPT Guard International. Dusty,
(09:30):
thank you for being here with me today.
Speaker 5 (09:32):
Thanks for having me, of course.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
And we have Dale Churchill, President of Burning Lands Board
of Directors. Dale, thank you for being here with me today.
Speaker 6 (09:40):
It's a pleasure. Always come back every year.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Okay, I'm going to try. My heart is not to
call you by the name I know you by because
we know each other from a different organization of bikers.
But I digress. So today we're talking again about AMPT
Guard LARPing Organization. Honestly one of my favorite nonprofits to
have in the station, not only for esthetic reasons, and
again if you want to see pictures of them and
know what I'm talking about follow us on power k
(10:02):
Hey or Sonny on our Instagram or Facebook. We're talking
today again about Kingdom of the Burning Lands. Who would
like to talk about what this organization does for the community.
Speaker 6 (10:13):
Look, we are a five oh one c seven nonprofit
dedicated to recreating and building medieval fantasy interactions and community
and our kingdoms or regions LARPing.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
What does that stand for?
Speaker 6 (10:27):
Live action role playing?
Speaker 2 (10:28):
So I've said this before to kind of give people
a picture in their mind. What is that movie?
Speaker 6 (10:34):
Role model?
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Role model? So is that offensive when I mentioned ed
or do you maybe a little?
Speaker 5 (10:41):
It's role Models is based off of a different larning
organization that is out there, more like a game called Nero.
And so for am Guard, we do have our phone weapons,
we do wear the clothes. Some people like to be
in character, some don't. But it's essentially the best way
to explain it is we're playing high speed tag. I
get to hit you with the sword before you hit me,
and if I do.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
I win.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
I love it. I've been to one of the events before.
It was one of the bigger events, and I really
saw the camaraderie. I saw that it's not as easy
it looks it is a physical sport. So Dusty, let
me ask you am to guard LARPing organization. Other than
you know, you get to create costumes, you get to
fight with weapons, you get to play, like you said,
a high speed version of tag. What does this offer
(11:22):
the community?
Speaker 5 (11:24):
Well, I mean for me, I'm chick. My background and
how I got into it. I was a fourteen year
old kid that just huge nerd. I loved baseball and football,
but I was more into comic books. And so we
had a comic book shop in Hobbs, New Mexico, and
I was visit these guys I would hang out after school,
and all of a sudden, these guys came in wearing
clothes like me and Dale are wearing right now, and
I was just like, you guys look weird and stupid.
(11:44):
This is dumb. But long story short, I got caught
up into it and started playing. But it became a
place that I've learned all kinds of sets of skills.
Its help me with my public speaking today. I serve
as a pastor and that's what I do on a
normal level. I've worked in politics in a public speak
fashion as well. I've done a lot of these things.
I've learned to sew, I've learned to paint, I've learned
(12:05):
to cook and do all kinds of stuff because of
this game itself and the people and the camaraderie that
comes with it. So it's definitely more than just showing
up and hitting people with foam swords and acting silly
or goofy. There's a lot of insight and a lot
of things that can happen because of the game that
you can benefit from in your real life.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
I love that. And Dale, you've talked a little bit about,
you know, how it brings certain people out of their shell,
especially kids that maybe feel like they're part of a
fringe group or anything like that. Can you tell us
a little bit more about that.
Speaker 6 (12:35):
Absolutely, it is definitely a place where people find their tribe.
Like Jessie said, we all kind of start off as nerds,
not really knowing where we fit in, and then we
find this organization and it's a place where we fit in.
We learn how to be more vocal, we learn who
we are, We get to experience, you know, the fantastical,
you know, in a modern day setting. Instead of living
(12:56):
humdrum Mundane lives, going in and out you know, really incredible.
I bring my kids out and I get to watch
them grow and let their imaginations grow develop run wild
as they get to you know, slagh dragons and monsters
and you know, just have the best of time.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
And be athletic. You know, go outside and move around outside,
and you know, it's kind of like when you dress
up for Halloween and you're behind a mask and you
can be anyone you want to be. Now, just imagine
being able to do that on a regular basis with
people that support you and they encourage you. And it's
not a negative thing because it's kind of like in
a sense journaling. You're getting out those feelings in a
physical way, right, and that's always healthy. So if you're
(13:35):
just tuning in, we have Dusty Marshall, Executive Committee chair
for ampt Guard International, and Dale Churchill, President of Burning
Land's Board of Directors for ampt Guard LARPing Organization. Now
I'm going to give you both a chance to tell
the listening audience a little bit more something in a bit.
But first I want to talk about an event that
(13:55):
you have every year called the Food Fight. It's going
to be all month of September starting September first, who
would like to start talking about what this event is.
Speaker 5 (14:04):
Sure, I'll go ahead and take that one. If Dale
will just sit to the side and look pretty for
a minute, that's fine. Too easy, Yeah, too easy for him.
So the Ampcart Food Fighter is what we did is
numerous years ago, few guys got together and decided that
they realized one of the biggest needs instead of our communities,
were usually our food pantries or homeless shelters, places that
provided a place for people to come and eat and
(14:25):
have free food. And every September, those numbers dropped for them,
Their food pantries would drop. You have as many donations
that are coming in, finances are a little bit lower,
and for some reason, it was just always September. So
nationally that was just the statistic that people found to
be true. So you can find some of those things
you're like Feeding America things like that, and find that
type of information. So they started this thing and it
(14:47):
was just a couple of our regions that competed together
to win a banner, a really really nice cool banner. Yeah,
and then that just grew nationwide, and that grew to
cover our whole organization, which covers Canada and the United States.
So every year we come together and we push all
of our groups, all of our people to donate you know,
nonperishable food, to donate volunteer hours, to give finances as
(15:08):
they can, and to be honest with finances is the
most powerful thing that you can give in this in
this you know sector and context. Because a nonprofit organization
that's doing food, like food pantries, one dollar that I
would go buy a food off the shelf for them,
with the partnerships they have in networking they have, they
can do about three to four times what that dollar
would do in my hands. So we usually encourage try
(15:28):
to give as much financially as you can. But yeah,
we've been doing that, and so for the whole time
that we've been doing I think it's been about what
ten years, fifteen years, we've collected over forty thousand dollars
in just donations. From last year in twenty twenty four,
we've watched people give hundreds of thousands of hours and
(15:49):
just volunteer hours. We've donated over four forty thousand pounds
of food in the past fifteen years as well, and
so it's something that we've really are passionate about and
for me personally being a pastor and southern New Mexico,
we have a food pantry. And it's true for some
reason you hit September, the end of August, the beginning
of October, donations drop off. And so this is really
what we try to come together as a group to
(16:10):
do what we can with the thirty thousand plus players
that we have in our game.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Ow. Interesting, I didn't know that about September. And when
it's when you say food fight, there's different chapters of Aptguard, correct,
So you're kind of all against not against each other, right,
it's all for the collective whole, but you're each trying
to see who can collect the most food, hence the
name food Fight.
Speaker 5 (16:29):
Yes. And so how it's organized is we have twenty
three different kingdoms and so just think of those as regions.
And so for our region here it covers al Paso, Alpine, Texas,
Almagordon and New Mexico, Hobbs, New Mexico, Rio Rancho. What
else am I forgetting Cloudcroft? Cloud Croft? Would you got Cloudcraft?
Speaker 7 (16:44):
Oh?
Speaker 5 (16:44):
And Tucumcarre. Yeah, we have Tupe and care in New
Mexico now too. I forgot about that. Those guys are
going to kill me because I forgot Anyways, he didn't.
So we have that region, and then you have another
region called the Kingdom of Dragon Spine, and that's Los
Crusis and every part every other part of New Mexico
and Arizona. But there's twenty three regions all together. So
they collectively compete withinside of their own kingdoms to raise
(17:05):
the most stuff and each food item and each amount
of money, and each volunteer gets so many points withinside
of the competition, and you try to place a winner
for each kingdom. So for the last two years for
us for Burning Lands, we've placed third overall.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
Oh so we're going for number one this year.
Speaker 5 (17:21):
That's right, yeah, right, always yeah. I've had the pleasure
to be our international Food Fight before in the past.
I've also played in other kingdoms, being in West Texas
before I moved over here, and so for the region
over there, we got first place one year. And it's
a fun event, but we really get to see the
impact that happens with people that are in great need
sometimes and provide something that's just not there or at
(17:43):
least kind of fill a gap. Oh yeah, that's been short.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
Food and security is definitely a huge gap here in
the border city and we are running out of time.
But I do want to let people know Kingdom of
the Burning Lands they are accepting food donations and they
will be accepting monetary donations to fight food and security.
Can people donate or where can people donate if they
want to help out.
Speaker 5 (18:03):
I would say they can contact either one of us
or just contact ustudent most of our social media like
Facebook pages and stuff, so they could look for the
Kingdom of the Burning Lands and just try to find
El Paso as the game itself ampguard actually started here
in El Paso in nineteen eighty three, and so we can,
you know, so they can reach out to us through
that easy We can make contact and show them where
(18:23):
to take stuff and donate to us.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Perfect So find them especially on Facebook AMT Guard Kingdom
of the Burning Lands and again on Parno two point one,
Sunday ninety nine point nine and ninety six point three
k Hey Country. On our Instagram and Facebook, that information
will be up as well. You can send a message
there or send a message to my personal Instagram Amber
Underscore Bonda nine one five Dusty and Dale. Thank you
(18:45):
so much for being here with me today.
Speaker 5 (18:46):
Ah, You're welcome, thank you, absolutely pleasure, thank you.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
Welcome back to the El Paso Public Forum. I'm our host, Amberbanda,
and today we have two people here from Roots Helping Hands.
Yes it's in the car dealership. We have Danielle Alba,
board director of Rudolph Helping Hands. Danielle, thank you for
being here with us today.
Speaker 8 (19:08):
Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Of course ate it. And we have Claudia Aguhi, lad
board member of Rudolph Helping Hands. Claudia, thank you for
being here with me, Thank you, thank you for having
us so fun fact, my real name is actually Claudia,
so you know, it's the only time I were going
to say this on the show because everyone knows me
as Amber, so your name will be easy to remember.
But Danielle, I want to ask you, first board director
of Rudolph Helping Hands, what is Rudolph Helping Hands.
Speaker 8 (19:32):
So, Rudolph Helping Hands is our nonprofit organization. We are
founded by the Rudolf Auto Group, which is a locally
owned dealership group that has been serving Al Paso for
sixty five years. Oh so yeah, Rudolf Helping Hands is
built on a strong tradition of community involvement and that's
what we are. I mean, we're just a nonprofit that
is trying to get back awesome.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Yeah, iheartworks a lot with Rudolph, and so I was
telling you earlier. I just happened to find out about
this event because it was a flyer in the bathroom,
like perfect. And Claudia, you're one of the board members
of Rudolph Helping Hands. So why did you decide to
become a board member?
Speaker 7 (20:08):
You know, we spend so much time on a daily
basis at work and I noticed that we had a
nonprofit organization and I wanted to become a part of
it because I also wanted to just put my little
seedback into the community and give back. And volunteer work
is something that helps you feel like you are doing something.
And I said, this is a perfect opportunity for me.
(20:29):
Let me join. How do I join?
Speaker 2 (20:31):
Yeah? They say that volunteering is one of the most
selfish things you can do because it makes you feel
so right've and giving back. I know it sounds bad,
but it's really you know true. And Danielle, why did
you decide to be a part of Rudolph Helping Hands.
Speaker 8 (20:44):
Well, growing up, I've always volunteered. I mean it's been
in me. I At twelve years old, I started volunteering
at a senior center, a senior citizen center, and ever
since then, I just I fell in love with it.
I love doing things for people, giving back, being involved,
just feeling like a part of something that makes a difference.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
Yeah, I love that. And so with Rudolph Helping Hands.
Before we get into the main event, it's actually going
to be your second annual, you had mentioned that Rudolph
Helping Hands had done some things with other organizations, maybe
some little sponsorships here and there. What other ways has
Rudolph Helping Hands helped.
Speaker 8 (21:21):
Yeah, I mean for years, we've always been giving back.
So we do a lot of sponsorships. We give back
to different schools, sports organizations, you know, within the schools.
The YWCAs done a lot of work with Lee Moore
giving back during the holidays. You know, we'll do like
backpacks and coats for the children who are in need
(21:43):
at different schools. So things like that.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Oh awesome. And Claudia, what of those events that she listed,
what events have you been a part of the Coats
Drive that we did about a year and a half ago.
Speaker 7 (21:55):
That one is the one that made me want to
join the nonprofit organization because we had these children come
to the dealership as the pickup spot from their schools.
Oh wow, and just seeing the kids with their families
come in and turn in this little car that has
their information and like you really feel for them. You
could see it in their person that they really need
(22:16):
these codes, and I was like, I want to do more.
Once I saw that, I was like this cannot be
it Like this made me really involve. And then the
lee Moour was another time that we did a tour
the le Moour facility and that just hit me hard.
I was like I need to do more.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Yeah, yeah, I'm very familiar with the Leemore Home and
the good things that they do, and that's amazing that
you actually got to see the kids go to the
It's one thing when you make a donation, but then
to see the actual impact it makes you know. I'm
a mom of two, I have a nineteen eight ten
year old, and you know it's just whatever you need
a code, let's go to Burlington. You outgrew it and
there's a lot of people out there that they can't
have access to these things, which is why you fund
(22:55):
raise and you have these events so that we can
raise money to be able to give back to the community.
And again, and if you're just joining us, I have
Danielle Alva, board director of Rudolph Helping Hands and Claudia Alghi,
lad board member of Rudolph Helping Hands. Now, if you
want to help, you want to donate funds, you want
to donate your time to this organization. Again, I didn't
know that Rudolf the Auto Group had been and I'll
(23:17):
passle that long over sixty five years. You said, oh
my five years, Oh my goodness. So you know, and
it's it's very important I think when these big type
of businesses do give back to the community. So there's
an event coming up. It's a second annual. I'll let
you fight amongst each other to talk to see who's
going to talk about it first, but who would like
to talk about the second annual changing lives in nine
(23:38):
to one to five. Who wants to go first?
Speaker 7 (23:39):
I'll give you yes.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
I'll go first.
Speaker 8 (23:42):
So the second annual event, it's a race, you know,
it's a five k and AK one mile and AK
Oh my god, yes, and AK if we wanted to
kind of stand out from the other races are in town,
so we thought an AK would be a little more competitive.
But it's not just a race, it's also a family
(24:02):
fund vendor event, so we're inviting the entire community to
come out so you can shop local vendors, support local
always right, and have fun with your family. We have
a dunk tank. We're going to have.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
Who's going to be in the dunk tank? Are you
really not me? Couldn't be me.
Speaker 8 (24:21):
We're gonna have jumping balloons, face painting, face painting, and
bull ride.
Speaker 7 (24:30):
Yes, the mechanical bright Oh nice.
Speaker 8 (24:33):
That's new this year, but I mean it is our
second annual. Last year was so successful that we just
had to make it an annual event for sure.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
What made last year successful? How did that go?
Speaker 8 (24:44):
Well? We had four hundred and fifty sign ups for
the first time, so that wow, I mean kind of amazing. Yeah,
and just the whole community showed up. It wasn't just
you know, the runners, it was different schools, different organizations,
police department. I mean they were one of our beneficiaries
last year. So the community came together, our sponsors, they
(25:04):
brought their teams. It was just nice to see everyone
come together. It made it a huge success that we
couldn't not do it so year after year.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
You know, so this year you're looking for five hundred
or more, right, six hundred seven hundred? Have everyone represent Yes,
we have.
Speaker 8 (25:20):
I think it's like forty one days something like that
remaining until the race, and we are ahead of last
year's sign up awesome, sign up early so you can
make sure you get a shirt.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
Yes, okay, and Glaudia, do you have all those details
of where people can sign up and how much and
all that good stuff.
Speaker 7 (25:38):
Yes. So you will find our sign up link on
our Instagram bio which is Rudolph Helping Hands our handle,
but you can also find it on the run sign
up website. The race is called even Need to Search.
It is changing lives in nine one five, and it's
going to be again October fifth.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
It starts promptly.
Speaker 7 (25:55):
At eight in the morning and in last till noon
we will have live music from the Roulettes right after
the rails that I know a lot of people did,
and like Danielle said, there's gonna be food trucks vendors.
Last year, we did have the four hundred plus sign
ups for the race, but we also had about eight
hundred people be out there just enjoying the vendor part
(26:16):
of it and the food trucks, and we did have
a live DJ at the time, one of our our DJs,
and then we had raffles, which we will have again
this year. We will have like raffles like every maybe
thirty minutes, really nice prices.
Speaker 2 (26:31):
Last year we had.
Speaker 7 (26:31):
TVs being raffled, these new Honda Moto compactos. A lot
of our sponsors also donated gifts to give, like o'riley's AutoZone,
things like that.
Speaker 1 (26:40):
Nice.
Speaker 7 (26:41):
But that's gonna be October fifth, starting at eight in
the morning at Ascot at the Park. It's a really
nice venue, as some of you guys know, Scott at
the Park is revamping, so it's really nice to run
by the lake or even just hang out there by
the lake. But yeah, that's that's gonna be it. That
sounds like a lot of fun. So you're going to
be the one that's in the dunk crasib who's getting
(27:06):
You're going to do both both.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
Then I'll be filming. Okay, you gotta do the social
media right. Yes, exactly so. Again. Rudolph Helping Hands their
second annual Changing Lives in nine one to five Sunday,
October fifth. Mark your calendars from eight to twelve five
KAK if you're ambitious, or even a one mile fun walk,
or I guess you could technically walk the AK right
if you just want to get in all your steps
at ascot at the park again, go to Rudolph Helpinghands
(27:30):
dot com for more info, or in their Instagram link
look for Rudolph Helping Hands. That information will be there,
and of course on pound of two point one Sunday
ninety nine point nine and ninety six point three Ka Country,
we will have that information there for you. Danielle and Gladia,
thank you so much for being here with me today.
Speaker 3 (27:45):
Thank you for having us.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
You've been listening to El Paso Public Forum, a weekly
public affairs presentation of iHeartRadio l Paso. If you, your
organization or event would like to be featured on an
upcoming program, please email to ep Forum at iHeartMedia dot
com or call us at nine one five three five
one five four zero zero. Tune in again next week
(28:07):
for another additional of El Paso Public Forum. The preceding
program was recorded at the studios of iHeartRadio El Paso
Welcome to El Paso Public Forum, a weekly half hour
public affairs presentation of iHeartRadio El Paso for over twenty years,
featuring local news and interviews of interest to our listeners
in West Texas and southern New Mexico. All views and
opinions expressed on this program are those of the host
and guest, and not necessarily those of iHeartRadio Management and
now El Paso Public Forum.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Welcome back to the al Paso Public Forum. I am
your host, Amber Banda, and today the FBI is back.
My besties, we have Jeanette Harper's special agent for fbil
passal Janette, thank you for coming back with us.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Thanks for having us again, of course.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
And we have a new face here, a new victim.
I hear that, Sarah Ramo's FBI recruiter. Sarah, thank you
for being here with us today. Thank you for welcoming
of course. So today we're going to talk a little
bit about FBI al Passo and then we're going to
talk about a recruitment event that you have coming up
fbil Passo. What kind of service does this provide to
(00:56):
the community.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
So, fbil Paso, we are again a federal law enforcement
entity here we've been over here over in our Passo
region over one hundred years, Like we started in nineteen
oh nine and we've had a presence here since then.
So we work all the same violations that you see
across the country right now, where the priorities are crush
vilent crime, defending the homeland, rebuilding that public trust, which
(01:19):
is important. That's why we're here today, and that's our
community outreach program. So we go out we give a
lot of presentations on how people can protect themselves from
falling victim to scams. There's so many of them out there.
We get out there and we talk to the elderly
community so they can protect themselves from investment fraud, crypto fraud,
and you know all this other scams out there that
they're trying to target their retirement or their fixed incomes.
(01:42):
So it's more of a kind large gentle air bureau, right.
And then we get out to schools and we talk
to kids so they can see what the FBI is
about and see that we're humans, we're not just the bad, right.
So we're part of this community. We've grown up in
this community, and we're here to protect this community. Right.
So that's with the FBI in a nutshell, is what
we are here, so or an investigative team at a
(02:04):
federal level. We help all our local partners, state partners,
as well as the other federal entities here. But we're
also a community service. So if anybody out there wants
the FBI to come talk to an organization or a school,
just reach out to us and then we can look
to schedule that to give a variety of different presentations
and even active shooter training and that sort of thing.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Are there any misconceptions that you might want to address
with the listening audience? You know, I only know about
the FBI well of course before I met you all
what I saw in the movies or you know, on
the show. So are there any misconceptions that you would
want to address?
Speaker 3 (02:38):
So, I think the biggest misconception, like especially right now
the hot topic is the immigration issues. We are not
an immigration agency. We are assisting our partners with that role.
Our primary role is to defend the US Constitution, so
any of the laws that are in there, that is
what our job is. We are here for hate crimes,
(02:58):
we are here for public corruption, here to defend our
nation from domestic terrorism incidents. Right. So, and then counterintelligence,
we have a lot of spies that live across the
border in Mexico and they travel across and they target
for bliss you tip right, and a lot of our
clear defense contractors white sands missile range. So I think
that's the miss biggest misconception. We're not driving around in
(03:20):
black suburbans or tahols every day. We're not going to
just go on the street and grab anybody off the street. Right,
You're not lying in the conversation your library text night.
There takes a lot of a judge has to approve
any warrant that we do. We're not just showing up
to violate people's rights. Is that is the biggest misconception.
(03:43):
There are a lot of checks and balances and a
lot of legalities that we have to go through before
we can enforce that at law enforcement action.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Yes, And Sarah as an FBI recruiter, what is what
is your job entail?
Speaker 4 (03:57):
So I go onto the community and kind of to
share what we look for in people. You know at
the FBI. So we have more than special agents. We
have professional staff. We have intelligence analysts, careers and stem
computer scientists and so my job is to go out
and find people with those those.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Backgrounds perfect and that perfectly segues into what we're going
to talk about for the rest of the interview. So again,
if you're just tuning in, I have special Agent Jeanette
Harper and Sarah Lamos, FBI recruiter for FBIL pass. So
now this event I went last year. It's an amazing event. Again,
when you think FBI, you think, okay, you just kick
(04:33):
down doors and pull out the gun. No, it's like
its own little world. So they are having their FBI
recruitment event at UTIP September fifth, from three to six pm,
and I just want to plug in there that they're
having if one of you wanted wants to go into
this a little bit more September fourth, Media versus FBI
agents that I don't know why I said yes to it,
but I did. So whoever would like to start talking
(04:55):
about this FBI recruitment event at UTIP.
Speaker 4 (04:58):
So the event is going to be you open to
the public and we welcome everyone to come and ask questions.
You know, you get to talk to special agents as
well as intelligence analysts, professional staff and get their experience
with the Bureau, especially here in apasso, and some people
can even give you insight to traveling and being assigned
to other field offices and their experiences.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Yeah, so you're going to be able to get the
real life explanation because most people have never met an
FBI employee, Right, I never did more great, they probably
wouldn't know, right, they wouldn't know because we don't wear uniforms.
So this is going to be a great opportunity. It's
going to be very interactive. So after you hear like
a short presentation on the steps that it takes, because
it's quite an extensive process to get hired into the
(05:36):
bureau because you get a top secret clearance. But it's
going to be fun. We're going to have our SWAT
team out there, We're going to have our evidence recovery
team out there. We're going to have our physical fitness
advisors out there. We have a pull up bar to
see if anybody can do pull ups. And now'll just
be FBI trivia and you'll get to see we have
automotive mechanics. We're going to talk to our bomb text,
you're going to talk to the secretaries that we have
(05:58):
on board. Right, so you're going to see over five
hundred different job types that the bureau has all end
one evening, so and then we're gonna have computers there
to see if you guys. Actually, when you get hyped
up and you want to join, you can start submitting
your application right then.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
There.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
It's perfect scene at UTEP.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Oh perfect. Yes. Like I said, I went last year
and I don't know why this was surprising to me,
but all of the people that were there representing, you know,
whatever area they were in in the FBI were super friendly,
super passionate about what they did, and they will answer
your questions. And it is very hands on. There's so
many different departments. So again, if you think it's just
about carrying a weapon or breaking down a door, it
is not. They have, you know, people they need for
(06:35):
social media, they have people that they need for computer things,
they have people for everything. So again, the FBI recruitment
event at UTEP September fifth, from three to six pm.
Like Sarah said, it is open to the public. And
even if you're just considering it, you're maybe you're not
sure what you want to do, there is more than
likely going to be something there for you. So, Jeanette,
(06:57):
is there anything else that you would like to tell
the listening audience.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
So I think it's also important to know that the
special agent position is the only one we have to
have the physical fitness exam. So if you don't want
to be the gun totor in the eighteen eleven that's
what we're called, you want to do something else, you
don't have to have the physical fitness exam. You Also,
as agents, we have to retire by fifty seven, but
professional staff and intelligence analysts, all the other positions do
(07:22):
not have an age requirement. And the only reason why
we have that is back in the day, Hoover and
Congress felt that fifty seven was too old to continue
the job, so we are mandated to retire by that time.
We also would like to talk to the veterans that
are out there if you're over that age, because you
have to get in before you're thirty seven, right, We
have age waivers, so we have veterans preference. That's the
(07:44):
only DEI program that's still out there is our veterans preference.
So those of you guys on Fort Bliss and our
veterans please stop buy. We can talk to you guys
about joining the FBI family. Bring your service in the
drive to protect our communities over to us. It's very important,
Like if you have that drive, Like we don't make
a lot of money compared to the private sector, but
(08:06):
if you have that drive to protect the nation, this
is a great place to do it.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
I love that. And Sarah, is there anything else that
you would like to tell the listening audience, maybe a
plea to come to the event or anything like that.
Speaker 4 (08:17):
I just want to give them the opportunity to come
talk to real FBI employees and get that one on
one experience with them and ask any questions that they
might have, yes or any concerns that they might have,
then we can answer right then and there and for
them to have a good time.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
I think that's the best part is being able to
ask in real time. They're actually in that field and
you get to ask them the questions. And like I
said when I talked to them last year, there were
more than willing to share and ask you questions and
answer any questions you may have. So you can find
more information at fbijobs dot gov. You can also find
them on Instagram and Facebook at fbil Paso and on
(08:52):
Power two point one. Sunday ninety nine point nine and
ninety six point three k Country, Instagram and Facebook. We
will also have pictures and all that information available to you.
Jeanette and Sarah, thank you so much for being here
with me today.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
Thank you for having us.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
And Kim Gattio, thank you for taking pictures behind the scene.
We'll talk to you all soon. Welcome to the Alpaso
Public Forum. I am your host, Amber Banda, and today
we have two members of AMPT Guard LARPing Organization. We
have Dusty Marshall, Executive Executive Committee Chair for AMPT Guard International. Dusty,
(09:30):
thank you for being here with me today.
Speaker 5 (09:32):
Thanks for having me, of course.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
And we have Dale Churchill, President of Burning Lands Board
of Directors. Dale, thank you for being here with me today.
Speaker 6 (09:40):
It's a pleasure. Always come back every year.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Okay, I'm going to try. My heart is not to
call you by the name I know you by because
we know each other from a different organization of bikers.
But I digress. So today we're talking again about AMPT
Guard LARPing Organization. Honestly one of my favorite nonprofits to
have in the station, not only for esthetic reasons, and
again if you want to see pictures of them and
know what I'm talking about follow us on power k
(10:02):
Hey or Sonny on our Instagram or Facebook. We're talking
today again about Kingdom of the Burning Lands. Who would
like to talk about what this organization does for the community.
Speaker 6 (10:13):
Look, we are a five oh one c seven nonprofit
dedicated to recreating and building medieval fantasy interactions and community
and our kingdoms or regions LARPing.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
What does that stand for?
Speaker 6 (10:27):
Live action role playing?
Speaker 2 (10:28):
So I've said this before to kind of give people
a picture in their mind. What is that movie?
Speaker 6 (10:34):
Role model?
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Role model? So is that offensive when I mentioned ed
or do you maybe a little?
Speaker 5 (10:41):
It's role Models is based off of a different larning
organization that is out there, more like a game called Nero.
And so for am Guard, we do have our phone weapons,
we do wear the clothes. Some people like to be
in character, some don't. But it's essentially the best way
to explain it is we're playing high speed tag. I
get to hit you with the sword before you hit me,
and if I do.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
I win.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
I love it. I've been to one of the events before.
It was one of the bigger events, and I really
saw the camaraderie. I saw that it's not as easy
it looks it is a physical sport. So Dusty, let
me ask you am to guard LARPing organization. Other than
you know, you get to create costumes, you get to
fight with weapons, you get to play, like you said,
a high speed version of tag. What does this offer
(11:22):
the community?
Speaker 5 (11:24):
Well, I mean for me, I'm chick. My background and
how I got into it. I was a fourteen year
old kid that just huge nerd. I loved baseball and football,
but I was more into comic books. And so we
had a comic book shop in Hobbs, New Mexico, and
I was visit these guys I would hang out after school,
and all of a sudden, these guys came in wearing
clothes like me and Dale are wearing right now, and
I was just like, you guys look weird and stupid.
(11:44):
This is dumb. But long story short, I got caught
up into it and started playing. But it became a
place that I've learned all kinds of sets of skills.
Its help me with my public speaking today. I serve
as a pastor and that's what I do on a
normal level. I've worked in politics in a public speak
fashion as well. I've done a lot of these things.
I've learned to sew, I've learned to paint, I've learned
(12:05):
to cook and do all kinds of stuff because of
this game itself and the people and the camaraderie that
comes with it. So it's definitely more than just showing
up and hitting people with foam swords and acting silly
or goofy. There's a lot of insight and a lot
of things that can happen because of the game that
you can benefit from in your real life.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
I love that. And Dale, you've talked a little bit about,
you know, how it brings certain people out of their shell,
especially kids that maybe feel like they're part of a
fringe group or anything like that. Can you tell us
a little bit more about that.
Speaker 6 (12:35):
Absolutely, it is definitely a place where people find their tribe.
Like Jessie said, we all kind of start off as nerds,
not really knowing where we fit in, and then we
find this organization and it's a place where we fit in.
We learn how to be more vocal, we learn who
we are, We get to experience, you know, the fantastical,
you know, in a modern day setting. Instead of living
(12:56):
humdrum Mundane lives, going in and out you know, really incredible.
I bring my kids out and I get to watch
them grow and let their imaginations grow develop run wild
as they get to you know, slagh dragons and monsters
and you know, just have the best of time.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
And be athletic. You know, go outside and move around outside,
and you know, it's kind of like when you dress
up for Halloween and you're behind a mask and you
can be anyone you want to be. Now, just imagine
being able to do that on a regular basis with
people that support you and they encourage you. And it's
not a negative thing because it's kind of like in
a sense journaling. You're getting out those feelings in a
physical way, right, and that's always healthy. So if you're
(13:35):
just tuning in, we have Dusty Marshall, Executive Committee chair
for ampt Guard International, and Dale Churchill, President of Burning
Land's Board of Directors for ampt Guard LARPing Organization. Now
I'm going to give you both a chance to tell
the listening audience a little bit more something in a bit.
But first I want to talk about an event that
(13:55):
you have every year called the Food Fight. It's going
to be all month of September starting September first, who
would like to start talking about what this event is.
Speaker 5 (14:04):
Sure, I'll go ahead and take that one. If Dale
will just sit to the side and look pretty for
a minute, that's fine. Too easy, Yeah, too easy for him.
So the Ampcart Food Fighter is what we did is
numerous years ago, few guys got together and decided that
they realized one of the biggest needs instead of our communities,
were usually our food pantries or homeless shelters, places that
provided a place for people to come and eat and
(14:25):
have free food. And every September, those numbers dropped for them,
Their food pantries would drop. You have as many donations
that are coming in, finances are a little bit lower,
and for some reason, it was just always September. So
nationally that was just the statistic that people found to
be true. So you can find some of those things
you're like Feeding America things like that, and find that
type of information. So they started this thing and it
(14:47):
was just a couple of our regions that competed together
to win a banner, a really really nice cool banner. Yeah,
and then that just grew nationwide, and that grew to
cover our whole organization, which covers Canada and the United States.
So every year we come together and we push all
of our groups, all of our people to donate you know,
nonperishable food, to donate volunteer hours, to give finances as
(15:08):
they can, and to be honest with finances is the
most powerful thing that you can give in this in
this you know sector and context. Because a nonprofit organization
that's doing food, like food pantries, one dollar that I
would go buy a food off the shelf for them,
with the partnerships they have in networking they have, they
can do about three to four times what that dollar
would do in my hands. So we usually encourage try
(15:28):
to give as much financially as you can. But yeah,
we've been doing that, and so for the whole time
that we've been doing I think it's been about what
ten years, fifteen years, we've collected over forty thousand dollars
in just donations. From last year in twenty twenty four,
we've watched people give hundreds of thousands of hours and
(15:49):
just volunteer hours. We've donated over four forty thousand pounds
of food in the past fifteen years as well, and
so it's something that we've really are passionate about and
for me personally being a pastor and southern New Mexico,
we have a food pantry. And it's true for some
reason you hit September, the end of August, the beginning
of October, donations drop off. And so this is really
what we try to come together as a group to
(16:10):
do what we can with the thirty thousand plus players
that we have in our game.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Ow. Interesting, I didn't know that about September. And when
it's when you say food fight, there's different chapters of Aptguard, correct,
So you're kind of all against not against each other, right,
it's all for the collective whole, but you're each trying
to see who can collect the most food, hence the
name food Fight.
Speaker 5 (16:29):
Yes. And so how it's organized is we have twenty
three different kingdoms and so just think of those as regions.
And so for our region here it covers al Paso, Alpine, Texas,
Almagordon and New Mexico, Hobbs, New Mexico, Rio Rancho. What
else am I forgetting Cloudcroft? Cloud Croft? Would you got Cloudcraft?
Speaker 7 (16:44):
Oh?
Speaker 5 (16:44):
And Tucumcarre. Yeah, we have Tupe and care in New
Mexico now too. I forgot about that. Those guys are
going to kill me because I forgot Anyways, he didn't.
So we have that region, and then you have another
region called the Kingdom of Dragon Spine, and that's Los
Crusis and every part every other part of New Mexico
and Arizona. But there's twenty three regions all together. So
they collectively compete withinside of their own kingdoms to raise
(17:05):
the most stuff and each food item and each amount
of money, and each volunteer gets so many points withinside
of the competition, and you try to place a winner
for each kingdom. So for the last two years for
us for Burning Lands, we've placed third overall.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
Oh so we're going for number one this year.
Speaker 5 (17:21):
That's right, yeah, right, always yeah. I've had the pleasure
to be our international Food Fight before in the past.
I've also played in other kingdoms, being in West Texas
before I moved over here, and so for the region
over there, we got first place one year. And it's
a fun event, but we really get to see the
impact that happens with people that are in great need
sometimes and provide something that's just not there or at
(17:43):
least kind of fill a gap. Oh yeah, that's been short.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
Food and security is definitely a huge gap here in
the border city and we are running out of time.
But I do want to let people know Kingdom of
the Burning Lands they are accepting food donations and they
will be accepting monetary donations to fight food and security.
Can people donate or where can people donate if they
want to help out.
Speaker 5 (18:03):
I would say they can contact either one of us
or just contact ustudent most of our social media like
Facebook pages and stuff, so they could look for the
Kingdom of the Burning Lands and just try to find
El Paso as the game itself ampguard actually started here
in El Paso in nineteen eighty three, and so we can,
you know, so they can reach out to us through
that easy We can make contact and show them where
(18:23):
to take stuff and donate to us.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Perfect So find them especially on Facebook AMT Guard Kingdom
of the Burning Lands and again on Parno two point one,
Sunday ninety nine point nine and ninety six point three
k Hey Country. On our Instagram and Facebook, that information
will be up as well. You can send a message
there or send a message to my personal Instagram Amber
Underscore Bonda nine one five Dusty and Dale. Thank you
(18:45):
so much for being here with me today.
Speaker 5 (18:46):
Ah, You're welcome, thank you, absolutely pleasure, thank you.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
Welcome back to the El Paso Public Forum. I'm our host, Amberbanda,
and today we have two people here from Roots Helping Hands.
Yes it's in the car dealership. We have Danielle Alba,
board director of Rudolph Helping Hands. Danielle, thank you for
being here with us today.
Speaker 8 (19:08):
Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Of course ate it. And we have Claudia Aguhi, lad
board member of Rudolph Helping Hands. Claudia, thank you for
being here with me, Thank you, thank you for having
us so fun fact, my real name is actually Claudia,
so you know, it's the only time I were going
to say this on the show because everyone knows me
as Amber, so your name will be easy to remember.
But Danielle, I want to ask you, first board director
of Rudolph Helping Hands, what is Rudolph Helping Hands.
Speaker 8 (19:32):
So, Rudolph Helping Hands is our nonprofit organization. We are
founded by the Rudolf Auto Group, which is a locally
owned dealership group that has been serving Al Paso for
sixty five years. Oh so yeah, Rudolf Helping Hands is
built on a strong tradition of community involvement and that's
what we are. I mean, we're just a nonprofit that
is trying to get back awesome.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Yeah, iheartworks a lot with Rudolph, and so I was
telling you earlier. I just happened to find out about
this event because it was a flyer in the bathroom,
like perfect. And Claudia, you're one of the board members
of Rudolph Helping Hands. So why did you decide to
become a board member?
Speaker 7 (20:08):
You know, we spend so much time on a daily
basis at work and I noticed that we had a
nonprofit organization and I wanted to become a part of
it because I also wanted to just put my little
seedback into the community and give back. And volunteer work
is something that helps you feel like you are doing something.
And I said, this is a perfect opportunity for me.
(20:29):
Let me join. How do I join?
Speaker 2 (20:31):
Yeah? They say that volunteering is one of the most
selfish things you can do because it makes you feel
so right've and giving back. I know it sounds bad,
but it's really you know true. And Danielle, why did
you decide to be a part of Rudolph Helping Hands.
Speaker 8 (20:44):
Well, growing up, I've always volunteered. I mean it's been
in me. I At twelve years old, I started volunteering
at a senior center, a senior citizen center, and ever
since then, I just I fell in love with it.
I love doing things for people, giving back, being involved,
just feeling like a part of something that makes a difference.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
Yeah, I love that. And so with Rudolph Helping Hands.
Before we get into the main event, it's actually going
to be your second annual, you had mentioned that Rudolph
Helping Hands had done some things with other organizations, maybe
some little sponsorships here and there. What other ways has
Rudolph Helping Hands helped.
Speaker 8 (21:21):
Yeah, I mean for years, we've always been giving back.
So we do a lot of sponsorships. We give back
to different schools, sports organizations, you know, within the schools.
The YWCAs done a lot of work with Lee Moore
giving back during the holidays. You know, we'll do like
backpacks and coats for the children who are in need
(21:43):
at different schools. So things like that.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Oh awesome. And Claudia, what of those events that she listed,
what events have you been a part of the Coats
Drive that we did about a year and a half ago.
Speaker 7 (21:55):
That one is the one that made me want to
join the nonprofit organization because we had these children come
to the dealership as the pickup spot from their schools.
Oh wow, and just seeing the kids with their families
come in and turn in this little car that has
their information and like you really feel for them. You
could see it in their person that they really need
(22:16):
these codes, and I was like, I want to do more.
Once I saw that, I was like this cannot be
it Like this made me really involve. And then the
lee Moour was another time that we did a tour
the le Moour facility and that just hit me hard.
I was like I need to do more.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Yeah, yeah, I'm very familiar with the Leemore Home and
the good things that they do, and that's amazing that
you actually got to see the kids go to the
It's one thing when you make a donation, but then
to see the actual impact it makes you know. I'm
a mom of two, I have a nineteen eight ten
year old, and you know it's just whatever you need
a code, let's go to Burlington. You outgrew it and
there's a lot of people out there that they can't
have access to these things, which is why you fund
(22:55):
raise and you have these events so that we can
raise money to be able to give back to the community.
And again, and if you're just joining us, I have
Danielle Alva, board director of Rudolph Helping Hands and Claudia Alghi,
lad board member of Rudolph Helping Hands. Now, if you
want to help, you want to donate funds, you want
to donate your time to this organization. Again, I didn't
know that Rudolf the Auto Group had been and I'll
(23:17):
passle that long over sixty five years. You said, oh
my five years, Oh my goodness. So you know, and
it's it's very important I think when these big type
of businesses do give back to the community. So there's
an event coming up. It's a second annual. I'll let
you fight amongst each other to talk to see who's
going to talk about it first, but who would like
to talk about the second annual changing lives in nine
(23:38):
to one to five. Who wants to go first?
Speaker 7 (23:39):
I'll give you yes.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
I'll go first.
Speaker 8 (23:42):
So the second annual event, it's a race, you know,
it's a five k and AK one mile and AK
Oh my god, yes, and AK if we wanted to
kind of stand out from the other races are in town,
so we thought an AK would be a little more competitive.
But it's not just a race, it's also a family
(24:02):
fund vendor event, so we're inviting the entire community to
come out so you can shop local vendors, support local
always right, and have fun with your family. We have
a dunk tank. We're going to have.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
Who's going to be in the dunk tank? Are you
really not me? Couldn't be me.
Speaker 8 (24:21):
We're gonna have jumping balloons, face painting, face painting, and
bull ride.
Speaker 7 (24:30):
Yes, the mechanical bright Oh nice.
Speaker 8 (24:33):
That's new this year, but I mean it is our
second annual. Last year was so successful that we just
had to make it an annual event for sure.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
What made last year successful? How did that go?
Speaker 8 (24:44):
Well? We had four hundred and fifty sign ups for
the first time, so that wow, I mean kind of amazing. Yeah,
and just the whole community showed up. It wasn't just
you know, the runners, it was different schools, different organizations,
police department. I mean they were one of our beneficiaries
last year. So the community came together, our sponsors, they
(25:04):
brought their teams. It was just nice to see everyone
come together. It made it a huge success that we
couldn't not do it so year after year.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
You know, so this year you're looking for five hundred
or more, right, six hundred seven hundred? Have everyone represent Yes,
we have.
Speaker 8 (25:20):
I think it's like forty one days something like that
remaining until the race, and we are ahead of last
year's sign up awesome, sign up early so you can
make sure you get a shirt.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
Yes, okay, and Glaudia, do you have all those details
of where people can sign up and how much and
all that good stuff.
Speaker 7 (25:38):
Yes. So you will find our sign up link on
our Instagram bio which is Rudolph Helping Hands our handle,
but you can also find it on the run sign
up website. The race is called even Need to Search.
It is changing lives in nine one five, and it's
going to be again October fifth.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
It starts promptly.
Speaker 7 (25:55):
At eight in the morning and in last till noon
we will have live music from the Roulettes right after
the rails that I know a lot of people did,
and like Danielle said, there's gonna be food trucks vendors.
Last year, we did have the four hundred plus sign
ups for the race, but we also had about eight
hundred people be out there just enjoying the vendor part
(26:16):
of it and the food trucks, and we did have
a live DJ at the time, one of our our DJs,
and then we had raffles, which we will have again
this year. We will have like raffles like every maybe
thirty minutes, really nice prices.
Speaker 2 (26:31):
Last year we had.
Speaker 7 (26:31):
TVs being raffled, these new Honda Moto compactos. A lot
of our sponsors also donated gifts to give, like o'riley's AutoZone,
things like that.
Speaker 1 (26:40):
Nice.
Speaker 7 (26:41):
But that's gonna be October fifth, starting at eight in
the morning at Ascot at the Park. It's a really
nice venue, as some of you guys know, Scott at
the Park is revamping, so it's really nice to run
by the lake or even just hang out there by
the lake. But yeah, that's that's gonna be it. That
sounds like a lot of fun. So you're going to
be the one that's in the dunk crasib who's getting
(27:06):
You're going to do both both.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
Then I'll be filming. Okay, you gotta do the social
media right. Yes, exactly so. Again. Rudolph Helping Hands their
second annual Changing Lives in nine one to five Sunday,
October fifth. Mark your calendars from eight to twelve five
KAK if you're ambitious, or even a one mile fun walk,
or I guess you could technically walk the AK right
if you just want to get in all your steps
at ascot at the park again, go to Rudolph Helpinghands
(27:30):
dot com for more info, or in their Instagram link
look for Rudolph Helping Hands. That information will be there,
and of course on pound of two point one Sunday
ninety nine point nine and ninety six point three Ka Country,
we will have that information there for you. Danielle and Gladia,
thank you so much for being here with me today.
Speaker 3 (27:45):
Thank you for having us.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
You've been listening to El Paso Public Forum, a weekly
public affairs presentation of iHeartRadio l Paso. If you, your
organization or event would like to be featured on an
upcoming program, please email to ep Forum at iHeartMedia dot
com or call us at nine one five three five
one five four zero zero. Tune in again next week
(28:07):
for another additional of El Paso Public Forum. The preceding
program was recorded at the studios of iHeartRadio El Paso
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