Chamber Mission To serve our members and enhance economic and community developmentChamber VisionTo be recognized as a vital resource, providing relevant, innovative and impactful programming that produces a health business climate and an enhanced quality of life.InsideMember Profile .........................................................................................................................................................................................2Chamber Chat...........................................................................................................................................................................................3Business of the Month ...........................................................................................................................................................................5Ribbon Cuttings .......................................................................................................................................................................................8Golf Classic Results 2018 .....................................................................................................................................................................10Welcome New Members .....................................................................................................................................................................11Vol. 26 | Issue 12 December 2018Discover the results of the Chamber Golf Classic that took place Nov. 14-15. >> Page 10It’s time to celebrate our 50th anniversaryThe board of directors and staff of the Texas City – La Marque Chamber of Commerce requests you to dine in style for the 50th Annual Membership Banquet & Reception. Come celebrate our 50th anniversary on Jan. 31 for our Annual Banquet, “Stronger Together since 1969.” We will celebrate with entertainment and awards.Sponsorship packages:Sponsorship includes private receptionSip Sip Hooray! — Three corporate tables seating 24 people at $3,000. Includes preferred seating for three tables of eight people each, centerpiece, wine at your table, complimentary open bar for you and your guests, recognition in the program and 24 tickets to the pri-vate sponsor reception.Fantastic — Two corporate tables seat-ing 16 people at $2,500. Includes preferred seating for two tables of eight people each, centerpiece, wine at your table, complimentary open bar for you and your guests, recognition in the program and 16 tickets to the pri-vate sponsor reception.Nifty — One corporate table seating eight people at $1,500.Includes preferred seating for eight peo-ple, centerpiece, wine at your table, compli-mentary open bar for you and your guests, recognition in the program and eight tickets to the private sponsor reception.Non-sponsor tickets:Reserved tables at $1,000 per table.A single business table includes pre-ferred seating for eight people, centerpiece and a bottle of wine.Individual tickets at $85 per person with open seating.A wine reception will be held at 6:00 p.m. for inside the banquet room of the Doyle Convention Center. The evening will begin at 6:30 p.m.Pete Dunn Jr., 2018 chairman; Dunn Heat Exchangers, will pass the gavel to the 2019 chairman, Sergio Matute; Eastman-Texas City Chemical.The banquet program will include the presentation and installation of the 2019 Chamber officers and directors, as well as naming the Outstanding Citizen of the Year, Small Business of the Year, Large Business SEE BANQUET ON PAGE 92 | Chamber Express | December 2018Chamber Express NewsletterThe publication of the Texas City-La Marque Chamber of Commerce is published monthly (second Sunday of the month). Some content and photos provided as a courtesy by The Galveston County Daily News.Editorials & Photos:Lorrie Koster, Texas City- La Marque Chamber of Commerce409-935-1408Advertising:The Galveston County Daily News409-683-5224advertising@galvnews.comTexas City-La Marque Chamber of Commerce9702 E.F. Lowry ExpresswayTexas City, Texas 77590409-935-1408www.texascitychamber.comShawn BaileyAMOCO Federal Credit UnionDhaval BuchThe Dow Chemical Co.Sally BriggsGulf Greyhound ParkAaron CameronAshlandJay CarnesCarnes Funeral HomeDr. Rodney CavnessTexas City Independent School DistrictCraig ColelliFaust DistributingWendy CollierBP Texas City ChemicalsKedge CookCook FordJayson DavisMarathon PetroleumChris DeVriesStandard Steel SupplyJames DickinsonKodiak Metals RecyclingJack DillBay Ltd.Pete Dunn, Jr.Dunn Heat ExchangersRaymond GuidryTennille, Inc.Jason HayleyPort of Texas CityJames HartshornCity of Texas CityRich HernandezMarathon Petroleum GBRAlan HutchinsA & A Machine & FabricationManny LopezEl Cubano Cigar FactoryJim MacPhersonValero RefiningSergio MatuteEastman Chemical — Texas City, Inc.Genevieve McGarveyMcLeod, Alexander, Powel & ApffelColleen Merritt La Marque Economic Development Corp.Georgia MeyerKarat Creations JewelryTripp MontalboMainland Medical CenterDr. Warren Nichols College of the MainlandPerry O’BrienDomac, Inc.Phillip OrangeTeam Mancuso Power SportsRusty PlackemeierLyons & PlackemeierKitty PotterTexas First BankPhil RobertsRoberts, Johnson & Cain AttorneysBecky Trout UnbehagenUTMBDiana VazquezTNMPBoard of DirectorsQ: Tell us a little about your background.A: Hensley Consulting Services: Counseling & Guidance, PLLC began five years ago in Webster. Immediately after graduating with a degree in family therapy, I began applying to every job I could. The struggle was evident but didn’t defeat my drive to help others. I started my own business in a very tiny room and volunteered with charities. Over time, I built my practice through referrals and expanded my office space and my knowledge.This year, I moved my practice to my hometown with the intention of benefiting my personal community. My personal mission is to assist individuals, couples and families in realizing their full potential and attaining the lives they deserve. Q: How would you summarize what you do?A: I am a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of Texas whose passion is to help individuals, couples and families develop new, more helpful skills to enhance their lives and relationships. I have a natural ability to build a strong rapport with people from all walks of life, meeting them “where they are.” I am well trained and experienced in working with many common individual and relational issues. I am a Certified Anger Resolution Therapist (CART) with experience facilitating anger management groups and workshops. I am also comfortable working on an individual, couple or family level with emotional dysregulation and often show how to channel these emotions through creative pursuits. As a collaborative therapist, I believe the client is the expert on his or her life. My goal is to aid clients in reaching their full potential by developing heightened self-awareness through active practices. Because no two people or families are alike, I utilize several psychological theories and different types of therapeutic interventions depending on the needs of the family, couple or individual. My main approach is solution-focused. I enjoy using music and other popular media, particularly with teens, to improve critical thinking skills and increase self-awareness.Q: How has your business evolved over time?A: My business is always evolving, as am I. As we gain more knowledge on therapeutic interventions, it is important to stay up-to-date on evidence-based techniques; however, what’s been the biggest part of my evolution is the reciprocal knowledge gained from the experience of doing therapy. We all have something to learn, as well as something to teach. Refraining from judgment and bias allows the opportunity to gain new perspectives and to evolve with the world around us. I pride myself on maintaining this open-minded perspective to assist others in finding and following their passion for life.That being said, I have had a beautiful journey from that small storage closet when I first began. I have grown my practice to encompass more work in the community, including speaking engagements, skills trainings, and a monthly newsletter. I am so grateful to have achieved so much in such a small period of time. MEMBER PROFILEEditor’s note: Our Texas City-La Marque Chamber of Commerce members have amazing talents and stories to tell. With this series we want to introduce you to some of our members and spotlight their businesses. If you would like to be spotlighted in our Member Profile, contact Lorrie Koster at lorrie@texascitychamber.com.Hensley Consulting Services: Counceling & Guidance, PLLCRachel Hensley, MA, LMFT, CARTSEE MEMBER PROFILE ON PAGE 4December 2018 | Chamber Express | 3CHAMBER CHAT6th Street Garage Bar & GrillTexas City’s 6th Street continues to at-tract new businesses. Vincent Pandanell is planning to open 6th Street Garage Bar & Grill at 522 Sixth St. in late No-vember. The establishment will feature live music on the weekends, nearly 30 TVs showing sports, a bar and a lot of seating for a family friendly lunch or dinner.— The Daily News Baytown Seafood demolished,made way for Chick-fil-A Crews have demolished the building that Baytown Seafood vacated at Palm-er Plaza shopping center, 3440 Palmer Highway. The demolition makes way for a much awaited Chick-fil-A to rise. Bay-town Seafood will be moving into the former China Buffet location, along with another restaurant.— The Daily NewsPlanet Fitness moving locationsPlanet Fitness plans to remodel and occupy part of the former Marathon Galveston Bay Refinery business office building, 3401 Palmer Highway.Planet Fitness bills itself as one of the largest and fastest-growing franchi-sors and operators of fitness centers. No word on an opening date.— The Daily NewsBaton Rouge firm buysMainland Bank in 19.9M dealA Baton Rouge company, Investar Hold-ing Corp., said it had entered into a defin-itive agreement to acquire Mainland Bank, which is headquartered in Texas City. The transaction, which boards of directors for each company had approved, is expected to close in the first quarter next year. For Mainland Bank, the acquisition would provide additional financial strength and the expanded resources of a larger banking enterprise, Investar officials said. Mainland Bank would change its name to Investar, but much of the branch staff is expected to remain after the acquisition, Investar officials said.— The Daily NewsBirdie’s tees up for La Marque SiteLa Marque continues to attract restaurants and shops to its downtown Renaissance District. The latest to tee up is Birdie’s Eatery, which owners Robert and Tina Steinhaus describe as an American fusion, golf-themed restaurant and hangout. They also bill the restaurant as eco-friendly with a mission to buy from local vendors and to serve farm-to-table food. Look for a winter opening of the 401 Laurel St. eatery, which will serve lunch and dinner and will offer pickup orders and local catering delivery. Menu items will include wings, gourmet sandwiches and burgers, salads and hot and cold soups, to name a few. — The Daily NewsAbout the projectNextDecade’s Galveston Bay LNG is a proposed natural gas liquefaction and liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility in Texas City. A new pipeline would deliver natural gas directly to the facility. • 994-acre site within the Texas City Industrial Complex • Three trains with total production capacity of 16.5 mtpa (metric tonnes per annum)• Four LNG storage tanks • Shipping facilities with deepwater port access and with supporting ma-rine infrastructure• Gas supply from Permian Ba-sin, Barnett Shale, Haynesville Shale, Galveston Bay LNGproject updateNextDecade Corporation, a global liq-uefied natural gas (LNG) development company, will host two public meetings in January to share information about its proposed Galveston Bay LNG export terminal in Texas City and an associated pipeline. The open houses are part of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commis-sion (FERC) pre-filing process.• 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Jan. 16 at the Rosenberg Civic and Convention Cen-ter, 3825 Highway 36 South, Rosen-berg.• 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Jan. 17 at the Nessler Center, 2010 Fifth Ave. N., Tex-as City.COURTESYConstruction begins on a Chick-fil-A that is being built at the Palmer Plaza shopping center.SEE CHAMBER CHAT ON PAGE 44 | Chamber Express | December 2018Q: What are some of your proudest accomplishments?A: As someone who was told to give up on having a successful life at a very young age, my proudest accomplishments are based around education. After having my first child and dropping out of high school at 16, I obtained my GED after being told by my school counselor that my options in life were now limited. Walking across the stage to accept my college degree was one of the proudest moments of my life. I went on to receive two more degrees and the licenses that helped me start my own business. I have academic publications, I was the president of my student association, I obtained a position as a lab supervisor and conducted my own research. I am also a professor at my alma mater, UHCL, teaching critical thinking skills to our future generation. This is why I focus on determination and resilience with clients who feel as though everyone else has given up on them. I want them to have the proud moments they deserve, so I believe in others and hold on to their hope until they are able to do so themselves.Q: What are you working on now?A: Currently, I am involved in teaming up with other therapists in our community to offer mental health services for the small-business owners in the area. Small businesses rarely offer amenities like an Employee Assistance Program, not because they don’t care about their employees, but because it is not within their budget to afford this type of service. HCS: Counseling & Guidance, PLLC and Healthy Foundations are teaming up to offer a solution to this problem. What are we working on now? A free EAP program for employers of small businesses to offer their employees discounted mental health services. This costs the employer nothing, yet still offers the services of a traditional EAP. Additionally, psycho-educational workshops will be offered to the company’s employees as a whole and include topics like managing conflict and stress, developing interpersonal effectiveness and positive communication strategies to improve workplace performance. By offering this support to local small businesses, we hope to improve the overall well-being of our community.MEMBER PROFILEContinued from page 2Eagle Ford Shale and intercon-nects with multiple interstate and intrastate pipelines reaching back throughout the U.S.• Delivered through new, 97-mile-long pipeline from Katy Gas Hub Economic impactA multibillion-dollar project expected to generate:• About 5,000 construction jobs at peak• 200 permanent operations jobs• About 1,500 indirect jobs in Galveston County• Job skills training Anticipated timeline• 2018 – Initial federal regulato-ry filings • 2021 – Federal Energy Regu-latory Commission (FERC) expect-ed to issue draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)• 2022 – Federal Energy Regu-latory Commission (FERC) expect-ed to issue final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)• 2022 – Final Investment Deci-sion (FID) and construction start anticipated after requisite com mercial and regulatory milestones• 2027 – Commercial operations expected to beginCorps recommends $23Bcoastal barrierThe U.S. Army Corps Engineers recently officially announced its preferred alternative for protect-ing the Texas coast from damag-ing storm surges: a 76-mile long system of barriers and gates built along Galveston Island, Bolivar Peninsula and inside Galveston Bay. The plan is estimated to cost between $23 billion and $30 bil-lion, according to the official an-nouncement. The announcement comes after three years of study by the Army Corps, and more than 10 years since Hurricane Ike’s storm surge flooded Galveston Island and parts of the mainland.— The Daily NewsCHAMBER CHATContinued from page 3December 2018 | Chamber Express | 5Robert Balderas – Roofing Specialist409-945-6920MAINLANDTOOLFAST • FRIENDLY • LOCAL2830 TEXAS AVE., TEXAS CITYStore Hours: Mon-Fri: 7am-6pmMAINLANDTOOL.COMMAINLAND TOOLWe have quality tools for any job!Rent • Sales • Repair409-948-449724 Hour Call Out Service AvailableBUSINESS OF THE MONTHTexas City Family Dentistry7111 Medical Center Drive, Suite 105Texas City, TX 77591409-938-1700RepresentativeDr. Brent Patterson, DDSTexas City Family Dentistry was founded almost 20 years ago by Texas City natives Brent Patterson, DDS (TCHS Class of ’89) and Michele Medley Patterson (TCHS Class of ’88) with the desire to create a dental office that provides an enjoyable experience for the entire family while also giving back to the community. After grad-uation from Texas A&M and UTHSC in San Antonio, Dr. Patterson decided what better community to serve than his hometown and Galveston County. Texas City Family Dentistry’s reputation for the highest customer satisfaction and quality work combined with a family atmosphere allowed the office to expand to a second location in League City. With both offices using state-of-the-art equipment as well as having kid’s game rooms, TVs over the chairs and a friendly staff, dentistry can truly be an enjoyable experience for the entire family.Texas City Family Dentistry has been an active member of the Texas City-La Marque Chamber of Commerce for almost 20 years. Dr. Patterson has been a past president of the TCLM Jaycees, the 9th District Dental Society and a board member of the TCISD Foundation for the Future. Over the last 15 years, both offices have gone into local elementary schools for Dental Heath Month and provided free screenings and toothbrushes to thousands of local children. They are currently participating in an “Angel Tree,” which provides presents for kids in need. Texas City Family Dentistry is thrilled to be “Business of the Month” and looks forward to many more years of serving the people of Galveston County.6 | Chamber Express | December 2018December 2018 | Chamber Express | 78 | Chamber Express | December 2018SERVICING YOU IS A PLEASURE409-948-4589My clients say I am their“Favorite Realtor”.Over forty-three (43) yearsservicing Galveston CountyWanda AblesRealtor®/Broker Associatewmables@aol.com822 6th Street NorthTexas City, TX 77590409-771-4775 Cell409-948-4589 Direct409-948-2321 FaxRIBBON CUTTINGSAuntie Anne’s / CinnabonTanger Outlet5885 Gulf Freeway, Suite 340, Texas City281-337-1071Representative: Robert DerieuxDental Cosmetic Center - Bay AreaJohn Hackbarth, DDS, PA1708 Amburn Road Suite A, Texas City409-935-2111Representative: John Hackbarth, DDSEdifice Group - DBA Palmer Plaza3939 Washington Suite 200, Houston713-668-7400Representative: Josh AruhDecember 2018 | Chamber Express | 9u need any type of refractory material on or repair, call us. 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You will get superior quality products and services, when and where you need them. TRIR 0.00 for 3+ years running8412 Mosley Road Houston, Texas 77075Phone: 713-378-9200 Fax: 713-378-9103 www.diamondrefractory.com Absolute Commitment: Absolute Results!• FCCU Turnarounds• Sulphur Unit Turnarounds• Furnaces & Heaters• Acid Linings & Coatings• Power Boilers• Concrete Restoration• FireproofingBANQUETContinued from page 1Prepare for leadershipMany people be-lieve that lead-ers are simply born with the qualities that put them at the top. However, the Texas City-La Marque Chamber of Commerce Leadership Mainland class is helping business people from all over the community get a leg up on the game. The mission of Lead-ership Mainland is “to develop, energize and help engage the lead-ership potential of men and women in the Texas City, La Marque and Mainland communities.” Since 1988, has done just that. The objectives of Leadership Mainland are challenging. They are aimed at facilitating the emergence of lead-ers in private and public endeavors and utilizing the resources of current leaders in the commu-nity. Over the course of a year, members of Lead-ership Mainland partic-ipate in monthly field trips and activities that are aimed at teaching more about the com-munities in which they live and work. Day-long sessions and tours on subjects such as city and county government, the petrochemical industry, economic development and tourism, media and social services, and the Port of Texas City expose class members to sub-jects on which they may not be familiar. They also introduce them to key civic leaders that may be able to help them in the future. An overnight class trip to Austin provides a fun way for Leadership Main-land classmates to not only learn more about state offices and govern-ment, but to get to know each other on a more personal level and to de-velop lasting friendships and business contacts. Membership in the class requires a time commitment of about one day per month for nine months. Participa-tion in a minimum of 70 percent of scheduled events is required in or-der for members to grad-uate from the course.An orientation for about 20 prospective members will be held in February at the Chamber office, but the group is still accepting applica-tions. For additional infor-mation on Leadership Mainland, contact Derek Duckett at 409-935-1408.of the Year and the Jimmy Hayley Com-munity Service Award. Your input is needed to nominate citizens to be considered for these pres-tigious awards. Please take time to nom-inate a deserving person and business for these awards. Thank you for your continued support of the Texas City – La Marque Cham-ber of Commerce. We look forward to sharing the atmosphere of thanks and recognition on Jan. 31 as we celebrate our 50th Anniversary. Award nominations:The Texas City-La Marque Chamber of Commerce will honor three out-standing individuals at the 50th Annual Banquet for the following categories:Outstanding Citizen AwardThis award is based on accomplish-ments and community involvement for the year 2018.Jimmy Hayley CommunityService AwardA citizen who has continually demon-strated an unselfish commitment to our community over the past several years. Small Business of the YearA locally owned business with less than 100 employees, which has experi-enced outstanding growth, demonstrated involvement in community service and accomplishments or awards during 2018.Large Business of the YearA locally owned business with more than 100 employees, which has experi-enced outstanding growth, demonstrat-ed involvement in community service and accomplishments or awards during 2018. Send in your nominations to the Chamber office at P.O. Box 1717, Texas City, TX 77592. For more infor-mation, contact the Chamber office at 409-935-1408.Next >