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....................................................................................................................................................................................3 & 4Thank you Thursday ...............................................................................................................................................................................6Business of the Month ...........................................................................................................................................................................8Show of Gratitude ...................................................................................................................................................................................9Shrimp Boil ..............................................................................................................................................................................................10New Members ........................................................................................................................................................................................11Vol. 24 | Issue 7 July 2019Thank you to the people and businesses who are a part of our team >> Page 6With the wrap up of the 86th Texas legislative session in our rear-view mirror, let’s look at the out-come of our Chamber’s Advocacy efforts during the past several months. Many drafts and long discussions were involved in finalizing the Cham-ber’s Legislative Agenda. Knowing that success would be possible only by targeting key issues and keeping a clear focus on those priorities, such as the areas of education, water, storm surge and windstorm. Our com-mittee was active and engaged through reso-lutions, testimony, trips to Austin and continued communication with not only our legislators, but the appropriate elected officials who provided the power and will to make things happen.Realizing that the total overhaul and perfecting of our public school fi-nance system was totally idealistic, the resulting HB3, sponsored by Sen. Larry Taylor is a valid effort and one that will become more under-standable as the funding formulas are finalized. This certainly will be monetarily beneficial per student and benefi-cial to our teachers, but the final numbers are still to be discerned. School safety was another priority, and the expertise that Texas City ISD was able to share through many weeks of testimony proved to be beneficial to the final outcomes of improved legisla-tion. Certainly, school finance reform will con-tinue and our Chamber will always keep educa-tion as a top priority as we move forward.Our strongest win was legislation to move the development of Allen’s Creek Reservoir forward. This development is necessary to provide the necessary water for the growth of our industrial base. This winning effort will result in the ability for our communities to expand, improve facili-ties and prosper in the coming years. Had it not been for steadfast com-mitment to move this legislative in a positive direction, the outcome could have proven disas-trous for the economic future of Texas City and La Marque. Our Chamber had several champions who led these efforts and kept the communication flowing from Austin to our Advocacy Com-mittee in order for our needs to be heard and fulfilled. Many thanks to Ivan Langford, Gulf Coast Water Authority and our industry and chamber partners who assisted in strongly pushing this movement in the right direction.Windstorm was another item on our agenda, and the efforts to disallow the increase requested by TWIA in windstorm insurance was successful. Coastal com-munities deserve afford-able rates and excessively high premiums lead to under-insurance. Along the same lines, action to create a coastal storm surge protection system was an item that did not gain much momentum and will be an issue that we will be working on for many years to come. Sometimes the uphill bat-tle is just that — and we will continue the pursuit of safety and security for our coastal region.Special thanks to Sen. Larry Taylor, Rep. Mayes Middleton and Rep. Dr. Greg Bonnen for their efforts on our behalf. All in all, the session leaves the Texas City–La Marque Chamber of Commerce Advocacy Committee, chaired by Phil Roberts and Chris DeVries, in a success-ful spirit, knowing that there is always more work to be done, but looking in the rear view mirror with pride. To view the Chamber’s 2019 Legislative Agen-da go to: tclmchamber.com/page/comm_legis-lative_actionTo join the Chamber’s Advocacy Committee, contact Jenny Senter at the Chamber or by email at jenny@texascity chamber.com.Chamber achieves wins in 86th legislative session2 |Chamber Express | July 2019Tell us a little about your background.I am the owner of Richard Productions Profes-sional Photography & Video. I’m a Texas City na-tive and live in Hitchcock. I have been performing work professionally since 1982 and have been in business full-time since 2000. I specialize in practi-cally every form of photography and video pro-duction service, including commercial/advertising, events, business portraits, families and weddings. I am also a licensed remote pilot with the FAA, offering a variety of aerial imaging to my clients.How would you summarize what you do?While hiring contract workers from time to time to assist at large functions, I prefer to handle the majority of work on my own. From initial consultations and job planning, to the camera work and editing, which gives clients peace of mind knowing that every detail will be addressed without exception. I am extremely responsive to my clients, and my turnaround times are second to none.How has your business evolved over time?As one could imagine, I have seen a lot of changes in the photographic industry during my 37 years in the profession. I was among the first professional photographers to switch from film to digital when the technology took hold, and I have worked tirelessly over the years adjusting to the changes in the profession.What are some of your proudest accomplishments?I am very proud of the fact that I was able to realize my dream of adding video production to my list of professional services more than six years ago. As computer and software technology have advanced, this has allowed me to offer such services at a fraction of the cost from just a few years before. Video is just another exciting and creative avenue for me, and it has helped bring in even more commercial clients to my studio.What are you working on now?I continue to offer still photography experience to as many clients as always, but I also recognize the enormous growing need for professional video productions in the corporate and small-business world. To ensure I’m at the top of my game and able to efficiently provide these services to my cli-ents, I work constantly to improve upon my skills, and I’m always looking to invest in new and ex-citing equipment to get the job done right.MEMBER PROFILETexas 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.Richard Productions Professional Photography & VideoPhone: 281-337-5015Representative: Jim Richard, OwnerChamber 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.tclmchamber.comRon AssadGallant BuildersKevin BogardMarathon Petroleum Sally BriggsGulf Greyhound ParkKirk BroilesScribbles Embroidery Aaron CameronAshlandDr. Rodney CavnessTexas City Independent School DistrictJoshua ChapmanChapman Front End & BrakesCraig ColelliFaust DistributingKedge CookCook FordChris DevriesStandard Steel SupplyJames DickinsonKodiak Metals RecyclingShannon DoyleSouth Land Title Pete Dunn Jr.Dunn Heat Exchangers Gail FigueroaAmoco Federal Credit UnionJason Hayley Port of Texas CityFelix HerreraAwesome Auto AccessoriesBrook HrachDow ChemicalManny LopezEl Cubano Cigar FactoryJim MacphersonValero RefiningSergio MatuteEastman Chemical – Texas City Inc.Genevieve McGarvey Mcleod, Alexander, Powel & ApffelColleen MerrittLa Marque Economic Development Corp.Georgia MeyerKarat Creations JewelryTripp MontalboHCA Houston Healthcare MainlandSam NavarroApache Industrial ServicesDr. Warren NicholsCollege of the MainlandRay NunezTaylor & HillPerry O’BrienDomac Inc.Philip OrangeTeam Mancuso Power SportsRusty PlackemeierLyons & PlackemeierKitty PotterTexas First BankTerrance TrevinoBP Texas City ChemicalsBecky TroutUTMBDiana VasquezTNMPBoard of DirectorsJuly 2019 | Chamber Express | 3CHAMBER CHATFarewell DerekDerek Duckett, the Chamber’s vice president, has accepted a position with Pasadena ISD as its Director of Safety. Since Derek joined our Cham-ber, he has been a valu-able and well-respected member of our team.We will certainly miss his professionalism and strengths. On behalf of the Board and Staff of the Texas City-La Marque Chamber of Commerce, we wish Derek the very best of luck in the future.Keep La Marque Beautiful rids more than 10 tons of trash from the cityThe Keep La Marque Beautiful Commission (KLMBC) collected 10.29 tons of bulk trash, 40 yards of lawn debris, 6,048 pounds of shredded material and 150 tires during the Spring Cleanup on June 1. More than 400 pounds of trash was collected from La Marque roadsides by a group of 28 volunteers. “What we accomplished with 28 volunteers was fabulous,” said Vivian Allen, KLMB treasurer. “Imag-ine what we could have done with 100 volunteers. The commission would like to thank every citizen who dropped off bulk trash and all the volunteers who cleaned roadways. Thank you for keeping La Marque beautiful.”Each street team cleaned roadsides in differ-ent areas of town and brought the bags of trash back to City Hall to be weighed. The Commission gave certificates and gift cards for the most road debris collected. In the group category, La Marque Garden Club won first place for most trash collected, followed by Cub Scout Pack 244 and then Khambrel Foundation. Pick-up prizes were awarded for individuals, as well, including to Peja Bishop-Dixon for first place, followed by Stefanie Hanks in second and Bradley Philtower in third.In other news, the KLMBC recently launched a new program called Good Neighbor Awards, where acts of kindness, good deeds and helping hands will be recognized. A list of criteria, along with on-line nomination forms, can be found at beautiful.cityoflamarque.org. Along with two annual cleanup events, the new Good Neighbor Award program and the monthly Residential and Business Yards of the Month, Keep La Marque Beautiful plans to roll out a new and improved Christmas Lights Contest and a coastal wa-terways cleanup event later this year. Water conserva-tion and recycling workshops are also in the works.KLMBC is seeking volunteers to help with upcom-ing programs and events. Please fill out the volun-teer registration form at beautiful.cityoflamarque.org or send a message to the KLMBC public Facebook group. “Every new volunteer creates a ripple in the big wave of beautification that’s happening in La Marque right now,” said Alanah Brown, KLMB sec-retary and communication lead. “Come be a part of the positive change.”Citizens also are encouraged to register for Com-munity Newsflash e-notifications at connect.cityoflamarque.org or call Colleen Merritt at SEE CHAMBER CHAT » 4409-938-9255 for general KLMBC information. — The City of La MarqueTexas Chamber of Commerce Execute Awards The Texas City-La Marque Chamber was awarded with a 1st-place award for the map and 2nd-place award for social media campaign. This was an opportunity for Chambers of Commerce to garner statewide recognition for the exceptional work done through various media outlets. Awards were presented during the 2019 annual conference in El Paso. In each of four chamber size categories, judges choose the top three entries and the winners were recognized with an award. The categories include brochures, directories/maga-zines, maps, marketing campaigns, newsletters, social media campaigns and websites.4 | Chamber Express | July 2019Food truck, vendor market to open in downtown La Marque this summerMarket on 3 at 210 state Highway 3 is set to feature a weekday lunch and weekend entertainment. Market on 3 is a startup food truck park and ven-dor market in La Marque’s Renais-sance District. Greg Cornett, the owner of Snow King, is managing the park and seeking vendors. Greg’s vision for Market on 3 includes food trucks, craft vendors, activities for kids, fresh vege-tables, farm eggs and fun times. “We are starting things slow for Mar-ket on 3,” Cornett said. “We’re offering introductory rates for vendors who are willing to come out and grow with us.” There soon will be a food truck offer-ing lunch Monday through Friday, Cor-nett said. Along with his original location off Cedar Drive, Cornett will operate his Snow King event trailer from Market on 3 on weekends. “Market on 3 has a great location right off Highway 3, and all the plant workers can get there for lunch in about 10 minutes,” Cornett said. “Right now, we’re looking for one more food truck and a baker to CHAMBER CHATCHAMBER CHATContinued » 3sell fresh bread. If we can get enough vendors, we’ll open July 13.”Local vendors should email snow king1@gmail.com or call 409-739-0521 for information.For updates, follow Market on 3 on Face-book at facebook.com/marketon3LM.— The City of La MarqueDel Papa DistributingDel Papa Distribut-ing held a mixer at its location in Texas City with six area Galves-ton County chambers co-hosting the event. The chambers in-cluded: Texas City-La Marque, Friendswood, League City, Santa Fe, Hitchcock and Galves-ton.July 2019 | Chamber Express | 5Robert Balderas – Roofing Specialist409-945-6920RENT • SALES • REPAIR2830 TEXAS AVE., TEXAS CITY • 409-948-4497MAINLANDTOOLMAINLAND TOOLStore Hours: Mon-Fri: 7am-6pm, 24 Hour Call Out Service AvailableMAINLANDTOOL.COMWHILE SUPPLIES LAST!Porter-Cable20 Volt Cordless Drill$79956 | Chamber Express | July 2019July 2019 | Chamber Express | 78 | Chamber Express | July 2019SERVICING 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 FaxBUSINESS OF THE MONTHWyatt Real Estate1005 21st St.Texas City 409-945-4424Representatives: David Wyatt, broker and sales agent For 78 years, Wyatt Real Estate has served multiple generations of happy families and repeat customers throughout Galveston County. Buying or sell-ing in an ever evolving market, call Wyatt Real Estate for experienced guidance with all your real estate needs. Wyatt Real Estate, LLC is a third-gener-ation family-owned business. Founder Earl A. Wyatt opened the original office of Wyatt Real Estate in Texas City on Texas Avenue, just east of Sixth Street in 1941. Following the Tex-as City Explosion in 1947, Earl built a new office on Ninth Avenue near Sixth Street. Earl foresaw the need for appraisers and became the first member of the Appraisal Institute in Galveston County. In 1950, Earl opened the office of Earl A. Wyatt & Associates in downtown Houston where he conducted business for 25 years until his death and earned recognition as an outstanding commercial and industrial Realtor. He served as pres-ident of the Houston chapters of both the Society of Industri-al Realtors and the Appraisal Institute the same year. The Hous-ton Association of Realtors honored him by inducting him into Omega Tau Rho, an or-ganization of outstand-ing Old Time Realtors. In 1951, Earl passed the Texas City office on to his son, Don, who became the sec-ond generation in the family business.In 1975, Don’s son, David, decided to join the team as a third-generation member. Father and son tirelessly worked together to continue meeting the needs of both buyers and sellers from all over Galveston County. Don decided the business could serve more cli-ents better by moving toward the western part of town. He worked on plans for a new office building and it was dedicated in 2008. They worked side by side for more than 36 years until the unfortunate and sud-den demise of Don in 2011. Since that time, David has continued to uphold the integrity and professionalism bestowed upon him by the Wyatt family. The newest member of the Wyatt family to join her husband’s business is David’s wife, Rachel, who has held the position of property manager since 2014.The Wyatt firm is active in the Chamber of Commerce and it has sponsored various youth sports teams and is a longtime supporter of the Stingaree teams. All of the offspring are graduates of Texas City schools and still keep in touch with many of their former classmates. The entire team at Wyatt Real Estate is ea-ger to find exactly the right buyer for your home as well as the home to fulfill your dreams.The team appreciates the opportunity to help you Win With Wyatt!July 2019 | Chamber Express | 9u need any type of refractory material on or repair, call us. You will get superior roducts and services, when and where them. urnaroundsr Unit Turnaroundses & Heatersnings & CoatingsBoilerse RestorationDiamond Refractory Services An EMCOR Industrial Services Company ofing8412 Mosley, Houston, TX 77075 713.378.9200 diamondrefractory.com CAL PROJECT EXECUTION FOR THE REFINERY AND PETROCHEMICAL INDUSTRIES When you need any type of refractory material installation or repair, call us. You will get superior quality products and services, when and where you need them. •FCCU Turnarounds•Sulphur Unit Turnarounds•Furnaces & Heaters•Acid Linings & Coatings•Power Boilers•Concrete RestorationDiamond Refractory Services An EMCOR Industrial Services Company •Fireproofing8412 Mosley, Houston, TX 77075 713.378.9200 diamondrefractory.com CRITICAL PROJECT EXECUTION FOR THE REFINERY AND PETROCHEMICAL INDUSTRIES When you need any type of refractory material installation or repair, call us. 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• FireproofingEXPRESSION OF GRATITUDEJune 24, 2019Ivan LangfordGulf Coast Water Authority3630 FM 1765Texas City, TX 77590Dear Ivan, On behalf of the Board of Directors and the Advoca-cy Committee for the Texas City—La Marque Chamber of Commerce, please accept our sincere gratitude for the untiring effort that you displayed during the 86th Legislative Session regarding the Allen’s Creek Res-ervoir development. You were continually apprising us of daily actions and needed assistance that could be provided to win this monumental piece of legislation. This winning ef-fort will result in the ability for our com-munities to grow and prosper in the com-ing years, and had it not been for your steadfast commit-ment to success, the outcome could have proven disastrous for the economic future of Texas City and La Marque. Please accept our thanks for your professionalism and commitment to mak-ing our area truly a better place to live, work and play. With Deepest Grat-itude, Jenny Senter, Pres-ident; Sergio Mat-ute, Chairman of the Board; Phil Roberts, Advocacy Chairman Next >