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 ...........................................................................................................................................................................4Leadership Mainland ..........................................................................................................................................................................6-7New Members ........................................................................................................................................................................................11Vol. 24 | Issue 8 August 2019Leadership Mainland >> Page 6Hot heads and sizzling tails,it’s Shrimp Boil time again!The smell of succulent shrimp, the lure of cold beer on a hot summer evening and the exciting sounds of the popular band from New Orleans, Bag of Donuts, and Nick and the Groove will soon fill the air as the Texas City-La Marque Chamber of Commerce Annual Shrimp Boil nears. Young, old and everyone in between agree that the Shrimp Boil is a night to relax and just have a good time while visiting with friends and neighbors. The Shrimp Boil is a favorite tradition of the community that has been held for 50 years, and it pulls a crowd of about 1,200 people each year. It will be Tropical Shirt Night at the Shrimp Boil, so we invite everyone to wear their wildest tropical shirts to help us cel-ebrate our 50th Anniversary Shrimp Boil “End of Summer Shrimptacular.” The Shrimp Boil is returning to its original outdoor venue at the Nessler Park, utilizing the Rotary Pavilion for the entertainment. There are plenty of shady trees with tables just waiting for you and your group. Come enjoy this “end of summer” picnic! Back by popular demand Kevin Bogard and his team from Marathon will prepare the best ever spicy Jambalaya. We will have that true Cajun taste as James Bergeron and his crew prepare the Shrimp and fixins’. Bag of Donuts is the New Orleans-based quartet that has been engaged in such endeavors for more than two decades. Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2018, the band’s momentum only seems to be building. Along with their flair for kabuki make-up and extravagant costumes, the four New Orleans natives cover songs in a style they have brand-ed as “Superpop” — any song popular from any era. Their flamboyant performances are a combination of ultimate showmanship, call and response audience participation, visual ingenuity, professional musician-ship and pure entertainment with a nod to the comedy gods. With more than 100 tour dates each year, Bag of Donuts is the headliner at festivals and clubs from Texas to Florida, including an annual slot at the world famous French Quar-ter Festival, which surpassed 700,000 attendees in 2017.SEE SHRIMP BOIL PAGE 8 “Y’all come. We look forward to seeing you there. Just bring an appetite and an ear for good music and be ready to have a great time.”JENNY SENTER, chamber president2 | Chamber Express | August 2019Tell us a little about your background.Tricon American Homes was founded on the understanding that a home is more than a roof over your head. An industry leader in custom-er service, we maintain high-quality homes to exceed standards. Since its inception in 2012, Tricon American Homes has remained committed to helping fami-lies find that perfect single-family home in a sol-id community with easy access to good schools as well as major job and entertainment centers. Tricon American Homes maintains its high-quality homes to exacting standards and prides itself on customer dedication. That’s why Tricon American Homes is one of the fast-est-growing residential real estate companies in the country, with more than 18,000 homes in 10 states: Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. How would you summarize what you do?Tricon American Homes is the new standard of single-family rental home living. We are a cus-tomer-service focused organization that provides residents with high quality, professionally reno-vated homes located in desirable neighborhoods 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.Tricon American Homes624 Totem Trail Drive, La Marque972-426-7371Representative: Ralph De Mott Chamber 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 Trout UnbehagenUTMBDiana VasquezTNMPBoard of DirectorsSEE MEMBER PAGE 9August 2019 | Chamber Express | 3CHAMBER CHATLauren Perez, Member Relations ManagerThe Texas City–La Marque Chamber of Commerce welcomes Lauren Perez, who has joined the Chamber staff as Special Projects Coordinator. Her background in small-business own-ership, event planning and commu-nity involvement contributes to her new role as she will help with future Chamber events and connecting members throughout the com-munity. Originally from Cali-fornia, she finds time to enjoy beaches and camp-ing with her two boys. Every day, Lauren wakes up with the mind-set that “life is not only meant to be lived, it is meant to be celebrated.”“I welcome the addition of Lauren to our team of Chamber profession-als,” Chamber President Jenny Sent-er said. “She brings great skills and expertise to our organization, and we look forward to the valuable assets that she adds to our staff.”Jessica Spangle, Operations and Events ManagerThe Texas City–La Marque Chamber of Commerce welcomes Jessica Span-gle, who has joined the Chamber staff as Operations and Events Manager. Prior to joining the chamber, Jessica spent 13 years working in several capacities in the world of event management in Houston area venues. Most recently, Jessica served as a sales account manager at Topgolf Webster, where she was part of the venue opening management team specializing in securing and execut-ing large corporate and social group events, fundraisers and golf tourna-ments. Before joining Topgolf, Jessica spent 10 seasons working for Clutch City Sports and Enter-tainment (Houston Rockets and Toyo-ta Center) in event operations as an event manager and guest services manager. Jessica has also worked at Moody Gardens Hotel and Conven-tion Center and the Austin Conven-tion Center. Jessica resides in Friendswood with her husband, Braxton, and two children. When not working, you can find Jessica at the baseball or softball fields cheering on her kids.Best of luck to Kaela IbrahimKaela has accepted a new position with Communities in Schools. She has worked for the Chamber for the past year as Membership Relations Manag-er. Since Kaela joined our Chamber, she has been a valuable and well-re-spected member of our team. We will certainly miss her professionalism and strengths. On behalf of the Board and Staff of the TCLM Cham-ber of Com-merce, we wish Kaela the very best of luck in the future.SEE CHAMBER CHAT PAGE 5Welcome to our new chamber staff membersLa Marque wants to revitalize downtown with food trucksLa Marque is beefing up its down-town revitalization efforts by support-ing a food truck park. The corpo-ration has been working to bring entertainment and dining options to its downtown revitalization project, the Renaissance District, and to offer local options for families and the workforce in downtown La Marque. —The Daily NewsLa Marque Market on 3 Market on 3, at 210 state Highway 3, recently opened with a variety of vendors. Greg Cornett is the mar-ket manager and said it just keeps growing. Vendors at the first market were Local Roast, a Galveston-Coun-ty-based coffee roaster; Tonda’s Miracle Farms Goat Milk products, organic products from April’s Rustic Living and Cha Bowls, from a Hous-ton-based food truck organization. They also will market to vendors of handmade crafts, prepared food items like jams and relishes and any type of product normally seen at farmers markets. Gus’ Restaurant movingOwners of Gus’ Restaurant in Texas City have confirmed plans for a move, possibly by the year’s end or early 2020. They will be moving to 3501 Palmer Highway — the same building Bay-town Seafood moved into last year. Baytown Seafood and Gus’ will 4 | Chamber Express | August 2019BUSINESS OF THE MONTH Bayou Bistro3111 Neptune Drive, Bayou Vista409-933-0355 www.bayoubistro.comRepresentative: Greg Sharretts We at the Bay-ou Bistro are honored to be recognized as Texas City Chamber of Com-merce’s small business of the month. We have proudly served Bayou Vista and the surrounding com-munities since 2006. Our success is due to consistently superb food and a friendly, relaxed atmosphere. Our success is due to our clientele, and we appreciate the oppor-tunity to serve our loy-al regulars and hope to add more! Our motto since in-ception has been “Wel-come to Bayou Bistro and bar, where friends meet!” Indeed a truism. Owner Greg Shar-retts, wife Dee and staff proudly offer an amazing variety of menu items that tanta-lize the taste buds. Of-ferings include our fab-ulous gourmet pizzas, including custom-made Keto style, to Epicu-rean award-winning seared tuna and Thai chicken lettuce wraps. A signature dish is our Parmesan catfish fillet, grilled to perfection, covered in crunchy Par-mesan batter and topped with creamy alfredo sauce. For beef lovers, we offer a spectrum that ranges from chargrilled hamburgers, to incredi-ble chicken fried steak, to melt in your mouth filet mignon. Our Bam Bam Shrimp appetizer is part of our incredible seafood offerings. Pair any meal with a cock-tail from our full bar, featuring a selection of fine wine, spirits and beer. Happy hours and unique specials are posted daily.Join us, indoors or out on the deck, for a relax-ing, casual dining expe-rience. If you live close by, join our golf cart crowd. We invite you to dine with us today!August 2019 | Chamber Express | 5Robert Balderas – Roofing Specialist409-945-6920operate in a subdivided space formerly occupied by Lee’s Oriental Buffett.— The Daily NewsLocal cities pushing state officials on Grand ParkwayAs the state’s transportation commission begins public hearings about projects to include on its 2020 funding list, several area cities are pushing to restart a stalled plan to bring the Grand Parkway through Galveston County.In July, League City became the latest city to ap-prove a resolution soliciting the Texas Transportation Commission to complete the final studies needed to advance Segment B of the Grand Parkway project — an undertaking that has, in recent years, become a topic of conversation among state legislators.The Grand Parkway, or state Highway 99, is an unfinished loop around the greater Houston area under construction since 1994. Segment B of the project calls for a highway stretching from Inter-state 45 at state Highway 646 to state Highway 35 in Alvin, officials said.State officials for months have been mum about the project as local leaders have gone back-and-forth about what they are hearing about it.Hallisey in February told council members he heard local work on the segment in Galveston County could soon begin, a reversal from previous months when he worried the project might have hit a snag because of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s opposition to toll roads, an opin-ion at least several area officials shared.The proposed segment of the Grand Parkway would have been a tollway, officials have said.The city council in its resolution specifically calls for the Texas Department of Transportation to move forward with a traffic revenue study, land acquisition, design and ultimately construction, documents show.The transportation commission each year ap-proves a Unified Transportation Program, which is a 10-year plan to guide future construction projects and related activities, officials said.The Grand Parkway project through Galveston County does not appear on the commission’s 2019 list, records show.— The Daily NewsCollege of the Mainland The College of the Mainland Board of Trustees and President Warren Nichols cordially invite you to attend the groundbreaking for the STEAM (Science, Tech-nology, Engineering, Art & Math) Building at 3 p.m. Aug. 26. Join us as we celebrate this historic event that represents the growth and transformation of College of the Mainland. New teachers welcomedThe Education Committee of the Texas City-La Marque Chamber of Commerce will welcome new TCISD teachers with a Welcome Luncheon on Aug. 12. A big thanks to our sponsors: A&A Machine & Fab-rication, Affinity Immediate Care Ashland, BP, HCA Houston Healthcare Mainland, Marathon, Mayes Mid-dleton, Texas First Bank, TNMP and Valero.CHAMBER CHATCHAMBER CHAT Continued Page 36 | Chamber Express | August 2019August 2019 | Chamber Express | 78 | Chamber Express | August 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 FaxNick and the Groove is a Hous-ton-based, up-and-coming band that consists of five friends ranging from 16 to 19 years of age, covering a vari-ety of genres and eras from pop, soul, blues, rock, country and beyond.The kids will have plenty to do as well. The Kids Zone, sponsored by ACU of Texas, will bring back bumper cars, mini golf, face painting and lots of action-packed fun. The Shrimp Boil takes place from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Aug. 23 at the Nessler Park/Rotary Pavilion in Texas City. In the event of rain, the Shrimp Boil will be held inside the Doyle Convention Center. Advance tickets will be on sale at the Chamber office and also at area member banks and credit unions for $25 per per-son. At the event, the ticket price will be $30 per person. The price of the ticket includes a shrimp dinner with corn on the cob and potatoes, jambalaya, water soft drinks and the dance. Beer also will be available to purchase. Hot dog meals will be available for $5 and includes a SHRIMP BOILFrom the fronthot dog, chips, cookie and a drink. Mem-bers of the Texas City Rotary Club will prepare the hot dog meals. For more information or to purchase tickets in advance, contact the Texas City-La Marque Chamber of Commerce at 409-935-1408. “Y’all come. We look forward to see-ing you there,” Jenny Senter, chamber president said. “Just bring an appetite and an ear for good music and be ready to have a great time.”“Shrimp boats is a-comin,’ their sails are in sight, shrimp boats is a-comin,’ there’s dancin’ tonight. “ JO STAFFORD, “Shrimp Boats”The New Orleans-themed band Bag of Donuts. Local band Nick and the Groove.SHRIMP BOILAugust 2019 | Chamber Express | 9RENT • 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$7995u 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• Fireproofingwith easy access to good schools and major employment centers. Tricon American Homes presents a unique opportunity usually reserved exclusively for home buyers — with-out any hassles or the expenses of home ownership. We acquire, reno-vate and operate homes in neighbor-hoods with desirable school districts, strong household income levels and in proximity to major employment centers. How has your business evolved over time?Tricon American Homes has grown exponentially in the past two years, with plans to continue evolving and growing. Starting in 2012, we have grown to own more than 18,000 homes across the nation. Since ac-quiring our first home in April 2012, we have chosen a path of measured growth, which has allowed us to maintain a focus on operations and cash flow generation. Over time we have added new markets to achieve diversification and prudently used leverage to enhance returns and in-crease our home count. Over the past seven years, our strategic focus has not wavered — we are strong advo-cates and believers that the housing needs of working class Americans are not being adequately met by traditional homeownership and that high quality, institutionally managed single-family rental homes fill a gap in the housing spectrum.What are some of your proudest accomplishments?Our purpose statement is “To go above and beyond with our time, care and service so that lives and com-munities are enriched.” We are very proud of hiring and retaining the best employees in the industry and being a customer service focused organi-zation. We care about our employees and our residents and aim to continu-ously serve in excellence.What are you working on now?We are excited about our beautiful single-family rental home communi-ty of Palomino Ranch consisting of all brand-new homes located in La Marque. Our residents can experience the convenience of the rental-living lifestyle that is virtually mainte-nance-free. Palomino Ranch homes features four thoughtfully designed floor plans ranging from three to four bedrooms. Additional upgrades include granite kitchen countertops, cultured marble bathroom vanities, programmable thermostats and fully fenced backyards.“We care about our employees and our residents and aim to continuously serve in excellence.”TRICON AMERICAN HOMESMEMBERContinued page 2MEMBER PROFILE Next >