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 .........................................................................................................................................................................................2Business of the Month ...........................................................................................................................................................................433rd Annual Golf Classic .......................................................................................................................................................................6College of the Mainland Donation ....................................................................................................................................................8Ribbon Cuttings and Groundbreakings ..........................................................................................................................................9New Members ........................................................................................................................................................................................10Travel with the Chamber ....................................................................................................................................................................11Vol. 24 | Issue 10 October 201933rd Annual Golf Classic >> Page 6La Marque Mayor Bobby Hocking would like to extend an invita-tion to all residents, business owners and friends of La Marque and Texas City and surrounding areas to attend the annual family-friendly Bay-ou Fest on Oct. 19 at Mac McGaffey Highland Bayou Park. The City of La Marque and Texas City-La Marque Chamber of Commerce are proud to announce Clay Walker as the headlin-er for the 2019 festival. Families can enjoy daytime activ-ities, including a free kids’ fishing tournament, pumpkin carving contest, mutton bustin’, bounce houses and the new ACU Kid Zone. Visit the food trucks and shop craft vendors while you stroll through the demonstrations from local civic clubs.FREE CONCERTS A series of concerts kicks off around 4 p.m. with Shinyribs, Kev-in Fowler and Clay Walker. Attend-ees are encouraged to bring chairs or blankets and dance the night away at this free community con-cert. No coolers will be allowed. Beverages will be sold on site. Pro-ceeds go to the La Marque Lions Club and will be used to provide scholarships to La Marque youth.SHINYRIBS Shinyribs takes the stage at 4:30 p.m., and once you’ve seen Shinyribs’ Kevin Russell on-stage and heard his band’s music, it’s impossible to forget. A Shinyribs show is an exaltation of spirit. It’s a hip-shaking, belly-laughing, soul-singing, song-slinging, down-home house party. All styles of American music are likely to be touched on, squeezed on and kissed on by this world-class band featuring Winfield Cheek on keyboards, Keith Langford on drums, Jeff Brown on bass, the Tijuana Trainwreck Horns, and The Shiny Soul Sisters — Kelley Mick-wee and Alice Spencer. Whether on his six-string uke or his electric guitar or singing acappella, Russell will entertain you like no one else. KEVIN FOWLERKevin Fowler will be on the stage at 6:30 p.m. To see Fowler in con-cert is more than just a show: It’s an experience. The Amarillo native’s wild-eyed charisma breathes new life into old favorites like “Beer, Bait and Ammo” and “The Lord Loves A Drinkin’ Man.” His twangy vocals ride atop the honky-tonk groove of his ace Clay Walker headlines La Marque’s Bayou FestSEE BAYOU FEST PAGE 32 | Chamber Express | October 2019Tell us a little about your background.Taylor and Hill is a Texas corporation established in 1974, specializing in the engineering and execution of small-to-mid-capital size projects up to 15M (TIC) for the oil and gas industry. In 1998, Taylor and Hill pioneered the laser scanning and surveying services in support of engineering and design personnel for various plant facilities in Texas City and the Gulf Coast region. From its inception, Taylor and Hill’s professional staffing team has a history of providing experienced qualified engineering and design disciplines, TAR, specialty engineers and support personnel in the downstream industry.How would you summarize what you do?Taylor and Hill is a full-service engineering firm with specific knowledge and expertise in the execution of projects including retrofit, maintenance, expense and specialty engineering for refineries and chemical plants. Taylor and Hill’s laser scanning and surveying services are capable of capturing millions of pixels in PointCloud and converting them to 3-D models of any equipment, piping or structural construction in a plant facility. Laser scanning technology is capable of 1/16 inch accuracy and compliments any engineering project design development. 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.Taylor and Hill Inc.801 6th St.Texas City409-995-015Representative: Ray Nunez, president and CEOChamber 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 NavarroWomble Company Inc.Dr. 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 DirectorsTaylor and Hill employees, from left, Chuck Drinkwater, Stephen Sands, Angela Washburn, Patricia Nieves, Eldridge Simpson, Mar-garet Whittington, Ray Nunez, Tatiana Nunez, Warren Brooks, Heather Williams, John Leavesley and Kira Huber.SEE MEMBER PAGE 5October 2019 | Chamber Express | 3backing band. Few perform-ers in country music are as naturally gifted at leading the crowd in a good time, wheth-er it’s in a crowded dancehall or the wide-open spaces of an outdoor festival. And few things amp up a busy musician’s energy level quite like a brand-new album to release. This autumn, Kevin Fowler will be bringing the fresh new material of “Coming To A Honky Tonk Near You” to his fans around the nation. “Sometimes the recording process can be grueling, but this record was a pleasure to make,” Fowler said. “I re-corded it with my good bud-dy Trent Willmon. I think it really shows in the final product when you are just having a great time making music with your friends.” CLAY WALKER Clay Walker takes the stage at 8:30 p.m. With his first two singles reach-ing No. 1 upon their re-lease, Walker immediately established himself as a commercial success. He first topped the Billboard country singles chart in 1993 with “What’s It to You” and followed with his second consecutive No. 1 hit, “Live Until I Die.” Since then, he’s placed 31 titles on Billboard’s singles chart, including such additional chart toppers as “Dreaming with my Eyes Open,” “If I Could Make Living,” “This Woman and This Man” and “Rumor Has It.” His smooth, evocative voice and energetic stage presence quickly established Walker as the latest Tex-as export to find national acclaim and a lengthy string of hits has followed. How-ever, the Houston resident has never strayed far from his Texas roots or the lone star lifestyle. In fact, one of the accomplishments Walker is most proud of is having placed seventh in the cutting horse competition at the Houston Livestock Rodeo, the largest rodeo in the Unit-ed States. He took the prize with his horse Maddie. Walker was born and raised on a farm in Beau-mont, the hometown of George Jones. He fell in love with country music at an early age when his father gave him a guitar at age 9. After he graduated from high school, Walker pursued a musical career full-time, playing concerts across the South, the Mid-west and Canada. NEW PARKING RULES From 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., parking is free at Highland Bayou Park. Beginning at 1 p.m., parking will be $20. Cash only. A free shuttle service is available from Gulf Greyhound Park, 1000 FM 2004, La Marque. Chairs, fishing poles, wag-ons, strollers and blankets are welcome on the shuttle buses. No coolers of any kind are allowed on shuttles.“COWBOY” JONES CHILDREN’S FISHING TOURNAMENT Join Rusty Hook Fishing Club for the annual kids’ fishing tournament. The first 200 children 12 years old and younger to register will re-ceive a free T-shirt and lunch. Participants must provide their own rod and reel, but bait will be provided by Boyd’s One Stop. Registration starts at 8:30 a.m. Kids can fish from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. with parent or guardian supervision. For 10 categories of fish, kids can win a new rod and reel, plus a new tackle box provided by La Marque Lions Club. Alex’s A/C provides goody bags from several Texas City–La Marque Chamber members.PUMPKIN PATCH Pick a pumpkin for free, find a spot under the pa-vilion and get creative. The La Marque Lions Club will present cash prizes for the first-, second- and third-fa-vorite pumpkins. Age divisions are 5 and young-er, 6-10 years, 11-14 years and 15-19 years. Children younger than 12 must be accompanied by a parent.MUTTON BUSTIN’ Dress up your little cow-boys and cowgirls and meet near the pavilion. Regis-tration is at noon and the events start at 1 p.m. The fee is $20. There are two age categories: 2-5 and 6-7. Belt buckles will be award-ed for Grand Champion and Reserve Champion in each age group. The weight limit is 65 pounds, and a waiver must be signed by parents at registration. Mutton bustin’ is produced by Lonesome Dove 4H out of Hitchcock. Can your little one hold on for eight seconds?FIREWORKS Stay until 10 p.m. to watch the spectacular AMO-CO Federal Credit Union Fireworks Show.BARBECUE COOK-OFF On Oct. 18, the barbe-cue cook-off ramps up as teams compete for $10,000 in prize money. Secure one of the 100 barbecue spots with water and power hookups while you still can. The Bayou Fest Cook-Off is part of Galveston County’s Triple Crown. Contact Lauren Perez at 409-935-1408 or lauren@ texascitychamber.com for information.SPONSORSThe VIP Experience is pre-sented by Miller Lite. Part-ners include Waste Manage-ment, AMOCO Federal Credit Union, Dow and Associated Credit Union of Texas. For information, follow the Texas City-La Marque Cham-ber of Commerce on Face-book, visit lamarque bayoufest.com or call Col-leen Merritt at 409-938-9255. BAYOU FESTIVALBAYOU FESTContinued page 14 | Chamber Express | October 2019BUSINESS OF THE MONTHRosario’s Flying Pizza Restaurant is veteran owned and operated with new owners since 2016. Roasio’s has happy hour every day from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. and all day happy hour Wednes-day and Sunday. On Tuesday and Thursday, get $2 off any size pizza. Rosario’s Flying Pizza & Restaurant3202 13th Ave N.Texas City,409-948-3271Representative: Eric PerezOctober 2019 | Chamber Express | 5‘Lightning Rob’ Balderas - Roofing Specialist409-945-6920MEMBER PROFILEProfessional staffing of engineers, designers and engineering support for on-site plant personnel was began in 1974 and remains as a primary footprint. The company provides all disciplines of engineers and designers in process, mechanical, instrument/controls, electrical and civil/structural locally the Gulf Coast area and other states.How has your business evolved over time?Taylor and Hill started as a professional staffing firm in 1974 for the downstream industry, incorporated midstream in the mid-1980s, then added engineering services in 1992. The business introduced laser/surveying to the petrochemical industry in 1998 through a joint venture with a Scottish company. As the technology evolved, the business expanded with laser scanning services in 2000. In 2003, Taylor and Hill also added retired professional plant personnel and TAR specialists for various downstream clients. Taylor and Hill augments professional services by providing direct hire placement and specialty engineering consultation.What are some of your proudest accomplishments?Taylor and Hill is a Houston Business Roundtable Safety Awards recipient, and, for several years, ranked within the top 50 small-to-mid-size engineering firms in the Houston Business Journal. Taylor and Hill owns the copyright to Automated Electronic Measurement System icons and work processes for laser surveying.Taylor and Hill, one of the three alliance partners with Bechtel Engineering and Amoco, co-managed engineering services at six local Amoco sites making this agreement the first of its kind in this industry. Taylor and Hill has sole sourced for two major petrochemical companies for more than 20 years and has been providing jobs for diverse professional talent at various plants in the Texas City area since 1981.In the engineering and staffing industry, competition is fierce, but Taylor and Hill is proud to be one of the oldest established firms that has weathered economic and management challenges for several decades. What are you working on now?Taylor and Hill’s engineering department is currently working on multiple mid-size capital projects for refineries and chemical plants locally and across the Gulf Coast region. The business recently added a dedicated business development staffing department to expand its professional staffing opportunities in the refining and chemical facilities locally and in the Beaumont area. The Taylor and Hill laser scanning team has been involved with several ongoing full plant, specialty equipment, laser scanning and 3-D modeling projects.Taylor and Hill continues researching methods to integrate laser scanning with drones technology in its quest to provide state-of-the-art technology in this industry.MEMBER PROFILEContinued page 26 | Chamber Express | October 2019October 2019 | Chamber Express | 78 | Chamber Express | October 20192425 SH 146 North • Texas City 409-945-4461 • Fax 409-945-8479 • Email: tctrr.comNo. 4 In Texas No. 10 in U.S. Gulf CoastNo. 15 inU.S. NationwidePORT OF TEXAS CITYTexas City Terminal Railway CompanyPort AuthorityMainland409-935-2496Metro281-337-5634Island409-765-58831969-2019AIR CONDITIONINGHEATINGREFRIGERATIONwww.alexsair.com TACLA 15714C800.231.6053 | www.AMOCOfcu.orgSERVICING 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 FaxCOLLEGE OF THE MAINLAND DONATIONFor the seventh year, employees from College of the Mainland teamed up with local schools to ensure that area students and teach-ers have a successful start to the new school year. College of the Mainland Positive Engagement for Excellence and Real Success (COMPeers), an employee volunteer organization, made a sizable donation of school supplies during a vis-it to Hitchcock school district’s Stewart Elementary on Sept. 24. In partnership with College of the Mainland’s Collegiate High School stu-dents, the group collected an assortment of supplies, including backpacks, pencils, scissors, spiral notebooks, folders, erasers and paper during its annual back-to-school supply drive held throughout campus from Aug. 14 to Sept. 9. “Every year many teachers are spend-ing money out of their own pockets to purchase supplies they need in their classrooms,” COMPeers officer-at-large Michelle Gerami, said. “We created the annual COMPeers School Supply Drive to help ease that burden.”This year’s donations will be distributed to elementary students across Hitchcock school district. On hand to receive the donations were Hitchcock ISD Superinten-dent Travis Edwards, Stewart Elementary Principal Lisa Fain, Stewart Elementary students and COMPeers members.— College of the MainlandCOLLEGE OF THE MAINLAND EMPLOYEES DONATE SUPPLIES TO HITCHCOCK SCHOOLSOctober 2019 | Chamber Express | 9RIBBON CUTTINGS AND GROUND BREAKINGSCATALON AT LAGO MAR LUXURY APARTMENTSPhase II Construction Ground Breaking6130 Lago Mar Blvd.Texas City409-359-4070Representative: Michelle McElroyHCA Houston Healthcare Mainland6801 Emmett F. Lowry ExpresswayTexas City409-938-5000Representative: Tripp Montalbo, CEOBig Brothers Big Sisters Gulf Coast1021 61st St.Suite 600AGalveston409-763-4638Representative: Shannon Burke, executive directorRios Kitchen6902 FM 1765Texas City 409-354-7948Representative: Rosa Rios, ownerNext >