APRIL 2021 INSIDE THIS ISSUE Business of the month/ Member profile �����������������������������������������������3 Leadership Mainland �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������4 New members ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������5 Annual Membership Gala Photos �����������������������������������������������������������6 Annual Membership Gala Award Winners �������������������������������������������8 Membership renewals ������������������������������������������������������������������������������10 Board of Directors ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������11 The official publication of the Texas City-La Marque Chamber of Commerce MEMBER PROFILE: CASA OF GALVESTON COUNTY BUSINESS OF THE MONTH: QAB BEAUTY BAR Hear about the ‘State of Industry’ from local leaders SEE INDUSTRY » PAGE 2 On Tuesday, April 27, the Texas City-La Marque Chamber will host the “State of Industry” business luncheon featuring up- dates from leaders of several local indus- trial plants. The luncheon will be held at the Doyle Convention Center from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. This community has been a strategic partner to the petrochemical industry since the early 20th century. It is home to the third largest concentration of crude- based refining manufacturers in the United States and the No. 15 largest port in the nation. There are more than 4,000 manufacturing and petrochemical jobs in Texas City-La Marque. The city and com- munity proudly support the local indus- tries in their endurance and expansion. This event will feature six speakers on a variety of industrial topics:2 | Chamber Express | April 2021 OUR FAMILY CARES ABOUT YOUR FAMILY 409-945-6920 ROOFING & REMODELING SERVICING YOU IS A PLEASURE 409-948-4589 My clients say I am their “Favorite Realtor”. Over forty-three (43) years servicing Galveston County Wanda Ables Realtor ® /Broker Associate wmables@aol.com 822 6th Street North Texas City, TX 77590 409-771-4775 Cell 409-948-4589 Direct 409-948-2321 Fax • Process Safety: Andy Venables, Eastman • Emerging Safety Issues: Jim Brumley, Oiltanking • Environmental & Social Governance: Cory Moss, Valero • Pandemic Impact on Industry: Brad Johnson, Dow • Projects and Expansions: Mike Meyer, Ashland • Gulf Coast Ammonia/Air Products Project: Andrew Connolly, Air Products The 2021 Chamber Board Chair Georgia Meyer Bar- zilay of Karat Creations Jewelry will serve as host of the event. The event will be covered live by i45NOW and community members can view the event live or as a record- ing on the Facebook pages of i45NOW and the Texas City-La Marque Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber thanks the following sponsors for making this event possible: A&A Machine & Fabrication, AMOCO Federal Credit Ashland, Union, City of Texas City, Eastman and Marathon, TNMP and Valero. Tickets are $25 per person or $200 for a reserved table of six. Seating will be limited as safety procedures and spacing requirements are still in place. For more information, contact Jessica Spangle at the chamber at 409-935- 1408 or jessica@texascity- chamber.com. Find great local businesses to support at www.TCLMchamber.comApril 2021 | Chamber Express | 3 BUSINESS OF THE MONTH Now known as QAB Beauty Bar, this business is comprised of Queen’s Attic Boutique and Ebony & Ivory Hair Salon. Stop by to receive friendly and professional services and the highest-quality prod- ucts. Owner April Jones is a creative and busi- ness-savvy entrepreneur who is well-established in the beauty industry. She attributes her love of style and fashion to working with new stylists in the profession. She is dedicat- ed to sharing her talents with fellow stylists, who are in the just starting to express their craft or those interested in fur- thering their skills in the profession. At QAB Beauty Bar, the staff truly believes that customers deserve noth- ing less than the best. Jones is an outside-the- box thinker and “dares to be different’” when shop- ping for her QAB queens. In addition to her passion for fashion, Jones has the eye and heart for making you look your best from literally your head to toe. QAB BEAUTY BAR (Formerly: Queen’s Attic Boutique) 15029 Delany Rd., La Marque | Gulfway Plaza Shopping Center 281-686-4018 |www.queensatticboutique.com Owner: April Jones CASA of Galveston County is a non-profit organization that provides trained, court-appointed volunteers to serve as advocates for children who have experienced abuse and/or neglect and have been removed from their home. CASA volunteers support for chil- dren and families involved in the child welfare system and work to ensure a child’s best interest is being met in a variety of ways. Some examples include identifying and addressing risks to the child’s safety and well-be- ing, ensuring appropriate physical and mental health assessments are completed and verifying educational assessments are completed and sup- ports are in place. CASA volunteers stay by a child’s side throughout the duration of a case, advocating first for reunification when safe and possible. CASA of Galveston County has been in existence for more than 25 years, initially formed by the Resource and Crisis Center of Galveston. The organization serves children in all of Galveston County. CASA recruits vol- unteers from all around the mainland, including the Texas City-La Marque community. CASA’s main focus is volunteer recruitment. There is an urgent need. The goal is to provide a CASA to ev- ery child who needs one. They need 60-70 more volunteers to make the goal a reality. If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about becoming a CASA, please go to casagalveston.org/volunteer or contact Erin Cohen at erin@casagalveston.org for more information. MEMBER PROFILE CASA OF GALVESTON COUNTY 10000 Emmett F. Lowry Expy., Ste. 4000 Unit 300B Texas City, TX 77591 409-572-2552 Representative: Erin Cohen MEMBER PROFILE Texas City-La Marque Chamber of Commerce members have amazing talents and stores to tell. With this series, we want to introduce you to some of our members and spotlight their besinesses. If you would like to be spotlighted in our Member Profile, contact Lorrie Koster at lorrie@texascitychamber.com4 | Chamber Express | April 2021 LEADERSHIP MAINLAND The 2021 class of Leadership Mainland recently had a “reboot” with 25 members who are seiz- ing the opportunity to change themselves and our region for the better. These members originally came together in early 2020, but, due to the pandemic, the program was put on “pause” until it was relaunched a few weeks ago. Leadership Mainland is a key program the chamber offers each year to inform and prepare par- ticipants for leadership positions through learning experiences and an expanded knowledge of com- munity resources and issues. This year’s first session was a Team-Building Retreat held at TopGolf at the end of February. Facilitator Kent Hutchison led the group to complete a few mentally challenging activities. The chal- lenges brought out leadership skills and traits that some partici- pants didn’t know they possessed. They discovered new ways to work effectively in groups and on their own. The group’s next session will fo- cus on State Government and will be hosted at Sea Star Base Galves- ton with presentations by Senator Larry Taylor and State Rep. Mayes Middleton. Leadership Mainland will hold sessions for the rest of the year and “graduate” in December. Class leaders for this year include Sloane Witter from the City of La Marque and James Finchum from Ashland. For more information, visit www.TCLMchamber.com/ leadership. Rachel Ashwood Texas First Bank Lee Barrera City of La Marque Doug Boudoin Linde April Ciccarello UTMB Health Terri Cole Odyssey Academy Debbie Fuller TCISD-Guajardo Elementary Logan Hanna Valero Logan Jacob Valero Dr. Karthik Jayakumar UTMB Health Anita Jones Linde David Jordan City of La Marque Jesse Kelton Dow Kris Kimbark College of the Mainland Rhomari Leigh City of Texas City Steven Limas BWC Terminals Jessica Scioneaux HCA Houston Healthcare Jessica Spangle TCLM Chamber of Commerce Alice Teeler Big Brothers/Big Sisters Gulf Coast Monica Vargas United Way-Galveston Cty. Mainland Kathy Warnell AMOCO Federal Credit Union Nicole Wendzicki Ashland Tyler Williams Ashland Jenna Yackly Grand Prize BBQ Ira Yardley City of La Marque 2021 Leadership Mainland participants A NEW YEAR BEGINSApril 2021 | Chamber Express | 5 Bacliff | Bayou Vista | Clear Lake Shores | Dickinson | Friendswood | Hitchcock | Kemah | La Marque | League City | San Leon | Santa Fe | Texas City | Tiki Island www.uwgcm.org | (409) 948-4211 | 922 14th St. N. | PO Box 3098 | Texas City, TX 77592 LIVE UNITED UNITED WAY FIGHTS FOR THE HEALTH, EDUCATION AND FINANCIAL STABILITY OF EVERY PERSON IN EVERY COMMUNITY www.uwgcm.org | (409) 948-4211 | 2800 Texas Avenue | PO Box 3098 | Texas City, TX 77592 When you’re buying or selling real estate, whether it be residential or commercial, experience matters and you certainly want experienced professionals on your side when you head to the closing table. South Land Title Company has been serving Texas City-La Marque for over 25 years. We are here to assist lenders, realtors, builders, investors and residents with every type of Real Estate transaction. When you close on your next property, go with the experts at South Land Title Company. Protecting the property rights of Texas City-La Marque! Experience Matters! www.SouthLandTitle.net 409.986.5801 - 10806 32nd Ave N, Texas City, TX 77591 Tastefully Yours Events and Catering 701 Volney St. La Marque, TX 77568 409-370-3700 Representative: Keith Martin kmartin@ tastefullyyoursevents.com Catering, Event Rental Southwestern Paint Company 6211 Stewart Rd. Galveston, TX 77551 409-497-4470 Representative: Bobby Prine www.southwestern paint.com bobby@southwesternpaint.com Paint Dealers Choice Analytical 1118 First St. La Marque, TX 77568 832-409-8150 Representative: Ranzy Morgan www.choiceanalytical.com rmorgan@choiceanalyticaI.com Automation, Instrumentation & Process Products BNO Construction 412 Wakefield Dr., League City, TX 77573 832-738-2233 Representative: Mandi Stubbs bnoconstructionllc.com bnoconstructionllc@yahoo.com Commercial Construction Vastine Remodeling and Construction LLC 5908 FM 517 E., Dickinson, TX 77539 281-678-8791 Representative: Charles Vastine vrckitchenandbath.com vastineremodelingllc@gmail.com Remodeling Del Bosque Plumbing 2903 31st Ave. N., Texas City, TX 77590 409-943-4129 Representative: Rene Del Bosque www.delbosgueplumbing.com delbosgueplumbing@gmail.com Plumbing, Installation, Repairs WELCOME NEW MEMBERS6 | Chamber Express | April 2021April 2021 | Chamber Express | 78 | Chamber Express | April 2021 CONGRATULATIONS TO THESE AWARD WINNERS! At the Chamber’s annual Membership Banquet on March 25, several presti- gious awards were presented. The Master of Ceremonies Mark Ciavaglia and outgoing Chairman of the Board Rusty Plackemeier were joined on stage by several outstanding businesses and individuals from the community. Incoming 2021 Board Chair Georgia Meyer Barzilay was presented with the gavel by Plackemeier to lead this year. New Chamber President Page Michel gave a special welcome and led the crowd in an invocation before the dinner. The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the following awards: The 2020 Jimmy Hay- ley Community Service Award was presented to Former Mayor Bobby Hocking, a community leader widely regard- ed for his compassion, service and variety of community activities. Hocking was selected to receive this honor for his leadership and service to the City of La Marque, and the entire Mainland region over the past 10 years. The award was presented virtually and a humorous acceptance speech by Hocking was shown to the audience. On stage, the award was accepted by current Mayor of the City of La Marque Keith Bell and a proud City team! The Legend Award was presented to Jenny Senter. In its 52-year history, the Tex- as City-La Marque Chamber has only recognized two other Legend Award winners: Jimmy Hayley and Ron Plackemeier. The third to join the rare group of honored individuals was Jenny Senter, who spent 30 years with the chamber — the last four as its President/CEO. She retired in December, 2020.April 2021 | Chamber Express | 9 The 2020 Large Business of the Year Award was presented to UTMB Health. The award symbolizes the community’s appreciation for all their employees being on the front line of the pandemic, for UTMB being a trusted resource to everyone in the communi- ty during the crisis and for leadership excellence at all levels. Dr. Matthew Hay and Christine Wade, RN MSN, ED accepted the award at the chamber banquet. The 2020 Small Business of the Year Award was presented to South Land Title. This honor recognizes and celebrates the company’s growth in Texas City and beyond, for providing excellent jobs and keeping everyone employed during the pandemic crisis and for supporting many charitable causes in the community. Congrats to Patrick Doyle, Carolyn Sunseri, Shannon Doyle Osborn and the whole SLT team! The Chairman’s Award was given by outgoing 2020 Chairman Rusty Plackemeier to Kirk Broiles, a past Chairman of the Chamber Board and long-time active volunteer. Plackemeier said Broiles was selected for this honor for his above-and-beyond service through- out the year. The Rising Star Award was given to KHEA Radio/ Clear Life Media’s Gardy Garcia and Curt Casper. During the pandemic while so many small business- es were forced to close and hurting, this team went above and beyond with their talent and resources to provide exposure and boost local businesses. The Shining Star Award was given to volunteer Dom Orozco, a co-chair of the Golden Division. Dom spent countless hours in 2020 assisting the chamber with projects and events, despite the difficult conditions presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Outstanding Citizen of the Year Award was presented to Dr. Warren Nichols for outstanding accomplishments with construction of new state- of-the-art facilities for College of the Mainland. The award recognizes recognize Dr. Nichols’ vision and dedication to overseeing contractors, architects and engineers to achieve the highest-quality construction safely, on time, and under budget. At the same time, he has led the college through the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis. Throughout 2020, Dr. Nichols used tremendous leadership skills to manage the logis- tics, technology and social challenges caused by the pandemic.Next >