January 4, 2025 • 42 mins
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
You're listening to the Roy West Show here on News
Talk five sixty k l v I, and folks, if
you're driving down the road, always download the free iHeartRadio app.
You can catch this show live through that media. And
also you can catch this show at any of my
prior shows on podcasts on iHeart, Apple podcast, Android podcast,
(00:22):
Spotify and all those platforms. And I have with me
real estates are Charlie Foxworth, Remax one, Welcome back to
the show. Charlie Man, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
I just appreciate you continuing to tolerate me.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Well, here we are wrapping up another year, twenty twenty four.
We're you know, we're in December and we're looking forward
to lots of changes in twenty five.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
There's always lots of changes sometimes who don't know what
those are going to look like, as times have showed
us in the past.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
But we still plan ahead, we still execute.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
People still have to find places to live, Businesses continue
to perform, and you know you're you have a large
real estate footprint your brokerage all the way over the Woodlands,
Mount Bellevue, clearly all over Southeast Texas.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
So you have your finger on the pulse of things.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
But you're also very involved in general economic development for
Southeast Texas.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
So i'd love to get your feedback today.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Oh yeah, Well, you know, baseline is economic development is
of interest to all of us, and I think you
can relate to that because that one job that gets created,
that net new job, the idea is that it brings
a family with it, and then when the family comes,
then they're demanding services from most of us who operate
(01:50):
within a given community, right So being out on the
front of that to try and make sure we've got infrastructure,
try and make sure we've got a land available, buildings,
whatever it takes. Then ultimately you're going to end up
with demand for residential real estate, and then you're going
to have demand for, you know, along with the home purchase,
(02:14):
a mortgage insurance, and then you've got grocery stores, you've
got stockbrokers, you've got the whole thing trickles down from there.
So it's it's a particular interest to us here on
the Gulf Coast because we've been blessed the last few
years with these gigantic projects that are coming in. So
it was what three four years ago, it was fifty
(02:37):
four billion dollars.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
I've heard as much.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
So I sit on the Southeast Texas Economic Development Foundation,
which hosts the group of economic developers from municipalities or
counties in our region covers five or six different counties.
I attend this stuff in Montbelle, you and obviously towards
(03:02):
the north side of Houston over there with the woodlands
and all of it is good because when you see
the petrochemical development, you see what I refer to as
George Jetson development, where that now everything's so high tech
and they're so able to filter emissions and this, that
and the other. That we generate fifty thousand construction jobs.
(03:26):
That leaves one hundred or ten in that case of
permanent jobs. And what we don't talk about are the
maintenance jobs the contractors that are required to constantly be
in there, checking, replacing, monitoring, making sure that those are okay.
So we have industry here that is somewhat transitory with
(03:50):
the construction workers, but then we have these contracting companies
that are coming in and they're growing like crazy. They're
building buildings, they're employing people and bring and families in.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
So it's all really good.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
And as we finished this year I'm very optimistic about
next year and what next year can bring because there's
even more projects and the fundamental goal is to continue
on the path of exploring industrial expansion. But also at
(04:24):
the same time of thinking and maybe you can speak
to this, are sales tax from a municipality and from
a state. Like if I go on and I click
Amazon and I get next day delivery, I think that's
coming from somewhere here. In fact, it's coming from a
warehouse that's in another county, that's in another place that
(04:49):
gets driven over here. The sales tax funnels not locally
to where I am, but is paid through the state
to the county that that warehouse is located. Right, That's correct,
So when you talk about local our next project needs
to be looking at our advantage with infrastructure from water, rail,
(05:16):
interstate highway access to get located here. However, we need
to do it these large warehouses to distribute to either
something like a Dollar General or an Amazon Delivery, which
you've seen these last mile delivery locations in malls that
(05:39):
have gone dormant or things like that. But the real
focus is on what we can offer, in my opinion,
to those kind of distributors. That can distribute this part
of Texas and into Louisiana so that we can receive
and take advantage of because certainly we have you know
(06:02):
what's happening with l T in all of their locations,
with truck driving schools, with our ability to deliver people
that can make the deliveries for these kind of services.
That we have it all here, I mean, so from
top to bottom. The only thing we lack is the
(06:22):
actual warehouse itself and the goods that go in it.
Speaker 4 (06:26):
Was that you you know in your spot on because oftentimes,
you know, we just live in changing times and this
isn't new, but things are changing more rapidly.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
And you know, as a as a city and you
know county, we get our revenue from property tax and
sales tax, and a lot of people don't realize that
half our revenue comes from sales tax. Yep.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
But cities Beaumont size across the nation are having declining
sales tax because of exactly what you said, online purchasing.
And I think most of our listeners certainly realize they
buy a lot more online than they did probably a
year ago, but certainly a whole lot more than four
or five years ago. Because it is extremely convenient, and
(07:13):
there's also cost things that you know, they're they're losing
retail storefronts and they're able to create savings. But so
how is a community that we respond to that we
may there's certain things we may not like, but they
are our realities. And your point is, so let's be
solution based.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
How absolutely, how are we going to be a city
that thrives in this new environment?
Speaker 1 (07:37):
And uh, and I certainly agree with you. Well, I
think the infrastructure is here, and.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
I think now it's a matter of figuring out what
what are the symptoms of what they're looking for in
that environment in order to put that kind of warehousing,
and how can we create a solution and proactive about it.
You know, there was rumors years ago about BUCkies. The
(08:06):
one in Baytown was supposed to be in Orange County. Well,
BUCkies comes and BUCkies doesn't play. They know what they
bring to the table, and they're saying, not only are
you going to give us this land so we will
construct on it, but we want to share in your
sales tax revenue. And we said no, we're not going
to share. Well look what we got. We got zero
(08:30):
and zero percent of zero. Last I checked was zero,
and so you really got to make a decision. And
this is a this is a well thought out, financially
calculated if you're trying to pull people off the freeway
to get that sales tax or you're trying to get
a warehouse, two different things. Obviously, I'm just saying our
(08:54):
whole mode of thinking needs to start in the present
and move forward with how do we do this with
the mindset of zero percent of zero equals zero because Louisiana,
you know, it is a whole different animal when it
comes to economic development and what they offer and what
they try and do to entice people in. Because the
(09:15):
thinking has to be long term. It has to be
long term. But also just as a side note here,
and I don't know how much time we have left,
but realizing that the internet is not our enemy the
internet and a lot of cases, how many of you
have walked into a store trying to get service at
(09:35):
a local store and you have employees that are on
their phones and it's just as easy for you to
walk home, click click, click, and it's done, it's wrapped,
it's at your house, free shipping, no questions asked, And
you really have a hard time. I mean, so it's
an investment on all of our parts. And I'm not
(09:57):
saying everybody's that way, but I am saying that we
do need to. I had this experience with an Apple Store,
of all places, where I was going to get my
hands on feel and buy some equipment in the Apple store,
not the one here locally, but I was with the
kids and wherever they're in college, and we were walking through,
(10:21):
and I want to get them something and anyway, ultimately
we couldn't get anyone to help us. So I just
came home and clicked through and had it delivered to
their house.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
Well, and you know, and the point I think your
point is there. Things are changing. We don't have to
like that they're changing.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
That's but as a business, as a city, as a community,
if we want to continue.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
To thrive, we want to stay relevant, be a place
where people want to be. We have to make adjustments
in how we do things to reach that. And I
know that we are blessed because of the petrochemical industry
having such a large presence here in our pipelines and
(11:08):
our port and Interstate ten and our rails. You know,
we have things that other people cannot reproduce, so there
is no reason in us not thriving. But for we're
we're up on about thirty seconds. How do people get
in touch with Remax one because when it comes to
buy or sell in real estate, that's the place to start.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
Yeah, start r m x O n E dot com
is the website and that's short for Remax one, but
it's our mxone dot com. I'm today in the Beaumont
office and if you're listening locally here, the phone numbers
four O nine eight six oh thirty two hundred had
(11:52):
been that way since nineteen eighty eight.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
Charlie fowkx Worth, owner broker Remax one and also just
real estates are for Southeast Texas. Thank you so much
for being on the show. I just care I know
you do. Talk to you later.
Speaker 3 (12:13):
Good afternoon, Southeast Texas. You're listening to the Roy West
Show here on News Talk five sixty KLVI, and remember
you can always download the free iHeartRadio app, stream the
show live wherever you are, or catch this show or
any of our shows on podcast as well, so we
make it super easy for you. And I've got with
(12:34):
me Molly More of the Natus River Festival. Welcome back
to the show, Molly, thank you for having me. Well,
it's a pleasure, and we are here in December, but
you know it's gonna be January before we know it.
And then the springs here and Nature's River Festival has
been going on for decades here in southeast Texas for
(12:56):
people that might be new to the area or unfamiliar.
Can you give people a little bit of what Nature's
River Festival is?
Speaker 5 (13:04):
Yes, So our festival was started in nineteen forty nine
with a bunch of the Beaumont leaders and they decided
they wanted to draw a bunch of attention to our resources,
which is our youth and our Nature's River. So here
came the Natures River Festival. And now we're in our
seventy seventh year and we're really proud of the growth
(13:25):
that we've made and that we have all of the
community involved. And so it's a really fun experience for
seniors in high school which participate as princesses and escorts,
and then juniors are seniors in outlaying communities, they are
able to participate as duchesses and duchess escorts, and so
(13:46):
we have a big number participating this year. We're really
excited about it. We have ninety princesses and they have
ninety escorts, and then we have thirty duchesses from the
surrounding areas well.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
Is this about as large? I mean, I was in
it in nineteen seventy nine and I've been to several
of them. That sounds like a large number. I don't
know if it's typically that many or not.
Speaker 5 (14:11):
In recent years. This is our largest number, But back
in the early two thousands when I was in it,
we had about this number, and it ebs and flows,
but we're really proud of the growth and that we
have a lot of volunteers. We have a lot of participation.
So we're having a really good stretch of years and
(14:34):
we just want to keep growing and having the community
come out and join us for the festival.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
Well, it's a lot of fun, a lot of fun activities,
and for the young people that are involved, it gets
them an opportunity to meet a lot of people, get
exposed to a lot of things that and some and
get educated in some areas they might be unaware of.
Build these relationships and which I think is so important.
(15:03):
And it was such leadership back in nineteen forty nine.
For them to you know, come up with this and
for this to be able to continue for all the
all these years, it's really incredible. And so seventy six years,
that's that's amazing. And you know, and of course the
Nature's River Baumat wouldn't be what Beaumont is without the
(15:23):
Nature's River, and because it gives us the port and
so much others things. So let's you the first event
that will be kicking it off is for the public
is February twenty second, right, Yes.
Speaker 5 (15:38):
That's our Capes and Crowns five K. And you know,
we're really proud of this one too, because all the
proceeds go to support our nine scholarships that we give
out the night of the coronation which is April twelfth.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
Well, and so how do people sign up? And the
Turkey Trot registration when people were getting their shirts, Mollie
was there. She was signing up with some of those
dedicated runners. And I was impressed that you were there
because this was, you know, right before Thanksgiving and they
had a good crew and they had a lot of
(16:13):
serious runners too, because I know I participate in five k's,
but my participation usually involves me walking, but you can
run as well well.
Speaker 5 (16:22):
We've gotten a great support from the Sea Room Striders.
They have supported our run and they have helped us
get started, and that was back in our seventy first
year at the Nature Festival. So this is our sixth
run and I'm just proud of this run because it's
a great way to get your family out there. And
(16:44):
we invite all the participants to run, and it is
a timed five k and we also do it timed
one mile for kids. So we'll start with the kids
at eight thirty and then we'll start our five k
at nine and you can sign up at Nature Riverfestival
dot com. We'll have a five k tap and everything's
(17:04):
done through run sign up and it's just a really
fun day with music, face painting. We have really cute
shirts and coosies and bags this year and your registration
includes a bag, a metal and a T shirt, so.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
You get it all and you're gonna have a lot
of good fellowship. And so then what does the rest
of the calendar look like and kind of give a
little bit of a view for people, because the public
gets to be engaged in a number of events with
the Nature's River Festival, but the but the young people
that are involved in it, there's a number of other
(17:42):
things that they get to participate in.
Speaker 5 (17:46):
Yes, so we have a bunch of community partners within
Beaumont and they put on different events for these participants,
which includes the Junior League, the Links, and the Symphony
we have Southeast Texas. We also do an interview process
with them, and that's how our Royal Court is selected.
(18:09):
In each one of these community partnerships that the events
they do, they provide a really awesome day or party
for these participants. All are a little bit different, but
it's just it's a great way to get the other
community groups involved with the Nature's River Festival. And that
(18:32):
goes on throughout the whole spring. But our first public
besides the five k, our first public event is our
King's Arrival and Citizen of the Year presentation and that's
on a Wednesday, and that is on April second, and
we have that at the Event Center and everybody is
invited to that. And then we have our big parade
in downtown Beaumont and that is on April eleventh. It's
(18:55):
going to be in the evening, so at five point thirty,
we have a street party which everyone's invited. Two we'll
have food and again face painters music, and then the
parade starts at six.
Speaker 3 (19:06):
Well, and then the coronation is the next day.
Speaker 5 (19:09):
And coronation, yes, the coronation and ball will be the
next day. And again the coronation is a public event,
and our ball you just have to purchase your tickets
through our website and that's going to be the night
of April twelfth, and so you can see all of
our beautiful princesses and escorts and everybody presented at the
Julie Rogers Theater and then our ball is at the
(19:31):
Civic Center across the street. So it's just a lot
of fun. And we will present those nine scholarships the
night of the coronation, and again that's what the five
K funds, So when you buy an entry into our
five K, all of the proceeds go to fund those scholarships.
So it's you know, not only are you doing something
(19:52):
healthy for your body, you're doing something great for the community.
Speaker 3 (19:56):
That's right give where you live. And y'all, your website
is Riverfestival dot com and there it has all the
dates you can make if you want to attend the
coronation ball and the coronation, you can get your tickets.
There is that, right and yes, so, and it has
(20:16):
phone numbers and you can ask questions. It's super easy
to interact with and you know, this makes a real
difference for our kids. But it also connects us as
a community. And I know with social media now, you know,
kids might be able to interact with that personal connection
and meeting people from other schools. I know for me,
you know, growing up that was it was cool because
(20:39):
you got to meet kids from all other high schools.
And this is right before you're either going off to
college or entering the workforce. So it helps you learn
how to you know, do do better at networking and
uh so there's all kinds of skills for our young
people as well as getting winning the possibility of winning scholarships.
(21:00):
So and it brings the community together because this the
Natures River Festival certainly is Beaumont and it is the
surrounding counties. I know some people come from much further away,
but it's it's a great time and uh there's a
lot of generational involvement in it.
Speaker 5 (21:19):
There is, and you know, we're really lucky. The lm
VA has also partnered with us and so we spend
a day on the Natures River. So these participants can
you know, see what the river does for us. And
the lm VA does a really good job explaining that
to them. So you know, we're just we're lucky to
have such great support here in our community.
Speaker 3 (21:36):
Well, we're about out of time. I just want to
run through the day so you can go. Can you
register for the Capes and Crowns five K on the website?
Speaker 5 (21:45):
Yes, I will have a link that will connect you
to the run sign up and that would be the
easiest way, or you could just google our five K,
but we do have all of that accessible on our website.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
Well, Molly, thank you so much and thank you for
your leaderships Nature's River Festival. It's a great event and
a great event for all the Southeast Texas. I'll talk
to you soon.
Speaker 5 (22:07):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
All right, kill it. We are back with the Roy
West Show here on News Talk five sixty klv I
and folks. Carol Fernandez with Catholic Charities is back with us,
and I always love having Carol on the show because
Catholic Charity has a huge footprint and impact in Southeast
(22:31):
Texas really enhancing people's lives. And Carol, thank you so
much for being on the show today.
Speaker 6 (22:38):
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 3 (22:40):
Sir.
Speaker 6 (22:40):
I'm always always happy to have this opportunity to be
on the show, so appreciate.
Speaker 3 (22:45):
It absolutely well. So tell people if you will, You've
got some gift giving ideas which I love. We talked
about a little bit before, but a little five thousand
foot view of Catholic Charities.
Speaker 6 (22:57):
Surely, surely, surely so about the gift giving idea. So
this is something that I didn't learn about until I
came to Catholic Charities, and that is, you know, for
someone who may be on your gift list is just
very hard to shop for. You don't know what to
get for them, or maybe it's someone that you feel like, oh, well,
they have everything, what more could you get for them?
(23:17):
For that person, why not consider giving them a gift
that is a donation to Catholic Charities in their honor.
And so with that donation, we would send a letter
to that individual letting them know that a donation or
a gift has been made in their honor, and we
can say who gave the gift, or it could be
anonymous if the a donor would like that. And so
(23:40):
you know, so why give a gift like that to
Catholic charities. Well, one thing is that unlike the gift
purchases and retail stores those Christmas gifts, your donation to
Catholic Charities, we're a five oh one C three nonprofits,
So that would be a tax deductible a gift. So
you're still giving a gift to someone and you're getting
a tax deductible donation. So also you know your gift
(24:03):
is helping that gift donation is helping people in need.
You know, donors can be assured that that gift is
going to have a very wide reach. So last fiscal year,
our fiscal year ended in June thirtieth, our last one,
and so we had served at our hospitality center, our
soup kitchen that's in Port Arthur. We served more than
(24:25):
thirty three thousand meals mayor out at the hospitality center
and then Market to Hope, which you know, Hope stands
for help other People Eat. That's our grocery store and
food pantry. We served more than three thousand families there
and gave out more than a million pounds of food
through the market. So definitely these gift donations really have
(24:48):
a very wide reach. And you know, for anyone who
might be concerned Catholic charities, yes, we are Catholic with
the big seat, but we are Catholic with the little letters,
and that we are universal and so no one has
to be of the Catholic faith to receive services and
get help from Catholic charity. So definitely a wide reach.
(25:11):
And then Mayor, as you said, we have a pretty
big footprint geographically, and that we serve nine counties in
this area, and I like to do them in alphabetical
order so that I hope I get them all. So
it's Chambers, Jasper, Jefferson, Harden, Liberty, Newton, Orange, Polk and
(25:31):
Tyler counties that we serve, and so all of our
programs are available to low to moderate income residents of
those areas. You know, we have primarily worked in Beaumont
in Jefferson County in terms of physical presence. So we
have our central service facility on East tex Freeway in
Beaumont where we do our counseling services, Elijah's Place, Home Matters,
(25:56):
immigration services. We have as I mentioned Hospitalality Center, the
Soup Kitchen on Golfway Drive in Port Arthur. Market to
Hope here in Beaumont is on the same campus with
our Mother of Mercy Catholic Church over on Sarah Street.
But we now, and I didn't get to tell you
this before we got started, we actually have a new
physical location, our Western Service Facility that's in Winnie, Texas.
(26:21):
And so from that location we're also going to have
Market to Hope, our food pantry, offering that immigration services,
counseling services, and hopefully more, but definitely those. It just
gives us. It makes it easier for the clients and
families that need the help to get that help, for
us to physically be there on a regular basis. We
(26:44):
are in our other counties, but not every day, you know.
And so so having this physical presence there in Chambers
County is really going to go a long ways and
being able to help families there and also out there Mayor.
We have a new social enterprise venture that we started
back in July. So we acquired the Saint Vincent de
(27:06):
Paul thrift store that is on Highway one twenty four
in Winning and so this is also very new to us.
So it's our resale shop that we're calling the Thrift Barn.
And so it's very very new. I can't share a
whole lot about it because we're learning it and getting
it going and in that transition phase right now. But
(27:30):
I hope that maybe later after the holidays, that you'll
invite us back at some point and we can give
more information about how people can support that effort.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
Absolutely, and this is you know, when people talk about
given where you live, this is this is our back door,
this is I mean our backyard, and when you know,
also what's so important is, you know, Catholic Charities is
very broad based, very involved in a lot of the
(28:00):
challenges that poverty brings to people. And in terms of
when people are looking for help, Catholic Charities when they
don't provide a service, they know who to send people to.
And a lot of those services also send people to
Catholic Charities because trying to avoid redundancies and areas but
(28:20):
meet the needs of the people and being creative in
how you can effectively do that, Yes.
Speaker 6 (28:27):
Sir, and so that is important, you know. We I
just had the director of our counseling services come to
me yesterday to say that that some of the schools
are interested in working with Catholic Charities because we have
a counselor, a mental health counselor who is bilingual in
Spanish in English, and that is just a significant need
(28:52):
in the community that we don't have enough counselors to
help the children who need that service, and so that
will be a new partnership that we will have coming
soon to be able to work with the schools to
offer those services. Elijah's Place is another service, the Grief
Support program. We primarily work from our main office here,
(29:15):
but we realize that we can't reach all the kids
who need grief support just in our office on the
days that we're working, so Randy, the director of the program,
has been going into the schools one to work with
the staff in the schools, the teachers and all of
the administrators to help them understand children's grief and how
(29:38):
they can help facilitate them, refer them to Elijah's Places necessary,
or in some cases, we're actually doing some grief support
sessions in the schools, so while the kids are there,
we're able to go in and help them if they've
had the loss of sometimes it's been in case, maybe
it's a classmate, it's someone very close to them in
(30:01):
the school, or it could just be that it is
a family member that they have had the loss experience
that death, and so Randy is able to go in
and do sessions in the schools and just do some
GREEF support.
Speaker 7 (30:13):
There.
Speaker 6 (30:14):
So always new opportunities to collaborate with other agencies. You know,
we have been working to rehouse some folks through what
we call our Home Matters program, and you know, for
someone who's been homeless, when they get back into housing,
they need a lot of stuff, and so we've been
(30:34):
able to work with other agencies that have furniture and
housing supplies and different things and get them set up
and re established in their homes. So always always great
to be able to work with our community partners in
the area.
Speaker 3 (30:50):
Well oftentimes, as we're talking about here, it just reminds
me that there's layers to every challenge that exists, and
it involves that weather, you know, when it's dealing with
people that have been unsheltered, homeless, whatever term is used,
getting preparing them and educating them on how to be
(31:11):
successful as that change, and not just put people in
an apartment or something and expect everything to work out
because they're dealing with things that they're not used to
dealing with. That's correct, and so you know there's an
education component to this. There's always need for volunteers, so
financially and physically volunteering. And as you pointed out, this
(31:36):
is for everybody, so you don't have to be Catholic
to participate. You can be of other faiths to volunteer,
and there's just a process and you can you can
learn about all of that.
Speaker 6 (31:47):
Yes, So our website is c c s E. T
X for Catholic Churitiessoutheast Texas dot org. You can learn
about all of our programs there. You can also learn
about volunteering. You can donate online, So please please go
to our website learn more about our programs and find
out how you can get involved and be apart.
Speaker 3 (32:09):
Well, we are out of time. Thank you so much,
and have a very merry Christmas.
Speaker 6 (32:13):
Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas.
Speaker 3 (32:17):
We are back with the Roy West Show here on
News Talk five sixty klv I. I have with me
Sharon Begnoe with the Giving Field right here in Beaumont, Texas.
Welcome back to the show.
Speaker 7 (32:29):
Sharing Hi Roy, thank you so much for having me again.
Speaker 3 (32:33):
Well, it's a pleasure. And if you would tell people,
I mean, you've been on before. And I think the
Giving Field is very well known here in Southeast Texas,
but there are probably still some people that are unfamiliar
with it and so tell people about it.
Speaker 8 (32:47):
So the Giving Field is located on Liberty Street in Beaumont.
It's a one acre organic garden and everything that we
harvest we send to area soup kitchens to feed the hungry.
So the three agencies that we send to are the
Hospitality Center in Port Arthur, some other place in Beaumont,
(33:08):
and Market to Hope, which is like a grocery store
program that's a Catholic Charities program.
Speaker 3 (33:17):
And all of these programs are for everybody. They serve
the community, the entire community. And you know, one acre garden.
It requires a lot of work, a lot of community
involvement for success, and it also brings back for those
that have lost the art of gardening how to garden right.
Speaker 8 (33:44):
So we on average will harvest about seven thousand pounds
each year to send to those three agencies, and it does.
It takes a lot of hands and so many people
in the community come out and help us. And we
also back to your point about the art of gardening,
(34:05):
we also couple a really good.
Speaker 7 (34:07):
Educational component with what we do.
Speaker 8 (34:10):
So we want to teach people how to garden organically,
we want.
Speaker 7 (34:16):
To teach people how to be more sustainable of the earth.
Speaker 8 (34:21):
And at the same time, you're doing something great for
your community.
Speaker 3 (34:27):
Well and and that's exactly right. You're making a difference
in the lives of others, but you're also learning something
and you know, you I know, when I was growing up,
a lot of the grandparents and sometimes even parents did gardens,
but you see fewer of them. And there really is
an art to gardening. You know, it's something that had
been taught from generation to generation and now it's got
(34:50):
lost a little bit. So you know, if you want
to have a garden and be successful, there's really a
lot you need to learn, and that's by volunteering at
the Giving Field and also learn that. But y'all, y'all
are going beyond that too, because y'all have a fundraiser
happening right now, that's right, So.
Speaker 8 (35:07):
We are gearing up to build a kitchen classroom out
at the Giving Field. So it's going to be another
extension for a way for us to feed the hungry.
So in this kitchen classroom, we are going to not
only educate people on how to cook a healthy meal.
Speaker 7 (35:27):
Adults and kids.
Speaker 8 (35:28):
You know, a lot of kids come home to a
household where both the parents are working, and the best
thing that the parents can do for their family is
usually convenience food, which I mean, that's that's what they
can do. So we feel like if we can teach
kids some basic cooking skills that they could take that
(35:49):
into their homes and help their families eat healthier. And
also in this kitchen classroom, these kids are going to
help us create like those reheat and eat meals you
see at some of the grocery stores in town, right,
so that specifically.
Speaker 7 (36:04):
Market to Hope can provide that for their clients.
Speaker 8 (36:07):
That's a product that they do not have currently for
their clients in their program.
Speaker 3 (36:15):
Well, and Market to Hope is is that's a subject
into itself. It's already and it's recreating itself. My understanding
is they might be opening up another one in another area,
but it all it's really neat and impressive and serves
a great need. But this is about you know, community collaboration,
(36:36):
working together to make the overall community better and also
to show that you know, the community matters and that
people matter. So tell us about this fundraiser that's going on.
Speaker 7 (36:49):
So we are selling bricks. We're going to have a
patio outside of the.
Speaker 8 (36:54):
Kitchen classroom and there are bricks that you can have
engraved on there, you know, in memory and of someone,
or in honor of someone, or maybe you just want
your family name on there, you know, to show your
support for the people in our community that need help.
Speaker 7 (37:11):
And so the bricks are two hundred and fifty dollars.
Speaker 8 (37:15):
They're a great Christmas gift and we will be having,
like I said, this patio outside of the kitchen classroom.
The money's going to help us raise the money to
build the kitchen classroom.
Speaker 3 (37:29):
Well in that education process with the kids in the
kitchen classrooms, just another component that you're adding. And y'all
have a great Facebook page where people can get a
lot of information as well.
Speaker 7 (37:43):
Yes, yeah, we sure do.
Speaker 8 (37:44):
So if people can go to the Facebook page, they
can find the information about our brick program and many
other things. And you know the times that we're out
there to volunteer, which We're out there every Tuesday morning
from seven thirty to nine thirty, every Thursday afternoon from
four to six, and the second Saturday of every month
(38:05):
from nine to noon.
Speaker 7 (38:07):
But we have groups that come in besides those times.
Speaker 8 (38:11):
You just reach out to us and you can schedule
a time for maybe, you know, we have a lot
of homeschool groups that are you know, finding us and
doing things at the field. We have a lot of
businesses that kind of use it as a team building
thing for their employees, and sometimes they want to do
something separate beyond the open volunteer times. They want to
(38:32):
do something that's just exclusive to their group, and we
can accommodate that as well.
Speaker 3 (38:38):
Well. I appreciate all that you do. And you know,
the giving field is a five oh one C three,
so that's important. These are tax deductible donations and it
you know, you're given where you live. That's right here
in Southeast Texas.
Speaker 7 (38:54):
Yeah, that's correct. So it takes many people to do
what we do.
Speaker 8 (39:00):
It takes people's time, it takes people's treasure, it takes
people's creativity, you know, and we're really proud to say
that the people that come and help us at the
Giving Field come from many areas in Beaumont and Southeast
Texas and it's you know, it's just it's a great
gathering place as well.
Speaker 7 (39:21):
It's everybody really enjoys being out there.
Speaker 3 (39:25):
Well, this is how long has the Giving Field been around? Now,
it's a long time, and so it is it stood
the test of time. And it's also I think, you know,
given some direction for some others in the community.
Speaker 7 (39:42):
Right. So we started it back in twenty twelve, so
we're twelve years old, and.
Speaker 8 (39:50):
We hope to be able to help other organizations create
a similar model to what we're doing, because we are
just servicing three agents and there's so many more agencies
and so many more people in our community that need
this help of eating healthy food.
Speaker 3 (40:08):
Well, Sharon Begno, thank you so much. The Giving Field
you can find them on Facebook at the Giving Field
on Liberty Street. It's super easy you can and there's
a link there to give or to get more information
as well as the phone number for zero nine to
zero one eight seven zero two. Thank you so much, Sharon,
Thank you, Roy talk to you soon. Okay, we are
(40:33):
back and wrapping up another Roy West radio show here
on News Talk five. Sixty k LV. And remember, folks,
you can always download the free iHeartRadio app and stream
this show live wherever you are, or you can also
go to Spotify, Apple Podcast, Android podcast and catch this
show or any of our shows in their entirety on podcast.
(40:57):
So we make it super easy for you. Every we
have the best guests and it is so much fun.
This week we were talking to Charlie Foxworth, who has
been in Southeast Texas and real estate for many years.
Remax one goes all the way over to the Woodlands,
Mount Bellevue and certainly all over Southeast Texas, talking about
the real estate market and what is to come in
(41:20):
twenty twenty five. And then we're talking to Molly Moore
with the Nature's River Festival about the upcoming Nature's River
Festival and how it impacts the community and our high
school seniors and juniors. Then we spoke with Carolyn Fernandez
with Catholic Charities talking about all the different charitable organizations
(41:44):
that are underneath that umbrella and how they provide services
to all people. This is a Catholic with the Sea
Universal Ministry, meaning you don't have to be Catholic to
get these benefits. All people, but it is underneath the
Catholic Church. People that volunteer aren't all Catholic, people that
(42:06):
receive the services are not all Catholic, but it is
for all people and I think you thank them for
what they do. Sharon Begno with the Giving Field now
over ten years local Community Garden making a huge impact
giving away food but also educating our youth and helping
people learn how to the art of gardening again and
(42:27):
until we talk again, God bless you all.
You're listening to the Roy West Show here on News
Talk five sixty k l v I, and folks, if
you're driving down the road, always download the free iHeartRadio app.
You can catch this show live through that media. And
also you can catch this show at any of my
prior shows on podcasts on iHeart, Apple podcast, Android podcast,
(00:22):
Spotify and all those platforms. And I have with me
real estates are Charlie Foxworth, Remax one, Welcome back to
the show. Charlie Man, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
I just appreciate you continuing to tolerate me.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Well, here we are wrapping up another year, twenty twenty four.
We're you know, we're in December and we're looking forward
to lots of changes in twenty five.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
There's always lots of changes sometimes who don't know what
those are going to look like, as times have showed
us in the past.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
But we still plan ahead, we still execute.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
People still have to find places to live, Businesses continue
to perform, and you know you're you have a large
real estate footprint your brokerage all the way over the Woodlands,
Mount Bellevue, clearly all over Southeast Texas.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
So you have your finger on the pulse of things.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
But you're also very involved in general economic development for
Southeast Texas.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
So i'd love to get your feedback today.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Oh yeah, Well, you know, baseline is economic development is
of interest to all of us, and I think you
can relate to that because that one job that gets created,
that net new job, the idea is that it brings
a family with it, and then when the family comes,
then they're demanding services from most of us who operate
(01:50):
within a given community, right So being out on the
front of that to try and make sure we've got infrastructure,
try and make sure we've got a land available, buildings,
whatever it takes. Then ultimately you're going to end up
with demand for residential real estate, and then you're going
to have demand for, you know, along with the home purchase,
(02:14):
a mortgage insurance, and then you've got grocery stores, you've
got stockbrokers, you've got the whole thing trickles down from there.
So it's it's a particular interest to us here on
the Gulf Coast because we've been blessed the last few
years with these gigantic projects that are coming in. So
it was what three four years ago, it was fifty
(02:37):
four billion dollars.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
I've heard as much.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
So I sit on the Southeast Texas Economic Development Foundation,
which hosts the group of economic developers from municipalities or
counties in our region covers five or six different counties.
I attend this stuff in Montbelle, you and obviously towards
(03:02):
the north side of Houston over there with the woodlands
and all of it is good because when you see
the petrochemical development, you see what I refer to as
George Jetson development, where that now everything's so high tech
and they're so able to filter emissions and this, that
and the other. That we generate fifty thousand construction jobs.
(03:26):
That leaves one hundred or ten in that case of
permanent jobs. And what we don't talk about are the
maintenance jobs the contractors that are required to constantly be
in there, checking, replacing, monitoring, making sure that those are okay.
So we have industry here that is somewhat transitory with
(03:50):
the construction workers, but then we have these contracting companies
that are coming in and they're growing like crazy. They're
building buildings, they're employing people and bring and families in.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
So it's all really good.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
And as we finished this year I'm very optimistic about
next year and what next year can bring because there's
even more projects and the fundamental goal is to continue
on the path of exploring industrial expansion. But also at
(04:24):
the same time of thinking and maybe you can speak
to this, are sales tax from a municipality and from
a state. Like if I go on and I click
Amazon and I get next day delivery, I think that's
coming from somewhere here. In fact, it's coming from a
warehouse that's in another county, that's in another place that
(04:49):
gets driven over here. The sales tax funnels not locally
to where I am, but is paid through the state
to the county that that warehouse is located. Right, That's correct,
So when you talk about local our next project needs
to be looking at our advantage with infrastructure from water, rail,
(05:16):
interstate highway access to get located here. However, we need
to do it these large warehouses to distribute to either
something like a Dollar General or an Amazon Delivery, which
you've seen these last mile delivery locations in malls that
(05:39):
have gone dormant or things like that. But the real
focus is on what we can offer, in my opinion,
to those kind of distributors. That can distribute this part
of Texas and into Louisiana so that we can receive
and take advantage of because certainly we have you know
(06:02):
what's happening with l T in all of their locations,
with truck driving schools, with our ability to deliver people
that can make the deliveries for these kind of services.
That we have it all here, I mean, so from
top to bottom. The only thing we lack is the
(06:22):
actual warehouse itself and the goods that go in it.
Speaker 4 (06:26):
Was that you you know in your spot on because oftentimes,
you know, we just live in changing times and this
isn't new, but things are changing more rapidly.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
And you know, as a as a city and you
know county, we get our revenue from property tax and
sales tax, and a lot of people don't realize that
half our revenue comes from sales tax. Yep.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
But cities Beaumont size across the nation are having declining
sales tax because of exactly what you said, online purchasing.
And I think most of our listeners certainly realize they
buy a lot more online than they did probably a
year ago, but certainly a whole lot more than four
or five years ago. Because it is extremely convenient, and
(07:13):
there's also cost things that you know, they're they're losing
retail storefronts and they're able to create savings. But so
how is a community that we respond to that we
may there's certain things we may not like, but they
are our realities. And your point is, so let's be
solution based.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
How absolutely, how are we going to be a city
that thrives in this new environment?
Speaker 1 (07:37):
And uh, and I certainly agree with you. Well, I
think the infrastructure is here, and.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
I think now it's a matter of figuring out what
what are the symptoms of what they're looking for in
that environment in order to put that kind of warehousing,
and how can we create a solution and proactive about it.
You know, there was rumors years ago about BUCkies. The
(08:06):
one in Baytown was supposed to be in Orange County. Well,
BUCkies comes and BUCkies doesn't play. They know what they
bring to the table, and they're saying, not only are
you going to give us this land so we will
construct on it, but we want to share in your
sales tax revenue. And we said no, we're not going
to share. Well look what we got. We got zero
(08:30):
and zero percent of zero. Last I checked was zero,
and so you really got to make a decision. And
this is a this is a well thought out, financially
calculated if you're trying to pull people off the freeway
to get that sales tax or you're trying to get
a warehouse, two different things. Obviously, I'm just saying our
(08:54):
whole mode of thinking needs to start in the present
and move forward with how do we do this with
the mindset of zero percent of zero equals zero because Louisiana,
you know, it is a whole different animal when it
comes to economic development and what they offer and what
they try and do to entice people in. Because the
(09:15):
thinking has to be long term. It has to be
long term. But also just as a side note here,
and I don't know how much time we have left,
but realizing that the internet is not our enemy the
internet and a lot of cases, how many of you
have walked into a store trying to get service at
(09:35):
a local store and you have employees that are on
their phones and it's just as easy for you to
walk home, click click, click, and it's done, it's wrapped,
it's at your house, free shipping, no questions asked, And
you really have a hard time. I mean, so it's
an investment on all of our parts. And I'm not
(09:57):
saying everybody's that way, but I am saying that we
do need to. I had this experience with an Apple Store,
of all places, where I was going to get my
hands on feel and buy some equipment in the Apple store,
not the one here locally, but I was with the
kids and wherever they're in college, and we were walking through,
(10:21):
and I want to get them something and anyway, ultimately
we couldn't get anyone to help us. So I just
came home and clicked through and had it delivered to
their house.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
Well, and you know, and the point I think your
point is there. Things are changing. We don't have to
like that they're changing.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
That's but as a business, as a city, as a community,
if we want to continue.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
To thrive, we want to stay relevant, be a place
where people want to be. We have to make adjustments
in how we do things to reach that. And I
know that we are blessed because of the petrochemical industry
having such a large presence here in our pipelines and
(11:08):
our port and Interstate ten and our rails. You know,
we have things that other people cannot reproduce, so there
is no reason in us not thriving. But for we're
we're up on about thirty seconds. How do people get
in touch with Remax one because when it comes to
buy or sell in real estate, that's the place to start.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
Yeah, start r m x O n E dot com
is the website and that's short for Remax one, but
it's our mxone dot com. I'm today in the Beaumont
office and if you're listening locally here, the phone numbers
four O nine eight six oh thirty two hundred had
(11:52):
been that way since nineteen eighty eight.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
Charlie fowkx Worth, owner broker Remax one and also just
real estates are for Southeast Texas. Thank you so much
for being on the show. I just care I know
you do. Talk to you later.
Speaker 3 (12:13):
Good afternoon, Southeast Texas. You're listening to the Roy West
Show here on News Talk five sixty KLVI, and remember
you can always download the free iHeartRadio app, stream the
show live wherever you are, or catch this show or
any of our shows on podcast as well, so we
make it super easy for you. And I've got with
(12:34):
me Molly More of the Natus River Festival. Welcome back
to the show, Molly, thank you for having me. Well,
it's a pleasure, and we are here in December, but
you know it's gonna be January before we know it.
And then the springs here and Nature's River Festival has
been going on for decades here in southeast Texas for
(12:56):
people that might be new to the area or unfamiliar.
Can you give people a little bit of what Nature's
River Festival is?
Speaker 5 (13:04):
Yes, So our festival was started in nineteen forty nine
with a bunch of the Beaumont leaders and they decided
they wanted to draw a bunch of attention to our resources,
which is our youth and our Nature's River. So here
came the Natures River Festival. And now we're in our
seventy seventh year and we're really proud of the growth
(13:25):
that we've made and that we have all of the
community involved. And so it's a really fun experience for
seniors in high school which participate as princesses and escorts,
and then juniors are seniors in outlaying communities, they are
able to participate as duchesses and duchess escorts, and so
(13:46):
we have a big number participating this year. We're really
excited about it. We have ninety princesses and they have
ninety escorts, and then we have thirty duchesses from the
surrounding areas well.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
Is this about as large? I mean, I was in
it in nineteen seventy nine and I've been to several
of them. That sounds like a large number. I don't
know if it's typically that many or not.
Speaker 5 (14:11):
In recent years. This is our largest number, But back
in the early two thousands when I was in it,
we had about this number, and it ebs and flows,
but we're really proud of the growth and that we
have a lot of volunteers. We have a lot of participation.
So we're having a really good stretch of years and
(14:34):
we just want to keep growing and having the community
come out and join us for the festival.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
Well, it's a lot of fun, a lot of fun activities,
and for the young people that are involved, it gets
them an opportunity to meet a lot of people, get
exposed to a lot of things that and some and
get educated in some areas they might be unaware of.
Build these relationships and which I think is so important.
(15:03):
And it was such leadership back in nineteen forty nine.
For them to you know, come up with this and
for this to be able to continue for all the
all these years, it's really incredible. And so seventy six years,
that's that's amazing. And you know, and of course the
Nature's River Baumat wouldn't be what Beaumont is without the
(15:23):
Nature's River, and because it gives us the port and
so much others things. So let's you the first event
that will be kicking it off is for the public
is February twenty second, right, Yes.
Speaker 5 (15:38):
That's our Capes and Crowns five K. And you know,
we're really proud of this one too, because all the
proceeds go to support our nine scholarships that we give
out the night of the coronation which is April twelfth.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
Well, and so how do people sign up? And the
Turkey Trot registration when people were getting their shirts, Mollie
was there. She was signing up with some of those
dedicated runners. And I was impressed that you were there
because this was, you know, right before Thanksgiving and they
had a good crew and they had a lot of
(16:13):
serious runners too, because I know I participate in five k's,
but my participation usually involves me walking, but you can
run as well well.
Speaker 5 (16:22):
We've gotten a great support from the Sea Room Striders.
They have supported our run and they have helped us
get started, and that was back in our seventy first
year at the Nature Festival. So this is our sixth
run and I'm just proud of this run because it's
a great way to get your family out there. And
(16:44):
we invite all the participants to run, and it is
a timed five k and we also do it timed
one mile for kids. So we'll start with the kids
at eight thirty and then we'll start our five k
at nine and you can sign up at Nature Riverfestival
dot com. We'll have a five k tap and everything's
(17:04):
done through run sign up and it's just a really
fun day with music, face painting. We have really cute
shirts and coosies and bags this year and your registration
includes a bag, a metal and a T shirt, so.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
You get it all and you're gonna have a lot
of good fellowship. And so then what does the rest
of the calendar look like and kind of give a
little bit of a view for people, because the public
gets to be engaged in a number of events with
the Nature's River Festival, but the but the young people
that are involved in it, there's a number of other
(17:42):
things that they get to participate in.
Speaker 5 (17:46):
Yes, so we have a bunch of community partners within
Beaumont and they put on different events for these participants,
which includes the Junior League, the Links, and the Symphony
we have Southeast Texas. We also do an interview process
with them, and that's how our Royal Court is selected.
(18:09):
In each one of these community partnerships that the events
they do, they provide a really awesome day or party
for these participants. All are a little bit different, but
it's just it's a great way to get the other
community groups involved with the Nature's River Festival. And that
(18:32):
goes on throughout the whole spring. But our first public
besides the five k, our first public event is our
King's Arrival and Citizen of the Year presentation and that's
on a Wednesday, and that is on April second, and
we have that at the Event Center and everybody is
invited to that. And then we have our big parade
in downtown Beaumont and that is on April eleventh. It's
(18:55):
going to be in the evening, so at five point thirty,
we have a street party which everyone's invited. Two we'll
have food and again face painters music, and then the
parade starts at six.
Speaker 3 (19:06):
Well, and then the coronation is the next day.
Speaker 5 (19:09):
And coronation, yes, the coronation and ball will be the
next day. And again the coronation is a public event,
and our ball you just have to purchase your tickets
through our website and that's going to be the night
of April twelfth, and so you can see all of
our beautiful princesses and escorts and everybody presented at the
Julie Rogers Theater and then our ball is at the
(19:31):
Civic Center across the street. So it's just a lot
of fun. And we will present those nine scholarships the
night of the coronation, and again that's what the five
K funds, So when you buy an entry into our
five K, all of the proceeds go to fund those scholarships.
So it's you know, not only are you doing something
(19:52):
healthy for your body, you're doing something great for the community.
Speaker 3 (19:56):
That's right give where you live. And y'all, your website
is Riverfestival dot com and there it has all the
dates you can make if you want to attend the
coronation ball and the coronation, you can get your tickets.
There is that, right and yes, so, and it has
(20:16):
phone numbers and you can ask questions. It's super easy
to interact with and you know, this makes a real
difference for our kids. But it also connects us as
a community. And I know with social media now, you know,
kids might be able to interact with that personal connection
and meeting people from other schools. I know for me,
you know, growing up that was it was cool because
(20:39):
you got to meet kids from all other high schools.
And this is right before you're either going off to
college or entering the workforce. So it helps you learn
how to you know, do do better at networking and
uh so there's all kinds of skills for our young
people as well as getting winning the possibility of winning scholarships.
(21:00):
So and it brings the community together because this the
Natures River Festival certainly is Beaumont and it is the
surrounding counties. I know some people come from much further away,
but it's it's a great time and uh there's a
lot of generational involvement in it.
Speaker 5 (21:19):
There is, and you know, we're really lucky. The lm
VA has also partnered with us and so we spend
a day on the Natures River. So these participants can
you know, see what the river does for us. And
the lm VA does a really good job explaining that
to them. So you know, we're just we're lucky to
have such great support here in our community.
Speaker 3 (21:36):
Well, we're about out of time. I just want to
run through the day so you can go. Can you
register for the Capes and Crowns five K on the website?
Speaker 5 (21:45):
Yes, I will have a link that will connect you
to the run sign up and that would be the
easiest way, or you could just google our five K,
but we do have all of that accessible on our website.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
Well, Molly, thank you so much and thank you for
your leaderships Nature's River Festival. It's a great event and
a great event for all the Southeast Texas. I'll talk
to you soon.
Speaker 5 (22:07):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
All right, kill it. We are back with the Roy
West Show here on News Talk five sixty klv I
and folks. Carol Fernandez with Catholic Charities is back with us,
and I always love having Carol on the show because
Catholic Charity has a huge footprint and impact in Southeast
(22:31):
Texas really enhancing people's lives. And Carol, thank you so
much for being on the show today.
Speaker 6 (22:38):
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 3 (22:40):
Sir.
Speaker 6 (22:40):
I'm always always happy to have this opportunity to be
on the show, so appreciate.
Speaker 3 (22:45):
It absolutely well. So tell people if you will, You've
got some gift giving ideas which I love. We talked
about a little bit before, but a little five thousand
foot view of Catholic Charities.
Speaker 6 (22:57):
Surely, surely, surely so about the gift giving idea. So
this is something that I didn't learn about until I
came to Catholic Charities, and that is, you know, for
someone who may be on your gift list is just
very hard to shop for. You don't know what to
get for them, or maybe it's someone that you feel like, oh, well,
they have everything, what more could you get for them?
(23:17):
For that person, why not consider giving them a gift
that is a donation to Catholic Charities in their honor.
And so with that donation, we would send a letter
to that individual letting them know that a donation or
a gift has been made in their honor, and we
can say who gave the gift, or it could be
anonymous if the a donor would like that. And so
(23:40):
you know, so why give a gift like that to
Catholic charities. Well, one thing is that unlike the gift
purchases and retail stores those Christmas gifts, your donation to
Catholic Charities, we're a five oh one C three nonprofits,
So that would be a tax deductible a gift. So
you're still giving a gift to someone and you're getting
a tax deductible donation. So also you know your gift
(24:03):
is helping that gift donation is helping people in need.
You know, donors can be assured that that gift is
going to have a very wide reach. So last fiscal year,
our fiscal year ended in June thirtieth, our last one,
and so we had served at our hospitality center, our
soup kitchen that's in Port Arthur. We served more than
(24:25):
thirty three thousand meals mayor out at the hospitality center
and then Market to Hope, which you know, Hope stands
for help other People Eat. That's our grocery store and
food pantry. We served more than three thousand families there
and gave out more than a million pounds of food
through the market. So definitely these gift donations really have
(24:48):
a very wide reach. And you know, for anyone who
might be concerned Catholic charities, yes, we are Catholic with
the big seat, but we are Catholic with the little letters,
and that we are universal and so no one has
to be of the Catholic faith to receive services and
get help from Catholic charity. So definitely a wide reach.
(25:11):
And then Mayor, as you said, we have a pretty
big footprint geographically, and that we serve nine counties in
this area, and I like to do them in alphabetical
order so that I hope I get them all. So
it's Chambers, Jasper, Jefferson, Harden, Liberty, Newton, Orange, Polk and
(25:31):
Tyler counties that we serve, and so all of our
programs are available to low to moderate income residents of
those areas. You know, we have primarily worked in Beaumont
in Jefferson County in terms of physical presence. So we
have our central service facility on East tex Freeway in
Beaumont where we do our counseling services, Elijah's Place, Home Matters,
(25:56):
immigration services. We have as I mentioned Hospitalality Center, the
Soup Kitchen on Golfway Drive in Port Arthur. Market to
Hope here in Beaumont is on the same campus with
our Mother of Mercy Catholic Church over on Sarah Street.
But we now, and I didn't get to tell you
this before we got started, we actually have a new
physical location, our Western Service Facility that's in Winnie, Texas.
(26:21):
And so from that location we're also going to have
Market to Hope, our food pantry, offering that immigration services,
counseling services, and hopefully more, but definitely those. It just
gives us. It makes it easier for the clients and
families that need the help to get that help, for
us to physically be there on a regular basis. We
(26:44):
are in our other counties, but not every day, you know.
And so so having this physical presence there in Chambers
County is really going to go a long ways and
being able to help families there and also out there Mayor.
We have a new social enterprise venture that we started
back in July. So we acquired the Saint Vincent de
(27:06):
Paul thrift store that is on Highway one twenty four
in Winning and so this is also very new to us.
So it's our resale shop that we're calling the Thrift Barn.
And so it's very very new. I can't share a
whole lot about it because we're learning it and getting
it going and in that transition phase right now. But
(27:30):
I hope that maybe later after the holidays, that you'll
invite us back at some point and we can give
more information about how people can support that effort.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
Absolutely, and this is you know, when people talk about
given where you live, this is this is our back door,
this is I mean our backyard, and when you know,
also what's so important is, you know, Catholic Charities is
very broad based, very involved in a lot of the
(28:00):
challenges that poverty brings to people. And in terms of
when people are looking for help, Catholic Charities when they
don't provide a service, they know who to send people to.
And a lot of those services also send people to
Catholic Charities because trying to avoid redundancies and areas but
(28:20):
meet the needs of the people and being creative in
how you can effectively do that, Yes.
Speaker 6 (28:27):
Sir, and so that is important, you know. We I
just had the director of our counseling services come to
me yesterday to say that that some of the schools
are interested in working with Catholic Charities because we have
a counselor, a mental health counselor who is bilingual in
Spanish in English, and that is just a significant need
(28:52):
in the community that we don't have enough counselors to
help the children who need that service, and so that
will be a new partnership that we will have coming
soon to be able to work with the schools to
offer those services. Elijah's Place is another service, the Grief
Support program. We primarily work from our main office here,
(29:15):
but we realize that we can't reach all the kids
who need grief support just in our office on the
days that we're working, so Randy, the director of the program,
has been going into the schools one to work with
the staff in the schools, the teachers and all of
the administrators to help them understand children's grief and how
(29:38):
they can help facilitate them, refer them to Elijah's Places necessary,
or in some cases, we're actually doing some grief support
sessions in the schools, so while the kids are there,
we're able to go in and help them if they've
had the loss of sometimes it's been in case, maybe
it's a classmate, it's someone very close to them in
(30:01):
the school, or it could just be that it is
a family member that they have had the loss experience
that death, and so Randy is able to go in
and do sessions in the schools and just do some
GREEF support.
Speaker 7 (30:13):
There.
Speaker 6 (30:14):
So always new opportunities to collaborate with other agencies. You know,
we have been working to rehouse some folks through what
we call our Home Matters program, and you know, for
someone who's been homeless, when they get back into housing,
they need a lot of stuff, and so we've been
(30:34):
able to work with other agencies that have furniture and
housing supplies and different things and get them set up
and re established in their homes. So always always great
to be able to work with our community partners in
the area.
Speaker 3 (30:50):
Well oftentimes, as we're talking about here, it just reminds
me that there's layers to every challenge that exists, and
it involves that weather, you know, when it's dealing with
people that have been unsheltered, homeless, whatever term is used,
getting preparing them and educating them on how to be
(31:11):
successful as that change, and not just put people in
an apartment or something and expect everything to work out
because they're dealing with things that they're not used to
dealing with. That's correct, and so you know there's an
education component to this. There's always need for volunteers, so
financially and physically volunteering. And as you pointed out, this
(31:36):
is for everybody, so you don't have to be Catholic
to participate. You can be of other faiths to volunteer,
and there's just a process and you can you can
learn about all of that.
Speaker 6 (31:47):
Yes, So our website is c c s E. T
X for Catholic Churitiessoutheast Texas dot org. You can learn
about all of our programs there. You can also learn
about volunteering. You can donate online, So please please go
to our website learn more about our programs and find
out how you can get involved and be apart.
Speaker 3 (32:09):
Well, we are out of time. Thank you so much,
and have a very merry Christmas.
Speaker 6 (32:13):
Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas.
Speaker 3 (32:17):
We are back with the Roy West Show here on
News Talk five sixty klv I. I have with me
Sharon Begnoe with the Giving Field right here in Beaumont, Texas.
Welcome back to the show.
Speaker 7 (32:29):
Sharing Hi Roy, thank you so much for having me again.
Speaker 3 (32:33):
Well, it's a pleasure. And if you would tell people,
I mean, you've been on before. And I think the
Giving Field is very well known here in Southeast Texas,
but there are probably still some people that are unfamiliar
with it and so tell people about it.
Speaker 8 (32:47):
So the Giving Field is located on Liberty Street in Beaumont.
It's a one acre organic garden and everything that we
harvest we send to area soup kitchens to feed the hungry.
So the three agencies that we send to are the
Hospitality Center in Port Arthur, some other place in Beaumont,
(33:08):
and Market to Hope, which is like a grocery store
program that's a Catholic Charities program.
Speaker 3 (33:17):
And all of these programs are for everybody. They serve
the community, the entire community. And you know, one acre garden.
It requires a lot of work, a lot of community
involvement for success, and it also brings back for those
that have lost the art of gardening how to garden right.
Speaker 8 (33:44):
So we on average will harvest about seven thousand pounds
each year to send to those three agencies, and it does.
It takes a lot of hands and so many people
in the community come out and help us. And we
also back to your point about the art of gardening,
(34:05):
we also couple a really good.
Speaker 7 (34:07):
Educational component with what we do.
Speaker 8 (34:10):
So we want to teach people how to garden organically,
we want.
Speaker 7 (34:16):
To teach people how to be more sustainable of the earth.
Speaker 8 (34:21):
And at the same time, you're doing something great for
your community.
Speaker 3 (34:27):
Well and and that's exactly right. You're making a difference
in the lives of others, but you're also learning something
and you know, you I know, when I was growing up,
a lot of the grandparents and sometimes even parents did gardens,
but you see fewer of them. And there really is
an art to gardening. You know, it's something that had
been taught from generation to generation and now it's got
(34:50):
lost a little bit. So you know, if you want
to have a garden and be successful, there's really a
lot you need to learn, and that's by volunteering at
the Giving Field and also learn that. But y'all, y'all
are going beyond that too, because y'all have a fundraiser
happening right now, that's right, So.
Speaker 8 (35:07):
We are gearing up to build a kitchen classroom out
at the Giving Field. So it's going to be another
extension for a way for us to feed the hungry.
So in this kitchen classroom, we are going to not
only educate people on how to cook a healthy meal.
Speaker 7 (35:27):
Adults and kids.
Speaker 8 (35:28):
You know, a lot of kids come home to a
household where both the parents are working, and the best
thing that the parents can do for their family is
usually convenience food, which I mean, that's that's what they
can do. So we feel like if we can teach
kids some basic cooking skills that they could take that
(35:49):
into their homes and help their families eat healthier. And
also in this kitchen classroom, these kids are going to
help us create like those reheat and eat meals you
see at some of the grocery stores in town, right,
so that specifically.
Speaker 7 (36:04):
Market to Hope can provide that for their clients.
Speaker 8 (36:07):
That's a product that they do not have currently for
their clients in their program.
Speaker 3 (36:15):
Well, and Market to Hope is is that's a subject
into itself. It's already and it's recreating itself. My understanding
is they might be opening up another one in another area,
but it all it's really neat and impressive and serves
a great need. But this is about you know, community collaboration,
(36:36):
working together to make the overall community better and also
to show that you know, the community matters and that
people matter. So tell us about this fundraiser that's going on.
Speaker 7 (36:49):
So we are selling bricks. We're going to have a
patio outside of the.
Speaker 8 (36:54):
Kitchen classroom and there are bricks that you can have
engraved on there, you know, in memory and of someone,
or in honor of someone, or maybe you just want
your family name on there, you know, to show your
support for the people in our community that need help.
Speaker 7 (37:11):
And so the bricks are two hundred and fifty dollars.
Speaker 8 (37:15):
They're a great Christmas gift and we will be having,
like I said, this patio outside of the kitchen classroom.
The money's going to help us raise the money to
build the kitchen classroom.
Speaker 3 (37:29):
Well in that education process with the kids in the
kitchen classrooms, just another component that you're adding. And y'all
have a great Facebook page where people can get a
lot of information as well.
Speaker 7 (37:43):
Yes, yeah, we sure do.
Speaker 8 (37:44):
So if people can go to the Facebook page, they
can find the information about our brick program and many
other things. And you know the times that we're out
there to volunteer, which We're out there every Tuesday morning
from seven thirty to nine thirty, every Thursday afternoon from
four to six, and the second Saturday of every month
(38:05):
from nine to noon.
Speaker 7 (38:07):
But we have groups that come in besides those times.
Speaker 8 (38:11):
You just reach out to us and you can schedule
a time for maybe, you know, we have a lot
of homeschool groups that are you know, finding us and
doing things at the field. We have a lot of
businesses that kind of use it as a team building
thing for their employees, and sometimes they want to do
something separate beyond the open volunteer times. They want to
(38:32):
do something that's just exclusive to their group, and we
can accommodate that as well.
Speaker 3 (38:38):
Well. I appreciate all that you do. And you know,
the giving field is a five oh one C three,
so that's important. These are tax deductible donations and it
you know, you're given where you live. That's right here
in Southeast Texas.
Speaker 7 (38:54):
Yeah, that's correct. So it takes many people to do
what we do.
Speaker 8 (39:00):
It takes people's time, it takes people's treasure, it takes
people's creativity, you know, and we're really proud to say
that the people that come and help us at the
Giving Field come from many areas in Beaumont and Southeast
Texas and it's you know, it's just it's a great
gathering place as well.
Speaker 7 (39:21):
It's everybody really enjoys being out there.
Speaker 3 (39:25):
Well, this is how long has the Giving Field been around? Now,
it's a long time, and so it is it stood
the test of time. And it's also I think, you know,
given some direction for some others in the community.
Speaker 7 (39:42):
Right. So we started it back in twenty twelve, so
we're twelve years old, and.
Speaker 8 (39:50):
We hope to be able to help other organizations create
a similar model to what we're doing, because we are
just servicing three agents and there's so many more agencies
and so many more people in our community that need
this help of eating healthy food.
Speaker 3 (40:08):
Well, Sharon Begno, thank you so much. The Giving Field
you can find them on Facebook at the Giving Field
on Liberty Street. It's super easy you can and there's
a link there to give or to get more information
as well as the phone number for zero nine to
zero one eight seven zero two. Thank you so much, Sharon,
Thank you, Roy talk to you soon. Okay, we are
(40:33):
back and wrapping up another Roy West radio show here
on News Talk five. Sixty k LV. And remember, folks,
you can always download the free iHeartRadio app and stream
this show live wherever you are, or you can also
go to Spotify, Apple Podcast, Android podcast and catch this
show or any of our shows in their entirety on podcast.
(40:57):
So we make it super easy for you. Every we
have the best guests and it is so much fun.
This week we were talking to Charlie Foxworth, who has
been in Southeast Texas and real estate for many years.
Remax one goes all the way over to the Woodlands,
Mount Bellevue and certainly all over Southeast Texas, talking about
the real estate market and what is to come in
(41:20):
twenty twenty five. And then we're talking to Molly Moore
with the Nature's River Festival about the upcoming Nature's River
Festival and how it impacts the community and our high
school seniors and juniors. Then we spoke with Carolyn Fernandez
with Catholic Charities talking about all the different charitable organizations
(41:44):
that are underneath that umbrella and how they provide services
to all people. This is a Catholic with the Sea
Universal Ministry, meaning you don't have to be Catholic to
get these benefits. All people, but it is underneath the
Catholic Church. People that volunteer aren't all Catholic, people that
(42:06):
receive the services are not all Catholic, but it is
for all people and I think you thank them for
what they do. Sharon Begno with the Giving Field now
over ten years local Community Garden making a huge impact
giving away food but also educating our youth and helping
people learn how to the art of gardening again and
(42:27):
until we talk again, God bless you all.
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