November 2019

MEDAL OF HONOR MUSEUM /// A NEW ART GALLERY /// THANKSGIVING November 2019

Today

YOUR HOME TEAM COACHES ...

UTA’s Chris Ogden and Krista Gerlich love basketball (and they’re very partial to Arlington, as well) Serving Arlington, Mansfield, Kennedale and SW Grand Prairie

HOME FOR THE

Come home to the Viridian Life!

It’s your dream life — the memories you’ll make with family and friends, the adventures you’ll have, and the life you’ll live. That’s the Viridian Life. Choose

your move-in-ready home in Viridian from the area’s best builders.

VISIT US AT VIRIDIANDFW.COM OR CALL 817.200.6543 VIRIDIAN.DFW.1

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VIRIDIAN IS #3 IN DFW AND #38 NATIONWIDE ON RCLCO’S 2018 TOP SELLING MASTER-PLANNED COMMUNITIES LIST HOMES FROM THE HIGH $200s | CASTLEROCK | CB JENI | DAVID WEEKLEY | DREES | GLENDARROCH | HIGHLAND | NORMANDY | PLANTATION | STRUHS | WINDMILLER

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Dr. Joy Carter

Dr. Joan Bergstrom

Dr. Jessica Brown

Dr. Kiran Nangrani

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Women’s Health Services now provides patient care in two locations in Arlington. We also provide state-of-the-art maternity care in the newly renovated labor and delivery suites at Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital (THAM). THAM is ranked among the best hospitals in Dallas-Fort Worth, and was awarded American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet status, an award that recognizes hospitals that provide nursing excellence.

Women’s Health Services has been providing quality health care for women of all ages for the past 32 years. Our OB/GYN group been recognized in the community for its reputable and thoughtful care. In 2017, Women’s Health Services won Suburban Parent Magazines’ award for Best of Family Healthcare in Obstetrics and Gynecology, as well as DFW Child Magazine’s Mom-Approved Doctors award for OB/GYN. Women’s Health Services’ doctors provide full OB/GYN services and are skilled in managing all aspects of women’s health care, such as normal and high-risk pregnancy care, gynecologic surgery, incontinence treatment, annual exams, and contraceptive and hormone therapy needs. Visit our new website and make your appointments online at www.womenshealthservices.com. We look forward to seeing you soon!

Winner 2014 - 2019 ARLINGTON Today your community • your magazine

EDITOR’S CHOICE 2019

Readers’ Choice

All Star ARLINGTON Today your community • your magazine

North Office:

South Office:

1001 N. Waldrop, Suite 505

5005 S. Cooper St, Suite 275

Arlington, TX 76012

Arlington, TX 76017

Phone 817-277-9415 • Fax 817-277-0360 Email info@womenshealthservices.com

Six-Time Winner!

All Star OB/GYN

We have it all!

SMALL TOWN CHARM. BIG CITY OPPORTUNITIES. A treasure trove awaits you in the Town of Pantego!

With mouth-watering restaurants like Fattoush Mediterranean, Nelda’s Cantina and more… and unique shopping destinations like Fancy That, Hank & Ellie and others, there’s plenty to do and discover here. Wrap up your visit with a sweet treat from Mad Mike’s Ice Cream or a cold one from New Main Brewing Co.

Upcoming Events

We look forward to seeing you on your next visit to Pantego to shop, dine and play!

Nov. 30 Small Business Saturday

Mark your calendar for Pantego’s unique events, and check out Shop Pantego on Facebook for the latest happenings around Town.

shoppantego.com

/shoppantego

Nov. 9 Dog Days of Fall at All Paws Grooming and Petsitting Nov. 23 Pantego Farmers Market

Dec. 12 Ladies Night Out Dec. 13 A Thousand Snowflakes

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For more information, contact — ARLINGTON OFFICE 1201 West Green Oaks Blvd.

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MANSFIELD OFFICE 1600 Highway 287 N., Suite 100 682-422-0333

©2019. Equal Housing Opportunity.

YOUR NEW HOME FOR BASEBALL AWAITS. MAKE AN APPOINTMENT NOW TO EXPERIENCE IT VIRTUALLY

972 -RANGERS X 3

GUARANTEE YOUR SEATS FOR 2020 Globe Life Field, Texas Live!, and Live! by Loews Arlington renderings are approximate and for illustrative purposes only.

After service, a new beginning

T

he University of Texas at Arlington has a long and proud tradition of serving veterans

and their families, dating back to the University’s founding in 1895 and the establishment of Carlisle Military Academy in 1902.

UTA is recognized as an outstanding university for veterans by

UTA is constantly looking for ways to ease student veterans’

several organizations:

transition to college and to provide a full range of services to

Top School—Military Advanced Education & Transition Magazine

help them succeed in their academic pursuits.

No. 1 in Texas, No. 7 in U.S.

VETERANS UPWARD BOUND is a free precollege program that

—Military Times’ “Best for Vets”

No. 1 School of Social Work No. 3 College of Nursing and Health Innovation

assists veterans in preparing for their postsecondary education.

A VETERANS-FOCUSED ORIENTATION helps incoming students learn about benefits and services. And our veteransdedicated academic advisor provides guidance before students

—College Factual, Veteran Friendliness

declare a major.

No. 9 in U.S.—Victory Media, Military Friendly

THE MILITARY AND VETERANS SERVICES CENTER is the hub for information and services, including tutoring, mentoring, financial aid, assistance with GI Bill applications, or simply a place to unwind between classes.

MAVERICK VETERANS, a chapter of Student Veterans of America, provides a social outlet, while SALUTE VETERANS NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY recognizes academic achievements.

Even if you aren’t attending UTA, you can still benefit from our veterans services. THE VETERANS BUSINESS OUTREACH CENTER functions with the Small Business Association to assist veteran entrepreneurs. It will host a free Military and Veteran Small Business Showcase Saturday, Nov. 9, at TexasLive!

Visit uta.edu/vboc for more information.

LEARN MORE ABOUT UTA’S VETERAN PROGRAMS AT UTA.EDU/STUDENT-LIFE/VETERAN-SERVICES, OR CONTACT JAMES KUMM, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR VETERAN PROGRAMS, AT JAMES.KUMM@UTA.EDU.

UTA.EDU

CONTENTS November 2019 • Volume 6 • Issue 11

ARLINGTON Today your community • your magazine

EDITOR’S CHOICE

24

2019

SPECIAL SECTION: Editor’s Choice awards

28

38

58

See page 30

HIGHLIGHTS DEPARTMENTS Starting Line 10 • This ‘n Data 12 Scene 20, 60, 70 • Around Town 22 Style 62 • Bulletin Board 68 Keen Cuisine 72 • Hot Spots 74 Sights/Sounds 76 Speaking of Sports 78 • Itinerary 80 Finish Line 82

24 We did it! ... Arlington has been named as the site of the new National Medal of Honor Museum.

26 They coach your home team ... And UTA’s dynamic duo of Chris Ogden and Krista Gerlich want you to know: They wouldn’t have it any other way.

28 This is not your dad’s music class ... UTA has created a new degree that focuses on all facets of the music industry.

36 A special calling ... First Baptist Church Arlington has enhanced its city-wide ministry with the addition of a new Children’s Building.

38 Keeping history alive ... Visiting the historic D-Day beaches is a powerful – and sobering – experience.

40 Home SWEET! Home ... Our featured house is located in a neighborhood surrounded by woodlands, and its spacious and elegant interior is ideal for entertaining.

46 Doin’ all right ... Arlington’s many victories took center stage at the annual State-of-the-City luncheon.

48 There’s only one like this ... Gregg Wilkinson’s 1995 classic Corvette literally has no equal.

54 Travel Texas ... Here are six in-state stops that the renowned Trip Advisor suggests you make this fall.

ON THE COVER University of Texas at Arlington basketball coaches Chris Ogden and Krista Gerlich not only love basketball, they’re quite fond of coaching it in Arlington. See page 24 8

ARLINGTON TODAY • November 2019 • arlingtontoday.com

58 Show me the Monet ... Pepper Crary’s new gallery inside Gracie Lane is a literal work of art.

64 For this we give thanks ... To help us celebrate Thanksgiving, we visited with four local business people to find out that for which they are grateful this year.

my dream.

An exclusive hospital for women and babies, at the new

Medical City Arlington Women’s Hospital you can expect to find high-quality, specialized care – combined with the thoughtful amenities designed to create the memory of a lifetime. This is where excellence meets elegance with: • New luxurious, private suites and NICU rooms • Celebratory gourmet meal • Childbirth classes • Lactation consultants and personalized breastfeeding support • Comprehensive family-centered care • 35-bed Level III NICU, should your baby need it Start planning your dream delivery, schedule a tour and learn more at MedicalCityArlingtonWomens.com or call (855) 868-6262 to find a physician.

ARLINGTON Today your community • your magazine

EDITOR’S CHOICE 2019

®

Women’s Hospital | Arlington

STARTING LINE

EXECUTIVE BOARD Executive Publisher Judy M. Rupay

SEEING BETTER

CEO Richard Greene

Sometimes, adversity is the best teacher you can have

S

ome six months ago, I was told three words nobody wants to hear, preceded by two words that, pretty much, telegraphed what was coming. “I’m sorry, ” the doctor said.

“You have cancer.”

For the record, I’m not writing this for sympathy. But there needs to be some context for what I’m about to write. What I’m about to write is a story about a roller coaster ride – and about the gamut of emotions one experiences as that ride streaks along the tracks from ridiculous heights to alarming depths, sometimes in an instant.

More than that, though, I’m about to write a story about perspective. It’s something we all need but rarely acquire sans an adventure. My adventure is really, mostly, a metaphor about life, and life is just as often a roller coaster as it is a merry-go-round. We all tend to long for the straightaways, but the ups and downs are what teach us character.

My lesson began, about a year ago, in a local urology office.

During my annual physical, my primary care physician noted in her assessment of my blood work that my PSA number was high enough to merit sending me to a specialist to find out why. Most men of my age know what a high PSA number represents: There are probably some issues going on “down there,” specifically “down there” in the prostate. From November to April, I underwent some not-very-pleasant exams, swallowed a variety of supposedly therapeutic pills, experienced a plethora of scans and, eventually, had a biopsy.

Then I heard those five words.

Because of the nature of my disease, my urologist suggested surgery was the best treatment.

I sought a second opinion, and that doctor said, “OK, you’re also not very handsome.” Actually, he echoed the assessment of the initial doctor. Likewise, a third expert in the ways of the prostate said he would recommend an operation. So I underwent an operation.

Post surgery, I discovered that, while everything associated with the procedure went well, I wasn’t a particularly quick healer. For every good day, there was a not-so-good day, pretty much for a month.

Throughout this ordeal I got to find out what I was made of. Unfortunately, I ascertained that I could be weak and frail and, even occasionally, desperate. But I also discovered that a lot of people cared for me, even in my weakness, frailty and desperation. Over time, I made a point to acknowledge that my plight was no worse – in fact, it was often better – than those of millions of other people who are on their own roller coaster rides, albeit often under different circumstances. I eventually even decided that going through this should be regarded as a blessing, because it made me take an honest assessment of what kind of person I am – and guided me to vow to amend the flaws I discovered.

And for that I’m grateful. November seems like a good month in which to write that.

Yale Youngblood, editor

yale@arlingtontoday.com

Visit arlingtontoday.com, like us on Facebook 10

ARLINGTON TODAY • November 2019 • arlingtontoday.com

and follow us on Twitter

and Instagram

EDITORIAL Editor Yale Youngblood Contributing Editors Sara Pintilie, Marla Thomas Sports Columnist John Rhadigan Style Editor Tricia Schwartz Website & Social Media Manager Bailey Woodard Contributing Graphic Artists Francisco Cuevas, Susan Darovich Contributing Writers O.K. Carter, Karen Gavis, Bob Kowalski, Kenneth Perkins, Toni Randle Cook Contributing Photographers Hasson Diggs, Dwayne Lee, Heather Lee, Bruce Maxwell, Toni Randle Cook SALES / CIRCULATION Business Manager Bridget Dean Sales Managers Laura DiStefano, Amy Lively, Andrea Proctor, Debbie Roach, Tricia Schwartz Distribution Manager Hanna Areksoussi PRODUCTION Production Manager Susan Darovich ARLINGTON TODAY is published monthly.

Copyright 2019 Arlington Today, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted by any means without permission of the publisher. The inclusion of advertising is considered a service to readers and is not an endorsement of products.

Basic subscriptions are $33.95 for 12 issues (price includes tax and shipping). To subscribe, e-mail subscriptions@arlingtontoday.com

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THIS ‘N DATA

Arlington on Tap Amy Schultz says ‘Mum’s the word’ for this month’s installment in the speaker series

T

rue enough, Arlington Museum of Art artist-in-residence Amy Schultz didn’t intend to become the world’s No. 1 authority on the Texas homecoming mum, but that definitely seems to be the way it’s turning out.

Schultz, the Arlington on Tap speaker for November, is also a photographer and artist-in-residence at the museum – the first ever, which makes for a couple of firsts, counting her current uniquely Texas multimedia exhibition: A MUMentous Occasion. It’s on display at the downtown museum through Nov. 24.

“I may indeed be in danger of becoming the world’s greatest expert on mums,” Schultz says with a laugh. “If so, it wouldn’t be a terrible thing.”

Her Arlington on Tap talk – Mum’s the Word – will take place at 6 p.m. on Nov. 12 (a Tuesday)at Hooligan’s Pub (310 E. Abram St.).

Schultz will be talking about both MUMentous Occasion and her experiences as artist in resident at the upcoming Tap. She’s also still collecting mum stories and will be tape recording such experiences after the show. A book about mums is also in the works.

THE MUM: “Mum” is an acronym for chrysanthemum, which is hard to say and trickier to spell. It was originally a real flower adorned with a few basic ribbons with the home team’s colors. Mums today are mostly silk flowers adorned with often elaborate ornamentation and school color ribbons; they can be so large they can’t be attached to a blouse or shirt conventionally but are worn more like a

3 Scoops 12

1. The Arlington community once again donated in record amounts during the recent Arlington Gives project helping nonprofits to continue serving the needs of local residents.

The Arlington Tomorrow Foundation awarded $50,000 in grants throughout the day to Arlington-based nonprofits.

More than 2,000 people came Downtown to participate in the Arlington Gives event.

ARLINGTON TODAY • November 2019 • arlingtontoday.com

necklace. Mostly it’s a “boy asks girl to the homecoming game and girl gets a ceremonial mum” thing, though in today’s more ambivalent society it could also be boy asks boy or girl asks girl.

A homecoming mum should not be confused with, say, a prom corsage, which is much smaller and most typically a real flower.

Mums do not lend themselves to dancing in close proximity.

THE HISTORY: Mums – steadily growing in size and elaboration – gained a foothold in Texas in the 1960s. They’ve been around in some form since the early 1900s, but the University of Missouri generally gets credit for first linking mums and homecoming, originally to honor alumni.

“I definitely think it’s mostly a Texas thing now, though it is spreading to adjacent states, particularly Oklahoma and New Mexico, and now to many Southern states,” Schultz says. “Generally, even in other states, you’ll find a link with the Texas tradition.”

Amy Schultz Mum-making has also become something of a seasonal cottage craft industry – Schultz estimates that as many as 6,000 for-profit “pop up” mum makers toil in Texas alone. And, she adds, yes, it’s fine if you want to search out that old homecoming mum in the attic and wear it to the November Arlington on Tap. Downtown Arlington Management hosts Arlington on Tap, which is also sponsored by the Arlington Historical Society and Arlington Today Magazine.

2. Four Mansfield ISD band

3. “Knives Out,” starring Daniel

ensembles recently received the 2019 Mark of Excellence from The Foundation for Music Education: The T.A. Howard Middle School Honor Band (National Winner), the Lake Ridge High School Wind Symphony (National Winner), the Summit High School Wind Symphony (National Winner) and the Danny Jones Middle School Wind Ensemble (Commended Winner).

Craig, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Christopher Plummer, will make its on-screen debut on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 28).

Appearing in the movie as a stunt performer is Arlington’s Amy Greene, who is also a Production Supervisor of the film. The movie follows a family gathering gone horribly awry, after the family patriarch’s death leads a master detective to investigate.

k i t n s i d r l M h C a r s ket a x e T November 29 - December 22 FREE ADMISSION Sunday - Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

North Plaza at Globe Life Field 1650 E. Randol Mill Road | Arlington, TX 76011 Celebrate the season German style with shopping, great food, and lots of fun for everyone. Inspired by a cherished German tradition, this family-friendly market features a unique shopping experience for holiday gifts, decorations, and one-of-a-kind finds. ★ ★ ★ ★

Unique Shopping Ice Skating through January 12, 2020 (entry fee) Food, Drinks & Fun Live Entertainment

BIGGER & BETTER IN 2019 A special thank you to: TM

TXChristkindlMarket.com

THIS ‘N DATA

A Night with Nature, set for Nov. 8, will benefit River Legacy projects A

Night with Nature, the annual fundraiser to support environmental education at River Legacy Living Science Center and River Legacy Park, will take place from 7-10 p.m. on Nov. 8 at River Legacy Living Science Center.

Attendees can experience the nightlife of River Legacy at this unique, fun and casual fall adult affair, which will feature a wide range of nature-riffic and fellowship-forming activities, including: • A light dinner buffet • Desserts • An open bar featuring fine wines, Division Brewing Craft Beer and Deep Eddy cocktails • Live music • S’mores by the fire • Opportunities to meet River Legacy Wildlife Ambassadors • The opportunity to get an up-close look at rescued reptiles and raptors with Nature’s Edge Wildlife Rescue • Stargazing • Fun nature experiences • Fabulous auction items • Fun prizes in the Prize Cube Tickets for A Night with Nature are $100 per person with sponsorships available. Corporate sponsorships and underwriting opportunities are available – contact Fund Development Coordinator Becky Nussbaum Gerro at 817-860-6752, ext.

120 or download the Sponsorship Commitment Form at https://riverlegacy.org/wp-content/ uploads/2019/07/2019_Sponsor_Commit_Form.pdf.

Event organizers are urging attendees to please consider all event fees and advance ticket purchases a donation to River Legacy Foundation in case of event cancellation due to inclement weather. No refunds will be provided.

For more: riverlegacy.org/a-night-with-nature.

Asian E-tailing Summit to be held Dec. 4-5

T

he Arlington-based U.S. Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce is urging local Asian business leaders to consider participating in the annual Asian E-tailing Summit, which will take place on Dec. 4-5 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The summit offers attendees a chance to connect with more than 1,500 experts and potential business partners. AES 2019 is a platform for the latest in e-tailing.

Key discussions at the conference will include: • loT Applications • Cross-border E-commerce • Artificial Intelligence in Customer Experience • Blockchain Disruption • Decision-making with Big Data For more information, email Grace McDermott at gmcdermott@uspaacc-sw.org.

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ARLINGTON TODAY • November 2019 • arlingtontoday.com

#atpetofthemonth

Meet JOEY. Joey is a happy pappy! His good looks get him attention wherever he goes. He gives the best dog hugs, too!

– Marie Mumme

RAISE YOUR HAND if you knew that Reby Cary was the first African-American faculty member at the University of Texas at Arlington.

From 1969 to 1974, he was an assistant professor and associate dean of student life; from 1974 to 1978, he was the director of minority affairs. Cary later served three terms in the Texas House of Representatives.

Putting your health above it all.

Named Editor’s Choice for “Best Emergency Department.”

At Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital, our mission is to not only improve the health of our patients, but that of our entire community. It’s why our care is more than just advanced, it’s also compassionate. With respect for every person, and a commitment to your well-being in all facets of your life, it’s real care, with real caring.

Back & Spine Care ■ Behavioral Health ■ Breast Care ■ Cancer Care ■ Diabetes Care Digestive Health Services ■ Emergency Care ■ ENT ■ Heart & Vascular Services ■ Infectious Disease Kidney Health ■ Neurosciences & Stroke Care ■ Orthopedics & Sports Medicine ■ Rehabilitation Services Urology ■ Women & Infants Care ■ Wound Care & Hyperbaric Medicine

ARLINGTON Today your community • your magazine

EDITOR’S CHOICE 2019

1-877-THR-WELL TexasHealth.org/Arlington

Doctors on the medical staffs practice independently and are not employees or agents of Texas Health hospitals or Texas Health Resources. © 2019

THIS ‘N DATA

Holly Days Market is set for Nov. 16 at Methodist Mansfield Medical Center

T

Pixee’s Paws Pet Palace offers wide range of services

he Methodist Mansfield Medical Center Auxiliary will present Holly Days Christmas Market from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Nov. 16 on the main floor of Methodist Mansfield Medical Center.

The market offers a variety of unique gifts, including home decor, clothing, jewelry, baked goods and more. In addition, a raffle will be held, and attendees can get their pictures taken with Santa Claus from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. There will also be caroling provided by Music Place Mansfield.

Holly Days Christmas Market is sponsored by Simmons Bank. All proceeds from the event will benefit Methodist Mansfield Medical Center.

For more information, contact Jody Tolar, Director of Volunteer Services, at 682-242-7301.

T

here’s a new pet-riffic business in town that provides all manner of lovin’ for your favorite animal.

Pixee’s Paws Pet Palace (112 W. Randol Mill Road) offers veterinary services, as well as doggie daycare, grooming and boarding.

Additionally, if you are leaving your pet while you travel, the company will let you park at Pixee’s and catch an Uber or Lyft to the airport.

But that’s not all. Pixee’s also has an indoor exercise track and outside gardens, both of which provide a fun, nurturing environment for your dog while it is being boarded.

The new company’s name was inspired by a personal pet named Pixee, which had been dumped from a boat and was in dire need of rescue. After she died last year, her spirit has lived on in the name of a company dedicated to taking great care of pets.

For more: pixeespaws.com.

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ARLINGTON TODAY • November 2019 • arlingtontoday.com

Here is an artist’s rendering of what the reconfigured Globe Life Park in Arlington will look like next spring when the XFL Renegades open their inaugural season at the facility.

Globe Life Park in Arlington reconfiguration begins

T

he Texas Rangers recently released a series of renderings depicting how Globe Life Park in Arlington will be reconfigured from a baseball stadium to a multipurpose facility that will host football, soccer, concerts and other sports and special events.

The ballpark, which was home to the Rangers for 26 seasons between 1994 and 2019, will welcome the XFL Renegades and the North Texas Soccer Club early next year. Work is already under way to make room in the ballpark for the football field and the soccer pitch, which will be built to run north and south along what was previously the first base/right field side of the park. The field will be unmarked to make it easier to convert from football to soccer, or to prepare for other sports events the Rangers hope will be held at the venue in the future.

“As I stand ... and I look out on the field and see the dirt being moved, it truly indicates the fact that our dreams are soon to be a reality,” says President Grady Raskin. “This facility has some amazing memories, many of which I experienced first hand. I am proud to be part of an organization that will continue the legacy of this beautiful ballpark.”

YOUR BIG TV MOMENTS DESERVE THE BEST SOUND.

EVOKETM has evolved and now offers a direct TV streaming solution called TV PLAY. You can control what you hear with your smart phone to improve your ease of listening and enjoyment while wathcing television!

Apple, iPhone and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. Android, Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks ofGoogle Inc. Widex and WIDEX TV PLAY are trademarks of Widex A/S.

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NEW NATIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR MUSEUM IN ARLINGTON WILL BE “SOURCE OF EDUCATION AND INSPIRATION” FOR ARLINGTON ISD STUDENTS Don’t think for a moment that when the National Medal of Honor Museum opens in Arlington in 2024 that the fingerprints of the Arlington ISD won’t be all over the building.

It was students from the Arlington ISD who helped sway the selection committee when it came time to deciding whether the museum was going in Arlington or Denver.

The Martin Chamber Singers, who performed at the press conference formally announcing the museum last week, “blew away” the committee with their singing, National Medal of Honor Museum CEO Joseph Daniels said. And then there were the letters written by AISD students to the committee.

Denver never had a chance.

“This is a win for the city and a win certainly for the Arlington ISD,” AISD superintendent Dr. Marcelo Cavazos said. “We are all about providing exceptional opportunities for our students in the district and this is another one. It will be great to see how we’re able to partner with the museum and the avenues its presence will open up for our students.”

The museum, which will be located between Globe Life Park and the Arlington Convention Center, was a huge get for the city. The museum had the backing from state politicians, Governor Greg Abbott, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, Texas Rangers principal owner Ray Davis, UT-Arlington President Vistasp Karbhari, TCC-Southeast President Dr. Bill Coppola and of course the AISD. The museum will serve as a tribute to the Medal of Honor winners. Since 1863 there have been more than 3,500 service members awarded with a Medal of Honor. Daniels said 70 of the winners have lived in the region and the huge military presence in the area made Arlington a natural choice.

While AISD students will be able to learn plenty of facts about the recipients and everything involved with receiving the honor when the museum opens, they’ll learn other kinds of lessons as well.

“We want to teach these young people that they’re all equal in courage,” said Major General Patrick Brady, a Medal of Honor recipient. “The key to success in life is sacrifice, love in action. It’s a source of happiness. We go into these classrooms and we talk to teachers. They love their country and prove it by supporting it and defending it. This museum will be a vault for our values. It will be a source of education and inspiration.”

The education students in the area receive won’t be just limited to what happens when they visit the museum. It will have a lasting impact on visitors.

“Recipients go out to schools in the DFW area and there’s a consistent relationship over time,” Daniels said. “That’s great but it’s still unfair. It’s unfair because not enough of the country gets to hear these stories and gets the opportunity to be inspired. The DNA of these stories can make a difference. At the 9-11 Museum I know there are millions and millions of kids who have gone through that museum and the first time they went back to their towns or cities across the country and they saw a firefighter or a cop, they had a real, new, genuine appreciation of what it meant to be a first responder and to serve.

This museum will similarly have an impact on future generations.”

PICTURE-PERFECT MOMENTS

SCENE Snapshots from the press conference announcing that Arlington has been named the site of the new National Medal of Honor Museum and from the grand opening ceremony for the new Starbucks in Mansfield

Photos: City of Arlington

Mayor Jeff Williams addresses the crowd during the press conference announcing that Arlington would be the site for the new National Medal of Honor museum.

Joe Daniels, President and CEO of the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation

State Representative Ron Wright

Major Gen. Patrick Brady, Medal of Honor recipient and Museum Board member

Dallas Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones

Ray Davis, Co-Chairman and Managing Partner of the Texas Rangers

The much-anticipated announcement drew a large crowd of enthusiastic local leaders and citizens.

Arlington ISD students were part of the ceremonies at the Medal of Honor Museum event.

For more great SCENE shots, visit arlingtontoday.com Photos courtesy of David L. Cook

Dignitaries cut the ribbon at the grand opening of the new Starbucks at the Shops at Broad in Mansfield

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ARLINGTON TODAY • November 2019 • arlingtontoday.com

Tonya Cook and Mansfield Mayor David L. Cook with granddaughter Mackelyn Hinson at the Starbucks event

MAVERICK SPEAKERS SERIES

The State of the World: Challenges and Opportunities

SAMANTHA POWER Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations

NOV. 19, 2019 7:30 P.M. TEXAS HALL

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arlingtontoday.com • November 2019 • ARLINGTON TODAY

21

AROUND TOWN

SERVING, STILL

Photo: Paul Knudsen

Each fall, ARSEA members give books to school children during AISD’s Back to School Kick Off event.

Retired teachers continue to do what they’ve always done • By Kenneth Perkins

E

ducators are the maniacs of servitude, a breed like no other, partly because what they do within the halls of a school is not far from what they do inside their homes and at the DMV and in the greeting card section of the nearest Target.

“We’re nurturers,” a teacher of 37 years told me the other day while sitting at her kitchen table.

I get it.

Serving is in them, like DNA. When they retire, some indeed retire – doing absolutely nothing, and that’s fine, having done pretty much everything for 25, 30, 40 years classrooms that were their second homes and second spouses. Getting them away from binge watching Netflix would be a chore.

More power to you.

Yet then there are the types who can’t shut it off, can’t stop finding a place to be of service, to be, as Leticia Graham put it at the kitchen table of her North Arlington home one afternoon, a “nurturer.”

When the Arlington Retired School Employees Association celebrates its 50th year in 2020 it will also celebrate five decades of servitude in a community that often overlooks them. The ARSE isn’t a well-known entity as, say, the Junior League or the Kiwanis or the Rotary or the Arlington Woman’s Club. There are no signature events held over the years to put them on the map.

What they do is quietly go about their business, which is mostly filling the gaps when it comes to public education.

For instance, when many school children attending this year’s AISD Back to School Kick Off held at AT&T Stadium walked off with a book, the freebie was courtesy of the ARSE. More than 1300 children had books tucked under their arms along with the backpacks and fresh haircuts.

“My daughter didn’t read all summer, but she’s going to read this,” LaSanya Mayo said when her fifth grade daughter picked out “Esperanza Rising,” the Pam Munoz Ryan book about Mexican farm workers. “We get books from the library but it will be nice for her to read without knowing she has to take it back.”

“We’re all about service, about giving,” says Claudia Gray, the organization’s current president. Graham, by the way, is president-elect.

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ARLINGTON TODAY • November 2019 • arlingtontoday.com

They invited me by one morning to chat about the association, which represents not just retired teachers but administrators and any other staffers as well. Many think all they do is lobby for after career benefits. While that is indeed part of the mission, the more important part of that charge is making sure children in Arlington ISD have what they need to be successful.

“Once you are a teacher and you have done it 40 years, you just don’t let go of it that easy,” says Gray, who taught 40 years. “You are still about giving back because you know how much it will help. At the stadium, when those little kids are excited about getting a book that is free, it’s just a nice sight to see.”

At one point, AISD Superintendent Dr. Marcelo Cavazos and State Representative Chris Turner watched the kids snag their books.

“Most of the kids just reached up on the table and grabbed what they were interested in,” Gray says. “When you see that, you just want to give more.”

Gray taught mostly pre-kindergarten at Crow, Kooken, Atherton, Sherrod and South Davis. She has a master’s degree in Early Childhood. Graham, who has a doctorate in Early Childhood, taught for 11 years in Dallas before coming to AISD where she worked at Kooken, Williams and Crow. She was a classroom teacher, demonstration teacher and facilitator who helped guide other teachers.

Which explains the books. Teachers know that students who engage in books at a young age are often more successful academically.

Two of Graham’s children are teachers. One is at Amos ES and another is in the Ferris ISD. “We’re all about early education,” Graham says. “It matters and makes a difference.”

So the association will keep plugging along, doing what it does, though hopefully not as much as in the shadows.

Columnist Kenneth Perkins has been a contributing writer for Arlington Today since it debuted. He is a freelance writer, editor and photographer.

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arlingtontoday.com • November 2019 • ARLINGTON TODAY

23

BLOCKBUSTER NEWS Joe Daniels, President and CEO of the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation, announces that Arlington has been selected as the site of the new National Medal of Honor Museum.

Looking on is Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams.

We did it!

Arlington named as the site of the National Medal of Honor Museum

T

he National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation announced early last month that, following a national search launched more than a year ago, Arlington has been selected by the Foundation’s Board of Directors as the site for the future National Medal of Honor Museum.

Planned for construction near Arlington’s Globe Life Park and AT&T Stadium, the first national museum of its kind is scheduled to open to the public in 2024.

“Arlington, Texas is honored to be entrusted as the home of the National Medal of Honor Museum,” says Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams. “Located in the heart of our nation, we look forward to commemorating the stories of the 3,500 Medal of Honor recipients to educate, inspire and motivate our youth to understand the meaning and price of freedom. We are excited and humbled to provide a national platform to spread this message throughout our great country.”

During the final months of the extensive search process, as Arlington was becoming a finalist along with Denver, local city leaders and its populace made a coordinated fervent push for the prestigious museum. Ultimately, the city’s “can do” spirit won over the Foundation’s Board of Directors.

“Arlington, Texas, is the optimal location to build America’s next national treasure – the National Medal of Honor Museum,” says Joe Daniels, President and CEO of the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation. “All of us at the Museum were simply overwhelmed with the enthusiasm, warmth and level of commitment of those involved, who have worked beyond expectation to have the Museum come to Texas. Seventy recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor have lived in the region and nearly 1.8 million veterans and active duty military currently call Texas home. Centuries of American history are filled with examples of selfless heroism and love of country shown by the men and women of this great state.”

That Arlington even came into play during the process – much

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ARLINGTON TODAY • November 2019 • arlingtontoday.com

Photo: City of Arlington

less, earn the selection – is rooted in a fascinating, and, for the city, fortuitous, turn of events.

Local resident Sid Eppes, chairman of the Arlington-based AirPower Foundation, was having lunch during the spring with former Medal of Honor recipient Donald “Doc” Ballard, when the topic of the proposed new museum came up.

The AirPower Foundation is a non-profit that supports active duty, reserve and National Guard families, as well as supporting projects to assist wounded, ill or injured service members, children of fallen military personnel and veterans. In fact, the foundation recently raised $2.5 million for those causes during its Sky Ball Gala earlier this year.

Eppes, very much intrigued by the notion of a museum to honor Medal of Honor recipients, asked Ballard if Arlington might be considered as a potential site.

Ballard said the foundation had targeted some half-dozen potential sites, including San Diego, New York, Washington, D.C., and eventual runner-up Denver. But, no, he noted, Arlington hadn’t even been part of talks.

Following the lunch, Eppes says he promptly called his friend and fellow longtime Arlington resident Steve Cavender, who is also a good friend of Mayor Jeff Williams and suggested Cavender call the Mayor.

Cavender did just that, and that started the ball rolling. Williams expressed a desire to follow up on the potential for Arlington to

be added to the list.

Ballard was able to successfully facilitate the museum foundation board to consider the addition of Arlington as a prospective site. Eppes, representing the AirPower Foundation, worked with the mayor and city officials to assist with the selection of Arlington.

“The Mayor unleashed his team,” Eppes recalls. “When he unleashes his team, they’re ready to go.”

Williams rallied local business and civic leaders and the general citizenship to put together a concerted proposal, and though Arlington’s bid came late in the game, it was administrated with such precision and fervor that the National Medal of Honor Foundation was so impressed that The American Dream City was immediately elevated to the front of the pack – and was officially announced as the site of the museum at the press conference last month.

“The AirPower Foundation was proud to help facilitate bringing the National Medal of Honor museum to Arlington,” Eppes says.

“The AirPower foundation has been working with the MOH recipients for a number of years in attending the Sky Ball Gala each year as our honored guests.”

In fact, it was out of this relationship that Eppes befriended Ballard, who was invited to join the AirPower Foundation board as an advisor.

Now, he, Eppes, Cavender and the city’s unstoppable team have become lead characters in a story of great significance – for both Arlington and for the honor it will forever mark.

The Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest and most prestigious military honor, has been awarded to more than 3,500 military service members since the first medal was presented in 1863. The National Medal of Honor Museum will offer an experience that draws personal and emotional connections to Medal of Honor recipients and their inspiring stories, while shedding light on the

stories of heroism and the values that the Medal of Honor represents.

A host of local, state and national dignitaries applaud Arlington’s victory, including Texas Governor Greg Abbott.

“On behalf of the people of Texas, I welcome the National Medal of Honor Museum to the Lone Star State,” the Governor says. “There is no better place to honor and preserve the legacy of our nation’s Medal of Honor recipients than in this patriotic city. We are well known for our Texas pride – and we are extremely proud that Arlington, which brings visitors from across our great nation and the world, was chosen as the home of a museum that will surely become a national icon.”

Building a permanent home for the National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington ensures that the Foundation will be able to share the stories of the more than 3,500 Medal of Honor recipients to the more than 51 million visitors that are warmly welcomed to the region a year, says Colonel Jack Jacobs, a member of the foundation and a MOH recipient. “Putting our roots down and establishing a permanent home for the Museum in Texas, a state that has unmatched ties to the military and military service,” he says, “will allow us to create an experience that inspires a true strength of character.”

Once completed, the National Medal of Honor Museum will provide an unrivaled visitor experience with state-of-the-art permanent, interactive experiences and rotating exhibitions. Serving as a national landmark – and located in America’s heartland – the Museum will illustrate the historical thread of sacrifice, patriotism and courage that runs through all U.S. military service members, past and present. The National Medal of Honor Museum will also include an education center aimed at character development in our nation’s youth. A critical part of the museum’s mission will be to use the stories of Medal of Honor recipients to inspire young people, and motivate them to be their best selves.

arlingtontoday.com • November 2019 • ARLINGTON TODAY

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COVER STORY

“I LOVE ARLINGTON. I live in Arlington.

It’s an amazing city. It has really great people ... That makes me want to give back to them, and the best way I can do that is to do everything I can to show everyone that UTA is Arlington’s team.”

– Chris Ogden

Photo: Link Kabadyundi

A

s the curtain descended on the 2018-2019 college basketball season, two coaches who call Arlington home found themselves, just for a moment, somewhere else. They were at a location known as “the cusp,” right there – 40 minutes away from possibly becoming lead characters in a historic local story.

Forty minutes is how long a college basketball game lasts.

Unless, of course, when you reach “the cusp” and you lose. Those games can last a lot longer.

Chris Ogden and Krista Gerlich coach the men’s and women’s teams, respectively, at the University of Texas at Arlington, and last year both led their teams to highly successful seasons.

Ogden, in his first season at the school, took the team to the Sun Belt Conference tournament championship game; Gerlich guided her squad to a regular-season conference championship and a semifinal berth in the conference tourney.

But the box beside the last date in March on both teams’ Sun Belt schedule was filled with an “L,” as in “a loss,” leaving Ogden and

They coach your

HOME TEAM

And UTA’s dynamic duo of Chris Ogden and Krista Gerlich want you to know: They wouldn’t have it any other way Gerlich to wonder, instead of see, what kind of history might have been made at a school that has advanced to an NCAA tournament just once.

“Yeah, I’m not going to lie to you – that was absolutely heartbreaking,” Ogden says. “You put so much into a season, and to be so close and to fall just short is a gut punch.”

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ARLINGTON TODAY • November 2019 • arlingtontoday.com

Photo: Ellman Photography

Chris Ogden

Gerlich, now in her seventh season at UTA, says she, too, took the defeat in the conference tournament hard. But she didn’t have long to salve her and her team’s wounds. The regular season championship earned the Lady Mavs a berth in the Women’s NIT tournament, and they beat Stephen F. Austin 60-54 at College Park Center in the first round before bowing out to TCU in the second round.

That’s a pretty significant silver lining, one of several that defined UTA’s collective 2018-2019 campaign.

It needs to be noted that Ogden’s team was 3-8 after its first 11 games last season. But, as the coach says, “the team bought in to what were trying to do,” and it finished conference play with a 12-6 record, won its Sun Belt semifinal game and did make the conference tournament final for the second straight year.

The Lady Mavs, meanwhile, racked up a 24-8 record and won a postseason game for the first time in program history. “We had great team chemistry, and when you have great team chemistry, good things happen,” Gerlich says. “Looking back, I’m very proud of what our team was able to accomplish.”

Fast forward to this month, when both Gerlich and Ogden are looking forward – and smiling. Their respective squads will have an excellent blend of experience and youth, both teams have improved their talent level via recruiting, and last year’s success is a foundation on which both coaches will build momentum heading into this year.

Indeed, as Ogden, Gerlich and their squads prepare for new seasons that begin this month, the collective Mavs are optimistic that this could be the year for that aforementioned history making – and are convinced that getting to “the cusp” might actually wind up being a blessing in disguise.

They’re also convinced about something else: Wherever the ride leads, it will be a lot more fun taking Arlington area fans with them.

That’s why Gerlich and Ogden have done something that isn’t required in the job description: they’ve invested fully in becoming part of their community – emphasis on the word “fully.” Ogden says the easiest part of that part of his job is the fact that he works in one of the greater cities found anywhere.

“I love Arlington,” he says. “I live in Arlington. It’s an amazing

Photos: UTA

Krista Gerlich

city. It has really great people. So many people welcomed me with open arms from the day I first took the job.”

Notable among those, he says, are Mayor Jeff Williams, Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Michael Jacobson and Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau CEO Ron Price. Likewise, charter members of his fan club included UTA President Vistasp Karbhari and Athletic Director Jim Baker.

“From day one, they’ve treated me like family,” he says. “That kind of support makes a coach’s job a whole lot easier. And the people in the city in general and the students, they’ve been nothing but positive. That makes me want to give back to them, and the best way I can do that is to do everything I can to show everyone that UTA is Arlington’s team.”

To that end, he answers practically every call that summons him to speak to local civic groups. He holds practices that are open to the public, something that rarely happens in big-time collegiate programs. He encourages his players to follow his lead and engage and court students and local residents, all of whom could ultimately become fans.

“I tell them all the time that we want the student body and community to come to games, but the best way to ensure that happens is if we become part of the community we live in.”

That’s why his players perform service projects on and off campus, join clubs at the university and invite everyone they meet to take in a game.

“We play a fun brand of basketball, and I encourage our players to tell that to people,” Ogden says. “They’ve been great about engaging those around them. My goal when I came to UTA was to create a program that our community could be proud of. I have a vision – I can imagine 7,000 people in our arena, screaming their heads off. I want to have one of the greatest home court advantages in basketball, and I think that can happen.”

Like her coaching colleague, Gerlich has made it a priority to embrace and engage her community – and to invest in a mission to have the community embrace and engage her team. In fact, she uses virtually the same phraseology. “I want us to be Arlington’s team,” she says.

“OUR PLAYERS volunteer at Mission Arlington, participate in community cleanup efforts with local churches, work with children at the Boys & Girls Clubs and at the local YMCA and help feed and clothe the homeless. It’s important to give back to our city.”

– Krista Gerlich Not only that, she wants Arlington’s team to be one of which local fans can be especially proud, because of the character they show on and off the court.

As soon as she took the job seven years ago, she set about changing the culture. With what she calls “tremendous support” from university administration, she started recruiting true student athletes, who excelled as much in the classroom as on the court.

During her second year at the school, the Lady Mavs won the Sun Belt Conference Academic Achievement award presented to the school whose players had the highest grade point average in the league.

“As we got better, I said we’re going to try to hang some banners (symbolic of championships), but we’re not just going to be about hanging banners,” she says. “We’re going to be ambassadors for UTA.” The fruits of that commitment are evidenced by the team winning the Mav Cup the past three years. That’s the honor bestowed upon the group on campus that performs the most exemplary community service and outreach.

Additionally, the players volunteer at Mission Arlington, participate in community cleanup efforts with local churches, work with children at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County and at the local branches of the Arlington-Mansfield Area YMCA and help feed and clothe homeless people through a variety of altruistic entities.

Collectively, what Ogden and Gerlich have created is a pair of basketball programs that now mirror the dynamic community in which they play. And that accomplishment represents a banner that will hang in perpetuity.

FOR THE LATEST NEWS, information and much more regarding UTA Athletics, visit UTAMavs.com. To purchase tickets, log on to UTATickets.com, call the UTA Box Office at 817-272-9595 or stop by the College Park Center during regular business hours. For those interested in becoming a donor and helping support UTA Athletics’ endeavors to provide the best overall collegiate experience for their approximately 225 student-athletes, please visit UTAMavs.com/MaverickClub or call Assistant AD for Maverick Club Alex Ware at 817-272-9613. arlingtontoday.com • November 2019 • ARLINGTON TODAY

27

UTA TODAY

This is not your dad’s music class UTA creates a new degree that focuses on all facets of the music industry • By Bill Lace

M

Jamar Jones, coordinator of the Music Industry Studies degree at the University of Texas at Arlington, helps students learn both the music and the industry facets of the music industry.

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ARLINGTON TODAY • November 2019 • arlingtontoday.com

usic may be about do-re-me, but it’s also about dough-reme. That’s why the University of Texas at Arlington has established a new degree in Music Industry Studies.

“Music is a business and is really a show business – the business of show,” says Jamar Jones, assistant professor of music and the program’s coordinator. “I learned in business school that there is only one principle value that every business has: to increase shareholder wealth. What we want to do is create enterprise, and that takes some of the emotion out of the decisions that are made.”

Jones should know. While still a teenager he produced a song on the Grammywinning Boys II Men album. He has collaborated with such artists as Patti Labelle, Usher and Kanye West. He earned Photo: Randy Gentry credit toward his bachelor’s degree online while on tour with Academy Award and Grammy winner Jamie Foxx.

A talented pianist before he was out of grade school, Jones was repeatedly labeled a child prodigy, but a solid upbringing, he

English. “I want music as my career,” she says, “but I’m a writer says, helped him keep a level head. When he got back home in first and foremost. “ Philadelphia at 16, flushed with excitement from a week in New She wants to write film scores and dreams (“although I know this York at the Grammys, his mother calmly heard him expound on his sounds crazy”) of writing songs for a Disney princess movie. adventure and then said, “Tomorrow’s trash day.” He might have Her time in California showed her the value of having business been a budding star, but there were chores to be done. sense. “I got to see a lot of ways that people can really get tricked And so his message to students is that it’s wonderful for them into getting into situations that they didn’t need to be in,” she says. to soar creatively as long as they keep their feet on the ground.

“And it’s a lot harder to know what’s real and what’s not and what “Every musician should have some level of business education,” parts of a contract are not necessarily useful.” he says, adding that there should be a “balance of needs – our Fellow student Nick Rood had his entrée into music via the tuba, organizational needs vs. our creative desires.” which he played proudly in the Mansfield Summit High School This dichotomy is reflected in the degree program’s band, but he has no intention of making it his career. interdisciplinary curriculum. There are core music courses such as His goal, rather, is to be a record producer, specifically doing theory, harmony and ear training, but there also are courses in the demos for aspiring artists to send to bigger labels. “I’ve always had business arena such as accounting, economics, marketing and law. kind of a soft spot for starving artists,” he says.

Jones is an alumnus of UTA, having received his Master of Like Burke, he sees the importance of knowing the business Music in jazz piano in 2017. He began teaching part time then. side of things. “This degree program is perfect for tackling the When the opportunity arose for a full-time position with a importance of the logistical side of music/business emphasis, he the industry,” he says, “because a lot looked at the requirements and saw of people can cash in on the fact that he had the perfect skill set. “I have “MUSIC IS A business and is so many artists only know music.” a master’s in music and a master’s really a show business – the Rood is a classmate of Burke’s in business and we’re talking the in the Record Label and Studio music business,” he says. “It made business of show. I learned Management class taught by Jones. It’s perfect sense. I had walked into in business school that there the fourth time he’s taken it because something that felt as if it had been “you get something new out of it designed for me.” is only one principle value every time.”

Business courses aside, music that every business has: to Something not new is Jones’ is still at the base of the program. standard first-day-of-class “With our degree you have to increase shareholder wealth. announcement: “If you didn’t know be able to sing or perform on an What we want to do is create already, you just signed up to be on instrument. But the emphasis is not the staff of a record label.” That’s to on public performance,” Jones says. enterprise, and that takes tell them that their class project is Although some of the courses some of the emotion out of to take performance(s) all the way have been around for years, the from concept to CD. “We pick the degree program kicked off only this the decisions that are departments we’re in, like artist fall semester. Twenty students were repertoire, production, legal, art,” expected; sixty signed up.

Rood says. “Jamar’s there if we need him, but he prefers to let us “We have a really dynamic and diverse mix of different types of solve the problems.” students,” Jones says. “There are some who want to be performers.

This semester’s project is “I’ll Live,” suggested by Burke, There are some who just want to be audio engineers. There are some who says it’s “essentially finding reasons to live and not die in a who want to be music producers. I have one guy who’s planning to generation that’s so focused on depression and suicide.” One of go to law school once he graduates. We have some who want to be the songs was wrapped up in early October, and the group is on in marketing, but they just want to understand the music business, schedule to be finished around mid-November. the music industry.”

About a week beforehand, she says, there will be a concert “to One such student is Kori Burke, who learned piano from her kind of bring awareness to the subject and also, with the album mom in Red Oak and began writing songs when she was around we’re putting out, to reach a lot of people.”

12. She attended Dallas Baptist University for a couple of years, And reaching a lot of people with your music can be good works, took time off to be part of the L.A. music scene, then came back as well as good business. and entered UTA as a double major in Music Industry Studies and

made.”

arlingtontoday.com • November 2019 • ARLINGTON TODAY

29

FAVORITES

ARLINGTON Today your community • your magazine

EDITOR’S CHOICE 2019

AWARDS EDITOR’S CHOICE

In August’s All Star edition, we shared the results of our readers’ poll that celebrated their favorites. Here, we offer our editorial picks in more than four dozen categories.

EATS / DRINKS / MERRIMENT Burger Twisted Root Burger Co. Pizza Gino’s East Steak VB Steakhouse Italian Cuisine Cafe Sicilia Tex-Mex Mariano’s Hacienda Seafood Flying Fish Dining Experience Chamas do Brazil Happy Hour The Tipsy Oak Place to Hang Urban Alchemy Coffee + Wine Bar Place to Celebrate Texas Live!

30

Date Night restaurant506 at The Sanford House

Financial Services Baker Financial Services Retirement Community Overture Highlands

STORE FRONT Shopping Experience Gracie Lane Gifts Anything Goes Boutique Paisley Grace Boutique Jewelry Troy Vinson

Vantage Point Mercury Chophouse

Specialty Sports Trek Bicycle Shop

HOME LIFE

Flooring DFW Flooring Warehouse

Builder Mansfield Custom Homes Remodeler ProBrush Painting & Remodeling Exterior Projects Medford Design Build

Furniture Canales Furniture

WELLNESS Hospital Medical City Arlington

Podiatry Arlington/Mansfield Foot & Ankle Centers Family Dentistry Dr. Jackilyn Dang Orthodontics Drs Alexander Orthodontics Chiropractic Care / Wellness Dr. Kenyon Godwin Audiologist Audiology Experts Patient/Customer Service Kos / Danchak Audiology & Hearing Aids

PERSONAL SERVICES Spa Bliss Massage Hair Salon Shelton’s Salon & Spa Wedding Venue Howell Farms Photographer Life Stories By Hoang

Real Estate David Hart Homes

Emergency Room Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital

Pet Care Country Acres Kennels

Family Physician Dr. Patrick Kobett, MD

Natural Setting Elmer W. Oliver Park

Veterinarian Richter Animal Hospital & Pet Resort

OB / GYN Dr. Joan Bergstrom

Dance Studio Miss Persis Studio of Dance

Urologist Dr. Justin Lee

Hotel DoubleTree by Hilton

Oncologist Dr. Alfred DiStefano

Golf Course Texas Rangers Golf Club

Insurance Jesus Sanchez State Farm Financial Institution EECU

ARLINGTON TODAY • November 2019 • arlingtontoday.com

Music Venue Levitt Pavilion Arlington

restaurant506 at The Sanford House Date Night

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n our August issue, The Sanford House was cited by our readers as their favorite in a variety of categories – including restaurant506’s win the “Place for Lunch” category. During this goround, we’re “seeing” the mid-day meal and “raising” the wager by adding a romantic element to the mix.

General Manager Valerie Landry says she and her team are working to ensure that restaurant506 remains “one of the best restaurants in the city,” and to that end they have undertaken a variety of endeavors to continually enhance the renowned eatery, which has won Diner’s Choice awards from Open Table each of the past three years and which was also honored by Open Table for offering one of the top 100 brunches in the nation. restaurant506, located in The Sanford House Manor, is open to the public for dining – all kinds of dining – but we think you’ll find it especially appealing for “date night.” “restaurant506 combines classic cooking methods with fresh ingredients to create delicious tasting food that is artfully presented,” Landry notes. “Together with our attentive team of servers, we strive to be sure that your experience at our restaurant is absolutely perfect.”

Landry schedules regular themed events at the restaurant to attract guests and to enhance the bond restaurant506 has with the community. For example, a “Wine Dinner with Troon Vineyards” event will take place at 6 p.m. on Nov. 13. Previously, restaurant506 celebrated the 22nd annual Restaurant Week with a promotion in August benefiting Lena Pope, and has also partnered with Arlington Yoga Center for a monthly “Brunch + Yoga” event series.”

“Our passion for customer service is what sets us apart as special,” Landry says. We wholeheartedly agree.

Mercury Chophouse Vantage Point

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t hasn’t taken long for Mercury Chophouse to win the hearts of hungry Arlington area patrons – or hungry editors, for that matter. The upscale – and way up in the air – restaurant opened two autumns ago and rapidly became a prime place for diners and panorama enthusiasts whose senses are routinely treated to the best Arlington has to offer on several fronts.

This, of course, was the hope of co-owners Zack Moutaouakil and Jim Ross, who envisioned turning the spot vacated by longtime Arlington restaurant Cacharel into a new “go to” dining destination that featured outstanding food and service – and, from its perch on the ninth floor – the best view of Arlington found anywhere.

From the start, Ross and Moutaouakil were counting on two tried-and-true business strategies to ensure that Mercury Chophouse’s stay in its lofty locale would be not only welcomed but celebrated: one principal who knows the restaurant industry (Moutaouakil) and another who knows – and is revered by – a lot of people (Ross).

Moutaouakil helped establish the Mercury Chop House in Fort Worth and reaped the benefits early on of creating an upscale eatery that focused on fine food, an alluring atmosphere and stellar service that ensured that patrons would make attending the restaurant a dining ritual. Ross, a celebrated Arlington attorney who also received Readers’ Choice All Star honors for his work in the legal field earlier this year, is a friend to many. Together, they comprise a terrific team, although Ross describes the relationship in another way.

“We’re really more like family,” he says. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for him or him for me. The same goes for our patrons – we consider them to be our family, as well, and we make it a point to make them feel that way every time they come here.”

restaurant506 at The Sanford House

Mercury Chophouse

506 N. Center St. • 817-861-2129 thesanfordhouse.com/restaurant506

2221 E. Lamar Blvd., Suite 910 • 817-381-1157 mercurychophouse.com arlingtontoday.com • November 2019 • ARLINGTON TODAY

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Dr. Joan Bergstrom Ob / Gyn

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or the past six years, Dr. Joan Bergstrom, founder of Women’s Health Services, has been tabbed by our readers as the All Star winner in the Ob/Gyn category. We’re excited to contribute to another round of kudos for Dr. Bergstrom by naming her our Editor’s Choice winner this year, as well.

The good doctor has come about her success by establishing a unique rapport with each patient over a span of more than three decades, during which she has delivered more than 4,000 local babies.

“The ability to develop relationships with patients that last through decades of life is a very special opportunity,” she says. “Every day I get to go to work and meet new patients and continue relationships with established patients.”

Dr. Bergstrom is quick to note that she shares any honor she receives with her stellar team at Women’s Health Services, including Drs. Joy Carter, Kiran Nangrani, Dawnette K. Peppler, Sheri Puffer and Jessica Brown.

“The team of doctors and staff of Women’s Health Services strive to provide excellent patient service with on-line flexible appointment scheduling,” she says. “We give personal attention to all of our patients. Our doctors are all board certified or board eligible, and we offer the highest quality, ethical and efficient obstetrical and gynecological services. Our staff is dedicated to providing outstanding customer service.”

Dr. Bergstrom founded Women’s Health Services in 1986 when she moved to Arlington after completing her residency in Ob/Gyn at Kansas University Medical Center in Kansas City. For the first 10 years, she was in solo practice.

“As time went by,” she says, “I gradually added physicians to improve our ability to serve more patients. The group now has six physicians. All doctors rotate between the offices to ensure expedient access for our patients.”

Women’s Health Services opened a second office in South Arlington in 2016 to offer a more convenient location for patients who live in the south part of the city.

It’s just another example of how Dr. Bergstrom and her fellow physicians at Women’s Health Services really do take care of the people for whom they provide health care.

And we believe that’s an honorable endeavor.

Medical City Arlington Hospital

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ver the past year, Medical City Arlington has evolved in rapid fashion to meet the needs of patients of all kinds, which has helped set it apart as one of the region’s premier medical facilities.

In April, the state-of-the-art Medical City Arlington Women’s Hospital opened as Tarrant County’s first destination medical center just for women.The $60 million facility gives women in Arlington, Tarrant County and surrounding cities in North Texas a luxurious, spacious – and revolutionary – medical center at which they receive high-level, specialized healthcare for a comprehensive range of women’s services.

CEO Keith Zimmerman says Medical City Arlington Women’s Hospital is the culmination of a half decade of collaboration among HCA Healthcare administrators, principals at existing medical centers, physicians, patients and prospective patients, with all of the planning focused on one goal: “to bring a destination center for women to Arlington.”

Here’s another example of what makes Medical City Arlington special: This past summer, the hospital was designated a Level II Trauma Center by the Texas Department of State Health Services, making it the first and only hospital in Arlington to achieve this distinguished classification. A Level II trauma designation represents the second-highest level of trauma designation available.

The hospital’s emergency medicine team, made up of board-certified physicians, nurses and specialists, treats about 2,000 trauma patients annually and cared for 80,000 patients in the ER last year.

Because of its quest to evolve to meet the needs of it patients – and because of its keen ability to do just that – Medical City Arlington has become not just one of the premier hospitals in the city, but it’s a shining example of what a hospital should be. And we’re excited to honor it in this issue.

Women’s Health Services

Medical City Arlington

N. Office: 1001 N. Waldrop, Suite 505 • S. Office: 5005 S. Cooper St, Suite 275 817-277-9415 • womenshealthservices.com

3301 Matlock Road • 682-509-6200 medicalcityarlington.com

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ARLINGTON TODAY • November 2019 • arlingtontoday.com

Dr. Jackilyn Dang Family Dentistry

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Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital Emergency Room

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exas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital offers full emergency services in an exemplary fashion worthy of an Editor’s Choice award.

The emergency department is staffed by independent, full-time physicians who are board certified in emergency medicine and by nurses certified in emergency care and advanced life support.

Many Texas Health Arlington Memorial nurses have also earned the title of Certified Emergency Nurse and have completed the Trauma/Nurse Core Curriculum as well as training in Pediatric Advanced Life Support.

Emergency physicians on the medical staff at Texas Health Arlington Memorial and the nurses and technicians all participate in ongoing continuing education programs to keep abreast of current trends and developments in emergency care.

Texas Health Arlington Memorial emergency facilities are as specialized as the staff. The department includes 40 treatment rooms and eight “fast track” rooms equipped to meet needs that range from heart attack to trauma, asthma attacks to poisoning.

Throughout emergency treatment, computerized monitors continuously track and display the patient’s vital signs, even while the patient is in X-ray.

Three years ago, the hospital began an innovative program designed, ironically, to avert emergencies. This outreach program at Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital, in collaboration with the Arlington Fire Department, helps hundreds of patients with chronic conditions avoid emergency room visits and addresses social determinants of health before they become life-threating problems. Paramedics make home visits to patients who are at risk for not properly managing their condition after leaving the hospital. Texas Health Arlington Memorial has seen between a 50 to 75 percent reduction in the number of Emergency Department or inpatient readmissions since the program started.

Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital 800 West Randol Mill Road • 817-960-6100 texashealth.org/arlington

reat dentists bring smiles to the faces of their patients, and over the past seven years, Dr. Jackilyn Dang has been making people smile all over the Metroplex.

Since opening her initial local practice, Great Oak Dental, Dr. Dang has provided state-of-the-art dental care to Arlington-area patients – so much so that she opened a second practice, Legacy Park Dental, five years ago.

She and her staff provide the utmost care in blending compassion and expertise as part of each patient’s customized treatment plan.

“It’s important for our patients to be fully educated about their dental options, and we never want our patients to feel rushed or to be afraid to ask questions,” Dr. Dang says. “We take the time to educate and inform our patients about their financial options and procedures so they can make the best decision possible for themselves.”

And now you know why Dr. Dang is an Editor’s Choice winner.

Great Oak Dental / Legacy Park Dental Great Oak Dental: 3851 S.W. Green Oaks Blvd., #101 Legacy Park Dental: 1001 N.E. Green Oaks Blvd.

817-789-4480 • greatoakdental.com • legacyparkdental.com

Dr. Kenyon Godwin Chiropractic Care / Wellness

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ur readers have named Dr. Kenyon Godwin, founder of Active Family Wellness Center, their favorite chiropractic / wellness specialist every year he has been on the ballot. We’re certainly not going to argue with their good judgment.

The practice, which now has two offices, is based on a simple philosophy.

“We believe people should have the freedom to pursue their purpose without limitations!” Dr. Godwin says.

“AFWC combines education, lifestyle modification and people-personalized services to help people live their best life.”

AFWC offers an effective lifestyle modification program called 8 Weeks to Wellness. This program incorporates the best of wellness: Chiropractic, Nutrition, Massage, Fitness and Meditation/Prayer.

“Our catalyzing statement is to make Arlington the healthiest city in the state of Texas,” Dr. Godwin says.

We appreciate that sentiment – and the wellness that it inspires.

Active Family Wellness Center Main office: 4927 S. Collins St., Suite 105 North office: 4120 N. Collins St., Suite 200 817-618-6730 • txwellnessdoc.com arlingtontoday.com • November 2019 • ARLINGTON TODAY

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Kos / Danchak Audiology & Hearing Aids

Anything Goes

Patient / Customer Service

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or the past 3 years, Arlington Today readers have honored Kos/Danchak Audiology & Hearing Aids with an Arlington area All Star award – and we agree that the practice is special!

This November, Kos/Danchak Audiology & Hearing Aids is celebrating their 35th Anniversary “helping people hear better.”

Susanne Kos, the original owner, began helping North Texans hear better in 1984 and the practice continues to proudly recognize her name.

Because of their consistent delivery of services and success helping people hear the best they can, over 40 community physicians refer Helping North Texans their patients to Kos/Danchak Hear Better Audiology for hearing health care, vestibular, and balance testing. Many of these physicians have been referring to Kos/Danchak since Susanne Kos opened the practice!

That kind of trust has been paved by a patient-first focus and commitment to deliver the best hearing solutions possible for each person they meet with. “What we say we are going to do, we do.

That is verified, on a daily basis, by the community of physicians that consistently place their trust in us as well as the online reviews and recommendations our patients post about their experiences with us,” Dr. Melissa Danchak says.

“There are not many audiology practices in the North Texas area that can say they’ve been helping people hear better for over 35 years. We believe that the hearing health care experience is about making folks feel confident in their decision to address their hearing health care needs first and foremost. We believe our patient’s feel confident in the services we provide – they know we are walking with them on their journey to better hearing!”

Dr. Danchak says the practice’s first, and main, priority is to honor its commitments to each patient. “Better hearing health care is a journey – not a transaction! Each day, we meet with people that have trusted their hearing health care needs to us for 5 years, 10 years – some even 20 years. We also meet with people that are addressing their hearing health care needs for the first time. They have confidence in us because of a referral from a friend of theirs. The referrals from an existing patient and the positive online reviews are humbling, to say the least. We recognize that those searching for hearing health care services aren’t always sure where to go or who to trust. Like I said, it is very humbling to know that the community trusts us to help them hear the best they can.”

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Gifts n 2012, Mary Davis’ dream of opening an eclectic gift shop became a reality when Anything Goes opened its doors at 2504 W. Park Row in Pantego. We don’t know if Mary ever dreamed of winning an Editor’s Choice award, but we’re going to guess she will gladly accept it.

Since opening, Anything Goes has grown from 1,200 square feet to almost 4,000 square feet of retail space that features products that meet the needs of customers of all ages.

Traveling to different markets such as Las Vegas, New York and Atlanta allows Anything Goes to bring diverse and unique products from across the country.

“I work hard to find our customers new products so they have the diversity in the gifts that they’re giving and there’s always something new and fresh for them on the shelves,” Mary says. “Anything Goes prides itself in the level of customer service that we provide and making everyone feel at home the minute they walk in the door.”

Anything Goes 2504 W. Park Row Drive, Suite A, Pantego • 817-542-0862 anythinggoesgiftshop.com

Gracie Lane Shopping Experience

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sk virtually any shop-aholic in town, and he/she will tell you that a definite “go to” destination in Arlington for items both fun and functional is Gracie Lane. If you don’t believe them, ask us.

Since opening in 2014, Gracie Lane has rapidly become recognized as the Arlington area’s premier shopping destination for clothing, jewelry, home decor, gifts and more. Gracie Lane is also renowned for great value and a rotating stream of products.

Manager Mary Macken says the real key to Gracie Lane’s success, though, is the relationships she and the team build: “I believe our philosophy of treating every person that walks through our doors as a family member really resonates with our customers.” She’ll get no argument here.

Kos/Danchak Audiology & Hearing Aids

Gracie Lane

101 W. Randol Mill Road • 817-277-7039 northtxhearing.com

4720 S. Cooper St. • 817-468-5263 gracielanecollection.com

ARLINGTON TODAY • November 2019 • arlingtontoday.com

Troy Vinson Jewelers

Country Acres Kennels

Jewelry

Pet Care

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roy Vinson Jewelers is a Family owned business that has met – and exceeded – the jewelry needs of North Texans since 1971.

The Troy Vinson team caters to its customers’ tastes, always striving to provide only the finest, highest quality jewelry, repair and custom design.

Troy Vinson has the largest finest custom jewelry and repair facility in the area, using state-of-the-industry technology, such as CAD computers, mills and 3-D growing machines, a Pantograph model making machine, laser welders, and gemstone and diamond setting under microscopes. Even more noteworthy: All of the company’s jewelers are Jewelers of America Certified.

Custom Designed Jewelry is created on the latest CAD cam at Troy Vinson Jewelers.

After approval of the CAD design the model is then sent back to the shop, where every detail is completed. Your custom designed piece of jewelry is hand polished and finished to perfection meeting your fullest expectation.

or nearly five decades, Country Acres Kennels has been regarded as one of the premier dog boarding and training facilities in the country. It’s a place where their animals aren’t only cared for, but indulged, and where their owners can be confident that while they’re away, the pets will, indeed, play.

Country Acres has everything on-site to ensure that pets will feel loved – space, activities, large indoor and outdoor runs for dogs, and private rooms for cats.

Country Acres also boards birds and exotic pets, and it is unique in the pet care world in that it provides limousine service to animal lovers who board their pets and need a ride to the airport.

“We’ve built a first class facility where your pet will be pampered,” says owner Don Praeger. “In fact, the only downside is they may beg to come back!”

Troy Vinson Jewelers

Country Acres Kennels

4666 S.W. Loop 820, Fort Worth • 817-377-8555 troyvinsonjewelers.com

7817 S. Cooper St. • 817-467-2511 countryacreskennels.com

Shelton’s Salon

EECU

Hair Salon

Financial Institution

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four-time winner of our annual Readers’ Choice poll, Shelton’s Salon & Spa was started in 1965 in what was Stripling’s Department Store, prompting Shelton Ogle to follow his entrepreneurial instincts to open three more salons and the Ogle School of Hair Design, which grew to four locations.

Shelton, along with his wife Linda, have always tried to inspire the staff and students to the value they each bring to their clients. There has always been a passion to present the Beauty Industry in a creative, professional and client-centered environment. In staffing the salons, spas and schools, Shelton and Linda have been selective in choosing people who share their desire for being a leader in the industry.

Ogle School was sold in 2006. Shelton’s Salon and Spas have continued to evolve with the goal of offering clients fresh and creative styling.

ECU is a not-for-profit credit union that offers everything you’d expect from a financial institution. Their commitment to delivering value, focus on supporting the community, and delivering a faster, friendlier personalized experience is what truly defines the EECU difference!

Since opening its first Arlington office in 1967, EECU has been actively involved in supporting the community. Examples of these efforts include actively supporting Mission Arlington and the Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce, providing free financial literacy programs for high school students, sponsoring Arlington ISD’s Employee of the Month Awards, and giving more than $500,000 in college scholarships.

EECU exists to provide value to its members in the form of lower loan interest rates, higher savings rates, and low-or-no fee products and services. Stop by your local financial center today and learn more about how they can help you!

Shelton’s Salon & Spa

EECU

2122 W. Park Row Drive • 817-277-6339 sheltonssalon.com

2212 Southgate St. • 1253 N. Little School Road • 817-882-0800 eecu.org arlingtontoday.com • November 2019 • ARLINGTON TODAY

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WORSHIP

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unbeams stream through upper level window panes to present a rainbow of colors whose position adjusts depending on the time of day. It’s just one of the features of the new additions at First Baptist Church Photos: Karen Gavis Arlington.

On Sundays, about 400 people use the new brick and wood Children’s Building facility, FBCA spokesman David McDurham says, adding that the idea was to create a space where children from birth through six years of age could be in one place with youth facilities.

“There’s a big fish tank built into the wall that the kids seem to like a lot,” he says. And “there’s a play room now. The official name is Photo: FBCA Children’s Building, So, it’s not anything fancy.

The new Children’s Building and orchesta pit at First Baptist Church Arlington are part of the church’s “Blessing the It’s just the children’s building.”

Generations” expansion project.

The 50,000 square-foot, partially rotund session on the courtyard lawn while her children played nearby. structure, which was designed by the Beck architectural firm, took Church members appreciate that everything is new and well about 16 months to build and was completed in July. McDurham organized with spacious meeting rooms and storage areas, as well said about $13 million was dedicated to the construction project, as lobbies, McDurham says. “We’re just excited to have a place part of which was spent completing a major overhaul on the where we can organize a meeting room,” he says while branding church’s sanctuary which was built in the 1950s. the new facility as “everything you’d want.”

“We had nearly that much raised, McDurham says, but this Al Schahn, 88, a longtime Arlington resident and member was part of a bigger three-phase campaign called ‘Blessing the of FBCA who also restores musical instruments, points out the Generations.’” newly remodeled sanctuary’s orchestra pit.

Along with Sunday school classes, activities are held on After touring the Children’s Building that houses newborns Wednesday night in the new building, and a Child Development through kindergarteners on the ground floor and grades first Center serves as a daycare Monday through Friday for the through sixth on the upper level, Schahn walks down the hallway community. McDurham says about 125 children receive day care and pauses to reminisce before an image of the church’s current services at the facility. There’s also a new grassy courtyard, says and former leaders.

McDurham, describing a recent scene where a mom had a yoga “I was here through all those preachers,” he says of the trio of men in the painting.

Schahn and his late wife Doris Ann attended seminary school together, he says, and dedicated their lives to working with young people.

Looking at the new apartment buildings being constructed around First Baptist Church in Downtown First Baptist Church Arlington enhances its Arlington, Schahn says he hopes some of the residents city-wide ministry with the addition of a new will visit FBCA and make use of the new facilities.

“We’re spending $13 million downtown,” Schahn says.

Children’s Building • By Karen Gavis “We’re doing our part.”

McDurham says FBCA church members “have always been very generous.”

“It’s always a good surprise when pledges come through and people are supportive in that way,” he says. “It’s been a big blessing for sure.”

A special calling

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Join Downtown Arlington in celebrating Small Business Saturday by visiting one of our participating local businesses for special deals, giveaways, and live music. More details found at downtownarlington.org/smallbusinesssaturday

ARLINGTON Today your community • your magazine

EDITOR’S CHOICE 2019

arlingtontoday.com • November 2019 • ARLINGTON TODAY

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VETERANS DAY

Keeping history alive:

The D-Day invasion

Dwayne Lee

Visiting those historic beaches is a powerful – and sobering – experience • By Dwayne Lee

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t was the largest military naval invasion in history. More than 7,000 ships, 10,000 aircraft and 165,000 Allied soldiers participated in this epic battle known as D-Day in northern France designed to turn the tide against Nazi Germany’s aggression in World War II. The day was June 6, 1944. The gentle sloping beaches of Normandy became the site of some of the fiercest fighting seen up to that time during the war. By the end of that fateful day, all five beaches of the Normandy coastline (code names Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword) had been successfully taken by the invading Allied forces, but not without great cost in terms of human lives. The Allies, consisting mainly of British, American, and Canadian forces, lost more than 7,000 killed in action and more than 20,000 wounded; the German defenders had more than 6,000 soldiers die and 11,000 wounded.

And within the next month, more than 2,000,000 Allied soldiers and countless amounts of tanks, trucks and jeeps, as well as hundreds of thousands of tons of supplies (shells, bullets, guns, gasoline and other supporting material) had landed on the Normandy coast in support of the overall invasion tactics.

On my bucket list visit to the D-Day beaches in 2016, something my tour guide mentioned while we stood on Omaha Beach really pricked my heart. His comment was that he was seeing fewer and fewer younger Americans coming over to view the D-Day area. When I asked what his definition of “younger” Americans was, his reply was “Fifty, sixty, and seventy year olds” – the children of the soldiers that fought in this very battle. That really hurt.

I have always been a student of history, especially World War II and more specifically D-Day, as my Dad had been a pilot in the Army Air Corp in the ‘40s. He flew C-47s, the main troop and material transport planes of that time. His main job was the training of the very glider pilots who landed in Normandy on D-Day. After coming home from my first visit to the D-Day Beaches, my Rotary Club (the Arlington Sunrise Rotary Club) asked me to present a program on my experiences in Normandy. It was during the construction of that presentation that I realized I had a story to tell and a responsibility to keep the history of that battle that occurred some 75 years ago alive in the hearts and minds of the public.

I had more than 2,200 photographs to select from to use in the program. Realizing that most civic, church, school and veterans groups usually only allow around 30 minutes for a program, I was forced to cull the number of photos I wanted to use down to around 100, allowing for a small amount of narrative during the presentation.

After making my presentation, “Re-Visiting the D-Day Beaches,” 38

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for a third time, a couple of people came up to me and asked how they could take a trip like I had made. I called my friends who had hosted my original trip, Walter and Kim Eagleton of Artistic Gourmet Adventures, and asked them to set up an Adventure for a small group of interested travelers. They obliged, and in the Fall of 2018, I took my first group of history buffs to France to review the D-Day area. Since then, I have hosted three more groups on this D-Day trek and have two weeks scheduled for 2020.

To help visitors properly experience this iconic area in only five days, I designed an itinerary very strategically. On Day One, we visited the Utah Beach and Museum area, including the Crisbecq Gun Battery; the Dick Winters and the 101st Airborne Memorial (of the Band of Brothers fame); the La Fiere Bridge Battle monument along with the Iron Mike statue; the Chateau de Bernaville – a site where Field Marshall Erwin Rommel had visited – and a famous aid station in Angoville where two U.S. Army Medics treated both Americans and Germans wounded inside a church.

On our second day, we visited the Maisy Gun Battery (which had been kept top secret by the American and British governments until 2004); Point du Hoc (where Colonel James Earl Rudder of the 2nd Rangers were tasked to scale 100-foot cliffs and take out six big German guns); Omaha Beach and WN 60 (a German strong point on the eastern end of the Beach) and finally to the American Cemetery where 9,388 Americans are buried. As this was at the end of the day, we experienced a very moving Flag ceremony.

Day Three saw us traveling to Gold Beach, the town of Arromanch to view a moving account of D-Day in a circular theater and also a chance to see one of the two Mulberry Harbors built by the Allies to offload the larger ships in the English Channel. Additionally, we saw the Longues sur Mer Gun battery and the first town liberated by the Allies on D-Day, Bayeux.

On Day Four, we paid a visit to the Juno Beach Centre. Le Grand Bunker and Sword Beach, as well as the Merrville Gun Battery and the Pegasus Bridge, were also highlights. And finally, we spent the entirety of Day Five at Le Mont St. Michel, a fort/prison/city/abby to the west of Normandy, a few hundred yards out in the English Channel.

We must keep history alive, especially the sacrifices made on that fateful day. I have presented the program, “Re-Visiting the D-Day Beaches,” more than 100 times to various groups. If you would like me to share it with your group, contact me at southernflair@sbcglobal.net.

Also, if you are interested in going on a week-long adventure to Normandy to visit the D-Day Beaches, reach out to me. A T

Here are just a few of the more than 2,000 photographs Dwayne Lee took during his various trips to the beaches and sites that shaped history on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

Mansfield Veterans Day Parade to be held at 10 a.m. on Nov. 9

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he 99th observance of Veterans Day in the United States will be the start of a new tradition in Mansfield as the city gathers for a Veterans Day Parade that will take place outside of City Hall (1200 E. Broad St.) at 10 a.m. on Nov. 9.

There are veterans working for the schools, the city, as first responders, for private companies and, of course, retired. This event is a way for them to all come together and see how much the city appreciates their service. It’s hard to find anyone, in Mansfield or beyond, who doesn’t have a very special devotion to the military and the sacrifice Veterans make on behalf of the country.

Scheduled participants for the parade include marching bands from Mansfield and Legacy high schools, as well as JROTC groups from all five MISD high schools. Other groups represented include the American Legion, all military branch local recruitment offices, veteran’s organizations, Mansfield ISD and the City of Mansfield.

arlingtontoday.com • November 2019 • ARLINGTON TODAY

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LOCAL DWELLINGS

Home SWEET! Home

This home is a picturesque portait of luxury in and of itself, but it’s also part of a gated community surrounded by a veritable forest.

This dwelling in Southwest Arlington is located in a neighborhood surrounded by woodlands, and its spacious and elegant interior is ideal for entertaining

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his month, we are taking a trip to Southwest Arlington, to a new, luxury gated community, where we find this virtually new custom modern home that is on the market – but might not be for long.

Listed by Michael Cunningham of the Magazzine Cunningham Group of Ebby Halliday REALTORS®, the traditional-style, 3,418-square-foot dwelling was built in 2018 and anchors a .39-acre lot as part of a neighborhood surrounded by woodlands.

In fact, as the inset photograph on this page shows, the development is a suburban enclave engulfed by all manner of natural beauty.

And the home proper, with its four bedrooms and 3.1 bathrooms, is as exquisite as its surroundings. Considering that it has four bedrooms and 3.1 baths, it’s safe to assume that the 3,000-plus square feet that comprise the

Photos courtesy of the Magazzine Cunningham Group

There’s plenty of room and ample ambience for entertaining at this Southwest Arlington home. Plus, it features a climate-controlled wine room that is ideal for marking special occasions or “just because.”

arlingtontoday.com • November 2019 • ARLINGTON TODAY

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From the bedroom/bathroom scene to the office “with a view,” this home is smartly crafted to meet its dwellers’ virtually every need.

entire expanse provide plenty of room for entertaining, retreating, relaxing and any other of the “proverbial more” appropriately descriptive words that end in “ing.”

Here are some of the highlights: There’s a beautiful guest house with full bath and mini kitchen.

There’s a climate-controlled wine room. There’s an office. And there’s gleaming, hardwood floors throughout. The house also features a light and bright open concept with spacious dining and living room areas that open to the expansive kitchen featuring an oversized 12-foot x 10-foot centerpiece island, quartz counter tops and stainless steel appliances with wolf gas range.

As for the living quarters, the master suite has a spa-like luxurious bath with a freestanding tub, a separate shower, 42

ARLINGTON TODAY • November 2019 • arlingtontoday.com

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The home’s large, entertaining backyard showcases a covered patio, a lagoon-style pool with water features and a fire pit.

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dual sinks and a walk-in closet. Each of the bedrooms has its own distinct personality, but the fourth bedroom, in particular, would make a great second master bedroom.

The home’s large, entertaining backyard showcases a covered patio, a lagoon-style pool with water features and a fire pit.

While located in Arlington, the neighborhood feeds schools in the Mansfield Independent School District, specifically Carol Holt Elementary School, T.A. Howard Junior High School and Mansfield Legacy High School.

As noted, this breathtaking residence is available for purchase and is being listed by Michael Cunningham. To find out more about the house, about other houses of this ilk or about the local real estate market in general, you can contact Cunningham by phone at 817-654-8589, or you can send him an email at magazzinecunninghamgroup@ebby.com.

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4120 N. Collins St., Suite 200 Arlington, Tx 76005

(817) 275-5941 • ARLINGTONGOLF.COM arlingtontoday.com • November 2019 • ARLINGTON TODAY

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“CAN DO” SPIRIT

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city government. Arlington, named the best-run city in Texas for a second-straight year, was also the first in the country to earn Results for America’s Sharman Stein Award for Storytelling Changemakers.

Additionally, Arlington continues to draw national attention for its affordable, innovative public transportation initiatives.

Williams announced that the City’s Via Rideshare service, which has provided more than 250,000 rides since it launched in December 2018, will expand to the south to include Tarrant County College Southeast Campus and the Interstate 20 Park and Ride lot at Park Springs Boulevard starting in January.

Here are a few other highlights the mayor discussed: • Arlington was selected over Denver earlier this month as the future home of the National Medal of Honor Museum. The Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest and most prestigious military honor, has been awarded to more than 3,500 military service members since the first medal was presented in 1863. The museum, expected to open in 2024, will offer an experience that draws personal and emotional connections to recipients and their inspiring stories.

• Six Flags Entertainment Company is expected to sign a long-term lease with the Texas Rangers for its new global corporate headquarters, which would be located in the Center Field Office Building at Globe Life Park.

• Arlington will soon be home to a fourth professional sports team. XFL’s Renegades will start playing at Globe Life Park in February 2020. The North Texas Soccer Club and high school football teams will also begin playing at the ballpark, which is being transformed into a multi-purpose Mayor Jeff Williams extols Arlington’s many victories last year during the facility, starting in 2020. annual State-of-the-City luncheon.

• The transformative Arlington City Center project has once again received recognition – this time from the Urban Land Institute. The Urban Land Institute awarded the publicprivate partnership, which has attracted new residents, visitors and vibrancy to Downtown Arlington, with its ULI North Texas IMPACT Award in the Influence Category on Oct. 10, 2019. Arlington’s project beat out competing entries Photo: City of Arlington from Dallas and Frisco.

• Arlington continues to see growth along the I-20 corridor, with additions such as the Rent the Runway distribution center and the FedEx distribution center that have brought hundreds of new jobs to the city.

• The City’s unprecedented investment in roads is paying off, with 90 Arlington’s victories take center stage percent of Arlington road miles rated in either good or mostly good condition. Over the past few years, the City has been able to reduce the at the annual State-of-the-City luncheon number of roads rated as poor from 20 percent to just nine percent. And since 2015, nearly 27,000 potholes have been filled. Residents can check out the road condition score for their street using the Arlington Street “Arlington is The American Dream City because our can-do attitude Condition Map on the Open Arlington portal. and patriotic spirit make dreams a reality,” Williams said.

• The Arlington Fire Department’s Office of Emergency Management Tourism and economic development weren’t the only big headline was one of nine programs across the country, and the first in North makers. In April, Arlington became the first city in Texas to achieve Texas, to earn E-MAP accreditation this year.

What Works Cities Certification, a national standard of excellence in e Can. We Do. Arlington: The American Dream City continues to cement itself as a national leader in cultural arts, innovation, sports and entertainment while remaining committed to strong neighborhoods, economic growth, and educational opportunities for all ages.

That’s the message Mayor Jeff Williams delivered at the 2019 State of the City address, hosted last month by the Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce at Esports Stadium Arlington.

The American Dream City celebrated numerous major milestones this year, which include being selected as the future home of the National Medal of Honor Museum, the opening of the $150 million flagship Live! by Loews luxury hotel, significant private investment and job growth along the Interstate 20 corridor, and several announcements that will ensure Globe Life Park remains a vibrant part of the Entertainment District for years to come.

Doin’ all right

46

ARLINGTON TODAY • November 2019 • arlingtontoday.com

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47

BEHIND THE WHEELS

There’s only one like this Gregg Wilkinson’s 1995 classic Corvette literally has no equal • By Richard Greene

A

first look at Gregg Wilkinson’s 1995 Corvette often produces a response something like, “I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a Vette like this one.”

That would be because there aren’t any others like this one.

Gregg’s original plan when he found this Fourth Generation of Chevrolet’s iconic “America’s Sports Car” for sale in Mansfield was to use it as a raffle item for the scholarship program sponsored by his No Frills Grill and Sports Bar restaurants.

The price was right, largely due to its condition. Someone with plans to bring it back to life would be the likely buyer, with proceeds going to the unique education program that identifies average students and inspires them to higher achievement.

But then Gregg, who has some 20 vehicles ranging from classic cars to motorcycles and a couple of WWII Jeeps and lots of ways to advance the scholarship initiative, had another idea.

He delivered the car to restoration specialists Al Yetman and Brian Long thinking it could be brought back to its original showroom condition.

Two years later they returned with what you see here – a custom, one-of-a-kind beauty with ground effects, rear spoiler, high-end exhaust upgrades, black chrome rims and street slick Continental racing tires.

The custom paint included continued application of multiple Ruby Red interspersed with clear coats – all wet sanded to enhance the head-turning luster.

Then came the dominating Corvette Logo spread across the hood that is actually the seventh generation version of the iconic symbol that marks the 2014-2019 era.

“It sort of reminds us of the Smokey and the Bandit Pontiac Firebird from the 1977 Burt Reynolds hit movie,” Gregg observes,

Gregg Wilkinson’s 1995 Corvette, which he had restored to showroom condition, leaves fellow automobile enthusiasts seeing red – Ruby Red, to be exact.

Photos: Richard Greene

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ARLINGTON TODAY • November 2019 • arlingtontoday.com

Calling on the talents of auto restoration experts Al Yetman and Brian Long, Wilkinson wound up with a beautiful finished product that features not only the head-turning luster but classic exterior details that make this car peerless.

arlingtontoday.com • November 2019 • ARLINGTON TODAY

49

Lest anyone wonder if Gregg Wilkinson’s Corvette has plenty of “get up and go,” here’s some information about the engine that propels the vehicle.

Speaking of information, this 1995 Corvette has an electronic dashboard with digital LCD displays and control panels worthy of a jet airplane.

“and everyone seems to love it. It’s the only symbol that remains on the car’s exterior.”

The 1995 edition of the second-longest-running generation of Corvettes was the next to last in the series that included the 40th anniversary model. A convertible that year was the pace car for the Indianapolis 500, something Corvettes have done 15 times – more than any other vehicle.

When the fourth-generation Corvette was introduced in 1984 it was the first complete redesign of the car since 1963. An interesting side note is how the only surviving prototype was on display at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Ky., and was one of the nine swallowed in the sinkhole that opened up under the museum in 2014.

It remains an attraction along with the others that is now a popular feature for museum visitors to discover.

When production began, new models included features of aluminum brake calipers and an all-aluminum suspension for weight savings and rigidity. The new, one-piece Targa top had no center reinforcement, and a new electronic dashboard with digital LCD displays along with a standard tuned port fuel injection engine ushered in the new era of Vettes some 35 years ago.

All of that and more explains why Gregg wanted to add this one to his Corvette line up that now includes a total of five, ranging from his 1968 Coupe to his newest, a spectacular 2019 Z06 with a Z07 performance package.

However, car collecting is not his only passion. His five restaurants, developed across the past 30 years, located in Arlington, Mansfield, Fort Worth, Keller and Burleson, keep him very busy, as does his involvement in community service throughout the region.

In Arlington he serves on the board of directors of the Arlington Life Shelter, which is currently undergoing a $5 million expansion at its facility on Division Street. He has played a central role in the successful fund-raising program that has made possible the enlargement of the organization’s vital support systems for individuals and families in transition.

Anytime Corvettes are part of the discussion among enthusiasts, there’s often reflection on the beginning when, in 1953, Chevrolet designers had convinced the GM brass to take a chance on a trial sports model that could compete with imports finding popularity with American car buyers.

Gregg Wilkinson is part of that culture now enjoying a legacy spanning more than 65 years of phenomenal success.

50

ARLINGTON TODAY • November 2019 • arlingtontoday.com

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51

SPOTLIGHT ON DENTAL HEALTH

Dr. Jackilyn Dang O

ver the past six and a half years, Dr. Jackilyn Dang has been at the local dental healthcare forefront, providing compassionate and revolutionary care to Arlington-area patients.

Dr. Dang opened Great Oak Dental in spring 2013 and added a second practice, Legacy Park Dental, nearly five years ago.

She and her staff blend outstanding patient service and the utmost in technical expertise into each patient’s treatment plan.

During a patient’s first visit to either office, the staff begins with a comprehensive exam.

They also go over the medical history, existing dental restorations and the patient’s current periodontal health. From there, they customize a treatment plan that the patient understands and feels comfortable with.

Dr. Dang, who has practiced dentistry for more than a decade, says she and the entire staff are “dedicated to a professional philosophy that puts the patient first.”

To that end, both Great Oak Dental and Legacy Park Dental offer cuttingedge technology. For ® example, Dr. Dang offers MTM Clear • Aligner, which is a virtually undetectable way to align a smile without traditional braces. The surprisingly affordable Clear Aligner uses clear, removable aligners to correct slight misalignments (such as crowding or gaps). Each aligner is custom fabricated, per the treatment plan arranged between the patient and Dr. Dang, to progressively advance teeth into their ideal position, leaving patients with a beautiful smile.

“We also provide other services, such as implants, braces, veneers and bonding, laser dentistry, crowns and bridges, partials and dentures, and general dentistry,” Dr. Dang says.

“Our goal is to ensure that each patient receives our utmost care, from the very first visit through what we hope will be a long-lasting relationship.”

Dr. Dang notes that both practices are taking new patients.

Great Oak Dental / Legacy Park Dental Great Oak Dental: 23851 S.W. Green Oaks Blvd., #101 Legacy Park Dental: 1001 N.E. Green Oaks Blvd.

817-789-4480 • greatoakdental.com • legacyparkdental.com 52

ARLINGTON TODAY • November 2019 • arlingtontoday.com

Dr. James Hyde and Dr. Charles Miller

Drs. Hyde, Miller & Associates A

s principal dental health providers at Hyde, Miller & Associates, Dr. James Hyde and Dr. Charles Miller have made it a priority to ensure that each of their pediatric patients leaves the office with a smile on his/her face.

And, because the team at Hyde, Miller and Associates is so good at what it does, those smiles are almost always brighter and healthier than they were prior to the visit.

And the children aren’t the only ones smiling.

“Not only is our team fabulous with the children,” says Dr. Hyde, “they are just as great in calming the parents’ anxiety with the thought of their child not being in their presence.

We offer tours of our open bay to any parent that may have reservations about the visit. In explaining the open bay concept over the phone, it can be hard to actually visualize this, so we want to make sure the parents see and understand the process of their child’s experience with us.”

That experience almost always involves the office mascot, Adam the Alligator, who, in addition to helping patients enjoy their dental experience, visits local preschools and daycares with a member of the team to help promote healthy dental habits. “We present healthy dental resources for the children, as well as the teachers, to help educate on the importance of dental care,” says Dr. Miller. “Adam brings each child goodie bags with a new toothbrush, floss and educational flyers for the parents to review.”

Drs. Hyde, Miller & Associates North office: 801 W. Road to Six Flags St., Suite 101• 817-459-1313 South office: 4220 Little Road • 817-478-2300 Central office: 3101 S. Center Street, Suite. 101 • 817-466-7057 Mansfield office: 2300 Matlock Road, Suite 28 • 817-539-0500 fundentist.com

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53

TRAVEL

Texas, here we come Here are six in-state stops Trip Advisor suggests you make this fall 1. HOUSTON HUMS WITH AN ENERGY and independent spirit all its own.

A leading cultural and culinary destination in the South, the city is home to over 11,000 restaurants featuring cuisine from more than 70 countries. The thriving arts scene includes resident opera, ballet, symphony and theater companies. The Museum District houses 19 museums, all within walking distance. Be sure to visit Space Center Houston, where you can visit NASA’s Historic Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center.

4. FOR AN ALTERNATIVE TEXAS EXPERIENCE, consider El Paso. Located far from the bright lights of Dallas or San Antonio, in the state’s western corner along the sparkling shores of the Rio Grande, El Paso boasts a different feel than its eastern counterparts. A true melting pot of American and Mexican culture, the combination is noticeable everywhere. Visit the El Paso Museum of Art and see American works from the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as Mexican colonial art and retablos from the 1700s and 1800s.

2. STEP TO THE BEAT of wafting flamenco music as you wander the downtown River Walk before sampling as much chili (San Antonio’s signature dish) as your taste buds will allow. A visit to the Alamo is an absolute must, as is taking in a show at the ornate Majestic Theatre. San Antonio Missions National Historical Park is dotted with 18th-century buildings and features, making for an enriching excursion.

5. IN THE HEART OF TEXAS HILL COUNTRY, Fredericksburg is a small city with a unique German flavor in its quaint bakeries, Hauptstrasse (Main Street) boutiques and generations-old peach orchards.

Weekenders from nearby San Antonio and Austin have long appreciated the charm of the city’s many B&Bs and “Sunday House” Inns. The surrounding Texas Hill Country is home to lush vineyards, making up one of the country’s largest viticultural areas.

3. LIVE MUSIC IS THE ESSENCE of Austin, but it isn’t even close to the whole story. With spectacular entertainment districts, ubiquitous culture, top-notch restaurants and gorgeous sunsets, Austin allows you to create your own soundtrack. Austin boasts more than 250 music venues, the world’s first James Beard Award-winning barbeque pitmaster, an eclectic arts scene and the unique migration of 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats. Take a look around and put the Live Music Capital of the World on your playlist.

6. CORPUS CHRISTI POSSESSES all of the main ingredients of an ideal weekend getaway: the sun, the sea, the sights, plus exhilarating and engaging activities the whole family can enjoy. Spend the day on the beach soaking up the sun or wind surfing, the breezy city’s favorite pastime. Visit the Texas State Aquarium to take in encounters with hundreds of animals and explore the new immersive Caribbean Journey experience. Take a tour of The USS Lexington, one of the most famous aircraft carriers in U.S. naval history.

Houston

54

ARLINGTON TODAY • November 2019 • arlingtontoday.com

San Antonio

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arlingtontoday.com • November 2019 • ARLINGTON TODAY

55

My unforgettable

WEDDING

I

t was a perfect day for a wedding and the 30 years I waited for it!

On a balmy fall evening, in a romantic garden with 50,000 twinkling lights, an ensemble of lighted trees, blooming fall foliage flowers, waterfalls, fire pit, gazebo, singing birds, fresh white roses and hydrangeas set the tone for a very romantic, dreamy, Cinderella-like wedding for a mature-aged couple. It was there that Malcolm Hunt 60, and I, 59, reflected our love for family, friends, nature, spirituality, beauty and a moment in time to remember.

The wedding was held at The Ruthe Jackson Center in Grand Prairie, under the management of Cheryl Allgood. The 18,000-square-foot facility owned by The City of Grand Prairie features an 8,500 squarefoot ballroom with beautiful chandeliers. It was beautifully decorated with fresh flowers, white linen, candles, white flowering trees and white hand-tied satin chair decorations. The facility features a beautiful outdoor garden, and the interior’s rustic Texas Hill Country design is both beautiful and spacious – it’s a hidden treasure in Grand Prairie for weddings and events. It is fully equipped with a beautiful bridal suite, extensive menu of food, services, dancing area – it is an ideal way to help brides bring their dreams into reality.

Although it was my dream to have a wedding that was princess-like, it was important to Malcolm and I to incorporate our strong values of family, God, community, music and entertainment that moves the soul to create an evening of incredible happiness, energy and beauty for not just us but also for our guests and to make it most memorable for kids and those that have waited years and want to marry or remarry again, even at an advanced age.

The day started with our 28-member wedding party all wearing personalized spa robes (monogrammed in pink for the ladies to celebrate and support Breast Cancer Awareness Month), as I believe in spa and all the benefits it creates for the body, mind, soul and beauty and to connect to positive energy. It’s why I began my business, Great Skin Spa & Skin Care. Onsite massage therapist Christopher Thomas gave complimentary massages to the bridal party. Makeup artists Marcus Valdez of “Marcus Valdez Artistry” and Tavia of “For Beauty Sake” and onsite hair dressers treated us royally while the air was scented with Chi candles – all this took place prior to the wedding.

Malcolm and I come from huge families; we both had seven siblings, and we incorporated family members from multiple generations to represent our families. Standing in to represent our parents (both deceased), was my aunt Thelma Griffin, and Ms. Autury Jackson, who was my mom’s care giver during her stay in Texas with me. Malcolm’s sisters, Velma Tinsely and Vernice Gipson, stood in to represent his mother. I was given away by my great nephew, Cody (12). The matron of honor was my niece, Meme Bennett, and the best man was Malcolm’s brother-in-law, Dymond Williams. We carefully selected our entertainment company for the evening and went with the well known Next Level Entertainment, music by Leonardo – an entertainment, music and event lighting company. We also wanted to share the experience of a photographer that creates magical moments, so we chose Santos Paris Photography. The dinner was prepared by the chefs of the Ruthe Jackson Center and consisted of chicken breast topped with a champagne cream sauce, garlic mashers, honey glazed carrots, a fresh garden salad and fresh rolls. My cake was an 8-tier wedding cake by Cake a Holics, and Malcolm’s had gold hand weights to reflect his interest in good health and exercise. The elegant evening concluded with the two of us being swept away in a 1936 Vintage car by Blue Diamond Limousines.

It was a magical, fun filled and memorable evening. We will celebrate our marriage with a dual honeymoon trip – first on a road trip to Santa Fe New Mexico, to enjoy some needed time and the fall foliage, then we’ll take a warm, Caribbean cruise vacation soon after. See our story on www.zola.com/wedding/brendaandmalcolm.

– Brenda Hunt

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57

THE ARTS

Show Me the Monet Pepper Crary’s new gallery is a literal work of art • By Toni Randle Cook Photo: Toni Randle Cook

A

fellowship of artists. That’s how Pepper Crary describes Show Me the Monet Gallery of Fine Art, her new artistic venture located in Gracie Lane. ”I can walk around and talk to you about each artist, what they do, where they are from, how long they have been painting and what their true love is,” says Crary.

Pepper has always had an appreciation for the arts. She’s visited galleries around the world. She is an active board member of the local art association. Crary was enjoying retirement when she was approached by Teresa Burda, owner of Gracie Lane, with an opportunity to open the gallery. She initially hesitated because coming out of retirement meant less time to work on her own painting. But says she felt God’s lead.

“I really feel like I was meant to do this, this is where I am supposed to be,” exclaims Crary. “I discussed the idea with my husband, Gary, who encouraged me to move on it. He supports me fully and has been a ‘behind the scenes’ backbone for my gallery.”

In addition to her husband, Crary says a lot of church friends and fellow artists pitched in to clean, paint and help prepare the space needed for the gallery.

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ARLINGTON TODAY • November 2019 • arlingtontoday.com

Show Me the Monet Gallery of Fine Art held its grand opening in September, featuring 26 local artists.

“We have a lot of talent in here,” boasts Crary. “Some of these people have been painting 20 to 60 years.”

Crary carefully chose the artists whose work is on display.

But since she opened the gallery, she has had many inquiries from others who would like to display their work.

“I love the artists. Because of that connection, the hardest part of this job is saying no to some of them who want to be included,” explains Crary. “Sometimes, I just can’t say no, and I let them in and hope I can help make them be successful.”

Crary says she joined the local art association because she wanted to be involved, give back to the community and serve her fellow artists, who clearly appreciate her new endeavor.

“It’s a hangout gallery. We often just sit around, hang out and share ideas,” says Crary. “It helps to strengthen relationships and build a stronger more informed visual arts community. We renew the artistic spirit in those who have been inactive and challenge others to add new skills and expand their reach.”

Photo: Toni Randle Cook

Photo: Show Me the Monet

Photo: Toni Randle Cook

Photo: Toni Randle Cook

Show Me the Monet hosts about 20 workshops a month. They are taught by local artists. The workshops are open to everyone, even those who say they can’t draw a stick figure. Crary challenges them.

“I can point people in the direction of which classes they should take,” explains Crary.

“We walk around [they’ve never painted before], and I’ll say ‘Well, tell me what you like, which kind of painting do you like?,’ and I’ll direct them to the right workshop.”

Crary has put her heart into the space – down to her choice of bright wall colors to showcase a particular artist’s work and the different type of light bulbs that illuminate each area of the gallery.

But the bulbs are not the only thing shining bright.

“I love everything about it,” says Crary. “I love creating the gallery. I love bringing in the artists. I love hanging around with my artists. I love watching the workshops and partaking in some of them.”

With its boutique shops and the new Rose Garden Tea Room, Gracie Lane is already a destination point for tourism. Show Me the Monet is likely to become another draw for visitors.

“All of these women go there for lunch, and then they want to walk it off, and they have a wonderful place to peruse through,” Crary says. “And everybody comes in here and loves the colors and the openness. It’s a win-win for everybody!”

For more: https://www.facebook.com/ShowMeTheMonetArlington/

Show Me the Monet Gallery of Fine Art doesn’t just showcase the work of local artists; it also gives aspiring artists a chance to hone their craft.

Photo: Show Me the Monet

arlingtontoday.com • November 2019 • ARLINGTON TODAY

59

PICTURE-PERFECT MOMENTS

SCENE Snapshots from the annual State of the City luncheon, from the annual MPAC Arlington membership social and from an event to celebrate local author Julie Kibler’s new book, “Home for Erring and Outcast Girls.”

Photos: Southern Flair Photography

Mayor Jeff Williams addresses the crowd at the State of the City luncheon.

Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Michael Jacobson

Katie Carlson and Brent Newsom at the State of the City luncheon

Mark Gist and Belinda Gist

Marcia Etie and Dr. Ignacio Nunez

Charles Brady, Suzy Ware and Tom Ware

The presentation of the colors marked the start of the State of the City luncheon.

Esports Stadium Arlington was techno-riffic for the annual State of the City event.

For more great SCENE shots, visit arlingtontoday.com Photo: Donna Darovich

Cheryl Harris and Deanna Palla at the annual MPAC Arlington membership social

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ARLINGTON TODAY • November 2019 • arlingtontoday.com

Photo: Donna Darovich

Margaret Dilloway, Julie Kibler and Lynn Healy at an event to celebrate Kibler’s new book, “Home for Erring and Outcast Girls”

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HAPPY HOLIDAYS

For this we give THANKS ...

T

o help us celebrate Thanksgiving this year, we visited with four local business leaders and asked them to share what the holiday means to them personally and what will be special about this particular Nov. 28th. Here’s what they said ...

Mary Davis, Owner, Anything Goes Thanksgiving to me is a special day set aside to think about the awesome things in my life.

It’s a day to spend time with family and enjoy each other’s company. It’s a great time to enjoy a wonderful meal with family and friends.

The traditions of making the perfect turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes can be stressful, but it all seems to be worth the craziness!

We have picked up dinner from a restaurant prior, and, yes, it’s good, but not quite the same. (TRUE confessions: I was supposed to pick up the dinner at 5 p.m. on the day before Thanksgiving one year, and at 7 p.m., I remembered. That restaurant had closed for the day, so, as you can imagine, I will never hear the end of that!)

It feels like we have the same routine every year, crazy cooking, eating too much, napping, walking and chilling with family! I can’t wait to get the board games out to play with grandkids and watch the parade. It’s the calm before the storm of Christmas at Anything Goes!

Jim Ross, Attorney, Jim Ross Law Group, P.C. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays of the year. It’s the season of food, football, family and friends. As is the case for many, Thanksgiving provides an opportunity for me to reflect on the blessings I’ve been fortunate to receive.

I always thought I had found my greatest joy in my children – until I met my grandchildren. I’m sure every grandparent can relate. Enjoying Thanksgiving dinner with my children and grandchildren, seeing their smiles and experiencing their love as

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ARLINGTON TODAY • November 2019 • arlingtontoday.com

they call you Papaw, makes life’s troubles disappear.

As each year passes, Thanksgiving has also becomes a bit more introspective. As I watch my children raise their own children, I can’t help but gain a greater perspective for all there is to be thankful for.

My career and accomplishments pale in comparison to watching my son teach his daughter something new or the way my grandson’s eyes light up for his Mama, my daughter.

The older I get, the more I realize that the legacy we leave behind is what really matters. My relationship with God, family, friends, coworkers and community is what I’m thankful for this Thanksgiving.

It’s that legacy that I think about on Thanksgiving, and that’s what makes it a special day for me.

Daryle Perez, Director of Business Development, Alamo Title Co. Melisa Perez, Owner, MaryLou’s Coffee and Sandwich Shoppe For us, Thanksgiving is the time of year where we put aside the busyness of life and take a moment to focus on the importance of family and friends. Being a blended family with four children, we’ve made adjustments for our children to visit their other parents and make the

rounds on Thanksgiving Day. Rather than having us be a stop on a busy day, we’ve moved our Thanksgiving to Friday instead. Moving our gathering to Friday gives us the opportunity to enjoy Thursday alone, take in the Cowboy game without having to fight off the sleepiness from the turkey and look forward to Friday when our home is full again with family and laughter.

As empty nesters, we are thankful for having everyone together, back in our home, as we prepare for our afternoon lunch. Although the meal is important, it’s the small family traditions that we’ve carried on and have created with our children that create the memories we reflect on each year. Our daughters prepare the pies, each one having their specialty, and pridefully bring them over to display for us to admire before they top off our meal. Melisa is putting the final touches on our meal as our family arrives just in time to watch the turkey come out of the oven. We enjoy the chatter and the simultaneous conversations of catching up on our lives, the shared memories of our loved ones who have passed and the laughter to our children’s confessions about mischief from when they were young.

What we are most thankful for is the opportunity for us to place God in the middle of our family as we share what precious time we have together. To thank Him for the health and well-being of our children, our family, and our friends. We’re thankful for our businesses and being blessed to provide for ourselves and the ability to give to others.

As strange as it may sound, we’re especially thankful for the struggles we’ve endured and overcome and the lessons those struggles have taught us so that we remain grounded in each other.

“THANKSGIVING to me is a special day set aside to think about all the awesome things in my life. It’s a day to spend time with family and enjoy each other’s company.”

– Mary Davis

“ENJOYING Thanksgiving with my children and grandchildren, seeing their smiles and experiencing their love as they call you Papaw, makes life’s troubles disapear.”

– Jim Ross “WHAT WE are most thankful for is the opportunity for us to place God in the middle of our family as we share precious time we have together.”

– Daryle Perez and Melisa Perez Photo: Samantha Kahle

arlingtontoday.com • November 2019 • ARLINGTON TODAY

65

COMMUNITY CORNER

Snoop dogs Interquest Detection Canines is celebrating its 20th anniversary • By Toni Randle Cook

Y

ou may not know it, but schools across North Texas are using dogs as part of a deterrence program. Interquest Detection Canines is the nation’s recognized source for drug dogs, contraband detection and training. The company started in 1979, then decided to franchise. Matt and Brenda Hayes bought in.

“It was something we had never discussed before,” recalls Brenda.

She says God directed them. Matt had lost his job, and they had just moved.

“We decided to pray all weekend. At the end of the weekend we came back to one another and both of us heard, ‘go into the dog business,’” says Brenda. “Neither of us knew anything about dogs. We called a friend of a friend down in Houston, and Matt asked, ‘Is there something we can do to help you?,’ and he said, ‘Yeah, do you want to buy the first franchise?”’

Today, there are 35 Interquest Detection Canines nationwide. The Hayeses run the North Texas franchise – the largest in the company. It provides random, periodic visits to clients based on their needs and goals.

Their clientele varies from administrators of office buildings to proprietors of entertainment venues, from manufacturing companies to operators rehabilitation facilities. But their primary customers are schools.

The Hayeses have contracts with 150 school districts in their territory – which consists The Interquest team, including 10 dogs and handlers for each, helps schools and of an area from Tyler to Abilene and up to the Red River. companies sniff out contraband.

“Schools are charged with providing a safe environment for the kids who have to be there,” explains Matt. “They are allowed to enforce policy violations.”

The Hayeses joke that they are “professional tattle tales.” And it’s working! The program has reduced the number of contraband-related suspensions and expulsions.

Matt recalls a student approaching him and saying, “I’m so glad you are here. It’s a good reason to tell my friends I don’t want to do that stuff.”

Interquest Detection Canines perform random checks at schools and can only be directed to a general area (this hallway or this row of cars). They do not target an individual’s locker or vehicle. Rather the dogs will sniff all items in the vicinity.

Since they are a private company, they can train their dogs to find a variety of odors. But they note not everything the dogs detect are illegal. For example, Interquest Detection Canines may conduct a random check of an industry that doesn’t allow alcohol on the premises. While alcohol is not illegal to possess if you are 21 years of age, it could go against an employer’s policy to have it.

The Hayeses currently have 10 working dogs. Each is matched with a handler based on the two personalities. The dogs live with their handlers during the school year. They return to the Hayes’ home over the summer because school is out and there is less work.

The dogs spend those months in training.

“It’s an art form, learning to work a dog,” says Brenda. “And you never perfect it. You are always getting better.”

This year, the Hayeses are celebrating their 20th anniversary with Interquest Detection Canines.

For more: interquestk9.com.

Photos: Toni Randle Cook

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ARLINGTON TODAY • November 2019 • arlingtontoday.com

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LOVE YOUR PETS? Let us share them with our viewers!

Submit pictures and a short bio of your pets to pets@arlingtontoday.com to be selected as one of our #ATPETSOFTHEMONTH If selected to appear in the magazine you will receive a gift card.

The Law Offices of Stephanie A. Foster, P.C. Deciding to divorce is one of the most important decisions a person can face so it makes sense to know your options. One option is traditional courtroom litigation. Another option is collaborative divorce.

Although attorney Stephanie A. Foster is prepared to be the warrior in your courtroom battle as she has been in thousands of Tarrant County divorce cases over the past 28 years, her preference is to be the peacemaker in your interest-based negotiations through the dignified, private, childprotecting process known as collaborative divorce which involves no court.

Stephanie A. Foster is confident that the collaborative process is a powerful way to generate creative solutions in family law disputes while minimizing financial and emotional damage to the couple and their children all the while promoting post-divorce psychological and financial health of the restructured family.

As a family law mediator and one of the first Tarrant County attorneys trained in collaborative law, attorney Stephanie A. Foster will help you navigate through your divorce options and zealously represent you through the process of your choice.

Contact attorney Stephanie A. Foster today to discuss your options.

One option is traditional courtroom litigation. Another option is collaborative divorce.

Law Offices of Stephanie A. Foster, P.C. 4214 Little Road Arlington, TX 76016 817-277-2805 StephanieFosterLawyer.com

Litigator; Collaborator; Mediator arlingtontoday.com • November 2019 • ARLINGTON TODAY

67

BULLETIN BOARD

crucial because some women are unable to sign a lease for various reasons, such as a previous broken lease or a criminal record, neither of which is uncommon.

Jacob hopes to break ground on the new structure in about three years, but her vision is dependent on the success of a capital campaign.

To help, some women will put on their jogging shoes. fter moving its headquarters to Arlington, When the two women’s shelters merged in the late SafeHaven aims to build a 24-unit housing complex ‘90s, a race known as Jiggle Butt Run was growing legs for victims of domestic abuse. And for those involved, and looking for a benefactor, says Mary Hibbs, a founder the brownstone-style structure is much more than of the race. another project.

“We weren’t so sure they would be favorable,” Hibbs “We’re really thinking of it as a homecoming,” says says. “But they embraced it wholeheartedly. To date, I SafeHaven CEO Kathryn Jacob after explaining how think we’re over $270,000 donated to SafeHaven since women’s shelters in Arlington and Fort Worth had we’ve started supporting previously merged to them with our race.” form SafeHaven.

The SafeHaven leadership team: James Askey (CFO), Stephanie Storey (COO), Megan Bent (Chief The annual event “It’s an interesting Philanthropy Officer) and Kathryn Jacob (CEO and starts and ends at the time because President) University of Texas Arlington is growing at Arlington and is in depth in what it can exclusively for women. It offer to North Texas,” happens every January, she says. “It feels like regardless of the an organic, natural weather, Hibbs says. fit for SafeHaven to The next race will take reestablish its roots place on Jan 25. in Arlington. We’re Hibbs, who serves excited about it.” on SafeHaven’s board The $5.5 million of directors, says she project will produce Photo: Safe Haven and her husband John 24 housing units, and have worked hard to support women and children and Jacob says those will be in addition to the 105 units the are excited about SafeHaven’s plan to build transitional organization already leases from other properties. Jacob housing for those who are on their way to becoming says it’s important that SafeHaven, which helped 95 independent. families last year, has an established headquarters as Domestic challenges are in every community, she says the organization grows, and the property at 1010 North – “the difference is how that community responds.”

Center will suffice.

And while Arlington isn’t any different than any other One of the primary reasons women return to an city dealing with the same issue, Hibbs says, the city abusive partner is because “he has access to housing is forward-thinking and focused on creating a healthy and she doesn’t,” Jacob says. community.

“We’ve worked hard in the last five years to make sure “[SafeHaven] is the most tangible nonprofit in that that isn’t a reason for someone to return to a violent mission for caring for women and children that I’ve come home.” across,” she says. “It’s exciting to be a part of it.”

Within the past five years, SafeHaven has expanded its For more: safehaventc.org. number of leased housing units from 45 to 105. However, – Karen Gavis Jacobs says, the need for ownership of a complex is

safehaven re-establishes its headquarters in Arlington, plans expanded shelter

A

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ARLINGTON TODAY • November 2019 • arlingtontoday.com

epic waters to host military appreciation week & games

E

pic Waters Military Appreciation Week and Games will be held from Nov. 8-17 at Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark (2970 Epic Place, Grand Prairie).

Active military personnel, reserve personnel and military veterans will receive free admission at Epic Waters for the event, which will feature the highlight Epic Games on Nov. 16. Their family members will receive 25 percent off regular admission during that same time frame.

To claim the discount, guests must present military ID upon ticket purchase and use the discount code MA19 when purchasing online.

The Epic Games pit teams of military families in friendly competition against each other in a series of tailgate-style lawn games and other activities.

Winning teams will earn prize packages that include complimentary return admission.

For more: 972-337-3131, info@epicwatersgp.com.

2nd Annual SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10TH 10am * Rose Park * Mansfield

city hosting backyard and composting classes

T

he City of Arlington hosts free monthly backyard and composting classes.

Classes are held from 9-11 a.m. on the first Saturday of every month at the Veteran’s Park Wildscape Area (3600 W. Arkansas Lane at Spanish Trail) and from 9-11 a.m. on the second Saturday of every month at River Legacy Living Science Center (703 NW Green Oaks Blvd.).

During the classes, Arlington Master Composter volunteers will demonstrate proper pile building. In addition, you will see a live worm compost bin, and you will receive a free book.

Event organizers encourage everyone who attends to dress for the weather.

There is no registration for these classes – just show up. Groups are welcome.

Classes start promptly at 9 a.m. A typical class lasts about 30 minutes. The City allots two hours for larger groups. Classes will be canceled during inclement weather.

For more: shorturl.at/imEP0.

run for warriors 5k is set for Nov. 10 at Mansfield’s Rose Park

R

unners, loosen up your legs (and warm your hearts, while you’re at it) – the second annual Run for Warriors 5k race will be held at 10 a.m. on Nov. 10 at Katherine Rose Memorial Park (303 N. Walnut Creek Drive in Mansfield).

Participants will receive a t-shirt, a souvenir flag, a chair massage and a snack.

All of the proceeds from registration fees will be donated to the Wounded Warrior Project.

For more, email Wendy Danner (wedanner5@gmail.com).

arlingtontoday.com • November 2019 • ARLINGTON TODAY

69

PICTURE-PERFECT MOMENTS

SCENE Snapshots from Party for a Purpose, benefiting the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County and from the Fall Festival, benefiting River Legacy Living Science Center Photos: BGCGTC

Lori Henegar, Jon Hoffman and Lee Ann Jerome

Chris Landry and Valerie Landry at Party for a Purpose

Brandon Hill and Gara Hill

Kambrie Phillips, Brittany Kibler, LaTonya Moss, Kate Skaggs, Janyce Ecynaj and Jensina Settlemier

Mike Gerro and Becky Gerro

Photos: Arno Knapen

Vegas Elvis entertains the crowd at Party for a Purpose.

Becky Gerro at the Fall Festival

Laura Capik and Mayor Jeff Williams

For more great SCENE shots, visit arlingtontoday.com The Fall Festival proved to be quite entertaining – just look at these two smiles.

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ARLINGTON TODAY • November 2019 • arlingtontoday.com

A pair of young festival attendees – and a friend

LOVE THAT SMILE Dental Health Arlington Dinner, dancing, live music, gaming, and silent auction

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arlingtontoday.com • November 2019 • ARLINGTON TODAY

71

DINING GUIDE

KEEN CUISINE Local eateries you definitely need to check out UPSCALE Chamas do Brazil chamasdobrazil2.tru-m.com 4606 S. Cooper St. • 817-618-2986 Cut & Bourbon loewshotels.com/live-by-loews-arlington-texas 1600 E. Randol Mill Road • 682-277-4950 The Keg Steakhouse & Bar kegsteakhouse.com 4001 Arlington Highlands Blvd. • 817-465-3700 Mercury Chophouse mercurychophouse.com 2221 E. Lamar Blvd., Suite 910 • 817-381-1157 Piccolo Mondo piccolomondo.com 829 Lamar Blvd. E. • 817-265-9174 restaurant506 at The Sanford House restaurant506.com 506 N. Center St. • 817-801-5541

AMERICAN Candlelite Inn candleliteinnarlington.com 1202 E. Division St. • 817-275-9613 Dino’s Subs 2221 S. Collins St. • 817-274-1140 frieddaze frieddaze.com 5005 S. Cooper St., Suite 159 • 817-472-6666 The Grease Monkey Burger Shop & Social Club greasemonkeyburgers.com 200 N. Mesquite St. • 817-665-5454 J. Gilligan’s Bar & Grill jgilligans.com 400 E. Abram St. • 817-274-8561 72

ARLINGTON TODAY • November 2019 • arlingtontoday.com

Mac’s Bar & Grill macsteak.com 6077 W. I-20 • 817-572-0541

Cut & Bourbon

MEXICAN/TEX-MEX Cartel Taco Bar carteltacobar.com 506 E. Division St.. Suite 150 • 817-200-6364 El Arroyo elarroyoarlington.com 5024 S. Cooper St. • 817-468-2557 El Gabacho Tex-Mex Grill facebook.com/elgabachotexmex

The Grease Monkey

2408 W. Abram St. • 817-276-8160

Fuzzy’s Taco Shop fuzzystacoshop.com 510 E. Abram St. • 817-265-8226 4201 W. Green Oaks Blvd. • 817-516-8226 1601 E. Debbie Lane, Mansfield • 817-453-1682

ITALIAN/PIZZA Café Sicilia cafesicilia.com 7221 Matlock Road • 817-419-2800

Fuzzy’s Taco Shop

Gino’s East ginoseast.com/arlington 1350 E. Copeland Road • 817-200-6834

BARBECUE David’s Barbecue 2224 W. Park Row Drive, Suite H • 817- 261-9998

INTERNATIONAL Prince Lebanese Grill princelebanesegrill.com 502 W. Randol Mill • 817-469-1811

David’s Barbecue

Arlington-Mansfield 5001 S Cooper St, Suite 111 Arlington, TX 76017 (817) 557-2253 North Arlington 839 E Lamar BLVD Arlington, TX 76011 (817) 583-6522

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73

HOT SPOTS

COOKING UP A FUN EVENING For a change of pace, you should try some of Arlington’s Korean BBQ eateries • By Sara Pintilie

B

They also make sure your flat top doesn’t get too dirty with arbecue anyone? grease (they switch them out with some impressive efficiency) But wait, this isn’t the usual, slathered ribs or marbled and provide a cornucopia of sides to add to your meat and rice. ribeye. This is a BBQ venture that might be new to many: Once finished with that protein, you just order another for a Korean Barbecue. table. We ate the bulgogi (thin slices of marinated beef), steak This type of barbecue is more about thinner pieces of meat and pork. that are heavily marinated and cooked on a griddle or flat-top We didn’t do it this time, but if you are hankerin’ for ribs, the grill. The sides are lighter. No Mac & Cheese and potatoes. There galbi (short ribs) are worth a try. And if is usually Kimchi, bean sprouts and rice. you want something more in the seafood Though way different than the usual family, there are squid and octopus Texan BBQ fair, it is absolutely delicious options.

– and available in Arlington in multiple We also had dumplings (for an added establishments. charge) and drank Soju to round out the My friends and I were finding ourselves experience. stumped for a night out. We wanted to do Soju is a neutral-tasting spirit (think something outside of our norm but with vodka with less burn) that can come in a good drinks and better food. variety of flavors.

Then someone suggested Korean Man, I have stories about Soju. But that barbecue, and it clicked. That was the way is for another time. to spend our Wednesday evening.

It’s a great addition for the experience, We went to Omi Korean Grill & Bar, but if that sounds too harsh, I would located in Lincoln Square, but there are recommend the Bokbunja, a Korean other similar concepts in Arlington.

Raspberry wine, or they have more And what makes Korean barbecue Western drink options. different outside of flavor profile (if you Korean barbecue is an evening out, not are wanting to be more adventurous)? a quick eat, but worth checking out if you You cook your meat at the table.

At Omi Korean Grill & Bar, you prepare the meal at your table. are wanting something different.

This experience is big in South Korea, Omi is my favorite place in Arlington, but there is Jin Korean a “family” meal but at a restaurant. It warrants itself to good BBQ off Cooper St. that has a more buffet style situation so you conversation, long evenings out and a fun activity. can pick and choose your proteins and sides at your leisure.

Whenever I go, in both South Korea or Texas, I always feel like There is also Namoo Korean Bowl near UTA. This place would I went over to a friend’s house instead of a restaurant. It’s not a be a great place to dip your toe in Korean cuisine without the place where you eat and leave; you more linger and enjoy the cooking experience. And both Omi and Jin also offer entree company. dishes that you don’t have to cook.

And that’s what my friends and I wanted. We hadn’t seen each other in a while and wanted to truly catch up.

So Korean barbecue it was.

At Omi, we ordered the “all you can eat” option, and we were escorted to a booth with a flat-top grill in the center.

When it is “all you can eat,” you pick the protein from a list Sara Pintilie is a distinguished writer, editor and of options and servers bring out the raw, marinated meat for photographer who calls Arlington home. In her someone at your table (never me) to cook and rice to pair it with. column, she offers a millennial’s take on things local.

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ARLINGTON TODAY • November 2019 • arlingtontoday.com

WANTED:

CHILD ADVOCATES Join a team of volunteer superheroes who help find safe and permanent homes for abused and neglected children!

CASA OF TARRANT COUNTY WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE GENEROUS SPONSORS OF THE 6TH ANNUAL SUPERHERO RUN

Learn more at SpeakUpForAChild.org

Arlington Chiropractic Bloomfield Homes C.C. Creations Elle and Jon Oberdick GoGo Squeez Greater Texas Credit Union Kyle Erwin Construction The Maize Family Mary Ann Heugatter Ebby Halliday Realtors

Charlotte & Houston Kauffman Mary & David Barkley Julie Henry Charlie & M.K. Scherer Giana Ortiz

arlingtontoday.com • November 2019 • ARLINGTON TODAY

75

NIGHTLIFE & MORE

SIGHTS / SOUNDS Live, from Arlington/Mansfield/Grand Prairie ...

MUSIC: Concerts at Texas Live!

When: Nov. 5-30 Where: Texas Live!

Show times: See below Notes: This month’s schedule includes the following performers/events: Keith Mitchell (6 p.m. on Nov. 5, 6 p.m. on Nov. 12, 9 p.m. on Nov. 16 and 6 p.m. on Nov. 26 at Troy’s), Matt Nestor, (6 p.m. on Nov. 6 and 6 p.m. on Nov. 20 at Troy’s), Bradley Banning (7 p.m. on Nov. 7, 6 p.m. on Nov. 11 and 6 p.m. on Nov. 25 at Troy’s), Clayton Gardner (9 p.m. on Nov. 8 and 6 p.m. on Nov. 27 at Troy’s), Dueling Pianos (9 p.m. on Nov. 8 at Live! Arena), 57 Sauce (9 p.m. on Nov. 9 at Troy’s), The Drop (11 p.m. on Nov. 9 and 11 p.m. on Nov. 30 at Live!

Arena), NMG Underground (11 a.m. on Nov. 10 at Troy’s), Chadwick Cook of Jericho (6 p.m. on Nov. 13 at Troy’s), Benton Lawson (7 p.m. on Nov. 14 and 7 p.m. on Nov. 21 at Troy’s), Legacy 4 (9 p.m. on Nov. 15 at Troy’s), Mojiles (10 p.m. on Nov. 15 at Live! Arena), TOMEA & NEM (9 p.m. on Nov. 22 at Troy’s), Epic Unplugged (10 p.m. on Nov. 22 at Live! Arena), KatsüK (9 p.m. on Nov. 29 at Troy’s) and Steve Helms (9 p.m. on Nov. 30 at Troy’s).

For more: texas-live.com

MUSIC: Concerts at Arlington Music Hall When: Nov. 8, 9, 15, 16, 21, 23 Where: Arlington Music Hall (224 N. Center St.) Show times: See below Notes: This month’s concert schedule will feature the following performers/events: David Victor (formerly of Boston): The hits of Boston & Styx (8 p.m. on Nov. 8), Sawyer Brown (7:30 p.m. on Nov. 9), Arrival from Abba Tribute (8 p.m. on Nov. 15), Don McLean (7:30 p.m. on Nov. 16), Diamond Rio (8 p.m. on Nov. 21), Chonda Pierce (7 p.m. on Nov. 22) and Kathy Mattea (8 p.m. on Nov. 23).

For more: arlingtonmusichall.net 76

ARLINGTON TODAY • November 2019 • arlingtontoday.com

FILM: Family Movie Nights at The LOT Downtown When: Nov. 8, 30 Where: The LOT Downtown (110 S Main St., Mansfield) Show time: See below Notes: The LOT Downtown will present a pair of movies this month. “Lego Movie 2” will be shown at 7 p.m. on Nov. 8. “The Grinch” will be shown at 8 p.m. on Nov. 30.

For more: thelotdowntown.com

THEATER: I’ll Be Home for Christmas - a Tribute to our Veterans When: Nov. 9-10 Where: Willie Pigg Auditorium (1520 N. Walnut Creek Drive, Mansfield.)

Show times: 7 p.m. on Saturday; 2 p.m. on Sunday Notes: Presented by Mainstage Classic Theatre, this is the story of the faith of a family, and a nation on the brink of World War II, preparing to celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace.

Most of the action takes place in the main characters’ home, with the choir providing music and drama as it is broadcast over the family radio.

For more: mainstageclassictheatre.org

THEATER: Hooray for Holidays: Theatre Arlington’s Musical TV Special When: Nov. 22-Dec. 15 Where: Theatre Arlington (305 W. Main St.) Show times: 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. on Sunday Notes: Join Theatre Arlington as its cast and crew imagine what it would be like to have their own show with singing, dancing and special guest stars every performance.

For more: theatrearlington.org

TIMELESS CONCERTS: NEXT EVENT IS NOV. 9 imeless Concerts will present “An Evening of Spanish Zarzuela” at 8 p.m. on Nov. 9 at Arlington Museum of Art. The concert will feature music of the early 20th century – songs that have humorous melodramatic stories to tell, as well as instrumental tangos and habaneras. Featured artists include soprano Judith Rodriguez, tenor Sergio Cepeda, pianist Dr. Heejung Kang, violinist LeeAnne Chenoweth and cellist Sara Birnbaum Hood. Snacks will be provided during the post-concert party.

For more: timelessconcerts.com.

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AWARDS: ESPORTS STADIUM ARLINGTON TO HOST SHOW sports Stadium Arlington (1200 Ballpark Way) will host the 2019 Esports Awards at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 16.

After three ceremonies in the heart of London unveiled some 65 awards, the premier program for Esports is adding to a new chapter and changing the location.

With the move to Esports Stadium Arlington, for the first time, the Esports Awards will offer general admission to fans, creating a fresh experience for both consumers and the esports industry.

The program will feature pro voting, industry voting and community voting and will honor those deemed to be the best esports players in the world.

For more: esportsawards.com.

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SPEAKING OF SPORTS

YOU’RE WELCOME, SMU An Arlington product has helped folks in Dallas have much to cheer • By John Rhadigan

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rlington can lay claim to one of the great sports stories developing in Dallas this fall. It is a story that spans two generations of coaches and players, a story that stretches from Lubbock to Arlington to Dallas. If not for Lamar High School product Shane Buechele, the Southern Methodist University Mustangs might not be one of the best stories in North Texas – actually, one of the best stories in college football.

After getting off to a 6-0 start this season, the Mustangs did something they have not done since 1982: they earned a ranking among the Top 25 teams in the nation. After an overtime beating of Tulsa in week six, the Ponies were rewarded with national attention and respect. When they grabbed the 21st spot in the AP Poll, they celebrated their highest ranking since the days of Eric Dickerson and Craig James. In fact, it was their only ranking since the days of the “Pony Express.” No matter how the season ends for SMU, this will be a great story of redemption for the program, and new beginnings for the team.

Since coming back from the Photo: dallasnews.com collegiate “death penalty,” SMU has tried it all. From a Hall of Fame player as its first coach, Forrest Gregg, all the way through to the son of a Texas Legend, Sonny Dykes. There has been a lot of effort, heartache and losing during the 29 years in between.

The arrival of coach Dykes and new quarterback Buechele to the SMU football program is proving to be a successful combination. Maybe it’s because both men have a lot in common, with famous athletic fathers who coached/played in sports opposite of the ones they chose for themselves.

Sonny’s dad, Spike, was the Head Football Coach at Texas Tech, where Sonny was a player. You might wonder what position Sonny played. Good question; he was a first baseman.

That’s right – Sonny was a baseball player at Tech. Thankfully, he came to his football senses after graduating and followed in his famous father’s coaching footsteps.

At Arlington Lamar, Shane Buechele was one of the most

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ARLINGTON TODAY • November 2019 • arlingtontoday.com

highly recruited quarterbacks in the country. At the time, his dad Steve was on the Rangers coaching staff. The Buecheles flipped the Dykes script a bit didn’t they? A baseball playing/ coaching dad spawned a football playing son. Shane considered all of his offers and chose the University of Texas, where things started well but did not end as he would have chosen. But he graduated early and brought two years of eligibility with him to a Masters Program at SMU. I’ve had the opportunity to work closely with the fathers of both men. I feel like I have been quoting Spike Dykes since “Moby Dick was a minnow” (that is actually one of Spikes nuggets of homespun wisdom). I shared the Fox Sports College football set with Spike for several years. We had such fun watching and talking about college football and life every Saturday. It is not surprising to me that his son is such a good coach and such a good man.

Similarly, Shane’s Dad, Steve Buechele, sits on the Rangers Live Arlington’s Shane Buechele set with me. It is not a surprise that is a big reason SMU has returned to prominence.

Shane is a great athlete; his dad was a third baseman in the big leagues for 11 seasons. It is not a surprise that he is a smart player; after all, his dad went to Stanford. And it is not a surprise that he is handling his success well, because his dad is one of the most humble, down-to-earth, elite athletes I have ever met.

From two great families a marvelous sports story is born. So, Arlington, even if you have never rooted for SMU, this might be the year to jump on the bandwagon! There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of other players, coaches and families involved in this amazing SMU season, but one of our hometown sons is helping to make history. Go Ponies! Go Sonny! Go Shane!

Sports columnist John Rhadigan is an anchor for the Fox Sports Southwest television network.

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ITINERARY Your official guide to fun (and the like) MUMENTOUS: The Upsizing of a Texas Tradition When: Nov. 1-24 Where: Arlington Museum of Art Time: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Tuesday-Saturday; 1 p.m.-5 p.m. on Sunday In a nutshell: The first exhibition associated with the museum’s new Artist-in-Residency program features the work of Amy J. Schultz.

This multi-media exhibition will explore a subject matter that is ubiquitously Texan: the long-standing tradition of exchanging mums and garters at high school homecomings.

For more: arlingtonmusem.org

Dallas Cowboys football When: Nov. 10, 28 Where: AT&T Stadium Time: See website for game times In a nutshell: The Cowboys will continue their quest for a National Football League championship by hosting a pair of games this month. They’ll play the Minnesota Vikings on Nov. 10 and the Buffalo Bills on November 28.

For more: dallascowboys.com

Six Flags Over Texas: Holiday In The Park When: Nov. 15-Dec. 29 Where: Six Flags Over Texas Time: Check website for each day’s schedule In a nutshell: It’s the most magical time of the year filled with enchanting experiences that will help create those special family fun outings again and again. The breathtaking winter wonderland features a variety of delightful and interactive activities to help capture the holiday spirit.

For more: sixflags.com/overtexas/ special-events/holiday-in-the-park 80

ARLINGTON TODAY • November 2019 • arlingtontoday.com

The Nature of Things When: Nov. 18-Feb. 21 Where: River Legacy Living Science Center (703 N.W. Green Oaks Blvd.)

Time: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

In a nutshell: River Legacy Living Science Center will present a new traveling exhibit, “The Nature of Things,” featuring “Bee-lieve It or Not! The Secret Lives of Honey Bees.”

Visitors can investigate the Nature of Things featuring The Tooth Sleuth, What’s Bugging Belva and A Salamander’s Tale. Get the beeswax on what makes a honey bee a honey bee; discover why pollinators are important and learn who is a pollinator through an interactive video game experience. Admission to Discovery Room includes the traveling exhibit. Exhibits are organized by the Purdue Agriculture Exhibit Design Center.

For more: riverlegacy.org/event/ traveling-exhibit

Maverick Speakers Series: Samantha Power When: Nov. 19 Where: College Park Center on the UTA campus (600 S. Center St.) Time: 7:30 p.m.

In a nutshell: The youngest ever U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power has been a leading voice internationally for principled American engagement in the world. One of TIME’s “100 Most Influential People,” she has spent much of her career explaining complex geopolitical events as a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, war correspondent, and Harvard professor.

For more: uta.edu/maverickspeakers

TAKE YOUR MARKS: THREE RUNS ON TAP THIS MONTH unning enthusiasts will have no shortage of options this month, as three runs of note are on tap.

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Arlington Heroes Run The Rotary Club of Arlington and StripeA-Zone will present the 5th Annual Arlington Heroes Run, offering a 5K and a Fun Run, at 8 a.m. on Nov. 9 at Veterans Park.

Proceeds from this event will benefit the Arlington Police Foundation, Arlington Fire Department, and Arlington Veterans Memorial For more: arlingtonheroesrun.com.

Arlington Women’s Half Marathon & 5K The inaugural Arlington Women’s Half Marathon and 5K will take place at 8 a.m. on Nov. 16, starting and finishing in the family-friendly atmosphere at Texas Live! in the heart of the Arlington Sports Community.

Rose gold medals will be presented to each female finisher.

For more: arlingtonwomenshalf.events.

Arlington Turkey Trot The 10th annual Arlington Turkey Trot will be held at 8 a.m. on Nov. 28 at Globe Life Park.

Net proceeds benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County. The family-friendly event is open to all ages and abilities.

For more: arlingtonturkeytrot.org.

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OUR WINTER WONDERLAND Christkindl is back with an expanded opportunity for memorable experiences • By Richard Greene

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he 2019 Christkindl Market opens on Nov. 29 with an expanded array of exciting opportunities for a memorable holiday experience for families across North Texas and beyond. The Arlington Convention and Visitors Bureau is partnering this year with the Texas Rangers Baseball Club, as the event is staged on the Globe Life Field North Plaza next to Texas Live! and runs through Dec. 22.

A main attraction will be 5,000 square feet of frozen ice skating fun brought to visitors by Ice Rink Rinks where you can take a spin on real ice. That feature of this year’s Christkindl will be open all the way through Jan. 12.

The annual market, one of only five Christkindl themed markets in the United States, presents 20 vendors, anchored by the internationally famous Kathe Wohlfahrt and its exclusive and unique Christmas decorations and designs from the Rothenburg Christmas Village in Germany.

Visitors will encounter festive food and drinks, holiday music and performances and a traditional Warming Hut to accompany your choices of culinary goodies from the following food vendors: Your Nuts! offering roasted almonds, pecans and cashews; Victoria Chefina provides Europeanstyle gourmet chocolates; Savor Partisserie French Macarons has their handmade French macarons in an assortment of flavors.

Rickey’s Jerky specializes in gourmet beef and exotic meat jerky; Nothing Bundt Cakes, with their miniature pre-packaged bundt cakes; Nectar of the Vine offers slushy mixes and gift baskets; Kogler’s Bakery presents their freshly baked goods and treats and JJ’s Concessions completes your choices with German concession foods.

Your stroll through the market will provide lots of opportunities to acquire unique gifts for family and friends, or you might like to pick up something for yourself. There’s lots of choices offered by the following vendors:

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ARLINGTON TODAY • November 2019 • arlingtontoday.com

Wood Art by Sandi & Don for a selection of wooden crosses, emblems and décor pieces; the Sister Cities booth has their German lace Lebkuchen from Arlington’s Sister City of Bad Konigshofen, Germany; Sawdust and Bullets sells functional art crafted from wood, spent shell casings and acrylic; at Rick Allen Designs you will find hand-fabricated jewelry using traditional jewelry tools and Leal Alpaca, always a favorite stop for their hats, apparel and more made from Alpaca fleece.

The House of Kerri presents unique hand-crafted jewelry; Hambone and Dog Pet Treats offers handcrafted bandanas, collars, bow ties, flowers, Christmas stockings and pet treats; there’s Beauty by Apothecary for all-natural beauty products; Bajra will be there with handmade art, jewelry, Christmas décor, sculptures and metal crafts; Apple Pie Publishing provides choices among children’s book authors and plush animals; and you may explore 3D wooden puzzles at Amazing STEM Puzzles.

Arlington’s Christkindl was first inspired in 2011 by the relationship between the city and Bad Konigshofen. It is an event drawn from the several markets across Europe bringing the magic and feeling of the classic celebratory event to Texas.

The Christkindl Angel will announce the opening of the market at 7 p.m. on Nov. 29 by ringing a small bell – a traditional symbol that the Christmas tree has been decorated and gifts await the arriving crowds.

There is no entry charge, and parking is adjacent to the plaza. The market will be open Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., extended to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Altogether the experience is nationally recognized by USA Today. You don’t want to miss it in America’s Dream City, Arlington, Texas - it’s bigger and better than ever!

Check the website for any updates to the market or changes in parking arrangements if there is an event taking place in Globe Life Park – TXChristkindlMarket.com.

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