Bay Area Houston Magazine July 2019 by Bay Group Media

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July 2019

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features

ON THE COVER Houston Methodist Cancer Center at Clear Lake offers experienced, compassionate cancer care.

President & Chairman Rick Clapp Publisher & Editor in Chief Mary Alys Cherry

Graphic Designer Kelly Groce

Editorial Don Armstrong Mary Alys Cherry Michael Gos Betha Merit Xander Thomas Photography Mary Alys Cherry MoonBridge Media NASA Bay Area Houston Magazine is produced monthly. All rights reserved. Material may not be reproduced by any means whatsoever without written permission. Advertising rates are available upon request.

One Giant Leap for Mankind

Bringing bright smiles in even dark times

Growing up with the manned space program

Remembering every manned flight of the Apollo program

President Kennedy’s speech at Rice University

Lived and died a humble man

Turning out books after return from the moon

An interesting life even before joining NASA

They likely haven’t forgotten those days!

The future is here

All-day lunar celebration on July 20

Experienced, compassionate cancer care

Dental Health Moon Over Miami The Apollo Missions Words that Set America on a Course to the Moon Global Icon Neil Armstrong Buzz Aldrin Mike Collins Apollo Astronaut Wives Intuitive Machines Space Center Houston Celebration Houston Methodist Cancer Center at Clear Lake

Bay Area bids farewell to Kemah police chief

Remembering Chris Reed

Many benefits expected for the state

An amazing wine and piano bar

Bay Area restaurants and entertainment

For your mind, body and soul

Five arrested for car burglaries

For your mind, body and soul

Five arrested for car burglaries

Babin discusses role in Washington

Texas Yacht Tax Cut Cut Foil The Best Bites of the Bay Infinity Float News Nuggets Infinity Float News Nuggets Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership

74 Education CCISD announces 2019 teachers of the year

columns

Please address all correspondence to: Bay Area Houston Magazine P.O. Box 1032 Seabrook, TX 77586 Earth, The Solar System www.BayAreaHoustonMag.com r.clapp@baygroupmedia.com

281.474.5875

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Apollo 11 lands on the moon

42 Turmeric Nature’s most potent pain reliever

Vice President & Creative Director Brandon Rowan

Sales & Marketing Judy Gaines Karen Laroux Amber Sample Alisa Star Robyn Weigelt

Bay Area Houston Magazine | JULY 2019

Kurt Otten

Movers & Shakers

Assistance League marks 25th anniversary

Luxury summer tow

We all live in different worlds

Clear Lake Chatter In Wheel Time Texas Meditations

Ju l y , 1 9 6 9

t’s JUST over eight years since the flights of Yuri Gagarin and Alan Shepard, followed quickly by President Kennedy’s challenge to put a man on the moon before the decade is out. It is only seven months since NASA’s made a bold decision to send Apollo 8 all the way to the moon on the first manned flight of the massive Saturn V rocket. Now, on the morning of July 16, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins sit atop another Saturn V at Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. The three-stage 363-foot rocket will use its 7.5 million pounds of thrust to propel them into space and into history.

OFF TO THE MOON At 9:32 a.m. EDT, the engines fire and Apollo 11 clears the tower. About 12 minutes later, the crew is in Earth orbit. After one and a half orbits, Apollo 11 gets a “go” for what mission controllers call “Translunar Injection” -- in other words, it’s time to head for the moon. Three days later the crew is in lunar orbit. A day after that, Armstrong and Aldrin climb into the lunar module Eagle and begin the descent, while Collins orbits in the command module Columbia. Collins later writes that Eagle is “the weirdest looking contraption I have ever seen in the sky,” but it will prove its worth.

ALARMS SOUND When it comes time to set Eagle down in the Sea of Tranquility, Armstrong improvises, manually piloting the ship past an area littered with boulders. During the final seconds of descent, Eagle’s computer is sounding alarms. It turns out to be a simple case of the computer trying to do too many things at once, but as Aldrin will later point out, “unfortunately it came up when we did not want to be trying to solve these particular problems.” When the lunar module lands at 4:18 p.m EDT, only 30 seconds of fuel remain. Armstrong radios “Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.” Mission control erupts in celebration as the tension

breaks, and a controller tells the crew “You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue, we’re breathing again.” Armstrong will later confirm that landing was his biggest concern, saying “the unknowns were rampant,” and “there were just a thousand things to worry about.”

FIRST STEP At 10:56 p.m. EDT Armstrong is ready to plant the first human foot on another world. With more than half a billion people watching on television, he climbs down the ladder and proclaims: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” Aldrin joins him shortly, and offers a simple but powerful description of the lunar surface: “magnificent desolation.” They explore the surface for two and a half hours, collecting samples and taking photographs. They leave behind an American flag, a patch honoring the fallen Apollo 1 crew, and a plaque on one of Eagle’s legs. It reads, “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon. July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.”

HEADING HOME Armstrong and Aldrin blast off and dock with Collins in Columbia. Collins later says that “for the first time,” he “really felt that we were going to carry this thing off.” The crew splashes down off Hawaii on July 24. Kennedy’s challenge has been met. Men from Earth have walked on the moon and returned safely home. In an interview years later, Armstrong praises the “hundreds of thousands” of people behind the project. “Every guy that’s setting up the tests, cranking the torque wrench, and so on, is saying, man or woman, ‘If anything goes wrong here, it’s not going to be my fault.’” In a post-flight press conference, Armstrong calls the flight “a beginning of a new age,” while Collins talks about future journeys to Mars. Over the next three and a half years, 10 astronauts will follow in their footsteps. Gene Cernan, commander of the last Apollo mission leaves the lunar surface with these words: “We leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace, and hope for all mankind.”

FROM STATE SENATOR

FROM CONGRESSMAN

To my friends at JSC,

Houston is the world’s epicenter of human space exploration, due to the talented folks at Johnson Space Center. Every NASA astronaut who spent time on the International Space Station or flew on the Space Shuttle missions trained at Johnson Space Center. JSC continues to advance the human space exploration by leaps and bounds, developing new technologies that literally took us to the moon 50 years ago. On July 20, 1969, the world watched as Neil Armstrong took the first human step on the moon, proclaiming “…one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind” after he and Buzz Aldrin landed “Eagle,” their lunar module, on the moon’s surface. As we celebrate this momentous feat five decades later, we must invest in space exploration by returning to the moon as a stepping stone to a mission to Mars. As home of Mission Control for the ISS and the nation’s astronaut corps, JSC will lead the next giant leap for mankind. I will continue to support these innovators who push the boundaries to get us back to the moon and exploring the vast expanse of space.

LARRY TAYLOR It is such an honor to be able to join you in celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Lunar Landing. Lunar landings and exploration have been an important part of history since President Kennedy spoke in September of 1962 at Rice University proclaiming that a man would walk on the surface of the moon by the end of the decade. Through unimaginable odds and many setbacks the program stood strong and cemented America as the leader in space exploration. Some of the most important components of the lunar landing are housed at Johnson Space Center, including the Lunar Retrieving Laboratory, where astronauts and samples returning from the moon were quarantined; several lunar samples, and also a nearly complete Saturn V rocket, which was used in both Apollo and Gemini missions. The Lunar Landing embodies what it means to have an American Dream. As someone who grew up and remembers such a historic moment, I am proud to represent Johnson Space Center in the Texas Senate and to have such an important part of NASA’s history in my district. May the next 50 years of exploration be as illuminating as the last. Larry Taylor Texas State Senator District 11

PETE OLSON

Pete Olson U.S. Representative Texas’s 22nd Congressional District

JULY 2019 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

DENTAL HEALTH

Bringing Bright smiles even in dark times By Xander Thomas

ost people don’t really think too much about going to work. We do it almost every day; you go in and do what you need to in order to pay your bills. It’s unlikely, for most of us, that anything extremely traumatic will affect us in the work place, especially not a violent attack, military professions excluded. Unfortunately for Preston Witt, this is exactly what he had to endure just a few months back in December. “He seemed a little agitated so I kept asking what was wrong and he kept saying ‘nothing, nothing, I just want to speak with you,’” Preston said, recalling the moment of the attack. Preston is the chief services officer for Harmony House in Houston, which focuses on helping homeless people get off of the street and live a better life. One particular young man that he was helping, which will be called D, was suffering a much more severe mental condition than what he had been diagnosed. One Monday morning, D had been eager to speak with Preston but this took an unfortunate turn for Preston. “He does suffer from schizophrenia and putting him in his apartment had escalated that,” Preston said. “He began hearing voices, so basically his voices said that they needed to address the issue with me.”

Preston was severely injured during the attack.

Preston Witt, actual patient of Dr. Noie.

Preston, knowing something was wrong from the beginning, convinced D to let him get a mediator and had called 911. “The cop asked if I was in immediate danger and I said possibly, because I didn’t know at that point.” Preston says that as soon as he set the phone down, D was in his face. He tried to run back into his office, but D had already begun to attack him. “He had hit me in the bridge of my nose,” Preston said. “He knocked me to the ground and started beating my face with his fists.” Preston’s jaw was broken in seven places, all of the bottom teeth were fractured, and some were just lying loose in the bottom of his mouth. “I was fortunate in that I had a plate in the top of my mouth at the time, which I was told by the physician was paramount in him not crushing my face,” he said. His lower mandible was so severely damaged that he had to have exterior surgery to correct it, along with having fragments that couldn’t heal being removed. Preston’s story has gained recognition through coverage on channel 13 News and afterwards, multiple oral surgeons stepped

up to offer help to get his once beautiful smile back up to snuff. “I interviewed with all of them, and Dr. Noie was just the right person,” he said. He is still currently fighting through his oral stresses, but has high hopes that by the end of the year, he will be brandishing his new smile. “He really designed my teeth, redesigned my mouth, and I’m just so gracious because of his generosity and his artistry and his brilliance at what he does,” Preston said. He says that he is happy to have Dr. Noie as part of his life, and that he will now be a life-long patient because of everything he has done to help. He will be getting his implants in very soon, and says he feels like he is in very capable hands. “I feel comfortable knowing I’ll not be awake, and that he’s the one performing this,” Preston said, “I have no anxiety about that.” Preston remains optimistic about his circumstances, and despite the attack, doesn’t hold any animosity; he was a victim of someone’s delusions as much as D was. His passion in what he does is very clear, and is even clear to his Dentist. “He [Dr. Noie] keeps telling me I’m his hero, but I keep telling him that he is definitely my hero.”

Dr. Noie has been in private practice in the Bay Area since 1996. He is a Diplomate of Int’l Congress of Oral Implantologists, Fellow of Academy of General Dentistry, and Assoc. Fellow of American Academy of Implant Dentistry. He has completed his surgical training at New York University as well as Medical University of South Carolina, Temple University, and Wright State University School of Medicine. He completed his oral Anesthesiology training at University of Alabama in Birmingham. He is a member of American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry.

JULY 2019 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

Movers &Shakers Name: Kurt Otten Occupation: Operations manager for NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, working for Raytheon as the Raytheon Team and mayor of Clear Lake Shores Hometown: I grew up in Nassau Bay Current home: Clear Lake Shores Family: Married to my wife, Teresa, and between us we have three grown children, Stefani, Jeff, and Caitlin, and three grandchildren, Klein, Elinor and James My favorite writer is: John P. Kotter but unfortunately not much time to read Someone I’d like to meet: Donald Trump

By Rick Clapp

rowing up as a young boy in south Florida in the late 50s and 60s I was mesmerized by the moon. We would have some of the most awesome views of the moon coming up over the horizon on the Atlantic Ocean. Due to my siblings’ fascination with these incredible lunar sightings, we all begged our father to buy us a telescope. My parents owned property in Cocoa Beach and we would drive up the coast from our home in Fort Lauderdale to Cape Canaveral to watch the NASA rocket launches. It began with Alan Shepard and the Mercury program. Then the years of John Glenn and the Gemini program. Next, the Apollo program was beginning with the three man capsule. I shall never forget the horror we went through one night watching TV as a family and the show was interrupted. It was an announcement that three of NASA’s top astronauts had perished in a violent fire while training for Apollo. The names come back to me – they were my heroes, I loved them just like my favorite baseball players, Mantle, Maris and Willie Mayes. Their names will be with me forever – White, Grissom and Chaffe. As I went off to college the Apollo missions

Bay Area Houston Magazine | JULY 2019

If I could switch places with someone for just one day, I’d choose: The President of the United States

then quickly followed my Dad’s footsteps in becoming an electrical engineer. I still think being a firefighter would be cool.

My favorite performer is: Supertramp

You’ll never catch me: Running or something really bad is happening behind me.

I like to spend my leisure time: Camping, boating, working around the house and now working on a 1963 VW Beetle that my Dad owned. I also enjoy fishing, SCUBA diving and just hanging out with family and friends. If I could travel to any place, I’d choose: Belize. We just love the no nonsense atmosphere and no hustle and bustle. My favorite meal is: Beef stroganoff As a youngster, I wanted to grow up to be: I always wanted to be a firefighter but

continued. After college I went to work for an international airline. As it turned out I was again reacquainted with the space program. Frank Borman former navy pilot and astronaut was President of Eastern Airlines and recruited me to work for Eastern Airlines. But I chose to work for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. I did not become an astronaut, but I did want to see the world. In 1981, the shuttle program took off and I was promoted and assigned to Houston, Texas in 1985. Sadly, I remember watching on my office TV as the Shuttle Challenger exploded into many pieces on take off. It really affected me, as well as many of my friends who lived in the Clear Lake. Many of them knew some of the astronauts personally. After that disaster, the American spirit at NASA carried on and many other shuttle missions were successful. They continued to create incredible science discoveries and advances for mankind. Unfortunately, disaster struck again on the Columbia Shuttle disintegrating over Texas skies right before our very eyes. Two of my acquaintances, astronauts Laurel Clark and Elan Roman, perished that day. The American Spirit at NASA continued and has continued to further the manned space program with the advent of the International Space Station. Now it’s to the Moon, Mars and Beyond! It is again another exciting time for NASA and the American Manned Space Program. I have great admiration for all individuals and their families who have worked for NASA or any of the contractors that have utilized their brilliant minds, creativity, hard work and sacrifices to achieve mankind’s greatest achievement by Americans. Interesting enough it’s all about the people who have created the wonderful benefits which have come from America’s Manned Space Program….. Congratulations goes to Steve Altemus for getting us on track to go back to the moon with Intuitive Machines. I am forever grateful. God Bless NASA and God Bless America.

The thing that bugs me the most is: People not appreciating how good we have it and dishonesty My favorite movie is: Toy Story…I loved watching it with my kids and now I can enjoy it with my grandkids. Few people know: That I was actually born in Smithtown, N.Y., and come from a family of New York firefighters, including my cousin, Michael Otten, who was lost in 911.

A special evening he’ll never forget Bob Wren’s face still lights up when he thinks of that night back in July 1969 when Neil Armstrong first stepped on the surface of the Moon. “Yes,” he says. He remembers it well. ”I arrived here in 1962 from General Dynamics/Fort Worth, where I was working on the Hustler B-58 delta wing super sonic bomber. So, I was involved in all of the Apollo Program in one way or another, supervisor, project manager, etc. The evening of the landing I did not go to MCC but instead went home across the street in Nassau Bay so that I could channel my total attention to what was happening. I was locked in to watching on our big black and white TV in the Game Room. “I was so excited. To think that I was witnessing such a momentous world-changing event, live, was exhilarating. And I felt so proud that I had been given the opportunity to be so intimately involved in what was about to happen. I was quite emotional, which was not my norm. I am often asked what I think was the most important Apollo Mission. “My answer always is: it was two-fold. Apollo 8 because not only was it the first time man orbited the moon, it also was the first time man had the opportunity to turn around and witness the Earth from a different viewpoint. Wow! And all mankind resides on that beautiful little globe in the universe. And, of course, the culmination of all those years of 24/7 intense effort to fulfill JFK’s promise to the country to put a man on the moon before the end of the decade, Apollo 11. And on that night I am about to watch it happen! No wonder that I was so emotional. I watched the TV coverage on into the night, exhausted, but oh so happy.”

Apollo I -- Jan. 27,1967 Gus Grissom, Ed White, Roger Caffee Apollo 7 -- Oct. 11, 1968 Wally Schirra, Walt Cunningham, Donn Eisele Manned test flight Apollo 8 – Dec. 21, 1968 Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, Bill Anders Manned test flight Apollo 9 – March 3, 1969 Jim McDivitt, Dave Scott, Rusty Schweickart Manned test flight Apollo 10 – May 18, 1969 Tom Stafford, John Young,

On January 27, 1967, during a preflight test for what was to be the first manned Apollo mission, a fire claimed the lives of three U.S. astronauts; Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee. After the disaster, the mission was officially designated Apollo 1. Their sacrifice was not forgotten. An Apollo 1 mission patch was left on the Moon’s surface after the first manned lunar landing by Apollo 11 crew members Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

L U N A R

F A C T S !

Gene Cernan Manned test flight The Moon’s diameter is 2,158.8 miles and is roughly 1/4 the size of Earth.

Apollo 11 – July 16, 1969 Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Mike Collins Mankind’s first lunar landing

Most volcanism on the Moon appears to have occurred between 3 and 4 billion years ago.

Apollo 12 – Nov. 14, 1969 Pete Conrad, Alan Bean, Dick Gordon Second Lunar landing Apollo 13 – April 11, 1970 Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, Fred Haise Troubled flight Apollo 14 – Jan. 31, 1971 Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell, Stuart Roosa Third Lunar landing Apollo 15 – July 26, 1971

The moon completes its orbit around Earth in 27.3 days. The temperature on the Moon’s surface varies drastically from 260°F during the day to -280°F at night. All trips to the Moon’s surface were carefully planned for lunar dawn. Astronauts were also protected by insulated and reflective spacesuits.

Vast pools of hardened basaltic lava cover much of the lunar surface. Early scientists thought they might be oceans and named them mare, Latin for “seas.” The Moon’s gravity is only one sixth of what is felt on Earth. A person weighing 200 lbs would only be 33 lbs on the moon!

Dave Scott, Jim Irvin, Al Worden Fourth Lunar landing Apollo 16 –April 16, 1972

2 3 8 , 9 0 0 miles

John Young, Charles Duke,

The Moon is approximately 238,900 miles away from Earth! It took the astronauts of Apollo 11 a little more than 4 days to reach the lunar surface!

Thomas Mattingly Fifth Lunar landing Apollo 17 – Dec. 7, 1972 Gene Cernan, Harrison Schmidt, Rod Evans Sixth and last lunar landing

Bay Area Houston Magazine | JULY 2019

mountain everest = 5.5 mi. tall It would take 43,436 of Earth’s tallest mountain stacked on top of each other to reach the moon!

OCEAN = 6.83 mi. deep You would have to go down to the deepest part of the ocean and back up again 17,489 times in order to match the moon’s distance from the Earth!

Words that set America on a course to the Moon

RICE SPEECH Then on Sept. 12, 1962, Kennedy came down to Houston, where he reiterated his call to go to the Moon and delivered his famous “Moon speech” at Rice University. “We meet at a college noted for knowledge, in a city noted for progress, in a state noted for strength, and we stand in need of all three, for we meet in an hour of change and challenge, in a decade of hope and fear, in an age of both knowledge and ignorance. The greater our knowledge increases, the greater our ignorance unfolds.” With the speech Kennedy hoped to persuade the American people to support the Apollo program, the national effort to land a man on the Moon.

By Mary Alys Cherry

e choose to go to the Moon

-- famous words that set America on a course to the Moon and words that will live in the hearts of Houstonians

forever. President John F. Kennedy, recognizing that the Russians had a head start on us in space, suggested in a speech to Congress on May 25, 1961 that we should make new efforts of our own to go to the Moon. “For while we cannot guarantee that we shall one day be first, we can guarantee that any failure to make this effort will make us last. We take an additional risk by making it in full view of the world, but as shown by the feat of astronaut Shepard, this very risk enhances our stature when we are successful. But this is not merely a race. Space is open to us now; and our eagerness to share its meaning is not governed by the efforts of others. We go into space because whatever mankind must undertake, free men must fully share. “Let it be clear,” he continued, “that I am asking the Congress and the country to accept a firm commitment to a new course of action, a course which will last for many years and carry very heavy costs: $531 million in fiscal ‘62--an estimated $7 to 9 billion additional over the next five years. If we are to go only half way, or reduce our sights in

Bay Area Houston Magazine | JULY 2019

President John F. Kennedy speaking at Rice University on 12 September 1962

the face of difficulty, in my judgment it would be better not to go at all.” It was one of two speeches JFK made that helped send us to the Moon.

NEW FRONTIER In his speech, the president characterized space as a new frontier, invoking the pioneer spirit that dominated American folklore. He infused the speech with a sense of urgency and destiny, and emphasized the freedom enjoyed by Americans to choose their destiny rather than have it chosen for them. While there was grumbling about the cost and value of the Moon-landing effort. Kennedy’s goal was realized in July 1969, with the successful Apollo 11 mission. “We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too. “

JULY 2019 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

Armstrong earned a Bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical Engineering at Purdue University in 1955. He would later add to his education with a Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Southern California in 1970.

Global icon Neil Armstrong lived and died a humble man By Mary Alys Cherry

TEST PILOT After graduating from Purdue, he became a test pilot for NASA’s forerunner, the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics, serving as one of an elite group selected to pit technology against nature’s limitations. In 1962, he became an astronaut, and after serving as a backup for Gemini 5, he was chosen to command Gemini 8. But shortly after he and David Scott conducted the first successful docking in space, the joined spacecraft began spinning out of control when a thruster failed. Armstrong finally regained control by using thrusters intended for reentry, saving their lives. Armstrong’s successful action, averting disaster on Gemini 8, and his flying skills led to his selection as commander of Apollo 11.

s the first man to walk

on the Moon in July 1969, Neil Armstrong quickly became the most famous man in the universe, which, being the humble man he was, was not to his liking. This was brought out at his funeral in August 2012. “You’ll never get a hero, in my view, like Neil Armstrong,” Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders said after the service, praising Armstrong for both his wisdom and humility in the way he handled becoming a global icon. “America has truly lost a legend,” astronaut Eugene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon, said. “He was the embodiment of everything this nation is about,” then NASA Administrator and former astronaut Charles Bolden said about the famously shy, almost taciturn man, adding that Armstrong was a man with a courageous drive to explore, yet “incredibly humble.” Neil Alden Armstrong was born Aug. 5, 1930 on his grandparents’ farm in Wapakoneta, Ohio and developed a love for flying early in life while becoming an Eagle Scout. FLYING LESSONS When he was just six, he made his first flight with his father, who worked for the state government, and formed a passion for flying that would last all his life. His hero was Charles Lindbergh. He took flying lessons and received his flying license on his 16th birthday -- before he

Neil Armstrong inside the Lunar Module.

NEIL ARMSTRONG

Aug. 5, 1930 - Aug. 25, 2012 Education: Blume High School University of Southern California, Purdue University Spouse: Janet Shearon (m. 1956 - 1994) Carol Held Knight (m. 1994 - 2012) Children: Karen Armstrong Mark Armstrong Eric Armstrong

earned his driver’s license. His education was interrupted when he was called to active duty in 1949 but continued after pilot training in Pensacola, Fla., and 78 combat missions over Korea, including one when his Navy fighter was severely damaged and he was forced to eject. However, he landed near a South Korean base and was safely rescued. After completing his service,

Bay Area Houston Magazine | JULY 2019

OFF TO THE MOON By 1969, the team was ready to fulfill President Kennedy’s promise to put a man on the moon in that decade. In a spacecraft reported to have had control systems with less than a thousandth of the computing power of a modern laptop, Armstrong and his colleagues Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins made for the Moon. People across the world bought television sets for the first time to witness their endeavor, and more than 500 million watched every moment of Apollo 11’s arrival on the lunar surface on July 20. After steering to avoid large rocks, Armstrong had only 20 seconds of fuel left when he finally landed the module safely between boulders. From inside the capsule, he reported back to an emotional Mission Control in Houston that “the Eagle has landed.” ONE SMALL STEP And as he disembarked, he uttered his carefully prepared phrase, that

what he was making was “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Then, as an awe-struck world watched, the humble man from Ohio, with Aldrin by his side, planted an American flag on the Sea of Tranquility. A little later, he talked by phone and received congratulations from President Nixon. Back on Earth, the crew received global adulation, and were treated like movie stars wherever they went. But, after the initial celebrations, Armstrong refused to cash in on his celebrity. The man who was revered as a hero by the American public and awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Richard Nixon for his work, shunned the limelight and the prospective fortune that came with it. Instead, he lived in the seclusion of his Ohio farmhouse, taught engineering at the University of Cincinnati and later went into business. He refused to give interviews or sign autographs and disappointed many fans with his requests for privacy and gave only occasional speeches. He reportedly once said, “I don’t want to be a living memorial,” and remained happy to “bask in obscurity.” HERE FOR 20TH Only reluctantly did he join his fellow astronauts for anniversary celebrations of the Moon landing. In 1989, he came back Clear Lake for the 20th anniversary of the lunar landing, joining some 10,000 Johnson Space center employees for a picnic at JSC. Then, that evening he and Collins and Aldrin and their wives were honored at a big party at the Hilton Hotel in Nassau Bay, across the street from the space center. All three astronauts mingled with the crowd and smiled for pictures. In 1999, 30 years after the moon landing, he stood with Aldrin and Collins to receive the Langley medal for aviation from then Vice President Al Gore before returning to his quiet life, hoping to be forgotten. Then in April 2004, Armstrong returned to the Bay Area when the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Foundation honored him with the National Space Trophy at the annual Space Gala – believed to be the last large function he attended. But, the millions around the world who sat glued to their television sets in July 1969 saw their most fantastic dreams made real. For them, the shy man from Ohio opened a fresh frontier and there will be no forgetting Neil Armstrong and his awe-inspiring achievement.

Buzz Aldrin, Marianne Dyson offer Apollo 11 pop-up book

Buzz began turning out books after return from Moon surface By Mary Alys Cherry

uzz Aldrin was one

of the first two men to step on the eerie surface of the Moon and probably the most brilliant. Yet, for a number of years he felt short changed because he wasn’t No. 1. He just didn’t like being No. 2 at anything. And besides, his mother’s name was Marion Moon. He almost had the No. 1 slot until a higherup at Johnson Space Center reportedly decided Neil Armstrong would be the better choice for the role of commander, whose job was to safely land the lunar module between the many boulders on the surface of the moon. And, some years later, Buzz let it go and became content with his role. Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr., now 89, was born on Jan. 20, 1930, at Mountainside Hospital in Glen Ridge, N.Y. His parents lived in neighboring Montclair, N.J. His father served as an Army aviator during World War I and the assistant commandant of the Army’s test pilot school at McCook Field, Ohio, before becoming an executive at Standard Oil.[3] His nickname, which became his legal first name in 1988, came about as a result of one of his two sisters mispronouncing “brother” as “buzzer,” which the family shortened to “Buzz.” His sense of competitiveness started when he was a child. He did well in school, maintaining an A average.[9] He played football and was the starting center for Montclair

Buzz Aldrin salutes after being introduced at the 2019 State of the Union address.

High School’s undefeated 1946 state champion team before attending the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Aldrin entered West Point in 1947, finishing first in his plebe class. On June 5, 1951, he graduated third in the class of 1951 with a B.S.in Mechanical Engineering, after which he served in the Air Force, shooting down two MIG-15s while flying 66 combat missions during the Korean War and earning the Distinguished Flying Cross, Soon afterwards he enrolled in

Bay Area Houston Magazine | JULY 2019

In celebration of the Apollo 11 Mission’s 50th Anniversary, now we can experience the awe and excitement of humankind’s first steps on the moon! In an exclusive, exquisite popup adventure, readers – both young and old -- can follow astronaut Buzz Aldrin’s story as he encounters the “magnificent desolation” of Earth’s only satellite firsthand. Preeminent paper engineer Bruce Foster of Houston brings to life what it was like to blast off into space and take the first steps on the moon through intricate pop-ups and paper folds. Including Buzz Aldrin›s firsthand accounts of the mission, historical context, stunning images, and unique personal perspectives, as told to writer and author Marianne Dyson of Clear Lake, this book is an informative and collectible work of art -perfect for budding astronauts and grandparents hoping to share their memories of the moon landing with the young explorers in their lives. Dyson, incidentally, is a former NASA flight controller and one of the first 10 women to work in Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center and has authored a number of books, mostly for children. The book is available on Amazon.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology and earned his Doctorate of Science in Astronautics, writing his thesis on Manned Orbital Rendezvous. When he was selected by NASA in 1963 in the third group of astronauts, Aldrin was the first with a doctorate and became known as “Dr. Rendezvous.” The docking and rendezvous techniques he devised for spacecraft in Earth and lunar orbit became critical to the success of the Gemini and Apollo programs, and are still used today. He pioneered underwater training techniques to simulate spacewalking. In 1966 on the

Gemini 12 orbital mission, he set a new EVA record of 5 1⁄2 hours. An elder at Webster Presbyterian Church, Aldrin privately took communion there in the Sea of Tranquility, becoming the first person to hold a religious ceremony on the Moon. Upon leaving NASA in 1971, he became commandant of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School but soon retired from the Air Force in 1972, after 21 years of service. Over the years he has written a number of books. His autobiographies Return to Earth, (1973) and Magnificent Desolation (2009), recount his struggles with clinical depression and alcoholism in the years after leaving NASA. He continued to advocate for space exploration, particularly a human mission to Mars, and developed the Aldrin cycler, a special spacecraft trajectory that makes travel to Mars possible using less time and propellant. In his book, Men From Earth, he not only gives a vivid account of the dramatic descent into the Moon’s Sea of Tranquility, down to the last four seconds, he uses recently declassified documents to show just how close the Soviets were to beating us to the lunar surface while taking readers step by step on the long, arduous journey to get to the moon. He has been accorded numerous honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969, and is listed in several Halls of Fame. In 2018 Aldrin was involved in a legal dispute with two of his children, Andrew and Janice, and former business manager Christina Korp over their claims that he was mentally impaired through dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The situation ended when his children withdrew their petition and he dropped the lawsuit in March 2019, just before the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. Following the 2012 death of his Apollo 11 colleague, Neil Armstrong, Aldrin said that he was “deeply saddened by the passing...I know I am joined by many millions of others from around the world in mourning the passing of a true American hero and the best pilot I ever knew...I had truly hoped that on July 20, 2019, Neil, Mike and I would be standing together to commemorate the 50th anniversary of our moon landing.” After living for a number of years in the Los Angeles area, he sold his condominium and at last report was living in Satellite Beach, Fla.

Only 12 men have walked o n t h e Moo n

Oklahoma; Governors Island, N.Y.; Fort Hoyle, Md.; Fort Hayes, Ohio; Puerto Rico; San Antonio; and Alexandria, Va.[3] He took his first plane ride in Puerto Rico aboard a Grumman Widgeon with a bonus: the pilot allowed him to fly it for a portion of the flight. While there, he studied for two years in the Academia del Perpetuo Socorro in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

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Neil Armstrong

Buzz Aldrin

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Charles Conrad Jr.

Alan L. Bean

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Mike Collins led interesting life even before joining NASA By Mary Alys Cherry

Alan B. Shepard Jr.

Edgar D. Mitchell

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David R. Scott

James B. Irwin

April 1972

John W. Young

Charles M. Duke Jr.

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Eugene A. Cernan

Harrison H. Schmitt

e all tend to feel sorry for

Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, who after all the training he went through never got to put his foot down on the Moon. Well, don’t. It never bothered him, he’ll be quick to tell you; someone had to be No. 3, and he enjoyed the role he had. And besides, instead of being among the first men on the moon and the first to fly around the dark side of the Moon alone, reportedly he had an opportunity to command Apollo 14 – the last Moon landing – and turned it down. That opportunity came while talking with Mercury astronaut Deke Slayton, who offered to put Collins back into the crew sequence after Apollo 11, but he told Slayton he didn’t want to travel in space again if Apollo 11 was successful. The training schedule was just too strenuous and a strain on family life, he said, adding that he just wanted to help achieve President Kennedy’s goal of landing on the Moon in that decade and had no interest in another trip once that goal had been reached. So that assignment went to Apollo 14 Commander Eugene Cernan, who became the last man to walk on the moon. INTERESTING LIFE Collins, 88, led a rather interesting life before joining NASA. He was born Oct. 31, 1930 in Rome, Italy, the second son of a career U.S. Army officer, who was the U.S. military attaché there from 1928 to 1932, and his wife, the former Virginia Stewart. Collins had an older brother, James Lawton Collins Jr., and two older sisters, Virginia and Agnes. For the first 17 years of his life, Collins lived in the many places the Army sent his dad, including Rome;

Bay Area Houston Magazine | JULY 2019

MOVE TO D.C. After the United States entered World War II, the family moved to Washington, D.C., where Collins attended St. Albans School and graduated in “After retiring 1948. Next stop was the from NASA in U.S. Military Academy at West Point, from 1970, he held which his father and posts at the his older brother had Department graduated in 1907 and of State, the 1939 respectively. He graduated on June 3, 1952, National Air with a B.S in Military and Space Science ,and from there he Museum and joined the Air Force and flew F-86 Sabre fighters at the Smithsonian Chambley-Bussieres Air Institution.” Base. He was accepted into the U.S. Air Force Experimental Flight Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in 1960. Collins’ said his decision to join the Air Force was motivated by both the wonder of what the next 50 years might bring in aeronautics, and to avoid accusations of nepotism had he joined the Army where his brother was already a colonel, his father had reached the rank of major general and his uncle, Gen. J. Lawton Collins, was the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army. At that time, the Air Force Academy was in its initial construction phase, and would not graduate its first class for several years. However, West Point graduates were eligible for Air Force commissions. Later, he retired as a major general in the U.S. Air Force Reserves. ONLY TWICE It was during this time that he unsuccessfully applied for the second astronaut group, but was accepted for the third group of 14 astronauts in 1963. Collins flew into space only twice. His first spaceflight was on Gemini 10, in which he and Command Pilot John Young performed orbital rendezvous with two different spacecraft and undertook two extravehicular activities (EVAs, also known as spacewalks). His second flight was Apollo 11. After retiring from NASA in 1970, Collins took a job in the Department of State as Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs. A year later, he became the director of the National Air and Space Museum and held this position until 1978, when he stepped down to become undersecretary of the Smithsonian Institution. In 1980, he took a job as vice president of LTV Aerospace. Collins resigned in 1985 to start his own consulting firm. He is not the only member of his family to achieve fame. His eldest daughter, Kate Collins, became famous playing a key role for several years on the TV soap opera, All My Children.

Apollo astronaut wives likely haven’t forgotten those days By Mary Alys Cherry

t’s been 50 years, but who can forget the excitement we experienced back on July 20, 1069? Certainly not anyone living in Clear Lake City back then. And, it’s likely the wives of the Apollo 11 crew have not forgotten the days before and after the lunar landing when they were constantly followed by hordes of reporters who Neil Armstrong and his wife, Jan, celebrate Apollo came by the hundreds from 11’s 20th anniversary at big evening party at the all over the world to observe Clear Lake Hilton after partying with a crowd the community that was of 10,000 at the Johnson Space Center that afternoon. accomplishing what had been thought impossible for many centuries. Astronaut wives, part of one of the most exclusive societies on Earth, were believed to be leading sheltered lives. But certainly not sheltered enough, the Apollo 11 wives quickly learned. While today’s astronauts are able to lead normal lives, Jan Armstrong, Joan Aldrin and Patricia Collins found themselves spending much of their time avoiding the press. Jan Armstrong was the only wife to see the Apollo 11 launch at Kennedy Space Center, where she and sons Michael and Patricia Collins join the crowd at the big 20th anniversary party celebrating the landing Ricky, 12, and Mark, 6, on the Moon at the Clear Lake Hilton. watched with friends on a boat in the Banana River. It was more of the same when they arrived back at their home on Woodland Drive in El Lago — reporters and photographers everywhere you looked. Seeing that hiding was getting them nowhere, the three wives began going outside each day, often with their children, so photographers could get their “daily pictures.” That seemed to mostly solve the problem. While the trio of astronauts were still headed to the moon, Joan Aldrin had a swimming party at their Nassau Bay home for the three families and close friends. While it Buzz and Joan Aldrin wear big smiles as they was going on, young Mike celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Aldrin, 13, walked in with a Lunar Landing at the Clear Lake Hilton party. snake he caught in the yard as and nailbiting as all tried to assure his siblings, Janice and Andrew, 11, each other that the mission would be looked on. All had a good time, and the big success it turned out to be. reportedly there were plenty of hugs

Bay Area Houston Magazine | JULY 2019

JULY 2019 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

Photography by MoonBridge Media

(TOP) Steve Altemus hoists the lightweight long range drone coming off the drone production line at Ellington Airport. (BOTTOM LEFT) Intuitive Machines’ 12 foot high Nova-C lunar lander model.

Intuitive Machines

T he F uture is H E R E By Rick Clapp

ntuitive Machines is an incredibly

unique space and aviation company located on the Space Port Facility at Ellington Field in Houston. The company was founded in 2013 by president and CEO Steve Altemus with the goal of bringing decades of human spaceflight know-how, technology advances, and innovative thinking into low-cost solutions aimed at serving the complex needs of our world. Since then, Altemus has steered the company back to his passion, space, with the objective of taking the space business to new frontiers. Steve Altemus started his journey into space and aviation as a student at the Embry– Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, where he originally wanted to pursue a career as an aviator. A few years later, he graduated with an Aeronautical Engineering Degree and later earned a Masters Degree from the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

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Upon graduating from Embry Riddle, he soon found himself up the coast of Florida at the Kennedy Space Center. That’s where Altemus’ career took off into space. After several years at the Kennedy Space center he was promoted to manage the space shuttle launch countdown. He directed the many successful shuttle operations over the years and then unfortunately the Columbia Shuttle disaster occurred. Altemus was assigned to reconstruct over 85,000 pieces of the shuttle. For his efforts in completing this arduous task , he was promoted by NASA to head the engineering directorate at the Johnson Space Center culminating with a position as deputy director of the Johnson Space Center. After 25 incredible years with NASA, Altemus had the desire to revolutionize the space business and he founded Intuitive Machines. “At Intuitive Machines, we take ideas from concept to completion. We engineer systems starting from concept, through design and development, build and test.” Altemus says.

Intuitive Machines has three major areas of specialization, Aviation, Space Systems, and Additive Manufacturing and Generative Design. They all work in unison to produce outstanding engineering wonders. Well-deserved congratulations go to Altemus and his team of nearly 90 employees and interns, for earning the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) contract as one of the first US companies to provide commercial services to the Moon. As part of NASA’s Artemis Program, Intuitive Machines will land NASA-provided payloads on the surface of the Moon to conduct science investigations and demonstrate advanced technologies, paving the way for astronauts to land successfully on the moon by 2024. Intuitive Machines accomplished this tremendous feat in less than six years, which is nothing but remarkable. “It is incredibly exciting and coincidental that 50 years ago Houston landed Apollo 11 on the lunar surface and this year, Houston-based Intuitive Machines was awarded the contract to return NASA to the moon. We look forward to developing our systems and flying our missions to the moon from where it all started

right here in Houston,” Altemus said. On a personal note, Steve Altemus is a wonderful family man, married to his wife, Brunella, for over 30 years. His daughter, Dr. Samantha, is a resident veterinarian and

internist at OSU. His son Joseph is a mechanical engineer who builds robots for Jacobs Engineering. Houston we do not have a problem, Intuitive Machines is taking US back to the moon!! Thanks to the pioneer spirit of the people at NASA and the talented, creative contractor Intuitive Machines, we will continue further our space travels to the Moon, Mars and beyond. God Bless America. JULY 2019 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

Armstrong Family CollectionTM, Meteorites, Gold Headline Heritage Auctions’ Space Exploration, Nature & Science Auctions Among the most intriguing auctions this summer at Heritage Auctions, the world’s leading collectibles auctioneer, are The Armstrong Family Collection™ Part III, which will be in Heritage’s Space Exploration Auction July 16-18 and the Nature & Science Auction July 20. Both events will be held in Dallas, Texas. First moonwalker Neil Armstrong’s personal collection and archive will be offered in the Space Exploration Auction. Select highlights of the collection include Armstrong’s One and Only Lunar ModuleFlown MS67 NGC 14K Gold Robbins Medal, Armstrong’s copy of the preliminary Apollo 11 flight plan and an internal NASA memo discussing what Armstrong should say once he stepped on the moon. The Nature & Science auction will feature an unparalleled assortment of Lunar and Martian meteorites, including some of the largest and

Bay Area Houston Magazine | JULY 2019

rarest known examples. One is a massive specimen measuring 7-1/2 inches long and weighing 6.4 pounds that comes from the end piece of a lunar meteorite. One of the most spectacular lots in the sale will be a pair of Model 1911 pistols made almost exclusively from the Muonionalusta meteorite, one of the oldest known meteorites on earth. The Nature & Science auction also will feature a breathtaking assortment of gold specimens, some of which are massive – one even tips the scales at about more than 87 ounces. Included in the group are Crystallized Gold from California, Gold Nuggets from Australia and even a gorgeous Nugget from Cuba. Images and additional information about these and other lots in The Armstrong Family CollectionTM can be found at HA.com/5209; additional information about Heritage’s Nature & Science Auction can be found by visiting HA.com/5438.

JULY 2019 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

Space Center Houston plans allday lunar landing celebration

pace Center Houston

will celebrate the historic first steps on the Moon with a spectacular lineup of events including Apollo 11 50th Live, presented by JSC Federal Credit Union,” an all-day festival on July 20 celebrating the legacy of the Apollo era and the future of space exploration. The festival will culminate with an evening concert featuring performances by Walk the Moon and Phillip Phillips. Those attending the iconic anniversary can take part in Space Center Houston’s “Apollo 11 50th Live,” featuring an array of spacethemed activities, including latenight NASA Tram Tours to Rocket Park and the Apollo Mission Control Center, notable speakers, book signings, an outdoor festival with a concert, a family STEM zone – and more. The first 15,000 celebration guests will receive an interactive LED wristband (issued onsite to ticketholders) to illuminate the experience. The festival includes an outdoor 1960s inspired Discovery Reserve Beer Garden provided by Budweiser. The concert kicks off with Phillip Phillips on stage at 8 p.m. and Walk the Moon at 9:15 p.m. Guests will watch a video interlude about the

Bay Area Houston Magazine | JULY 2019

Apollo 11 50th anniversary, followed by the Official Countdown presented by Reliant, at 9:56 p.m., the exact moment Neil Armstrong stepped on the Moon. Walk the Moon will return to the stage at 10 p.m. following the first steps countdown. “Houston’s legacy is tied to many achievements in space exploration, and we’re excited to unite people across the globe to relive the historic Apollo 11 anniversary with us,” said William T. Harris, president and CEO of Space Center Houston. “We are very thankful to JSC Federal Credit Union for helping us provide exceptional experiences marking the first lunar landing and to inspire people of all ages through the wonders of space exploration.” “We are proud to partner with Space Center Houston to honor the outstanding achievements of space exploration and celebrate its rich history with the community, the world and the next generation of explorers,” said Brandon Michaels, president and CEO, JSC Federal Credit Union. Apollo 11 anniversary celebration tickets are on sale now. Visit spacecenter.org for more information about the activities and hours of operation during this special period.

Bay Area Houston Magazine | JULY 2019

Turmeric: Nature’s most potent pain reliever and more

By Chris Matos

have suffered from chronic pain in my

knees and back for several years now. This pain prohibits me from doing activities and hobbies that use to bring much enjoyment to life. I tried many different treatments from over-the-counter to prescription pain pills, all of which either had no effect or were causing additional problems. This encouraged me to research healthier and more effective treatments for pain. I discovered turmeric curcumin and an impressive list of health benefits such as diminished joint pain, improved brain function, lower risk of heart disease and cancer, thwarting Alzheimer’s disease, and even anti-aging effects. Background Turmeric curcumin has been used for centuries

Bay Area Houston Magazine | JULY 2019

in food and medicine dating back nearly 4,000 years because of its potent antioxidant and antiinflammatory effects. Known as the main spice in the Indian dish curry, it is argued by many to be the most powerful herb on the planet at fighting and potentially reversing disease. Curcumin is one of the active ingredients in turmeric responsible for so many of its benefits and yellow color. In fact, turmeric is even good for treating hip pain and other inflammatory conditions in dogs, thanks to this active ingredient. Today’s market primarily includes turmeric supplements with products composed of 95 percent curcumin. Turmeric curcumin happens to be poorly absorbed by the human body, so it is often recommended to purchase turmeric supplements that contain black pepper or piperine to maximize absorption. However, these chemical additives can have adverse side effects. Furthermore, turmeric and curcumin are two of the most scientifically studied natural ingredients. Many of the studies have been conducted locally at the Texas Medical Center in Houston who support turmeric’s potency and usefulness for many health conditions. Does it really work? Personally, having tried ten of the most rated turmeric supplements on Amazon only a couple showed positive results, yet none delivered the benefits I had expected. Realizing all supplements are not made equal I found a true gem. Nuvothera’s

Super-Micronized Turmeric Curcumin utilizes the full turmeric root with over 200 beneficial molecules. Having the full complement of turmeric molecules works better as a whole rather than in isolation of only curcumin alone. Perhaps the greatest feature is the “micronized” aspect which simply means they have made the particle size incredibly small improving its absorption and bioavailability. Micronizing is so effective no black pepper or chemical enhancers are needed. This aids effectiveness and eliminates the risk of harmful side effects. Research studies have shown this super micronized turmeric curcumin to be over 100 times more potent compared to other curcumin brands. What turmeric does for the body is amazing. Health-wise turmeric and curcumin benefits range in everything from helping with blood clots and depression to combating inflammation, boosting skin health, regulating cholesterol, and more. Nuvothera’s website (Nuvothera.com) has been eye opening from the amount of reliable information and videos showing how their product excels beyond all others. Since using their maximum potency turmeric those expected benefits have become surpassed, truly changing my life. I am able to enjoy a healthy pain free life everyday while enhancing my mood. This has become the go to gift for family who become so thankful and share all the benefits they have experienced. To feel the great rewards from turmeric, demand the best quality and begin living life to the fullest.

JULY 2019 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

Photos by Mary Alys Cherry

The 2019 Sue Brady Award for leadership was presented to Cathy Wolfe, left, by last year’s winner, Kathleen Courville, at the Assistance League year-end luncheon at Red River Bar-B-Que.

Assistance League of the Bay Area officers for 2019-2020 line up for a photo at the year-end awards luncheon Tuesday, May 28. They are, from right, President Lisa Holbrook, President-elect Brooks Cima, Secretary Betty Stoub and Treasurer Sandra Kelver. Charlene Donovan, Brunella Altemus, Kathleen Courville and Cathy Wolfe will serve as vice presidents.

Brunella Altemus, right, is presented the Assistance League’s Sue Holstein Award by Marie Keener during the year-end luncheon in League City.

ASSISTANCE LEAGUE MARKS 25th ANNIVERSARY ASSISTANCE LEAGUE members introduced their officers for the coming year and passed out awards to several members for their work when they met May 28 at Red River Bar-B-Que In League City for their annual year-end luncheon. Lisa Holbrook will serve as president with Brooks Cima as president-elect. New vice presidents are Charlene Donovan, membership; Brunella Altemus, philanthropic programs; Kathleen Courville, resource development; and Cathy Wolfe, operations. Other officers are Betty Stoub, secretary; Sandra Kelver, treasurer, Sharon Dillard, parliamentarian; Sharon Guzzino, marketing chairman; Beverly Braden, strategic

MARY ALYS CHERRY

planning; Betty Suagee, education chairman; and Karen Douglass, Assisteens liaison. Outgoing President Sarah Foulds summarized some of the massive amount of work members had accomplished this past year as they celebrated their 25th anniversary as a chapter and their 31st year of serving

Other newly elected Assistance League officials include, from left, Education Chairman Betty Suagee, Strategic Planning Chairman Beverly Branden, Parliamentarian Sharon Dillard and Assisteens Liaison Karen Douglas. Marketing Chairman Sharon Guzzino is absent from the picture.

Bay Area Houston Magazine | JULY 2019

the Bay Area community, including the return of more than $307,000 to the community through philanthropic programs this past year. Their work included Operation School Bell that provided clothing and shoes for 2,733 needy students in the Clear Creek, Dickinson, Friendswood, Galveston and La Porte school districts and Odyssey Academy; providing 84 senior girls and 53 boys with prom attire and shoes and clothing for 261 Dickinson students who were Harvey victims; distributing 190 assault survivor kits to Bay Area Turning Point and UTMB-Galveston for crime victims; and sponsoring eye exams and glasses for needy students; and helping 30 unemployed individuals

Winners of the Assistance League’s A.B.C.D. Awards for 2019, which were presented by President Sarah Foulds at the yearend luncheon at Red River Bar-B-Que in League City, are, from left, Charlene Donovan, Jill Williams and Ann Hammond.

seek employment by providing job interview clothing. Cathy Wolfe was presented the Sue Brady Award and Brunella Altemus went home with the Sue Holstein Award, while Jill Williams, Charlene Donovan and Ann Hammond were A.B.C.D. Award winners for service Above and Beyond the Call of Duty. Charlotte Teeter was the winner of the Anne Banning Lee Leadership Award and the H.O.P.E. Award went to Frank and Sons. Earlier in May, they celebrated their 25th anniversary at Bay Area Museum with dozens of members dropping by to reminisce about their work and all the fun through the years.

Among the crowd at the Assistance League anniversary celebration were, from left, seated, Sharon Dillard, Advisory Board member Mary Alys Cherry; standing, Elizabeth Byrd, Atiya Abouleish and Chris Callahan.

Photos by Jill Reason

Panhellenic ends year on happy note CLEAR LAKE PANHELLENIC members ended their year on a colorful note with all members dressed in yellow in honor of outgoing President D’Lisa Johnston, and all past presidents wearing white. Besides saying farewell to one another as the summer break approached, they also awarded $8,000 scholarships ($2,000 annually for four years) to a half dozen graduating senior girls -- - Alyssa Gonzalez, Zamira Harris-Ryden, Lauren Lueking, Trinity Rust, Tiffany Sakahra and Mckinley Young – and presented Panhellenic’s Citation Award to Karen Douglas and D’Lisa Johnston. Another highlight of the luncheon at Water’s Edge on NASA Parkway in El Lago came when officers for the 2019-2020 year were installed – President Sheryl Williams, First Vice President Darla McKitrick, Second Vice President Becky Hensley, Third Vice President Mackenzie Walker, Treasurer Lisa O’Brien, Secretary Kathryn Vernau, Corporation Kelsey McNeil and Parliamentarian D’Lisa Johnson.

Panhellenic’s past presidents, all dressed in white for their year-end luncheon, sit for a picture together. They are, from left, standing, Peggy Clause, Sue Ellen Jennings, Barbara Dickey, Laurie Vaughn, Ondi Lyon, Jill Reason, Michelle Richardson, Kim Barker, Diane Overman; seated, Judie Raiford, Kay Lee Benoit, Hazel Herron, D’Lisa Johnston, Ruth Beecher and Judy Ferguson.

Clear Lake Panhellenic officers for 2019-2020 get together for a photo. They are, from right, President Sheryl Williams, First Vice President Darla McKitrick, Second Vice President Becky Hensley, Third Vice President Mackenzie Walker, Treasurer Lisa O’Brien, Secretary Kathryn Vernau, Corporation Kelsey McNeil and Parliamentarian D’Lisa Johnson.

These Clear Lake birthday club members wear big smiles as they celebrate their 35th anniversary at the Kona Grill. Joining in the merriment are, from left, front, Martha Ferebee, Donna Rieves, Pat Wilson, Kay Smith; standing, Cathy Osoria, Ann Wismer Landolt. Jan Larson, Betsy Bush and Emmeline Dodd.

D’Lisa Johnston shows off Panhellenic’s Citation Award which was awarded to both her and Karen Douglas.

Connie Zieba of Taylor Lake Village, standing at left, is the new president of the 5,000-member Houstom Area Panhellenic Association. Joining her at the installation luncheon are, from left, standing, Rhonda Salinsky; Darla McKitrick; sitting, Beverly Stroud, Kathie Wiley, Michelle Richardson, and Janet Jones of Clear Lake Area Panhellenic, of which she is also a member.

These six young area graduating seniors were each presented $8,000 college scholarships at the Clear Lake Area Panhellenic year-end luncheon. They are Alyssa Gonzalez, Zamira Harris-Ryden, Lauren Lueking, Trinity Rust, Tiffany Sakahra and Mckinley Young.

JULY 2019 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

Bay Area bids farewell to Kemah police chief By Mary Alys Cherry

The Bay Area said goodbye to one of its most admired citizens, Kemah Police Chief Chris Reed, at a memorial service Friday, June 14 at the Clear Creek Community Church on Egret Bay Boulevard which links League City with Clear Lake City and Nassau Bay -- three of the areas he served over his years here.

eed was killed June 7 as he and his wife were out on a boating excursion in Galveston Bay. When a large vessel passed by, creating a giant wave, he was thrown from the boat and apparently knocked unconscious and drowned. Over the years, Reed served as Nassau Bay city manager, League City city administrator and as its assistant police chief; and most recently as Kemah police chief. He also served as a trustee on the Clear Creek ISD school board, which recently elected him secretary. Speakers at the service included Clear Creek ISD Superintendent Dr. Greg Smith, who called Reed “a man of service;” the church pastor, Dr. Bruce Wesley, who described Reed as “a life well lived in serving others;” Reed’s daughter, Logan Reed; Reed’s friend Richard Rennison; and Nassau

“He left an imprint on so many people.” - Former Kemah Mayor Carl Joiner

“A life well lived in serving others.” - Dr. Bruce Wesley Bay Finance Director Csilla Ludanyi, who spoke on behalf of Reed’s wife, Jana, a CCISD school teacher. Some 500 law enforcement officers attended. After the service, police, family and friends formed a procession that passed by different spots around the area that were important to the chief, first heading south on FM 270 to Highway 96, then east to Highway 146 past the Kemah Police Department and Kemah City Hall, and along NASA Road 1 near the Nassau Bay City Hall. Reed was born Charles Christopher

Bay Area Houston Magazine | JULY 2019

Reed on Oct. 6, 1968, in Princeton, Ind. After high school, he served in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper, graduated from the Military Police Academy and was certified as a military policeman. Reed and his wife Jana were high school sweethearts. She was a cheerleader, and he was a wrestler. They were married July 20, 1990 and have three children, Jana, Chase and Alexis. He is also survived by his parents. After rising to the rank of sergeant in the Army and being honorably discharged, he joined the League City Police Department in 1991 and rose

to the rank of assistant chief before being named city administrator of League City. While with League City, he graduated from the FBI National Academy Command College and received a Bachelor of Business Administration from LeTourneau University and earned his Master’s in Criminal Justice Administration from Sam Houston State University. He also was active in a number of community organizations, such as the Clear Creek Education Foundation, Communities in Schools-Bay Area, the League City Lions Club, Bay Area Alliance and Hope Village. In 2009, he began a six-year stint as city manager of Nassau Bay, before starting his own consulting agency in 2015, and then a couple of years later back to public service with the Kemah Police Department. As former Kemah Mayor Carl Joiner said after the service, “he left an imprint on so many people.”

Luxury Summer Tow By Don Armstrong

owing a boat and trailer

is second nature to many in the Bay Area but the right vehicle can make all the difference on the easiness scale. We recently drove a couple of contenders that would be a welcome addition to any skipper’s fleet. Lexus GX460 The body-on-frame Lexus GX 460 hits the right notes when conducting the luxury and towing symphony. This player touts a somewhat subdued interior that feels rich, without being over the top. Quality fit and finish, combined with highend leather and real wood accents, remind us of Uncle Jimmy’s library. As with most SUV’s with 3-rows of seating, the last row should be relegated to the kids as leg room and seat bottom height will cripple most adults on all but short jaunts. Powering the full-time all-wheel drive system is a 301-horsepower, 4.6-liter V-8. While some manufacturers offer 10-speed automatic transmissions, Lexus soldiers on with a 6-speed. That combination gets a 15 MPG-city and 18-highway rating from the EPA. The GX460 is equipped with an air suspension that smooths most road bumps, but don’t expect car-like or crossover smoothness. Despite its heft, however, store parking lots that require tight maneuvering are easier

than you’d think. We recommend shopping the highend Luxury trim level that is $11,500 more than the $53,505 entry model price. Chevrolet Tahoe When we think of luxury, Chevrolet doesn’t typically fall into that category, but we recently drove a loaded-up 4-wheel drive, top of the line, Premier Plus Edition that we’ll put up against almost any competitor in the luxo class. First, let’s talk price. The entrylevel Tahoe starts at $46,800. The Premier 4WD jumps up to $65,600, while our test Tahoe stickers for $78,565. You’re probably thinking, “wait, this is a Chevrolet?” Yes, and this one definitely separates the men from the boys. As you might expect, everything but the kitchen sink is on board, including the new, optional 6.2-liter V-8 that hums out 420-horsepower, more than enough to haul 8 humans and tow up to 8,400 pounds. The 10-speed automatic transmission is smooth as silk, but fuel mileage is on par with most others in the body-onframe class, 14-city and 22-highway. The Tahoe Premier Plus also comes with Chevy’s Magnetic Ride Control that dampens bumps like no other suspension gizmo. Those auto-folding running boards make climbing into our football-brown leather interior a breeze.

The Chevy Tahoe can tow some seriously big boats.

JULY 2019 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

We Live in Different Worlds By Michael W. Gos

Canyon, Texas

t’s a different world

out here in far West Texas. There is flat prairie for miles in every direction (unless you stumble onto Palo Duro, that is). Trees are an oddity and the wind is always blowing. But the biggest difference is the people. Everyone here wears boots and Stetsons, they are weathered by the sun and wind and they are the friendliest people I’ve ever met. No one acts uppity. In a local diner, you can’t tell the difference between a rancher worth millions and a day-laborer hoping to make it to tomorrow. Then there is the 47-foot high statue of Tex Randall. He’s hard to miss. I can’t spend much

Bay Area Houston Magazine | JULY 2019

time here without thinking about the differences between the world I live in in Clear Lake and the one the people here in Canyon inhabit. I guess I’ve been aware of different, parallel worlds for decades. I knew a woman years ago who was a dedicated follower of soap-operas. We sometimes talked about it. I saw them as silly and pointless. Life just isn’t as zany and difficult as portrayed there. She said she loved them because they were so true to life. I thought she was crazy (she was…but that’s a different story). And then there was my first week as a freshman in the new world of Purdue. What a difference from what I knew in Gary, Indiana. It was like getting hit in the face with a door! But I really started to notice it when I first came to Texas. I was immediately struck by the difference between my world and that of some of my students. One day in my first semester here, on my way into work I saw an old pair of sneakers,

laces tied together and thrown over a powerline crossing a city street. I mentioned it in class later that day, wondering why anyone would want to do that. Several of my students explained it was a “billboard” advertising drugs for sale. I was dumbfounded. Over the years, I came to understand that many of my students lived in worlds that were not only alien to me but ones I didn’t even know existed. In the ensuing decades, I have had students from third generation welfare families and from neighborhood environments filled with drugs and habitual criminals. While I grew up poor, such things simply did not exist in my wholesome world.

What determines our world? Some of it, of course, is what we are born into. We have no control over that. But as we age, most of us find that our worlds change,

sometimes dramatically. There must be something besides accidents of birth at work here. Certainly, there are the influences of family, friends and neighborhoods. Later we encounter other environments such as school and the workplace. Each of these somewhat controls the kind of people we meet and the world we see. My first days at Purdue are a prime example. There were very few students like me, the professors seemed like space aliens and the expectations were far beyond what I anticipated. As a writer, I do a lot of listening, eavesdropping if you will, so I can learn things about people. I hear the conversations between bartenders at my favorite watering holes and can tell in an instant that they definitely live in a different world than I do. The same is true of my students. Those whose families work in the plants are very different from those whose parents work in business, education or the high-tech industries. And all of them live in worlds very different from mine. In the magnificent novel Illusions, Richard Bach has a passage in which a character is teaching his protégé about these different worlds. He

asks, “You live in the same world as a stockbroker?...Your life has been tumbled and changed by a new SEC policy?” Of course, the “student,” an airplane pilot, recognizes he knows nothing of the Wall Street world. The teacher’s point is, each of us lives in a world different from everyone else;

situation. If we become aware of those options, come to the realization that we don’t have to live the way we have been, we just might want to make a change. I admit that’s not always easy. In fact, at times it may seem impossible. Sometimes making that transition

“If we become aware of those options, come to the realization that we don’t have to live the way we have been, we just might want to make a change.” no two of us occupy the same world. If that notion is true, and I think it is, it is important we consider the effects and the infinite possibilities of these differing worlds. First and foremost, for most of us, the world we see is the world we believe is real and the only one there is. And unless something major happens to shake us of that idea, that world is the only one we will ever see. But if indeed there are other options, there is reason to believe that some of them could possibly be more attractive to us than our current

is only possibile if we get a little help from someone else, someone to show us the way—a teacher, if you will. I don’t mean an educator in the traditional sense necessarily, but rather, someone like the character in Illusions, someone who already understands and can help us to see reality and the options that lay before us. It seems to me, once we understand that a better world, or even lots of better worlds, may exist, we can make one of them ours if we really want to. But for most of us, we don’t

have a clue as to how to go about it. It is really a two-step process. First, we need to “see” that world we want and to believe it really exists. To quote an old college coach of mine, “What the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve.” That may mean going out of our way to expose ourselves, even superficially, to other options—to see them in action. We may feel like a fish out of water, or like we are trying to force ourselves into places or groups to which we don’t belong—to which we are not welcome, but “seeing” those opportunities is all a part of the process of change. We might even want to try on several other worlds “for size,” just to see which might “look better” on us. When we find one we like, the hard work really begins. It now becomes a matter of doing what is necessary to get there. That brings us back to Old Coach; When we believe it—it will happen. It may take work, but what worthwhile thing doesn’t? In reality, we all live in the world we have chosen for ourselves—and we are always free to make a different choice.

JULY 2019 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

Woman’s Best Friend By Alisa Star

W Texas yacht tax cut expected to offer many benefits to state By Mary Alys Cherry

fter trying for six years, the state’s boat

dealers finally caught a break with the 86th Texas Legislature – a big tax break they expect will not only revive the state’s boating industry but also save jobs in the small businesses that serve the maritime industry, such as hotels and restaurants, that have been lost to Florida and coastal Atlantic states over the past decade. Beginning in September, the sales tax on luxury yachts as long as 115 feet will be $18,750, which means a tax break of $228,000 on a $3 million yacht. But the real purpose of the legislation is to revive Texas’ marine industry, local supporters such as State Sen. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood will be quick to tell you. A few millionaires will benefit, but that is not the point. People who buy big yachts are buying them in other states, Taylor explained. Since 2010 when Florida capped its sales tax on yachts at $18,000, Texas’ market share has slowly dwindled as those buying yachts go to Florida to save money, and most of the yachts stay docked in the Sunshine State. That means Florida benefits from gas and diesel sales and other services instead of Texas. It also means jobs to provide services to the yacht owners. Taylor expects the legislation will create up to 600 jobs in Texas. He said once boats are bought in Texas, the buyers will also buy fuel here, as well as other equipment and repairs — all services that are going to other states right now. When the tax cut proposal was introduced in 2015, legislators couldn’t get past the benefit to millionaires and promptly let the bill die. A second try in the 2017 Legislature also died. But this year

with help from a number of local people, it passed both houses. “Sometimes economic development initiatives that have real, tangible value for a region take years to implement,” Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership President Bob Mitchell said. “This was the case with capping the Texas sales tax on luxury yachts. I believe that the passing of this bill will produce significant, positive results for the state’s maritime industry, including the many small businesses that support that industry and the jobs they create. “We’re grateful to Senator Taylor for sponsoring HB 4032 and to Reps. Greg Bonnen, M.D., Dennis Paul, Ed Thompson, Ryan Guillen and Geanie W. Morrison, for serving as its authors,” Mitchell added. Others who worked so hard to get the Maritime Jobs Preservation Legislation passed included: • John Preston of the Boaters Directory, who took the lead on this legislative agenda, formed the Texas Marine Industry Coalition in 2018, and led the advocacy for legislation during the 86th Texas Legislature • Jay Dee Jackson of Galati Yacht Sales • Greg and Glenda Allison of Gulf Coast Yacht Brokers Association • Simon Urbanic, realtor and BAHEP member • Harriet Pilgrim. BAHEP membership director; and Bob • Greg and Glenda Allison and Simon Urbanic also spent many hours advocating for the tax cut during the two previous legislative sessions -- work that laid the groundwork for this year’s legislation. • Marcy Fryday, Lakewood Yacht Club.

Bay Area Houston Magazine | JULY 2019

hat began

as a mutualservice contract between two very different species became something more like love. None of that makes a lick of sense, but it doesn’t have to. Love rarely touches the reasoning parts of the brain. It touches the dreamy parts, the devoted parts, it touches what we call the heart. For hundreds of Alisa and her faithful companion Preacher. years it’s there that our dogs have lived. A dog are not made to consume grains, and will look at you as if to say ”what do consuming grains cause digestive you want me to do for you?” That’s problems in their overall health, and the unconditional love and devotion skin issues. Raw dog food diets are a dog has for It’s owners. Just like our very controversial, but popularity children we are responsible for the of these diets are on the rise, which things they can’t do for themselves, emphasize raw meat, such as ground like food and diet. beef, turkey, salmon, kidney, liver, So many animals have allergies and ground bone, egg with shell, due to the ingredients in food, such carrots, zucchini, broccoli, apples, and as wheat, dairy, soy, eggs, chicken, blueberries. You can even add some lamb, and many more. Common plain yogurt for added sweetness. symptoms are scratching, constant A small hint, “½ cup of pumpkin itching, biting at feet, sour smell, puree will help with a steady stool.” and hair loss. You can’t figure out Also potential benefits of raw food why, you’ve tried everything from diets are a shiner coat, healthier skin, changing grooming routines, to cleaner teeth, and higher energy special medicated shampoos and levels. So if your dog has recurring medications. But have you tried to skin and digestive problems and is change your dog’s diet? Diets can not getting anywhere with the vet’s play a big role in helping to manage conventional’s (processed food and skin condition and disease, regardless drugs) approach, try this raw diet, I of whether or not your dog has food know it has worked for my dogs. allergies. Food is one of the biggest Pets are such an important part of culprits behind allergic reactions, and our lives and family, and owners are food allergies in dogs not only cause following the principles of their own digestive problems like diarrhea and diet for their pets. Dogs are proven to vomiting, but also severe skin issues. be excellent companions for owners By the time you realize the underlying for with high blood pressure and heart issue is food, you’ve probably taken disease. Proven fact: people who have a huge hit in the wallet, from vet these problems seem to live longer, bills, and unnecessary medications. due to walking their dogs and getting I myself have been struggling with the exercise they need. Also dogs this issue with my Pomeranian for reduce anxiety and stress, providing years, I’ve tried everything with her, comfort and unconditional love. from medicated shampoos to monthly So feeding as nature intended, shots that seemed to work for a week free from artificial additives, colors, or two, then I was right back at the preservatives, fillers and grains. The vet’s office spending more money. So bottom line is, a dry ultra processed I went from a dry processed food diet food diet is most likely the underlying to a raw diet. I mean what do I have to cause of your dog’s problem. Based loose, I tried everything else. on many hundreds of cases at this The raw dog food diet has been point, that a simple process called a around for centuries. Enthusiasts of “exclusion diet” involving fresh meats, the raw diet say that the philosophy bone, with some other key ingredients behind it is that it’s best to feed a dog is the simplest, easiest, natural, most a diet in which they have evolved definitive answer from this point. to eat. Raw diets are loaded with Remember: happy healthy dogs means protein. If you think about it, dogs are happy healthy owners. carnivores, there digestive systems

JULY 2019 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

Cut Foil: An Amazing Wine And Piano Bar than class. It actually makes you want to dress up. Its contemporary irst of all, the look with colorful plush quality question most asked chairs, couches and tables creates by Cut Foil guests and a relaxed intimate feel. Cut Foil customers is what does has beautiful unique art work that Cut Foil mean? Well, it’s the definitely has a feminine feel at foil that covers the top of your the front but toward the back it is wine or champagne bottle. Viola, much more masculine, with wood, hence the name Cut Foil carafes marble and glass. Let’s not forget and drafts says it all. The new the fun area shuffleboard table. Webster business also features Most people describe the farm to table delights like cheese ambience as extremely relaxed, plates with unique cheeses and casual and chic. It makes the ladies meats, and fresh southern pimento want to dress up. The bar is a cheese dip, hand crafted pizzas, great place to just meet for a glass Spanish almond cups and panini of wine, an appetizer, a date or to Try Cut Foil’s new refreshing frozen sandwiches. Their goal is to serve just mingle. They have wine for Astrolini - 1/2 Bellini and 1/2 Hard Lemonade. D’lish! fresh farm to table items. everyone to enjoy, all you have to “We get our cheese from dairy do is ask one of the knowledgeable made right here in Houston that only sells high bartender or wine steward Chris Collins who is quality fresh cheeses that partner perfectly with our available from time to time. wines. Also, our bread is baked daily by Angelas “Cut Foil was decorated by Derek’s wife Robin bakery in the Houston Heights,” says Derek Holk, —who had the vision and talent to create this partner. wonderful concept that is so chic and relaxed. We Secondly, Cut Foil is all about the wine. They are very much about the community and hosting have a large selection of over 60 different wines quality events and fundraisers. Our specialty is from Texas, Washington, France and many other creating fun themed events that also help raise places around the world. Prices of wine may vary money for local causes,” Partner Rick Clapp said. and are extremely reasonably priced. A few of the Rick and Derek, partners, have pledged to donate popular and valued wines are Starry Night, a white their tips to one of several worthy local charities wine, and the popular red, Jake Girl for only $8 a when they tend bar. glass, or $24 a bottle. They also offer high quality The July 6 opening will also benefit the Longhorn top shelf wines which are priced accordingly. Project at JSC, a local 501(c)3. The night will feature The best bargains are by the bottle. If you are live music, farm to table delights, a silent and “wining” by yourself purchasing by the glass may live auction, as well as a book signing by former be best suited for you, or an ice cold beer by the Johnson Space Center Director George Abbey, draft may do the trick! However, if you come as a author the book Astronaut Maker. Another fun couple or more, a bottle will pour four nice glasses event planned for July 18 is “Viva La France,” a at a great price. You may also take the bottle to go if celebration of Bastille Day and everything French. you wish, but it must be sealed and secured by the Ladies put on your French berets and most certified bartenders. fashionable look. The night will feature French Cut Foil also has a nice selection of craft beers wine, a variety of cheese plates, desserts galore, on tap, Texans favorite, Shiner Bock, and a variety music and best of all dancing! On July 20 is the of others. Domestic bottle favorites such as Miller, “Fly me to the moon” party celebrating the 50th Budweiser, Bud Light, Michelob and imports like anniversary of the lunar landing. Please R.S.V.P. to Dos Equis and Heineken. these special events as space is limited. Welcome to The L.A. cocktails are so popular today because the modern day “cheers” on steroids. of their lower alcohol content, and they are so Finally, ladies come every Monday and enjoy refreshing and perfect for these hot Texas summer your wine time from 5 p.m. till midnight for $5 nights. Cut Foil also makes delicious agave wine a glass. Cut Foil has an amazing venue for any based margaritas, and peach bellinis, and a house special occasion, from bachelor party, to birthday or favorite, the delightful Hard Lemonade. cooperate mixer. The decor of this place is simple, nothing more Cheers, we’ll be seeing you soon!

By Alisa Star

Bay Area Houston Magazine | JULY 2019

146

Grazia

Sokols Greek

Sawa

Pappa’s Delta Blues El Tiempo

Masa Sushi

Boondoggles

r l e a

Scotty’s

Mediterraneo

Franca’s Noon & Mirch

l a k e

South Shore Grille Red River Cantina

MichiRu Floyd’s

Mario’s

Crazy Alan’s Bakkhus

Sundance

Ocean Sushi

Nobi Las Haciendas Preamble

Cabo

Jackie’s Brickhouse

A GUIDE TO THE BEST BITES AND BREWS IN THE BAY

Tookie’s Seafood

Hubcap Grill

Villa Capri

888 Chinese

Angelo’s

Habanero’s

Chelsea Wine Bar

g a l v e s t o n

b ay

Skallywag’s

T-Bone Tom’s

Red River BBQ Main St. Bistro

Stomp’s Burgers

Gilhooley’s

AMERICAN ASIAN BBQ CAJUN ITALIAN MEDITERR. MEXICAN PUB/FUSION SEAFOOD STEAK

AMERICAN 1. Jackie’s Brickhouse 1053 Marina Bay Dr, Kemah, TX (832) 864-2459 jackiesbrickhouse.com 2. Main St Bistro 615 E Main St, League City, TX (281) 332-8800 3. Red Oak Cafe 6011 W Main St a106, League City, TX (832) 905-3150 redoakcafe.com 4. Stomp’s Burger Joint 3107 TX-146, Bacliff, TX (281) 339-0785 stompsburgerjoint.com 5. South Shore Grille 2800 Marina Bay Dr, League City, TX (281) 334-7700 soshoregrille.com 6. T-Bone Tom’s 707 TX-146, Kemah, TX (281) 334-2133 tbonetoms.com 7. Cabo Bar & Grill 2513 NASA Rd. 1, Seabrook, TX (281) 532-2691 caboclearlake.com 8. Hubcap Grill 1918 E NASA Pkwy, Seabrook, TX (281) 339-7116 hubcapgrill.com ASIAN 1. 888 Chinese 16744 El Camino Real, Houston, TX (281) 990-8888 888chinesetx.com

Red Oak Cafe

Tight Ends

Topwater Grill

Gumbo Bar

Marais

Dickinson BBQ

Gio’s

2. Masa Sushi 977 E NASA Pkwy, Webster, TX (281) 486-9888 masasushitexas.com

3. Little Daddy’s Gumbo Bar 1615 FM 646, League City, TX (281) 524-8626 littledaddysgumbobar.com

2. Mediterraneo Market & Cafe 18033 Upper Bay Rd, Houston, TX (281) 333-3180 mediterraneomarket.com

3. Skallywag’s 600 6th St, Kemah,mTXo (281) 538-8877

3. Michiru Sushi 20911 Gulf Fwy, Webster, TX (281) 338-9988 michirusushi.com

4. Marais 2015 FM 517 Rd E, Dickinson, TX (281) 534-1986

3. Sawa Mediterranean 16608 El Camino Real, Houston, TX (281) 990-0817 sawarestaurantgrill.com

4. Boondoggles Pub 4106 E NASA Pkwy, El Lago, TX (281) 326-2739 boondogglespub.com

4. Sokols Greek Deli & Cafe 2410 Bay Area Blvd, Houston, TX (281) 286-2989 sokolsgreekcafe.com

5. Chelsea Wine Bar 4106 E NASA Pkwy f, El Lago, TX (281) 326-5282 chelseawinebartexas.com

4. Noon & Mirch: Cuisine of India 505 E NASA Pkwy, Webster, TX 5. Ocean Sushi 3020 Marina Bay Dr Suite A2, League City, TX (281) 957-9122 oceansushigrill.com BARBEQUE 1. Dickinson BBQ 2111 FM 517 Rd E, Dickinson, TX (281) 534-2500 dickinsonbbq.com 2. Pappas Delta Blues 19901 Gulf Fwy, Webster, TX (281) 332-0024 www.pappasdeltablues.com 3. Red River BBQ 1911 E Main St Suite B, League City, TX (281) 332-8086 CAJUN 1. Crazy Alan’s Swamp Shack 310 Texas Ave, Kemah, TX (281) 334-5000 crazyalanswampshack.com 2. Floyd’s Cajun Seafood 20760 Gulf Fwy, Webster, TX (281) 332-7474 floydswebster.com

Bay Area Houston Magazine | JULY 2019

I TA L I A N 1. Angelo’s Pizza & Pasta 400 Bay Area Blvd A, Webster, TX (281) 332-2404 angelospizza-pasta.com 2. Gio’s Flying Pizza & Pasta 650 FM 517 W. Dickinson, TX (281) 337-0107 giosflyingpizza.com 3. Grazia Italian Kitchen 1001 Pineloch Dr #1100, Houston, TX (281) 486-2083 graziaitalian.com 4. Villa Capri 3713 NASA Rd. 1, Seabrook frenchiesvillacapri.com (281) 326-2373 5. Franca’s Real Italian 1101 E NASA Pkwy, Houston, TX francasrealitalian.com (281) 488-2207 6. Mario’s Pizza & Pasta 2100 E NASA Pkwy, Seabrook, TX 77586 mariosseabrook.com (281) 474-5103 MEDITERRANEAN 1. Bakkhus Taverna 605 6th St, Kemah, TX (281) 538-1800 bakkhustaverna.com

MEXICAN 1. El Tiempo Cantina 20237 Gulf Fwy, Webster, TX (713) 802-1580 eltiempocantina.com 2. Habanero’s Tacos 1908 Hialeah Dr #2, Seabrook, TX (281) 474-4400 habanerostacos.com 3. Las Haciendas 1020 W. Nasa Rd 1, Webster, TX 77598 281-557-3500 lashaciendasgrill.com 4. Red River Cantina 1911 E Main St Suite A, League City, TX 77573 281-557-8156 redrivercantina.com PUB/BAR/FUSION 1. Nobi Public House 241 E NASA Pkwy, Webster, TX (832) 932-5111 nobipub.com 2. Scotty’s Pub 3202 Marina Bay Dr, League City, TX (281) 339-7474 www.scottyspubhouston.com

s e s

l a k e

6. Tight Ends Sports Bar 2502 Gulf Fwy S, League City, TX (832) 769-4330 tightendssportsbar.net 7. Preamble Lounge & Craft House 20801 Gulf Fwy #12, Webster, TX (832) 905-2927 preamblelounge.com SEAFOOD 1. Gilhooley’s Oyster Bar 222 9th St, San Leon, TX 77539 (281) 339-3813 2. Tookie’s Seafood 1106 Bayport Blvd, Seabrook, TX (281) 942-9445 tookiesseafood.com 3. Topwater Grill 815 Avenue O, San Leon, TX (281) 339-1232 4. Sundance Grill II 800 Mariners Dr, Kemah, TX (281) 535-5350 sundance-grill.com

Greg Schroder and Andrea Wilson of the Longhorn Project

Shane Krajnik at the Longhorn Project

Bay Area Houston Magazine | JULY 2019

Joanna Yates, Shelley Rogers, Alisha Staurt and Brian Yates

Jennifer Wycoff and Robyn Weigelt at O2 Bistro

Jim and Jane Sweeney at the AHA Ball

Bay Area Houston Magazine | JULY 2019

JULY 2019 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

Infinity Float For Your Mind, Body And Soul

By Alisa Star

n f i n i ty F loat C e n te r

provides one of the most unique relaxing experiences one will ever enjoy. Their comfortable floating pods are 7 x 8 x 6 ‘wide and 10 inches deep. They hold 1,200 lbs of Epsom salt! The salts help with your buoyancy and enables you to float. There are many benefits that

Bay Area Houston Magazine | JULY 2019

occur while you are floating, such as reducing inflammation, muscle aches and flushing toxins from the body. Your peaceful journey begins once you start floating; it begins with peaceful music and soft lighting. Then the music and the lights fade out, and you become engulfed in total darkness and complete quietness. After enjoying a world of peace and quiet while floating you will feel totally energized and relaxed at the same time. Infinity Float’s staff is cordial, friendly, and knowledgeable. So, when you want to get away from your daily woes, worries, stress and anxiety, book your peaceful journey at Infinity Float Center located at 479 Bay Area Blvd. Call them at 281-486-1864 or you can book your appointment online at infinityfloat.com or by emailing info@infinityfloat.com Here’s to being the best you!

JULY 2019 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

League City Regional Chamber of Commerce Announces Appointment of President & CEO Five are arrested in car burglaries

Not all car burglars get away. Some do get caught. Some did on May 29 when deputies with Constable Phil Sandlin’s Office responded to a report of three to five males burglarizing vehicles at the Clearpoint Crossing apartment complex in the 11400 block of Space Center Boulevard. They were said to be driving a silver sedan. Deputies quickly responded and arrived to find a silver sedan exiting the parking lot onto Space Center Boulevard at a high rate of speed. One deputy followed the vehicle and waited for back-up units to assist him in initiating a traffic stop. Other units responded and activated emergency lights and sirens to attempt the stop. After a high speed pursuit through the Sagemont and Clear Lake areas, deputies deployed Stop Sticks on the vehicle and brought it to a stop in the 14100 block of the Gulf Freeway, where the five occupants were placed into custody. A stolen 9mm Smith & Wesson M&P Shield was recovered from the suspect’s vehicle. Deputies were able to locate victims from two separate vehicle burglaries and stolen items were returned to both parties. A second pistol was recovered from the vehicle and was found to be reported as stolen through the Pasadena Police Department. The driver was charged with Felony Evading in a Motor Vehicle, Possession of a Stolen Firearm and Burglary of a Motor Vehicle while the passengers were charged with Possession of a Stolen Firearm and Burglary of a Motor Vehicle. All five males were booked into the Harris County Jail and are currently awaiting arraignment. They were identified as Dalvin Trevon Hadnot-Adams, 24, (driver); Jacobe Dawaun James, 20; Anderson Chikezie Ugochukwu, 21; Javon Dwayne Chatmon, 22; and Darius Rashad Walker, 23; all from Houston.

Father drowns in Seabrook

A 52-year-old Dayton man drowned June 15 about 3 a.m. while crabbing with his adult son in the 1300 block of Main Street.

He was identified as Justin Davis. Police said the accident happened when the father tried to retrieve a crab trap and was taken by a strong current. The son attempted to pull his father from the water unsuccessfully. His body was recovered about 11 a.m. later that day in the 1500 block of Todville Road. Responders included the Seabrook Police Department, the Seabrook Volunteer Fire Department, and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

League City design contracts approved

Design contracts for three League City drainage projects included in the bond referendum that voters approved May 4 have already been approved by City Council. Only 24 days after League City voters approved two bond propositions totally $145 million for drainage and mobility improvement projects across the city, City Council put its stamp of approval on design contracts for the projects. The three contracts approved at the May 28 meeting include the first phase of improvements to the Bay Ridge neighborhood, the first phase of improvements to the Oaks of Clear Creek subdivision, and initial work in the Borden’s Gully Watershed near the Bay Colony and Dove Meadow subdivisions. In addition to the drainage projects in Prop A, League City has already begun preconstruction work on some of the traffic and mobility projects included in Proposition B. In March the League City Council approved a design contract for the $11.2 million Grissom Road reconstruction project, and design is also almost complete on the $7.7 million reconstruction project of Calder Road South. City staff members are also awaiting the results of an environmental review of the $65 million project to connect Landing Boulevard to Interstate 45, nearly half of which will be funded with partnership dollars from TxDOT. If the city receives an all-clear on that project in the next few weeks, staff should have a final design contract to present to Council in the summer.

Bay Area Houston Magazine | JULY 2019

of Commerce as the he Board director of special events. of Directors He remained with the of the League Fort Bend Chamber City Regional of Commerce until Chamber of Commerce 2018, when he joined is pleased to announce Forever Families as that Dewan Clayborn has chief marketing officer. been appointed president Over the past four years, & CEO of the League Dewan has continued City Regional Chamber his professional of Commerce; he will development by earning take office July 8. the designation of After graduating Dewan Clayborn Institute of Management from the University of (IOM) certification from the Central Arkansas, Dewan United States Chamber of Commerce. began his career with Sam’s Club as a Board Chairman Bill Provenzano membership manager. Subsequently, said, “We are excited to have someone Dewan joined Target Corporation as with Dewan’s passion and Chamber of an executive team lead. His love for Commerce experience lead the League public service started in 2015 when he City Regional Chamber of Commerce.” was hired by the Fort Bend Chamber

Clear Creek Education Foundation Seeks Nominees for Annual Awards Deadline August 1, 2019

ominations

are now being accepted for annual awards for Distinguished Clear Creek Independent School District Alumni, CCISD Superstars and the Dennis Johnson Memorial Small Business Award. Recipients are selected by the Clear Creek Education Foundation. The Distinguished Alumni award is presented to a CCISD graduate who has excelled in his or her chosen profession and has made a significant contribution to his/her community. The CCISD Superstar is an individual who has made exceptional contributions that benefited the district (may or may not be a CCISD graduate). The Dennis Johnson Memorial Small Business Award will go to an individual who has made exceptional contributions that benefit the district and community as a small business owner. Nomination forms may be found on the Education Foundation website www. ClearCreekEducationFoundation.org. All nominations must be submitted by Thursday, Aug. 1. Nominations may be mailed to the Clear Education Foundation, P.O. Box 1631, League City, TX 77574 or emailed to Kelsey McNeil at KMcNeil@ ccisd.net. Awards will be presented at the Education Foundation Annual Gala on Saturday, Nov. 2, at South Shore Harbour Resort.

CCEF funds $128,526 for Educational Grants

he Clear Creek Education Foundation visited 67 outstanding CCISD teachers on 27 campuses during its annual SurPrize Patrol May 23 -- surprising them as CCEF board members and community partners passed out Teacher Innovative Grants totaling $125,588 that will impact over 18,290 CCISD students. The Clear Creek Education Foundation awards teachers with grant money through their Teacher Innovative Grant Program, giving them the opportunity to take education to the next level and providing unique, hands-on learning experiences in the classroom. Since the Foundation’s inception in 1992, more than $3.3 million has been distributed district wide in a variety of educational programs. “From virtual reality, archery, drones, coding and STEAM (the arts being added to stem), this year’s Teacher Innovative Grants brought more innovation to the classroom than ever,” Executive Director Deborah Laine said afterwards. “These exciting grants will directly impact students for the 20192020 school year. This is the climax of our year to award our teachers these programs that take education to the next level.”

[BAY AREA HOUSTON ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP]

Congressman Brian Babin addresses the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership luncheon crowd.

Photos by Kathryn Paradis

Carl Joiner, Joiner Architects; Marcy Fryday, Lakewood Yacht Club; and Seabrook Mayor Thom Kolupski, from left, visit as they arrive at the Hilton for the BAHEP luncheon.

Joyce Abbey of SAIC visits with Brian Freedman of The Boeing Co. at the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership luncheon.

BAHEP Chairman Todd Caliva welcomes the BAHEP luncheon crowd.

Congressman Babin discusses his role in Washington D.C. By Kathryn Paradis

ongressman Brian Babin discussed

his legislative focus during the first session of the 116th Congress when he addressed the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership luncheon May 28 at the Clear Lake Hilton. While he has a strong and vested interest in his role as Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Space & Aeronautics, he emphasized that his district represents just about every industry constituency there is, from transportation and infrastructure, to agriculture and energy, and healthcare to homeland security. And, since he was elected in 2014, he has engaged in all these areas. His legislative focus this session, he said, remained the same as last session – proactively working with the majority to find common ground to move legislation which impacts the district, Texas, and the nation. His most noteworthy activities included: • Threat Assessment, Prevention, and Safety (TAPS) Act – H.R. 838 is a proactive measure focused on school and community safety by assessing the early warning signs from individuals who perpetrate these acts of violence. This bill is endorsed by more than 40 organizations across the country and has strong bipartisan support. •

I-14 Expansion and Improvement Act of 2019 - This legislation, also referred to as the “Forts to Ports” bill, will extend the future I-14 interstate highway to additional areas in Texas and along the Gulf Coast. This bill will further connect key military installations to strategic seaports, enhancing their readiness as well as America’s national security.

HURRICANE RECOVERY Further, Dr. Babin, who represents the 36th congressional district, was influential in helping pass several hurricane recovery bills that targeted billions of dollars in relief funds and mitigation dollars for Texas. The week prior to the luncheon, he joined other Texas members to make a push

San Jacinto College Chancellor Dr. Brenda Hellyer chats with Bastion Technologies COO Dr. Jayant Ramakrishnan, as they await the start of the BAHEP luncheon.

Bay Area Houston Magazine | JULY 2019

Charlton Cotton and Joan McKinney Mitchell of Norman Frede Chevrolet join the crowd at the BAHEP luncheon.

that these billions of dollars, which are held up by several federal agencies, are released within 60 days. Additionally, the congressman reported that regulatory reform remains one of his priorities in order to allow and promote free flowing commerce, which includes harbor maintenance. Dr. Babin has long supported harbor maintenance, from advocating for additional port funds in the presidential budget to recently sending a letter to the Administration calling for the Port of Houston to be dredged and widened. “The Port of Houston continues to be an incredible economic driver, not just in Texas, but in the U.S. economy as a whole, and I have and will continue to advocate for harbor resources and to have the Port here in Houston dredged and widened,” he continued. COMMITTED TO JSC Relative to the nation’s space industry, the congressman remains committed to ensuring that the Johnson Space Center maintains a leading role in NASA’s human space flight, science, technology development, and deep space exploration efforts. Last session he proposed H.R. 6910, the leading Human Spaceflight Act, which recognized JSC as the logical center to serve a lead role in program management, systems engineering, program integration, and operations outlined in NASA’s Human Space Exploration Campaign and the Administration’s Moon to Mars efforts. Additionally, H.R. 6910 promoted a policy leading to a permanent and continuous U.S. human presence in low earth orbit and authorized NASA to operate the Space Station until 2030, or until there is a demonstrated, sustainable, lower cost alternative. Following the luncheon, Congressman Babin met privately with BAHEP President Bob Mitchell and a group of mayors in order to provide them an opportunity to express their concerns regarding issues important to the region. The mayors who attended the briefing were: Michel Bechtel, Morgan’s Point; Pat Hallisey, League City; Jon Keeney, Taylor Lake Village; Thom Kolupski, Seabrook; and Louis R. Rigby, La Porte.

JULY 2019 | Bay Area Houston Magazine

[EDUCATION]

Clear Creek ISD announces 2019 Teachers of the Year

Clear Creek ISD Superintendent Dr. Greg Smith congratulates 2019 Secondary Teacher of the Year Alaina Garza, left, of Clear Brook High and 2019 Elementary Teacher of the Year Lyzette Ruiz of Ed White Elementary during the luncheon at South Shore Harbour Resort.

he Rotary Clubs

of Space Center, Seabrook and League City honored Clear Creek ISD’s 44 campus teachers of the year and announced the 2019 Elementary and Secondary Teachers of the Year at a luncheon at South Shore Harbour Resort May 20. Lyzette Ruiz of Ed White Elementary was chosen 2019 CCISD Elementary Teacher of the Year. The kindergarten teacher has become a leader on her campus by supporting campus and district initiatives to build stronger literacy foundations and improve personalized learning strategies. As she explained in her Teacher of the Year application, “I have a strong

desire to empower students to take ownership of their own learning and give them the opportunity to rejoice in their capabilities.” Clear Brook High School science teacher, Alaina Garza, is the 2019 CCISD Secondary Teacher of the Year. A 12-year CCISD teacher, Garza works to cultivate a passion for science through a variety of techniques for different learning styles. SELF ADVOCACY Outside the classroom, she is dedicated to promoting self-advocacy in all her students by supporting studentcentered platforms such as TEDxClearBrookHighSchool and Safe School Ambassadors. “By asking

Commissioner Garcia offers free SAT prep courses to students

ommissioner Adrian Garcia is working to fulfill his promise to make education a priority by launching a free test-prep program. In partnership with Project GRAD Houston, Harris

County Precinct 2 will now offer a free 4-week course that will help students prepare for the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT). The session will be held in multiple locations throughout the Precinct starting July 27, 2019 to

Bay Area Houston Magazine | JULY 2019

questions, students will generate their own ideas,” she said. “As educators, we must create platforms for them to express and exchange these ideas.” “Thank you to the Rotary Clubs of Space Center, Seabrook and League City for their ongoing support of our outstanding teachers in Clear Creek ISD,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Greg Smith said. “Together with our Rotary Clubs, we are proud to applaud these special educators for inspiring their school communities.” In addition to the award winners, Clear Creek ISD also congratulated the other four 2019 finalists: Ashley Hosek, Bauerschlag Elementary 1st grade teacher; Angela Sanders, Greene Elementary 3rd grade teacher; Kelly Boultinghouse, League City Intermediate science teacher; and Laura Dunham, Clear Lake High School Family and Consumer Science teacher. NEXT STEP Ruiz and Garza will now advance to the regional and then possibly state selection process for Texas Teacher of the Year. In addition to $1,500 from the Rotary Clubs of League City, Seabrook and Space Center, the Elementary and Secondary Teacher of the Year will each receive a custom commemorative ring from Balfour. Finalists received $750 each. A total of 44 teachers were selected to represent their respective campus in the community’s search for the District’s Elementary School Teacher of the

Elementary Armand Bayou Elementary Jenifer Gilmore Bauerschlag Elementary Ashley Hosek Bay Elementary Micaela Cowan Brookwood Elementary Kathryn Grindstaff Clear Lake City Elementary Natalie Szczypien Falcon Pass Elementary Caitlin Turner Ferguson Elementary Rebecca Nations Gilmore Elementary Jason Gardner Goforth Elementary Julia Simon Greene Elementary Angela Sanders Hall Elementary Heather Weger Hyde Elementary Allison Etzel Landolt Elementary Rachel Willard League City Elementary Janice Green McWhirter Elementary Lucero Munoz Raba Mossman Elementary Josephine Burke North Pointe Elementary Melody Tanigawa Parr Elementary Christie Morgan Robinson Elementary

Aug. 22. Precinct 2 residents and students will be able to take part in these classes twice a week from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. “I believe education is the key to success and I want to make sure that everyone has all access to every educational opportunity,” said Commissioner Garcia. SAT exams are essential for the admission to colleges and universities throughout the United

States. Prep courses could range an average of $200 to $900. Thanks to Commissioner Garcia’s partnership, students can now register and take this course for free. “This is an opportunity for all the students that have a dream to move on to higher institutions to get professional and a wellstructured curriculum for their SAT preparations,” said Commissioner Garcia.

Year and the Secondary Education Teacher of the Year. They also were recognized at the luncheon. Beyond educating students, the following teachers have also been identified as a leader on their campus, working collaboratively with coworkers to improve the school culture. The CCISD 2019 Teachers of the Year are:

Rhonda Koenig Ross Elementary Alexandra Adams Stewart Elementary Erika Greer Ward Elementary Krysta Walthall Weber Elementary Bao Khanh Truong Wedgewood Elementary Cal Hitchman Whitcomb Elementary Melissa Hedrick White Elementary Lyzette Ruiz Secondary Bayside Intermediate Tiffany Levesque Brookside Intermediate Emily Soderdahl Clear Creek Intermediate Gilberto Bonet Clear Lake Intermediate Terri Nicolosi Creekside Intermediate Amy Watkins League City Intermediate Kelly Boultinghouse Seabrook Intermediate Katharine Moore Space Center Intermediate Crystal Delaney Victory Lakes Intermediate Veronica Quiballo Westbrook Intermediate Danielle Muesse-Caples Clear Brook High School Alaina Garza Clear Creek High School Elizabeth Radicioni Clear Falls High School Hany Rezk Clear Horizons High School Carmen Hampton Clear Lake High School Laura Dunham Clear Path High School Rafael Sepulveda Clear Springs High School Melody Hermes Clear View High School Ann Sebastian For eligibility, applicants must be registered to take the SAT exam on Aug. 24, 2019 and be a resident or student in Precinct 2. Applications must be submitted by Friday, July 12. To learn more about the program, applicants can call (713) 274-2130, visit www.hcp2.com/testprepto download application, or email testprep@hcp2.com