Six Common Money Blunders
LRMC honors law enforcement
Cybersecurity Tips for Travelers
Everyone wins when we support small businesses
TODD STEWART, MD
ER doctor heals with competence and compassion
Small businesses play a critical role in creating jobs, driving economic growth, and contributing to the overall well-being of rural communities. In many areas, they are the backbone of the local economy, providing essential goods and services. It’s important to be patient, as some local businesses do not have the same selection as larger chains and may need to make an order. But they almost always offer unique products not available elsewhere. Here are some examples:
• Local farmers markets: Farmers markets are the place to find fresh produce, and artisanal food products like cheeses, baked goods, and jams.
• Independent bookstores: These businesses offer a curated selection of books, often with a focus on local authors and topics.
• Craft breweries and distilleries: Increasing in popularity, many of these businesses offer unique, locally made beers and spirits.
• Clothing boutiques: Independent boutiques often offer unique, locally made clothing and accessories.
• Home goods and decor shops: These shops can offer unique and interesting products that are locally made, often with a
focus on sustainable and ecofriendly materials.
• Locally based services: Businesses such as local grocery and hardware stores, salons, restaurants, and other services keep small communities thriving. When consumers shop locally, everyone wins, as the money stays in the community, supports other local businesses, and contributes to the overall economic health of the area.
Kim Preston is lending services director, Center for Rural Affairs
From the day you find out to the day you deliver, there’s nothing more important to Longview Regional Medical Center than your and your baby’s health and well-being. This is why we provide extra amenities such as private rooms, spacious birthing suites, childbirth classes and breastfeeding support. And if you and your newest addition need a little extra help, we offer perinatal services that include maternal-fetal medicine specialists and a Level III NICU.
From the day you find out to the day you deliver, there’s nothing more important to Longview Regional Medical Center than your and your baby’s health and well-being. This is why we provide extra amenities such as private rooms, spacious birthing suites, childbirth classes and breastfeeding support. And if you and your newest addition need a little extra help, we offer perinatal services that include maternal-fetal medicine specialists and a Level III NICU.
From the day you find out to the day you deliver, there’s nothing more important to Longview Regional Medical Center than your and your baby’s health and well-being. This is why we provide extra amenities such as private rooms, spacious birthing suites, childbirth classes and breastfeeding support. And if you and your newest addition need a little extra help, we offer perinatal services that include maternal-fetal medicine specialists and a Level III NICU.
For more information about our labor and delivery services, visit LongviewRegional.com/baby.
For more information about our labor and delivery services, visit LongviewRegional.com/baby.
For more information about our labor and delivery services, visit LongviewRegional.com/baby.
903.663.0061
Hello ip readers,
We hope all is well with you, your family, and friends.
Additionally, we appreciate your electronic and hardcopy readership.
Congratulations to all graduates and their parents for a job well done. infinitieplus magazine wishes you the best in your future endeavors.
We are excited to bring you this June infinitieplus magazine edition.
This June edition brings you the story of Dr. Todd Stewart, MD. He is the medical director of emergency medicine at Longview Regional Medical Center. Please read the story from page 6.
We would like to remind everyone, the importance of shopping locally. Sure, there is Amazon and other online stores, but they do not contribute economic and social capital in our community like local businesses do. Please check out the importance of supporting local businesses from page 3.
Furthermore, summer travelling has already begun. ip magazine brought you cyber security tips for your summer vacations. We wish you bon voyage and journey mercies as you hit the road, airports or set sail.
On a different note, money is an
important part of our lives. Hence, we included six common money blunders. The story is from page 12.
Please, flip this magazine to WomenToday. We have several interesting stories and information to gladden your heart.
The cover is about Tequita Yvonne Dudley, her work with Longview Transit and the importance of public transportation. In addition, money and love are topics that are usually off limits especially for women. For this reason, we brought you this piece on how to navigate the land mines in the love, money, and relationship triangle.
Additionally, artificial intelligence (AI) is not only a buzz word, but we also see it in action in our daily lives. AI is all around us. Find out if AI can take over your job in the future. This story is from page 10 on WomenToday.
Thanks for reading infinitieplus magazine. Visit us at www.infinitieplusmag.com . Like and follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ infinitieplusmagazine/
We look forward to serving you again in July by God’s grace. Remain Blessed in the Lord.
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Mary Hunt
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Dr. Michael Guido VOLUME 13 |
Women Today Inspiration
Business and Finance
Puzzle
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Community Connections
More people are using emergency room services. Dr. Todd Stewart and his highly competent team see more patients who suffered strokes, heart attacks, gunshot wounds, motor vehicle/ motorcycle/ATV accidents, babies with high fever and more. Stewart and his team are taking their emergency medicine to higher heights turning Longview Regional Medical Center Emergency Room into an enormously robust Trauma Center in the east Texas region.
r. Todd Stewart is the medical director of emergency medicine at Longview Regional Medi-
Dcal Center, (LRMC). He is a board certified and experienced emergency medicine specialist.
Stewart started his undergraduate in aerospace engineering degree at Texas A&M. During the sum-
Recognizes an employee for their dedication, loyalty, attitude, and cooperative spirit.
mer, he attended Emergency Medical Training (EMT). EMTs evaluate a patient and verify if the patient has life threatening injuries or diseases.
"I thought, 'This is me!' This is a life of service
to the community. This is what I want to do," he said.
After graduation with his bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M, he went to study medicine at the University of Texas Medical School in San Antonio.
www.texasbankandtrust.com
After graduation, Stewart stayed on for residency and became part of the initial class for emergency medicine in 2012.
Emergency room doctors do not have the luxury of spending time preparing for their procedures. They have to treat, on the
spur of the moment, patients with life threatening conditions such as drug overdose, shock, and massive blood loss. They have to revive and stabilize patients and transition care to an appropriate endpoint whether it is the ICU, general inpatient bed, another
provider, another hospital, or home.
For this reason, emergency physicians work in teams, collaborating with doctors of other specialties and other staff of the emergency medicine department. Since ER physicians must quickly evaluate
a broad spectrum of ailments/injuries, they have to speedily diagnose and act on each case to arrive at a tentative but accurate evaluation and determine (and immediately start) the appropriate treatment. “Medicine is problem solving.
Contd. on Page 8
Emergency medicine is problem solving that often includes social and legal issues,” he said. “And we want to be able to take care of anyone who is having any medical emergency in our community.”
According to Stewart, more and more people are using emergency room services. Stewart and his highly competent team see more patients who suffered strokes, heart attacks, gunshot wounds, motor vehicle/motorcycle/ATV accidents, babies with high fever and more. Speaking of ER work scope, he said,
“We are men, women and children specialists.” Stewart’s passion is obvious. “I am humbled to be able to take care of patients and make them smile again,” he said. “However, I work with a formidable team who deliver an extraordinarily high level of care.”
Stewart and his team are taking their emergency medicine to higher heights turning Longview Regional Medical Center Emergency Room into an enormously robust Trauma Center in the east Texas region.
During the recent
National Trauma Awareness Month, LRMC held a reception for trauma survivors who had been treated by Dr. Stewart and his team. Patients in attendance lauded the care they received.
The Croft family was struck by a drunk driver, and she went into premature labor. Her premature baby was immediately put into the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, (NICU). Mrs. Croft said, “I survived and my daughter who spent 23 days in NICU is doing well. This is a testament
to the quality of care we received at the Emergency room and hospital. The nurses were amazing and the care they give to us is exceptional.”
Aurora Torrans, a registered nurse at a local clinic, couldn’t agree more. “Our family is very pleased.,” she said. ‘They took very good care of my husband.”
Jamie Odum concurred. Her little girl, Kaymee had a 4-wheeler accident. She punctured her lungs and back besides a broken nose. “She is as good as new,’ said Odum.
Contd. on Page 10
“We have excellent providers who are always striving and doing their utmost best for their patients. We want the sick, the injured and the wounded.”
- Todd Stewart, MD , Director of Emergency Medicine, LRMC.LRMC CEO Steve Gordon, Jamie Odum with daughter Kaymee Connor and ER staff. T he Croft FamILY
“And she is back to riding again.”
Other former patients recounted how the path to healing was unavoidably slow and difficult, but they made it all the way through the gentle compassion, skill, and encouragement of the LRMC ER doctors, nurses, and physical therapists.
The reception was a
gency medicine, is a community and family affair. His son Brady goes to school in Spring Hill, his wife Kelly is a nurse at Longview Regional.
Stewart expresses his gratitude to LRMC leadership team in the
not heal in isolation. We are growing. We are hiring competent local doctors, expanding and increasing access to the best healthcare possible,” he said. “We are your hometown ER doctors and team.
A message from Dr. Todd Stewart, Director of Emergency Medicine at LRMC.
1. We take care of men’s health on a daily basis, come see us.
whirlwind of bittersweet memories and reunions as medical professionals got together with those who at one time had so desperately needed them. LRMC CEO Steve Gordon and his leadership team were also there, enjoying warm fel lowship and memories. For Stewart, medi cine, especially emer
2. When your wife or girlfriend tells you to start going to the emergency room, you need to listen and go. Your health is very important to her and to us.
3. If the doctor wants you to do something, for example lose weight, or start some form of exercise, please do it. The doctor wants you to have a better life.
“I am honored and very privileged to work with the best administration. They are creating access to the best healthcare in the community.”
- Todd Stewart, MD , Director of Emergency Medicine, LRMC.Aurora Torrans, Israel Torrans, and Jayden Torrans with Dr. Todd Stewart at Trauma Survivor’s reception
By MECHELE AGBAYANI MILLS
The world is more connected than ever before, even when on vacation.
If you’re traveling for business or pleasure, you’ll likely be taking a device, or two, or three with you. Learn how to keep your cell phone, laptop, tablet, and other devices, as well as the information stored on them, safe and secure with BBB’s cybersecurity tips for travelers.
BBB provides the following tips to stay secure while traveling:
Only take what you need.
Do you need your cellphone, tablet, and your laptop? Limit yourself to the bare necessities, remembering that any devices you take with you will need looking after.
Keep an eye on your stuff.
Never leave your devices unattended or in the care of a stranger. If you need to leave them in your hotel room, consider locking them in a safe or in your luggage. If you need another latte while catching up
on remote work at a local coffee shop, take your laptop to the counter instead of leaving it on the table. This will keep your information and device safe from prying eyes and thieves waiting for their next opportunity.
Be careful about how you charge up.
Portable chargers or wall outlets are preferable if you need to charge your device in a public space like a coffee shop or an airport. If you must use a public USB port, avoid potential “juice jacking” by choosing to charge only - without sharing datawhen prompted by your device.
Check your settings. Adjust your settings to prepare for travel. Turn off the auto-join feature to avoid connecting to shady Wi-Fi hotspots as you travel. Turn on the “find my phone” feature so you can track your device if it gets lost and disable it if it’s stolen. Check the privacy and security settings on apps and web services and adjust them if needed.
Always enable password protection. Make sure your devices require a password to unlock them. Use a strong password, PIN, fingerprint, or facial scan to ensure a stranger can’t unlock your device.
Keep your antivirus up to date.
Before you leave, ensure your antivirus software is up to date on all your devices. Once you return home, run a scan to make sure you didn’t pick up any malware during your travels.
Back up your files. Back up your photos, files, and any other important digital data you have before and during your trip. That way, you won’t lose your valuable information if your device gets lost or stolen. If you stream, don’t forget to log out .
If you log into any streaming service while away from home, log out before leaving. If you stay signed in, the next visitor to the space can not only use your subscription; they can even access
admin controls to change your password or get a hold of your payment information. If you realize you didn’t log out after you arrived home, don’t panic. Visit the streaming service online, head to your account settings, and choose the option that allows you to log out on all devices.
Use secure Wi-Fi networks. Think twice before using public Wi-Fi networks, especially if they aren’t password protected. Never make a purchase or login into accounts while on public Wi-Fi. Bad actors could be “eavesdropping” on your
connection, waiting for you to reveal sensitive, personal information. Wait until you can access a secure network to carry out important transactions. Or, if you have a cellular connection, use your phone as a personal Wi-Fi hotspot.
By MARY HUNT
Icould be wrong, but I'm going to guess you've made a money blunder or two in your life.
For many of us, it was a nonstop series of blunders that finally brought us to our financial knees.
But I'm not talking about the kind of blunders that got us into trouble. We could list those in our sleep. These are the blunders commonly made while clawing our way back to financial freedom. Avoid these blunders and you'll get there much faster.
Whether out of fear or forgetfulness, keeping all of your money is a serious blunder. Giving away some of your money to help someone else who is in much worse shape than you will do amazing things to your life. Amazing.
This is the blunder most often committed by the person so driven to right all the wrongs yesterday if not sooner, he feels guilty keeping anything for himself. So when even a small
emergency arises he has no choice but to run back to the credit cards that got him into trouble in the first place.
You should not even think about prepaying your mortgage until you have amassed a
respectable emergency fund and paid off all of your unsecured debts. Prepaying your mortgage before achieving those goals is foolish because when something unexpected happens, you'll look to your home's equity for a bail out. Never think of the equity in your home as a bank account from which you can make withdrawals at will.
There is a myth that says you should not pay off your home mortgage, but that you should keep it forever because the interest is tax-deductible. That is an industrial-strength blunder. Deductibility is a "consolation prize" for the person who didn't
win. It softens the blow on expenses that cannot be avoided.
Example: If you are in the 28% tax bracket, and pay $1,000 in deductible mortgage interest per year, that translates to a $280 reduction in your tax bill. If you pay off that mortgage, you lose the $280 tax relief. But guess what? You get to keep the $720. Who in their right mind would chose to pay $720 just to get back $280?
Hopping from one credit card to another as a way of getting in on all the low teaser rates can be a very expensive blunder. There are all kinds of explosives lurking in that fine print. With most cards, it is nearly impossible to stay out of punitive territory. meaning they're going to find some reason to zap you with a big interest rate bump or other ridiculous fee. Then there are blemishes to your credit report for applying for too much credit, inflated fees, and established floors on the interest rates (that number below which the variable interest rate cannot fall).
It sounds great to pay off all your high-interest debts with one low-interest loan, and then have a single smaller payment. But that is usually a big mistake. Consolidation loans are typically tied to one's home equity or a credit card with a lot of hidden fees and punitive rates in the fine print. That's bad enough. But worse, the financially immature person keeps the accounts open (you know, the ones that were paid off with the consolidation loan), falls back into using them again, and sooner than later, runs them right back up to the max. Just don't do it, hear?
Look in the mirror: Do you see yourself in any of these blunders?
Longview Regional Medical Center (LRMC) recently held a reception to honor law enforcement officers during National law Enforcement Week. Hospital staff served the food and beverages, and Judge Tim Bryan was assisting with beverages.
When asked why the luncheon, LRMC chief executive officer Steve Gordon said, “We greatly
appreciate our local law enforcement for that they do. They protect the community. We are very grateful for their contribution to the community.”
The feelings were mutual.
Gregg County Maxey Cerliano said, :”When we all work together everyone wins. We thank Longview Regional Medical Center for their generosity in recognizing the work law enforce does in the community.”
A"monster of disruption."
That's what people are calling artificial intelligence ("AI" to its friends). (And it doesn't have many friends.) Artificial intelligence refers to the ability of computers to think like people. Considering what many people are thinking these days, it might better be called artificial stupidity, but, either way, AI could change the way you work. It could also determine whether you work or not.
In a recent article in The Washington Post, Yan Wu and Sergio Pecanha point out that artificial intelligence is not the first time that new technology has brought changes to how we work, or whether we work at all.
"From lamplighters to switchboard operators to video store clerks, professions have come and gone," Wu and Pecanha write. "We've adjusted."
Of course, some of us have adjusted better than others. Speaking for myself, I am still
quite optimistic that my lamp lighting business will bounce back, big time. Electric light bulbs? That's a fad that will never catch on.
Though recent gains in AI are impressive, the question still remains: Will the new computer-generated capabilities enhance the work of humans or replace humans altogether? The answer is "it depends." If your job demands heavy lifting, you are probably safe. If your job demands heavy thinking, you are probably doomed.
The WaPo article rates the likely mortality of a variety of jobs currently being done by humans. Turns out "public relations specialist" is one of the most seriously threatened, while one of the least affected jobs is "dancer." The outlook for a dancing public relations specialist is not revealed, but if your job requires thinking and judgement, better get yourself to Arthur Murray's, stat.
How can you protect your
job when digital competition comes knocking? Why ask a chatbot when you can ask me?
If there ever was a time to be a big personality at work, this is it. Announce that you are commencing a "deep dive" into company data by arriving at the office wearing scuba gear. Starting a meeting? Activate your inner Swifty by jumping on the conference room table and serenading the team with a rousing rendition of "You'll Never Find Another Like Me." The more obnoxious you can be, the better. And, for the record, I have great faith in your ability to be obnoxious. By showing yourself as a complete weirdo, you're reminding management that you're a unique individual, not just another replaceable cog in the corporate wheelhouse. Will it keep you from being replaced by AI? I'm not sure, but it certainly will be fun to try.
As awful as it is to spend time with your manager, an hour of suffering could save your job. No chatbot will listen to their moans and groans or offer sympathy for the problems with their new Maserati or the price increases on Beluga. Also, important to consider: No chatbot ever picked up a check.
Artificial intelligence systems work by predicting the next most likely word in a sentence. For example, I can
type "the biggest problem in the world today is..." into a chatbot and an AI algorithm will use its massive computer power to come up with the right word, "applesauce."
By collecting, selecting and synthesizing mountains of published data, AI systems are good at providing rational answers. When it comes to crazy, they stink.
Fortunately, you're good at crazy, so don't be afraid to present all the meshuga ideas that you would normally keep to yourself. These could be serious business ideas, like saving money on air-conditioning costs this summer by moving headquarters to the Artic Circle, or ideas for enhancing the company's reputation for honesty by having call center
reps admit that customers' calls are really not important to them (but they do enjoy seeing how long they can keep someone waiting before disconnecting the call).
Full disclosure: These three job-saving ideas came from a human brain, but for the sake of completeness, I asked a powerful artificial intelligence system what advice it had for workers like thee and me, who feel threatened by getting replaced by AI. The response was instantaneous -- "Don't be ridiculous," the chatbot responded. "You have nothing to worry about. You're completely irreplaceable."
Do I believe the computer's response? 100%. But just in case, will somebody tell me where I can sign up for dancing lessons?
oney is the most difficult subject to discuss between two people in love. Why? Several reasons:
It's personal. We're taught as children to never ask how much people earn, what things cost or how much money people have. It's rude; it's poor manners; and it is just not done.
We spend the first two decades of our lives keeping anything related to money hush-hush. We learn to skirt the truth in the interest of personal decorum.
We grow up, enter a relationship, and find that it's not easy to suddenly talk about such personal information.
It's not flattering. We wear clothes that flatter our good points and downplay our flaws. We snap a "selfie," and then retake as many times as necessary to get it just right.
MWe take great pains to present ourselves in the very best light. And when forced to talk about financial issues, well, we do the same thing. We bend the truth, or we omit certain details that don't make us look that great.
It's terrifying. If you're like most people, you're not sure of your financial situation. At. All. You may always be just two steps ahead of a total financial meltdown. If you share that kind of information, your beloved may not think you're such a great catch. You feel that you must be careful here, keeping your terror under wraps.
After all, once you get married and have twice the income to pay for half the expenses (being in love does funny things with math), things will be awesome in no time at all. Don't cause any waves. Stay calm and carry on. Everything is sure to turn out right. Money touches every area
of life in some way. If you and your sweetheart get your money attitudes straight, it will help straighten out almost every other area in your lives. Ask these three questions to cut through all of this and get right to what you need to know:
No. 1: May I see your credit report, please?
If he or she hands it right over, great! You need to reciprocate without question. Trading credit reports will get everything on the table, perhaps even things you did not know existed. Yes, it is scary, and yes, it may be the most difficult thing you will ever do together as you build your relationship. And the most beneficial.
No. 2: Who handled the money in your home when you were a child?
Why this is important: Let's say you discover than your
fiancée’s dad took care of all the bills in a "behind closed doors" fashion, so her mother never had to worry her pretty little head about a thing. If her daddy provided in this way, it is quite possible she assumes the same will be true of her marriage and home. And vice versa.
Of course, there are all kinds of possible scenarios here, but it's a great question for you to ask each other to get the conversation started.
No. 3: "In every relationship/marriage there is a saver and a spender."
Does our relationship fit that statement? Which are you? Which do you believe I am?
Don't hide. Just because you might be the spender doesn't mean you are a spendthrift - or if you are the saver, that you hoard money. No, it just means you have an attitude or bent toward
that way of thinking. Truth be told, the best combination in a marriage is a spender and a saver. This creates balance when both are committed to full transparency and complete honesty.
Mary invites you to visit her at EverydayCheapskate. com, where this column is archived complete with links and resources for all recommended products and services.
According to Wendy Heaps, Erin Abramsohn, and Elizabeth Skillen treatise: Public Transportation In The US: A Driver Of Health And Equity, new or expanded public transportation has several benefits.
• It can improve health and health equity by reducing traffic crashes and air pollution
• Increase physical activity
• Improving access to medical care, healthy food, vital services, employment, and social connection.
• Reduces household expenses, public mortality rates, thus creating healthier lifestyles as well as decreasing highway congestion and emissions into the atmosphere.
• Most important of all, it provides all members of society with freedom of mobility.
decisions for people who need assistance without further ado.
Her faith in the Lord was very apparent in December 2019 when she was diagnosed with COVID-19 pneumonia. The illness deprived her of her lung capacity and kept her on a respirator for four months. Eventually, she was paralyzed and using a wheelchair. For five months, she fought for her life. She was unable to see her family. She witnessed other COVID patients lose their battles with the dreadful contagion. However, Tequita never stopped praying. Her faith in the Lord was unshaken.
For these reasons Tequita is diligent and devoted to her work. “Every day, I direct activities related to dispatching, route studies, customer service, tracking transit vehicles and monitoring drivers," she says. "At any given time, I could be redirected to handle an event getting out of control, help a homeless person find shelter, or provide medical attention."
Sometimes, her drive to help riders moves her to re-rout those who get off at the wrong bus stop, monitor customer movements and track their buses. Transit is the perfect job for this woman whose life revolves around the welfare of others.
"I love helping people and watching people on the move," she says. "When someone asks me for shelters at a location or route changes, I like to provide it."
It all connects with her faith in the Holy Trinity because it allows her to make cogent
"I learned to walk again and gained enough strength to return to work after the doctors told me I would be paralyzed and on oxygen the rest of my life," she says. "I have to say, my work family made coming back easy. I can't thank them enough for the love and support during that difficult time."
Now that she is back at work, she is more enthusiastic than ever about her job, inviting "the community" to come and ride on Transit. Furthermore, Longview Transit offers free travel training to those interested in making a career out of public transportation.
Public Transit Advisory committee meetings are open to the public. For more information on this resource contact Tequita at (903) 743-2287 #12 or at tdudley@longviewtransit.com. Her community involvement, however, goes far beyond the public transit system.
What’s more, she serves as treasurer of the Zonta Club of Longview, Longview High School Z-Club Sponsor/liaison between Longview High and Zonta, chairs the Community Health Core Foundation, the Kilgore College Advisory Board, Aspire Mentor/Mentor and Group Facilitator, member of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials, is a graduate of the Leadership Longview Class of 2013-2014, for six years has been a CourtAppointed Special Advocate (CASA); is a member of Sigma Beta Delta, is a member/usher of Red Oak Baptist Church.
Over and above that, since 2018 Tequita has been a World Safety Organization (WSO)
Certified Safety Executive. She is responsible for the policies, programs and methods of whatever organization or entity that employs the individual. The objective is to control various hazards, risks and obstacles that threaten people, resources, and the environment. For more information on the WSO visit http://worldsafety.org/wsoprofessional-certifications/.
Despite stretching her busy schedule, Tequita finds time for pleasurable pursuits. She enjoys travelling. She is careful to check out public transportation in cities she visits in order to acquire insight as someone in a new city (such as travelers to
Longview) might feel about using that city's municipal transportation system, giving her empathy with visitors.
"I traveled to London to see how it would feel to be in another country traveling without an assistant," she says. "It was difficult, confusing and scary." She took this lesson to heart, and it leads her to, “provide sensitive training to our operators.”
Credit: “Public Transportation In The US: A Driver Of Health And Equity,” Health Affairs Health Policy Brief, July 29, 2021. DOI: 10.1377/ hpb20210630.810356
"I love helping people and watching people on the move. When someone asks me for shelters at a location or route changes, I like to provide it."
– Tequita Yvonne DudleyWT cover photo by Mr. Swan Photography Longview Transit: Front: Diana Johnston, Clinton Williams, Cynthia Bowser, Debra Davis, Back Row: Dana Lester, Albert Cabrera, Elo Jean Baptiste, Tequita Dudley, and Ladell Coleman.
She started with DEAR Unit in Sabine Valley as a service assistant in 1995, providing transportation for the facility's clients as they transitioned from drug treatment and sought jobs, housing, and local resources.
"It was a difficult task because at that time people didn't want anything to do with someone on drugs or coming home from drug treatment," she says. "I was dedicated to their success and built relationships with people in the community who would help them."
After the Unit closed, Tequita moved on to the local Youth Shelter, working with less-fortunate children until that facility closed three years later. She then embarked on her
career in public transportation. She enrolled in truck driving school and earned her commercial driver's license. She spent several months on the open road in an eighteenwheeler. Tequita came back to Longview when she learned about the new transit agency. She started as a transit bus driver three years and earned a promotion to transit supervisor.
"At that time Edward Esparza was the general manager," she says. "He had little training to give me but gave me the opportunity to grow by providing the resources I needed to do the job."
After twenty years in Transit transportation, she is seeing it proliferate into all areas of
public transit. She regularly attends quality seminars offering certifications in various fields. In addition, Tequita keeps Longview up to date on all current trends and technology, even finding time to acquire her World Safety Organization certificate, which is exceedingly difficult and rare. She was at the heart of the procedure last November when the City of Longview/ Longview Transit took over Greyhound as the sole man ticket agent between Dallas and Shreveport. Tequita is now the local Greyhound manager. Public transportation is a central aspect of modern urban and rural infrastructure with many benefits.
"I discovered a closed fist can't receive God's blessings. I lea rned to be a giver because my mother gave especially to strangers. That qual ity alone has given me an advantage in the business
Tequita Yvonne Director of Operations\Greyhound Manager By JOYCELYNE FADOJUTIMI, IP MAGAZINE www.infinitieplusmag.com
Tequita Yvonne Dudley learned significantly from parents: father Charles Dudley and her mother Gloria Jackson. As a single mother, Tequita, did a great job of raising her son Trymaine Dudley. He has 2 children, Chance, and T-Liyah Dudley. There is no gainsaying, Tequita adores her two beloved
grandchildren.
The lessons she learned growing up makes Tequita one of Longview's chief success stories.
"My mother instilled the values of hard work and giving," she says. "Growing up I watched her work hard to provide for our family. If that meant working two or three jobs she sacrificed and stepped up to the plate without hesitation."
As the oldest child, Tequita learned quickly the demands her station in life required. She cared selflessly for little brother Marlon and baby sister Shalanda. Babysitting and performing household duties were tasks she gravitated to uncomplainingly. Her mother, who "never met a stranger," showed her the value of treating others the way she would have them treat her.
"I discovered a closed fist can't receive God's blessings," she says. "I learned to be a giver because my mother gave especially to strangers. That quality alone has given me an advantage in the business world."
Her father Charles taught her to not settle for well enough because, "anyone can be average." Moreover, she honors her parents because of their faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ.
Sundays were days for celebration. She attended church with her grandmother and returned home for a sumptuous dinner with family and friends. It is important to note, her grandmother emphasized the importance of family unity and Christian values. Tequita compared it to most 21st century families.
"Families often live under the same roof and never see each other, let alone communicate,"
she says. Still, hers has remained close and mutually supportive. They love each other’s company and teach same family values to their children.
Furthermore, education is important in her family. Tequita nabbed her associate degree from Kilgore College. Later, she pulled down a bachelor's degree in business administration from Texas College, (TC).
Tequita can be described as a life-long learner with various continuing education courses. For example, she attends the annual Federal Transit Association Drug and Alcohol Conference. Moreover, she serves as the Drug and Alcohol Program Manager for Longview Transit. Hence, she keeps abreast with policies and procedures, thereby insuring the organization stays compliant for a yearly audit.
Currently, she is working on her ADA Paratransit Manager Certification.
Tequita has been with Longview Transit for twenty years. She started as driver with the new Longview Transit then. Her excellent work ethic earned her a supervisory position. But wait, that is not all. She got another promotion and became the director of operation. Again, in 2016, she was promoted to the assistant general manager position.
She mused on her younger days. "In 1988, while in high school, I worked for the city of Longview in the traffic department as a clerk," she says. "As a child growing up, I had dreams of working in an office in a high rise with a beautiful view, helping people." Tequita’s aspiration of assisting people in need incrementally came to fruition.
world."
Dudley,City celebrates Longview Transit 20-year progress with a ribbon cutting
