9 minute read
Features
from February 2021
Contreras Flower Shop Blooms in Schertz
By Stan Leland
The story of Contreras Flowers & Gifts begins like several other businesses in Schertz, with Randolph Air Force Base. In 1961 Fred and Vicki Contreras were stationed at Randolph and decided to buy a house at 817 Main St. Fred worked with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and a few years later they were transferred to Washington, D.C. where they spent almost 10 years. Vicki had worked as a bookkeeper at a florist shop in San Marcos when she attended college, so she decided to work with a florist in the upscale Georgetown, Maryland area. Instead of bookkeeping, she became one of the designers making and arranging flowers.
In 1972 Fred and Vicki moved back to their old house in Schertz, and with two small children, Vicki wanted a job close to home. She had the administrative experience of running a flower shop from her San Marcos days and had the design experience and customer service experience from her Georgetown position. “Why not use the garage and set up your own flower shop?”, suggested Fred. With a combination of excitement and trepidation known uniquely to entrepreneurs, Vicki started Contreras Flowers & Gifts.
For five years Vicki worked diligently from her garage. Her simple business strategy was to “provide quality flowers and good personal service”. After five years the business needed a larger space. When you consider that the population of Schertz in 1980 was 7,200 people that growth was no small accomplishment. When the house next door was put up for sale, they bought it, moved next door, and converted the original house into the Flower Shop. While growing the business and caring for the family, the Contreras’ still found time to be involved in the Schertz community. Fred was a member of the Schertz Volunteer Fire Department shortly after it was established in 1956 by 12 local businessmen. Vicki was part of the Auxiliary Fire Department as well. For fifteen years in the late ’90s and early 2000s, Fred was the official Fire Department Santa Claus each Christmas for the Schertz community, and the Contreras Family also won 1st place in many of the Schertz Christmas Lighting competitions. In March 1994, Fred was named a City of
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Schertz Star of the Month by Mayor Earl Sawyer. They were also a part of the Lions Club and the Knights of Columbus.
Today the business employs up to six designers during the busy seasons around Valentine's Day, Mother’s Day, and Christmas. During those busy times they have six delivery people including Vicki’s son Alfred who normally takes care of the administrative duties and will someday take over the business. However, when the pressure is on to deliver on time it’s “all hands on deck”.
After 49 years in the business, Vicki has a multigenerational customer base. “I have high school students buying corsages whose parents bought corsages from me when they were in high school,” smiled Vicki. During those five decades, Vicki has seen H-E-B enter the flower business, and several other small flower shops have come and gone in Schertz as well. Despite the increased competition, “quality flowers and personal service” has continued to sustain Contreras Flowers & Gifts.
After 60 years of marriage, Vicki’s husband, Fred passed away in 2017. Some might think she should retire and take things easy, but not Vicki. “I enjoy what I do,” says Vicki. “I could retire, but as long as I can continue to walk next door from my house, I will keep serving my customers”.
By: Kira Villarreal
The City of Schertz welcomed new Emergency Management Coordinator Summer Hall this past September. During a year that was clearly more challenging than most in terms of emergency planning, her arrival could not have come at a better time. Hall has spent nearly her entire career in the field of emergency management and now brings her expertise to help the city face its current challenges, but she also has big plans to ensure that Schertz is prepared for whatever lies ahead.
Prior to this position, Hall worked in emergency management in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area for more than 15 years. Her interest in the field was initially sparked by an elective class in disaster recovery that she took during college. This eventually led her to complete her degree in Emergency Administration and Disaster Planning and then go on to earn a master’s degree in public administration. She began her career south of the Washington, D.C area soon after 9/11, where she gained valuable experience working on major planning efforts and responding to three federally declared disasters. Hall loved her career choice from the very beginning. “I’ve always appreciated community service and knew that I wanted to do something purposeful,” she said. “I was really excited to start my career doing something that could help my community.”
After her work in southern Maryland, Hall was happy to have the opportunity to return to Texas, where she was raised, and work for the Fort Worth - Tarrant County Office of Emergency Management and the City of Lewisville. Her arrival in the Schertz area was more recent. She relocated to the San Antonio area three years ago after her husband, who also works in emergency management, took a job in the area. She then spent the next three years teaching middle school at Northside ISD before the emergency management position in Schertz became available.
Hall’s arrival at the City of Schertz marks the first time that there has been a position specifically dedicated to the task of emergency management. Prior to this, the responsibility had been shouldered by individuals who also had other full-time responsibilities. Since her arrival, much of Hall’s time has understandably been consumed with helping to plan the city’s coronavirus response, but she is ultimately responsible for developing the city’s emergency management plan. In doing so, she will bring together all city departments to ensure that they are prepared to make a coordinated response to all types of potential disasters. “Summer Hall has been an outstanding addition to the City of Schertz staff,” says City Manager Dr. Mark Browne. “She hit the ground running as soon as she arrived and has continued to take the Emergency Management Coordinator position to new heights. She has great plans for the future and has been instrumental in helping the City manage the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Beginning her new position in the middle of a global pandemic brought its own set of unique challenges, but Hall is pleased with the warm welcome she has received from the Schertz community. “One of the things that drew me to this opportunity was the culture of the city,” she said. “They were interested in engaging with their residents and everyone has been very open to hearing new ideas and looking for opportunities to refine existing processes.” Among those opportunities is Hall’s plan for a schedule of master planning training exercises, a major initiative on which she will be focusing as she looks toward the future. The emergency management plan consists of 23 different functional areas, called annexes. These include key processes and
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issues that would need to be managed during a crisis – things like emergency communications, shelter management, disaster recovery, and even a plan to manage the influx of donations that often come in during such situations. Hall’s effort will be a strategic approach to plan, train, and execute an exercise in each functional area within a five-year period. After evaluating the success of each exercise, insights and knowledge gained from the exercise will then be used to improve and update the emergency management plan.
Other plans for the year include the implementation of a new emergency notification system, called CivicReady, which can notify residents about severe weather and many other types of hazards in their area. Residents can opt-in to receive notifications via text or email. The city is currently working to inform residents about this service and encourage them to sign up. CivicReady is expected to be rolled out in early 2021.
Hall is aware of the challenges she faces in the year ahead. She notes that emergency management can sometimes be more challenging in a smaller city like Schertz because it requires the same amount and type of work as a larger city, but often with more limited staff and resources. However, Hall is ready for the challenge and is confident that she can leverage her available resources carefully and creatively to make the biggest impact. “Summer has been an outstanding addition to our team bringing a tremendous amount of energy and knowledge to the EMC position,” comments Fire Chief Kade Long. “She is always willing to jump in and get started on any new project, and she is not afraid of a challenge. She joined our team during this difficult time of COVID-19 but showed right away that she was willing to jump right in and face any challenge with an optimistic and cando attitude. I anticipate that she will bring new and innovative programs and solutions to the citizens of Schertz.”
One of the things Hall is most excited about here in Schertz is the opportunity to engage the community with some new programs for the public. She has plans for emergency preparedness fairs and similar events, believing that ordinary citizens can and should play a major role in disaster preparedness. “I really want to get the community engaged in personal preparedness so the city can stretch its resources further during a crisis,” says Hall. “This is where I get the most reward as well - when I see the city and the citizens come together to be a really fully prepared community.”
