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Doc’s BBQ dishes up barbecued brisket, chicken, and all the fixins for the Chamber of Commerce awards program. JAN WHITE | HCC

By Jan White
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CROCKETT – On Thursday, Feb. 17, members of the Crockett Area Chamber of Commerce attended what was hand’s down one of their most successful awards banquets. Attendees were treated to an entertaining evening of music, food, prizes, games, and most importantly, raised approximately $25,000 for scholarships, operations and member programs.

For this year’s “Crockett Area Roundup,” the Civic Center was transformed into an Old West town, complete with a ‘saloon’ and a ‘jail’ photo op, classic movie clips from John Wayne western movies, and Board members dressed in 1800s western garb. Tables lined the walls, jam-packed with items donated for the raffle and auction, awaiting bids. Local band Barely Legal furnished background music while guests enjoyed a fabulous charcuterie table provided Margaret Broughton’s Cattleman’s Café and a classically delicious meal from Doc’s BBQ and Smoked Meats.

During the event, various Chamber Board members announced awards honoring members who contributed their time and efforts to benefit the community in 2021. The following were recognized for their service: Darryl Bennett, Andrea Hill, and Leanne Henson for their years as Board Members, Gary White for Volunteer of the Year, Cheryl Varner for Ambassador of the Year, and Dr. Christopher Haeckler as Citizen of the Year. Rising Star awards were presented to Keshia’s Café, The Loft, S2 Nutrition, and Scrumptious Fried Pies and Pastries. The Chairman’s Award of Excellence went to Leanne Henson, and Business of the Year was awarded to Crockett Medical Center.

After participating in a fundraising ‘dessert dash’ where members vied to be the first to claim their favorite dessert, an auction was held to raise additional scholarship funds. Ansel Bradshaw was the auctioneer for the evening and, as always, used his skills to encourage the highest possible bids. Then Chamber president Carey Minter announced the names of the lucky raffle winners.

The evening ended with a word from the Executive Director of the Chamber, Liza Clark, who thanked everyone for attending the event and contributing to the scholarship fund. 

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Lawyer JolleyBy Jan White
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CROCKETT – Lawyer C. Jolley was born in Crockett, Texas. Because his parents divorced when he was five, Lawyer and his siblings were raised by their grandparents, who made their living as sharecroppers and truck farmers. Of the experience, Lawyer relates, “We never really knew we were poor because there was always food on the table, clothes on our back, a roof over our head, and a household full of love.” And like many children raised on a farm, Lawyer was expected to do his share of chores around the house and in the barnyard, which meant shoveling hay to the livestock, slopping the hogs, gathering eggs, and feeding the chickens. Early on, he learned the value of hard work to succeed. Daily prayer, bible study, and church attendance were also a vital part of his growing up. Lawyer’s grandparents were devout believers who impressed him with the importance of a relationship with God and how that would define every other relationship. They also instilled the value of other people, no matter their color, creed, sex, or socioeconomic status. This lesson served him through every aspect of his life. 

Education was important to the Jolley family. Lawyer’s grandmother, being a strict disciplinarian, set, in his words, “remarkably high standards of performance for him and his siblings.” As a result, Lawyer was expected to achieve exceedingly high levels of academic performance. And he did. He became the first in his immediate family to obtain a college degree. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (BSME) from Prairie View A&M University and later a Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) from Texas A&M University, graduating with honors from both institutions. 

 After graduation, Lawyer went to work for Phillips Petroleum Company and progressed through the company from first-line supervision to several mid-level manager positions.  In 1995, he became the first African American to be promoted to a Plant Manager position. Lawyer continued to rise in the Company ranks, with promotion after promotion, always maintaining a high level of confidence with upper management. In each of his assignments, he was the first African American in Chevron Phillips to hold those positions, opening the door for more African Americans to follow. Some of them he mentored and are now high-level executives themselves. In 2007, Lawyer became General Manager and President of Chevron Phillips Performance Pipe Division with some 650 employees in nine different locations throughout the United States.  He retired as the Worldwide Conduct of Operations Manager for all of Chevron Phillips Chemical Company L.P.

It was never Lawyer’s intent to choose Crockett as his retirement location. But to paraphrase the Scripture, “our plans are not always God’s plans.” The Jolley family still owned property in the area, and Lawyer had returned off and on his whole life to visit family and friends. And he never lost his love for the place where he grew up - the fishing, the hunting, and just nature in general. As luck, or some might say “divine intervention,” would have it, none of the properties he and his wife considered for retirement met their criteria. Crockett, it turns out, was ideally situated between Dallas, Houston, and Austin, where their children and grandchildren reside. So from a destination standpoint, it was perfect.

Then there was that divine intervention thing again.

Lawyer served multiple positions in the church throughout his life - from teacher to convention leader, from Sunday School director to secretary, from treasurer to deacon, from youth director to singing in the choir. He firmly believes that the skills and gifts that God gave him to accomplish his career goals at Chevron Phillips were now intended to further the kingdom of God. Although it wasn’t easy for him to leave the industry he’d been a part of for so long, his trust in God convinced Lawyer to begin a new chapter in his life. In 2020, he was ordained as a minister at First Baptist Church in Pearland and is now enrolled in B.H. Carroll Theological Institute pursuing a Master of Divinity degree. 

As for what the future holds, Lawyer again is trusting in God to reveal the right path. Currently, he leads a small weekly Bible Study group on Tuesday evenings, which he hopes will continue to grow in membership and diversity. But he is also considering establishing a fully multi-cultural church in the area or assisting a church with the aspiration of becoming one. Inclusion is a concept that Lawyer is acquainted with, having experienced exclusion first-hand as the only African American in boardrooms across corporate America. Empathetic to the plight, Lawyer has used his own experience as a motivation to do all he can to make sure no one else endures the same. 

In the meantime, Lawyer enjoys operating his small ranch, visiting with the grandkids,  taking part in civic and community activities, and just spending time in the outdoors getting back to his roots. Regarding his life’s journey so far, Lawyer stated, “You will never find me crediting brilliance or any other human attributes for my success, for it is undeniable that God’s hand has always been on my life, and for that, I am eternally grateful!”

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2022 Lovefest Queen is Ms. Magali Castillo

By Jan White
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LOVELADY – It didn’t take long for the parents, students, teachers, and friends packing the Lovelady gym to learn who won the honor of being named 2022 Lovefest Queen. The ceremony, which took place on Thursday, Feb. 10, began with a welcome by Emcees Alexis Bodden and Ace Easton, who moved quickly to the first order of business – introducing last year’s Queen and this year’s Royal Court.

2021 Lovefest Queen Kyra Rogers was escorted to the stage area by crown bearer Hayes Davidson and Flower Girl Ariel Bird. Then the rest of the procession began. Seventh Grade Princess Zoe Burdett, escorted by Bryson Franklin and Eighth Grade Princess D’Janayah Simpson and her escort CJ Wiley followed. Then, making their way to the stage were the candidates for Lovefest Queen: Freshman Libby Ray and her escort James Gatlin, Sophomore Aaliyah Jones and her escort Oscar Sutton, Junior Courtney Spoerle and her escort Seth Enos, and Senior Magali Castillo and her escort Conner Martinez.

Emcee Alexis Bodden explained that the 2022 Queen was chosen from the accumulated scores of a written essay and an impromptu four-minute speech. Ace Easton then took to the mike and announced, “And now the moment we have all been waiting for – the 2022 Lovefest Queen is Ms. Magali Castillo, representing the Senior class.” Following her crowning by former Queen Kyra Rogers, Ms. Castillo, escort Conner Martinez, and the rest of the Royal Court took their places on stage to watch the evening’s entertainment. 

The program began with Pre-K and kindergarten students performing a dance routine to Elvis Presley’s “Hound Dog,” followed by a duet of “High Hopes” by Emma Yauger and Christina Ray. Next up, Ledisi Taylor and Crew and their backup singers and dancers performed a routine to Beyonce’s “Halo.” Louis Armstrong’s chart-topper “What a Wonderful World” was the backdrop for the first and second-grade performance. Then the action kicked up a little with a feisty routine by The Git Up Dancers, followed by Billy McMillan’s rendition of George Strait’s “Heartland.” Seth, Remington, and Clara Dagle delivered a foot-stomping, hand-clapping version of “My God Fights For Me.” The third and fourth grade performed to the jazzy hit “L.O.V.E.” and the evening concluded with Quade McLaughlin’s percussion accompaniment to the KISS classic “Rock and Roll All Night.” 

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By Jan White

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CROCKETT – During the meeting of the Crockett Economic and Industrial Development Corporation board of directors, held on Tuesday, Feb. 8, Brian Aiken, Assistant Superintendent for the Crockett Independent School District, shared his vision for working with the CEIDC, Deep East Texas Workforce, and local businesses to help implement vocational and technical education programs. 

A recent addition to the CISD, Aiken laid out his goals and ideas to the Board. Because of his background, Aiken understands and has identified the need for working with at-risk students to provide educational and vocational opportunities. His hope is to give graduating students more options to help them make positive life choices. Aiken said that CISD wants to partner with agencies like Economic Development and Deep East Texas Workforce to provide training and jobs for students. He believes that the school can achieve long-term, sustainable vocational and technical education objectives by working together with these entities. 

Aiken asked that the CEIDC work specifically with the school district to help open doors with their business partners who could provide training or apprenticeships for students. Executive Director James Gentry mentioned that local businesses, such as Lincoln Lumber, Alloy Polymers, Aquapharm PChem, were looking for skilled workers and stated, “ I’d rather see those positions filled with young people coming out of our community.” 

Both Gentry and Aiken expressed a desire to help give the city’s youth a solid direction for their futures and hope that local businesses will share the vision. Aiken also emphasized the importance of parental involvement to make these goals achievable. He said that the school board will cooperate with the CEIDC to develop a survey to reach out to the community and gather data to find out what businesses, parents, and educators would like to see in the way of targeted vocational and technical education. 

In addition to the discussion by Aiken, CEIDC Board members approved several modifications to bylaws presented by attorney Bill Pemberton. These included allowing all Board members the ability to sign checks, disallowing Mr. Gentry to sign any checks payable to himself, and limiting Board member absences, resulting in expulsion after three consecutive missed meetings.   

The CEIDC also welcomed Wade Thomas and Lawyer Jolley as Ex-Officio members of the Board. The Ex-Officio positions allow the appointees to contribute to discussions and proposals set before the Board, but they do not get to vote on such issues. Thomas is a local businessman and former CEIDC Board member. Jolley is a Crockett native and former operations manager for Chevron Phillips.

Other agenda items included discussions on future modifications to the Onshore Outsourcing contract, proposals for work on the Tech Center, and a project management software company presentation. No actions were taken on the items at this time.