Volunteer – Page 5 – Center for Law, Engagement, and Politics

Huntsville’s Scary Square–2023

LEAP began assisting with the Scare on the Square in 2005, which may have been Main Street’s first such “stab” at the event. Well, for the 19th time, we “suited up” for this Halloween ritual that brings in thousands of people from the community together for a safe day of fun.

This time, though, we worked in a somewhat different capacity and there were a few new twists (of the knife).

A few weeks ago, Jessica Cuevas, LEAP’s co-Vice President of Operations, was brought in by the City of Huntsville to supervise the event as the Interim Main Street Manager. So, LEAP Ambassadors worked as “special assistants”–“Igors,” so to speak–to help the event run smoothly.

And, after years of taking place directly on the square, the event was shifted one block south so as not to interfere with customer parking for downtown businesses.

But as in past years, the event was a huge draw for local residents and a lot of fun for everyone. Vendors offered many options of food and drink, allowing visitors to “pick their poison.” More than 50 local organizations participated, including two of Professor Yawn’s classes. These students, being future attorneys, were the most frightening characters of all.

The Fire Department was again on hand, doing community service.

While many of the selfie stations were similar to past years, a new attraction was the 21st century photo booth, which takes a video from a 360-degree view. It was, in short, a “scream.”

Of course for most of the kids, the real attractions were the games and the candy. There were ring tosses on witches’ hats…

…pumpkin decorating…

…a Jurassic Trunk…

…ghost bowling…

…a cauldron toss, an eyeball toss…

…basketball shooting, face-painting…

…and many others. Thankfully, the costumes were diverse this year, with fewer Barbies than one might have expected.

For our part, we dressed as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It was a bit of a change for us, as we’re not exactly ninja material, but we enjoyed it nonetheless.

The result, according to the City of Huntsville’s Economic Development Coordinator, Tammy Gann, “perhaps the best attended Scare on the Square we’ve had.” It was, at least for us, certainly one of the most satisfying.

Ariza Martinez, the Main Street intern for the fall, had the opportunity to take the lead in organizing a community event of this scale for the very first time.

It was her chance to showcase her creativity and adaptability while making a positive impact on our community.

The City of Huntsville staff–Aron Kulhavy, Tammy Gann, Angela Robinson–were great! Continuing on the superhero theme, which may have been open to interpretation for some, was a “super” sight! Regarded as Huntsville’s unsung heroes, it was a true joy to see them enjoying the day’s festivities.

As for the Ambassadors, we “shelled” out lots of fun and truly enjoyed ourselves in Huntsville’s downtown, well, most of us.

While our ninja skills may have been questionable, our enthusiasm was undeniable.

Celebrating Sam Houston

On this week 187 years ago, Sam Houston was inaugurated as the first-ever President of the Republic of Texas. Almost two centuries later, his legacy continues, in large part because of the great work done by Sam Houston State University and the Sam Houston Memorial Museum and Republic of Texas Presidential Library.

Tuesday night, the Museum celebrated not only the anniversary of Houston’s inauguration, but also the addition of numerous new and impressive artifacts to its large collection. And speaking of impressive, the celebration was just that!

Derrick Birdsall, Director of the Museum, opened the program with remarks at 6:30, introducing President White and the many other notable guests in attendance.

President White also spoke, highlighting Houston’s legacy, discussing his impact and relevance, not only to Texas history, but also to our own time, and also noting the role that the Museum plays in attracting students to SHSU.

Mikey Sproat, Curator of Collections, also took to the podium, discussing the addition of artifacts to the Museum and pointing to their centrality to understanding Texas history and Houston’s life.

The most prominently displayed artifact in the rotunda was Sam Houston’s commission as Commander in Chief of the Texas Army.

Included on the display is a QR code that allows visitors to scan and learn more about the document–one of many efforts the Museum has made to scale up the accessibility of their online artifact collection, which supplements the physical presentation of their artifacts.

But the allure of the Museum goes beyond the presentation and artifacts; it is also tied to the people who work and visit the Museum. Accordingly, the LEAP Ambassadors were thrilled to help for the event when asked by Director Birdsall. Our part was small, but it allowed us not only to assist Birdsall, but also to work with the great staff at the Museum…

…which included: Megan Buro, Jude Routh, Mikey Sproat, Joann Purvis, Yesenia Marroquin, Tim Scott, and Gregoria McGuire.

When the formal part of the program ended around 7, we had a chance to relax a bit and enjoy the Museum and the many wonderful people there: President James Gaertner and Nancy Gaertner, Mac and Leanne Woodward, Jane and Dr. Charles Monday, Vice-Provost Anne Gaillard, Aron Kulhavy, Tammy Gann, Regent Sheila Faske, former Regent Trisha Pollard, and Charlie Vienne.

We had a chance to say hi to Russell Martinez, which was nice because a few of the LEAP Ambassadors have been awarded the Martinez Scholarship. We met Bill Dabaghi, a genuinely nice guy who shared with us some of his family’s history in the area.

And we also had the opportunity to visit with individuals from the President’s office, including General Glaser, Jennifer Alexander, and Tabitha Shanley. And, of course, we took the opportunity to take a photograph with President White.

We even had a chance to visit with one of our favorite alumni, Blake Roach!

There was also great music…

…as well as a rare opportunity to physically enter the Museum’s displays. In one area, SHMM depicts Santa Ana’s “surrender” to an injured Sam Houston, and the Museum will soon be removing this exhibit. Therefore, it allowed visitors (and staff!) to enter the area and have fund with photographs!

We attend or assist with approximately 50 events per semester, but the general consensus is that this was our favorite this semester. We had the chance to spend time in one of our favorite places, with some of our favorite people while being part of the Sam Houston community.

Giving for a Great Cause: The Faculty and Staff Annual Giving Campaign

If it’s fall at Sam Houston State University, freshmen are getting their first taste of mid-terms, students are enjoying cooler weather, and the Annual Faculty and Staff Giving Campaign is likely heating up. In fact, it’s not only heating up, it kicked officially on Monday, October 9, 2023.

This year’s kickoff was more casual than in year’s past. This new tone is designed to encourage greater comfort and interactivity among the almost 100 SHSU faculty and staff who volunteer to raise funds–funds that go to the students of SHSU.

Master of Ceremonies Rosanne Keathley (the Campaign Chair) introduced the many key players…

along with comments from Mike Yawn (Faculty Chair), John Adams (Staff Chair),and Meggan Thompson.

All were in agreement that our students benefit from this campaign of giving. Last year, for example, faculty and staff donated $295,000! Donors can give through payroll deduction, by making a one-time gift, and they can pay by cash, check, or online (for more information, go here).

While any donation is welcome, the committee would particularly appreciate giving to the Bearkat Emergency Fund or the Friends of the Food Pantry; donations can also be given to any scholarship; to enrichment funds (don’t forget about Friends of LEAP!); or even to a membership in the Alumni Association.

The donations have, of course, a huge value to the students, who are the overwhelming beneficiaries of the funds. But these donations also have a multiplier effect. When a high percentage of faculty and staff give, the Vice President of University Advancement, Matt Bethea, or the University President, Alisa White, can make this point when asking donors for funds. In the past five years, for example, 72 percent of faculty and staff have donated, providing compelling evidence that the employees of SHSU believe heavily in the cause.

The campaign closes on December 15, and the committee hopes that we will have at least a 60 percent giving rate by that date.

Feel free to reach out to the Annual Giving Staff (Meggan Thompson–294-2401 or Chantel Finley–294-2402), Campaign Chair Rosanne Keathley (294-1711), Faculty Chair Mike Yawn (294-1456) or Staff Chair John Adams (294-2286).

Main Street Touch-A-Truck and More!

Jessica Cuevas

If it’s the beginning of Fall, Touch-A-Truck is soon occurring! This free event is for the young and young at heart, allowing residents to interact with and learn about the vehicles that allow a community to operate. While half of the team of LEAP Ambassadors were at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, the other half stayed back and volunteered for this event.

This year, the new Main Street Director, Rebekah Kolb, added her own spin to this event by having other activities for the children to enjoy such as bouncy houses, rock wall, photo-op, and a dunking booth that allowed them to dunk many of the City of Huntsville’s respected employees, including the City Manager Aron Kulhavy.

As a former Main Street Intern, I helped at the Main Street Table in Rather Park, giving out promotional items while Michelle was able to run around downtown and release her inner child as she took photographs.

There was no shortage of vehicles in “display:” they ranged from construction…

…to police cars and SWAT, including SHSU’s newest and coolest PD Vehicle (SWAT!)…

…to fire trucks and EMS…

….monster truck….

….and many more!

Michelle had trouble picking her favorite. Ultimately, it was a three-way tie between the “huge monster truck, Huntsville PD’s Pitbull x (SWAT truck), and the Fire Trucks.” She mentioned how amazing it was to learn about all the different vehicles and their specific roles in the community. However, her favorite part was getting to see some familiar faces and important city figures such as the City of Huntsville’s Mayor; Andy Brauninger!

Although, the vehicles and big trucks are always a big HIT, the dunking booth was just as much of a big hit, especially when City Manager Kulhavy was up to be dunked. Many of the children, volunteers, and even Mayor Brauninger and Mrs. Brauninger waited much of the day to line up and dunk him! Michelle and I may have also been eagerly awaiting this opportunity…

Thank you to Rebekah, Angela, and all those who participated in making Touch-A-Truck a great event. It is always nice to see the community come together in events like these and run into lovely familiar faces.

A Day of Service in Memory of 9-11

With this the weekend prior to 9-11, Judy Webb with justserve.org called on LEAP Ambassadors and other reliable service organizations to assist with an ongoing “billion graves” project. This project involves documenting all the graves in Oakwood Cemetery, one of the most historic cemeteries in Texas.

It’s a project we began last year, but with almost 5,000 headstones in Oakwood, this is a multi-year project. It also meant an early start to today’s work…

After scouting out locations and developing a plan of attack, we met with the other volunteers Ms. Webb had recruited…

….and we got to work.

We had our advisors, Professor Yawn and Ms. Stephanie; Mac Woodward; and we had a grave veteran (Yvette) and grave newbies (Olivia, Michelle, and Ariza), so it was a good opportunity to do a mix of learning and teaching. The work consists primarily of two duties: (1) checking to see whether a grave has been entered, and if not, (2) photographing it, and transcribing its information into the billion graves website.

Professor Yawn has done more than 100 graves, and Morgan and Yvette have done almost 100. Today, we each did about 15, but we also confirmed approximately an equal amount. One of the challenges of this process is that a lot of people go through the cemetery more or less randomly, which means many graves may have been entered, but not in any systematic way. Our goal was to go through these systematically and, eventually, finish the Cemetery.

And, of course, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to pose with Sam Houston’s Grave!

The project is also an opportunity to learn about local history beyond Sam Houston. We were able to see headstones with names that are still seen around town, including: Thomason, Wynne, Powell, Rather, Robinson, Gibbs, Smither, and Yoakum.

We also had the chance to see the graves of (presumably) Yellow Fever victims (those who died in 1867) and the Powell family’s sculpture of Thorwaldsen’s Christ.

It was a great learning experience, a bit of fun, a contribution to the community, and a good way to honor those who were victims on 9-11.

SHSU’s Lowman Student Center at 60

Named for SHSU President Harman Lowman, the Lowman Student Center has been at campus center since 1963. LSC staff made the most of this anniversary, inviting all students, past and present, to attend a celebration, share memories, and join in food, fun, and games.

The event was a joint venture of the LSC staff and the Alumni Association, with Anna Pursley (LSC) and Donna Gilbert (AA) doing the heavy lifting. But volunteers from numerous student organizations, including LEAP (we manned the Photo Booth), were on hand to help.

Chris and Debbie Tritico were there, as were Frank and Mary Thornton. Toni Bruner attended; so did Ruth Lynn Parker and Paula Armstrong. Shannon Higbie was there, too.

Derrick Birdsall was on hand, and Frank Parker, looking like retirement agreed with him, enjoyed the festivities.

Many students were there, too, hovering near the food line.

A few played games. Others listened to the music, which was a generational mix, with songs from the 60s to more recent times. Interestingly, two of the last songs played dealt with rain, and they came just as Huntsville ended what has seemed like a summer-long rain drought!

We had a wonderful opportunity to meet University staff such Donna Gilbert and Joellen Tipton, renew acquaintances with alumni, and even make some new friends!

Many thanks to the LSC and Alumni Association for putting this event on, bringing current and former students to mingle, and for the work they put into making SHSU a wonderful place to go to school.

A Bingo-Rific Christmas in July with CASA

More than 450 people turned out to advocate for CASA–a worthy organization that advocates on behalf of children in Walker, San Jacinto, and Trinity counties. Once a year, they bring supporters together for their annual “Christmas in July” fundraiser, and this year the result was a sell-out.

The evening began at 5pm, with an hour of mingling, “shopping,” dining, and other festivities. It gave us a chance to catch up with each other and our table mates.

Our tables consisted of: Ken and Nicole Holland, Michelle Spencer and Jessica Twardesky, Judge David Moorman and Christie Moorman, Mac and Leanne Woodward, Mike Yawn and Stephanie Fors, Victoria McClendon-Leggett, Roxana Woychesin, and various LEAP Ambassadors.

In addition, we had a chance to run into community friends. One of the nice aspects of volunteering for different organizations, for example, is that we get to see people we volunteer with elsewhere! We had the opportunity to chat with Dottie, a committed member of the Lion’s Club, who joins us at 6 am to put out flags on major holidays.

We also ran into Nancy Ormsby, who was volunteering, which is no surprise. She and her sister, Lois Stehlik, volunteer everywhere–they are great community assets.

At 6pm, the Bingo commenced. Rob Hipp was on hand to emcee;

CASA board members and advocates volunteered;

…team members from SHSU football served as auction spotters;

…SHSU Volleyball members helped put up tables and chairs at the end; and LEAP Ambassadors were on hand, not only as paying guests, but also to assist with the auction and take photographs.

There were 15 games of Bingo in all, with variations on the game in full force.

Hipp did a good job of moving things along, and about halfway through, we took a “game-break” for a live auction (thank you Kevin McMillian!) of children’s paintings.

Some sold for more than a thousand dollars!

Additional funds were raised through “adoptions,” a silent auction, and a call for donations. Last year, the event raised more than $100,000, a testament to the generosity of the community and to the staff at CASA.

In addition to the funds raised for a good cause, there was a whole lot of fun going on. There were, of course, 15 bingo winners, and there were winners for “Best Dressed,” “Best Christmas-Spirit Costumes,” and “most generous table.”

The winners were typically thrilled, and they were gracious, although the “bingo-offs,” which occur when two or more individuals “bingo” on the same call, could get heated…

But, of course, everyone ended up friends.

People returned to the many stations to meander to, seeing what could be bid on, tables of friendly people to converse with, and a photogenic selfie station.

This led to much fun, as did winning. One of our table members, Michelle Spencer, Director of the Boys and Girls Club of Walker County, won the blackout contest!

As noted, with 15 games of Bingo, there were many winners, and that doesn’t include those who won the raffles, the drawings, or the silent and live auctions. Of course, the biggest winners are those who most need some wins in their lives: the children whose families are caught up in court actions. The funds raised from this event go to support those children, ensuring they have outcomes that provide them with the best chances in life.

And, in a larger sense, everyone who attended the event was a winner in that they were all contributing to a cause that helps our community become stronger–and that’s a big win!

Freedom, Independence, and Service: Celebrating July 4th the LEAP Way

Michelle Cardenas

If it’s the Fourth of July in Huntsville, you know community members will be coming out to Kate Barr Ross Park to see what the City has in store. With a full house expected in the Park, LEAP Ambassadors arrived early to assist Parks and Recreation–under the supervision of Penny Joiner and Kristy Wheeler–with the large undertaking of entertaining the community.

Parks does this program annually, but it is a lot to put on. There is face-painting, bouncy houses, a dunking booth, a mechanical bull, balloon artists, a watermelon-eating contest, and a selfie station.

Filled with altruistic motives, LEAP Ambassadors did do a couple of test runs on the mechanical bull and in the bouncy houses…just to ensure the equipment was working properly.

At work time, we got down to business. At the information booth, LEAP Ambassadors were responsible for passing out wristbands and parental waivers for those wanting to participate in any of the games and the watermelon eating contest.

Local celebrities such as Aron Kulhavy (City Manager), Sam Maisel (Assistant City Manager), Penny Joiner (Parks and Rec Director) and Greg Mathis (Fire Chief) took turns sitting in the hot seat to get dunked! Taking advantage of the local figures’ goodwill, many people took the opportunity of using their hands to hit the target.

One of the crowd’s favorite events, and my personal favorite, was definitely the watermelon eating contest. The sight of all the participants digging their face into the watermelon was amusing.

This can be quite competitive…

One of our own, Ingrid Cuero…

…was brave enough to participate in one of the contests held. Although she didn’t win, she wasn’t afraid to get messy and demonstrated great sportsmanship!

And this was only one of the festivities!

The other activities proved just as fun for the participants.

Of course, the bouncy house was a fan favorite…

….including of at least one LEAP Ambassador…

And probably the biggest hit was the mechanical bull.

For good reason!

And we can attest to that!

Thanks to the great staff at Parks and Recreation, and support from Huntsville Police, Fire Department and the larger community, this was an enjoyable and memorable Fourth of July.

A lot of us are from larger cities, and it is particularly gratifying to see how welcoming Huntsville is. We are all proud to become more a part of the community, and this made it even more memorable to spend the day volunteering!

Thank you to the Parks and Recreation Staff for allowing us this opportunity and to the Huntsville community for coming out and being a part of things!

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