march-2013- absolutely katy magazine

MEET KATY'S

OBRA TOMPKINS

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Cotton Companies& Katy Tigers

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With multiple pediatric subspecialties conveniently located on site, our expertsoffer top care for kids. From allergy and asthma to physical therapy to radiology, our specialist clinics are staffed by experts in their fields using the most advanced facilities – all designed specifically for children and their families. They’re one reason why U.S.News & World Report ranked us as the top pediatrichospital in Texas. The next time your child needs medical care, come to us.We’re all about kids.

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WC233_SpecialistCare_Katy/Memorial_Layout 1 1/11/13 1:45 PM Page 1

MARCH 2013 l TO ADVERTISE CALL 281.690.42422

CONTRIBUTORS

23

Sophia VassiliouSophia DesignsPage 23

16

Henry DibrellKaty ISD School Board Page 16

ON THE COVER:Hunter and PeteBell with Daren and Tanner Ebrecht.Photo by Hallie Keller Photography

M A R C H 2 0 1 3 | V O L U M E 1 0 | N U M B E R 3

28

Steve KursarAuto EnthusiastPage 28

C O L U M N S

11 FAQ’SThe Texas Divorce Process

14 absolutely THINGS I LOVE!

22 HIGH SCHOOL HOT SHOT Meet Simone Romero

C O M M U N I T Y E V E N T S

12 WHAT’S KICKIN’ IN KATY

18 KIDS AND HORSES The Pin Oak Charity Horse Show

a b s o l u t e l y ! H E A LT H Y L I V I N G

26 absolutely! Q&ATexas Children’sHospitalWest Campus Answers Your Questions About Sports Nutrition

a b s o l u t e l y ! A U T O R E V I E W

28 2013 MERCEDES-BENZ GLK

I N E V E R Y I S S U E

4 PUBLISHER’S PREVIEW

20 OUT & ABOUTIN THE HEART OF KATY

14

Robin Ebrecht absolutely!Things I LovePage 14

10 & 20

Jennifer L. EvansOut & AboutIn the Heart of KatyPages 10 & 20

11

Nancy L. Rommelmann PLLCFamily Law AttorneyPage 11

M E D I C A L & B U S I N E S S

27 MEDICAL BRIEFS Greetings from UT Physicians

N E W S W O R T H Y

19 COVENANT HOUSE TEXASCelebrates 30th Anniversary Gala

C O V E R S T O R Y

6 A WINNING TEAM: THE COTTON COMPANIES AND THE KATY TIGERSThe Cotton Companies, a global solutions provider of disaster recovery services headquartered in Katy, is a huge supporter of the Katy High School state championship winning football team. Read why Cotton and the Katy Tigers are both “Katy proud.”

12

Mary RainesWhat’s Kickin’ in KatyPage 12

N E W T O T H E N E I G H B O R H O O D

18 SPROUTS FARMERS MARKET

F E AT U R E S

8 MEET YOUR NEW absolutely! KATY TEAM

10 JEN’S TOP 10Family fun staycation ideas for Spring Break

13 SADDLE UP FOR THE RANCH RODEOBring the cowboys and cowgirls to the Reliant Arena March 8th and 9th

16 OBRA TOMPKINS HIGH SCHOOLMeet the man behind the name

24 HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS Find your home and make it your own! These resources will help you turn your houseinto your dream home.

H O M E

23 DESIGN WITHPANTONE®’S EMERALDCOLOR OF THE YEARThe Green Light to a Bright Shade

22

Gabriel al-Rifai2birdsphotography.comPage 22

16

Melissa DixonKaty Dispatch Page 16

www.absolutelykaty.com l MARCH 2013 3

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Publisher, LARA BELL

Vol. 10 No. 3March 2013

Hi everybody! Let me start by saying how excited I am to be the new Publisher for absolutely! Katy Magazine. My name is Lara Bell, and I have worked in media in Houston for 20 years. I hosted a weekly television show called Wild about Houston on KTBU-TV 55 for 14 wonderful years but needed a change in schedule to meet my busy family’s needs. In 2011, I accepted a position as publisher of absolutely! Memorial Magazine, and wow, what a great decision I made! I live in Memorial with my husband, Brent Milam, six-year-old son Brooks Andrew and nine-year-old daughter Dylan Michelle; however, I feel like I live part time in Katy since my mom, dad, brother and his two kids live here. I practically have my own lane down I-10 as many trips as I make on a weekly basis!

I grew up in Katy attending Taylor High School and am such a fan of the area, so when absolutely! focus media asked me to take over absolutely! Katy Magazine in addition to absolutely! Memorial Magazine, I responded immediately with, “Of course!” I have big plans for absolutely! Katy, and I have already started assembling my team for the growth.

On my inaugural issue’s cover, I had a very obvious choice – The Cotton Companies and Katy High School football players. Those are two things I know very well since the CEO of Cotton happens to be my brother, Pete Bell, and nephew, Hunter, plays on Varsity for the Katy High School football team and recently won the state championship. Also on the cover is Cotton COO Daren Ebrecht and his son, Tanner, who also got to enjoy the sweet taste of victory winning a state championship. Cotton has their world headquarters in Katy and is a big supporter of Katy High School football, as well as the community as a whole, so I am so proud and excited for this issue to be my “kick-off.”

This magazine is for you – Katy readers – and you will begin to see many changes over the next few months. But, we need – and want – your input. If you have story ideas, column ideas, interesting Katy tidbits or upcoming events to share, please send the news our way. We want to be your community resource.

Absolutely Yours,

LaraLara [email protected]

EXCLAMATION POINTS!THE INSIDE SCOOP STRAIGHT FROM THE TOP

4655 TECHNIPLEX DR. STE 400STAFFORD , TX 77477

281-690-4242

WWW.ABSOLUTELYKATY.COM

absolutely! KatyTM Magazine is published by absolutely! focus media, 4655 Techniplex Dr., Ste. 400, Stafford, TX 77477. Copyright © 2013 by absolutely! focus media. All rights reserved. Reproduc-tion without permission is strictly prohibited. absolutely! KatyTM Magazine does not knowingly accept false or misleading adver-tising or editorial, nor do the publishers assume responsibility should such advertising or editorial appear. absolutely! KatyTM Magazine welcomes editorial submissions from its readers.

Subscription requests are free to Katy area addresses. Annual paid subscription

of $25 required outside Katy area.

E X E C U T I V E P U B L I S H E R S Michael & Lisa Fredrickson

E DI TOR- I N - C H I E F Patti Parish-Kaminski

P U B L I SH E RLara Bell

AC C OU N T E X E C U T I V E S Bonnie Bell Woodrow

Melissa HuckabeeBrittany Smith

A RT DI R E C TORGrace Belleza

G R A P H IC DE SIG N E R SChristopher Hernandez

Jesse McPeek

C O M M U N I C AT I O N S C O O R D I NAT O R

Sarah Greeson

A D M I N I S T R AT I V E D I R E C T O RErin Sanders

W E B DE SIG N E R Joey Belleza

P H O T O G R A P H E RHallie Keller

C O N T R I BU T O R SGabriel al-RifaiHenry DibrellMelissa DixonRobin Ebrecht

Jennifer L. EvansSteve KursarMary Raines

Nancy L. Rommelmann PLLCSophia Vassiliou

I N T E R NBunty Keo

I N Q U I R I E S281-690-4242

E D I T O R IA L SU B M I S S I O N [email protected]

Publishedby

Brent Milam, Lara Bell-Milam, Dylan Michelle and Brooks Andrew.

Calling all mommies in Sugar Land, Katy and Memorial areas! Dr. Shel and a panel of judges will select one lucky mom from each of these areas to win a laser facial, laser hair removal package, an autographed copy of Dr. Shel’s book I am Woman and much more!

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*One runner up will be chosen from each area: Sugar Land, Katy and Memorial. From the top three winners, one lucky grand prize winner will be selected.

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• Submit a 300 word essay to tell why your lovedone is deserving of a Mommy Makeover! And moms, you are free to nominate yourself!

• Send a photo of the nominee, name, email adress andphone number to: [email protected]. (Any entries received without this information will be invalid and not eligible.)

• Submit nomination by March 31, 2013 tobe considered for judging.

• Mark your calendars to attend the“Mother’s Appreciation Luncheon” on April 30, 2013 from noon to 2 pm at Dr. Shel Wellness and Medical Spa to announce the lucky winners.


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Let me begin by saying that I am a huge fan of the Cotton Companies and the Katy Tigers. And, full dis-closure here, my brother, Pete, is one of the owners

of Cotton, and my nephew, Hunter, plays varsity football for the Katy Tigers, so I am a huge fan!

This past December before I even knew about my new role as publisher of absolutely! Katy Magazine, I was lucky enough to see the magnitude of a community as a whole rallying around their hometown team heading to the state championship, and I was blown away. When we got to Cow-boy Stadium in Dallas around six hours before the cham-pionship game, we immediately began setting up a tailgate party for 300 Katy fans sponsored by Cotton. It was amazing to see parents and siblings, school board members, elected officials and Katy fans converge in the stadium parking lot to celebrate the Tigers. In fact, I had never seen anything like it. I felt like I was getting ready to go see an NFL game – it was that crowded.

The Cotton Companies feel being a big part of a commu-nity is a corporate responsibility, and Cotton is a huge Katy ISD partner. “Our CFO, Bryan Michalsky, serves on the Katy ISD board, and myself and Daryn Ebrecht, our COO, support the athletic program,” said Pete Bell, CEO.

Cotton Restoration was founded by Bell and Ebrecht in 1996, and the foundation of Cotton was to provide local fire and water restoration services to homeowners and business owners. As Cotton matured as a company, they expanded their service line to large scale catastrophe response. Tropi-cal storm Allison in Houston was the catapult into this emerging market. Shortly after they expanded into large commercial catastrophe, Cotton entered the reconstruction market and opened 10 offices across the United States over

a five-year period. “During this fortunate growth in 1995, Cotton outgrew its original 100,000 square foot facility off of Highway 290. This is when we opened the Cotton hold-ings executive offices in Katy, which was named the Cotton Ranch,” said Ebrecht.

The Cotton CompaniesA Winning Team:

The Katy Tigersand

COVER STORYBy Lara Bell

Bryan Michalsky, CFO; Pete Bell, CEO and Daryn Ebrecht, COO, of Cotton Companies, Inc.

Katy Tiger State Champions Josh Williams, Hunter Bell, Brandon Dalton and Sloan Spiller.

Since then, Cotton has relocated all corporate functions to Katy with an expansion of a new state-of-the-art facility, and Katy is considered their world headquarters. The Cotton Ranch serves and supports all regional offices, houses their 24-hour command center to monitor worldwide disasters and all ex-ecutive management. To date, Cotton currently services the following divisions from their Katy location: restoration and catastrophe clean-up services, complete reconstruction, cotton international and consulting and commercial roofing.

Cotton continues to expand, including their new division, Cotton Logistics, in which Bell oversees. “This division was started after years of expertise and mobilizing to disaster zones and provides logistical support to our own company, which includes temporary housing and catering,” said Bell. Cotton Logistics entered the oil and gas market by providing 3,000 bed camps to the BP horizon accident and currently has four large-scale temporary housing camps in the Eagle Ford Shale Play. They are currently looking at other emerg-ing markets such as mining, pipeline and oil sands in Canada. Cotton plans to continue to grow over the next decade and be a pioneer of all comprehensive disaster recovery services.

Since Ebrecht and his wife, Robyn, have three boys, Tanner, Hayden and Brandon, and Bell has daughter Bailey and son Hunter, they felt com-pelled to help children who have experienced a tragedy, thus forming the Cotton Foundation in 2005. “The motivation was to help the children during a disaster. The kids are usually left without books, bikes and toys, so we decided to give back,” said Bell. Since the foundation’s creation, it has expanded to reach out to day-to-day personal tragedies such as illness and parent hardship. “It is difficult when you are in a business that sees so much devastation from natural disasters. We had to do something to help the kids we met, and the foundation has really been a family affair with everyone helping out,” said Ebrecht.

We are so proud of our community. We wanted to do something that truly shows our gratitude for the remarkable education and athletic opportunities Katy provides to Katy students, said Bell.

When their kids began attending Katy High School, Cotton got involved with the school’s athletic department and sponsors the signage at Rhoades stadium every year. “We are so proud of our community. We wanted to do something that truly shows our gratitude for the remarkable education and athletic oppor-tunities Katy provides to Katy students,” said Bell.

That gratitude brings me back to the state championship game a few months ago when the Katy Tigers won. Not many football players get to experience the thrill of being state cham-pions, so when you combine Cotton and Katy Tigers, it truly is a family tradition. And, as Pete Bell and Daryn Ebrecht will tell you, “There is nothing like experiencing this with your son. You better believe we are Katy Proud!”

Tanner, Robin, Daryn, Hayden and Brandon Ebrecht.

Hunter, Peteand Bailey Bell.



Bonnie BellA Texas girl who moved to Katy in 1976, Bonnie Bell has seen

remarkable growth and exciting development in her community. “‘Back then,’ as my grandchildren say,” said Bonnie, “we had only three high schools. My daughter attended Taylor, and my son at-tended Mayde Creek. I have wonderful friendships from volunteer-ing in the schools that date, well, ‘back then.’”

Bonnie’s professional business career in marketing and ad-vertising has bridged 30 years. Helping clients successfully build their business has been “so exciting and rewarding!” Bonnie also enjoys hanging out with family: her daughter, son and four grandchildren ages 17, 14, 9 and 6. She is also passionate about working out, her involvement with her church and, of course, get-ting together to share a meal with friends. Perhaps the best thing about Bonnie is that she loves Katy, loves absolutely! Katy and loves serving her clients.

Robin EbrechtKaty mom Robin Ebrecht has lived in Katy for 21 years with her

husband, Daryn. The Ebrechts have three amazing sons: Bran-don, Tanner and Hayden. Robin stays pretty busy with all of her boys’ sports activities, but she loves to spend “me” time working out, attending Bible study and shopping for fabulous finds! See some of Robin’s fabulous finds in her column on page 14. She hopes you will enjoy some of these awesome products as much as she does.

Jennifer EvansJennifer Evans, Principal of JL Evans Communications, is a

Public Relations pro who has lived in the Houston area for 20+ years, the last six of which have been in Katy. Jennifer earned her M.A. in Communications/PR Studies at University of Houston – Go Coogs! She and her husband, Mark, live in Cinco Ranch with their son Cole, a 4th Grader in Katy ISD, who has an addiction to Katy Youth Football. This is Katy, after all!

Melissa HuckabeeMelissa Huckabee was born in Oklahoma City, but she moved

to Katy with her family when she was two-years-old. After gradu-ating from Katy Taylor High School, Melissa studied Culinary Arts and Restaurant and Catering Management at The Art Institute of Houston. She then attended Texas Women’s University in Den-ton, majoring in Nutrition and Food Science. After working as a chef throughout the United States, Melissa moved back to her hometown of Katy in 2006. Melissa is active in the community, volunteering at Texas Children’s Hospital. She is also the proud mother of her daughter, Emma.

Mary RainesBorn and raised in Houston, Mary Raines and her husband,

Acie, moved to Katy in 1974 and have seen it grow tremendously. Her career in marketing has included the oil and gas, insurance, banking and medical industries. Mary’s claim to fame is that she was the “Showcase Showdown Winner” on The Price is Right. She loves to travel, entertain family and friends and find all of the new and exciting things to do in and around the Katy area in her What’s Kickin’ in Katy column.

Brittany SmithBrittany Smith has lived in the Katy area for 13 years where she

graduated from Mayde Creek High School in 2004. After attend-ing Sam Houston State University, Brittany moved back home to Katy and started her family. She has two wonderful kids, Kenne-dy, 3, and Beckham, 2. She recently became engaged to Lance Johansen and has set a wedding date for October of this year. When Brittany and her fiancé are not busy with home improve-ments, they enjoy going to concerts, taking weekend trips and spending time with their kids.

Meet Your New

TeamBonnie Bell

Robin Ebrecht

Melissa Huckabee

Brittany Smith

Jennifer Evans

Mary Raines

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o by

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lie K

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r Pho

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S pring Break in Katy is March 11th – 15th. If you are going to

stay close to home, you can still have a wonderful time with your family. Whether you are new to the area or are looking for fresh ideas, keep this list handy as you plan your week.

1 Try a gravity ropes course. The newly opened Main Event En-

tertainment, located on the Katy Free-way in Katy, features a fun gravity ropes course. You must be 48 inches tall to try your luck, but this is sure to keep your bored tweens busy. And, it’s a gender neutral activity! www.mainevent.com

2 Pack a picnic lunch. Pack your favorite lunch and take the

whole crew to downtown Houston’s park Discovery Green located at 1500 McKinney in Houston. Bonus: On Tuesday, March 12th, Houston Ballet II will give a free performance at noon – a surefire way to introduce your children

to one of Houston’s finest arts institutions. www.discoverygreen.com

3 Let’s rodeo! Get your cowboy/cowgirl on at the Houston Live-

stock Show and Rodeo™! Even if you don’t want to spring for concert tickets – and there are some great ones – you can still buy general admission tickets. Enjoy the carnival rides and midway games and venture into the Rodeo properties for pet-ting zoos, art displays and other daytime activities. Check the online daily calendar of events. www.hlsr.com

4 A day at the park. Speaking of parks, visit Katy’s own Mary Jo

Peckham Park on the north side of I-10, near the Grand Parkway. Catch some fish, play mini golf or take a nature walk around the trail and look for critters. Bring a frisbee and just let everyone cut loose! www.pct3.hctx.net

5 Head to the beach. Day trip to Galveston Island and pretend you

are in the tropics because, well, it will likely be that hot! An easy one-hour commute from Katy, you can make this trip on a budget or you can splurge. On a budget? Pack towels, chairs, toys and a picnic and head to Stewart Beach where, for a small fee, you can park on the sand near the water and play all day. Shower off at the clean pavilion and leave by 3 pm to avoid traffic. If you are splurging, be a tourist for the day and hit Schlitterbahn first thing. Wrap up at the Pleasure Pier for dinner and a few thrills, then hit the road at 7 pm and be home within the hour. Or, go all out and book an overnight stay at one of the is-land’s lovely hotels. www.galveston.com

6 Shop ‘til you drop. Avoid the heat and spend the day at Katy

Mills Mall. With many new shops, a large arcade, movie theater and numerous res-taurants, you can easily kill a few hours at Katy Mills. But, don’t just show up. Map out the agenda with your family so you can do the things most important to you all. www.simon.com/mall/katy-mills

7 Get crafty. If you are the creative type, start stocking up on inex-

pensive craft projects at the local Hobby Lobby. Then, execute in the back yard and invite the neighborhood kids and parents over to join you. Not crafty? No biggie! Just pop into Ceram-ics by Tess, Pinot’s Palette or Harry the Potter and let someone else lead. www.hobbylobby.com; www.ceramicsbytess.com; www.pinotspalette.com and www.harrythepotterinkaty.com

8 Get wet and wild. Cool off at Splashway Water Park, located in

Sheridan, approximately 90 miles from Houston. Admission is a little less than other area water parks and a little more low key. With some strategically placed shade and neat activities for wee ones, this is a more relaxed experience – es-pecially if you are going it alone. www.splashwaywaterpark.com

9 Got culture? Any top ten list for the greater Houston area is incom-

plete without mentioning the Houston Museum Dis-trict and Theatre District. If you did not know, Hous-ton’s art scene is interna-tionally renowned. I won’t play favorites here, because each of these gems offers something unique. Some are free or cheap, others can put a serious dent in the wallet. But all are spectacular! www.houstonmuseumdistrict.org; www.downtownhouston.org/district/theater

10 Visit historic halls. Got a history buff in the family? Visit

the Katy Heritage Museum, which is open on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of most weeks. Explore a little of Katy’s farm-ing history and see artifacts and equip-ment used by Katy residents in years past. Venture down the street in Old Town Katy for lunch at Los Cucos Mexican Café. Also be sure to ask your waiter to tell you about the Cabrera brothers who founded Los Cucos. www.katyheritagesociety.com; www.loscucos.com

By Jennifer L. Evans


Jen’s Top Things to do

with the Family during


• Divorce Planning• Divorce (Contested or Uncontested)• Child Custody• Child Support• Complex Property Division• High Net Worth Divorce• Parental Relocations• Post Divorce Modifications• Paternity and Parental Rights• Visitation Rights• Grandparent’s Rights• Pre- and Post- Martial Agreements• Adoptions• Collaborative Law• Alternative Dispute Resolution (mediation and arbitration)

Nancy Rommelmann is regularly consulted by local media for her on-air analysis about family law.

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Memorial City Plaza – Tower Two820 Gessner, Suite 1630, Houston, TX 77024(across from Memorial City Mall)ph 713-622-3000www.attorneynancyrommelmann.comCall us today for a consultation!

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FAMILY LAW

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General Residency Rule for Divorce Suit

A suit for divorce may not be maintained in this state unless at the time the suit is filed either the petitioner or the respondent has been:

1) A domiciliary of this state for the preceding six month period.2) A resident of the county in which the suit is filed for the preceding 90-day period.

What are grounds for divorce?

The court may grant a divorce without regard to fault (“no fault divorce”), cruelty, adultery, conviction of felony, abandonment, living apart or confinement in mental hospital.

Is it separate or community property?

Community property consists of the property, other than separate property, acquired by either spouse during marriage. A spouse’s separate property consists of:

1) The property owned or claimed by the spousebefore marriage,

2) The property acquired by the spouse duringthe marriage by gift, devise or descent and

3) The recovery for personal injuries sustainedby the spouse during the marriage.Property possessed by either spouse during

or on dissolution of marriage is presumed to be community property. The degree of proof necessary to establish that property is separate property is clear and convincing evidence. If one spouse makes a gift of property to the other spouse, the gift is presumed to include all the income and property that may arise from that property.

What property is divided in a divorce?

All property and assets should be divided in a divorce, including but not limited to: The rights of both spouses in a pension, retirement plan, annuity, individual retirement account, employee stock option plan, stock option or other form of savings, bonus, profit-sharing, or other employer plan or financial plan of an employee or a participant, regardless of whether the person is self-employed, in the nature of compensation or savings. In a decree of divorce, the court shall specifically divide or award the rights of each spouse in an insurance policy.

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March 2ndLaCenterra’s Cheers for Charity: An Afternoon of Sipping, Samples, Entertainment and Art with Heart1 to 4 pmHeritage Square“Cheers!” Cheers for Charity, that is. Join La-Centerra restaurants and community partners for an afternoon of sipping, samples, live enter-tainment and art – with heart! Proceeds benefit five local nonprofit organizations: American Red Cross, Citizens for Animal Protection, Katy Art Fund, Support the Girls and Katy Family YMCA. LaCenterra’s Cheers for Charity will feature over 100 wines from across the state and around the world, international beers, Texas craft beers and spirits, food samples, pairing demonstrations, fine art from Katy area artists and more. Visit La-Centerra.com to purchase tickets.

March 3rd & 31stLife DrawingFor all you artists, Katy Visual & Performing Arts will be having “Life Drawing” adult art classes from now through May 5th. Visit www.kvpac.org.

March 4th Mondays with Mommy: Kindermusik Sock Hop10 to 11 amHeritage SquareA musical celebration of fun and learning will take tots on an educational adventure utilizing the world-renowned, child-centered music and movement program, Kindermusik. The series takes place in LaCenterra’s Heritage Square on the first or second Monday of the month. “Mon-days with Mommy” is a free community program

I hope What’s Kickin’ in Katy will give you some fun ideas for you and your family, as well as upcoming events and other happenings in and around the fabulous Katy area. There’s a surprise around every corner with all of

the growth that we are experiencing. Try kickin’ in Katy by getting out, having fun and experiencing all that Katy has to offer.

open to children 0 – 7. Visit www.lacenterra.com for program details. Learn more about Kinder-musik at www.kmusikwithkathy.com.

March 8th - 10thOpening Night: Stage DoorKaty Visual & Performing Arts presents Stage Door. Tickets are on sale through the box office or online. Visit www.kvpac.org for information.

March 16thMini Train RidesFree in Zube Park on the third Saturday each month, catch a ride on the mini train that runs from 9 am to 3 pm. Zube Park is located at 17802 Roberts Rd. in Hockley, just 30 miles north of Katy. Visit www.hals.org.

March 16thKaty Market DaysDowntown Katy at Avenue B and 2nd Street The third Saturday each month, shop for an-tiques, collectibles, the Farmers Market and other items of interest from area merchants and vendors in Downtown Katy. This month’s special event is a car show from 10 am to 5 pm.

March 18thDinner and a Marriage®

Need a date night with the love of your life? Enjoy a romantic dinner date one Monday night eve-ry month at Katy’s own little Italian restaurant, Hasta La Pasta, on Grand Parkway. At Dinner and a Marriage, couples will receive marriage en-couragement while enjoying a delicious dinner and dessert for a minimum donation of $35. Visit www.homeencouragement.org.

March 23rdKVPAC 2013 ARTS for ALL! Family Festival: “Deep in the Art of Texas”10 am to 5 pmHeritage Square and Beyond The KVPAC ARTS for ALL! Family Festival is a community celebration of the arts organized by Katy Visual & Performing Arts Center (KVPAC) and LaCenterra. The daylong event includes profes-sional dance, theatre and musical performances, an arts market and artist exhibitions, local talent showcases and hands-on creative opportunities for guests. Visit www.kvpac.org.

March 23rdBreakfast with the Easter BunnyThe Harvest Plaza Hippity hop . . . the Easter Bunny is on his way! Enjoy breakfast with the bunny. For more infor-mation, visit www.cityofkaty.com.

March 27thPaws in the Park Dog Egg HuntCity of Katy Dog Park Bring your four-legged friend to help you hunt. For more information, visit www.cityofkaty.com.

What’s Kickin’ in

By Mary Raines

Katy


Pick Your Own BerriesAt Blessington Farms just 15 miles west of Katy in Simonton, you can pick your own strawberries, blueberries and blackberries when they are in season. Enjoy sand mountain, canyon slide and hayrides for the kids. Visit www.blessingtonfarms.com.

Need help with your taxes?Provided on a first-come, first-serve basis, Fort Bend Libraries are offering free tax seminars at two Katy branches: Cinco Ranch Branch located at 2620 Commercial Center Drive and Katy Branch Library located at 5414 Franz Road. AARP representatives will be there to help with income tax preparation for low-to-moderate income and seniors. Hours for the Katy Branch are Tuesdays 12:30 to 4:30 pm, and hours for the Cinco Ranch Branch are Mondays 1 to 5 pm.

For All You ReadersFort Bend Library now has edigital books to check out for your iPad, Kindle and other reading devices at www.fortbend.lib.tx.us.

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T he American cowboy lifestyle and our Western Heritage are still alive and well in many areas of the

West. Those fortunate enough to earn their living on horseback while working livestock are the great majority of those cowboys still prospering here in the United States. While their daily routines afford them a great deal of challenges, they enjoy competing with each other to see how well they can perform their work. It was this internal desire to com-pete that helped create today’s Ranch Rodeo.

For more than 31 years, cowboys have competed in regional and national Ranch Rodeos to earn “bragging rights.” Each event is filled with excitement and a sampling of how real cowboys work. Although the American cowboy is part of our national heritage, many people are not aware that they are the backbone of our economy and the dedicated stew-ards of our land and livestock.

With an increasing demand for ranch rodeos in the U.S. and Canada, the sport has seen significant growth and success over the last few years. The presence of these rodeos in the Gulf Coast region of Texas had been limited until the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo™ took on the charge in early 2007. With a number of historic Texas ranches and qualified teams from counties surrounding Har-ris County, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo will open the chutes for the seventh year on March 8th and 9th in Reliant Arena with two action-packed days of Ranch Rodeo excitement.

With support from Texas’ most histor-ic stock shows, the Ranch Rodeo Com-mittee, lead by longtime Katy resident Dudley Ray, is excited to again host the Champion Challenge in 2013. This excit-ing event features the top three ranch teams from the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo as they showcase their tal-ents. They will participate in Mugging, Bronc Riding, Calf Branding, Wild Cow Milking and Team Sorting.

Bring the cowboys and cowgirls to the Reliant Arena March 8th and 9th for some inexpensive, exciting family fun. Once inside the gates of Reliant Park, there is no charge to watch the rodeo.


Saddle Up forthe Ranch Rodeo

March 8th and 9th

BY ROBIN EBRECHT

Things ILove!

Veron’s Seasoning

I know some of you who know meare thinking, “Why does she need

that? She doesn’t even like to cook!”It’s true! But, when I do find something

that really does make food taste delicious and even I can use it, then I

think it’s an awesome product! I’veused it on steak, burgers and chicken.

This was given to me by a friendwhose family makes this seasoning.

The history of the family and productare on their website, and they have

several flavors to choose from.www.verons.com

Swarovski Crystal Beats Headphones

These headphones are absolutely stunning! If you like bling, you will love these Beats. For me, the more the bling, the better. They are a bit pricey but maybe something to put on your wish list.www.crystalrocked.com

Gold Bubble Bath by Niven Morgan

With its vanilla and floral amber scent, every bath is heavenly. There is nothing like soaking in a tub full of bubbles, and the room fills with this amazing sweet scent. It is awesome! I buy it at Hauerland’s in Katy, but you can also find it online.www.neimanmarcus.com

Magnetic Jewelry by Debbie Clemens

Debbie introduced me to her handmade magnetic necklaces recently, and I love them! They are each unique and made with a variety of beautiful beads that she finds all over the world. My red

necklace became my good luck necklace that I wore with my mom jersey to every Katy football game. It is so versatile, though, that I can wear it for any occasion. She has so many styles and colors

that it is hard to choose! Her pieces are truly beautiful.www.debbieclemens.com

Beautiful “Noteables” Notecards by Local Artist Susan Thiele

I have been buying these museum quality notecards for a couple of years now. The artist designs them from her original watercolor paintings and has notecards printed from the paintings. She uses a lot of local scenery and landmarks, which I just love, and she’s truly an awesome lady.www.katyartandframe.com

Y ou may know me as a Katy mom of three

amazing boys and wife to Daryn, but what you may not know is that I love finding cool and unique products because, let’s face it, in a house full of boys, a girl needs her girl stuff! So, here are some things I absolutely love... and hope you will, too!



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A s a member of Katy ISD School Board, we vote on a multitude of

items from hiring teachers to contracts for band uniforms. Recently, I placed one of the most meaningful votes I have ever placed in my service to the district. That was my vote to name our newest high school Obra (O.D.) Tompkins High School. In Katy, we strive to inspire excellence. Tompkins embodies that desire. He has fought for excellence his entire life. If the young men and women of Tompkins High model their lives after Tompkins, we will produce some truly outstanding citizens.

Childhood

Tompkins grew up in Hempstead where both of his parents were educators. His mother taught fifth grade and special education. His father was a vocational trade instructor and supervisor for voca-tional certification at Prairie View A&M.

Reflecting on his parents, Tompkins recalled, “My father raised me to believe that I could do anything that I wanted to do. My mother told me that I would do it.”

As a student at Hempstead High

By Henry Dibrelland Melissa Dixon

School, Tompkins loved sports and par-ticipated in as many sports as he possibly could. His first love was basketball and in 1972, he played for the All Star Bas-ketball Team. When he wasn’t in school, Tompkins worked as a carpenter in the family business where he helped build his first house at 12 years of age. He worked on the family ranch where he tended the animals, rode horses and even had the op-portunity to “break in” two horses.

“I loved going to school,” said Tomp-kins, “because when I wasn’t in school, I was working.”

It was actually during his time as a student at Hempstead High School when Tompkins, unknowingly, had his first glimpse of what his future held. His high school principal asked him to walk the halls and keep an eye on how things were going. Remembering that experience, Tompkins said, “I had no idea how often I would be doing that as an adult.”

After high school, Tompkins went to Prairie View A&M where he planned to study political science and work towards a career as lawyer. A conversation with his father inspired him to rethink his ca-

Rebecca Fox, Charles Griffin, Obra D. Tompkins Jr., Henry Dibrell and Bryan Michalsky.

reer aspirations. “My father sat me down one day and asked me to give education a try,” said Tompkins. “He suggested I give it one year and see what I thought.”

The Beginning of His Career

At just 21, Tompkins began his career in education teaching drafting and wood-shop in Beaumont. It was during this time that he learned the value of earning a student’s respect. He laughed recalling this time: “In many cases, I was teaching students that were only two years young-er than me.”

Tompkins worked in Beaumont for two years before accepting a job offer from Principal Kenneth Welch at Katy Junior High, teaching industrial arts and math in 1977. It is under the leadership of Kenneth Welch, Assistant Principal Roosevelt Alexander and Counselor Rog-er Beck that Tompkins developed his love for teaching.

Welch set the bar high for Tompkins, and when Roosevelt Alexander took over as principal, that bar remained high. He knew he could learn a lot from them and was determined to not let them or his students down.

Tompkins was encouraged to coach for the Katy Junior High athletic teams. While his first love was basketball, fel-low coach Alan Adams taught him the far-reaching benefits of a strong track program and how to be a great track coach. He learned the benefits of devel-oping an athlete’s skills and found in-spiration in watching his students grow as athletes. Tompkins celebrated many “aha” moments with athletes. It was during this time that Tompkins earned the name ‘Coach T’.

Betty Sue Creech, a reading and Eng-lish teacher at Katy Junior High, encouraged Tompkins to take on leader-ship roles in

Obra (O. D.) Tompkins High School

The Man Behind the Name


education beginning as the Educational Representative for the campus and work-ing towards a career in administration. Tompkins followed her advice and in 1989 became the Assistant Principal at West Memorial Junior High.

West Memorial Junior High

Tompkins began his career in admin-istration as Assistant Principal at West Memorial Junior High under the leader-ship of Principal James Tays. Tompkins recalls that it was not easy to gain Tays’ respect. He remembers Tays as a great principal whose high expectations and standards help turn West Memorial Ju-nior High into a great school. “I was de-termined to learn everything I could from Tays and not let him down,” recalled Tompkins. “It was not easy gaining his respect, but I eventually did.”

Ted Vierling, the current principal at Seven Lakes High School, was a student at West Memorial Junior High during Tompkins’ tenure as Assistant Principal. He remembers Tompkins’ strong and loving presence. “He was always walk-ing the halls and making an effort to get to know all of his students,” recalls Vier-ling. “We knew he cared, and if he walked into the lunch room, we would quickly straighten up, even if we weren’t doing anything wrong.”

McDonald Junior High

In 1994, Tompkins was promoted to Principal at McDonald Junior High. When Tompkins arrived, he quickly re-alized that the school had some difficult challenges to overcome. He found that students were struggling to pass stan-dardized tests, and discipline problems were distracting from the learning pro-cess. “The teachers were strong. I had to give the teachers an opportunity to do what they do – teach,” said Tompkins. Test scores improved, and we received recognized status seven years in a row.”

Elaine Turner, a retired Educa-tional Diagnostician, remembers her

time working with Tomp-kins. “No one is more

deserving of this

honor than O.D. He faced his responsi-bilities head on, walked the halls and knew all of his students by name. He re-spected his staff and colleagues and was always open to sharing ideas and learn-ing new things from them.”

Mayde Creek High School

In 1999, Tompkins became the prin-cipal of Mayde Creek High School. While Mayde Creek High School faced many of the same challenges as McDonald Junior High, they had the additional challenge of finding ways to reduce student dropout rates. Tompkins and his administrative team worked together to implement a re-covery program that significantly reduced the dropout rate. He established and enforced high expectations of discipline, tardy sweeps and once again gave teach-ers the power to teach. After a student from a neighboring school came to Mayde Creek High School and started fighting in the hallway, Tompkins provided every student in the school with a student ID. As a result of this program’s success, stu-dents in every school in Katy ISD wear ID badges. Students took pride in them-selves, their education and their school.

In order to support students who wanted to go to college, Tompkins hired a clerk to assist the counselor with locating college scholarships. At the onset of this program, they were able to locate $9,000 in scholarship funds for students, $1,000,000 the fol-lowing year and finally reaching funds of over $5,000,000.

When asked where he found the strength to keep fighting for his students, Tompkins stated, “Katy is a great com-munity. I have watched it grow from a small school district in a small town to a large school district in a small town. It’s a great place to live. I love Katy, and Katy has given me a lot. I never wanted to do anything that would disappoint Katy.”

Tompkins sees his wife, Ola, as source of strength and inspiration. “I never wanted to disappoint her,” he said. Ola remembers how anxious her husband was to make a difference in students’ lives and how he faced challenges by setting goals and pushing through the noise. He always wanted to do what was right for

students, the faculty and the community. “He was always in search of a solution that would be in the best interest of every party,” stated Ola. “He is a man of great fairness and integrity. He taught me pa-tience and the importance of letting go and not holding grudges. He was always upbeat about his job and the challenges he faced. He is my hero and the standard by which I judge all others.”

Obra D. Jr. and Ola Tompkins.

Tompkins remained at Mayde Creek High School for 12 years until he was promoted to Executive Director for Cam-pus Administrative Support in 2009. He retired May of 2012 after serving as an educator in Katy ISD for 35 years and a total of 39 years in education. Tompkins is enjoying retirement and spending time with his grandchildren. “My granddaugh-ter Mackenzie runs track and wants to be a teacher,” Tompkins proudly announced.

Obra (O. D.) Tompkins High School

When Tompkins High School opens next fall, Tompkins is looking forward to doing whatever he can to support the school and continue to give back to the community that has given him so much. He is looking forward to cheering Tomp-kins High School on as they quickly excel in academics, fine arts and athletics.

Tompkins was moved and humbled with the idea that he is seen as a mentor and someone who has inspired others. “I am not that man. Katy has given me so much…I owe Katy.”


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It seems like just yesterday that Sprouts Farmers Market announced plans to invade Houston’s hot grocery market, and an opening date has already been set for the first of five forthcoming locations.

Katy shoppers will be able to get their fill of Sprouts’ fresh, organic veg at wallet-friendly prices in late March at the 25,000-square-foot store on Cinco Ranch Boulevard and Peek Road. That’s just down the road from Aldi, the German discount grocer, which had set the same month for the opening of its first area store.

“We’re looking forward to bringing our unique, ‘Healthy Living for Less’ ap-proach to grocery shopping to Katy and the surrounding communities. We’re also looking forward to meeting all of our new neighbors,” said Sprouts’ president and CEO, Doug Sand-ers, regarding the market’s move to Katy.

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Kids and Horses: The Pin Oak

Charity Horse Show

COMMUNITYEVENTS

The Pin Oak Charity Horse Show is an especially kid and family-friendly event that directly benefits sick children and their family members. The show will run from March 20th to 30th at the Great Southwest Equestrian Center located at 2501 South Mason Road in Katy.

The Pin Oak Charity Horse Show has raised almost five mil-lion dollars for children’s charities since its inception in 1945. Proceeds from horse and rider entry fees, sponsorships, donations from supporters and special event admission fees benefit Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston’s Ronald McDonald House Family Rooms, and Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Family Alliance.

Watch, Ride, LearnThe Pin Oak Charity Horse Show attracts thousands of spec-

tators, horses and competitors each year. Children of all ages are welcome to attend the show when accompanied by an adult. Most show events begin at 8 am, and all but a few featured events re-quire an admission fee. Parking is also free.

In addition to Olympic level riders, approximately 750 junior competitors aged 18 and younger participate each year in a vari-ety of events and classes on full-sized horses and Welsh ponies. The youngest competitor on record at Pin Oak was three-years-old and showed in the “Lead Line” class led by an adult.

With the help of staff, competitors and volunteers, The Pin Oak Charity Horse Show also hosts approximately 500 KISD first, second and third graders for Education Days. Pin Oak initi-ated Education Day in 2005 with 100 students attending.

The well-orchestrated Education Day activities feature desig-nated “learning stations.” The lessons offered at these learning stations include an explanation of the jumps and courses, horse show etiquette, the anatomy of a horse and care of a horse (includ-ing demonstrations on horse shoeing and tours of the barn and a horse trailer). Because dogs often accompany horses and horse owners, trainers and riders, Education Day also addresses the care and safety of dogs around horses. The educational experience is capped off with the opportunity to pet UK Shetland therapy ponies and Happy Meals to enjoy pro-vided by McDon-ald’s Houston area regional stores and partners.

For more in-formation on The Pin Oak Charity Horse Show, visit www.pinoak.org or call 281-398-7007.

Dr. Gustavo DeCillo, a veterinarian with the Currie Equine Clinic in Hempstead, explains the equine di-gestive system and skeletal system. Chloe Bening of the Mayde Creek High School Ram Riders Club is holding the painted horse. Photo by Jon Kral.


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Covenant HouseTexas Celebrates

30th Anniversary Gala

This year Covenant House Texas (CHT) celebrates their 30th Anniversary of provid-ing shelter and services for the runaway and abandoned children of Houston/Har-ris County, this year serving almost 5,000 homeless youth. The organization’s 30th Anniversary Gala takes place on Friday, March 22nd at the Hilton Americas-Hous-ton coordinated by the Covenant House Guild of volunteers.

Honorees this year include volunteer Tonya Hamilton and Texas Children’s Hos-pital (TCH), Covenant House Texas’ Out-standing Community Partner. TCH has been supporting the C. Richard Stasney Medical Clinic housed on site at the CHT campus for over 15 years.

Hamilton will receive the first “Ronda G. Robinson Spirit Award” because of her passion, dedication and commitment to the young people of Covenant House Texas for 30 years.

Tonya and Hank Hamilton, with their chil-dren, Corey (23), Addie (20) and Luke (17), have lived in Katy for 19 years. Hamilton has always been involved in the Katy com-munity and her children’s activities. Besides the many hours that she has devoted to the CHT youth, Hamilton has held practically every office in Covenant House Guild. Not only does she spearhead many arts and crafts projects, she also involves her whole family. All three of the Hamilton children have helped with projects and parties their mom has coordinated.

For more information about the CHT An-nual Spring Gala, visit the CHT website at covenanthousetx.org or contact Keiundra Jackson at 713-630-5610.

The Hamilton family: Tonya, Hank, Corey, Luke and Addie.


Preston Fontenot, also known as “DJ PJ,” provided musical entertainment for attendees.

Scouts from Katy’s Boy Scout Troop 557 of the Texas Skies District are working on their Citizenship in the Community Merit Badge, an Eagle required badge. The scouts visited one of Katy’s City Council Meetings to fulfill one of their requirements for this badge. Pictured are Kevin Blanco, Joshua Evetts, Daniel Farrar, James Hutchinson, Isaiah Hamlin, Robert Buchman, Alex Trevino, Scout Master Derek Spier and Mayor Don Elder.

Among those who enjoyed the

festivities were John Action Jackson

and Logan Henke.

On January 19th, the West Houston Muscle car club celebrated its fourth anniversary with music, raffles and giveaways at Caliber Collision.

absolutely! Katy participated with a booth at the Katy

Home and Garden Show. The absolutely! Katy team

distributed free sunglasses and visited with several Katy-ites. Kennedy Ryanne was

excited to make a bracelet at the Macaroni Kids’ booth.

Ray and Jamie Wolman Elementary School Principal Kelly Ricks

presented a Special Business Partner award to Wayne Meyer, General

Manager of Firethorne, at the school’s official Dedication Ceremony as

Assistant Principal Angela Kovar looked on from the podium. Firethorne

was credited with contributing to the school’s beautiful electronic marquee

as well as some landscaping.

Supporters of local non-profit Friends for Good and the creator of the Green

Beans and Guacamole cookbook recently celebrated efforts to raise money and

awareness for the Arc of Houston and Katy. A total of $150,000 in cookbook proceeds

was donated to the organizations, which improve the lives and raise the spirits of special-needs children, adults and their

families. Austin Hanson and Belinda and Corky Hillhouse enjoyed the celebration.

Several Katy area families recently participated in the Great Amazing Race near George Bush Park. Families teamed up to complete six obstacles. Each challenge required teamwork, communication and fitness. The Great Amazing Race encourages families to play together for 30 minutes each day. Pictured are participants Joshua, Eileen, Alissa and Chris Paulus.

Kelvin and Joy Pierre of ABC Pest, Pool and Lawn had a booth at the show.

IN THEHEART

K AT Y

OUT&ABOUT

By Jennifer L. Evans


Smashburger celebrated the opening of its new Katy restaurant with a VIP Grand Opening party on February 5th. Special guests

noshed on “smashed” burgers cooked to order at the S. Fry/Grand Parkway location. Aside from the smashing burgers, the grilled

chicken sandwiches and sweet potato fries were big hits.

Beck Junior High PTA representative Michelle Zamora compared notes on the menu with Katy Economic Development Council head Lance LaCour.

Local businessman and Katy Youth Football Board member Robert Cortez

and his wife Gabi served up smiles after dinner.

Katy has its own Run for the Rose campaigner. Ava Klein, a Kinder student at Williams Elementary, who suffered from brain cancer in her toddler years, is leading a fundraising campaign, Ava’s Army. Ava’s Army began as a family affair but now includes children and families from the Katy area. Ava and her army raised over $3,000 for the Run last year and plan to go for more in the next Run for the Rose, which takes place on Sunday, April 14th. Pictured are Lisa, Randy,Tanner, Ava and Alyssa Klein.

A group of Katy-ites are “bringing lovely back” to Katy’s little girls with the

launch of a new service and faith-based organization called Lovely Girls Club

(LGC). The new group of 50 to 60 little girls and middle-school aged leaders meet weekly to learn Lovely Lessons.

So far, they’ve shone through activities around Katy and Houston at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Oakmont Nursing Home, Mission U-Too in Bastrop and

Wreaths Across America.

Leelah Nichols and her mom, Gillian Nichols, were dressed for success with the LGC.

Molly Jean Dailey held a teacup craft that she made at a Lovely Tea Party event. The

lesson of the day was focused on the message that girls are

worth more than rubies.

Katy ISD’s Sue Creech Elementary PTA has celebrated Katy’s diversity with an International Festival for ten years. The International Festival

team included Rebecca Martin, Melissa Piper, Cheryl Mohn, Sieg Leland, Naomi Arbel, Usha

Machiraju, Ravi Machiraju, Sara Jackson, Hjordis Hovland, Catrine Grytoyr, Camilla

Aland, Christine Pinkley, Betul Roberts, Sheheli Jahan, Sohela Alam, Robert Figliozzi, Christi

Ghiz, Roshmi Dalal, Nick Pappas, Maria Wright, Phee Goh, Miguel Dominguez, Bambang

Gumilar, Louise Ekmann, Annie Bodah, Rama Sarathy, Maysoon Turkey, Anna Bourg, Angela

Bazzi, Adele Brown, Renee Guilbeau, Sherry Weissman, Linda Ngo, Kym Pratt, Susan Reese,

Joo Jo, Corena Caminos, Marisol Rojas, Gabby Dominguez and Fidya Gumilar.


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HOT SHOTHigh School Meet Simone Romero

By Gabriel al-Rifai I Photos by Two Birds Photography

Simone

S imone Romero is an accomplished high school senior at James E. Taylor High School. Her out-

standing achievements throughout her high school career have earned her the deserving title of this month’s absolute-ly! Katy’s High School Hot Shot.

Simone has already completed six col-lege credit hours by studying in France at the Catholic University of Paris, an experience that she will always cherish. Her AP studies have included English Language, US History, Biology, Anato-my, U.S. Government, English Litera-ture, French IV and Calculus.

As an intern at the Spero Rehab, Simone actively observes and assists physical therapists with patients rang-ing with concerns from torn Anterior Cruciate Ligaments (ACLs) to stroke recovery. She is also a summer swim coach at the Willowfork Country Club Swim Team where she teaches swim-ming to students ages three to 18.

Simone has been a member of the Girl Scouts of America since 2001 and has been the troop cookie highest seller for seven years. She is also an active al-tar server at the Epiphany of the Lord Catholic Church and has served in this role since 2003. She is a senior Altar

Server and assists celebrants of Catho-lic services with liturgy and is a Confir-mation Preparedness Senior Helper for high school candidates.

Simone has been on the Taylor High School Varsity Swim Team since 2009 where she served as team captain for two years. She is a two year letterman, regional qualifier from 2010-2011 and won the Coach’s Award in 2009. She has also received the Regional Aca-demic Award for competing in the re-gional swim meet and having a GPA of at least a 4.0 from 2011-2012.

Simone is a member of the French club, National Honor Society and was on the Junior Varsity Taylor High School Softball Team in 2010. She is a triathlon competitor and finisher from 2010-2012 with the 500m swim, 15 mile bike and 5k run.

Best of luck to this outstanding sen-ior in her final months at Taylor High School!

• Cosmestic & AestheticDentistry

• Family Dentistry

• Teeth Whitening

23123 Cinco Ranch Blvd., Suite 230 • Katy, TX 77494www.MintDentalKaty.com

Call Today For An AppointmentSandeep P. MammenDMD, FAGD 281-394-3440

• Dental Implants

• 6 Month SmilesCosmetic Braces

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T he color company, Pantone, has selected emerald as The Color of the Year for 2013. It has been described as “lively, radiant, and lush . . . a color of elegance and

beauty that enhances our sense of well-being, balance and harmony.”

Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute®, says, “The human eye sees more green than any other color in the spectrum. As it has throughout history, multifaceted emerald continues to sparkle and fascinate. Symbolically, emerald brings a sense of clarity, renewal and rejuvenation, which is so important in today’s complex world. This powerful and universally-appealing tone translates easily to both fashion and home interiors.”

Choosing The Color of the Year is a very involved process. Pantone combs the world looking for color influences including art collections, the film and entertainment industry, travel destinations, new textures, technology, science and other socio-economic conditions. The 2012 Color of the Year was Tangerine Tango – a spirited, reddish orange to provide the energy boost we needed to recharge and move forward. This year’s choice, emerald, is “most often associated with brilliant, precious gemstones. The perception of Emerald is sophisticated and luxurious. Since antiquity, this luminous, magnificent hue has been the color of beauty and new life in many cultures and religions. It’s also the color of growth, renewal and prosperity. No other color conveys regeneration more than green. For centuries, many countries have chosen green to represent healing and unity,” Eiseman said.

Green is a neutral color, actually. Although Emerald is bold, it is quite versatile. It can be preppy and traditional, as well as funky and edgy. Greens compliment other colors in an interesting way and is a great color to work with. You will see this color and its softer versions like aqua, forest green and green yellow in fashion apparel, beauty products, accessories and home décor.

HOME FEATURE

By Sophia Vassiliou

The Green Light to a Bright Shade

DesignPantone®’s EmeraldColor of the Year

with

For an easy update, add a splash of emerald to your interior:

• Paint or wallpaper for a punch of color in an office or powder room.

• Use the color for an accent wall in a foyer, hall, den or library.

• Update an old dresser or end tableby painting it a great shade of green.

• Change upholstery on an accent orantique chair with a patterned bold green fabric.

• Use plants, vases, lamps, deskitems or towels to include the color green in your home.

• Are you starting a new room? Try an emerald sofa as the inspiration piece.

• Change the look of your beddingor sofa with a variety of solid and patterned pillows.

• Try other colors, like camel, with emerald to soften it, or use a geometric pattern.

Contact Sophia to update a room or for any design project you have in mind at 281-685-1429 or [email protected].

Images from www.pantone.com

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART ISAdvertorial


www.LightItRight.com |281.492.6630

Your Landscape Lighting Professionals….

Authorized Dealer

Heritage Celebrates Record Breaking Yearwith 2012 Top Producer Awards Ceremony

Heritage Texas Properties President and CEO Robin Mueck and Executive Vice President and Principal Jerry Mueck, along with the members of the Heritage Leadership Team, recently honored its company-wide 2012 Top Producers and Teams at a celebratory breakfast and Awards Ceremony at the Houston Country Club. The keynote speaker was Debbie Maier, recognized as one of the leaders in training and motivational speaking, and the founder of The End Result, who delivered a highly entertaining overview of the many ways, from the obvious to the very subtle, that interactions with clients impact their customer experience.

Following the keynote address, a number of special awards were presented before the anticipated announcement of the Number One 2012 Company-Wide Top Producer. Brandey Heckeroth from the Royal Oaks office was named to the top spot for the second year in a row.

Also among the 2012 Best of the Best were a number of agents from the Memorial, Royal Oaks and Katy office agents including Donna Pierce, Amanda Walsh, Bill and Sally Boone, Ann Knoche, Janice Ireland, Rita Donnelly, Re-becque Demark, Nancy Scott, Christine Duncan, Clarann McCoy, Darlene Kraf-ka, Scott Landreth, Karen Martin, Kay Horsch, Patty Jackson, Anita Pickett, Lisa Jones, JoAnne and Charlie Eskridge, Ellen Harrington and Trisha Fletcher.

“To reach their level of success is a significant achievement!” said Mueck. “These individuals are leaders and the high standards they set for themselves are reflected not only in their production, but in the high regard they receive from their peers.” See ad on Back Cover.

Simply DivineInteriors, LLC:

Tailoring to YourPersonal Style

Simply Divine Interiors, LLC is a full service interior design firm that specializes in residential and com-mercial office space. “Our team takes pride in making your home or office a place you can be proud of as well as comfortable in,” said Kelly Nolan, owner of Simply Divine Interiors, LLC. Their goal is to pro-vide you with an elegant, comfort-able and economical living space that is unique to your personal-ity and style. Integrity, professional and personal one-on-one service is the mission behind Simply Divine Interiors.

Whatever your home improve-ment project is, Simply Divine Inte-riors will provide professional assis-tance. Simply Divine Interiors offers the following services: residential, furniture and accessories, window treatments, new construction, stag-ing and holiday decorating.

The designers at Simply Divine Interiors are flexible, fun and easy to work with. They have great rela-tionships with an endless supply of vendors that can accommodate any style, whether traditional, Tuscan, transitional, modern or contempo-rary. Whether you are just starting to create or looking to utilize what you already have, Simply Divine In-teriors will help you design a fresh, new look. They value and accom-modate all budgets and scale of projects from small design phases to a complete project overhaul.

Stop by and visit their beautiful showroom at 22758 Westheimer Parkway, Suite 240 in Katy. For more information, call 832-437-3288, join them on Facebook or vis-it www.simplydivineinteriors.com.

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS Advertorial


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Our goal is to provide you an elegant,

comfortable, and economical living space that is unique

to your personality and style. • Residential• Commercial• Furniture & Accessories• New Construction • Staging• Holiday Decorating

22758 Westheimer Pkwy. Ste. 240Villagio Town Center832.437.3288www.simplydivineinteriors.com

Patio Covers • Outdoor Kitchens • Screened PorchesDecorative Patios • Sunrooms • And More!

Your New Outdoor Living Room!

281-265-1994TexasCustomPatios.com

Call today to schedule a free design consultation.

If youwant it in

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Texas Custom Patios:Creating Stylish Outdoor Living Spaces

Texas Custom Patios is the Houston area’s premier designer and builder of stylish outdoor living spaces. The company is a family-owned residential re-modeling contractor specializing in designing and building custom projects to enhance outdoor living such as patio covers, outdoor kitchens, sunrooms, fire-places, screened porches, pergolas and decorative patios. They have completed over 700 projects in the Houston area since 2004.

Texas Custom Patios provides a turnkey custom design project. Their spe-cialty is building projects that look original to the home, including room addi-tions, guest houses, decks, outdoor kitchens and custom patios.

You will know exactly what you are getting when you choose to work with Texas Custom Patios. Detailed designs include rendered views showing the completed project on the back of your home. If you would like a detailed expla-nation of the process they use from design to completed construction, please visit their website where they will walk you through the steps. There is also a huge photo gallery with hundreds of pictures of completed projects to give ideas for your dream backyard.

Texas Custom Patios serves much of the Greater Houston area including Cypress, The Woodlands, Fulshear, Katy, Missouri City, Richmond, Rosenberg, Pearland, Spring, Sugar Land and Tomball.

Contact Texas Custom Patios today to schedule your free design consulta-tion at 281.265.1994 or visit www.texascustompatios.com.

Q: IS MY CHILD GETTING ENOUGH OF THE RIGHTKINDS OF PROTEIN?

Protein is necessary to build and re-pair muscle and to boost the immune system. The need for protein in an ath-lete is increased, but many athletes over consume protein and under consume calories. Your child can make healthy protein choices by choosing lean meats such as turkey, fish, sirloin, beans and tofu, using egg whites instead of whole

eggs, choosing low fat dairy products such

as skim milk, 1% milk and low fat yogurt and avoiding fried meats.

Depending on your child’s

age, you can calcu-late your young athlete’s

protein needs: He needs 0.5 to 0.8 grams of protein per

pound of body weight.

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Lastly, two to four hours before a workout, a moderate amount of protein can be eaten with carbohydrates. Exam-ples might be a turkey sandwich with let-tuce and tomato or a yogurt parfait made with Greek yogurt, chopped fruit and dry cereal. This can be repeated within 30 minutes after a workout to help re-load the depleted muscles with the fuel they need. If you’re looking for a family-friendly activity to get your family working out to-gether, Texas Children’s Family Fun Run will be held on Saturday, April 13th at our West Campus location. For more informa-tion, visit texaschildrens.org/funrun.

Q: ARE CARBOHYDRATESIMPORTANT?

Carbohydrates are the fuel of exer-cising muscle; however, quality always counts. Carbohydrates consist of both sugars and starches. Sugars appear in cookies, candies, cake, pies and many snacks that children love. The sugars in these foods often contain large amounts of fat making them unsuitable for athletic

SportsNutrition

W e all know good nutrition is important, but it goes beyond the way we look and feel. For young athletes, maintaining a balanced diet is

critical to the health, growth and development, safety and success of their sport. Eating the right kinds of foods at the right time can help provide sustained energy during exercise and promote the recovery muscles need after strenuous exercise. Roberta Anding, director of sports nutrition at Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus – part of the hospital’s Sports Medicine Program – helps answer some of the most common questions we’ve received about nutrition for athletes.

performance. Sugars are fast acting car-bohydrates, and the closer your child is to competition the more these fast act-ing carbohydrates take center stage. Think of these sugars as topping off a well-fueled tank. But the staple of the well-fueled athlete are starches such as bread, rice, beans, some fruits and veg-etables. Which carbohydrate choice to use depends on the time remaining be-fore the event. If it is 15 minutes before a soccer match, it is best to use a sports drink or a carbohydrate gel or honey. If there is more time, an hour or so, foods like whole grain cereal and milk or gra-ham crackers with some peanut butter and honey are a good choice. A low fat meal like chicken spaghetti or a sandwich and fruit can also be considered part of your performance plate. Protein alone does not fuel muscles for activity.

If you have questions or would like more information about the Sports Medi-cine Program at Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus, please call 832-227-7678 or visit westcampus.texaschildrens.org.

Roberta Anding Director of Sports Nutrition



MEDICALBRIEFS

UT Physicians provides compre-hensive multi-specialty care

for adults, adolescents and children from routine wellness exams to care for common illnesses to highly-specialized treatments for complex medical condi-tions. As the medical group practice of the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, UT Physicians offers high-quality, personalized care at their flag-ship in the Texas Medical Center and at a growing number of health centers throughout the Houston community. Their team of internationally-recognized medical experts includes more than 900 doctors certified in 80 medical special-ties, with many of our physicians listed among the “Best Doctors in America.”

Most recently, UT Physicians opened its doors in Katy in the Cinco Ranch sub-division. The two-story, 11,000-square-foot clinic represents UT Physicians’

continued commitment to provide the most comprehensive, high-quality and personalized medical care in the com-munity. “Our primary and specialty care doctors provide unparalleled care for patients of all ages in a convenient lo-cation right in their neighborhood,” said Andrew Casas, vice president and chief operating officer of UT Physicians. “We are proud to be a part of the community, and we hope many area residents will decide to make UT Physicians at Cinco Ranch their health care home.”

Current providers include family med-icine, geriatric medicine, cardiology, psy-chiatry, and ophthalmology, plus an in-house lab station and imaging services to save the time of going to another lo-cation. Almost all major insurance plans are accepted, as well as walk in patients. Dr. Thomas Murphy, Assistant Dean at UT Health Medical School and Chief

Greetings from UT Physicians

Medical Officer UTP community Based Clinics, stated, “UT Physicians at Cinco Ranch is committed to providing unpar-alleled care that incorporates the latest medical treatments and most advanced technologies.”

To schedule an appointment, call 713-486-5300. UT Physicians is conve-niently located on Cinco Ranch Boule-vard across from the Cinco Ranch Junior High School.


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T he kids are finally out of your car. Now, you’re looking to downsize. You don’t need a lot

of room, but you still want that high-riding SUV position for better visibility. Oh, and you want to indulge yourself with a touch of luxury. Take a close look at the new 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK, an upscale SUV with enough room for you and just a little more.

The compact SUV/crossover seg-ment is crowded and highly competi-tive with great vehicles that keep getting better each year. That’s why Mercedes-Benz significantly upgraded their popu-lar GLK-Class SUV for the 2013 model year. Take one look, and you’ll instant-ly see the difference. Get behind the wheel, and those upgrades will bring a big smile to your face. It may not be a complete overhaul, but this is a much better car than last year’s model.

The new sloping front end gives the 2013 GLK a more stylish look. But it’s

MERCEDES-BENZ GLK

the interior and under the hood where the improvements are striking. For in-stance, the dashboard now features a polished piece of simply gorgeous wood that stretches from door to door. Of course, the materials used and the fit and finish remain impeccable. After all, this is a Mercedes-Benz. Along with all that luxury, the interior now enjoys tech-nological upgrades that make driving both safer and more convenient.

One example is Attention Assist, a system to alert you at the first signs of drowsiness. A steering sensor is coupled to smart software that uses 70 parameters to establish a unique driver profile during the first 20 minutes of driving. Between 50 and 112 mph, the system will identify any erratic steer-ing corrections you make as you might get drowsy, thereby triggering an au-dible warning along with a “Time for a rest?” message in the instrument cluster. You’ve seen the commercials; now, it’s

standard equipment on the 2013 GLK. There’s more technology. But let’s talk engines.

The 2013 GLK350 gets a peppier 302 hp, 3.5-liter V6 that delivers EPA-estimat-ed fuel economy numbers of 19 mpg in the city and 25 mpg on the highway. It should get you from 0-60 in about six and a half seconds. And coming soon is the GLK250 BlueTec with a 190 hp, tur-bocharged 2.1-liter four-cylinder diesel that’s slower than the gasoline powered GLK but delivers significantly better fuel economy. If you haven’t experienced modern diesel engines, you are in for a treat. Be sure to take one for a test drive before making up your mind.

Follow Steve Kursar at KursarOnCars.blogspot.com.

INSIDE BACK

INSIDE BACK

BACK

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WE’RE SOLD ON KATY

KELLY CHAMBERLAIN281.582.3984

JOSH CLARK281.582.3929

RITA DONNELLY281.582.3930

MARTHA CLARK281.582.3949

MARCIA SERAFIN281.582.3908

ROBIN MUECKPresident/CEO

JULIE PICKETT281.582.3974

SUZAN PHENICIE281.582.3904

14340 Memorial Drive • 281.493.3880 23123 Cinco Ranch Blvd., Suite 200

CHRISTINE DUNCAN281.582.3959

CLARANN MCCOY281.582.3907

JANICE IRELAND281.620.8427

Wherever life takes you

C A L L O N U S

VICKI JACKSON713.899.5221

march-2013- absolutely katy magazine

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