A Katy Family Needs Your Help!

Most of us have been faced with difficult situations at some point in our lives.  Maybe you’ve lost a job, had trouble paying your bills or faced an unexpected illness or injury.  It’s truly amazing how one moment can change the course of your every day life either for the short or long term.  One local Katy family is facing a major life change right now.  I don’t personally know the Acord family.  To my knowledge, our paths have not crossed.  But when I read their story I felt compelled to share it with the rest of our community.   The information that follows comes from Good Ole Boys.  Thank you to them for sharing so that we can all pass it along.

Meet the Acord Family
Don & Cheryl Acord have been Katy residents and strong supporters of the Katy community for many years.  You may know Don from Katy Youth AAU Basketball or Katy Youth Football.  You may have met him at a Katy ISD school fundraiser at some point over the years, or perhaps your children have sat on his lap as he stood in for Santa at a Christmas event.  You might know Cheryl from her work with Katy ISD during the last 15 years.  Cinco Ranch folks may definitely recognize her from the school’s attendance office.  Their children Kimberly, Donnie and Sarah are all graduates of Katy High School.

Their Challenge
Cheryl Acord is a cancer survivor.  In 1980 she was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.  In 1998 she faced thyroid cancer.  She had a tumor removed from her para-thyroid in 2006 followed by skin cancer in 2007.  She’s obviously an incredibly strong woman.  She beat ALL of these cancers!  However, during a recent procedure to remove a tumor from Cheryl’s neck, doctors identified 6 tumors on her brain, cancer in her left lung, chest cancer and cancer in each hip!  She will begin treatment shortly.  But we can only imagine what the medical bills will be for her family.

What You Can Do
Jay Baker and the folks at Good Ole Boys have stepped up to spearhead community fundraisers to help the Acord family.  The Acords have given many hours of their time to the Katy community over the years.  It would be great to see the community give back to them.  Here are some of the ways that you can help…

1)  Attend a fundraiser, have a great time and donate to this very worthy cause.  All profits from these events will go directly to the Cheryl Acord Benefit Donation Fund.  There are 2 fundraisers currently scheduled:

• August 28, 2010 from 1pm – 3pm in the Pavilion at The Home Decor & Remodeling Show at the Merrell Center
  Go by Good Ole Boys (26403 Katy Frwy) to pick up your free VIP pass to the show and enjoy sausage sandwiches for donations.  Other activities include fun stuff from Jumping Kiddie Kingdom, Splatterhouse Paintball and 4 Seasons Recreation Bungee Jump.  Rhythm & Blues music will be performed by The Sugarland Brass Company.
• September 11, 2010 from 3pm – 10pm at the Elks Lodge (1050 Katy Fort Bend Road)
  $10 gets you BBQ plates with 3 meats and 3 sides dine-in or take-out from 3pm – 8pm!
  Stick around and play Black Jack & Craps from 7pm – 10pm.  (chips can be purchased for donations)  The 2 biggest winners will receive a prize.  Enjoy music, food and a silent auction.  All benefiting the Acord Family.

2) Volunteer your time and / or talents to help make these fundraisers a huge success.  They are currently looking for silent auction, door prize and raffle donations, folks to help spread the word about the events and volunteers to serve as casino dealers, ticket sellers, food servers and more.

3)  If you can’t make the events, please consider making a donation to the Cheryl Acord Benefit Donation Fund.  They are accepting checks, MasterCard, Visa, AMEX, Discover, ATM & PayPal.  Go to the bottom of the Acord Fundraiser web page for links and more information about how to make a donation.

For more information about the Acord Family, the fundraisers, or the Benefit Fund, please visit the Acord Fundraiser page.  Thank you to Good Ole Boys and all of the other folks who are stepping up to help this Katy Family.  Will you join them?

NOTE: If you own a business and are wondering if charitable giving and volunteering are worth your time, please read Charitable Giving Builds Strong Teams & Reputations on our B2B blog.

Festival Season is Coming!!!

As we near the end of August each year one thing always springs to mind.  No, I’m not talking about the beginning of the new school year.  I’m looking forward to Festival Season!! 

As the Texas weather begins to cool off just a tad, the local festivals kick into high gear.  These events are the perfect opportunity to grab your family and friends and build some memorable traditions.  We make sure to hit as many of these as we can every year.  What are your favorites?

Katy Rice Harvest Festival – It’s hard to believe that this is the 30th Annual occurrence of this fun event!  They have it all:  craft booths, food, games, rides, entertainment…all right in Historic Downtown Katy!  October 9 – 10, 2010.

Fort Bend County Fair & Rodeo – Entertaining local families since 1933!  The Ft Bend County Fair is 9 days of fun:  carnival rides, nightly rodeos, concerts, livestock shows, art shows, food,…it’s a County Fair!  September 24 – October 2, 2010 at the Fort Bend County Fairgrounds.  Click Here for discount tickets.

Waller County Fair – Katy resides within 3 counties which means that we’re close to 3 County Fairs!  The Waller County Fair has been going strong since 1945.  Rodeos, carnival rides, entertainment, food,…they’ve got it!  Think you’ve got the world’s best BBQ recipe?  Maybe you should enter the BBQ Cookoff.  September 25 – October 2, 2010.

Harris County Fair – The youngest of our 3 local County Fairs, the Harris County Fair is also the shortest in length.  But they pack a lot of stuff into a few days.  Calf scrambles, stick horse races, mutton bustin, livestock shows, and a BBQ Cookoff.  At the Houston Farm & Ranch Club at Bear Creek October 20 – 23, 2010.

Houston Hot Sauce Festival – They say some like it hot.  If that’s you, then check out the 10th Annual Houston Hot Sauce Festival at the Stafford Centre.  This is your chance to sample some of the best, most unusual, and yes in some cases hottest sauces around.  Go early for the best selection and to vote for your favorites.  And the music is pretty good too!    September 18 – 19, 2010

Dewberry Farm – Have you ever been lost in a giant corn maze???  It’s an experience everyone should have at some point in their life.  And thanks to the folks at Dewberry Farm, you don’t have to go far to begin your great corn adventure!  Just West of Katy in Brookshire, Dewberry Farm opens every Fall with tons of activities in addition to their fantasticly humongous cornfield maze.  Check out Golden Goat Bridge, pig races, rubber duck races, and singing chickens.  Blast pumpkins, shoot corn cannons, feed goats, rope calves, enjoy hayrides and mini train rides…there are enough activities here to keep the family busy all day!  The season opens September 25, 2010.

Katy Wine Fest – Wine lovers are represented again this year with the 5th Annual Katy Wine Fest hosted by Rotary Club of Katy Sunrise.  This is a charity event at Agave Road featuring live music, silent and live auctions, great food and, of course, wine tasting.  October 28, 2010.

And the great festivals aren’t just limited to West Houston, Katy and Brookshire!  Art lovers should definitely check out the Bayou City Art Festival (October 9 – 10, 2010) and Galveston’s ARToberFEST (October 16 – 17, 2010).  If you like learning about cultures, the Grand Taiko Concert (September 17 - 18, 2010) and the 32nd Annual Festa Italiana (October 15 – 17, 2010) are for you.  The Wings Over Houston Airshow is always thrilling (October 23 – 24, 2010).  And the Ballunar Liftoff Festival is simply amazing, especially when they light all of the hot air balloons at night (October 29 – 31, 2010).  And last but certainly not least:  No list of Fall Festivals would be complete without including the granddaddy of them all:  the Texas Renaissance Festival (October 9 – November 28, 2010).

There are so many things to do in the coming months that I’m not sure it’s even possible to hit them all!  But I hope you’ll get out there and choose a few to enjoy.  And let us know…which ones are your favorites?  What others should everyone know about?

Weekend GetAways: New Braunfels

Whew!  The last few days have really been scorchers for us!  We had such a great response from our first Weekend GetAways post (Galveston Island), that I thought we’d do another…this time let’s look at a beautiful part of the state full of rivers, shade trees and history…New Braunfels! 

From Katy, head West on I-10 to begin your adventure.  Ask anyone who has lived in our area for a long time, and they probably have fond memories of time spent on the rivers in the New Braunfels area.  The Guadalupe and Comal Rivers offer a refreshing, relaxing escape from a hectic week.  Here are some of our favorites places to go and things to do in this part of Texas…

Mountain Breeze Campground.  Family owned & operated by our long-time friends, Mountain Breeze is located on River Road right on the banks of the Guadalupe River.  Offering cabins, RV sites, and tent camping, these guys are also your full source for tubes and rafts for your trip down the river.  Other amenities include fishing, lighted volleyball & horseshoe pits, and hot water showers.  Their sports bar & grill has a deck overlooking the river.  If you like to camp or you want to float down the Guadalupe…this is your place!

Gruene Hall.  Texas’ oldest dance hall!  Gruene Hall was built in 1878.  The list of entertainers who’ve performed there is like a historical who’s who in Texas music.

The Gristmill River Restaurant.  Located in historic Gruene, next to Gruene Hall, the Gristmill makes its home in what was the boiler room of the old water powered cotton mill built in 1878.  Sitting on a bluff overlooking the Guadalupe River, this place is a destination of its own…and the food is good too!

Natural Bridge Caverns.  Recognized as a national natural landmark, the caverns were discovered 50 years ago by spelunking college students.  They offer several different types of tours…everything from the popular walking tour, to lantern tours, and even adventure tours.

Schlitterbahn.  No discussion of things to do in New Braunfels is complete without Schlitterbahn!  Featured many times on the Travel Channel, the original Schlitterbahn Waterpark is a true Texas gem.  Launched in 1966 and opened in 1979 by the Henry family, this is the world’s first “water resort”.  Arguably the first family of waterparks, the Henrys created the first surfing ride, the first uphill water coaster, and the first tidal wave river.  Schlitterbahn is still family owned.  The New Braunfels parks now cover 65 acres and include the original section Schlitterbahn West as well as Blastenhoff and Surfenburg at Schlitterbahn East.  And get this…parking is FREE, tubes are FREE, life jackets are FREE and you can bring in your own picnic!

Other family activities in the New Braunfels area include the New Braunfels Railroad Museum, Landa Park (featuring paddle boats, mini golf, mini train rides and walking trails), the City Tube Chute (billed as the longest tube chute in the world) and McKenna Children’s Museum.

And on your way to and from New Braunfels, don’t forget to follow the famous beaver signs to Buc-ee’s on I-10 in Luling…known for their clean restrooms and jerky of all kinds (“except beaver”). 

Safe travels!

Profile on Katy Business: Athletic Nation

Travel to the corner of Cinco Ranch Boulevard and Mason Road and you will find Athletic Nation, a full-service fitness and nutrition education facility staffed by experienced, licensed personal trainers who believe in one-on-one attention.  And they have an interesting story on what brought them here…

Will Denyko, Owner: Athletic Nation

Owner Will Denyko is an 11-year veteran of the U.S. Army who served in Iraq.  His post-military career began in oilfield services during which time he found himself moving through New Mexico, Louisiana and Texas including the Houston area.  It was during this time that Will began to gain weight.  When he had trouble physically fitting into areas that were required for his work on oil rigs, he knew he had to make a change.  Through months of research, Will learned to change his nutritional habits and began to exercise.  As his health and physical appearance improved, friends began to ask him for guidance and advice.  Will saw an opportunity to help others change their lives, and decided to pursue formal education to become a personal trainer. 

While he was working as a professional fitness trainer at a large national gym, Will met fellow trainer (and Mayde Creek alum) Adrian Gonzalez.  Will and Adrian share the belief that working with a personal trainer should be about more than just a 20 or 30 minute appointment running through exercises.  They started Athletic Nation to provide personal attention to each client, to learn their goals and their history in nutrition and fitness…to answer questions and provide guidance…to teach proper form and nutrition.  Denyko and Gonzalez believe that time spent with clients in one-on-one counseling is critical to success.

The Athletic Nation model is based on what Will and Adrian believe are the “3 Keys to Success:  Dedication, Motivation & Determination”…all things that folks tend to apply to the education and

Adrian Gonzalez, General Manager: Athletic Nation

career facets of their lives, but often forget in regard to their health.  So what can you expect when you walk in to Athletic Nation?  personal consultation with a Certified Fitness Professional, nutrition education, fitness assessments, 2-3 weeks of foundation building followed by re-assessments…a full, truly customized fitness program based on mini-goals and progress.

Perhaps Will says it best, “It’s not a body style change, it’s a lifestyle change”.  

Are you ready to change your life?  Athletic Nation is located at 2944 S Mason, Suite F, Katy, TX 77450 (in the Compass Bank strip center at Cinco Ranch Blvd).  Call them at 281.693.3656 or visit their website:  http://www.athleticnationhtx.com.