Shelby County Today

January 24, 2024 - The Scrap Happy Quilters of Center made and awarded nine Quilts of Valor to the veterans at Holiday Nursing Home. 

Recipients are Robert Clifton, Otis Sailors, LeVon Andrews, James Paxton, David Wright, Jackie Brown, Harry Hale, Harry Capps, and Tommy Lathan.

Thank you for your service and sacrifice in serving our country.

January 23, 2024 - Lexi Hutchins, whose hometown is Joaquin, Texas, was named to the Fall 2023 Dean's List at LeTourneau University. She is majoring in BBA Management.

The Dean's List recognizes students who have achieved a grade point average between 3.50 and 3.99 for the semester.

LeTourneau University President Dr. Steven D. Mason said being named to the Dean's List is a significant academic achievement and honor.

"As the comprehensive Christian polytechnic institution in the country, LeTourneau University attracts students who are among our nation's best," Mason said. "I'm especially impressed with these honor roll students, and I expect them to have a significant impact on our future."

LeTourneau University is the Christian polytechnic university where educators engage students to nurture Christian virtue, develop competency and ingenuity in their professional fields, integrate faith and work, and serve the local and global community. LETU offers more than 140 undergraduate and graduate degree programs online and at LETU's residential campus in Longview, Texas, located 120 miles east of Dallas, Texas, and 60 miles west of Shreveport, Louisiana.

Claiming every workplace in every nation as their mission field, LeTourneau University graduates are professionals of ingenuity and Christ-like character who see life's work as a holy calling with eternal impact. For additional information, visit www.letu.edu.

January 19, 2024 - Center Garden Club met on Wednesday, January 10, 2024 at the Texas Agri-life Building. The program was presented by member Cherry Jones on the long and fascinating history of tulips.

We learned that the wild (botanical) tulip is native to Asia and made their way to Europe through trade with the Ottoman Empire. By the early 1600’s tulips became so coveted in The Netherlands that it led to an economic bubble and bust now known as Tulipomania. At the height of the frenzy one tulip sold for the equivalent of $40,000. Many Dutch investors lost fortunes comparable to the 1929 Stock Market Crash. Today in The Netherlands a much more stable tulip industry ships one billion bulbs worldwide every year.

January 19, 2024 - (Photo Album) - The 101st Annual Shelby County Chamber of Commerce Awards Banquet was held at the John D. Windham Civic Center Thursday, January 18, 2024. Honored during the event were Marlin Cloudy, Jr., Young Citizen of the Year; Dennis Permenter Family, Farm Family of the Year; and J.J. Ford, Distinguished Service Award.
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Deborah Chadwick, Shelby County Chamber of Commerce President, thanked all of the sponsors for the event and they were: Presenting Sponsor - Farmers State Bank; Gold Sponsors - General Shelters of Texas, Mathews Real Estate, and Shelby Savings Bank; Silver Sponsors - American State Bank, City of Center, Holiday Nursing & Rehabilitation, Republic Services, Tyson Foods; Table Sponsors - Focused Care of Center, Hallmark Center Fixture Operations, Hicks Mortuary, Hope Community Medicine, Shelby Regional Training Center, Sabine State Bank, Texas Farm Bureau Insurance, and Timberwolf Lake Works; Entertainment Sponsor - Charles Holston; Booze Wagon Sponsor - High Roller Wells.

Chadwick introduced special guests for the evening as well, “Representing Senator John Cornyn’s office, Sarah Cutler, thank you,” and she continued, “Representing U.S. Representative Nathan Moran’s office is Jalam Lewis, thank you, and we have representing Texas State Senator Robert Nichols office is Shawn Dunn here and her husband. We have State Representative Travis Clardy and his lovely wife Judy and Jerri Jones, [District Director], we have our City of Center Mayor David Chadwick, we also have our District Attorney Karren Price, and our County Attorney John Price.”

Chadwick then invited Past-Chairman of the Board Roger Doyle to give the invocation followed by Amanda Treat-Brock, Chairman of the Board-elect, who recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
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Brandy Filz, Chairman of the Board, then joined Doyle on stage and in recognition of his dedication and commitment to the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce and to the community.

Filz introduced herself and explained she is a local business owner of two local establishments including Timber Wolf Lake Works and Brock’s Rocks. She has become very involved in the chamber, and community since joining the chamber in 2020. She moved with her family to Shelbyville in 2012 from Waco. Filz is an ambassador, board member, Total Resource Campaign volunteer and member of Eastern Star, as well as being active in her church.

“I enjoy the time I spend volunteering, I get to meet and work with so many outstanding people in our community. I volunteer for most of the events the chamber sponsors, but my favorites are the Grill Fest which is coming up soon, it’s earlier this year and the Poultry Festival,” said Filz. “I’m excited and honored to be Chairman of the Board for the next two years, I look forward to working with Amanda Treat-[Brock] she’s our new Chairman of the Board-Elect, all of our board members, our chamber staff, and all of our chamber members.”

Filz said 2024 will be a fun and successful year with a few new events and activities to look forward to, for which they are really excited.

Introducing the Young Citizen of the Year was Carriston Hendricks, 2022 Young Citizens of the Year recipient, and owner of Priority Family Healthcare in Center. Hendricks introduced Marlin Cloudy, Jr. as the Young Citizen of the Year. In preparation for the honor of announcing this year’s recipient, Hendricks described researching Cloudy through social media and the picture she was presented with was of a man of faith, and family.
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“It was apparent he has a giving heart, love for youth, sports and his family and continuously gives into our community,” said Hendricks. “He is a dedicated family man that is happily married to his gorgeous wife Miss Jade, and blessed with their two daughters Marlie, 4, and Maddox, 3.”

Hendricks further elaborated, Cloudy returned to his roots in Center two years ago and was driven by a deep seeded desire and was impassioned to contribute positivity into the community, Cloudy embarked on a mission to uplift and guide the youth, initially taking on the roles of Principal at Tenaha Middle School and Assistant Basketball Coach.

“He has since assumed the position of Principal at the Center ISD Middle School, additionally he serves as the director of Shelby Family Life Center,” said Hendricks. “Drawing from his 20 years of experience as a college basketball player, and a coach at both college and high school levels, he decided to establish an official amateur athletic union basketball program in Center, Texas.”

Originally planning to field only two teams, Hendricks described that there was such an overwhelming community interest in the program that five teams were formed. Throughout the season Cloudy and his other administrators not only instructed basketball skills but also instilled valuable lessons on attitude, demeanor, character, professionalism, and faith to the youth.

“Alongside this initiative, he also co-founded the Shelby County CAVE, which if you do not know is a very important local organization, it’s called Caring About Vision and Expansion program,” said Hendricks. “Outside the realm of sports he remains an active member of Abundant Love Ministries, and volunteers his time for various organizations.”

Mary Lynn Tinkle introduced the 2023 Teacher of the Year award recipients Alisha Murray, Elementary Teacher of the Year (Center Elementary School), and 
Joanna Huckabee, Secondary Teacher of the Year (Tenaha High School). (See related article - 2023 "Teacher of the Year" Recipients Are Murray, Huckabee).

Dennis Permenter who moved to Center from Orange, Texas at the age of 13, has built a successful career in the agriculture industry. His journey began with hands-on experience working with cows and acquiring essential skills in their care. In 1993 he graduated from Stephen F. Austin State University with a degree in Animal Science, laying the foundation for his future endeavors. In 1994, Permenter embarked in his professional career with Tyson where he achieved notable success earning the prestigious Grower of the Year title both in 1995 and 2000. He later worked for Pilgrims before ultimately transitioning all of his farms back to Tyson. Dennis displaying versatility in his agriculture ventures, actively participated in acquisition and sale of farms. Notably he directed his last four farms towards Nest Fresh to focus on table eggs. Permenter has also taken on the producing of his own hay for the past decade. Despite these changes, his unwavering dedication to raising cattle and the poultry industry has persisted since relocation to Shelby County, showcasing a commitment to diverse aspects of the agricultural industry

Rose Specter, 2022 Distinguished Service Award recipient, introduced the 2023 Distinguished Service Award recipient, J.J. Ford who Specter said is more than deserving of this honor and recognition.

“To say our 2023 recipient is humble is truly an understatement, this individual is everywhere and involved in everything, and I mean everything guys, I can confidently say that what I’m about to tell you is just the very tip of the iceberg for everything this person does for our community,” said Specter. “Stealth, we all know stealth, could be used to describe this year’s recipient, who works tirelessly where a need needs to be met and when no one else is able to be present and help, and stay calm no matter what the situation, and I’ve seen her do that.”
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Specter further elaborated about Ford, “J.J. is a 10th generation Texan and a graduate of Shelbyville High School, she has traveled and lived overseas and thank goodness for all of us, she returned to Shelby County. [She] began working with Rita and Richard Hughes at Shelby County Today in 2007 where her computer knowledge and ability to work with the public were invaluable.” Specter questioned the audience to a reply of laughter, “Have you ever worked with J.J. on computers? She makes you feel stupid.”

In June 2010, she took over the reins at Shelby County Today when the Hughes entrusted Ford and her family with ownership of shelbycountytoday.com (scttx.com). 

Specter continued, “[Shelby County Today] has continued to grow and flourish, providing a valuable resource to the community for daily events, general public information and news. J.J. has been a very active member of the chamber of commerce, she has been a longtime ambassador attending ribbon cuttings and volunteering at events and activities, she is a past ambassador chairman, she was a Star Ambassador for both the 2010-2011 and the 2011-2012 years, she is a former chamber board of directors member, [she] has been a member of tourist committee for many years and she is a graduate of the Leadership Class of 2009 and continues to help with the Leadership program as a Heritage Day leader.”

A very active member of the Center Rotary Club, Specter listed several of Ford’s accomplishments in that role including Rotary President for 2014-2015 year, Club Secretary, What-A-Melon Festival Chair, Fun For Funds Chair, Paul Harris Fellow for 2015, Rotary District 5910 Roll of Fame (2023), Instrumental in Helping Establish Interact Club at Center ISD, committees: membership, projects, by-laws, and constitutional update.

As a member of the William Carroll Crawford Chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas Ford has been the media liaison since she joined and in 2023 she was elected Treasurer of the chapter. Her son is a member of the Children of the Republic of Texas (CRT) and she helps with all of the CRT projects. Center was the host for the CRT convention in June 2022 and Ford was a huge asset in keeping records, and setting up various areas for convention.

“[She] has been instrumental with the DRT chapter members in organizing the weekly tours of our 1885 Historical Courthouse, and working on an app for the tours,” said Specter.
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“If she does not know, she will research and find an answer for you,” said Specter.

2024 Board of Directors - Brandy Filz, Chairman of the Board (Timberwolf Lake Works), Amanda Treat-Brock, Chairman of the Board Elect (City of Tenaha), David Chadwick (City of Center), Carol Eberenz (All Hours Fitness), Doug Gay (East Texas Awards), Lacy Gomez (Tyson Foods), Reneta Jones (Farmers State Bank), Cameron McElroy (General Shelters of Texas), Denise Merriman (Children's Advocacy Center), Malcolm Monroe (First Methodist Church), Brian Morris (Center ISD), Desiree Nitzschke (HOPE Community Medicine), Kim Payne (Borders Poultry Supply), Sandra Russell (Shelby Savings Bank), Ashley Snider (J’s Bar and Grill), Matt Snider (Tomlin Insurance), Feleshia Thompson (Extension Service), Robin Thompson (American State Bank), Ashlyn Wiggins (AW Marketing).

2024 Chamber Ambassadors - Hollie Adams, Charlotte Allen, Michele Askew, Kim Bridges, Rhonda Cartwright, Jaimes Cervantes, Caroline Chadwick, David Chadwick, Auna Chandler, Lorei Choate, Gracie Clifton, Shawna Cummings, Lawrence Davis, Keith Duncan, Anita Eddins, Stephanie Elswick, Brandi Emanis, Cindy Eubank, Brandy Filz, J.J. Ford, Andi Foster, Cindy Furlow, Doug Gay, Allison Gilpin, Nancy Gomez, Jordan Gray, Pam Hall, Ginia Hooper, Lourie Ihlo, Leslie Jacobs, Cancee Lester, Becky Martin, Matt Martin, Teresa Monroe, Tee Polley, Bailey Rabalais, Anna Register, Dolly Rojas, Daniel Rogers, Feleshia Thompson, Amanda Treat-Brock, Mallory Snider, Matt Snider, Misti Whittley.