From community reports
Imagine that you are sitting in a room with thirty strangers, and they are cheering for the Kansas City Chiefs. You are new to the group and to be safe, you wore a T-shirt from the 2025 Super Bowl which represented the first time two Black Quarterbacks were playing in the Super Bowl and both were from Texas. It did not take long to realize you were the minority in the room. As I scanned the room, I saw people from the Dallas area who were still talking about “back in the days, this is how Dallas did this” as well as many more who were towns that just wished they had professional sports teams. I smiled as the Eagles scored and the grumbling started in the room. They were from all over Texas, and you would have hoped they would be proud that since neither of the Texas teams made it to the Super Bowl, at least there were two quarterbacks representing the great state.
As the game progressed, I could not contain my excitement for Jalen Hurts. With every yard played and every point earned, I could not help but share with the group that while Jalen played for Channelview, he was raised in both Sterling Green and North Shore. I shared stories about him attending Judge Joe Stephens Basketball Camps as well as the years he developed skills on the field while gaining friends and a large following of fans. I shared about not only listening to his father speak on coaching his son on the field for Channelview, but on how proud his grandparents, cousins and neighbors were of him. It is not just how he performs on the field, but so much more.
Someone in the room asked if Judge Stephens was related to Joe Stephens who played basketball at University of Arkansas and you know my community pride kicked in as I shared about him playing overseas, then with the Houston Rockets. I shared about his dedication to making a difference as he went from an alumnus of North Shore to serving on the Galena Park School Board before transitioning to Justice of Peace, earning his law degree and still making the community a better place to live, work, worship and volunteer.
And that Jalen was leading his team to the victory, there were many others like him in the Channelview, Sheldon, Galena Park school districts. I shared how many families are third and fourth generation residents of East Harris County. I rattled a list of individuals who perhaps they had heard of. When I mentioned that Gary Keller was one of the founding partners of Keller Green Realty, there was a stir in the room.
I captured the attention of one man who had shared that as a Boy Scout, they would work the games at TCU Stadium, and he saw Galena Park win a championship. As he tried to think of the wide receiver who played for Miami and was amazing, I shared that Howard Twilley had just passed last week. Suddenly the other men at the table were talking about how he had been a part of the two-time Super Bowl Team.
As the Eagles won the Super Bowl, the frowns of those who had been supporting the Chiefs suddenly took on smiles as they learned a little bit of why I love my community. Several of them even asked if I knew the longest serving Latina was from Houston, I smiled and let them know yes, Ana Hernandez is MY State Representative who did my oath of office for the Texas Silver Haired Legislature. As I walked to my hotel room, I could not help but be proud of the rich history of East Harris County.
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