Presidents Message
October MessageEFWBA Friends and Members,
Pumpkin spice has officially arrived. That used to mean fall was upon us. But truth be told, these hot days seem never ending and I’m not quite convinced fall is coming at all. One never knows for sure where the seasons start and end in Texas. I suppose one might venture a guess, but you can’t count on the weather to tell you. I used to count on Costco or Target to remind me of the seasons as they changed their décor and offerings, but I’m fairly certain I purchased some new Christmas ribbon at Costco in July this year. Not even our local retailers can be trusted to get the seasons right these days.
Nonetheless, the calendar tells me it’s October and that means we are looking forward to a new month and a new speaker.
Our September meeting fulfilled the promise of an insightful presentation from Rich Andreski from Trinity Metro. For those that weren’t able to join us a recording of the presentation is available on our website. We had an excellent turnout and heard a number of engaging questions from the audience.
I’m looking forward to seeing how the Eastside Transportation Plan meshes with the plans of Trinity Metro to grow ridership in their various available models. Whether we have traditional buses, expanded Zip Zone coverage, or some form of rail or modified mass transportation system, our Eastside neighborhoods need to come together and voice their preferences as these plans are developing.
As you may have heard we originally had Bobby Ahdieh from the Texas A&M University School of Law scheduled for October. Unfortunately, there was a conflict on his schedule, and he won’t even be in the country on October 5th. If you were eagerly awaiting that program as many of us were, worry not, we’ve convinced him to come back in the early part of next year.
So, we had to call an audible for October. Similar to quarterback Peyton Manning in years past, we got up to the line of scrimmage and had to yell, “Omaha, Omaha!” to avert disaster. Fortunately, it was Gary Cumbie yelling “Omaha”, and one of our team members responded. Alan Leibrecht was able to line up Coach Joe Prud’homme to be our featured speaker for October. By now, all of my wacky football references should be clear. Coach Prud’homme is entering his 7th season as the football coach of the Texas Wesleyan Rams and we’re delighted to have him back as our guest.
In addition to Coach Prud’homme, Director Bill Schwennsen will call for a vote on our slate of officers for next year’s board of directors. That slate of officers was presented last month by our Immediate Past President Jason Ray for your consideration. You can find more information on the newest board members on our website and in our newsletter.
Finally, I hope you all join us on October 5th for our luncheon. Roger Carillo will be catering our meal and the menu is pork tenderloin with chimichurri sauce, wild rice and vegetables. Spread the word among your business peers, friends, and fellow entrepreneurs – the more, the merrier! The year is quickly slipping by, and I hope you’ll take some time to spend it with your friends at the East Fort Worth Business Association. After the October meeting, it will be ‘all hands on deck’ for our Annual Scholarship and Community Awards Banquet, November 9.
This year’s theme is JAZZ IT UP! The website will feature the Banquet page first, and individual tickets will go on sale mid October. Our keynote speaker is Pete Geren. We still want your gift items for the Banquet Silent Auction, all funds benefit next year’s scholars. Drop items off at Don’s Kwik Kopy at 1850 Handley Drive, for professional gift wrapping, etc.
Mike Shedd, President, 2023
Newsletter PDFs
Videos of all our previous meetings can be viewed on EFWBA's YouTube Channel.
Guest Speaker
NEXT MEETING: OCTOBER 5TWU Coach JOE PRUD'HOMME
Joe Prud’homme is entering into his 7th season as head football coach in 2023. In February of 2016, he was tasked with building a new football program at Texas Wesleyan.
In five seasons (2020 was cut short to two games), Prud'homme has produced 4 All-Americans, 63 All-Conference selections, 55 Academic All-Conference selections, 24 SAC Scholar-Athletes, one NFF Scholar-Athlete, and one NAIA Scholar-Athlete.
Prud’homme compiled an extremely successful coaching career over 27 seasons in the Texas high school ranks and brings that wealth of coaching experience to Texas Wesleyan.
He came to the Rams from nearby Nolan Catholic High School, where he led the Vikings to eleven appearances in the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) 5A State Finals and seven State Championships in 24 seasons (1991-’96, 1999-’15). At Nolan Catholic, he compiled a record of 209-105-2 and a playoff record of 38-15-1.
Prior to Nolan Catholic, Prud’homme began his coaching career as the head coach at Bishop T.K. Gorman Catholic School in Tyler, TX. Coaching the Cru in three seasons (1988-’90), he reached the State Championship game in his first season as head coach at the age of 23.
Prud’homme has received numerous accolades including American Football Coaches Association’s 2021 Regional Coach of the Year, SAC Conference 2022 Co-Coach of the Year, Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Magazine Private School Coach of the Year (2008), and TAPPS 5A Coach of the Year Awards in his State Championship seasons of 2004, ’05, ’08, ’09, ’11, ’12, and ’13. Among his 31 total Coach of the Year, awards are the 2005-’06 TAPPS 6A Coach of the Year awards which encompass all sports. Additionally, he has been named Tyler Morning Telegraph Football Coach of the Year (1998), Channel 8 Inside High School Sports-Private School Coach of the Year (2004, ’05, ’08, ’09), Chevrolet Truck Coach of the Year (2004), Txprivatesports.com Coach of the Year (’04, ’05), Fort Worth Star-Telegram Private School Football Coach of the Year (1991, ’95, ’99, ’04, ’09, ’12), TAPPS Division I Football Coach of the Year (2004, ’05, ’09, ’10, ’11, ’12), TAPPS 5A District Football Coach of the Year (2004, ’05, ’09, ’10, ’11, ’12, ’15), LSCSN.com Private School Coach of the Year (2012), and even TAPPS District 5A-1 Girls Golf Coach of the Year (2004).
Prud’homme resides in Kennedale, TX, with his wife Amanda. Amanda is the veterinarian and owner of 287 Animal Hospital in Mansfield. They have two children, Joseph, who is with Ben E Keith Foods Fort Worth, and Emily, who is Regional Customer Accounts Manager for Bob Evans Foods. Both Joseph and Emily earned their MBA’s at Texas Wesleyan and Emily earned her PHD in Chain Supply Management from Liberty University.
Bobby Ahdieh, Dean of the TAMU law school had a trip to Mexico and cannot be with us. He is rescheduled for next year.
See what you missed.
Click here: Past Meetings
Paul Rodman asked us to share this info about the Scout Troops that meet across the street from the church.
Pack 12 is for boys Kindergarden through 5th grade.
Pack 12 meets Tuesdays from 7 to 8pm at "The Scout Hut" 3912 Mount Vernon St. (the building across street -south- of Meadowbrook - Poly United Methodist Church).
TROOP 12 is for boys and girls ages 11-17. They meet on Fridays from 7 to 8:30pm, unless they are out camping.
For more info contact:
Paul Rodman: 817.903.0000
Esthela Muñoz (en español) 817.798.9883
SCOUTING is a wonderful organization teaching youth excellent skills for adult life.
