​La Marque Fire Department

WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH🧑🏻‍🦳
Barbara Gonzales is the emergency medical services (EMS) administrator for the La Marque Fire Department.
She is tasked with ensuring our department is able to meet the needs of our citizens and those traveling through our city.
Her responsibility is ensuring three (3) medical transport units are stocked and meet all governing requirements.
This is supplemented with overseeing thirty (30) personnel in regards to medical response and readiness through continued training and following a quality assurance model.
Other duties include working directly with the City’s medical Director and our EMS reporting/ billing company.
Growing up in Galveston County, Captain Gonzales was challenged with the odds stacked against her when she became a teenage mother.
She knew that if she wanted to make a better life for her children, she needed to invest her education and training.
After earning her Paramedic license, she went on to graduate with a degree. Knowing she wanted to strive to be a role model for her children, and other women in the community, she began working for the City of La Marque as a Paramedic.
Shortly afterwards, she completed firefighter training and then was promoted to EMS Administrator, as a Captain.
She has been appointed as acting Fire Chief on occasion.
In her short tenure within this expanded role, she has created a successful EMS program. During this time, she helped obtain new cardiac monitors, and recently managed one of the Fire Engines in becoming the first advanced life support fire engine within the county.
Captain Gonzales is recently married and has 5 children (4 sons and a step daughter).
She is a resident of La Marque.
Join us in celebration as we highlight the many
​#WonderWomen that serve our great city!
#WomensHistoryMonth #womeninlaw #communitymatters #movingforward

Ange Mertens spends part of her time as a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines where she has been employed for 27 years.
She was chosen as Southwest’s Volunteer of the Year and was presented  this “Volunteer of LUV” award by Colleen Barrett the President Emerita of Southwest Airlines and definitely it’s heart! .
Ange has also been The Flight Attendant of the Month, Provisioning Department’s Choice as their Inflight Partner of the Month, and STAR Crew of the Month for performing CPR on a passenger during a medical emergency aboard the aircraft. 

Ange is also a fashion show producer and is CEO of The A List Productions.
She has produced or choreographed over 100 fashion shows and has  helped  raise well over $3 million dollars for local charities in the Houston and Los Angeles areas. 

She is on the Board of Directors of League City Proud and has Emceed their Holiday in the Park Parade for 20 years.
She also serves the City of League City on the Parks Board. And is a member of the League City Chamber of Commerce. 

Ange was the Chairman for the Fashion Show for the NASA/Clear Creek/Friendswood Metro Go Texan HLSR Committee for 3 years and served on the committee for 8.
​She has served on the Speakers Committee for HLSR. And been an Auctioneer. 
Ms Mertens was awarded the Presidential National Gold Volunteer Award by the Ms America Organization for her work with A Sweet Life her foundation to empower Type 1 Diabetics to not see their diagnosis as a death sentence, but to understand that their Sweet Life can be wonderful with just some adjustments.
Ange herself is a Type 1 diabetic, and has led a very active and fulfilling life!!

She was the Chairman  for The American Heart Association Heart Ball.
She was honored to be chosen as a Key Note Speaker at the American Cancer Society National Convention on the Subject of Volunteerism.
She was chosen as one of The Bay Area’s Most Eligible Bachelorettes by Bay Area Houston Magazine and she organized the honorees into a Bachelor and Bachelorette Auction where they raised $18,000 in one hour for the American Diabetes Association in honor of League City Mayor Pat Hallisey who lost his leg in his fight with diabetes.
She organized a beauty day, My Strength Is Beautiful,  for breast cancer patients with local hair and beauty professionals to teach after chemo make up and wig tips.
She started the Winter Ball Committee for students at Clear Springs High School where the girls learn how to raise money by putting on a dance and use the proceeds to serve members of their community in need.
They helped hurricane victims, helped families touched by cancer, they supported a local fun run for a girl with a rare skin disease, and helped buy graduation gowns and paid for SAT tests through Communities in Schools etc..
She organizes yearly Christmas gifts for American soldiers serving abroad, as well as a group called No Unknown Soldier where care boxes are made and brought to Ft Hood where CO’s can distribute them to soldiers without families to send them mail. She has also volunteered for Lunar Rendezvous, Lighthouse Cooking Team, the Sentinels of Freedom,Yachty Gras and many local charity events.

Ange was in a core group of citizens who put together the League City Distribution Center after Hurricane Harvey that helped distribute food, clothing and living necessities to thousands of area residents affected by the 53 inches of flooding rain that fell in our region. 
She also volunteered for Southwest Airlines and All Hands Volunteers to clear out homes after Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Ike.
  She volunteered for the Dickinson Bayou Clean Up, and the Clear Creek Clean Up.  

Ange is the voice behind the A List by Ange Mertens which has been a column in The Galveston Daily News and their Connection paper, in the Bay Area Houston magazine and two radio shows and a video podcast, all featuring local events and highlight charities.
She also does United with Ange Mertens which is a political video podcast aimed at bringing the  parties closer together.
She was the Host of Good Morning Torrance and a reporter for FOX SPORTS in Los Angeles and an On the Spot reporter for Entertainment Tonight.
​She is an emcee for many events and is a public speaker especially on the areas of volunteerism and community service. 

La Marque Police Department 
In honor of Women’s History Month, La Marque Police Department would like to recognize the women making history every day in the City of La Marque.
In a historically male-dominated field, these warrior women have established themselves as forces of nature.
Officer Stanford is a five-year veteran and day shift patrol for the La Marque Police Department. Officer Stanford started her career with La Marque PD as a telecommunicator in 2016.
While serving as a telecommunicator, Officer Stanford was named Telecommunicator of the Year.  Officer Stanford served diligently as a strong voice in dispatch, fostering a even greater passion for law enforcement.   
Officer Stanford fostered this passion, attending the police academy full time while continuing to serve the La Marque Police Department as a Full Time Telecommunicator.
Such an an accomplishment was certainly a treacherous endeavor.
Now a distinguished sworn police officer, Officer Stanford develops young officers as a Field Training Officer (FTO). Officer Stanford also supports dispatch, training telecommunicators as needed. 
Officer Stanford uses her role as a police officer to develop positive relationships with children, showing young kids that officers are a positive force!
​ Officer Stanford hopes to evolve and flourish, possibly transitioning to a detective in investigations.
Please honor Officer Stanford & all of the women of the La Marque Police Department

#WomensHistoryMonth #WomenPolice #policeofficer #CommunityPolicing #communitymatters #movingforward #WarriorWomen

The charity work began with my Grandmother when we lived in LaPlace, Louisiana.

As a young girl, my Grandmother and I would visit our relatives in the local nursing home.
We also began to visit other residents at the nursing home who had no family nearby to offer hope and encouragement.
To see their smiling face light up when we entered their room was heartwarming.

Fast forward to my adult years, the passion to help others and to offer hope and encouragement increased.
I joined a group of women who raised money to purchase hearing aids for those residents in nursing homes who had no family nearby.

Volunteering at Our Daily Bread in Galveston to serve meals to the homeless men and women was when I began to see the need for homeless shelters.
Since I experienced being alcohol free to re-enter into society, and overcome domestic violence, the force of my faith led me to believe that I needed to work with each individual as to their specific needs.

After researching for a homeless shelter to work or volunteer in my area, I found a non-profit organization which was based on Christian values.
I volunteered several years .
I began as an advocate with the women, then moved into fundraiser and marketing director. Although the golf tournaments and other fundraisers along with organizing donating partners for the charity was my main responsibility, I wasn’t spending time with the women and children to offer them hope and encouragement.
I felt I needed to move on to open a homeless shelter, since my passion is an encourager, one on one with the women and children.

In 2016 I was presented a trophy and honored as WOE (Woman of Excellence).
At the time I had been volunteering with the non-profit organization for 5 years.
This is a lifetime achievement award presented by the Federation of Houston Professional Women.
The award is voted on by each sub chapter networking group and given to an individual who excels in community service, using Christian values as a basis, along with involvement to help others. It is a moment in life that I will never forget.

The goal now and in the future is to utilize this expertise from my business and life experiences, to build and operate the Penny Foundation, Inc. 
I am prepared and up for the task…with faith, along with many people on the team who share in the vision.

The long term goal is for the Penny Foundation to serve the community and surrounding areas, to help women and children who are in need.
​Kathy Kidd

Joyce Kleimann has been the Director of the Genevieve Miller Hitchcock Public Library for the past 18 years.
As Director of the smallest Library in Galveston County, her duties include everything, including ordering books, writing state reports, storytimes and planning programs for all ages, cleaning and sanitizing materials. equipment and facilities, to name just a few. 
She and her small staff of only two part-time persons have consistently provided the services that larger libraries offer, both before and during the pandemic.
The Co-vid 19 pandemic caused many businesses to close their doors or greatly curtail services that they provided to their customers.
Libraries did their best to continue to provide free services to their communities.
Many closed for some time. During that time they provided online information and programming.
When they reopened they checked out books and allowed their patrons to use the public access computers. 
They had to constantly clean both books and computers after each use. 
In spite of the many obstacles, she has continued to provide numerous services and programs to patrons of all ages, both online and in person.
She has expanded the Library's online presence on its own website and on Facebook. Storytimes as well as other children and adult programs are shown on Facebook Storytime and craft demonstrations can be viewed live by patrons.
Joyce and her staff have provided weekly "crafts to go".
These are kits that are placed in a container outside the library entrance for children to pick up. The library's hugely successful Summer Reading Program has been online for the past two years. 
During the entire time of the pandemic, Joyce and her staff have steadfastly encouraged adherence to COVID protocols to help prevent the spread of the virus.
Patrons entering the Library were required to wear masks and to apply hand sanitizer, which was available at the door. 
In March of 2020, just after the COVID, 19 pandemics hit our country, the Hitchcock Library was scheduled to celebrate its 50th year of serving the community.
In 1970, the Library was begun by a group of public-spirited people in the historic Schanzer Building.
It later moved to the small City Hall near the railroad track.
In 1986 the doors opened on the present facility at the corner of Barry Avenue and Second Street.
From its beginning, the Library has been a grassroots community effort becoming known as "The Library that was nickeled and dimed" and opened its doors debt-free. 
Throughout the pandemic, the library has remained a constant on which patrons can depend. Joyce always goes the extra mile to make patrons feel safe and welcome.
​Joyce's commitment to the library and the community is extraordinary. 

​La Marque Police Department

In honor of Women’s History Month, La Marque Police Department would like to recognize the women making history every day in the City of La Marque.
In a historically male-dominated field, these warrior women have established themselves as forces of nature.
Officer Gonzales (pictured left) is a two-year veteran and night shift patrol for the La Marque Police Department. Officer Gonzales holds an intermediate license.
Officer Gonzales has a heart for Community Oriented Policing.
Officer Gonzales loves children and positively impacts children through her police work.
Officer Welch (pictured right) is a brand new police officer who recently joined the La Marque Police Department. Officer Welch is embarking on a brand new, but rewarding law enforcement journey.
Officer Welch is taking on the daunting Field Training Program.
Please honor Officer Gonzales, Officer Welch & all of the women of the La Marque Police Department
#WomensHistoryMonth #WomenPolice #policeofficer #CommunityPolicing #communitymatters #movingforward #WarriorWomen

​As a Houston native, Chelsea has always had a love for serving people.

Chelsea decided to get into Real Estate where she ultimately found her passion. 
Even in her first year, she was in the Top 2 out of 6 offices in the Houston Area with her company. 
She was also in the Top 600 agents in the entire state of Texas. 
Chelsea is known for her extensive market knowledge and her unmatched devotion to clients, Chelsea's success is based almost exclusively on positive referrals. 
She earns the respect of her clients by working tirelessly on their behalf and by always offering them candid advice.
 Fast forward a few years later and Chelsea decided to start the Chelsea Boone Realty Group Powered by~ Fathom Realty.
 Not only does she love serving her clients, she also loves helping other agents take their business to new heights!
 Combine this experience with an extensive array of training designations and her clients and team always win. 
Some of the training designations she has been awarded are as follows: Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist, Certified Relocaton Professional, Seller Representative Specialist, Real Estate Negotiation Expert, and SFR Certification. 

Even with the sales and training, Chelsea just simply wants her clients to enjoy in the real estate process and to have the best experience possible.