“I grew up in Michigan but spent many of my summers here in Texas. I knew that one day I would make it my home. As much as I love the people of Michigan, it is just not the place for me. The last winter we spent there, we had 95 inches of snow.

“During that record-breaking winter my position at a large dental group required a lot of driving to get to the offices that I served. Some days I would spend three hours to get 20 miles down the snowy, icy road. I finally had enough, and made the move to my beloved Texas.

“I bought a practice in Houston just over two years ago. It was not keeping me as busy as I wanted. So when I had the opportunity to be a part of Dr. (Deborah) Hohn’s office here in Baytown, I took it.

“Everyone that I have had contact with in Baytown has been so sweet to me. I just love it here. Being a part of the greater Houston area with all the diversity of people, the variety of things to do, the growth and development that is going on, is a great thing. I feel very blessed to be a part of it.”

— Syed A. Khalid, D.D.S.

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“Glynn and Mysti are team Mystic. Kristen and I are team Valor. We pretty much fit the Pokémon team stereotypes, the aggressive versus the thinkers. It’s all in fun, though. We try to meet up every day to go hunt for new Pokémon, train our little monsters at the Pokémon gyms, and try to capture the gyms that belong to different teams. Of course, that means we are fighting against each other because of our team associations. Still, all in fun.”

Have you faced people at the gyms who get mad or aggressive in the real world?
“No, everyone just sits in their cars or on the picnic tables at the parks and minds their own business. The type of person who plays Po-Go is usually very easygoing.”

“We all grew up watching the TV series, movies, playing the Game Boy games and collecting cards. It’s like the games we played and shows we watched have come to life. Since we started playing Po-Go we have been up and out of the house. Before it would be: come home from work, eat and then veg out in front of the TV. Now we are out walking and exploring our town. All in all, Pokémon Go is a good thing for us.”

— Kristen McLaughlin (26), Mysti Jamison (26), Glynn Serda (21) and Stevie Camille (26)

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“I guess my first rescue happened when I was about 12 years old. I brought home a St. Bernard. My mom said, ‘Oh, no you don’t.’ My stepdad said, ‘Let the girl have the dog.’ Since then I have rescued hundreds of dogs.

“I have worked as an independent rescuer for years, getting dogs from local shelters, strays off the streets, anywhere there is a need. I take care of all of their medical needs out of my own pocket. That’s not always an easy thing to do, but I do it willingly because they are living beings in need of help that only a human can provide.

“Once they are medically sound and emotionally rehabilitated, I send them on to rescue groups to be adopted out.

“For the past two years I have been working with Val’s Pals German Shepherd and Large Paw Rescue. I am on the board of directors and I also serve as the intake coordinator. We are a 501c3, and we rely on donations to help the animals that come into our care. We take in the worst of the worst medical cases. It is an expensive venture, and sometimes we as board members have to cover the costs ourselves.

“We do our level best to get them better and ready for adoption. Because of all the dedicated volunteers and supporters, we have many success stories to share. However, we can’t save them all. The ones that can’t be saved are stabilized and kept comfortable until their time comes. They have suffered so much in life that at the very least they deserve to die with dignity.

“We will continue to have an overwhelming need for groups like ours until we get stricter laws in place for breeders and more resources allotted to our local shelters.”

— Tiffany Frazier

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“I grew up in a very dysfunctional family and experienced many different types of abuse through my childhood. I became a teenage bride and mom, only to have the abuse continue.

“After a particularly bad incident I wound up in the hospital and was told by the staff, ‘You make who you are. You give up that power when you allow someone else to identify who that who is. Today you can get on your feet and say, I am somebody. I will define who that person is.’

“I took that to heart. I left my home state of Georgia to come to Texas and start my life over, with me in charge. I went back to school, then on to college while working three jobs and raising my son by myself. It was tough, to say the least, but I made it happen.”

— Christy Graves

Related:

• ‘Failure not an option’ for first female EMS director

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“After I earned my associate’s degree in health education, I started an internship at Memorial Hermann. That led to a job in the Trauma Center working under Dr. Red Duke.

“There were other firsts and other EMS positions, but in 2004 I became the first female to hold the position of director of operations for a Harris County Emergency Services District.

“I went through a lot as a kid and it most certainly impacted me. But later in life, I realized that the things I endured made me the right person to do the job that I do. It’s a job that I love and am very passionate about.

“There are times I think I’m going to break. It can be quite draining. Then I say to myself, ‘You are a winner. You can do this. Failure is not an option.’

“So I get up every day before dawn to make sure every life in this district has the best chance for the best outcome in every situation that arises. I do this not because I am paid to do it, but because I truly care.”

— Christy Graves

Related:

• Following abusive start, her life begins anew

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“I come from the generation that transgender was unheard of, or the stories that were heard were considered circus acts.

“Over the years I have tried to get help several times because I have been dealing with this my entire life. At 6 or 7 years of age I went to my parents with it. They were so horrified and reacted so badly that it messed me up for years thinking I had to hide it, that it was the worst thing in the world.

“Through the years, though, I’ve gotten a better handle on it. For me, it has always been a question of trying to find resources, to find help, because until about 10 years ago the resources simply didn’t exist. Just in the last few years some of the criteria have changed and I’ve been able to get help.

“It is a known medical condition. Our brains are wired one way and our bodies are genetically made another.

“My generation and the younger kids coming up today are the ones saying you have been telling our story for years where we are the punchline. We would like to tell you what it’s really like and what we have to do to correct that.

“We are a small percentage of the population. The more people who know about us, the more understanding there will be. People need to know we are not these fabulous creatures that they imagine us to be. We are just real people simply trying to live our lives the best we can.

“In December of 2012 I started the transition process by going to a therapist and meeting with a support group. Since the middle of 2012 I have been living as a woman.

“My life is so much better now. I can honestly say that now my worst day is still better than my entire life before my change.”

— Laura Adams

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“In addition to our full-time jobs, my wonderful wife of two years, Erica, and I have a photography/videography business. We do weddings, family reunions, events, parties and portraiture work. I started my business, Double M Photography, in 2012 just after I graduated. While working on my degree in mass communications at McNeese State University, I took every photography elective I could and it soon became my passion.”

Did you do much photography before college?
“No, but my parents and grandparents documented every event in their lives. They have thousands of photos, and I am now the keeper of those memories. I scanned in all of the photos they had to create a video that we used at a celebration, just before my grandfather passed away last year. It marked my grandparents’ 50th anniversary and my parents’ 25th anniversary. It gave me chills to see all the pictures from the past and to hear all the stories that go along with them.

“Photography is key in passing on memories to the next generation. So making sure my clients have the best work from me is very important, because I understand that.”

— Marc Morris

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“I have been selling my all-natural products on Etsy for about eight years now. A couple of years ago Gabriel and I made the decision to open a storefront here in Crosby, but I didn’t want just any place. I wanted this building. Things finally lined up right. One day out of the blue Gabriel called me and said, ‘Come to 311 Wahl St. I need you to sign papers on a building I just rented.’ And so our journey began. We celebrated our first year in the store in May. Just one of many to come, we hope.”

“Our being here was meant to be. Eight years ago when Andria was taking classes at Lee College, she had an assignment that required her to take photos of the town she lived in. The one photo that spoke to us most was a shot of an old open-front barn. We printed that photo, and to this day it hangs in our home. Well, that old barn is part of this property. In fact, the ceiling in the main gallery is tin from that old barn.

“It has taken many hours of hard work to get us to this point, and since it is an old building we always have work going on. It was originally built in the early ‘50s by Luther Brady. It was a lumber yard for many, many years.”

Vendors who rent shelf space in the store sell only handmade, all-natural products that are locally produced. In addition, a farmers market is held every Tuesday, 3-7 p.m. in the long days of spring and summer, and 2-6 p.m. in the shortest days of winter. There also is a craft show on the second Saturday of the month.

— Gabriel Ginn and Andria Flowers

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“I’ve been playing the piano since I was about 7 years old. There was a piano in the house we lived in at the time and I just started playing it. My mother saw that I had a talent and decided that I needed to learn to read music.

“That didn’t work out so well. The teacher she hired said, ‘There is nothing I can do with him. He is already going his own way.’ She refused me as a student. I was OK with that because I didn’t want her as a teacher (laughing). To this day I can’t read music. I play strictly by ear.

“I credit a neighbor we had when I was a kid with teaching me about music and performing. He played the piano and performed for the neighborhood all the time. I would lay under his piano and just feel the music. It’s a part of me, in my soul, you know? I really admired him and what he did, and I knew that’s what I wanted to do.

“I have worked in several different fields throughout my life, but music has always been the constant. Currently, I’m going to school to be a massage therapist. This type of career will give me the freedom to pursue my passion (music) and pay the bills.”

— Clint Glaze

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“I never in a million years envisioned myself being in this role as justice of the peace. I spent 30 years working in the petrochemical industry. Circumstances changed there, so I made the hard decision to leave that kind of work. In 2014 I decided to put my name in the hat for the position as Chambers County Precinct 4 Justice of the Peace, and I won.

“It’s an honor to serve the community that I grew up in. I have the opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives. Through this role I encounter many folks, good people, who have fallen off the path, so to speak. I always encourage them to seek help, to get their life right. Many times it falls on deaf ears, but once in a while it gets through to them and they do decide to make the changes to get their life back on track. When that happens, it’s the most satisfying part of my job.”

— Blake Sylvia

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