My father was a minister, and my mother was a teacher. We were always a family that believed in paying it forward and making a difference. I’ve been part of the Crestmont Park Civic Association now for 39 years, where I serve as their President.

My oldest son is Parliamentarian for the association, and we volunteer for events throughout the year. He recently did our annual Easter Egg Hunt at Crestmont Park, and about 600 people were there. The fire department brought their truck, a couple of city council members joined us, and the library brought a reading bus. There were free clothes and haircuts for the kids. It’s all in the spirit of giving back.

It’s encouraging those who don’t frequent the park to see how nice it is and enjoying the amenities that are available to the entire community.  

When I first heard about Houston Parks Board’s plan to create miles of continuous bayou pathways, my first thought was, “How will that impact my community, and will my community get their share of those dollars and trails?” When Lisa of Houston Parks Board came to our civic association, she showed us a grand plan that was inclusive of our community, and we still weren’t sure if it would happen. But they followed through. They delivered. There were places where trails were put years ago that were in disrepair, and they put maintenance on it to make sure that, 6 months later, there aren’t overgrown weeds and a trail no one will use again. It gave everybody in the community a sense that they were serious about connecting citizens to the Bayou Greenways projects.

We’ve seen a big difference since the trails were put in. My grandkids are 7 and 9. These trails are clean, safe and wide—there’s so much space for them to ride around in. Our community has gotten the sense that this is a project that is inclusive of everyone. They said what they were gonna do, they did it, they delivered it, and it was as good as they said it was going to be. And they’re going to continue with that work with this new resting area at Martin Luther King Boulevard. It’s going to be a nook park with trees and benches. They bought the land there and took the initiative to enhance the trail and put this little park in. We’re really excited about it. 

Thank you to Charles for sharing his story!