Written by Ben Cox – BrownwoodNews.com would like to offer a tip of our cap to a selection of women in town who have made a positive impact on the lives of those around them. Whether by profession, or pastime, these ladies contribute a rich part to the fabric of brownwood, and we feel they deserve to have their time in the spot light. We present to you, The Leading Ladies of Brownwood. This week’s leading lady is Heather Thomas.

 

I sat down with Heather and asked her our list of questions that each Leading Lady will be asked, with a few off the cuff questions specifically for her, and here are her responses.

  • What is your current profession/What do you do?
    • I’m the Associate Director of Good Samaritan Ministries.
  • What does that mean?
    • Basically its a fancy way of saying I’m the book keeper and human resources director!
  • What clubs or organizations are you a member of locally?
    • I’m a member of St Johns Episcopal Church, my husband works for the sheriffs office, and we have a sheriff’s association, and I’m an associate member of that.
  • Where were you born? Where did you grow up?
    • San Antonio, grew up in the San Antonio/New Braunfels area. We’ve only been in Brownwood about 7 or 8 years.
  • Are your parents still around?
    • Yes, they actually live in Dublin. They were from the San Antonio area and when we decided to move up here they decided to make the move as well.
  • What are some of your fondest memories of childhood?
    • We lived in San Antonio and my family had a business which offered a lot of flexibility. I grew up with a ton of family, which was always great. Grandparents and Great Grandparents, and Aunts and Uncles. Every weekend we would go to Corpus, we had a place down there, so every weekend we were down at the coast, so that was just a lot of fun!
  • Who left a lasting impression upon you that still is with you today?
    • I’ve had a couple of teachers of course, and I had a great grandmother who I think was 99 when she passed away. So, just her and to know what that generation went through, the struggles they had and how she took care of her family. How they made it through the wars and the Depression. That’s family history that you hold onto.
  • What do you hope your legacy will be?
    • I hope, to my children, that it would be that you can make this world a better place, one person at a time, one event at a time, one thing at a time. That we all can love each other and get along and help your neighbor. That we don’t have to go to Africa to do ministry, that we can do it in our own backyards.
  • What is 1 lesson that you would like your to children to take with them into adulthood?
    • To remember the person behind you. You can give a hand up, you don’t have to give a hand out, but you can give a hand up, if need be. Sometimes we get so mired in our own issues and situations, but I can almost guarantee that if you look around you’ll find someone in a worse situation than you.
  • Why is that important to you?
    • I think it’s important because I see it every day down here. Like I said, we get so caught up in our own stuff, and someone can walk in that door whose got four kids, they just got evicted and they’re wanting to know “How do I take care of my kids? How can I do this?” Sometimes it’s just bad luck and circumstances that they’re in that spot. So, how can we help them to take care of their family?
  • How has living in Brown County shaped your life?
    • I never knew where Brownwood was till I moved here, but we really enjoy it. We live out in Zephyr, my kids go to Zephyr schools, so we’re all really involved in a lot of different things. Friday night football, basketball, all the different sports, and the small community. Just getting to know the people and know your neighbors. I’ve lived in a big city and it gets to where you don’t know anybody. So here I can go to the grocery store, for good or for bad, and run into somebody I know!
  • If you could speak to yourself as a High School freshman, what would you say to yourself?
    • Oh gosh….Probably pay more attention! Pay more attention to what’s really important and don’t get so caught up in the small things. And to remember that high school is just a short amount of time for the rest of your life. I have teenagers right now so I say that to them all the time. So, just enjoy it and don’t get too wrapped up in the drama of it at times.
  • What is one goal for yourself/family that you haven’t achieved yet?
    • I dunno, that’s really hard. I love my job, I love the position I’m in here, my husband is happy at his job! So, probably, to get all 4 kids graduated from High School and College, and not be in debt when we do! That everybody, whatever path they’ve chosen, is happy with their own lives.
  • How do you feel you have impacted Brownwood?
    • I don’t feel like I have impacted it, except that working for this organization impacts Brownwood. How we’re able to give them hope. How we’re able to fill in the gap whenever needs be. The greatest thing that we can give people down here, besides food and assistance, is Hope. If I can give somebody hope by a kind word or a smile when I’m out is the greatest thing I can say right now.
  • What is one thing you’d like to see for the future of Brownwood?
    • I know that we are going in that direction, but something for the homeless people. Working down here we see a lot of homeless people. Brown County Home Solutions is helping step into the role, but there are times when you have people coming through (town) and they’re transitory and there’s no place for them to stay while they’re here and hardly a way for them to get out of town. For us to be able to help them in a different way would be great. For us to not turn a blind eye to our neighbors. We have a great mission field right here.
  • What makes you proud to live in the Brownwood area?
    • It makes proud that we offer some of the social services that we do. We have Good Samaritan, we have the ARK, we have places to go for people to get help. Sometimes in rural America, they don’t offer those social services that people need. Neighbor helping neighbor is always great.
  • What does it mean to you to be considered one of the “Leading Ladies of Brownwood?”
    • It’s very sweet. I think it just means, I feel that I’m a begins the scenes kind of person I think that’s just recognition for Good Samaritan, that someone saw what I was doing for this place and thought enough of that to honor it.