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My wife and I started our first DeSoto community involvement journey back in 2004.  We saw a solicitation in the water bill for the DeSoto Citizens Police Academy and it piqued our interest.  Up until that point we had not had any interactions with the DeSoto Police but coming from Dallas we thought that this would be a good way for us to find out about the DeSoto Police. 

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At that time, and still to this day, it is important, especially for African Americans and Hispanics to get to know their Police Department to ensure that they are operating correctly within the community in which they live.  I highly encourage all citizens of any community to do this.  

 

It was an excellent and fun eight week course!  Coming from Dallas, this class really changed our perspective on policing.  It removed our mystique and assumptions we had of policing at least in regards to the DeSoto Police Department.  After taking that class we were hooked!  We wanted to do more things in the community. 

 

Later that year, we took the next class we saw in the water bill was the Desoto Civic Academy so we signed up for that.  This also was an eight week course.  In this course every week we got to visit a different department within the city and learn how they operate.  This was also a very fun and excellent course.  Some of the members of our Civic Academy class later went on to run for public office.  You may recognize the names of some of the members of our class including Van Stripling, Dick North and Carl Sherman, Sr. to name a few. 

 

After completing the course, me and my wife signed up for the DeSoto Civic Academy Alumni Association.  I was shortly thereafter elected as the Vice President.  The following election cycle I was elected as President of the Alumni.  

 

At the time, Jim Baugh was the City Manager and he befriended me and my wife and started inviting us to various events.  His Christmas parties at his house were legendary.  The movers and shakers of DeSoto at the time would attend.  Looking back, me and my wife were the youngest attendees at the Christmas parties. 

 

He eventually asked me and my wife to help do a commercial for DeSoto.  He gave us separate speaking roles.  We did the commercial shoot in his front yard and his back yard with the film crew.  I’m sure the commercial is stored somewhere in the DeSoto archives.  One of the speaking roles at the end said “DeSoto is a great place to retire!”  To this day me and my wife still get a good chuckle about that because at the time we both agreed that it was a good place to retire because there wasn’t much to do for the young folks.  The “good-ole days” of the parties and get-togethers ended in 2011 when Jim retired and moved away.    

 

With our buddy gone we ended up getting into other things unrelated to DeSoto.  In 2019 we decided to get involved again so we retook the Citizens Police Academy course.  We decided to retake it not only as a refresher but also to see how the new Chief Costa operated compared to the previous Chief Brodnax.  The class was excellent just like we remembered and Chief Costa was great!  We even found out that the Officers have to log every traffic stop and are accountable for any racial profiling.  That was good to know.  We understand that job is very stressful and dangerous and nobody is perfect but I would put our Police Department up against any Police Department.  They have been doing good work keeping our community as safe as possible.   

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In 2019 we also took the Civic Academy course again as a refresher.  During one of the Civic Academy classes in which we learned about the functions of City Hall, our class was held at City Hall.  During the dinner was the first time that we met our Councilwoman Nicole Raphiel.  She had recently gotten elected for her first full term.  She happened to sit at our table so we got to talking.  As she was telling us some of the things that she had to do as a councilwoman, since it was a lot, I asked her, "How much do the Council members get paid?".  She said nothing.  I said “Nothing??”, “Are you kidding me?”.  She said that it was written in the City Charter.  I told her that definitely is not going to work.  I told her with all that you all do you all should at least get paid for the wear and tear on your car.  She said she agreed.  Now I can gladly say that since 2021 the Council members do now get paid a little.  At least it covers the wear and tear on their vehicles.  Did I have a part in that, who knows but everything starts with an idea and I gave my idea to Nicole in 2019.

 

Later in 2019, I found out about DeSoto C.E.R.T. (Community Emergency Response Team) so I signed up for the course.  I had to miss a class due to being out of town so I was told that I needed to make up that class in the next Spring enrollment course before I could graduate.  The next Spring CoVid hit so all classes were canceled.  The next C.E.R.T. enrollment course didn’t start again until the fall of 2022.  I retook the entire course in the fall of 2022 and got my certification.

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In the fall of 2023 me and my wife signed up for the inaugural class of the DeSoto Citizens Fire Academy.  This was also an excellent fun eight week course that went over all of the aspects of the Fire Department.  We really learned a lot.  I didn’t realize how much they do.  I was also pleasantly surprised that all of the firefighters were also Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT).  So not only are they fighting fires they are also going out constantly 24/7 on emergency health related calls as well.  We as citizens don’t understand the magnitude of all that they do until you take a class like we did.  Now we have a full appreciation for our Fire Department and I will put our Fire Department up against any Fire Department.  

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That December, Councilwoman Dinah Marks coordinated a Christmas Toy Drive at South Toyota with the DeSoto Fire Department, called the “Fill-A-Tundra Toy Drive”.  That is where all of the Christmas toys donated are placed in the beds of Toyota Tundra trucks and a DeSoto Fire Truck leads the Tundras to a Church drop off spot where everyone helps unload the toys.  Me and my wife attended and helped with the toys. 

 

Our Councilwoman Nicole Raphiel also attended the Toy Drive. 

When the Toy Drive ceremonies concluded I approached Nicole with an idea.  I told her that I was a part of another organization and they were bringing a free gun lock program for the citizens to the Dallas Police Department and I wanted to bring that program to DeSoto for our citizens.  Nicole thought that was a good idea so she told me to contact Police Chief Costa about it.  I contacted the Chief and set up a meeting with him, the Asst. Chief Jesionek, Community Liaison Officer Ryan and Nicki to go over the idea and the program.  They all agreed it was a great idea especially to keep the kids safe in homes with guns in them.  The free gun lock program was immediately implemented shortly thereafter.  A notice was sent out to the community via the Police social media platforms informing the citizens of the new program. 

 

Now I can gladly say that any citizen of DeSoto can go to the Police station during normal business hours and ask for a free gun lock for as many guns as they have with no questions asked.  They also will get some gun safety materials all for free.  And this program will be in effect as long as DeSoto wants to keep it going and it costs the city zero dollars.  This is one of the things I am most proud of bringing to DeSoto.  It’s a program that can go on in perpetuity.  It is a legacy that I am honored to bring to DeSoto to show the community how much I care.  If one child is spared an accidental shooting it is all worth it. 

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A few months later I also coordinated bringing a gun safety seminar to DeSoto for the kids.  An Emergency Room Pediatrician named Dr. Guzman from Fort Worth’s Cook’s Children Hospital started a non-profit where he goes around to communities to talk to the parents and kids about the importance of gun safety.  He also talks to them about what he sees when children go through his hospital ER when they find and play with their parents’ gun and become accidental shooting victims.  He delivers his message of safety to the kids and parents in a fun, interactive yet thoughtful way.  I was instrumental in bringing that to DeSoto and making sure that the event was a success.  Officer Jessica Ryan helped us secure the location for the event.  We had it at the Disciple Central Community Church on a Saturday.  The church was very welcoming for the community safety event for the kids.  I was able to get Officer Ryan, Fire Chief Southard, my Councilwoman Nicole Raphiel, Councilwoman Crystal Chism and former DeSoto Mayor Carl Sherman, Sr. to all come out to the safety event to share a few words with the parents and kids about the importance of staying safe.  I even helped coordinate getting the DeSoto S.W.A.T. truck to come to the event after it was over to have the kids run around the S.W.A.T. Truck.  It turned out to be a good event for the kids.

 

During the same time as I was coordinating the community safety event I also joined the DeSoto Citizens Fire Academy Alumni Association.  I was elected the Vice President.  As of January 1, 2025 I was elected and I am currently the President of the DeSoto Citizens Fire Academy Alumni Association.

 

Also in January I took the course from FEMA to become a Certified C.E.R.T. Instructor.  I am currently the Director for DeSoto’s C.E.R.T. team.