Valero makes donation to city and community organization to improve parks

By David Ball
The Port Arthur News

PORT ARTHUR May 08, 2008 07:59 pm

— Hilton Kelley, director of Community In-power Development Association, CIDA, has spent years butting heads with area industry over environmental issues. Lately, however, he has taken a different approach to industry.
Kelley said he now sits down at the table with industry and discusses matters in hopes of reaching some kind of agreement together. In fact, he and other community leaders were on-hand with Greg Gentry, manager of the Port Arthur Valero refinery, at Booker T. Washington Park on the west side of the city Thursday to receive a $75,000 check for over three years from the company to the parks and recreation department to improve the city’s parks.
“CIDA has been fighting for Port Arthur. We love our city, we love our council and we love our mayor. We’re proud of our mayor (Deloris “Bobbie” Prince). She’s the first elected African-American female mayor for the city. We want to leave a better place for our kids,” Kelley said. “I’m now sitting down with our industrial neighbors to talk things out. Valero has some great ideas and they’re giving funds to make this a better place so we can upgrade this park and get kids outside.”
Gentry said Valero tries to give back and cited as an example of a recent United Way fundraiser the company participated in where employees supplied half of the organization’s yearly $1 million budget. Those funds were used to give back to children’s charities.
The company also sponsors the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio that generated $8 million for charity and is the largest charitable tournament in the world.
Kelley also spoke on how CIDA continues to repair hurricane damaged homes that have no insurance.
“We want to bring the community back up where it’s a very decent place to live,” Kelley said.
Mayor Deloris “Bobbie” Prince said it did her “heart good” to see CIDA and industries work together.
“Hilton, I’m glad you’re taking a friendlier approach because we all live in this community together and if we’re going to be neighbors, we may as well live together,” she said.