After summer, it can be hard to get back into the swing of things...but nothing puts a spring back into a student’s step like the joy of making music! Whether you’ve got an eager band student or a kid who’d love some after-school lessons, swing by the Fort Bend Music Center, your one-stop-shop for pianos, music lessons, band instruments, repairs...and more! Craig Latson, Music Education Director says, “Visit our Facebook page for information on open mic nights, music workshops, and screenings of “music-themed movies”...all free and open to the community!”

Ready to turn some heads and impress your friends? When you buy a sports car...you need sex-appeal and fun. You need advanced technology and fuel efficiency. You need “infotainment” systems and style. You need the all-new Chevrolet Corvette Stingray!

Cinthia Valencia, owner of the new Cinthia’s Fitness Zone here in Katy, was introduced to Zumba back in 2005 in Mexico. “I was already a dance and aerobics instructor,” says Cinthia, “and in Mexico I fell in love with Zumba! I wanted to know everything there was to know about it!”

DR. Sebastian Villarreal, MD and Stephen Hayes are the kind of people that make Katy feel like a small town. Dr. Villarreal grew up here...he played football for Katy High and still helps out with the team. Stephen’s been here more than 20 years and has a long history of involvement in the community...including Assistant Fire Chief with the West I-10 VFD. The two are friends, they’re neighbors, and they’re business associates at Katy Pain Specialists—the clinic dedicated to improving life for those suffering in pain.

You want your space to be custom, you want it to reflect the personality of your business, and you want it located close to your patrons. Look no further than Grand Oaks Business Park!

Dreaming of updating your home? Everything you envision, from start to finish, Teri Gilberg (aka ‘The Re-Modelista’) can make it happen! We asked her to tell us about the recent kitchen and breakfast room transformation completed for a local family in Sugar Creek. To quote Teri, “This particular client envisioned a more tranquil finish to the rooms in a country french design, using durable but easy to upkeep materials and wanted to bring in more light by expanding the outside views. Home remodeling is like a puzzle and I really enjoy making the configurations work. You tell me what you want, and I piece it together, coordinating everything while helping you make money-saving decisions.”

Are your kids as ready for the start of school as you are? Before the big day arrives, treat them to a mini-vacation at a place that reminisces the best of the sunny Caribbean...with surfboard beds and a floor-to-ceiling coral reef and fish mural. At Grand Parkway Pediatric Dental, Dr. Faisal Khan knows what makes kids smile…even about going back to school!

In 1947, when Katy was little more than miles of boiling blue skies, rippling prairie grass, and a smattering of houses, a group of citizens gathered to create the Katy Volunteer Fire Department. They had obstacles to overcome...no equipment, no building, and no funding. A few years later, R.G. Fussell, the newly-elected fire chief, and other fire department members threw a fundraiser in the Katy School auditorium. It seemed as though all of Katy came out that day in 1953, and the people gave money not just for a fledgling fire department, but for a dream--to carve a bonafide Texas community out of that hard caliche soil--and to bestow upon it all the resources it needed to protect its citizenry. Over three thousand dollars were raised, and a year later a new fire department building was erected on Second Street.

J.J. Villafranca is no stranger to challenging work. This Vietnam veteran was aboard the very first aircraft carrier converted to a nuclear warship. With a degree in science, J.J. followed up six years in the Navy with seven in the oilfield. Today, he’s the grease that makes the wheels run smoothly behind MSK Enterprises, the parent company of local favorite, Dekker’s Mesquite Grill in Fulshear.

Randy Stacy, owner of Texas Insurance Agency-Fulshear, was part of the small group of business owners that founded the Fulshear Area Chamber of Commerce.