​A New Day Fellowship Church was named 2022 Nonprofit of the Year by the Innovation Black Chamber of Commerce at their inaugural banquet at the Cultural Activities Center this past August.
 
The banquet celebrated and honored those in the community for their great deeds and service in ten categories - Social Responsibility, Nonprofit, and Economic Impact, among others.
 
Dr. Robert H. Beamon and Dr. Teresa Beamon, pastors of A New Day Fellowship Church, were recognized for their innovative approach to ministry, which they started in East Temple 22 years ago. A New Day Fellowship Church is a multi-cultural congregation located at 510 E. Avenue J in Temple.

Driven by their strong faith and a purpose to help those who have limited resources during these unprecedented times, Dr. Teresa Beamon stated that this award “shows our passion of giving back to the community faithfully and why it is so important to them, now that they have been recognized.”
 
Their ministry, which started with door-to-door outreach, is now a campus that houses A New Day Learning Academy, a childcare and preschool facility that has helped children learn Christian values that embraces education through various concepts and appropriate age-base curriculum over the past five years, and a new Affordable Healthcare Clinic that saw its first patient on September 29, 2022. The Healthcare clinic will be run by Nurse Practitioners and Healthcare providers.
 
Both spiritual and physical health, education, and community are pillars of their purpose.
 
Dr. Robert Beamon and Dr. Teresa Beamon received their education locally. Pastor Robert Beamon received his Bachelors, Masters and Doctorate in Biblical Studies from the Institute for Teaching God’s Word Theological Seminary in Rockdale, TX. Teresa Beamon received her BSN, MSN-Ed, and DNP from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (UMHB). Pastor Beamon is in fulltime ministry while Teresa continues to work as an adjunct nursing faculty at UMHB and is in a nursing leadership role at the Central Texas Veterans Healthcare Administration in Quality, Safety and Value.
 
Both feel their personal experiences and education has impacted how they connect with their congregation and community in reaching lifetime dreams spiritually and holistically.
 
They host Embrace Health, which is offered through Texas A&M College of Medicine, Baylor Scott & White Health, and the UMHB Mayborn College of Health Sciences.  This program is designed to serve the community through health teaching and to provide an interprofessional education (IPE) experience for health professional students. It exposes students to the challenges individuals/families encounter with respect to their health, as well as difficulties accessing healthcare.  Students will work in interprofessional teams and gain a better understanding on how social determinants contribute to poor health outcomes.
 
Fifteen families go through these sessions during the school year and are provided a meal and fellowship prior to each class. The families are shown how to prepare nutritious meals and are provided a care plan from professional students to include: physician assistants, medical, nursing, physical therapy, and occupational health. The series also includes sessions on financial literacy to equip families with tools to live a holistic healthy lifestyle.
 
A New Day Fellowship also hosts flu vaccine clinics annually and was a hub for COVID-19 vaccinations in East Temple during the Pandemic.
 
“Pastor Beamon and I were the first in line to receive our COVID-19 vaccines,” said Teresa. “Someone has to take the first step, and we have been the ‘First-Steppers’ in many areas.”
 
“Some of the first steps led to opportunities of improvement within ourselves and others. From those opportunities there has always been a purpose and lesson learned to keep going. We want to be examples individuals and their families can look up to,” she continued.
 
Taking the first step may be difficult for various reasons but through mentoring and guidance, they both have helped families through difficult times. “Our strong faith has helped us through many trials; therefore, we impart these Christian principles to others for growth in their own lives. We have continued to believe that God has a purpose for us to be accomplished through this ministry.”
 
The same character and purpose to serve and give back to the community were also instilled in their two daughters Keverly Beamon and Kayla Beamon. Kayla has led a Back-to-School Extravaganza at their church each Summer for the past three years.
 
This event started as a backpack and school supply giveaway serving a few hundred children and grew to serve over 1,000 children in 2022.
 
Not only does this event provide backpacks and school supplies to children in need in the community, the Beamon’s lean on their guiding pillars and purpose for spiritual and physical health, and this event also provides no-cost healthcare services such as physicals for school athletics, vision screenings, and more through healthcare provider volunteers coordinated through Feed My Sheep and the Lion’s Club.
 
Plus, the 2022 event kicked off with a parade, steppers, games, music, food, petting zoo, inflatable bounce houses, and gift card giveaways for parents, and served as a positive way to the build community. This could not have been done without the assistance of local businesses contribution, individual donors and our church support.
 
In addition to a new Affordable Healthcare Clinic on their campus, the Beamon’s plans are to continue to “raise up the east side”. They will break ground in 2023 on the Noire Development – East Heights, a residential development that will provide 42 affordable homes in East Temple. 
 
“Pastor Beamon and I were raised here and are intentional about being part of a growing   community.  We are rooted in this community serving on various Boards and Committees, and we have built a network of connections that enable us to give back and fulfill our purpose,” said Teresa Beamon. “God has been good to us, and we have a community that believes in what we are doing - we are stronger together!”
 
A New Day Fellowship Church falls under the leadership of Covenant Connections International, Inc., the Late Bishop Nate Holcomb, and Pastor Valerie Holcomb in Killeen, TX. Visit them online at www.anewdayfellowship.org and follow them on social media.

​Originally created in Port-au-Prince Haiti, The Starting Place offers a full scope of Midwifery care for pregnant people and newborn babies. Tara Livesay and Bethany "KJ" Johnson worked in Haiti for more than a decade accomplishing their goal to leave the clinic in good hands and move to Bell County to open a stateside location.
 
The name came from Livesay and Johnson creating their manual for their model of care. Livesay says she simply stated, “when there are so many needs and the problems are great, what better place to start than with mothers and babies?” And thus, The Starting Place was named.
 
The two business partners feel extremely welcomed and accepted into the community. Livesay says they, “Work in partnership with [local] care providers. Because they are so incredibly busy and their volume is high, they are grateful for our ability to serve low risk clients.” They are proud to see how impactful their postpartum care and support groups are.
 
Livesay & Johnson will never fully lose their ties to Haiti. They say the Midwives in Haiti inspire them, “they live in very difficult circumstances but still show up daily when they are needed for a birth. They put their lives on the line to help others.” A portion of every birth at The Starting Place Temple, is donated to their Haitian sister birth center, the Heartline Maternity Center.
 
The Starting Place has resources for those in all stages of pregnancy, from pre-conception to 12 weeks postpartum. They offer support groups and educational resources for those in the postpartum phase when depression and anxiety are common. These opportunities are offered to their clients and the general community, even if they prefer to deliver at the hospital.
 
Overall, The Starting Place prides itself on being an affordable option for excellent holistic care. They look forward to, “continuing to meet needs of the community and to evolve as the needs do.” 

​With over 15 years of experience and 400 5-star reviews online, Dapper and Dashin’ (D&D) is at your service! What started off as a men's grooming barbershop, has quickly turned into a full-service salon for the whole family. 

Jacob Rodriguez, the owner, says, “If you can dream it, we can create it!” 

Rodriguez has lived in Temple since he was 10 years old and always wanted to open his own business in the town he grew up in. His entrepreneurship spirit came from his parents. As immigrants who became businessowners, he says they taught him “to work hard and work with grit through challenging times.” 

Finally, in 2017, he saw a need for Dapper and Dashin' in our growing community. 

His goal when starting D&D was, “To create a culture where clients would love to come in and enjoy their service with a complimentary cocktail along with enjoying the music and personal conversation with their stylist.”

And the proof is in the numbers with their success. Currently, Jacob says they have grown to seeing over 800 clients a month. This steady clientele plus the growth of Temple has provided D&D the opportunity to hire stylists and barbers that are new to the area. Their staff is both achieving business goals and having personal and professional growth.

The growth of other businesses in Temple has helped D&D grow as well. They have been invited to numerous Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting parties throughout the City. Rodriquez says, “The partnerships and cross promotions we've been able to do, have helped us spotlight our brand with theirs and vice versa.” Through these partnerships, D&D has also volunteered and assisted in local fundraisers. “We believe it's our duty to give back as we are afforded many blessings.” 

What is the future for Dapper and Dashin’? Rodriguez says an expansion at their current location is in the making. The plan is to have 16 stations which will potentially staff 32 employees. He’s not opposed to have multiple locations in the surrounding area but mainly he’s, “actively praying and seeking for wisdom on how to further grow the D&D brand.”

When it comes down to it, Jacob says that his favorite part is seeing his customers, “I love when the salon is full of friends, neighbors and other community members”

Their “Dapper” menu consists of tailored barber cuts, beard trims, their signature deluxe hot towel beard trim (which is a customer favorite) and nose, brow, and ear waxing. The “Dashin'” menu ranges from tailored haircuts, custom hair colors, extensions and a series of hair treatments, relaxing facials and more. Lastly, they offer children services from all ages including 1st time haircuts. 

Visit Dapper and Dashin’ at 3010 Scott Blvd. #102, Temple, TX 76504, call (254) 295-0600 or visit their website at www.dapperanddashin.com.