By David Ball

david.ball@panews.com

Port Arthur native James E. Payne, attorney with the Provost-Umphrey Law Firm in Beaumont and an ordained minister, said Tropical Storm Harvey did not discriminate — it affected everyone.

However, Port Arthur made it through.

Payne was the guest speaker at the 32^nd Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Brunch on Monday morning at the Carl Parker Building at Lamar State College Port Arthur. The event was sponsored by the Martin Luther King Support Group of Southeast Texas. The theme was “Remember, celebrate, act.”

Payne said during Harvey, everyone put aside their differences and helped each other. People began separating themselves again after the storm. He said people need to come together to love each other and be as one.

Payne said he noticed three things since the storm:

• First, some things need to be removed such as mold remediation in a home. He added that homeowners need to be careful of the contractors they let in their homes.
• Second, some things need to be restored. “Not every contractor does their job. Some take your money and they’re gone,” he said.
• Lastly, get ready for another storm in your life because Harvey won’t be the last one. Some homeowners didn’t have insurance when Hurricane Rita hit 12 years ago; they didn’t have insurance when Harvey hit. They won’t be ready when the next storm hits.

Payne also discovered there are three kinds of people in response to Tropical Storm Harvey:

• The first kind is problem analyzers: They’ll talk about a problem but they don’t want to work.
• The second kind is problem procrastinators: They know something is wrong, but they want to wait before starting on something.
• The third kind is problem solvers: When work is to be done they’re available and make it happen.

Payne said Harvey wasn’t the only storm to hit last year. He called Donald Trump’s election as president Hurricane Trump.

Payne said some things need to be removed, but it’s hard to remove something that’s been in place for a long time. For example, he said, some elected officials have been in office and some ministers have been in the pulpit for too long.

“We have elected officials sitting there for a long time, giving us no direction; they need to be removed because mold needs to be removed,” he said. “Just because they’re elected officials or call themselves reverend doesn’t mean they support the interests in the community. I’m not about a party, but issues.”

Payne said about Trump, however, what’s trash to him may be someone else’s treasure.

Payne concluded by reminding the audience that early voting is approaching Feb. 20 and people should be ready to vote to change things.

In addition to Payne’s keynote address, MLK brunch founder and president, Hargie Faye Savoy, spoke to the audience via cellphone and encouraged the city of Port Arthur to move forward and rebuild after Harvey.

Terry Savoy-Hadley was named the 2017 Woman of the Year and Jefferson County Commissioner Everette “Bo” Alfred was named the Man of the Year.

The Port Arthur Police Community Response Unit was awarded the spirit award. Deborah Freeman, Galen Key and Jefferson County Commissioner Michael “Shane” Sinegal were honored guests.

Ivy Taylor was the entertainment honoree and a tribute was given to hometown 2017 Super Bowl competitors Jonathan Babineaux, who has retired from the Atlanta Falcons, and Elandon Roberts, who plays for the New England Patriots.