About us

      Making your community a better place to live, work and play has been the focus of The Seabrook Association, a local non-profit, civic organization since its inception. This group of dedicated members has proudly donated countless volunteer hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars towards numerous community projects, groups and causes throughout the Bay Area over the past 25 years. The Seabrook Association was formed in 1980 after several prominent Seabrook residents, Pat McCann, Bob Conner, Rex Meador and Jim Hargrove decided to create an organization which would bring more cohesiveness between local businesses, real estate, recreational interests and the fishing industries. The results of their efforts was the formation of the Seabrook Association which was, according to them, a group of “dedicated people – business owners, boaters, fishermen, residents and friends of Seabrook joined together to organize, develop and implement programs and projects contributing to Seabrook’s betterment as the place to live, do business, relax and enjoy life”. Pat McCann, the first president of the association, implemented several goals which still guide the organization today. Join by membership in the association the interests of the residents of Seabrook, the recreational boating fraternity and the business community. Develop community and cultural projects jointly, utilizing the greater of an associated effort representing the total community. Work in cooperation with other community organizations in and outside Seabrook in the development of area projects, both civic and cultural. Function as a non-political organization working in concert with local civic groups and city government in “beautification” and improvement projects within the city. One year later, Mayor Joe Pirtle was searching for a way to promote Seabrook and attract people to the area. It was decided to hold an event to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the city’s incorporation. Subsequently, the first event known as the Seabrook Celebration was held on October 17, 1981 as a joint venture between the city and the Seabrook Association. A huge parade was also held with Marie Conner as the chairman and former astronaut, Bob Crippen, as Grand Marshal. “I just loved the parades. They were so much fun”, remarked long-time member and Seabrook resident, Emogene Brummerhop. The entire event was a huge success and the Seabrook Association took over sponsorship the following year in 1982 and continued the tradition for every year with the exception of 1983 when Hurricane Alicia devastated the area. The event continued to grow over the years and had to move from the grounds of city hall to Meador Park in 1985 in order to facilitate the larger crowds. During the 80’s the one-day-event primarily consisted of the parades, performances from local performing arts groups, games, arts & crafts and a gumbo and chili cook-off. During the late 80’s, a magazine was also created known as A Day at the Bay, a 50 to 70 page “program” which featured numerous articles of interest about the flavorful history of the area, its residents, businesses and details of the upcoming event. Local businesses supported the magazine by purchasing ads and local writers, artists, photographers and publishers contributed their talents towards the effort. “Big Tim” Hossler and S.J. Stout created the magnificent artwork for the covers which were cartoon-type caricatures of the familiar mascot “Seymour” the Seabrook Pelican, aka “See More” of Seabrook, and his friends at play on the bay. The magazine turned out to be a great fundraiser for the event. It has been chaired by several of our local residents including, Lynn Miller, Gloria Harvell, the late Barbara Myers, Lisa Guthrie and Diana Rodgers. Mike and Kay DuBois who published Telltales and owners of Kemah Kopies, worked diligently each year to assure a first-class publication was created. Copies of past editions of the magazine can still be found at the Evelyn Meador Library and it is a wonderful preservation of Sea-brook’s rich heritage. Beautification of the city and waterways has always been another primary focus for the association. Each month a business was selected to receive the Beautification Award in recognition of their efforts in making Seabrook an aesthetically pleasing commutiny. Additionally, the organization has purchased Christmas decorations, flags, plants and flowers on several occasions to make the seaside village have a welcoming appearance. Numerous clean up efforts have also been supported, both through volunteer services and donations.

      Members of the association are always looking for the next fun project. Over the years, they have hosted huge Easter Egg Hunts, Fishing Tournaments, Golf Tournaments, the Boot-Scootin’ Country & Western Dance, and a Valentine’s & Volunteers Celebration. During the 1990’s, music became a more dominating event during the festivities. Performances from favorite bands began to draw even larger crowds to the park. Seabrook Classic Café owner and former president, Brad Emel decided to feature larger, more nationally known acts to be showcased at the event. Bands Asleep at the Wheel, Delbert McClinton, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, and Wayne Toups, to name just a few, were crowd-pleasing acts that performed during that time period. For one weekend each year, during the month of October, Meador Park became the community playground for all ages. The Pelican Party was a sea of people casually kicked back on blankets or sitting in lawn chairs enjoying listening to the tunes coming from the main stage while the kids enjoyed games, face painting or devoured a bowl of chili or gumbo from the annual Cook-off contest which was highly competitive. It was a perfect family event. One year they even held a Seniors Beauty Contest.

      It was also during this time that the name of the event changed from the Seabrook Celebration to the Seabrook Music Festival. As the crowds grew, so did the profits and the little community association with its humble beginnings was in a position to make even greater contributions to the community. One of the organizations proudest projects was the construction of a $50,000 Pavilion at Meador Park. To this day, the pavilion continues to be a welcomed location to hold various events and provide refuge from the elements for various activities including the annual Krewe de Mutz and the Candlelighters Walk for Kids. By 1995 the Seabrook Music Festival had grown so large that parking was becoming an issue and once again, the annual event had out-grown its venue. However, a surprise was ahead for the organization. At a monthly membership meeting in 1996, President Jesse Jones announced that David Cameron, long-time member and resident, had given him wonderful news. Dave’s family’s foundation, The Harry S. and Isabel C. Cameron Foundation, had just purchased 16 acres of property located at Hwy. 146 and Red Bluff Road and were donating it to the Seabrook Association so they would have a larger place to hold their annual Seabrook Music Festival. As you can imagine, everyone was very surprised and totally elated. A huge amount of the association’s success is due to the generosity of the members of the Cameron Foundation. They have been extremely supportive of the organization as well as numerous other entities throughout the entire Greater Houston area. Dave can often been heard making the remark “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, but buy him a fishing pole and he can fish for a lifetime to feed himself”. The Seabrook Association now had a very large “fishing pole”.

      The board and membership now had the somewhat overwhelming task of trying to determine the best method of developing this property into a festival site that would be a viable addition to the community. Electricity had to be installed. Water lines had to be run. The grounds had to be prepared. And, by the way, it was also decided to create an amphitheater so patrons would have a better view of performances! This would be a huge project to undertake for a regular for-profit corporation with paid employees. One might wonder how such a project could be done by a group of volunteers whose membership was around 200 at the time.

      What happened next was truly amazing. They so “no man is an island”, However, when you take a group of dedicated people; each with their own individual gifts, talents and interests and a whole lot of networking…great things can be accomplished and they were indeed. Literally hundreds of truckloads of dirt were acquired, mostly from the Nasa Road One construction project, and the hill or what is often termed as “Loomer Mountain” was built. The late Bill Loomer, former proprietor of Clear Creek Equipment Co., donated his bulldozers and other machinery to complete the project. Former Mayor, Bob Robinson contributed product from his company, Gulf Coast Limestone, to build a road for the property. Dan and Tom Johnson of Bay Area Electric completed all of the electrical work so the site would be lit up and ready to go on “game day”. Scott Fisher of Fisher Irrigation installed sprinklers. Bob Norris was in charge of the grounds and Jesse Jones served as site development coordinator. Dodi Miller, owner of Miller Machine, built a beautiful wrought iron gate with pelicans to serve a wonderful entrance to the grounds. Many, many, many people contributed to this effort to make the Cameron Amphitheater and Fair-grounds the newest “Jewel in the Crown” of the City of Seabrook” as former president, Jesse Jones called it, a premier festival site. Friday, October 4th of 1996 was the Grand Opening of the Seabrook Music Festival at the new location. Over 400 volunteers had signed up to work the 3-day event. The committee chairs had completed their preparation. The carnival was set up and the aroma of smoked brisket from the cook-off teams filled the air. It looked to be a great weekend! Unfortunately, on Saturday the heavens opened up as a huge thunderstorm rolled across the fairgrounds. Local band, LC Roots was the first band set to take the stage, followed later that evening by The Georgia Satellites and Atlanta Rhythm Section. Stage manager, the late Jimmy Dibello, along with everyone else wondered what we could do to save the show. Fortunately, the Clear Lake Beach Club came through and the entertainment was moved to their location while the cook-off teams stayed huddled in their tents and RVs cooking their, hopefully prize-winning, concoctions. Such would be the case for the next four years. The event had been held for 16 years without a rainout. However, the next few years proved to be a sporadic hit-and-miss for many of the days of the 3-day event. All was not lost however, with the purchase of rain insurance to help recoup any losses and several sunny days throughout the years, the Seabrook Association continued to see profits and fund thousands of dollars annually for worth-while causes and projects. “That is the beauty of this organization” according to Past President, Diana Rodgers, it is so fulfilling and rewarding to be able to contribute to so many different entities, instead of just one like you normally would in other non-profit organizations”. As you can see on the list of benefactors, the Sea-brook Association has contributed to a wide variety of groups and projects and made a difference in many, many lives. Former president, Ellie Marshall lead the effort to provide relief funding for victims of Hurricane Katrina in which the association contributed $15,000 and volunteered to work with the Ed White Youth Center to distribute items of necessity for evacuees. “That was truly a time where we were able to immediately see the results of our efforts”, claimed Ellie. “These people were in dire straits and needed immediate assistance and we were there for them along with two of our local churches and the youth center who also made a huge impact.” Another project the association proudly started is the Clear Creek Education Scholarship Fund. Chaired by local realtor and long-term member, Jodi Bobo Norris, she and her committee meet each year and review applications received from the Clear Creek Education Foundation to determine who will be the recipient. In order to qualify, students must be majoring in the field of cultural or performing arts. They then evaluate each student, based not specifically on GPA’s and class-ranking, but also on individual commitment to their community through volunteerism and other achievements. The current budget is $6,000 which is for a four-year scholarship, funded annually. The association has always played a leading role in economic development throughout the years. They were instrumental in establishing the SEED (Southeast Economic Development) organization which is now called the Alliance of the Port Region. This group is made of cities and chambers of commerce in the southeastern region of the Houston area and has grown substantially since its inception. A banquet is held annually and a Business of the Year is selected by each member which is then presented with an award at the event. Tookie’s Restaurant was the proud recipient for 2006. As you can see on the list, many fine establishments have received this honor over the past several years. Another highly coveted award is that of Citizen of the Year and Volunteer of the Year. These awards recognize those individuals for their service and outstanding dedication to the community. Currently the association is exploring new avenues to pursue. The recent expansion of Bayport resulted in the sale of the Cameron Amphitheater and Fair-grounds. The combined issues of no longer having a venue and several years of rainouts have caused the members of the organization to look for new ways to bring the community together for fun-filled activities in an appropriate venue that is more weather permitting. An attempt to rejuvenate the Seabrook Music Festival was held in April of last year at Clear Lake Park. Although the event went very well from an operational standpoint, and some great bands performed, attendance was drastically down. As development continues at a dramatic pace in the Clear Lake area and the population grows, the association is striving to find ways to maintain the ambiance of a small-town atmosphere, one where residents mingle and gather together to socialize and enjoy this place we call home. Currently, there are two upcoming events scheduled. One is a bus trip to the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo to see our “hometown boys”, ZZ Top, perform on March 18th. Another event is the unveiling of “Seymour” the Seabrook Pelican which is the most recent addition of the Pelican Path Project. This event will be held at the Seabrook Visitors Center with a reception at the Back Bay Bed & Breakfast on March 21st. The Seabrook Association meets at 6:30 PM on the 3rd Wednesday of each month. Meetings are at a different location each month. They are often held at local restaurants, however, we also have outdoor barbecues, crawfish boils, etc at various locations. Membership is open to residents of other communities as well. In fact, around 50% of our members, including board members, do not live in the City of Seabrook. You are invited to come to any meeting and see what it’s all about. It is a great way to network, meet new people and gain personal fulfillment by truly “making your community a better place to live, work and play”! For more information please visit our website at: www.seabrookassociation.net.

      We would like to express our gratitude to Endeavor for sponsoring this ad and appreciate their good will and numerous contributions they have made not only to the Seabrook Association, but to numerous other entities in the Clear Lake area.