Dads are such an important part of any family, and during the pandemic, I’ll admit, I couldn’t have done it without the help of my husband. He helped with home schooling, the majority of the cooking, and even helped out with Swoon. I asked Brent what he thought the ideal Father’s Day looked like this year, and he said. “For the last nine Father’s Days, we’ve gotten Dylan to the bus to leave for Camp Longhorn, so Father’s Day has always been busy. Since her camp got pushed back this year due to the pandemic, I would love for us to eat at Pine Forest Country Club as a family and then play 9 holes of golf. We could end the day watching “Tin Cup” together or I can watch it alone. I don’t want to push my luck too much!” A simple request to such a great dad!
Here are a few other men in Memorial and how they plan to spend Father’s Day.
Jim Leggett
PASTOR OF GRACE FELLOWSHIP CHURCH.
Jim Leggett is founding pastor of Grace Fellowship Church. He started the church in 1996 to be a house of prayer for West Houston and ultimately all nations.
When Hurricane Harvey hit the Katy area flooding thousands of homes, Jim opened up his church to become a hub for aid and housing for displaced families. He led his church staff and congregation to serve the city and help restore it. Multiple thousands of hours of service and countless resources were directed to be utilized for Harvey relief efforts. In fact, to this day, the church is still helping families affected by Harvey.
Jim helped form and lead a group of Katy pastors to unify, shepherd and serve the West Houston area. Together they are breaking down barriers of racial discrimination and disunity among churches and throughout the area cities.
This past March, Jim led his church of 3000+ to serve in the community on a Sunday instead of coming to a church building. The day is called the Church has Left the Building! Thousands of people, families and organizations were served through these efforts including the largest Feed the Hunger food meal prep in history. Almost a million meals were prepared and packaged to feed the hungry.
Jim helps to organize the National Day of Prayer in the Katy area each year. This event unifies the city and prays for city leaders, teachers, and families. This multicultural event also strives to bring about racial reconciliation.
These are just a few of the things Jim Leggett has led or been an instrumental leader for in our area making him a “Man of Katy.”
Danny Wells
Danny worked as a millwright for most of his 35 years with ExxonMobil. Now retired, Danny enjoys enriching the lives of those around him by sharing his gifts, a couple of which are humor and woodworking. A paired passion to Danny’s desire to help others is to teach. His goal, whether working with kids, or adults is that he wants them to learn a new skill or two and to do the work WITH him. This goal is exemplified in some of his recent outreach scenarios. Camp Danny, which is Danny’s woodworking space in his garage, opened up to the Girl Scouts of Island Creek to help the community build their very own derby track. He had Daisies and Brownies on up to adult volunteers swinging hammers, using power tools, and painting. Several girls, with Danny’s help earned their Carpentry badge. Not only did Danny supply the wood and supplies, he participated in running the derby and engaged with the girls over the craftsmanship of their cars. A friend of Danny’s had a garage fire. He didn’t hesitate for a second to offer to help the family to do the repair work on their own. That family has since remodeled their entire garage with enhancements they had only hoped for and learned some valuable skills along the way – exactly what Danny’s goal always is! The greater Katy community and really, the world, is a better place because of a humorous, generous, and kind-hearted man – Danny Wells!
Adam Pettit
THE OAKS KITCHEN & BAR
For Katy’s Adam Pettit, serving others both in his restaurants and in the community has been a way of life.
Having started in the restaurant business at the age of 15, the now 38-year-old general manager of The Oaks Kitchen & Bar is more than an accomplished restaurateur, the husband and father of three routinely gives back to the community by hosting fundraisers and serving heart-warming meals to first responders, healthcare workers, and teachers.
A child of parents in the Marines, Adam was born in Hawaii and later lived in Alaska, North Carolina and California. Since settling in Katy, he has worked tirelessly to give back to the community.
Most recently, Adam launched the inaugural Cane Island BBQ Cook Off in support of the Krause Children’s Center of Katy and its mission of breaking the cycle of child abuse. Last year The Oaks Kitchen & Bar hosted the Runway for Heroes Fashion Show, presented by Katy’s YaYa Club Clothing Company, with proceeds earmarked to provide Christmas toys for children of active service members. He also prepared and served meals for first responders in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, volunteers and staffers of Katy Christian Ministries and countless teacher appreciation events for Katy ISD schools.
Today, while managing operations at The Oaks Kitchen & Bar, he oversees a pop-up retail shop adjacent to the Cane Island restaurant filled with cleaning items, snacks and other conveniences for families impacted by COVID-19. It’s here where he’s reminded how a lifetime of serving patrons in his restaurants shaped his service to the community. “Both bring people closer together,” Adam says. “Whether it’s in my restaurant or out in the community, that’s my role and it’s what I love to do.”
