Jennifer Lacefield was awarded the Mr. John J. Jones Sr. Community Service Award by the NAACP in the 35th annual Freedom Fund Awards Banquet with the theme 'All In.' This award was presented in recognition of the outstanding service that Jennifer and her staff at Randy Sams provides for the homeless and less fortunate in our community.

We are grateful for the multitude of ways he gave back to Randy Sams and the Texarkana community for many years. We appreciate the empathetic and giving heart Jimmy had for those less fortunate in the Texarkana community, which in part, always consisted of the disadvantaged population we serve Randy Sams. As Jimmy's obituary details, he made a significant impact in Texarkana and gave back to the community in a multitude of ways. He was a sweet man, and he will be very missed. 'Memorials in lieu of flowers can be sent to Jimmy's favorite charity, The Randy Sams Outreach Shelter, 402 Oak St., Texarkana, TX 75501, or a charity of your choice.' We wish Jimmy's loved ones and friends peace and comfort during this time.

We are very proud of a recent past resident, Matthew Quinn, who the Texarkana Gazette featured on the front page of yesterday's paper. Matthew worked hard to attend and graduate from Tonsorial Arts Barber School during his stay at Randy Sams, and he also worked in our internal job training program at Randy Sams during his stay with us. Additionally, he met with and utilized assistance with action steps toward other aspects of self sufficiency from our full time shelter case manager. He very recently moved out because he obtained housing (congrats!) and achieved his goals. We are thrilled about his successes and look forward to his continued success, as well as his plans to continue partnership with Randy Sams by facilitating barber services to our residents.

We have been providing shelter to those seeking it (currently around 110 individuals) for the past many cold days and nights, and will continue doing so as the colder temperatures persist. Unless anyone just does "not want" to be in an indoor sheltered setting, there is no reason that anyone seeking shelter can't receive it. We notified the police department a few nights ago to please have their officers (particularly the night shift officers) remind anyone they encounter on the streets during the extreme cold that Randy Sams is an option. We really appreciate those who donated water, cold weather clothing items, food, hygiene items, financial donations, and those who shared our needs post in order to assist us with various needs during this time. Additionally, we are thankful to have a working generator to keep our shelter warm and lit, and our thoughts are with everyone in the community who is still without power.