After losing his own child to a preventable household accident, Jeremy Eastburn is on a mission to help other families with active kids avoid similar tragedies at home and at the pool (photo by Ashton Bingam on Unsplash).
“EVEN ONE CHILD is too many to die from a household hazard,” says Jeremy Eastburn of his 4-year-old daughter, Presley, who died in 2017 while playing with corded window blinds. Today window blinds with pull cords are almost extinct.Since the tragedy, Eastburn and his wife, Carolyn, have lobbied in Washington to help ban corded products. His wife went to a conference last year to advocate for changes in safety standards like the drop side cribs, dresser drawers and other products in homes that kill children. “Kids die from hazards in homes every day,” says Eastburn.
After the sudden loss of his daughter, Eastburn paused for about a year to soul-search for his next life move and possibly make a career change. At that time, he was in the environmental emissions industry. “I wanted to run a business that involved children, so I investigated daycares, play places, camps for foster kids, and did lots of research,” says Eastburn. Although those would be rewarding, he says, he couldn’t figure how to pull it off financially.
Eastburn and his best friend Steven Saldana put their heads together and decided to dive into the pool service by opening a Pool Scouts franchise in League City. From the get-go, they have been seeking opportunities that could make a difference and prevent other families from going through the loss of a child due to household hazards.
Eastburn and Saldana have plans to become even more involved in their community through swim safety programs like Hope Floats, an organization whose mission is to protect every life from drowning through education and water safety awareness, and by providing free swim lessons to underprivileged children in local areas.
Pool Scouts owner Steven Saldana at, at right, Jeremy Eastburn
With an eagle eye for child safety, Eastburn, who has two grown sons, and one works for the business, readily offers tips to pool owners with children. Besides never leaving children unattended, Eastburn says, “don’t rely on floatation devices because they tilt forward and kids can still fall in the pool. Also, it’s important to put fences directly around the pool – even a Catch a Kid safety device is great.”
In addition to League City, Pool Scouts services Deer Park, Friendswood, Houston, and other areas. Eastburn and Saldana recently bought the franchise in North Cypress that also serves the Tomball area. “Pool Scouts has always been involved in the Hope Floats annual fundraiser and I’m talking to them about a scholarship program in my daughter’s name, Presley,” says Eastburn.
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IT’S TIME! THE holidays have arrived. Are you ready? Before you answer that, read on. We’ve asked a handful of H-Town’s top entertainers and chefs to provide their go-to tips, tricks and recipes — and some may surprise you!
Elizabeth Swift Copeland, whose event and catering biz Swift + Company has been an industry leader for decades, launched a new venture mid-Covid. The Fab Fete has garnered a pretty loyal following for its freezer-to-oven gourmet souffles, which can be shipped across the country or made available for local pickup. This year’s seasonal specials include a Mediterranean souffle with feta, artichokes, capers, dill and kalamata olives; and a mouthwatering fontina-and-butternut-squash souffle.
For her own festive gatherings, Copeland prefers to simmer a big pot of vegetarian chili, a surprisingly simple and always-delicious ones-a-meal for which she’s become known among her friends. Find her recipe below — and save room for a savory souffle on the side, of course!
Ingredients:
2T olive oil
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
½t sea salt, divided
4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
2½t ground cumin
1½t smoked paprika
1t dried oregano
1 large can (28oz ) diced tomatoes, with juices
2 cans (15oz each) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15oz ) pinto beans, rinsed and drained
2C vegetable broth
1 bay leaf
2T chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnishing
1-2t sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar, to taste
Optional accoutrements: sliced avocado, tortilla chips or Fritos, Tabasco, cotija or grated cheddar cheese, crème fraîche or sour cream, chopped cilantro
Instructions-
1. In a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, warm the olive oil until simmering. Add the chopped onion, bell pepper, celery, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Stir to combine and then cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and the onion is translucent, about 8-10 minutes.
2. Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika and oregano. Cook until fragrant while stirring constantly, about one minute.
3. Add the diced tomatoes and their juices, the drained black beans and pinto beans, vegetable broth and bay leaf. Stir to combine and let the mixture come to a simmer. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally and reducing heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer, for about 30 minutes. Remove the chili from heat.
4. For the best texture, transfer 1 ½ cups of chili to blender and blend until smooth; then pour blended mixture back to pot.
5. Add the chopped cilantro, stir to blend, and then mix in the vinegar, to taste. Add salt to taste, too. Divide the chili into bowls and serve with accoutrements of your choice.
6. Serves 4-6.
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