Newsletter

Volume 7, Issue 5

May 2025

Message from Mark Denzin

Texas Ramp Project Executive Director

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the absolute pleasure of hitting the road and working alongside some of our incredible field teams across Texas. From thoughtful conversations to muddy build sites—and yes, a few surprise animal encounters—it’s been a journey full of heart, humor, and hard work. This adventure had it all: TV cameras, feral dogs, enthusiastic goats, and 14 ramps in a single day.

First stop: Dallas. We passed on the Tex-Mex (just barely) and rolled up our sleeves with Gary and Linda Stopani for a hands-on look at how the Dallas region runs things with such precision and heart. Their systems are sharp, their impact is deep, and their generosity is inspiring. It’s always great to see what’s possible when efficiency meets compassion.

Linda Stopani greeting Mark at the Dallas warehouse

Mark and Henry Wyckoff on the

United Day of Caring in Amarillo

From there, I made my way to Amarillo, where Dinah and Henry Wyckoff welcomed me for the United Way Day of Caring. It was cold. It was wet. And it was amazing. The Amarillo team built 14 ramps in one day—a feat of determination and community spirit. If ramp-building ever makes it to the Olympics, Amarillo’s taking gold, no question.

Washington County Scores 30,000th Ramp 

Little did the 15 volunteers in Washington County know that the ramp they were building for a 55-year-old resident would turn out to be the 30,000th ramp built by the Texas Ramp Project. They built the ramp for Ms. S. of Burton on Saturday, May 24, and it turned out to be the 30,000th ramp to be recorded in TRP's database. Ms. S. has several disabilities and lives alone, so for her the ramp is a godsend. Team leader Butch Meier and volunteers from St. Paul's Lutheran Church and Burton Bridge Ministry, which provided the referral, spent about 56 hours to build the 27-foot ramp.

For the second year in a row, Amarillo TRP stepped up to build ramps for the United Way of Amarillo and Canyon’s 2025 Day of Caring on Friday, May 2.

The morning started out rainy for the 400 volunteers who showed up for a full day of hands-on service. The volunteers focused their efforts on 14 ramp builds with TRP as well as seven other large-scale site projects, which the United Way said address critical needs ranging from accessibility to facility organization and beautification.

“We have teams at all 14 of those sites just building ramps for individuals who really need to be able to get in and out of their homes, get to medical appointments and who need a ramp,” said Haley Stoddard, United Way of Amarillo and Canyon senior director of community impact. Amarillo area coordinators Henry and Dinah Wyckoff coordinated the builds and took plenty of photos.

[Link to My High Plains article]

Talk about a TRP volunteer ready for action. Chris Buckingham, co-coordinator with Fred Martin for Kendall and Bandera counties, retired on the first Friday of January 2018, joined Golfing Fore Others three days later, and within a month had worked on his first ramp. “I showed up with my tools and said, ‘What do we do?’” Before long he was surveying sites, designing ramps, ordering materials and leading ramp construction.

Chris came to TRP with a broad range of skills. As program director for applied research and development for Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, he headed up numerous engineering and research projects over a 38-year career. He also developed skills in leadership, project management and mentoring. “With my lifetime involvement in making sawdust of different kinds, TRP projects are a great fit for me,” Chris says.

The driving force behind TRP’s work in Kendall and Bandera counties is Golfing Fore Others, which Fred Martin started years ago to recruit retired people for housing improvement projects. So when Fred is busy doing GFO work, Chris can step in on the TRP side—and vice versa. One of the benefits is getting to work side by side on the ramps with other GFO friends.

Chris was born in Ohio and raised in Maryland. He has a mechanical engineering degree from Lehigh University. He moved to San Antonio in 1980 and has lived there ever since. He and his wife, Janet, have been married 43 years. They have two children and four grandchildren. Chris sings in his church choir and mentors students through the Hill Country Daily Bread Ministries’ Stand By Me program. The couple enjoys travel, and Chris is a scuba diver.

Chris’s hobbies of woodworking—building bookcases and toy boxes for grandkids—and woodturning—making items such as pens and solid wood bowls—contrast nicely with the rougher work of ramp construction. The difference with TRP is in seeing the reaction of a homeowner who is gaining more freedom: “One woman, who had a pretty tough exterior, became quiet and tears started as she said, “’Nobody has ever done anything like this for me.’”

That is why Chris is there. He says, simply, “I enjoy the interactions with many of the clients, and I enjoy being the ‘hands and feet’ of Christ.”

Nameplates Running Low

Thrift Shop Award for TRP Cooke County

Recent Grants and Donations

TRP’s Texoma region scored several grants during the past month, including $25,000 for Grayson County from two foundations and $10,000 for Cooke County from the United Way and a Gainesville church thrift shop. East Texas Emory also received a $10,000 donation from the Wood County Electric Charitable Foundation. The Wood County Cooperative was highlighted in last fall’s Texas Co-op Power magazine, which featured an article about electric cooperatives’ longtime support for TRP.

Grants and donations (excluding individuals and government reimbursements) received in the past month include the following:

• $35,000 for East Texas from an anonymous East Texas foundation.
• $30,000 for San Angelo from San Angelo Health Foundation.
• $20,000 for Tarrant County from Ken. W. Davis Foundation.
• $15,000 for Texoma Grayson County from Byrd Fielder Livengood Charitable Trust.
• $13,000 for Statewide use from Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation.
• $10,000 for Texoma Grayson County from Clara Blackford Smith & W. Aubrey Smith Charitable Foundation, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee.
• $10,000 for East Texas Emory from Wood County Electric Charitable Foundation.
• $7,500 for Abilene from Community Foundation of Abilene.
• $5,000 for Texoma Cooke County from Cooke County United Way.
• $5,000 for NCT East Hunt County from Farmers Electric Charitable Foundation.
• $5,000 for Texoma Cooke County from Second Time Around Thrift Shop, First UMC Gainesville.
• $5,000 for Dallas from Women of St. Michael and All Angels.
• $5,000 for NCT South Ellis County from Waxahachie Foundation.
• $4,774 for Waco South from Waco Habitat for Humanity.
• $3,781 for Houston from Good Shepherd Church Cypress.
• $3,130 for Dallas and Bryan/College Station from Texas Instruments Foundation.
• $2,850 for Amarillo from Palo Duro Cowboy Church.
• $2,129 for Bryan/College Station from Rotary Club of College Station Charities.
• $2,100 for Austin North from Christ Lutheran Church Endowment Fund Georgetown.
• $2,000 for East Texas Tyler from First Baptist Church of Tyler.
• $2,000 for Waco North Hill County from HILCO Electric Trust.
• $1,160 for Dallas from Community Council of Greater Dallas.
• $1,000 for Temple/Belton from Burks Real Estate.
• $1,000 for East Texas Tyler from Rodger Johnson, Johnson Financial Group.
• $1,000 for NCT South Ellis County from Ash Grove Charitable Foundation.
• $896 for Bryan/College Station from United Way of the Brazos Valley State Employees Charities Campaign.
• $871 for Houston North from Montgomery County Habitat for Humanity.
• $817 for Austin West from The Church at Horseshoe Bay.
• $750 for San Antonio Northeast from St. John’s Episcopal Church New Braunfels.
• $500 for Austin Central from Capital City Post No. 8787 VFW.
• $500 for San Antonio Northeast from Encouraging Word Christian Fellowship.
• $500 for East Texas Marshall Panola County from New Destinations.
• $450 for Austin West from Hill Country Fellowship.
• $250 for East Texas Jacksonville from United Way of Rusk County.
• $250 for Austin East from St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church La Grange.
• $200 for San Antonio Northeast from Canyon Lake United Methodist Men.
• $100 for East Texas Tyler from Langen/Wink Bible Class.

Former Austin Area Coordinator Dies

Former Austin East region coordinator William T. (Bill) Koenig died on March 22. Bill was among the early volunteers with TRP and is credited with bringing the Texas Ramp Project to Fayette County. He organized and led builds until 2020, when he was sidelined by illness.

A Vietnam veteran in the U.S. Army, Bill earned a Bronze Star with three Oak Leaf clusters for his service. After attaining the rank of captain, Bill left the service to begin a 35-year career as an investment adviser and financial planner with First Command Financial Services and Round Top State Bank. He was a graduate of Texas A&M and a member of the Corps of Cadets.

Bill made a lasting impact on the Texas Ramp Project, establishing the groundwork that continues today in serving low-income clients with mobility issues in Fayette County. Bill’s obituary can be found here.

[https://www.lagrangefunerals.com/obituaries/William-Bill-T-Koenig?obId=39828807]

Stay Safe While Building Ramps

Your safety is a top priority. TRP has continuously promoted safety for you and your volunteers. With summer approaching, it is particularly important to keep all volunteers safe from the effects of extreme heat.

Canopies. Make sure canopies cover the ramp during construction and also shade the miter saw. During construction, move the canopy down as you go. It is important to put up the canopies before you start building to make sure your volunteers are protected from the start. There should be two canopies on each site.

Schedule earlier. Try to schedule the summer builds as early as 7 a.m. to avoid the heat of the day. Everybody can get home an hour earlier, too.

Hydrate. It is critical that we keep our volunteers hydrated by having plenty of water on site. Also consider providing cooling towels that can be placed around the neck for a faster cool-down.

Danger! Never expose your volunteers to any conditions that can put them at risk. Heat exhaustion and heat stroke are dangerous and can be fatal. Keep your volunteers safe.

Ramp of the Month, Denton County

Denton Region

One of the more daunting ramp builds this year was in the Denton County city of Sanger. A team led by Dr. Katie Simpson had several challenges:

• remove an old, disconnected 12-foot utility pole,
• maneuver precisely around the large deck while constrained by the fencing around the front yard, and
• curve the railing around the bow in the home's wall. 

But, as Katie says, “No challenge is too overwhelming for our team!” They completed the 58-foot ramp in 4.5 hours with a crew of 12, most of whom have been on her team for a decade so work together seamlessly. Total man-hours: 62. Other pluses: no rain and a carport to use as their lumber/assembly area.

The 76-year-old widow with lung cancer had lost her oldest son just days earlier to a heart attack. But she was incredibly moved that all these folks would volunteer to provide her freedom. Says Katie: “Absolutely love this mission. Counting our blessings that we can do this for many more years to come!”

You are encouraged to use the TRP Media Consent, Waiver and Release form for your builds. To access the form, click here.

We hope you enjoy having the newsletter sent to you directly, as it is filled with useful information, building hints and tips, data collection updates and processes, client stories, special announcements and recognitions.

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