Youth at Gainesville State School 'bubbling with enthusiasm' over new vocal program led community volunteers

By John McGreevy, TJJD Communications

Some talented and hard-working students at the Gainesville State School are getting the chance to express themselves in a creative and educational way with the launch of a regular program of vocal workshops.  

It started in May of 2022 when Dennis Castiglione of Harmony Foundation International reached out to Kevin Hill, the Volunteer Coordinator for the Gainesville campus. Castiglione was interested in bringing an HFI program, Power of Harmony, to the school.

Power of Harmony engages youth in correctional facilities using the power of music. Volunteers coach the youth, demonstrate cooperation, and arrange performances. The organization believes that these experiences can help change the life trajectory of incarcerated youth by introducing vocal ensemble singing and positive role models.

“We got Dennis out here as a visitor,” said Hill. “We gave him a tour and he talked about what they do and we brainstormed an idea of how to introduce him to the school. We decided to have them perform for the next Family Day.”

That November Family Day, a two-day event held at Gainesville, featured performances by two barbershop quartets from the singing group Vocal Majority, a men’s chorus based in Dallas.  

“The Vocal Majority is easily the world’s greatest men’s chorus,” said Castiglione. “I know that sounds pretty outrageous, but they are. Not only in terms of their abilities, they’re thirteen-time world champions at the International Barbershop Chorus Competition, but they are wonderful, giving people who are socially aware and always ready to help their community. They were the logical partner for me in Texas.”

Castiglione had chosen Gainesville largely for practical purposes: It was close to where Vocal Majority rehearsed.

“I called Mr. Hill and told him about the program and asked him if this was something he thought would be a good fit at Gainesville and he said ‘Absolutely’ and I said ‘Great, I’ll be there next Thursday.’”

“I explained more about the program to Mr. Hill and Mr. Claybrook (Stephen Claybrook, Family Enrichment Specialist at Gainesville) and they loved the idea. I told them it’s an opportunity to give them a creative outlet, it’s an opportunity for them to understand the power of singing in harmony, the power of singing with a group of people and making something better than what you could do by yourself. That’s what we strive to accomplish.”

Castiglione went directly from Gainesville to where the Vocal Majority were rehearsing and quickly got them excited about the project.

“I just married need with talent, honestly,” Castiglione said.

“Launching it on Family Day was really Mr. Hill’s and Mr. Claybrook’s idea. They said this would introduce every student to Power of Harmony not only by performing for them but by telling them your story and we’ll take it from there. Honestly, that was a brilliant move, one I plan to emulate at the other facilities where I do this, because not only was I able to share the Power of Harmony’s story, I was able to get the parents excited about the project as well as the students.”

The real test would be the performances. Depending on how the people gathered at Family Day received the Vocal Majority, that would give Castiglione, Hill, and Claybrook an idea how the youth at Gainesville would feel about participating in the project. By several accounts, things couldn’t have gone better. The performances, by quartets within Vocal Majority called “Studio Talk” and “Clutch,” were enthusiastically received by students and parents alike.

Next up was getting a sense of how many of the students were interested in being a part of the project, and there was a surprise on that front. Over forty youth expressed interest for a class that would only have seven members. That meant there would have to be tryouts.

Only students without any major rule violations in the last 30 days and passing all their classes would be allowed to participate.

The tryouts were similar to television-styled competition shows, with members of the staff serving as judges. Each youth performed a song of their choosing as well as having to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The youth selected (J. M., D.F., C.M., J.B., L.S., Z.B., N.B.) represent a mix of tenor and baritone/bass voices.

Castiglione and Vocal Majority member Donovan Davis were there for the first class on Feb. 8. “It really went as well as I could’ve hoped,” Castiglione said.

“Those young men were just bubbling with enthusiasm, not to mention that they had extraordinary voices. I started vocal warm-ups, and they matched pitch right out of the gate. I was moved by their interest, their performance, and the feedback I’ve gotten since then from the other instructors. The instructors have told me that these guys are magic. They want to be there, they’re having fun," he said.

The goal is for these classes to be ongoing, where members will come and go as their time at Gainesville ends, and new members will go on in their place. There’s also a recording studio in the school’s chapel that hasn’t been used for some time that members of the Vocal Majority plan to restore. The class will perform and record songs as they go along and the youth will get to keep their own copies of the recordings. There’s also the goal that over time these youth will perform at the school and other local facilities.

“I’ve really been encouraged by how well they were able to harmonize and embrace the a cappella style of singing,” Hill said. Among the songs the students have been working on are “Lean on Me” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

(Photos: Youth in a workshop with Castiglione; members of the Vocal Majority in Dallas perform at Gainesville State School in November.)

Longtime TJJD Board member Jimmy Smith leaves a big legacy

By Barbara Kessler, TJJD Communications

TJJD bid farewell and wished a happy retirement to longtime board member James "Jimmy" Smith at the last TJJD Board meeting, held in February. 

Smith was appointed by Gov. Rick Perry to serve as one of the inaugural board members of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, which was created by Senate Bill 653. He initially served as a county commissioner representative on the board from Midland County. After serving one term, Smith was re-appointed in 2015 by Gov. Greg Abbott to continue in the county commissioner position on the TJJD Board.

After Smith retired from the Midland County Commissioner’s Court in Jan. 2017, Abbott reappointed him to continue as a TJJD board member in a term that expired on Feb. 1, 2023.  

Smith became a highly valued member of the board, interested in all aspects of juvenile justice. He served on the Programs and Executive committees, and lent his special expertise in real estate, his vocation, to his service on the Trust Committee, which he chaired.

The TJJD Trust Committee oversaw management of two properties in Central Texas that had been bestowed to the agency many years ago to benefit disadvantaged or orphaned Texas youth. Smith helped ensure that these properties were well maintained and generated funds that could help TJJD and other qualified youth as they transitioned into young adulthood. 

These trust monies helped youth with scholarships and stipends that covered housing, textbooks, supplies, tuition, childcare and living expenses as they pursued their education or vocational training. Over the last five years, the trust money has served 95 students with total disbursements of $755,854.

"As chair of the Trust Committee, Mr. Smith spent hundreds of hours outside of Board meetings working to increase the funds available for youth through the trusts,” said TJJD General Counsel Christian von Wupperfeld, who worked closely with the Trust Committee. “His vision and deep experience in real estate has been incredibly valuable to the oversight of the trusts and contributed greatly to the education of trust beneficiaries.”

“Serving on Trust meant a lot to me," Smith said. "It was an opportunity to manage the assets and provide educational funds for our youth, and hopefully keep the recidivism rate down and to see the successes of the students.”

Smith, who served during the leadership of several TJJD executive directors during his tenure, leaves the board with a lot of optimism about the current leadership and direction of the agency, he said. “I’m excited about the current staff and leadership at TJJD, and the progress being made.”

“It has been an honor serving on the Texas Juvenile Justice Department Board and the State of Texas,” he said. “It’s been a great experience and the many people I got to meet . . . We had great board members throughout.”

In addition to his work at TJJD, Smith’s juvenile justice service includes time as a board member of Midland Teen Court, Casa of West Texas, and work as a court-appointed special advocate. He also was a reserve peace officer for 30 years, working with the Midland Police Dept, Midland County Sheriff’s Dept. and Midland County District Attorney’s Office. He retired his license as a Master Peace Officer in April of 2022.

Smith served and was honorably discharged from the United States Marine Corps.

Photos: Upper right, James Smith; lower left, Board Chair Scott Matthew, Outgoing Board Member James Smith, TJJD Executive Director Shandra Carter

Spotlight On: Willie Brown, Supt. of Schaeffer House

By Barbara Kessler, TJJD Communications

Willie Brown knows that seeing a brawny guy like him playing Barbie dolls would probably draw a chuckle.

But that’s OK with him because he is a man of many of varied passions and commitments. He loves weightlifting and martial arts and adores his children. His youngest is just 8 and delighted when her daddy joins her to play "Barbies".

That’s one facet of Brown’s life. However, as Superintendent of TJJD’s Schaeffer Halfway House, in El Paso, his workdays are focused on serious real-life scenarios as he and the staff make every effort to help TJJD youth learn life skills and prepare to return home.  

His love of helping others, especially young people, brought Brown here after serving in the Army and earning degrees at the University of New Mexico (bachelor’s) and Webster University (master’s) at Fort Bliss, Texas. 

“Knowing I can work with these kids coming from hard places and help them know they can be better people and be successful, that’s what keeps me here,” he said. It’s especially rewarding, he added, to help kids “flip their mindset,” become more aspirational and realize they have opportunities.

“These kids when they get their GED, it’s like a light switching. For some, that’s a first in their family. That’s a big deal. We’ve had some kids leave out of here and become pretty successful,” he said. He recalled TJJD youth who passed through Schaeffer House and later became journeymen electricians. Another Schaeffer House youth went on to medical school.

Sometimes the youth will check back later with Schaeffer House and say something like “without you helping me I never would have been able to leave here,” Brown said. “That makes me feel good and want to do more.”

Willie Brown is a strong leader, said Jennifer Jones, director of Halfway Houses and Contract Care, and works hard so the youth at Schaeffer can be equipped for success.

“He leads by example and never hesitates to get into the trenches when needed with his team to ensure they are supported and never feel they have to handle a tough situation without extra support,” Jones said.

Before TJJD, Brown worked in corrections in New Mexico. He rose to become director of the Training Academy for the state’s prison system, where he taught corrections trainees that their role was to help the inmates “feel human again and become successful.”

He took that advice with him when he transferred to Texas in 2006 to work with justice-involved youth, first at the Texas Youth Commission (TJJD’s precursor agency) as a top-level JCO and thereafter at Schaeffer House.

Empowering and motivating youth to value themselves is a primary concern at Schaeffer House. Assuring their success helps them and their communities. But Brown knows that begins with an energized, well-trained, and coordinated staff.

“Being able to motivate a team and have everybody focus on the same mission” is so gratifying, he said. To see staff “at the end of the day, know they accomplished something in a positive direction. I think that’s super important.”