Dorothy: [00:00:00] Let’s Talk About Your Breast, a different kind of podcast presented to you by The Rose, a breast center of excellence, and a Texas treasure. You’re gonna hear frank discussions about tough topics, and you’re gonna learn why knowing about your breast could save your life.
Today we have with us Freddy Cruz, and he is the founder of Speke Podcasting. But we know Freddy for a very different kind of reason. Now, he’s also our producer of, Let’s Talk About Your Breast. But we first met Freddy six, seven years ago when he became our first mc of our annual Shrimp Boil. And before that, Freddy, we had never had an mc.
Freddy: I learned that fact today, and I am honored.
Dorothy: Oh!
Freddy: And also frightened. Oh my goodness. I’m your first mc. Well, actually, I would’ve been frightened. I would’ve been [00:01:00] nervous. Freddy, you are our first mc. Don’t screw it up.
Dorothy: Oh.
Freddy: I would’ve been like, oh, no.
Dorothy: Yeah. In front of about 800 people that you were talking to.
Freddy: Yeah. Well, and that’s another thing is that the Pasadena Convention Center is huge. I never would’ve guessed that there are 800 people.
Dorothy: Yeah.
Freddy: So now I know that I am definitely, definitely comfortable speaking in front of 800 people.
Dorothy: Yes, you are.
Freddy: Uh, less than 20.
Dorothy: Uh, you’ve brought such energy to this, to the Shrimp Boil, and we finally had someone to really thank our sponsors at a, in a very professional way. Honestly, I’m not just telling you this. It was, it was great to have you there.
Freddy: Thank you.
Dorothy: Today I want you to talk about what, give us some insight into this event.
Freddy: Well, I gotta say that the Shrimp Boil is not like any other charity event that I’ve ever been to.
Dorothy: And you’ve been to some.
Freddy: I’ve been to quite a few, and it’s just the energy [00:02:00] when you walk into the building, when everyone’s there is just something that is indescribable. It’s like you walk into a big space and all you feel is love. And that’s from the, from the first year all the way down to the, this most recent year. It’s just nothing but love and you, you feel it, but then you also see it because there are people from all walks of life, all just different backgrounds and different careers, and we all look different and different religions and whatnot.
But none of that matters because we’re all there to support the women in our lives and men too, because men get breast cancer, right? But all, all the people in our lives, our, our parents, our grandparents, our sisters, our our friends, our coworkers, all the people that we hear about the different stories on, Let’s Talk About Your Breasts. We’re there to support these people. Because it’s breast cancer is not just October when everybody wears pink and has ribbons and colors their hair. [00:03:00] It’s something that is year round and oftentimes these women who can’t even afford the most basic care a mammogram, this is what you all do. And so this kind of event supports that cause, and that’s why it’s just, um, it’s just wild and crazy, and it’s an honor to be a part of it every single year.
Dorothy: Oh, thank you, Freddy. You know what my favorite memory would always be of the Shrimp Bowl is that people bring desserts, cakes, cookies, the most incredible brownies.
Freddy: Yes.
Dorothy: Upside down cake. What is it? Pineapple upside down cakes. Yes. Which go for a lot of money.
Freddy: Right.
Dorothy: And then they’ll bring these, donate ’em to us, and then they’ll go back and buy ’em. I mean, I, I, I couldn’t get over that in the beginning. I kept thinking, You brought this, but now you’re buying it. It just, it’s just one of the ways the community supports The Rose and it, it really is a community event. So like you said, people from all walks of life there to have fun. [00:04:00] To buy something.
Freddy: Yes.
Dorothy: Yes.
Freddy: Well, and the, the auction itself is gargantuan. It seems like every year there’s, they’re up in the ante with what your team is able to, to right. Come up with, uh, experiences with, uh, football franchises and uh, tours of whatever and tastings.
Dorothy: And voting and all of those different things. Yes.
Freddy: And, and what was it, a $5,000 quilt one year?
Dorothy: Actually one year, it sold for $10,000.
Freddy: Okay. That was what it was.
Dorothy: Yeah.
Freddy: A quilt.
Dorothy: But, but regularly it’s about five. But that year it was just amazing.
Freddy: Bananas.
Dorothy: Yeah.
Freddy: Yeah, yeah. And well, and today I learned the fun fact that at one of your first Shrimp Boils, y’all had trouble keeping the shrimp cold.
Dorothy: Oh, man. Yeah. Well, we would go to Kemah. Now remember, we, we went down to Kemah, we had these ice chest, and we’d pack a [00:05:00] ball in there. And I remember somebody riding in the back of the truck. I don’t, you couldn’t do that now, but they were trying to keep the lids on them because they were all borrowed or, or old, and then we’d, after we’d get it there and we’d keep it cold, then you had to boil it. Now the hot strip went back into those ice chests and destroyed them.
Freddy: Mm.
Dorothy: I mean, we were always replacing ice chest, you know, it took us a while, but we found a different way to do that.
Freddy: A different system.
Dorothy: Right. We, we deadheaded them, we shuck corn, we cleaned potatoes, all of those different things to have our first Shrimp Boils.
Freddy: Back in the first days of it. And when you’re talking about sh shucking corn. You and volunteers doing one by one.
Dorothy: Oh, yeah.
Freddy: By one, like the shrimp.
Dorothy: Oh. And, and we’d have to be real careful that we didn’t leave any shrimp heads anymore because they could smell [00:06:00] terrible at the home we were using. Now those, those, I, I can’t imagine us doing all that, but. You know, it hasn’t changed all that much. We now have amazing cookers. And we get our shrimp in a very different way. We’re not driving to Kemah, but they are great shrimp and I, everybody always talks about the food.
Freddy: Yeah.
Dorothy: They always say, wow, that is the best shrimp I’ve ever had.
Freddy: Mark Meeker and his team do a fantastic job every single year.
Dorothy: Yeah.
Freddy: I could eat a bugger of the shrimp.
Dorothy: Oh yeah.
Freddy: I mean, it’s really that good. Um, what, I don’t know that I’ve ever asked you this, but what made you wanna do a Shrimp Boil to begin with?
Dorothy: Well, my ex-husband had won a small bass boat at a golf tournament for a hole in one.
Freddy: Okay.
Dorothy: And of course, I didn’t know first that he was at a golf tournament that day. He was a very good golfer, and he was the only one that got a hole in one. But neither of us [00:07:00] liked anything to do with boating.
Freddy: Huh.
Dorothy: So here we had this boat. And he kept saying we could sell it for The Rose. I said, okay. I was at a sw, I was at one of the, uh, support groups and there was about 25 people there. And I’m telling him, yeah, we have this boat. We wanna find a way to use it. And um, Jim Anderson said, well, we could sell raffle tickets. Now. I didn’t understand anything about raffles at that time. I didn’t know how any of that fundraising worked. I had come from corporate America.
Freddy: Okay.
Dorothy: So it wasn’t in my veins to do all this. He said, yes, we’ll go to all the bars and we’ll sell ’em for $5 a piece. And I said, oh, no, they’ll never sell for $5 a piece. Well, he raised about $7,000 with that trip.
Freddy: That’s a lot of money back then.
Dorothy: But then we had to have an event. So they came up with the Shrimp Boil idea.
Freddy: Oh, okay.
Dorothy: See, it’s always been someone in the community running that show. [00:08:00] Not us.
Freddy: But that’s how the Star was born. All right.
Dorothy: And now it is what, 36 years old? Annually. We do it every year, and it is probably our mainstay. It is one of the most fun. Raises a lot of money, gives you a great thing to do on a, on a afternoon.
Freddy: Yeah.
Dorothy: And, um, we think for a very good cause.
Freddy: For, uh, an amazing cause. And what is so unique about the Shrimp Boil is that it’s, um, I like, I like, I like galas. I’m just gonna say it. I know some people have a way of thinking, oh, they’re snooty, they’re stuck up, whatever. I think these kind of events support great causes, and they’re absolutely necessary. What is, what sets the Shrimp Boil apart from an event like a black tie event, is that everybody is welcome and there’s, there is a set structure to [00:09:00] it, but people kind of come and go as they wish. It is like there’s a structure, there’s a schedule to it, but it’s like. It’s liquid.
Dorothy: Oh, yeah.
Freddy: You know what I mean?
Dorothy: Some people just come for the silent auction or the real auction.
Freddy: Yeah.
Dorothy: Some come to eat, some come for the whole thing, and half the time they’re still there as we’re closing up and they’re helping us clean up.
Freddy: Yes.
Dorothy: Now you talk about a community, I mean that they are just amazing.
Freddy: Right. Well, I’m looking forward to it. June 21st.
..
June 21st.
Dorothy: I’m trying to remember here. Yeah, but it, it’s from four to eight. It is like Freddy said, come and go. Come casual, come to have fun. Come to see other people who really do understand what The Rose is doing and wanna help.
Freddy: Absolutely. And don’t forget y’all three insured women helps one uninsured woman get a critical screening. And not just women. Men.
Dorothy: Men too.
Freddy: Men too. [00:10:00]
Dorothy: Thanks, Freddy.
Freddy: Thank you for everything.
Post-Credits: Thank you for joining us today on Let’s Talk About Your Breasts. This podcast is produced by Speke Podcasting, and brought to you by The Rose. Visit TheRose.org to learn more about our organization. Subscribe to our podcast. Share episodes with friends and join the conversation on social media using #LetsTalkAboutYourBreasts. We welcome your feedback and suggestions. Consider supporting The Rose. Your gift can make the difference to a person in need. And remember, self-care is not selfish. It’s essential.
