Episode 41: Spring Update - Film Awards & Fire Dept. Fundraising Success

In this episode of the Ranch and Table Podcast, host Lee Wells updates listeners on recent events and activities. Lee shares success stories, including raising over $43,000 for the Caddo Spring Concert Series to support the local fire department and winning two awards at the Cowpokes Film Festival for his documentary. He explains challenges they faced in film festival submissions due to DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) requirements and provides upcoming plans, including showing the documentary at the Texas State Capitol. Lee also mentions recent involvement in the Hunt County Fair and extends gratitude to listeners for their support.

Transcript

 Welcome to the Ranch and Table Podcast, where we discuss all things related to our Texas Ranch and our ranch to table restaurant located in downtown Rockwall. I'm your host, Lee Wells.

Welcome back to another episode of the Ranch and Table Podcast. This is Lee Wells. And it is great to be back with you. I know it's been a few weeks. I have been a little bit busy and have not had the time, made the time. And I'm gonna explain all of that here in just a moment. Everything that's gone on since I've recorded a podcast, it's it's been a whirlwind, but it's good to be back.

Today's episode's brought to you by Wells Cattle Company. Burgers and pies downtown Rockwall and downtown cattle mills. We are glad to be serving our burgers and all the fixings in both locations as we can. Of course, the truck has a limited menu until we can build a building out there in cattle mills.

And that's the plan. That's the hope. That's what we're working on. Until we get that done, we have a limited menu on the truck. But glad to be there, glad to be meeting people every day and serving some great folks out there. So if you're in cattle Mills area, Greenville, Royce City, even come to Main Street next to the fire station.

Come see us. We're happy to serve you. Burgers and fries. And brownies and hot dogs and some of those things our burgers are exclusively made with our beef. If you've not had one yet, I don't know what you're waiting for, come on and get one. Better Beef Makes better burgers. I just always wanna thank you for taking the time to be with me on this podcast.

I was telling someone earlier today that I was coming to the studio to put. One together. And I said, I don't ever wanna waste anyone's time. I really don't. I try to make every episode count and try to make every minute of every episode count and not just ramble on. And hopefully I don't do that. But this episode is an update episode.

I have to catch everybody up on what's been going on. There has been. So much going on. Busy. And I think I owe you all some explanation as to how some things have wrapped up and what's going on in, in my life with the film, with the restaurants, just with everything that we're got going on.

That's what I wanna do is give you an update today. On where I am, where I've been, where I'm going, all of that. And so last time we talked, we were talking about the Cato Spring concert series, the fundraising event that we put together to help the fire department there, the volunteer fire department, cattle mills we raised some money for them to be able to get some equipment that they needed, and thank you.

Everyone that came out, thank you everyone that contributed every business. Just amazing. We raised together over $43,000 in just a few weeks, and I cannot thank you enough. The Kettle Mills fire Department cannot thank you enough. It's just been amazing what we have done, coming together, working together.

One of the pieces of equipment has already come in. They made me hold it and they took a picture the other day, and I'll try to find that, throw that in here for you if I can. But the Lucas device, which does automatic compressions for CPR, they already have that in use. It's already here.

It's already on the truck, and it's available. Hopefully no one ever needs it, but if they do that. Main, that automated CPR unit called the Lucas device is on the truck and ready to be used in need, so that is happening. Some of the other devices, they're on order, they're just taking longer to get in.

So the plan is. That when all that equipment gets in to get all the devices here, we're gonna set 'em up on a table and do a live on Facebook. So stay tuned for that and we're gonna go through everything and show everyone this is where the money went and this is what these devices do. It's gonna be a fun event fun live, for everyone to be caught up with what's going on, and to see those devices being part of, use and part of their day to day is is really cool. It's really cool. So my heart is just so full to be able to thank you for being part of that with me and to make such a huge difference in our communities. Just amazing. Thank you. Thank you everyone. Just this last week we participated in cow pokes.

Film festival and we brought home for our documentary. We're here. We brought home two awards. We got two two wins out of that. For one Best Texas feature film. We won Best Texas feature film, which is a huge honor. And there was a lot of movies, lot and lot. There was three days worth, I counted 36 that were shown.

Not even that were entered, but that were shown, that were picked to be shown. I don't even know how many were in the total, but we won Best Texas feature film and the best suspense film. I guess those fires and the way we put that together caused some suspense and some anxiety. Great to win those.

That was our first first film festival to be a part of. I'll pause right here and explain something to those who are listening and wondered because. Our film festival should have started back in January, February, and here we are in may, April, may. And let me just explain something real quick.

We submitted our film to 15 different film festivals. Now all of those that we selected were Academy Qualifying Festivals, which means those festivals feed the Academy Awards and therefore the Oscars. And we were wondering why we weren't getting picked up by any of these festivals. Festivals like South by Southwest or Sundance and some of these others that you've heard of.

They took our money, they took our film. They welcomed us in and then did not select us. And one, and then two, and then five, and then eight, and then 10. And so we're starting to see this weird pattern and, this festival was the first one that was outside of that group, and it's an independent festival.

And we went in and won two awards in our very first festival ever. And I had people come up to me at the q and a for the showing. I was there for the showing. And people were coming up to me saying, what other projects do you have out that we can watch? This is the best documentary we've ever seen.

Who was your director of photography? Who was your editor? All these questions were coming at me because they were impressed with the content. The way one guy told me, he said, you had me from the opening credits. He's I was hooked from the very first images that you put on the screen.

And those are huge. Huge compliments. Those are high compliments coming from people who had films there had coming from people who are in this business. And I found out. Through another source, another news agency. I found out that we were disqualified because we did not meet the DEI requirements for a film to go to the Academy Awards.

And I'm not saying that our film would've made it to the Academy Awards. I'm not saying that, I'm just saying we never had a chance because we did not meet the diversity. Equality inclusion quota. Because we didn't have I guess people of color and we didn't have people of different sexual orientations.

And this is crazy to even be saying this, but because we didn't, and it wasn't because we didn't try to find some diversity. They're just in the Texas panhandle. They're just who they are. The people that we talk to there's just not a lot of. There's just not a lot of diversity up there.

It's just the way it is. It wasn't on purpose. We even looked for some other than white people to interview and we couldn't find anybody that owned ranches that were part of that fire that it is just what, it just didn't happen. And so the reason I know this, and you can look this up, look up Megan Kelly Reagan.

Film something like that. Google that or look that up on YouTube and you'll find her clip where she's asking the day after the Oscar. She's asking, why wasn't Reagan the movie, the film Reagan, about Ronald Reagan's life? Why wasn't that nominated? It was such a good picture. It was such a great time in our country.

And the answer was because it did not meet DEI. Requirements. It, therefore, it wasn't considered at all. And I think the people that listen to this podcast know me well enough to know I love everybody. I don't discriminate in my life. I'll serve, I serve people of all colors, of all races, of all orientations.

I'm not. I'm not a bigot. I'm not someone that's lives in a small world. I understand people have their preferences. People are, cultures are different. And I love everybody, but I don't love the fact that we exclude people because of these reasons. This was supposed to be for inclusion.

And how in the world did inclusion become. Someone that's pushed out and not included. And it's reversed somehow now that since we did not meet some of these requirements which are made up anyway, somebody made these up. Because of that, we weren't allowed into any of these festivals.

So we're now, we've put ourselves into, I think, three or four other festivals that are outside of the academy. Qualifying. And we'll see what those are going to bring us. But it was great to be recognized. It was great to be there to, to show it, to hear people's comments, to do a q and a with them and answer questions about I.

How the film came about and all that. It was a lot of fun and it's great to be able to be recognized with a couple of awards, but just to give you a little bit of background as to the way the film industry works that's the unfair side of trying them, trying to be fair. And I think what happens, and this is my opinion, I think what happens is we go from trying to be fair to trying to force people to put only what certain groups want.

On the screen. And I think that's a disservice. It's obvious disservice to the industry, to the film, and to people like me who could not have made a film that was more diverse or that was in any way different than what it was simply because of the content that we shot and the place in the world that we were.

I'm sorry that they were not interested in it, but I'm glad that others are. And on that subject we'll be, I'll be speaking at A FFA banquet in Leon, Texas this coming week. Be speaking to the those in that banquet, which would be an honor. That'll be fun to talk to 'em about the film, talk to 'em about the stuff that they were able to collect and send out to the wildfire zone.

It's gonna be a great evening, and that's on our way to Austin, which next week we'll be showing the film at our capitol at the state capitol. Three times on that Friday the 16th, May 16th, there's three showings there at the state Capitol for. Our legislators and staff to come by and view and hopefully see a different side of what they're making decisions on.

I would love to see Texas buy aircraft, firefighting aircraft that we would own and maintain here in Texas instead of having to fight contracts with California. I think that we are definitely needing to do that. We've got the money to do it. We've have the track history. The track record and history of fires here and would love to see that happen.

Love to see them be more compassionate towards ranchers and the struggles that we face as ranchers. And so I think if they could see this film, they would have a little more compassion on a couple of these issues. And so that's the hope. We'll see what happens. We would love for them to be there and to be able to watch.

This film at the capitol, at the ease of just walking down the hall and seeing it. So we'll see. If you see this in the next few days, then please reach out to your Texas senator and your Texas house reps and tell them please make time to go to one of the three showings we've sent. Embossed invitations in the mail.

We have emailed them if you'd like to call them and let them know this is important to you, that they would at least send a staffer there to report back on what they found would be amazing. And that's where I've been, that's what I've been doing. I don't know if, I don't think I mentioned this, but for 10 days we were at the Hunt County Fair.

And, we served burgers to folks for 10 days straight. And so my life has been just a little busy, just a little crazy along with two locations and all of the other things that we have going on in this world right now. It's kept me away from doing these, which I love so much to do and love talking to you.

I love spending this time together with you, whether you're in your car or you're on the treadmill or. Whatever it is on a run or just trying to go to sleep at night, whatever it is. I sure appreciate you taking the time to be part of the Ranch and Table podcast and hear about some of the things going on in my life and the things that we've got going.

I appreciate those of you who are actively involved in those things. I really do appreciate your, involvement in my life. It's an honor. It's really an honor to be part of this world with you, part of this life with you. And so I'm just going to sign off for the day. I'm, I wanted to give an update on where I've been, what's been going on some crazy days, some more crazy days coming.

But thank you again for your time today, this episode's. Been brought to you by Wells Cattle Company. Come see us. We'd love to serve you. A burger, a Wagyu hotdog some hand cut fries. We'd love to take care of you, show you some hospitality. Come by anytime you're in cattle mills or downtown Rockwall and we'll be happy to serve you.

I'm Lee Wells on the Ranch and Table podcast. Until next time we say adios, farewell. Goodbye. Good luck.