What Is Twogether in Texas?

Twogether in Texas, a Texas Health and Human Services Commission initiative, provides free, skills-based premarital education workshops that will supply couples with the tools needed to face and manage the inevitable challenges that arise in marriages.  The eight-hour, premarital workshops focus on interactive training, which concentrates on communication skills, conflict management, and other key elements of a healthy marriage.  “Learn to love for life” and let us help make your marriage a long-lasting commitment by beginning with this premarital class.

George Iles, Region 5 Project Director

A native of Southeast Texas, George Iles was born in Beaumont and raised in Hardin County.  A Silsbee High School graduate, George attended Lamar State College of Technology in the late 1960s, and shortly thereafter became property of the United States Navy.  After his stint in the Navy, George returned to Lamar and earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in psychology.

George worked extensively as a director of psychiatric programs and pain management programs in Southeast Texas before he joined the Twogether in Texas team as the Project Director for Region 5. He leads the initiative over a 15-county region in the beautiful, big thicket area of Southeast Texas.

He and his wife Kathy, a high school art teacher, have been married for 29 years.  Every chance the two find to get away, sees them escaping to Utopia, Texas, to enjoy the Hill Country.  George has one son and recently acquired a daughter-in-law. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to email George.

Rebecca Blanchard, Region 5 Project Assistant

Rebecca Blanchard was born on Galveston Island and moved to Port Bolivar at the age of two.  In 1977, she moved to Beaumont where she began her career as a novelist.  She sold her first mainstream novel when she was 29 years old and wrote and published three mainstream novels in three consecutive years before going to work at the Beaumont Enterprise in Beaumont, Texas, where she helped launch the comeback of the Beaumont Journal.  She served as editor of Niche Publications, where she handled all specialty publications for the Beaumont Enterprise, including “Rita Captured,” a book published by the Enterprise that depicted the destruction Hurricane Rita left in her wake after she swept through Southeast Texas.  Becky continues to freelance articles for several magazines.

In 2008, Becky joined the staff of the Region 5 Twogether in Texas program as the project assistant.  She and her husband, Curtis, have been married for 35 years. They have three children and five grandchildren.  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to email Becky.

Who are we?

Since 1931, Family Services of Southeast Texas, Inc. has been a mainstay for professional support and educational services in this ever-growing area of Region 5.  Civic-minded community leaders founded the organization that originally was named the Family Welfare Bureau. These leaders’ ultimate goal was to provide financial assistance and social services to needy families. That determination and promise lived on through many decades of uninterrupted services to the public.  While the name of the organization has changed to Family Services, its commitment to its mission statement of “strengthening families” has remained a constant.

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How will it help me?

Research has shown that couples who take time to participate in premarital education courses are less likely to break up within five years. They also experience less marital distress.  Participating in a marriage education workshop, such as those offered for free by the Twogether in Texas program, equips couples with skills to navigate through the ups and downs that occur in every marriage.

According to the Institute for American Values in 2005, marriage increases parents’ chances of having good relationships with their children, because marriage fosters high-quality relationships between parents and children.  Children who live with both parents also enjoy better health than those who are from a divided family.