BBB SE TX Torch Awards: Celebration of Excellence

April Tolbert is a proud native of Southeast Texas and is the owner of April Tolbert Insurance Agency, LLC. After spending many years as a local radio personality, April discovered her true calling and began her career in the insurance industry in 2005. After seeing first-hand the devastation of Hurricane Rita and the challenges faced by so many when they needed help from their insurance, April made it her mission to become that resource in our community. She has built a team of insurance agents dedicated to assisting and educating Southeast Texas residents about all types of insurance.

April Tolbert Insurance Agency was awarded the BBB Torch Award for Small Business in 2015, Small Business of the Year from the Greater Beaumont Chamber of Commerce in 2018, Affiliate of the Year in 2019 for her support of the Beaumont Board of Realtors, and has been honored multiple times as “Best of the Best” in the Beaumont Enterprise Readers Choice Awards.

April is passionate about serving her community. She currently serves on the board of directors for the BBB and is a trustee for the Education Foundation. She also serves on the board of directors for Crime Stoppers of Southeast Texas and the Greater Beaumont Chamber of Commerce. April was also named “Fan Favorite” at Dancing with the Stars of Southeast in 2023.

If she's not talking about insurance or volunteering her time, April is most likely to be on a road trip, exploring the great state of Texas with her husband, on the beach or by the pool with her two amazing kids or enjoying her role as “Frenchie Mom” to her three French bulldogs.

Elton A. Hollis, III is the owner of Hol-Tech Resources, LLC. Hol-Tech is a full service consulting service that provides guidance and training in the Safety, Quality and Compliance realms. He is also the General Manager of RT Technical Solutions LLC, where he helps lead their team to the forefront of the Industrial Electrical and Instrumentation fields.

Elton helps out businesses by utilizing his 27 years’ experience in the Oil and Gas Construction field, he provides Consulting, Training, Executive Coaching, and all facets of Safety Management and Compliance services to clients in the Industrial, Commercial and Small Business industries. During the course of his career, Elton has held a wide range of titles from Field Laborer to Executive Ownership. He prides himself on being able to problem solve for his clients by utilizing a diligent work attitude with creative critical thinking.

He is well-regarded in the Safety and Training field for his Small Business training grant work in collaboration with Lamar Institute of Technology. Elton combines this with a special interest in helping Small Businesses to succeed by conducting marketing meetings, events and numerous mentor speaking engagements.

In addition to his executive work, Elton is a co-founder of the Golden Triangle Industrial Group and Vice Chairperson for the Contractors Business Development Group. Both of these monthly events help promote business growth by providing project information to local companies.

Elton is an asset to the many committees and boards he sits on because he brings the voice of business, understands the industry perspective; cares deeply about entrepreneurs, and is not afraid to challenge conventional thinking.

He is a 2022 graduate of Michigan State University with his Bachelor of Business Administration And recently a graduate of “The Best Class Ever” in Leadership Beaumont in 2023. He has also been featured in several magazine articles such as:

• Featured on the Cover of: Global Millionaire Magazine• InLife International • Global Elite Entrepreneur • VT Post: Named in the Top 100 Entrepreneurs in Texas. • Elitepedia • The Los Angelers • Refine Post • The Global Celebrity

He is a proud recipient of the 2022 BBB Torch Awards for Ethics for Microbusiness and sits on the BBB Southeast Texas Board of Directors.

In late 2021 he published his first book, “Creative Problem Solving” and now has published his second book, “Buy Into Yourself First”, which outlines successful business development tactics. Elton has also written his first song “Kirbyville”, which describes his youth growing up in small town Texas and how it relates to him now. In his spare time, Elton enjoys spending time in the outdoors exploring the Texas Hill Country on hiking trails. He can also be found spending time with his children and grandchildren. He thoroughly enjoys all the wonderful charity work that his area has to offer, including being a board member of the Port Arthur Education Foundation, Southeast Texas Education Foundation, Amerair Cares and helping to organize many local charity events with the Greater Port Arthur Chamber of Commerce.