The Team
Branch to Hope Community Center

Board Members & Leadership Team

Don Wantz
ROOTS Director
Mary Jean "MJ" Bentley

MJ has a heart to serve others and seizes every opportunity to get to know you more. She has served her community as a leader for over 17 years in multiple positions such as Social Director for the Bella Flora HOA for 10 years, church Preschool Leader, Children’s Worship Leader, Elementary, Intermediate & Middle School Ministry Leader, Mom’s Prayer Group Leader, Parents Middle School Prayer Walk, and Church Camp Leader. She is a CoFounder of the Walsh Swim Team in Aledo, Texas.

MJ has over 25 years of experience as a NURSE, PRODUCER, ACTRESS, SONGWRITER, and SINGER.

Her acting career includes appearances in numerous national commercials and several major motion pictures; Telly Award Winner Almost Thirteen (Brad Hunstable, Bill McAdams Jr., Peter Coyote), International Christian Film Festival Award Winner Gallows Road, (Ernie Hudson, Kevin Sorbo), The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry, (Gavin MacLeod); Noah’s Ark, The New Beginning (Michael Keaton, Jason Lee, Marcia Gay Harden), The Last Castle (James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Redford), We Were Soldiers (Mel Gibson), Sweet Home Alabama (Reese Witherspoon) and the Grand Jury winner at the Sundance Film Festival, Forty Shades of Blue (Rip Torn).

Prior to embarking on an entertainment career full time and after receiving her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from George Mason University, MJ served as an officer in the United States Navy Nurse Corps for 9 years. Her specialty was Post Anesthesia and Pediatrics Emergency in a level-one trauma center, Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

While in Nashville she spent 6 years in the music business writing with some of the top songwriters. Her songs have been recorded by both domestic and international recording artists and she has personally released 3 albums to date, produced multiple music videos and currently has songs slated for upcoming films.

She continued her nursing career in Medical Sales working as a Territory Manager for Zimmer Spine, Allergan Eye Implants & Coloplast.

Currently, MJ is a Partner in Fort Worth Studios, a Family & Faith Inspired film company, having numerous projects such as Little Faith, Immaculate: The Game Ball, When The Last Leaf Falls adapted from a manuscript by New York Times Best Selling Author, James Michael Pratt of the Hallmark Hall of Fame’s The Lost Valentine viewed by over 14.5 million viewers, Gallows Road & Jose Canseco, The Truth Hurts which you can view on over 13 streaming platforms. She is active in the Screen Actors Guild, participated on the Producer’s Committee and was the Co-Chairman of the 75th Anniversary Celebration for the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) in Dallas, Texas. MJ is also a member of Women In Film (WIF), Texas Motion Picture Alliance (TXMPA) and of The Academy of Country Music (ACM). She resides in Fort Worth, Texas with her husband, Kevin, and her two children. Mary Jean Bentley is represented by The Kim Dawson Agency in Dallas, Texas.

Bob McCarthy

CONSTRUCTION, MANUFACTURING, RETAIL, FINANCE, REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT

Robert M. McCarthy, Sr. (Bob) has been providing first-rate business leadership in the Dallas-Fort Worth community for over forty years. In 1983 he started a Store fixture manufacturing business on his front porch and over fourteen years grew to 485,000 sf of factory building all of the Bombay, Men’s Warehouse and Barnes & Noble bookstores all over the country and selling to a fortune 500 company “Leggett & Platt” in 1997. Since then, he built and sold a high-end Architectural Millwork and door company “Dimension Millworks” and he bought, built, and sold a successful concrete construction company “Cheyenne construction” in January of 2022.

His current endeavors include “Impact Promotional Services LLC dba Got You Covered Workwear and Uniform” a first responder uniform business and “Precision Projects International” a real-estate development company.

Bob seeks to empower the vision and success of those around him and enjoys helping others achieve their goals. In recent years, he has brought that love of serving to an under-reached demographic. In 2014, Bob founded the Leg Up Program to provide crucial life skills coaching, professional development, and mentoring opportunities for the homeless in Fort Worth, Texas. He served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Leg Up Program through December 2019 when he merged the organization with the Day Resource Center of Ft. Worth. He brought over 35 years of entrepreneurial and leadership experience to the organization.

Bob is an active member and past President of the Ft. Worth Chapter, of the Entrepreneur’s Organization (EO). He sits on the boards of the DRC, a homeless outreach organization and Bridge to Hope community center. Married and the father of seven children & eight grandchildren. Bob resides in Fort Worth and has a love of woodworking and boating.

Kevin Lackey

Kevin Lackey recently sold his company Freedom Powersports, LLC after serving as President and CEO and was also the largest individual owner of the company. Kevin began his career in powersports at the original Freedom Powersports Weatherford location in 1998 while attending Weatherford College.

Mr. Lackey has served on the First Financial Bank board of directors since 2016. He also serves on The National Center for the Middle Market advisory board and multiple industry councils as part of his day to day role.

Since founding Freedom Powersports in 2012, Mr. Lackey purchased two stores from Family Powersports, the original Weatherford location as well as a location he founded in Hurst, Texas. Over the next few months Mr. Lackey focused his energies on raising capital to grow the Freedom Powersports footprint in North Texas. In mid-2013, Mr. Lackey increased the Freedom holdings by adding four metric dealerships located throughout the greater Dallas-Ft Worth Metroplex.

Mr. Lackey’s thought process, team orientation, dedication to operational excellence, attention to detail, and strong leadership qualities have guided the current success of fourteen dealerships currently operating as Freedom Powersports. He functioned at an ownership level for over a decade and consistently improved business operations by bringing profitability to departments and locations where others couldn’t, and he proved that he could open a new location and bring it to profitability in the first year, even with a limited product line and minimal financial resources.

His greatest accomplishment is being a father to his two incredible children. He loves them with all his heart! He also finds joy in serving others especially those within his community! He never meets a stranger and is thrilled to serve Branch To Hope Community Center as the Fundraising Chairman.

Bobbie Cox

Bobbie previously worked in commercial land development constructing shopping centers, hotels, and buildings for Frito-Lay. Her negotiating skills became instrumental in landing difficult business contracts. She was involved in governmental permit work, complicated food grade building inspections, and contractor management on simultaneous projects in all phases from raw land to furnishings, while overseeing the construction of 17 Frito-Lay distribution centers.

In 1989, Bobbie channeled her skills in a new direction where her creative strategic talent and niche for finding under-marketed products could be better utilized. As a result, her efforts became focused on product development. One of her products was voted “most innovative product of the year” by the Darden Graduate School of Business and Harvard Business School. She has been the focus of a number of news articles on female entrepreneurship and featured as a national speaker. 
 Bobbie considers every aspect of her life work to offer a platform for displaying the importance of her faith throughout her professional, philanthropic and social career. She has hosted Bible studies for years and currently hosts a weekly Home Church, as well as involvement in a variety of ministry and missionary organizations, hosting many events over the years.

Bobbie founded a nonprofit 501 C-3 foundation and traveled worldwide researching alternative treatments for patients who needed hope. She worked extensively in Germany and Mexico, assisting many patients towards a preventative, improved, and extended quality of life.

She is passionate about her vision Branch to heArt, art from the heArt of a child’s expression, associated with art and music therapy, and implementing this program through Christian charter schools and churches.

Through Bobbie’s 700,000 miles of international travel, she had the vision to create NOAH, a Nation of Advanced Healing. The goal of NOAH is to bring together brilliant alternative medical and scientific minds, with hearts to make a difference, from around the world in a collaborative environment, to work in a philanthropic setting, researching the root causes of under-researched illnesses and diseases, through a non-pharmaceutical methodology without profitability or notoriety as the focus.

Today, Bobbie is now devoted to making an impact in the landscape of America through the power of prayer with her newly launched app, Branch To Hope. She hopes this becomes a small church in the palm of hands for those who will pause and pray at 1:11 each day to make a difference in lives and our country, creating prayer groups scattered across our land. The Branch to Hope app also includes a discipleship tool to reach the lost, and a reminder for Christ-followers to become inspired and uniquely influenced each day, to untrained our negative habits, and instead, make a habit out of the nine characteristics of Jesus, through a color association, based on the nine fruits of the spirit from the Bible in Galatians 5:22-23. Her goal is to change lifestyles, one person at a time, through the power of prayer, one prayer at a time. Bobbie also pens a 1:11 devotional message to live by, inspired each day by Jesus, based on a scripture that correlates to the date, as a reminder to weave God’s daily Word into our conversation.

Bobbie is committed to her projects with passion and devotion, creating a difference. One life influenced can create a legacy of change, leaving a lasting imprint in the lives of those she encounters each day.

Bobbie currently works as a freelance consultant, connecting kingdom-building organizations to those with valued skills from the body of Christ, discovered from the relationships she has been blessed to encounter along her life‘s journey.

Aaron Valencia

Aaron has been married to his best friend Sparkle for over 20 years and the father of three awesome kids. Aaron takes a Team / Family approach to running his Real Estate Business. His wife Sparkle is a business professional for a leasing company in Southlake, TX, and all three of his kids went to Aledo ISD and were very involved in athletics and other extracurricular activities.

Aaron is a native West Texan who grew up in the oil and gas industry. He relocated his family to Aledo 7+ years ago and have bled orange and black ever since. He is a big supporter of “Keeping it local” and in his spare time you will most likely find him at the football field on Friday nights, at the gym cheering on the kids, or at a local restaurant having dinner with his beautiful wife.

He is a local agent who is very familiar, knowledgeable, and vested in the Community. What really sets him apart is his professional background. Aaron comes from the oil and gas industry in West Texas where our word and integrity are key. He takes that same honest approach into the real estate industry. He will give you honest assessments, feedback, opinion, and direction. Aaron continues to broaden his knowledge through continuous education and key trainings that allow him to stay on top of the current laws, as well as the current and projected state of the industry. He will ensure you are both protected, and you can make educated decisions.

• #AGAMEagent

• 360West – BEST REAL ESTATE AGENT & TOP PRODUCER

Brad Hunstable

Brad is CEO and co-founder of Linear Labs, a smarter energy company designing ultra-high efficiency motors and generators. Linear Labs’ patented breakthroughs lead to double the torque of competitive motors, increased range, and significantly lowered power consumption.

Prior to founding Linear Labs, Brad served as CEO and founder of Ustream, a global enterprise software company. Under his leadership, Ustream powered the top global Fortune 500 companies, scaling to $40M in revenue. In 2016, Ustream was acquired by IBM for $150M and became the foundation of the IBM Cloud Video division.

In 2020, Brad won the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® Southwest Award and was named Top Private CEO by the Fort Worth Business Press. The San Francisco Business Times honored him as an influential young leader in their 40 Under 40 list, he was ranked among the 50 Digital Power Players by the Hollywood Reporter, and honored as Variety’s Producers Guild of America’s Digital 25: Visionaries, Innovators and Producers.

Brad is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and holds an MBA from The Ohio State University where he received the 2017 Entrepreneur and Innovation Alumni Award.

Stacy Lynch

REAL ESTATE BROKER, LYNCH LEGACY REALTY GROUP

Stacy Lynch, has a true passion for this area as she has lived here for 50 years. Aledo Bearcats is her alma mater and very proud to call this area her home. Lynch is very rooted in relationships, both professionally and personally in Parker County. Her expertise and knowledge of the school district and the growth of the area is generated through her family’s 50 year old real estate company which has been in Parker County from day one. Her mother and father, Roy and Jan Lynch, started the real estate company in 1972. Stacy’s plans are to build on the integrity, honesty and trustworthiness of her Mom and Dad while adding new technologies and coaching programs to the company to better serve buyers and sellers. Her goal is that every buyer and seller she encounters walk away knowing she did her very best to reach their expectations of excellence.

Lynch’s future vision and passion is to respect the value of her family’s legacy and soar to the next level of service through hard work and dedication to her clients. After the passing of her Dad, she decided it was time to step up to the plate and carry on what her dad had started. The birth of “The Lynch Legacy Group” began here. She is building her team to a specific group of individuals that have the same drive and level of commitment to her clients as she does. Lynch Legacy Group is built on the standards her mother & father set forth. Stacy is an active board member of Parker County Economic Development Council, Aledo Education Foundation, and supports many local charities and organizations.

Kevin Bentley

Kevin is currently the Chief Development Officer & Principle for US Specialist Management in Fort Worth, Texas which is a physician practice management company created for independent special groups as an alternative to the private equity & hospital system model of creating a platform for consolidation.

Kevin is an accomplished Executive with experience in operations, P&L oversight, product distribution, and marketing involving both start-up and growth organizations. He is responsible for all group development and revenue generation for the company while managing and implementing growth strategies for existing practices and leading all corporate development and merger/acquisition opportunities.

His previous experience includes being the Regional Vice President for Nueterra Holdings, a global network of integrated facilities including ambulatory surgery centers and surgical hospitals; CEO of UMED Holdings, INC, a public diversified holding company which owns and operates businesses in a variety of industries including energy, oil and gas, aerospace, food and beverage; Vice President Business Development HealthTronics, Inc a healthcare services and medical device company specializing in urology; Chief Development Officer for Advanced Medical Partners, Inc a provider of mobile medical services focused in urology; CEO of Referral Technologies, Inc A Dallas-based communications services consulting firm specializing in telecommunications, computer, data, and security development for corporate business. He was a Professional Baseball player for the CHICAGO CUBS organization.

Emily Lydick
Emily graduated from The University of Texas with a BA in History and worked as a Technical Recruiter in Austin. After starting a family in 2001 and subsequently moving to Fort Worth, she finally settled in Aledo in 2014. Emily’s love for serving The Lord, and working with children have led her to volunteer as a Sunday School teacher for many years, as well as leading Vacation Bible School. She has served on several committees at her children’s schools, including coordinating various events, apparel, and advancement. Emily currently serves as a Children’s Leader with the Aledo Bible Study Fellowship and is actively involved in the Middle School Ministry at her church. As Event Coordinator, Emily is excited to assist in the planning and scheduling of special events at Branch To Hope. She strives to share with the community all of the many opportunities our beautiful campus offers to make every gathering a success.
Abbie Schneider

Abbie graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in education and taught special education for several years in Mansfield ISD before moving to Aledo with her husband and 3 kids in 2012. She then helped to organize and lead an after school Bible study in the Aledo ISD elementary schools from 2013-2018.

Abbie has been passionate about serving others through organizing and promoting benefit concerts, leading women’s ministry events, substitute teaching, and is currently working on a masters degree in biblical studies and a certification in biblical counseling.

Abbie is looking forward to coming alongside the vision and leadership of Branch to Hope to help create volunteer opportunities for individuals and families in Aledo and surrounding communities.

Britt Shoptaw

Britt Shoptaw loves Christ with all his heart! He attends Christ Chapel Bible Church West Campus and enjoys serving in the kids ministry by teaching 3rd grade boys every Sunday!

Britt is a former TCU starting baseball pitcher from 1989-91 and graduate of Texas Christian University. He was a Graduate Assistant and a TCU baseball player 1994-96. He was thrilled to be able to work with Nolan Ryan when he was a volunteer assistant coach.
Britt has 20 plus years as a pharmaceutical sales & marketing specialist. But his true love is playing any sport with a ball! He loves teaching & coaching kids & adults and has been a pickleball addict for 3 years.

He is a USA Pickleball advocate and an ambassador in Parker & Tarrant county. Ambassadors help promote and grow the sport of pickleball in their communities by starting new pickleball programs. He was instrumental in starting the first pickleball program in Aledo in May 2020. Since then he has helped start other pickleball programs at Aledo United Methodist Church, Church at The Crossing & McCall Elementary.

Britt has a heart to serve and went on a pickleball mission trip to the Philippines in June 2022 where he used pickleball as the platform for sharing sports & the gospel with kids and adults.

He is a Joola pickleball paddle ambassador/ advocate and paddle representative.

Britt is also a Game Point sales & marketing representative. GP is a new company that sells luxury tennis and Pickleball bags.

He’s been married to his beautiful wife Tina for 28 years and has three lovely daughters… Sydney, Sarah & Sophie.

Don Wantz

Coming Soon!

Chelsea Dollar

Chelsea Dollar is a hard-working mother from Parker County, Texas. She is a woman of deep faith, a proud wife, and a mother to four incredible boys. Chelsea has had an illustrious career in marketing, spanning 14 years. She has worked her way up from an account coordinator to an operations manager and is now the proud owner of a successful marketing company, Brand Bandits Marketing, which she runs with her husband.

Chelsea is known for her passion and grit in every project she takes on. She pours her energy and creativity into every client she works with, delivering exceptional results that exceed expectations. Her smart and happy demeanor is contagious, and she is always eager to take on new challenges.

Chelsea’s talents are extensive in graphic design, creative marketing, and branding. Her eye for detail and ability to connect with clients on a personal level has made her an invaluable asset to the industry. Her dedication to her work and her clients is evident in the success of her business.

After working closely with Lynch Legacy Realty Group, Chelsea decided to become licensed herself in 2022 and is now a licensed Realtor for the #ATEAM. Her skills in marketing have proven to be an asset in real estate, as she helps clients showcase their properties in the best possible light.

Despite her busy schedule, Chelsea finds time to tend to her garden, spend time with her family at the baseball fields, and appreciate the beauty of the world God has created. Her faith is an integral part of her life, and she is proud to serve on the board of Branch to Hope and Flourishing Faith, two organizations that help those in need.

Chelsea Dollar is an inspiration to many, a testament to the power of hard work, dedication, and a deep faith in God. Her story is a reminder that with passion and perseverance, anything is possible.