IBEW Local 479 invites community to 'trunk or treat'

Beaumont’s International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 479 invites the community to bring their kids, candy and cars to the union’s Spindletop Road site for the group’s second trunk-or-treat celebration Oct. 29.

IBEW Local 479’s RENEW (reach out and engage new electrical workers) group scheduled the free-to-the-public event from 5 to 7 p.m. at 1430 Spindletop Road.

“We’re basically just the younger guys in the union that do these,” said RENEW Chairman Evan Penisson. “We came together and put this event together mostly for the union families, but we decided to make it an actual community event and reach out and get the community involved with the union.”

Organizers say anybody can put a trunk in and come give candy with the group, where they’ll be giving out free hotdogs, links, chips and drinks for “anybody who comes out.”

Penisson said the union plans to use the trunk-or-treat event to plug their RENEW group in an attempt to spark an interest in the next generation of electrical workers.

“Our original thought behind it was that we don’t do enough with our union members’ families,” he explained. “The only activities we really do are our meetings, and those are for the members only. So, this just gives the union member a chance to go and do something with his union brothers and have their family included.”

The union will give awards for “best in decoration,” “best in show” and “people’s choice.”

For questions about the event, including how to participate with a trunk, contact Penisson at (409) 791-6687.