MIDLAND, Texas — LS Jr. first called the city of Midland "the land- flowing of milk and honey," when he first visited nearly a decade ago. The opportunities he saw from the West Texas city led him to move from Chicago to the Tall City.
In 2010, LS Jr. opened his first women's shoe store in Midland. In a handful of years, he opened five women's shoe stores across the city. However, as with many small businesses across the country, he didn't expect the hit his stores would take from the pandemic.
"They dismantled immediately, because once you close the doors, the revenue stream has dried up," LS Jr. said.
The financial hardships forced LS. Jr. to shut down all five of his women's shoes stores.
"When you're in a position like mine and you lose everything, you start to lose your mental edge from wondering 'Why has this happened to me? What did I do wrong? What did I cause for this to happen?'" said LS Jr.
However, on November 30, 2023, LS Jr. saw the sign he needed the most, outside the facility of the Salvation Army of Midland.
"I saw the sign that said 'Doing the Most Good,'" LS Jr. said. "I went in and spoke to the representatives and some of the people there and they explained to me the purpose of the Salvation Army is to help people such as myself who have also been affected by turmoil."
He went on to learn the principles of the organization, and even accomplished becoming a soldier of the Salvation Army through the Soldier's Covenant.
"They challenged me to be a better person than what I thought I was. They encouraged me to be a better person than what i could encourage myself to be," LS Jr. said. "I started seeing daily growth in my life mentally, spiritually, physically, naturally. They covered the whole spectrum of helping, not just me but anyone that walks in my footsteps."
LS Jr. said it was the support from the Salvation Army that pushed him to open his first women's shoe store after his other ones closed down four years ago. On May 20, a community of supporters and other local business owners, inside of MY SALON Suite in Midland, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for LS Jr's women's shoe store called, "Where's My Shoe?".
"Everybody needs somebody. We weren't put here on this Earth just for our own self, for our own needs, but the needs of humanity is very important in the lives of everyone," LS Jr. said. "You have to be unified in order to succeed in things in life."