Today we’d like to introduce you to Laran Cone.
Hi Laran, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I moved to the Conroe area in the early 1970’s as a child before the woodlands had been started. I graduated Conroe High School 1977. I married my high school sweetheart, and sadly he passed at a young age of 26 from leukemia leaving me with two small babies which meant I had to rebuild my life and raise our children. I remarried in 1990. I attended design classes at Lone star college and after my children were in high school. I started a design and remodel business and remodeled homes all over the woodlands and did some commercial properties as well for 20 years. During that time once a week I would drive into Houston and Volunteer at Kids Meals feeding preschool age children living in food insecure homes. It brought me much joy so after volunteering for 10 years, I asked the board of directors if I could start one up here in Montgomery County to get the program up and running in this area and though I wasn’t in their budget and did some fundraising so I could get started. They were very supportive helping me open this location. I opened April 1, 2019 delivering our first meals and we are now feeding over 1050 children a day and during the school breaks, we feed the older kids in the same homes so we are then feeding 1671 kids per day . It brings me much joy and has become a passion of mine to help the kids living in food insecure homes to have more nutrition in their diets so when they get to school, they’re able to learn and move forward and grow in a healthy way in life, which builds our community as a healthier community.
Our blended family is a total of 21 which is including 11 beautiful children and 4 adult children and their spouses.
Life is full of love and I am very grateful for all we have been blessed with!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I was widowed at 26 with two small babies and had to start to rebuild my life. Which is when I moved back to the area and lived in The Woodlands for 32 years.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am goal oriented and self motivated to get things done.
I always knew I had a talent for design so I took interior design classes at Lone Star and helped a lot of friends in that industry until I started my own company. I had a wonderful crew of men I worked along side of and we remodeled hundreds of homes over the years. I was given a nickname of “get it done girl” as I had many projects going all at once and I was always able to stay on Top of things and get them done on time. I would do someone’s kitchen or bathroom and end up doing many on the same street. Going from one house to the next having many in different stages going all at once.
When I started volunteering at Kids Meals in Houston the thought of helping the kids brought my heart great joy so I had it as a dream to start one in Montgomery County to leave a legacy of a program that provides food to children in need and assists in helping with other resources in the area to help the families.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
To be patient and trust the process.
Not to stress as I learned early in life I was not in control just merely the hands and feet helping others.
I could think I wanted things a certain way but there is always a reason for things to turn out the way they do so I don’t stress over things just try to go with the flow.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/larancone/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laran-cone-b28b4784/
