Celebrating Women of Eastex

Women play a vital role at Eastex

By Andrea Agardy

In honor of International Women’s Day — observed annually on March 8th — Eastex celebrates the invaluable contributions of all the women on our staff. Here’s a closer look at six of the women whose efforts help make Eastex a success:

Jessica Esparza

Jessica Esparza has only worked as a cashier at Eastex’s Henderson office for a year, but she’s already making a difference. She’s bilingual, and her Spanish fluency provides a vital link to customers who struggled in the past to get the help they need.

“A lady came in recently with questions she had never asked because she couldn’t make herself understood,” Jessica says. “She said, ‘Oh, I’m so glad you’re here now. I’m going to look for you when I have questions!’”

With almost 20 years of customer service experience, Jessica enjoys working at Eastex.

“I look forward to staying here,” she says. “My younger co-worker said to me, ‘Do you realize that we’re going to work here for the rest of our lives together?’ Hopefully, that’s the plan.”

Jessica lives in Henderson with her cat and dog, and she enjoys spending time with loved ones. She’s also studying to earn a degree in business administration.

Yolanda Harrell

When Yolanda Harrell unexpectedly lost her job at a restaurant, a friend working at Eastex suggested she apply for a job there. Today — 38 years later — Yolanda still works at Eastex’s Livingston office as a customer service representative.

“It’s a dream job to work for Eastex,” she says. “It’s just a blessing to be able to work for a good company, one that takes care of their employees.”

Yolanda brings empathy to every customer interaction.

“The first thing is to be compassionate with the customers and listen to their stories,” she says. “I’m a people person, I’ve come to know a lot of the customers personally over the years.”

Yolanda and her husband, Ricky, have two children. When she’s not deer hunting with Ricky or volunteering with youths at First Community Baptist Church, she enjoys her annual girls trip with a group of high school classmates. She’s got her sights set on a visit to Dubai.

Malinda Jones

Malinda Jones isn’t one to sit around waiting for something to do. While her responsibilities have increased exponentially in her decades at Eastex, she still finds time to do “the little things,” like making coffee in the break room and the occasional supply run.

“I absolutely love my job and I am very grateful to be part of the Eastex Telephone family,” she says.

Malinda started at Eastex 39 years ago as then-general manager Allen “Knot” Dorman’s secretary, and she’s stayed busy every day since. Today, she’s business operations manager, with a diverse portfolio of duties ranging from payroll and benefits to keeping company records.

“I make sure that different departments in the office are assisting our customers at their very best,” she says.

Malinda and her husband, Gary, have two daughters. Gary is enjoying a long career in baseball, and for 2022, will be the first base coach for the Detroit Tigers. Malinda loves traveling to Gary’s games.

Debbie Middleton

The technology Debbie Middleton helps customers with today didn’t exist when she began working at Eastex.

“The internet wasn’t a thing in 1982,” she laughs.

Debbie, who’s always been technology-minded, enjoys working in technical support.

“I actually went to school for computer science when women didn’t go to school for computer science, in the ’70s and early ’80s,” she says. “That was just a very interesting thing to me.”

Whether she’s helping an installation crew diagnose an issue or on a troubleshooting call with a customer, Debbie’s a professional problem solver.

It’s hard to describe what the job is, because it’s never the same,” she says. “You don’t get bored with it. I like figuring things out and it’s a lot of that. That’s what keeps it interesting.”

Off the clock, Debbie enjoys traveling and serving on the board of the Rusk Panola Children’s Advocacy Center. She and her husband, Gary, have two sons and four grandchildren.

Michelle Spence

A lifelong resident of Waskom, customer service representative Michelle Spence loves that her job is helping her neighbors.

“When I’m speaking to a customer I always think, ‘If this was my mom or dad, how would I want someone to speak to them, how would I want someone to handle it?’” she says. “I’ve known a lot of these customers for my entire life.”

In her 20 years at Eastex, Michelle has seen many changes, especially in technology. But one constant has been the sense of family she feels at Eastex.

“I’ve never worked for a company like this,” she says. “They value their employees and our families. That means a lot, to love what you do. I know that when I go to work I’m going to enjoy being there.”

Michelle’s passions include reading and cooking for her friends and family. She and her husband, Wayne, have three children and five grandchildren.

Cindy Vailes

Cindy Vailes started working at Eastex 44 years ago and has no plans on retiring.

“I’m not in a hurry to leave,” she says. “I’ve been on vacation long enough to where I was really ready to come back. I didn’t think I could stand to stay at the house another day! You miss being in the know and you miss the people. It’s like another home.”

A customer service representative in the Livingston office, the connections she’s formed with co-workers play a big part in why Cindy loves going into the office every morning.

“I’m very comfortable,” she says. “The comfort comes from the relationships we have. We’ve had a lot of personal conversations, we’ve been through divorces, illnesses, everything that a family goes through. There’s just a lot of support. It’s definitely another family.”

When she’s not at work, Cindy enjoys spending time with her original family, including her husband, Donald, two children and six grandchildren.