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René Galvan was appointed the new CEO and president of the Houston Association of Realtors in February, as previously reported. Galvan succeeded Bob Hale, who retired Jan. 31. In an interview with Community Impact, Galvan discussed his background, what HAR does and the real estate market in the Greater Houston area. 

More details: Some of the questions asked by Community Impact include: 

• Broadly speaking, what does the Houston Association of Realtors do, and how do Realtors and buyers interact with HAR?
• When it comes to the housing market in the Greater Houston area, what trends are you seeing?
• What factors, economic or otherwise, do you see affecting the Houston housing market?

Officials with Culture Shock celebrated an early April opening of the specialty toy and hobby retailer’s new location at Deerbrook Mall in Humble, mall officials confirmed in a May 21 email.

The details: Culture Shock is a collectible retailer with several locations in malls across Texas offering video games, toys and card games, per the website.

Culture Shock is located on the second floor of Deerbrook Mall between Foot Locker and Cotton On Kids.

• Opened in early April
• 20131 Hwy. 59, Humble

As extreme weather events become more frequent, CenterPoint Energy announced June 1 that it is expanding its storm preparedness efforts through a partnership with Technosylva, a provider of weather, wildfire and flood modeling software.

Quote of note: “Preparing for extreme weather today requires earlier insight and better coordination than ever before,” said Jason Wells, chair, president and chief executive officer of CenterPoint Energy. “Our goal is to build the most resilient coastal grid in the nation to benefit our customers and communities.”

The overview: Technosylva's platform combines outage forecasting, storm modeling, flood risk analysis and wildfire monitoring into a single system. According to a news release from CenterPoint, the platform helps teams track weather conditions several days in advance, position crews and equipment before storms arrive and improve restoration planning. The National Weather Service forecasts eight to 14 named storms in the Atlantic basin this season, including three to six hurricanes, according to CenterPoint.

The YMCA of Greater Houston has unveiled its scheduled summer programs to promote active lifestyles among children and teens and provide access to water safety education, according to a news release.

What you need to know: Throughout the summer, the organization’s programming will include:

• Camp Cullen: The outdoor camp experience aims toward confidence building and soft skill development for youth through water sports, adventure courses, horseback riding and other activities.
• Day camps: Engagement-driven experiences utilize science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) learning; creative arts; sports; water safety education; and outdoor recreation to encourage youth productivity.