The Professional Bondsmen of Texas- Blog

Linda Lois Traylor, born August 17, 1947 in Houston, TX, passed away on August 21, 2025 after a courageous battle with cancer. She was 78. Linda was a beloved matriarch, a successful business owner for over 40 years, and a woman with a work ethic like no other. Tough but fair, she lived life with strength, humor, and generosity. Her quick wit and legendary joke-telling could light up any room. She believed in working hard and playing hard. She found joy in fishing and glamping by the lakes in her RV, as well as trips to the casino with friends. Cooking was her love language, and her southern-style dishes were cherished by all who gathered at her table. She entered and won many cooking contests, but her greatest reward was sharing meals with family and friends. Above all, Linda’s greatest pride and joy was her family. She survives and is deeply cherished by her children, David Yokem, Tammie Little and Michael Yokem. Her grandchildren Cody Yokem and wife Sarah, Brandon Little and wife Ti...

Ricky Lane Wade, born April 16, 1953, in Shelbyville, Kentucky, passed away peacefully on July 8, 2025, in Dallas, Texas. He was 72.   Ricky was the son of Vernon Wade and Mary Tipton (Harper), and a proud graduate of Shelbyville High School. He built a long and respected career in the bail bonds industry, working to establish both A Way-Out Bail Bonds and Just Bail Bonds. His commitment to his profession led him to become an active member of the Professional Bondsmen of Texas, where he was known for his unwavering honesty and bold personality—Ricky never had a filter and never backed down from speaking the truth. He is survived by his devoted wife, Jeanie Wade; two beloved stepdaughters, Crystal Padgett and Jennifer Beck; grandchildren Brett Estrada and wife Layla, Jezzica Polk and husband Brendan, Evan Beck, and Parker Beck; and one cherished great-granddaughter, Aurora Estrada; and nephew Kyle Tipton and wife Carolyn. Ricky also leaves behind his brothers Greg Tipton and Ve...

With much sorrow, we announce the death of a member of the PBT family and the bail community.  PBT Boardmember Charlie Pickens has died!  Charlie was a very important member of the bail industry.  Charlie along with Justin from his office were instrumental in designing and developing the PBT Call to Action and Click to Dial System that PBT currently uses at the Texas Legislature.  In the last couple of years, Charlie and Justin redesigned the system to allow PBT to offer it to other states to use to assist them before their legislatures.   Charlie is also a member of the PBT-PR Committee and was a part of the team that developed the PBT podcast "The Bail Post" which is regularly ranked as one of the best Criminal Justice Podcasts.  Charlie designed the artwork that is currently being used for the podcast.  Also, as a member of the PR Committee he and Justin were instrumental in developing tools to allow for the analysis of large amounts of data to...

Jim Alexander, 91, went to be with our Lord on Tuesday October 1st, 2024 in Bowie, Texas. The funeral will be at 3 pm Saturday October 5, 2024 at Hawkins Funeral Home in Boyd with burial at Boyd Cemetery. The family will receive friends an hour prior to the service at the funeral home. Jim's sons Kevin Alexander and David Montgomery will officiate. Pallbearers are Michael Montgomery, Randy Montgomery, Jason Montgomery, Brandon Alexander, Jacob Verdin and Cody Tedrow Honorary pallbearers are Cameron Hurd and Lucas Bayer Jim was born August 27, 1933 to Emmett and Flosie (Flemming) Alexander in Brownwood, Texas. In Fort Worth, Texas 33 years ago, he married Joyce Sinclair Montgomery. Family was very important to Jim, he enjoyed spending time with his sons, and grandchildren. If you knew Jim you knew he wore many hats, from insurance sales, to bail bonds, running a carnival, hauling hay, anything cowboy, or whatever he saw fit that needed done. He was a son, father, brother, uncle, gra...

Wednesday: April 10 - 12 is the PBT 8th Annual Spring Fling.  Festivities will begin on Wednesday with the Annual PBT Golf tournament.  Additionally, as teams are playing golf, another PBT team will be preparing a feast for Wednesday evening.  Late Wednesday afternoon PBT will celebrate the victors of the golf tournament with its annual cook out dinner.  This is a great time to mingle with other bondsmen, our lobbyists and our surety partners as we have fun celebrating all things Texas. Additionally, PBT invites local law enforcement members to join in the fun. This year, Wednesday evening will see a new element to the celebration.  PBT is sponsoring its first ever steak cook off  competition.  PBT currently has thirteen entries who are willing to put their reputations on the line to find out who can cook the best steak as selected by our blue ribbon panel of judges.  The cooks will be performing under the harsh lights (and harsh jokes) of all the...

  Marcus Dudley Jr. Tuscola, Texas Catheryn Johnson E-Z Out Bail Bonds Granbury, Texas  Debbie Crocker EZ Bail Bonds Harker Heights, Texas  Lisa Degeyter Lisas 007 Bail Bonds Lampasas, Texas   Michael Edwards Smoking Gun Bail Bonds Belton, Texas  John Curry Haltom City, Texas  Edward Dees III Fast Action Bonding Dallas. Texas  Cherie Lincoln Vaughn's Cowtown Bail Bonds Cleburne, Texas  Michelle Turner Fort Bend County  Richmond, Texas  Vanessa Lopez Fort Bend County Richmond, Texas  Sara Rosas Fort Bend County Richmond, Texas  Chase Konnecke Freedom Bail Bonds Amarillo, Texas  Sherian Coleman North Texas Bailbonds Sherman, Texas  Charles R. Cantu Jr. Skipper Bail Bonding Service Sinton, Texas  Anthony Benitez Houston, Texas  Michael Singletary Austin, Texas  Sharon McCleveland Set'em Free Bail Bonds Houston, Texas  Sandra Stephenson Bulldog Bai...

  "The Day I Told My Daughter Goodbye" by Ken W. Good No parent wants to see a child go through a bone marrow transplant.  There are things about this experience that we still do not talk about in our family.  There is no logic to why some children make it and others do not.  We nearly lost Laurel.   Our daughter Laurel was born with a rare condition where she did not make enough platelets.  So when she was five she underwent a bone marrow transplant at Children's Hospital in Dallas.  My wife and Laurel "moved in" to the hospital on December 6th and they did not return home until March the next year. I stayed in Tyler since our oldest daughter was in school.  I went to Dallas every weekend and my wife would go to a hotel and try to recharge for another week.  We were on the transplant floor which is an isolation floor.  So we did not allow family or friends to help us. One of the ways that I dealt with the situation was that I kept a blo...

The PBT Annual Meeting was held last week in San Antonio, Texas.  The meeting had record attendees, record vendors, and demonstrated that PBT has outgrown its space for the meeting. The them for this years meeting was the "Thin Blue Line" to support law enforcement.  There was a panel discussion about Border Security and it had representatives from our county sheriffs, the DPS and a retired home land security representative.  The presentation was an eye opener if you are truly concerned about border security. There was also a presentation about the most recent Texas legislative session from representatives of the PBT- Legislative Committee and lobbyists.   There was a live recording of the PBT Podcast The Bail Post talking about the "Inside Scoop About Bail Bond Boards."  PBT's podcast is closing out Season 2 and is now ranked in the top 10 of the 60 Best Criminal Justice Podcasts. Next, there was a presentation from Eric Granof with AIA and Mike ...

Is 2024 the Year of the Woman for the Professional Bondsmen of Texas?  At the recent annual meeting, Irma Montemayor was elected president of PBT.  She will serve for the next two years.  She is only the third woman to be elected President.  She has been involved in the bonding industry since she was 18. "It is my goal to continue to build on the legacy those before me have formed through hard work and dedication.  I pray for the wisdom in all my decisions and pledge to seek guidance and advise from those willing to collaborate in order to continue making PBTx the model association for the rest of the  Country.  God Bless the great State of Texas!" Irma has served in many different capacities.  She has been a member of the executive team as the secretary.  She has served as convention chair and in many other roles.   Irma is licensed in Hidalgo County and her bonding company is A-Fast Bail Bonds.  Join us in congratulating Irma...

At the 2023 Annual Meeting of the Professional Bondsmen of Texas, Cindy Hammons was selected as Bondsman of the Year.  Cindy has served as a board of director for PBT for some time.  She has served in numerous capacities and was the annual meeting convention committee chair for 2023. Cindy has been a bondsman for over 20 years.  She grew up in Freeport, Texas and has always been a part of Brazoria County.   "I am over the top, grateful and elated for being selected for this honor.  So many other great bondsmen have received for this award in the past and I am in some really great company which makes me want to work even harder every day to live up to their standards." Cindy is licensed in Brazoria County and her company is Cindy's Bail Bonds.

See a video of PBT's 2023 Skeet Shoot from the Annual Meeting on October 11, 2023.  Please join us next year.

Susie Cannon is like family, a much loved and honored family member.  She knows where everything is.  She knows all the family (PBT) stories.  She ensures that the family keeps moving forward.  If you call the PBT phone number, until recently, you spoke to Susie.  If you went to a continuing education class,  you interacted with Susie.  If you had a problem that needed to be solved you spoke to Suzie.  For many years, she has ensured that our continuing education school has been properly approved by the State Bar of Texas.  She ensures that our quarterly meetings, our annual meetings and so many other things are taken care of and are simply done.  We are probably not aware of all the things that Susie does for us and will not know all of them until after says her final goodbyes at the PBT Annual meeting Octboer 11-13, 2023. Susie Cannon has served numerous presidents of the Professional Bondsmen of Texas.  She has been a fixature of...

  The Professional Bondsmen of Texas, an association, was established in 1970 as the Texas Association of Professional Sureties to support and assist bondsmen in the advancement of their business. In 1978, the name was changed to the Professional Bondsmen of Texas. For over thirty years the membership, comprised of men and women in the bail bond business, have worked diligently to protect the eighth amendment and the American Constitution Bail Provisions.  Additionally, the right to a surety bond is the only release mechanism that is constitutionally protected by the Texas Constitution.  This means that while other forms of release can be restricted by the Texas Legislature, the use of surety bonds cannot be prohibited in Texas without a constitutional amendment passed by Texas voters. Join us in welcoming our newest members and renewing members: Blanca Lozano-Leyva Outlaw Bail Bonds 114 N. Concho Avenue Sonora, TX 76950 Counties: Crockett, Edwards, Kimble 325-387-3367 ou...

Two years ago, a committee of the Professional Bondsmen of Texas decided to look into starting a podcast.  No one on the committee knew anything about how a podcast worked, how it was created, how it was distributed or anything else about the subject.  But the committee decided to work as a team to research among themselves about how to start such an endeavor.  The group set a timeline of three months to research what was needed to be done and what else was needed to make a decision about whether to go forward. In making the decision, it was thought that a podcast could be a vehicle to address various issues in the criminal justice debate that could then serve as a resource to legislatures and politicians as they consider different proposals for Criminal Justice Reform.  The committee ultimately named the podcast "The Bail Post."  This name was not the first choice.  The committee had actually selected another name, but the name had to be changed after it w...

  Welcome to Our New & Renewing Members: The Professional Bondsmen of Texas, an association, was established in 1970 as the Texas Association of Professional Sureties to support and assist bondsmen in the advancement of their business. In 1978, the name was changed to the Professional Bondsmen of Texas. For over thirty years the membership, comprised of men and women in the bail bond business, have worked diligently to protect the eighth amendment and the American Constitution Bail Provisions.  Additionally, the right to a surety bond is the only release mechanism that is constitutionally protected by the Texas Constitution.  This means that while other forms of release can be restricted by the Texas Legislature, the use of surety bonds cannot be prohibited in Texas without a constitutional amendment passed by Texas voters. Join us in welcoming our newest members and renewing members: Javier Morales, Liberty BB, Edinburg Tiffany Johnston, A BB, Gilmer Kathleen Wood, B...

Shawn Foster has worked with the Florida Bail Agents Association before the Florida Legislature for the last 8 years.  On this episode of The Bail Post, instead of soaking up the Florida sun, we are soaking up "Florida Bail."  Learn how the Florida's bail system and legislative process work.  See if they are doing something that could be beneficial to Texas as well. Also available on: Apple Podcasts-            CLICK HERE Spotify-                        CLICK HERE Google Podcasts-        CLICK HERE Podcast Index-            CLICK HERE Amazon Music-          CLICK HERE Stitcher-                      CLICK HERE iHeart-                  ...

Randy Cauthen has a unique perspective on bail.  Randy worked in law enforcement for over 27 years.  After retiring, Randy was not ready to be idle.  So he began a second career in the bail industry.  He is the President of the North Carolina Bail Agents Association and was a 2019 inductee into the Hall of Fame for the bail agents association.  Join us as we learn about how bail operates in North Carolina and we compare it to how bail operates in Texas.   Also available on: Apple Podcasts-            CLICK HERE Spotify-                        CLICK HERE Google Podcasts-        CLICK HERE Podcast Index-            CLICK HERE Amazon Music-          CLICK HERE Stitcher-                ...

  The first season for The Bail Post ended on December 31, 2022.  During Season 1, The Bail Post released 25 episodes.  The top four episodes of Season 1 were as follows: Number 4- Episode No. 6 was released on February 4, 2022 and it was entitled "Meet The Coopers."   Here is how the episode was described- Kellye and Anthony Cooper are bondsmen in Mount Pleasant, Texas.  They talk about their bonding business and the ways that they keep up with defendants and how they help improve public safety.   Also, their son is a Marine.  When they became military parents, they began looking for ways to support their son.  Kellye created a nonprofit organization referred to as "M.O.M" (Ministering Our Military).   If you are interested in leaning more about this great cause you can visit the website for Mom at (https://www.momtx.org/) or by visiting their facebook page Ministering Our Military. On this episode, there is also a discussion rega...