Holmen Overcomes Challenges To Become Power of Positivity in Galveston County

By Ruth Ann Ruiz

The Post Newspaper Features Editor

Ask David Holmen what he thinks is one of the contributors to inner city domestic dysfunction and he’ll tell you it’s war. His granddaddy was in World War II and his father served in Vietnam. His own son is currently serving in the United States Navy as a chief petty officer. 

“After the veterans come home from wars, the ones who were on the front lines end up abusing alcohol and that just gets passed on to the next generation,” explained Holmen. He grew up in St Paul, Minn. and lived with family violence, neglect and being kicked out of his childhood home while just a young teenager. 

What would he do to decrease crime in the younger generation? He’d bring in programs that help educate youth on the disastrous trail they are headed, such as taking them into prisons to experience the real life of a convicted criminal.  He’d also like to see more mentorship programs for young people.

If he had more time, he’d organize a community effort of concerned adults to go arm-in-arm down the streets of LaMarque on Friday nights and reach out to the youth who are being destructive. 

Holmen, who has run for city council in LaMarque, found his way down I-45 to live in Galveston in the early 2000’s. He came with some baggage, and not the kind that can be neatly stored in the luggage rooms of an old Victorian home. 

It’s because of that baggage that he has grown to be a positive force in Galveston County. He currently serves as Chairman of the board for Children’s Center, Inc. in Galveston. 

“Holmen is hands-on in all aspects of support for the center. He isn’t just a chair holder at meetings. His life experience is an energy that guides our board to have more empathy for the needs of the people we serve,” said Terry Keel, President of CC Inc. 

Driving down I-45, Holmen saw the sunshine and knew he had found his place in America where he could become a success.  “There was no winter here and I saw all the car dealerships and I just knew I was going to make it,” said Holmen.

His family had already relocated to Galveston, but they weren’t living the cool island life. They were staying at the Children’s Center on the island. When he got to town, he slept in his car for a couple nights then checked into a Motel 6 for one month.

“Back then it only cost $700 for a whole month in the hotel, and I took that month to get myself sober, attended meetings, got busy with my program; at the end of the month, I went into a car dealership and asked for a job and was hired on the spot,” said Holmen.

Getting sober and staying sober has been like chasing the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for Holmen. Bouncing his little one-year-old son around when he was only 18 made Holmen realize he didn’t want to repeat what he had lived through.

“I wanted to give my son a different life. I didn’t want him to see what I had seen or live what I had lived,” Holmen explained. That’s when he began the chase to get sober. “I went into my parole officer and told him I wanted help to clean up my life,” said Holmen.

The parole officer guided him to AA and other resources for support as Holmen committed to living a life without crime and substance abuse. But that chase for sobriety is filled with many pitfalls and Holmen relapsed several times.

Holmen, no longer a young father, had turned 30 and his wife had enough of his shenanigans. With the help of family, she packed up their kids and came to Texas. That was the motivation for him to point his car south. 

Selling cars was something Holmen had been good at back in St Paul. With his first job as a car salesman, he wasn’t sure he’d make it, but the sales manager encouraged him to keep at it. “I really couldn’t read or write very well, and I only knew a lot of slang, so I was pretty unsure of myself,” Holmen said. 

Making money (when he was not abusing substances) came easy for Holmen. He was shining shoes at bars in St Paul when he was only 11. After a snowstorm, Holmen was not shy about getting out his shovel and knocking on neighbors’ doors. He pocketed $5 for clearing out the snow so his neighbors could get to their cars and out of their driveways. 

His favorite hustle as a young man was selling newspaper subscriptions. It was when he decided to get sober that he turned to car sales. “This wiseman in my neighborhood gave me lots of advice and he told me I should go sell cars. I got myself a pair of slacks, a white shirt and tie and had three job offers,” Holmen recalls. 

Selling cars for his living has spanned several decades. He figures he’s sold upwards of 6,000 automobiles, and he loves what he does. He has a customer base who love him. “He’s an awesome salesman, and an awesome person. He goes above and beyond what is required for a salesman to do,” said a customer who has purchased four vehicles from Holmen.

 Holmen was recently diagnosed as a diabetic and was directed to change his lifestyle. 

“I remember helping carry my granddaddy to the bathtub and him having his toe cut off due to his diabetes,” Holmen shared. 

Once again, he was motivated to change his habits to keep his own children from living what he had lived. He has dropped 60 pounds in six months and is planning to drop more weight.

His family has been a driving force in his life mission but with his children as self-sustaining adults, his mission is evolving. 

Now his thoughts are moving towards his future without the children as a motivator. He is fixed on retiring in about five years and plans to get more active in community service. Right now, he’s busy with his job, serving as a 3^rd rank Knight of Columbus, being chairman of the CC board and taking a lot of work to stay sober.

“It’s a constant battle fighting the urge to have just one sip. I tell myself ‘I’m not normal, I can’t just join in the fun when people are out enjoying themselves with drinking.’ If I have just one drink, I’ll relapse,” explained Holmen.