Our History
Rooted in advocacy. Driven by service.
There’s a reason we’re called 3 Bridges. It’s not a marketing tagline. It’s a legacy, and it carries decades of history with it. History that shaped interpreting in Texas. History that changed laws. History that we carry forward every day.
1950s
It Started With a Love Story
Lloyd Wayne Bridges and Margie Lee Johnson met at the Oklahoma School for the Deaf. They fell in love, married in a small church in Guthrie, Oklahoma, and set off to build a life together. Both were Deaf. Both were determined.
They moved to Dallas so Lloyd could train as a linotype operator, one of the few trades open to Deaf workers at the time. To earn his International Typographical Union card, they relocated to Munday, a small Panhandle town where their daughter Bobbie Beth was born. She was Deaf, too.
When Lloyd became a certified printer, they settled in Terrell and began long careers with the Dallas Times Herald. Their son Byron came along, also Deaf. The family was complete: Lloyd, Margie, Bobbie, and Byron. An all Deaf family, united by love and a shared determination.
Lloyd & Margie Bridges
1960s
The Seeds of Something Bigger
In those days, life for Deaf Texans was a constant struggle. There was no telecommunication access, no way to make a phone call. No interpreters at doctor’s appointments or court hearings. To be Deaf and successful, Lloyd would say, you had to climb a mountain while hearing people just walked up a hill.
Lloyd and Margie saw these barriers and decided to do something about them. At Hampton Place Baptist Church in Dallas, they began teaching hearing people how to interpret. Young people like Jonnie Duncan, Betty Merritt, and Mary Conner, all children of Deaf adults, volunteered their time to learn.
Lloyd and Margie taught them more than signs. They taught the nuances, the culture, the weight of being a bridge between two worlds. Many went on to become some of Texas’s first professional interpreters. The seeds of professional interpreting had been planted.
Deaf congregation at Hampton Place Baptist Church, 1962
1968
A Partnership That Changed Everything
Through their work, Lloyd and Margie became deeply involved with the Texas Baptist Conference for the Deaf. Lloyd eventually served as president. This gave them the platform to organize the first meeting of church interpreters in Dallas, a gathering to address the need for a professional organization.
After moving to Irving, the family joined First Baptist Church. That’s where Lloyd met Jim Scoggins, an interpreter whose partnership with Lloyd would change history.
Together, they were unstoppable. They visited churches throughout Texas, expanding their circle and establishing the Texas Society of Interpreters for the Deaf (TSID). In 1970, they achieved another milestone: the first TTY in Texas, connecting their two homes. It was the first telephone a Deaf person could use in the state.
Jim Scoggins, President of TSID
1971
Making History
Lloyd and Jim made it their mission to educate state legislators on the injustices facing Deaf Texans: educational inferiority, lack of social services, unemployment, economic hardship. Deaf citizens were denied access to basic services that hearing people took for granted.
They organized. Jim rented buses, often paying out of pocket, to bring Deaf citizens from Irving to Austin. They testified at hearings. They met with representatives one-on-one, communicating through pen and paper when no interpreters were available.
On June 4, 1971, Governor Preston Smith signed House Bill 1293, creating the Texas Commission for the Deaf. It was the first commission of its kind in America. Twenty-five years later, the Commission formally named Lloyd Wayne Bridges the “Father of the Texas Commission for the Deaf.”
“Without dedicated and highly competent citizens such as yourself that have devoted their time, talent and efforts to assisting the deaf community, I am afraid there would have been no progress at all.”
State Representative John F. Boyle, in a letter to Lloyd Bridges
Governor Preston Smith signing HB 1293, June 4, 1971
“In every area of life there are always a few dedicated people whose visions and hard work make things happen that improve the quality of life for all. The progress that has been made because of your dedication will continue down through the years.”
Congressman Jack Hightower
In tribute to Lloyd Bridges
The Legacy Lives On
Even while battling cancer, Lloyd kept working. When asked why he pushed himself, he said he was doing it for his children and grandchildren, so they wouldn’t face the discrimination he had endured. Even in his final days, he encouraged his family to live with passion, faith, and purpose.
His legacy lives on through his children. Both Bobbie Beth and Byron earned doctoral degrees and became leaders in their fields. Byron Bridges became a university professor specializing in sign language interpreting and linguistics. He’s written articles and books, produced over 30 DVDs in American Sign Language, and continues training the next generation of interpreters, just as his parents did decades earlier.
Margie Lee Bridges stayed active in the Deaf community after Lloyd passed. She never remarried, always true to her one love. She became a guiding presence for her grandchildren, who affectionately call her “Mamo.”
Lloyd’s grandchildren are all hearing, but they grew up immersed in Deaf culture. Kizzie Ann, the oldest, was born just weeks before her grandfather passed away. She worked as a sign language interpreter for years before falling in love with a Deaf Italian man. She now lives in Rome with her two sons, one hearing and one Deaf. Jesse, the youngest grandchild, followed the family passion for education. He earned a master’s degree from Stanford and now leads employee learning in the aerospace industry. He’s also part of the SignLanguage101.com team, helping bring ASL education to new audiences.
Dr. Byron Bridges
University professor, author, ASL educator
Margie Bridges
“Mamo” with grandchildren – Brandon Bridges and Kizzie (Bridges) Pomilio
The Same Mission, A New Generation
Just as Lloyd found his partner in Jim, history continues. Today, Brandon Bridges and Trey McKnight lead 3 Bridges as partners, united by the same values that started it all. It’s no coincidence many call the company 3B. Trey’s sign name is T-3, and Brandon brings the B. The partnership was meant to be.
Their partnership reflects the one that came before: two people with different strengths working side by side, driven by a shared commitment to the Deaf community. Together, they’ve built 3 Bridges into a company that serves clients across Texas and nationwide.
Lloyd and Jim fought to change laws and create access where none existed. Brandon and Trey work every day to make sure that access is real, reliable, and meaningful. The mission remains the same: break down barriers and ensure that Deaf individuals have equal access to communication in every setting.
For us, it’s personal. It always has been.
Trey McKnight & Brandon Bridges “3B”
Continue the Story With Us
Serving Austin, Texas and communities nationwide with the same dedication that started it all.