Leadership Texarkana Honors Local Citizens

Leadership Texarkana celebrated local excellence in community leadership at their 14th annual Lunch with Leaders at Texarkana Texas Convention Center, with the awarding of the organization’s Leader Of The Year Award, as well as honoring community leaders through Leadership Texarkana’s annual Wilbur Awards.  The luncheon was sponsored by Texarkana Emergency Center and Hospital

Leadership Texarkana Executive Director Ruth Ellen Whitt spoke to the motivation of the organization’s annual awards program, quoting Albert Schweitzer who said “Example is not the main thing, it is the only thing.”  As an organization committed to growing a community of leaders who help lead the way for community excellence, Leadership Texarkana lifts up exemplary leaders in our community as models for us all, showing what is possible if we choose to serve one another by investing time and effort in our community.”  

The Leader Of The Year Award is the highest award given by Leadership Texarkana annually, to honor outstanding alumni of the Leadership Texarkana program; it is given in memory of Idalee Raffaelli Hawkins who set a lasting and inspirational example for her willingness to serve our community. 

This year’s highest Leader of the Year honor was presented to Van Alexander, a 1997 graduate of Leadership Texarkana, for his decades of community service through which he has played integral roles in shaping our community's current and projected future good fortunes. 

Mr. Alexander has worked tirelessly volunteering his time for the City of Texarkana in numerous roles, beginning in 1995 with service on the Texarkana Texas City Planning and Zoning Commission.   Mr. Alexander was subsequently elected to serve on the Texarkana, Texas City Council for six years representing Ward 5, for two terms also serving as Mayor Pro-Tem.   While he served on the Council, Ward 5 experienced significant commercial growth along Richmond Road and Cowhorn Creek Drive. 

After his experience on the City Council, Van was asked to serve on the Riverbend Water Resources District Board where he was a Member At-Large; in that role, he was responsible for the critical role of building meaningful relationships with the member cities on the Board.  He currently serves the group as Board President.  More recently, Mr. Alexander has served the City as Chairman of the Budget Advisory Committee.  

In addition to serving in these voluntary positions which have been intergral for framing our city and region, Mr. Alexander has also served on the CHRISTUS St. Michael Foundation Board, in addition to numerous other non-profit boards. 

Leadership Texarkana’s Wilbur Awards have been given annually since 1992, in memory of community servant and historian Wilbur Smith. Celebrating the power of one to positively impact our community, the Wilbur Awards are given in three categories, honoring adults, youth, and organizations to individuals and groups who demonstrate exemplary leadership in the community and a commitment to working together for community excellence. 

Wilbur Award for Organization – Greater Texarkana Young Professionals
Wilbur Award for Adult – Vicki Parks
Wilbur Youth Award  - John  Thomas Borowitz

Greater Texarkana Young Professionals
Nominated by Natalie Copeland, GTYP  is growing fast with over 200 members who impact our community by programs which encourage young professionals to stay in Texarkana and get involved. This active group touches many areas and needs of the greater Texarkana community through philanthropy, volunteerism, and promotion of education, downtown development, small local businesses and more!  GTYP members select a local non-profit each quarter to feature, provide a monetary donation and/or encourage service projects. With their scholarship program, thousands of dollars are awarded each spring to worthy high school graduates. They work to Get their members On Boards of local non-profits. GTYP is dedicated to making Texarkana a wonderful place to live and work.

Vicki Parks
Vicki Parks, Funeral Director, Jones Stuart Mortuary, has been nominated by Sharon Patton Johnson for her numerous volunteer roles, but in particular her leadership mission of assisting the elderly, a group too often plagued with loneliness. Ms. Parks’ genuine compassion naturally shines in her profession, however, it is in her volunteer role as Activities Director at Sandflat Neighborhood Center where Vicki’s creative leadership makes her an integral asset to the quality of life for the senior citizens. Ms. Parks’ fun monthly calendar includes entertainment and field trips to encourage a sense of community for all.  As a Bible teacher for over 35 years at Mills Chapel Church and a writer and performer for Readers Theater Overcoming Barriers, Vicki leads and inspires others daily.  

John Thomas Borowitz
Nominated by Susan Waldrep as the epitome of a student who “Leads the Way,” John Thomas is a stand-out student at Texas High School and well beyond! John Thomas is actively involved in various volunteer leadership roles, at Texas High, as well as being President of Texas’ Association of Student Councils. John Thomas has been a frequent student speaker to local student groups as well as to state, regional and national groups, with fans at every level. He was selected as one of two US Senate Youth Delegates representing the state of Texas in Washington, DC.  John Thomas has over 2,000 documented volunteer hours in the last four years. Mr. Borowitz inspires students to make healthy choices as the spokesperson for “Kick Cancer” service project. He worked with the American Cancer Society of Northeast Texas to develop “I Fight For…” flyer to honor those affected by cancer and he encourages his audiences to commit to standing with cancer fighters.  One adult fan said, “I believe he could run the world;” Ms. Waldrep agrees.

Continuing the Wilbur tradition set from the beginning of the awards thirty-one years prior, Leadership Texarkana honored and celebrated all of the individuals and organizations which were nominated as they are all exemplary models of community leadership that are worth following.   See below for details. 

Leadership Texarkana is committed to fostering community excellence by providing a leadership voice of possibility and responsibility, and by developing citizens who are willing and able to make a difference of significance as community leaders. It is committed to engaging and equipping citizens throughout our community as leaders working together for community excellence, pride and progress. For more about Leadership Texarkana, visit leadershiptexarkana.com.

Nominees who were also lifted up for exemplary community leadership:
Wilbur Adult Honorees: Robby Robertson, Gerry Stanford, Barbara Walker
Wilbur Honoree for Organizations: Fit4Mom, Friends of the Maud Public Library, 
Literacy Council of Bowie & Miller Counties, Texas High School Student Council

ORGANIZATION HONOREES

Fit4Mom 
Nominated by Shane Riddell, this group strives to create a community of mothers, supporting each other through every stage of parenthood, offering fitness and wellness programs to help make moms strong in body, mind and spirit. Fit4Mom meetings support local businesses and positively impact personal well being of moms in our community, as well as their children and the entire family. 

Friends of the Maud Public Library
Nominated by Sarah Miller. Even in the wake of declining library popularity, the Friends of Maud’s Library have worked diligently to not only keep their community library alive and thriving, but with creative programming to serve the wonderful people who live there.  With grants and fundraisers, the Friends  offers many free community programs, including many for youth and future leaders, around technology, community gardening, and furthering their education.  The Teen Club encourages volunteering and teaches youth about social media and online safety. For their outstanding mission-focused work to “enrich their community,” the Friends of Maud Public Library has recently received a prestigious Texas Library leadership award.   

Literacy Council of Bowie/Miller Counties
Nominated by Kaitlyn Harris, the Literacy Council strives to educate adults in our area. Over 400 adults were served in 2022 through tutoring in reading, health and wellness. The new ‘100 Families’ Program strives to stabilize employment and housing needs for needy families in the community. Literacy Council launched a new workforce program to help adult learners with gainful employment. These activities are pillars to the success of our community; the impact this group makes in the lives of their students, tutors and community members is undeniable.  Their creative and powerful programming has been recognized and honored statewide in both Arkansas and Texas, and is inspiring similar programs throughout the states and region.  

Texas High Student Council 
Nominated by Todd Marshall, the Texas High “STUCO” is a student-led leadership organization that facilitates school and community projects each year. Texas High Student Council often partners with nonprofits to provide volunteers, help raise necessary funds and create new initiatives, resulting in their members clocking over 12,000 volunteer hours last year. Texas High’s Student Council is a leader in the Texas Association of Student Councils, sharing their “Kick Cancer” platform as a model for other districts, encouraging schools across the state to host ‘Color Cancer Cured’ week, which served to educate students about types of cancer and honor those affected. THS Student Council also presented a Student Leadership Day at TEA’s Region 8 center, as well as hosting a conference in San Marcos for over forty middle schools, to encourage service and leadership in younger students.  

ADULT HONOREES

Robby Robertson
Nominated by Barbara Walker, Robby has been Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Texarkana, TX for fifteen years, leaving his fingerprint on many of our community’s finest assets. He also provided important founding leadership to the bi-state Texarkana Hospitality Network. Robby is a dedicated civil servant, empowering his staff, while engaging and supporting individuals throughout our whole community. Known for going above and beyond in any role, Mr. Robertson positively impacts the quality of life in Texarkana by his consistency and devotion as a mentor and leader.

Gerry Stanford
Gerry Stanford, Executive Director of Athletics, Texarkana ISD has been nominated by Todd Marshall, for his inspirational leadership within the TISD and the whole Texarkana community. Coach Stanford uses his position to impact the lives of all TISD athletes by creating community pride and instilling a sense of purpose through community service.  His athletes’ initiative in cleaning Beverly and Rosehill neighborhoods inspired other groups to join these efforts.  Gerry encourages collaboration, dialogue and proactive problem solving in leading various projects for TISD as well as for the community, which include among many, Toys for Tots and Pajamas for Theron Jones School. 

Barbara Walker
Barbara Walker, Director of Sales at the Hilton Garden Inn, has been nominated by Brittney Haynes. Ms. Walker has dedicated countless volunteer hours in our community through her work with Texarkana Hospitality Network, Kiwanis and Friends for a Cause.  Barbara has been a Texarkana Chamber Ambassador for 22 years. In the height of the COVID pandemic, Barbara led a team to gather support and distribute goodie bags for travel healthcare workers assisting patients in our hospitals.  With over twenty-five years of experience in the hospitality world, Barbara infuses all of her work with creative love of our Texarkana region; Barbara’s passion for making others feel welcome in our community is her special gift of leadership.