San Angelo's Pachyderm Club Honors Mayor With Prestigious Award

SAN ANGELO, TX -- On Wednesday, April 19, the San Angelo Pachyderm Club held its monthly luncheon meeting at Zentner's Daughter Steak House, located at 1901 Knickerbocker Road. There, San Angelo's Mayor Dwain Morrison was presented with the prestigious 'Tough Tusk' Award for his years of service to the community.

 
SAPC board member Leslie Healy, began the luncheon saying, "Dwain was born and raised in San Angelo, attended A.S.U., served in the National Guard for 6 years, and then owned a local fencing business for 25 years, retiring in 2010.  He married his wife Vickie in 1970 and the couple raised 3 sons. His passion is restoring old cars as well as spending time with his grand children."

She explained that Morrison's interest in politics began when the city had to sign an ordinance in the late 90's that affected his business. "He fought the ordinance, contested and lost. When he complained to his father because he had to pay a $55 fine, he was told, 'either stop complaining or do something about it.'"

Morrison was first elected to the city council in 2003, served 5 terms representing the residents of SMD 2, and has served as San Angelo's' mayor since 2013. Healy continued, "many times at council, he was the opposing member for many votes, and he's always desired honesty, transparency and open government."

Smiling, Healy told of how Morrison has been seen in his unique and distinctive rattlesnake brimmed hat at many functions throughout his career. "In his first term, he made over 1,500 public appearances as mayor; that's a lot of visits!" She added that Morrison has "very ably represented our community with honor and integrity since 2003 and it is indeed an honor to present him with this award."

Fred Contreras, President of the SAPC then presented Morrison with an award recognizing his, "outstanding citizenship in the field of political and government affairs by the National Federation of Pachyderm, President Robert A. Schultz." He added, "free government requires active citizens."

Morrison received a plaque and his wife received a beautiful necklace with a tusk medallion. Healy explained, "just as a chain is only as strong as it's weakest link, so it is with freedom; it will remain strong as long as each of us is strong. The link between the tusk and the chain is a reminder of this. The color of the chain is gold to remind us that our freedoms are precious. The tusk is white to remind us that goals must be spotless [and] our motives pure. The tusk is a tool of pachyderm used to strip bark from trees to dig for roots, reminding us as politicians, that we must rip away the facade of irresponsible politicians and dig until we get to the root of the problem."

 
The Morrisons then took the time to shake hands and pose for several photos, and the meeting continued while the audience enjoyed their lunch.

SAPC meetings are open to the public. For more information, please contact Fred Contreras at (325) 656-0190, visit their website: www.sanangelopachyderm.org , or visit them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sanangelopachyderm….