San Angelo VA Clinic Named After Col. Charles and JoAnne Powell in Ceremony

SAN ANGELO, TX — Congressman August Pfluger was particularly proud Monday afternoon when he presided over the naming ceremony of the new San Angelo VA Clinic at 4240 Southwest Blvd.

Now named the Colonel Charles and JoAnne Powell VA Clinic, the building that was originally constructed as San Angelo’s only Luby’s Cafeteria in the early 2000s now provides essential VA medical services to veterans to include mental health counseling. The Powell Clinic is part of a $153 million VA medical complex headquartered in Big Spring and headed by director Keith Bass.

Col. Powell’s final assignment on active duty was as commander, 17 TRW, at Goodfellow Air Force Base. He and his wife JoAnne retired in San Angelo following that final assignment and made a big impact on the San Angelo community. In 2005, for example, the Texas Department of Transportation presented Powell with its coveted “Road Hand” award for his work in getting the Houston Harte Expressway built. JoAnne made her mark as the aide for four congressmen, including August Pfluger.

For more about the career of Col. Charles and JoAnne Powell, see this article written about a banquet honoring the couple in 2015.

Pfluger said today that it was Col. And Mrs. Powell who helped him obtain an appointment to the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1995, launching his 20-year career as an Air Force fighter pilot followed by his election to congress. Pfluger estimated that in the 30 years after retiring to San Angelo, the Powells helped or aided over 15,000 service members and veterans throughout the region.

“And after all of that, it still took an act of Congress to make this naming of the building after them happen,” Pfluger quipped.

Having a VA clinic named after two people is rare. Nationwide, only five facilities carry two names. The San Angelo clinic is the sixth.

Members of the Powell family were in attendance, including Terri Powell McKinney, her husband Jerry, and their daughter Caitlin. Caitlin the a granddaughter of the Powells. Also in attendance, and who spoke on behalf of his grandfather and grandmother, was Dr Colin McKinney.

Also in attendance was Sen. John Cornyn’s aide. Cornyn was instrumental in getting the facility named after the Powell’s, Pfluger said. State Sen. Charles Perry, State Rep. Drew Darby, and San Angelo Mayor Brenda Gunter.

Colonel Powell passed away on July 2, 2020 and JoAnne Powell passed on March 24, 2021. The couple was married for 65 years.