OUR TOWN
It's time to repay our elders' service
MAYOR PHILLIP SPENRATH

During this past week, one of our great senior statesmen was called to his eternal home, free from pain, and is now with friends and family who have gone before him.

While reading the numerous articles commemorating the life of Fred Barbee, I was amazed to learn of the many projects and causes Fred supported during the tenure of his life on earth.

Like Fred, there have been, and currently are, thousands of senior citizens who have given of their time and financial resources to promote the growth of our great city.

In the upcoming months, many of these same seniors will be preparing for the final phase of yet another of their many community improvements and "quality of life" projects.

Their latest project, the El Campo Heritage Center, is being constructed to "honor and improve the quality of life for those who have built and served our community and our families."

The El Campo Heritage Center will focus on the social and educational needs of our community members age 55 or older. Through educational and physical fitness programs, our seniors will be able to strengthen their bodies and minds, volunteer their services and enjoy the company of their peers.

The soon to be renovated Heritage Center is located north of the Boys & Girls Club at 803 Fahrenthold Street.

Formerly the Northside Cafeteria, and more recently the Senior Citizens Center, the 10,000-square-foot building will serve as a recreational building that includes rooms for quilting, card games, physical fitness, computer research and meetings.

The Heritage Center will also include a newly remodeled kitchen and a shaded porch facing a beautiful garden where members can exercise their green thumbs or just sit and visit.

The Heritage Center is handicapped accessible and located within walking distance of the Valley Transit bus route.

Funding for renovations to the El Campo Heritage Center has come from generous grants, fundraisers and donations. Among the many foundations supporting our seniors are the Gulf Coast Medical Foundation, the Johnson Foundation and the Meadows Foundation.

Tonight, the Heritage Center will host one of its most worthy fund-raisers, "The Cattle Call." Along with a meal, live music and refreshments, Heritage Center supporters will be invited to participate in a raffle where the winner can take home a Pen of 3 F-1 Tiger Striped Heifers or a $3,000 American Express Gift Card.

All proceeds from the Cattle Call fund-raiser will be applied toward renovations of the Heritage Center.

The Heritage Center is also actively accepting cash contributions for bricks (inscribed with your name); the naming rights of selected areas within the center (rooms named in your honor); or as a memorial to a friend or loved one.

Through the years, our seniors have spent countless hours and dollars in building and serving our community and its families.

My fellow citizens, we have an extraordinary opportunity to share in making their Heritage Center dream a reality. If you need more information, or would be interested in offering any form of support, please contact Terri Jones, Heritage Center board president, at 979- 332-0465.

Without local support, this much-needed resource might not have become available to our community. Regardless if it's tax-deductible contributions or generous offerings of individual labor, your loving support will be a lasting investment for the future. Please give as generously as you can.

As your mayor, my primary objective continues to be preparing El Campo for the future while maintaining our community's friendly, small-town atmosphere.

(Comments may be addressed to askthemayor@sbcglobal.net)