KAY GRANGER AWARD
Award Background
The Kay Granger Award for Outstanding Community Service is given to a person or group who has made a lasting impact on the community. Award recipients do not need to be affiliated with Texas Blossoms. The award is presented at the annual Texas Blossoms fundraising gala. The award is presented in partnership between Texas Blossoms and East Fort Worth Inc., a nonprofit devoted to bringing business opportunities to Fort Worth's historically underserved eastside.
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The Kay Granger Award was not awarded during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic because Texas Blossoms' volunteer events and galas were slimmed down to allow for adequate social distancing. Now that things are returning to normal and events are underway again, the Kay Granger Award has returned to continue recognizing worthy recipients who have left a positive legacy on the community.
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Below are the past recipients of the Kay Granger Award. If you think someone should be nominated for the Kay Granger Award for Outstanding Community Service, please contact us.
2018 Recipient: Kay Granger
Quite fittingly, U.S. Congresswoman Kay Granger was the recipient of the inaugural Kay Granger Award for Outstanding Community Service in 2018. Congresswoman Granger has represented the 12th Congressional District of Texas since 1997 and has vouched for the values and needs of the community for decades.
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Born in Greenville, TX and raised in East Fort Worth, Kay attended Eastern Hills High School. Kay graduated from Texas Wesleyan University with a major in education. In 1991, Kay was elected as the first female Mayor of Fort Worth. She also has served the Eastside as a Fort Worth Council Member. Kay has been instrumental in the acquisition and development of Gateway Park (the largest metropolitan park in the US).
Kay has received numerous awards and recognitions, including being named to the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame and the Fort Worth Business Hall of Fame.
Currently, Kay Granger serves as the chairwoman of the Defense Appropriation’s Subcommittee where she works tirelessly to ensure support is readily available for our nation’s armed services around the world.
2019 Recipient: John & Jean Roach
John V. Roach was born in 1938 in Stamford, Texas, but moved to Fort Worth with his family at the age of four. Mr. Roach earned a Bachelor's degree in Physics and Math at Texas Christian University (TCU), then returned two years later to earn a Master's degree in Business Administration. John met Jean at TCU and they married in the mid-1960s, eventually raising their two daughters in Fort Worth.
In 1967, Mr. Roach joined Tandy Corporation as a Data Processing Manager. During the mid-1970s, Mr. Roach led Tandy in its emergence as a pioneer in the microcomputer industry. By 1981, Mr. Roach was one of the youngest CEOs in the country.
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Mr. Roach was elected Chairman of the TCU Board of Trustees in 1990. Today, Mr. Roach serves as an Emeritus TCU Trustee and as Board Member for the TCU Neeley School of Business Board of Directors and the Van Cliburn Foundation. Mr. Roach is also the Chairman of the Fort Worth Executive Roundtable.
Jean Roach has served and chaired in a vast array of community organizations including the Fort Worth Symphony, Van Cliburn Foundation, and Jewel Charity Ball. Ms. Roach has also been involved with the Junior League, Fort Worth Garden Club, University Christian Church, and Texas Women in Arts.
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For decades, John and Jean Roach have contributed their time, effort, and money towards making Fort Worth a better place. Their loyalty with family and friends and their love of Fort Worth is evident in every part of their life.
2023 Recipient: The Honorable Glen Whitley
Glen Whitley's career has been characterized by public service. After graduating from the University of Texas at Arlington with a bachelor's degree in Accounting, he became a founding partner of the Whitley Penn accounting firm and a member of the U.S. Navy Reserve.
Glen later served as a Tarrant County Commissioner from 1997 through 2006 and as Tarrant County Judge from 2007 through 2022. On behalf of the community he served, he has been a leader on transportation, efficient government, early childhood development, and military veterans and military family affairs issues.
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He is a past President of the National Association of Counties, the Texas Association of Judges and Commissioners, the West Texas Association of County Judges and Commissioners, and the Texas Conference of Urban Counties. Glen was also the past Chairman of the Regional Transportation Council and the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG).
After announcing he was not seeking reelection as Tarrant County Judge, Glen was appointed to the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) Board of Directors by the Tarrant County Commissioner’s Court in December of 2022.
Glen's lifetime of public service makes him an ideal recipient of the Kay Granger Award for Outstanding Community Service.
He and his wife, Brenda, have three grown children and nine grandchildren.