last night I had an opportunity to be part of something wonderful, magical and historic! I sat inches from greatest and history and I woke up this morning and knew I had to share my story. Last night I was honored to participate in the Mid-Cities Democrats salute to The Honorable Iconic Former Speaker of the US House of Representatives James Claude Wright, Jr. known to many of us as Speaker Jim Wright. On paper, Speaker Wright is known as a former Democratic U.S. Congressman from Texas who served 34 years in the U.S. House of Representatives and was Speaker of the House from 1987 to 1989 but for those of us who live in Tarrant county and Texas he was and is so much more! The amazing leadership of Speaker Wright had an impact on everyone who sat in the beautifully decorated room and ate the wonderful dinner, which included famous Texas Pecan Pie. There was the honorable Sergio De Leon, Justice of the Peace, Precinct 5 who remembered visits from Speaker Wright to his elementary school and stories told by his mother at the dinner table about the work Speaker Wright did to bring work to North Texas so she would have a job and put food on the table for their family. There was rising Democratic star State Rep Nicolle Collier, District 95 who spoke of her families move from Virginia to Fort Worth because of employment opportunities created by Speaker Wright. And so it went…not one person that I spoke to in the room didn’t have a story about the Speaker. My own memories include his willingness to employ persons of Color like Lorraine C. Miller who went on to serve as the 35th Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Nada Ruddock who went on to hold a leadership position with a communications corporation. In this life we don’t often get an opportunity to thank those who paved the way and created opportunities for us. Last night we did. My hat is off to the Mid-Cities Democrats, Salute Chair Chris Hilbert and presiding Chair Clancy Cummings. Your salute to the Speaker was just the shot in the arm that this yellow dog Democrat needed. The Club also honored Precinct Chair and Amazing Democratic Activist Jo Ann Zimmerman for her work. It too was an award and recognition well deserved. In the excitement of preparing for the 2014 election Speaker Wright reminds us all of what it means to be a Democrat and live up to Democratic principles of taking care of our neighborhoods, or children, our families, our elderly, our environment, and our world. Speaker Wright will be 90 years old in December. I wish him many many more years but today I Thank him for his service because of his work Texas and the Nation are far better because of him.
Posted on: Sun, 22 Sep 2013 14:31:37 +0000
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