jacksonville
Tomato bowl
Tomato Bowl wins 2019 Texas Downtown Association President’s Award
Pictured standing from left to right: Greg Smith, City Manager; Randy Gorham, Mayor; Dr. Chad Kelly,
JISD Superintendent; Grace Traylor, JISD PR Director; Sherri McDonald, JEDCO Admin Assistant; Brad
Stewart, JISD Associate Superintendent; not pictured; Tom Trimble, Chamber of Commerce Chairman
J
acksonville’s Historic Tomato Bowl was named
winner of the BEST PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT
– Design Category – less than 50K population.
The Texas Downtown Association (TDA) sponsors the
annual program to recognize outstanding projects,
places, and people of Texas. ISD Superintendent. Attending the Awards Gala and
accepting the award in Georgetown were Dr. Kelly,
Associate Supt. Brad Stewart, Tina Stewart, Mayor
Randy Gorham, City Manager, Greg Smith, Chamber
Chairman, Tom Trimble, JEDCO Admin Assistant, Sherri
McDonald and JISD PR Director, Grace Traylor.
A complete renovation and reconstruction of the
Historic Tomato Bowl in downtown Jacksonville was
recently completed and re-opened to rave reviews
in May, 2019. The legendary stadium has been in
continuous operation as Jacksonville ISD’s primary
athletic stadium since 1940. The stadium was built
using local iron ore rock and constructed by the WPA
Program. One hundred and nineteen entries were submitted in
eleven different categories from communities across
the state. Due to the number of entries, the entries
were divided up into two categories – Design and
Achievement – with separate judging panels for each
group.
TDA was established in 1985 to connect and serve
communities that are committed to downtown vitality.
The organization is an independent, statewide nonprofit
that represents cities and towns of all sizes, economic
development corporations, chambers of commerce,
local organizations, small businesses, and individuals.
“We are thrilled to see our iconic stadium recognized
on the state level”, says Dr. Chad Kelly, Jacksonville
The judges for design entries were: Barbara Brannon,
Texas Heritage Plains Trail; Rachel Farrington, Cobalt
Development; Ellis Mumford-Russell, Ogee; Dick Ryan,
retired architect; and Riley Triggs, City of Austin.
Winners were announced on October 30, 2019 at
the Awards Gala held in conjunction with the 2019
Texas Downtown Conference in Georgetown. For more
information about the President’s Awards or other
programs of the Texas Downtown Association, please
visit www.texasdowntown.org.
2020 | Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce
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