The Don Allen Power Drive Award
It’s early spring, but it’s evident that North-Central
Texas is set to endure another scorching summer. That
means the staff of Jerry Durant’s dealerships will be pursuing two goals — they’ll be going about the business of
selling cars and collecting fans to be distributed to senior
citizens in the area, people who don’t have the means
to have their air conditioning repaired or, worse, never
had central air conditioning in the first place. When it’s
almost too hot for anyone to want to test-drive a car, there
are dealership workers who could make more money
focusing on their sales, instead they’re out gathering fans
— something Mr. Don Allen started. “They have special
meaning to me,” Allen once said. “I always like the fan
drive. I always think about how just one fan can make
the summer bearable for an older person.” Senior Center
fan drives, stocking the supply closet for the Education
Foundation — those are endeavors that got in the way of
people falling for Don’s cynic routine. How did Don get
to be such a nice guy? In his genuinely modest manner,
Allen answered: “I really think it’s from being around
Jerry for all these years. That’s the way Jerry is. It’s the
way he’s always been. He leads by example. Jerry is a
genuinely good person and this dealership is like a big
family.” Don’s favorite charities included anything that
helped further education in Parker County, including
Weatherford College, and anything that improved the
lot of Parker County’s senior citizens. “I like being active
behind the scene; I am not big on being out-front,” Don
once said. “It is always the Senior Center, because there
are a lot of different causes you can support. I think that
the Senior Center is one [through which] you can touch a
lot more people in a positive way than you can in a lot of
other places. They probably need it as much or more than
anyone else.” Sadly, we lost Don Allen in March 2015.
Through the years he inspired numerous young
people, so the spirit of Don Allen is still visible in his his
mentorees.
E.W. Mince Higher Education Award
Hank was born in Windthorst, Archer County, Texas, but
moved with his family to Weatherford when he was a very
small child. He graduated from Weatherford High School
in 1952 and headed to Baylor University. Hank was a
tight end at Baylor during his collegiate days. After his
senior year at Baylor in 1956, Hank joined the Green Bay
James Doss Benevolent Banker Award
James Doss was a lifetime banker and a philanthropist best
known now as the namesake for the Doss Student Center
at Weatherford College and the Doss Heritage and Culture
Center that is a repository for our county’s history.
He rose from the lowest position at Farmers and
Merchants Bank to its president in the over twenty years
he worked there. To him, banking was personal, and Mr.
Doss was known for his kindness, compassion and his
business acumen. The James Doss Benevolent Banker
Award is given to a banking professional who believes
as he did that banking is personal and that customers are
people and not account numbers.
Jerry Blaisdell City Management Award
Jerry Blaisdell has become a fixture in Weatherford’s
municipal administration and has proven he is not
afraid to take on a challenge. After a 23-year career in
law enforcement, he retired from the Fort Worth Police
Department in 1989. He was called back to duty as
Weatherford PD’s Chief of Police in July of that same year.
He held that job until 2007 when he was named assistant
city manager. During a particularly difficult period at City
PA R K E R C O U N T Y T O D AY
Hank Gremminger Brilliant Builder
Award
Jack Borden Legal Eagle Award
Jack Borden was a charter member of the Parker County
Sheriff’s Posse, a gifted attorney and well-respected
member of the Weatherford community. He was named
America’s “Outstanding Oldest Worker” in 2009 by
Experience Works for his dedication to continue his
daily work at his law office. Borden served two terms
as district attorney before joining the FBI during World
War II. He then returned home to practice law and later
served two terms as mayor in the 1960s. A high school
dropout, Jack defied the odds and at 21 became a college
student. “Back then you didn’t have to have a high school
diploma to go to Weatherford College,” Jack once told
this reporter. “They let you gamble and give it your best
shot.” Jack graduated in 1931 from WC, then headed to
the University of Texas in Austin. He worked his way
through college then law school before he returned to
Weatherford to practice law. Jack realized his ambitions in
1936, “I always wanted to be a country lawyer,” Jack said.
MAY 2016
E.W. Mince was the longest-serving president in the history of Weatherford College. He came to WC in 1971 and
spent over 20 years as its president.
A lifelong proponent of higher education, Dr. Mince
served as president of the Texas Association of Community
Colleges. He was involved in local community groups like
the Rotary Club, even volunteering at its annual pancake
dinner long after his retirement and was honored as
Weatherford’s Citizen of the Year in 1978.
Packers and starred as a defensive back until 1966. He
played briefly for the Dallas Cowboys before retiring from
football and launching his career in banking and building.
As a contractor, Hank loved building gorgeous,
upscale, eye-popping homes and he was instrumental in
renovating the Historic Fort Worth Stockyards.
He also desperately wanted to make Parker County
a better place to live, so he ran for the office of Parker
County Commissioner in 2000, was elected and took
office on Jan. 1, 2001. He died of a heart attack on Nov.
2, 2001. Some of Parker County’s loveliest homes still
stand as a monument to the talent and creativity of Hank
Gremminger as does the Fort Worth Stockyards, which
partly thanks to Hank, is now a thriving retail destination.
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