Shelly Mowery Courageous
Cowgirl Award — Taylar White
As a seventh generation Parker County cowgirl, Taylar
White’s family roots run deep, and her identity as cowgirl
was ingrained in her from a young age by her father.
“Cowgirls are tough and strong-minded,” Taylar said.
“We never give up and are always looking for more goals
to achieve. Also, never say, ‘You can’t do that.’ We will
always prove you wrong somehow.”
Taylar was named Parker County Today’s Bachelorette
of the Year for 2016 after raising nearly $40,000 for the
Parker County Committee on Aging.
She was also awarded the title of Parker County Sheriff’s
Posse Sweetheart in 2016 and, as such, traveled with the
Posse promoting western heritage. During her tenure as
Sweetheart, she also volunteered at the Special Needs
Rodeo.
“Seeing children with the same love for rodeo as me
warmed my heart,” she said. “I wish I could do it all over
again.”
Her future goals are to complete her bachelor’s degree
in business and to eventually pursue a doctorate degree in
business. She is currently a student at Weatherford College
where she has received a WC Foundation Scholarship.
Mary Kemp Award for Historical
Preservation — Joey Cascino
18
When speaking to Joey Cascino, you forget that he is only 17 years
old. The Weatherford native and Trinity Valley High School senior
shows a love and passion for history that is rare in his generation.
Joey is involved in school as the manager of the football team and
active in the school’s drama program. He has been in 13 produc-
tions over the past 7 years.
He is also part of the debate team and student council. Carrying
on the love of history from his father, Joey has moved from memo-
rizing all the presidents in their presidential order in the 2 nd grade,
to leading a campaign for getting Weatherford native General
William Hood Simpson a statue on our courthouse lawn. Simpson
was born May 18, 1888, and fought in Europe as the commander of
the U.S. Ninth Army, leading it through some of the war’s bloodiest
fighting under General Dwight D. Eisenhower. In his book, Crusade
in Europe, Eisenhower stated, “If Simpson ever made a mistake as
an army commander, it never came to my attention.”
Judge Mark Riley has helped Joey map out the direc-
tion and once he gets the funding secure and permission from
Commissioners Court for the statue, his goal is to get it commis-
sioned. He hopes that this statue of a true Weatherford hero will
bridge the gap of division in the county.
Joey plans to study political science in college. He has a
long list of colleges that he is looking at attending including the
University of Texas, Notre Dame and Georgetown.
In 20 years, he hopes to “have m