Dateline: February 26, 2004

Chamber gives top award to Shields

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

2003 Saints' Roost Award winner Susie Shields.

Susie Shields received the 2003 Saints’ Roost Award when the Clarendon Chamber of Commerce held its annual banquet Saturday night in the Bairfield Activity Center.

Stan Shelton and Pat McAnear also received top honors as Man of the Year and Woman of the Year.

Shields received the chamber’s highest honor because of the quiet spirit, open heart, endless energy, and strong faith that have allowed her to give back to this community.

She grew up in Bailey County and graduated from Bula High School before moving to Donley County to play basketball for Clarendon College. She and her husband, Earl, were married in the Lelia Lake Church of Christ, and together they have raised four children and farmed for the past 47 years. She spent 25 years as a cotton buyer, trying to get the best prices for farmers and their families.

Shields has served her community tirelessly and has been active in the American Cancer Society, the Hedley Lioness Club, the Clarendon College Ex-Students Association, and the Church of Christ.

Shields has continually supported better education in Donley County. In 1982, she was the first woman elected to the Clarendon School Board, and she served there for nine years. In 1993, she became the first woman appointed to the Clarendon College Board of Regents, a position she still holds.

2003 Man of the Year  Stan Shelton.

The 2003 Man of the Year was praised for his service to the youth of Donley County. Stan Shelton has coached Peewee football for four years and has been very active in the Little Dribblers program, serving both as a coach and as a member of several committees.

He is probably best known for his work with spring sports. He was instrumental in getting baseball and softball programs added to the curriculum at Clarendon High School. With the help of the City of Clarendon, he has managed to have the grass at Hart-Moore Field and McClelland Field mowed, marked, and ready for Saturday morning games. He has umpired when needed and coached more teams than can be counted. He has operated the Little League concession stand and cooked probably thousands of hamburgers for local sports programs.

Those parents whose children have been on his teams know that it is never too hot or too cold or too late to play ball. They know a little rain never hurt anyone and practice will always be 30 minutes longer than scheduled.

2003 Woman of the Year  Pat McAnear.

The 2003 Woman of the Year was described as a servant. She serves all those around her with much love and caring. Pat McAnear’s entire life has been one of giving and sharing to those around her.

Since the day Pat married her husband almost 44 years ago, she has been a devoted and faithful wife. In the same manner, this woman has cared for and loved her five children and 16 grandchildren.

For many years, Pat worked at the Medical Center Nursing Home giving love and care to the many residents there. Never would she neglect or halfway take care of a resident.

After working at the nursing home, she went into home health care for the elderly. Each day you can find Pat calling or going by to check on friends, buying groceries for someone, ordering or picking up medicine, taking a favorite food to someone, cleaning house for or providing health needs to someone. Pat has even set aside every Tuesday in her schedule for the purpose of taking others to Amarillo for shopping or doctors’ appointments.

Pat and her husband are charter members at the Community Fellowship church, where she sings in the choir and serves on the kitchen committee.

Other awards presented at Saturday’s banquet included the Pioneer Man and Woman of the Year and the Young Men and Women of the Year.

Lloyd Benson was named the Pioneer Man of the Year. Most of Lloyd’s life has been spent in the Donley County area. Lloyd and his brother C.L. operated Benson Brothers Farming in Hall County for several years. Later, he and his son Bernie became partners in land leasing and the cattle business. Hunting, fishing, horses, cattle and working the land occupied Lloyd’s time throughout the years, in addition to football, of which he is still a knowledgeable, avid fan. He currently continues another of his pastimes…reading. Lloyd remains active doing his own yard work and still, occasionally, checks and supervises his farm areas in Donley, Hall, and Armstrong.

The Pioneer Woman of the Year was Gladys Sawyer. Gladys spent most of her “growing up” years in Tucson with her father and mother and two older brothers. At the age of 19, she met and married Ernest Metcalf from Pampa. She and Ernest lived in Hereford and then moved to Raton, New Mexico. After they returned to Hereford, Ernest died in an accident in 1951. In 1956, Gladys married Forrest Sawyer who farmed, ranched, and had lived his complete life in Donley County. They were happily married until his death in 1994. Gladys was always active in the Methodist Church and participated in Clarendon’s civic clubs. She also enjoyed cooking, especially baking, and a lot of her pleasure in this area was sharing her goodies with others. She loved gardening and still worked in her yard until a few years before she took up residence in Clarendon’s Medical Center Nursing Home where she currently resides.

The Young Woman of the Year from Clarendon High School was Sandra Ramirez. Sandra has been in the Untied States of America since October 2, 2000. She was enrolled in Clarendon CISD with little understanding of the English language. Sandra is a member of the National Honor Society and has been selected to the President’s Education Awards Program for Academic Excellence for two years, and received the Recognition of Academic Accomplishment in English II. Sandra also attended the At Larenzo de Zavala summer camp, where she was selected as a Senate member. Sandra wants to pursue a career in nursing and will be attending West Texas A&M University. She also aspires to learn and speak the English language correctly and wants to be a person who helps her family and community.

Drew Sell was named to Young Man of the Year from Clarendon High School. Drew is a well-rounded individual. He is involved in several service programs including clothing drives, paper recycling, and the Adopt a Highway program and has received numerous awards. Drew is a member of the National Honor Society, Who’s Who among American High School students, was elected to the Student Council and has received the honor of being an All-District Receiver. Drew plans to pursue a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Texas Tech University.

The Young Woman of the Year from Hedley High School is Treva Rowland. She has been involved in many aspects of her school and community. Treva has received many honors including the Teachers Honor Effort Award for two years, Girl Scouts Gold Award, FFA Greenhand Award, Pantex Excellence in Mathematics, and also is a State Qualifier Honorable Mention recipient. Treva is also a member of the National Honor Society. She has been very involved in her community helping to paint and fix up the Howardwick Community Cellar, the National Honor Society food and Christmas drive, cake walk for Rowe Cemetery, and the One Day Daycamp for Girl Scouts. Treva’s aspiration is to major in Sports Medicine at either Texas Tech or College of the Ozarks and become a therapist.

Joe Patterson was named the Young Man of the Year from Hedley High School. He not only has an impressive list of accomplishments, but also family values. He plans to attend college in Weatherford, Oklahoma, where he wants to study to become a veterinarian. Joe has received numerous honors in High School. He is a member of the National Honor Society, class vice-president for four years, FFA Greenhand Award, and the FFA Starhand Award. Joe is also very busy with his community endeavors. He has helped with food drives, the Christmas angels, cake walk for Rowe Cemetery, collected prizes for the Senior Citizens Banquet, and built pens for the stock show.

The featured speaker for the evening was Seth Davidson, who spoke on how “tourism follows toilets,” referring to ways the new Safety Rest Areas in Donley County can provide a tool to pull more visitors and dollars into the local economy.

Gary Alan Bruce provided musical entertainment.

Greg Henry will serve the chamber again as president. Terry Askew, Bobbie Thornberry, Vickie Robertson, and Jim Blackerby are retiring from the board. Incoming chamber directors are Jim Shadle, Tessie Robinson, Teresa Dronzek, and Rhonda Shaw.

An estimated 180 people attended the banquet, down from 215 last year.  This year’s banquet was sponsored by B&R Thriftway, Clarendon College, Greenbelt Electric Cooperative, Robertson Funeral Directors, Suna AutoMall, Crow Hollow Feed Yard, Dairy Queen, Don Stone Signs, Northwest Texas Healthcare Systems, and GreenLight Gas.