Dateline: March 2, 2006

Chamber honors Saye with Sts. Roost Award 

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

Tommie Saye received the 2005 Saints’ Roost Award for lifetime achievement last Saturday during the annual banquet of the Clarendon Chamber of Commerce.

Lon Adams and Larry Gray split the Man of the Year award, and Laura Hommel was named the Woman of the Year

Saye was recognized with the chamber’s highest honor for his devotion to the Boy Scouts of America for the last 46 years and for other volunteer activities throughout his life.

For almost 51 years, he has recorded the highs and lows of Clarendon’s weather as a cooperative observer for the National Weather Service. He’s also been a longtime volunteer for the Donley County Senior Citizens Center, where he drives the Meals on Wheels van faithfully every Tuesday to serve the elderly and shut-ins with a caring visit in addition to the needed food.

He has worked with the Jaycees, the chamber, the Girl Scouts, and the fire department. He served on the Clarendon College Board of Regents, and he ran the family business, Saye’s, on Clarendon’s main street until his retirement in 1994.

But it is his devotion to Scouting that Saye is most known for. He is a recipient of the prestigious Silver Beaver Award, and he still volunteers his time every week to serve as the Scoutmaster of Troop 433. Saye’s troop boasts an impressive record: 74 Eagle Scouts, 78 God & Country Award recipients, and 60 winners of the Texas Medal. The boys earned the awards, but Tommie was there for every one of them.

Saye’s scouts have been to the Atlantic Ocean and stayed on the USS Yorktown; white water rafted in Colorado and Montana; hiked the Santa Fe Trail, toured Yellowstone, the Little Big Horn, and Mt. Rushmore; visited the State Capitol, and learned to appreciate Texas history.

He once said, “We’ve got to take these boys places they might not get to see if they weren’t in scouts.”

From him, Clarendon has learned something about volunteering – it’s not just about doing good for you or your family, but for doing good for other people and your community.

The honors for 2005 Man of the Year were split between two men who have devoted themselves to educating kids in the field of agriculture.

Lon Adams has been the ag science teacher at Hedley High School for 15 years, where he has built a strong program that has enjoyed much success. He is always ready to help all students in whatever they endeavor, and he has been an excellent role model for the young people of Hedley. Adams was named as one of the Amarillo Globe-News’ Super Team of Volunteers in 2001, he has coached T-ball teams, served as a leader with the 4-H, and holds the job of Assistant Fire Chief of the Hedley Volunteer Fire Department. He is a member of the Hedley Lions Club, where he has served as president and vice president and helped with the annual Hedley Chicken Barbecue. He is believed to be the only person who knows Doyle Messer’s secret recipe for barbecue sauce. He has been instrumental in conducting the Donley County Junior Livestock Show and has given many hours selflessly before, during, and after the show.

Larry Gray returned to his hometown of Clarendon after retiring from his career as an ag teacher; and since that time, he has remained devoted to the youth of Donley County in 4-H and FFA. He has chaired several boards and committees to further the junior livestock show, and he is currently the chairman of the Donley County Junior Livestock Association. He has worked to acquire land and funding to build a new show barn. The land is secured, and he is seeking contributions for the facilities. He also has assisted many farmers with harvesting their crops.

The 2005 Woman of the Year is Laura Hommel, who was selected for the outstanding work she does with the students at Clarendon ISD’s Functional Living Center. In her daily vocation, she exhibits compassion, patience, and love as she teaches disabled children to be more self-confident and more independent. She teaches everyday life skills, and her students’ parents are some of her biggest fans. Parents say Hommel believes in their children when others don’t, pushes her kids to achieve their highest goals, never lets them quit, and never lets them just do nothing. She gives time to the children of others even when it takes time from her own, and she makes her students feel successful and gives them brighter futures. In addition, she also volunteers her time as a Sunday school teacher and 4-H leader and serves on many civic and church committees.

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.

The Pioneer Woman of the Year was Roberta Pittman, who grew up on a cotton farm in the Martin community. She walked five miles to school and rode to church in a horse-drawn buggy. She graduated Clarendon High School in 1931 and attended Clarendon College, and she pulled cotton bolls to make a living during the Depression. She sewed dresses for one dollar each to earn extra money. She learned to drive in a Model T, which she drove right through the back of a garage. She was a Broncho mother for 13 years and attended football games in all kinds of weather. She was one of the first women in Donley County to ride in a small plane. In later years, she and her late husband, Carl, bought and operated Pittman’s Cleaners on Kearney Street. She has ten grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren, and 2 great, great-grandchildren.

Jiggs Mann was named the Pioneer Man of the Year for 2005. He was born in March 2, 1929, to Ethel and Gilbert Mann and has lived his entire life in Donley County with the exception of his service in the Army during the Korean War. He and his wife, Evelyn, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last year. They have two children and five grandchildren. They have been longtime members of the First Baptist Church, and Jiggs has served on the board for the Production Credit Association and on the Clarendon College Board of Regents. Mann is best known for being a long time cattleman, having begun working on the JA Ranch as a school boy during the summers of World War II. He rode with the chuckwagon all summer, slept on the ground, and ate by campfire. He served as the foreman of the JA from 1959 to 1969 and leased part of the ranch to run his own cattle, and he continues to run his own cattle on his own property today. He is recognized for his honesty, integrity, character, and his dedication to hard work. In 2001, he received the Foy Proctor Memorial Cowmen’s Award at the J. Evetts Haley Memorial Library in Midland; and in 2005, he was honored as Distinguished Rancher of the Year by the National Cowboy Roundup USA. He was honored by US Rep. Mac Thornberry, who read a statement about Mann into the Congressional Record which included this passage: “In thinking about ranchers, the stereotype characters from movies, books, songs, and stories will come to mind for many people.  But I think that they would be more impressed to meet the real thing.  Jiggs Mann is the real thing.”

The Young Woman of the Year from Hedley High School is Julie Funderberg. She has been listed in Who’s Who Among American High School Students and has been a class officer her freshmen and sophomore years. She has been a valuable member of the Lady Owls basketball team and received all district honors her freshman and sophomore years; all district and all state her junior year; and all district, all tournament of the Greenbelt Classic, and all district MVP her senior year. She is a published poet, she participates in One Act Play, and she plans to study graphic design in college and go into advertising.

Ben Shaw was named the Young Man of the Year from Hedley High School. He is a member of several UIL academic teams and has been the highest scoring member of the Current Events team for the last three years, placing second at the state level two years ago. He has been active in the Business Professionals of America and the National Honor Society and has worked tirelessly to ensure that senior citizens and needy families in his community have assistance with Thanksgiving and Christmas meals. He is also involved in the FFA, One Act Play, and the yearbook. He is currently president of his senior class and president of NHS. He is a published writer, and he has been named by his peers as Hedley High’s Most Likely to Succeed.

The Young Woman of the Year from Clarendon High School was Caitlan Hall, who has been very active in her school and church as well as civic activities. She also is a member of NHS and has been recognized by Who’s Who. She participates in athletic and academic events, maintains an A average, and has been recognized with academic all district honors. She plays basketball for the Lady Broncos and is very involved with the Junior Historians, in which she is an officer. Her Junior Historians scrapbook project placed second at the state level. She is also an officer in the FFA and volunteers at the Clarendon College Library. She has donated her time and energy to style shows benefiting Jerry’s Kids and to breast cancer awareness. She has kept the nursery at her church and has taught Sunday school for four- to six-year-old children.

Calvin Edwards was named Young Man of the Year from Clarendon High School. He has been very active in the FFA and has shown animals in major stock shows from Amarillo to Ft. Worth to San Antonio to Houston. He has designed ag mechanics projects that have been shown at the Tri-State Fair and has been involved with the 4-H Club. He shoots three-point shots for the Broncos and also works at the local grocery store where he is ready to bag your groceries and have a quick conversation with you while taking them to your vehicle. He plans to attend Amarillo College to learn to be a welder.

The featured speakers for the evening were Roger Estlack and Bill Stavenhagen. Estlack addressed the upcoming West Texas Press Association convention, which will be held in Clarendon this July 20, 21, and 22. He said Clarendon has more potential than other towns its size and has the capacity to host small conventions and gatherings, noting that he passed over larger West Texas cities when choosing the site for the convention. He encouraged other people to try to bring their trade associations, civic groups, social clubs, and family reunions to Clarendon and Donley County because our community has plenty to offer.

Stavenhagen listed the numerous advantages Clarendon has over its nearest neighbors and said the city has the potential to be the next Fredericksburg. The key, he said, is getting traffic off US 287 to stop and shop. Downtown needs to be cleaned up and fixed up, he said, and empty buildings need to be filled with shops that have unique merchandise and superior customer service – two things that cannot be found in big discount stores.

Also recognized during the banquet were incoming chamber directors Debbie Cole, Bill Stavenhagen, Jody Berry, John Taylor, Landon Lambert, Jesus Hernandez, and Linda Gray.

Outgoing members are Mike Word, Jerri Ann Shields, Sherol Johnston, Markeeta Howard, Jewel Houston, and Jim Shadle. New officers have not yet been elected.

An estimated 224 people attended the Mardi Gras themed banquet, up from 200 last year. 

This year’s banquet was sponsored by Lowe’s, Clarendon College, Valor Telecom, Greenbelt Electric Cooperative, Robertson Funeral Directors, Crow Hollow Feed Yard, GreenLight Gas, Stanley Automotive Enterprises, and Don Stone Signs.