Highland Lakes celebrate giving

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

The 2016 Celebration of Giving of the Highland Lakes Legacy Fund fill the banquet hall of the Horseshoe Bay Resort Tower Thursday, Nov. 17.

The guests had come to honor friends and neighbors who lived out the spirit of philanthropy in time, service and treasure.

“They exemplify the spirit of giving,” said Donna Klaeger, interim executive director of the Legacy Fund.

Honored were Stuart and Rebecca Nunnally, the Philanthropy Award; Martin McLean, Community Volunteer Award; Ely Banuet Rodriguez of the Marble Falls Children's Day Celebration, Excellence as a Non-Profit Leader Award, and current coordinators of VetRide, Sophie McCoy and Bill Worley, an award dedicated to the memory of the program's founder, the late Chuck Caraway.

In each case, the audience found those honored ready to give credit back to other volunteers and supporters of the work they have championed.

“When I came to this country, I had nothing and I found a home,” said Rodriguez before recognizing not only the volunteers of Children's Day, but those in the audience who had enjoyed it as children.

McLean called for applause for all the board members and volunteers of the Marble Falls Helping Center, the most recent of the many programs he has supported.

“It is almost Christmas, don't forget that the Helping Center is primarily a food bank but we do much more (that will be needed during the holidays,” he said. “We get absolutely no tax money and we depend on you.”

“Rebecca and I always ask one another how we are so lucky to live in such a giving community,” said Stuart Nunnally.

“I honestly don't know how Chuck Caraway was able to do all he did,” said Worley, successor to the VetRides founder as Burnet County Veterans Services Officer.

McCoy recognized the volunteers and drivers of the program and told the audience how much more there was to do.

Each award was introduced with a slide show produced by students of Marble Falls High School and details of the contributions of awardees:

The Nunnallys

Stuart likes to say he met Rebecca Brown when he was twice her age. She was one and he was two.

For nearly four decades the Nunnally, Griffin & Dockery Real Estate and Insurance firm and

Brown’s Dry Cleaning and Laundry were staples among the Marble Falls business community and their families were best of friends.

Rebecca and Stuart started their seven-year courtship in their mid-teens. They both graduated from the University of Texas. Rebecca served as a special education teacher in San Antonio while Stuart was finishing his dental degree at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.

The Nunnallys returned to Marble Falls in 1980 and opened their dental practice. Today, he and his partners, Lane Freeman, Candice Owens, and Rich Dorsey have attracted patients from around the world to their holistic dental practice.

The couple has three children and one grandson. In 1999, Stuart felt called to help start Faith Academy. Since that time both have served as board members, and they currently serve as trustees and help lead the school’s annual scholarship gala. Rebecca volunteered in several positions at Faith Academy from

1999 to 2006.

Concurrently, Rebecca served 23 years on the Marble Falls Library Board, and she has spent many hours volunteering at the Library Thrift Store. She currently serves on the board of the Marble Falls Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) #1. Stuart has served as president of the Marble Falls/Lake LBJ Chamber of Commerce, vice president of the Marble Falls Independent School District (MFISD_ Board of Trustees, president of the Faith Academy Board of Trustees, and president of the Heart of Texas Dental Society. He was president of the National Association of University Model Schools and the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology.

One of the Nunnallys’ greatest joys is to provide free dental care for the needy. Free dental clinics are held at their office each spring and fall to serve those in need. They and their partners have made countless dental mission campaigns to Central America to provide for those who have no access to dental care.

VetRide

In 2010, Constable and Veterans Services Officer Chuck Caraway saw a need to assist veterans with

their transportation needs to and from medical appointments.

Many did not have any transportation and with gas prices at $3.50, many could not afford the trip. At his encouragement, the Burnet County Commissioner’s Court approved a grant application to the Texas Veterans Commission Fund. The grant was awarded and, with community donors and donated vans, VetRide began providing services in Burnet, Llano and Lampasas counties.

Regional transportation to veterans, their dependents and surviving spouses residing in the four counties became a reality and an immediate success.

Over the years drivers and veterans become friends. The drivers often carry in groceries, assist with small repairs, or even build handicap access ramps for veterans.

The projected number of rides for year one was 660, with 874 rides actually provided. It continues with an average of 325 phone calls a month and almost 100,000 miles driven in support of more than 150

individuals each year.

VetRide offers: no charge for service, vans that are wheelchair and scooter accessible, door to door pick up and drop off, caring drivers and volunteers who work diligently to create a friendly and comfortable environment for everyone, and opportunities to meet other veterans and establish new relationships and support systems.

In 2011, the VetRide program received the Texas Association of Counties’ Best Practices Award for Exceptional Service Delivery.

Rodriguez

“Ely,” as Rodriguez is so widely known, was born in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, the fourth of seven children. She moved in 1981 to Marble Falls, where she met and married Ruben Rodriguez. Today, the couple has three daughters and one grandson and thousands of heirs to the Marble Falls Children's Day Celebration for which she was honored.

Ely became an American Citizen in 1999 and completed her GED program in four months in 2001.

At a very young of age, Ely says she discovered her love for God’s Son, Jesus Christ, and very

sincerely wanted to please him in all that she did. Her lack of English did not stop her from showing her love to the community of Marble Falls. She returned to Marble Falls and explored musical performance but found that she preferred working with and helping children.

She became a volunteer at the schools that her daughters attended, reading books and often playing her guitar and singing Christmas and Mexican songs with them.

The first Children’s Day Celebration in 1995 for the Marble Falls Primary School, as well as the Cinco de Mayo celebration at the Marble Falls Elementary School were her creations. Through Ely's leadership, thousands of children, parents, volunteers, and businesses have shared her dream to celebrate the joy, love and importance of children. She even prepared an instructional review of “How to Produce a Children’s Day Celebration” to assist other communities.

Sharing unconditional love with the children of the Highland Lakes, her faith and her church are most important in Ely's life. She has been a member at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church for most of her life. Over the years, she has served as a volunteer leader in children’s, youth, women’s and music ministries.

She joined the Falls on the Colorado Museum Advisory Board in 2011 and now serves on the Board of Directors. But Ely has never given up her dream for children, not even while she was dealing with cancer. She told guests Thursday night, that has only made her more patient.

McLean

McLean is a native of Burnet County and told guests at the Celebration of Giving that he has been married to the love of his life, Gladys, for 56 years. The couple has three children, three grandsons, and three great-grandchildren.

“Gladys does the work and I take the credit,” he said fondly.

After attending school in Lampasas, McLean served in the Texas National Guard, 36th Infantry Division. For 26 years he owned and operated a retail grocery store in Marble Falls.

He accepted the Marble Falls Municipal Court Judge position in 1970. Subsequently, he was elected to serve as Justice of the Peace for 12 years and as Burnet County Judge for 12 years.

He began a public service “career” in Marble Falls through the sports he loves, becoming known to all as “Coach McLean” before he was known as “Judge McLean.” He dedicated most of his life coaching kids on and off the field, and always supporting the Marble Falls Mustangs. He spent years coaching and organizing Little League Baseball and Basketball programs and officiating football and basketball games, but his passion to serve was not limited to youth.

McLean worked constantly to make Marble Falls “the” place to live in the Highland Lakes. He represented Burnet County by serving on many boards of directors, including as chairman of the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) board in 1986, as president during many of his years on the MFISD Board of Trustees, The Counseling Center, Boys & Girls Club, The Marble Falls Helping Center, and the planning council now called Capital Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG). He was leader and now trustee of the Bluebonnet Trails Community Services Board.

Among civic organization activities, he was president of the Marble Falls/Lake LBJ Chamber of Commerce of Commerce from 1968-1969.

Previous awards have included Chamber Ambassador and Citizen of the Year awards, Masonic Golden Trowel Award and the Rotary Paul Harris Award, twice. The LCRA helipad at Canyon of the Eagles Park is dedicated in his honor. The Bluebonnet Trails Community Services Marble Falls Center bears the name of “McLean-Reioux.”

"Love of God, family and community have made him a respected, compassionate leader in a life dedicated to the service," read the description of the work for which he was recognized.