TEXAS PATRIOT AWARDS
2023 Scott Huddleston is a veteran staff writer of the Express-News. He covers Bexar County Government, local history, historical preservation, and the Alamo. Within that scope he covers the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. His work as a journalist continuously brings to the public those stories which showcase our Texas heritage in the context of current day happenings, fostering awareness, appreciation, and preservation of that heritage. Scott is a Texas native and a long-time San Antonian with an appreciation for Texas history. He reliably and respectfully responds to the requests of our Chapter and the DRT for coverage when we can contribute to the news of the day, recognizing a story that contributes to the historical narrative of our community.
2022 Dr. David Carlson, Archivist for Bexar County Spanish Archives. He is suited for this position with his two cum laude degrees in Latin American studies from the University of Washington; and, both a masters degree and PhD awarded from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, again in Latin American studies.
Dr. David Carlson is a friend to all who have an interest in history; but he has certainly been a friend, advisor and researcher to many who might wish to join a lineage society. He has the unique ability to find long lost ancestors whose names have almost been lost to time. Dr. Carlson's archival offices is directly across from the DRT Library, he graciously dons the correct Republic of Texas uniform, and helps the Daughters teach early Texas history to visiting school children. He has been a featured speaker at DRT chapter meetings; always sharing his knowledge of early Texas history.
2021 Lucy Adame-Clark is the first Latina and first woman elected as Bexar County Clerk. She was born and raised in San Antonio. Mrs. Adame-Clark is a mother of two beautiful children and the wife of a sheriff’s deputy. She serves as the Bexar County Treasurer and is a member of the Bexar County Bail Bond Board. She is the Chairman of the Records Management Committee. Her duties as County Clerk include maintaining the records of Commissioner’s Court, Probate and Mental Health Courts, Auxiliary Jail Court and 15 County Courts at Law. She is in charge of recording all public records, including land records, real property and vital statistics records such as marriage licenses and assumed names. She also maintains the Spanish Archive records from the 1700s representing Bexar County’s foundation. Lucy Adame-Clark is awarded the Alamo Mission Chapter’s prestigious Texas Patriot Award for her work with preserving historical records. She has recently been awarded a huge grant and will work to digitize and preserve all of Bexar County’s records going back to the 1700’s Spanish Archives.
2020 Douglass McDonald was presented the Texas Patriot Award for his positive interactions with all of the DRT chapters in San Antonio. He recognized the special role DRT played in the history of the Alamo, and he developed Legacy Partnerships with the DRT and SRT chapters in San Antonio. He was instrumental in improving the relationship between Alamo Trust and Alamo Mission Chapter.
2019 Roland Miller is the owner of Metro Image Photography in San Antonio, Texas and he has graciously donated his photography skills and work to the Alamo Mission Chapter since 2013. He has captured many photos of the chapter's special events: The Siege of Bexar Luncheon, Texas Independence Day, Alamo Heroes Day, The Pilgrimage to the Alamo and the Garden Party. In addition, he has provided head shots of the Chapter Officers. He is a graduate of TCU and the husband of Carla Miller, a devoted DRT member.
2018 Judge Nelson Wolff has represented Bexar County in various political offices since 1971, when he was elected to the Texas House of Representative. After that he was elected to the Texas Senate in 1973, the San Antonio City Council in 1987 and he served as Mayor of San Antonio from 1991 to 1995. He currently serves as Bexar County Judge, a position he was appointed to in 2001 and has since been elected to five times, most recently in November 2018. He is only the second person in more than a century to serve as both Mayor of San Antonio and Bexar County Judge. Judge Wolff was instrumental in assisting with the move of the DRT Library to its present location in the Bexar County Archives Building.
2017: TOM MASINTER comes from a New Orleans musical family via Trinity University where he earned BA and MA music degrees. He is co-founder of Allegro Stage Co. and resident music director for the Roxie Theatre. Tom is a recipient of seven Alamo Theatre Arts Council Globe Awards for Excellence in Theatre as composer, music director, and music arranger. This includes a Globe Award for Best Original Musical Score for the musical of The Alamo, Gone To Texas. Gone To Texas has been produced in San Antonio and Austin at the Texas Spirit Theatre in the Bob Bullock Texas History Museum. It also had a soldout, one night only performance at the York Theatre in New York.His music compositions are published by Warner Bros. and other notable publishers. Besides composing and directing he is a well-known piano instructor and piano technician in San Antonio. Tom is a member of the William B. Travis Chapter of the Sons of the Republic of Texas through his ancestor Daniel Ross Gandy who arrived in Texas in 1831. His wife Maggie Priesmeyer is a family law attorney who is reported to keep Tom in line at all times. Tom has been a strong supporter of Alamo Mission Chapter over many years producing excerpts from Gone to Texas and for the chapter, Allies of the Alamo, and DRT convention, as well as original music and mini vignettes for the Annual Garden Party, the most recent being the Yellow Rose of Texas.
2017: DR. TWAIN THARP is a native of Brenham, Texas. He holds a Cum Laue Bachelor’s degree in education from Southwest Texas State University, a Master’s degree with honors in guidance from the University of Texas, and a doctorate degree from Texas A&M in school administration and leadership. Dr. Tharp retired as the Executive Director of Special Programs for North East Independent School District in 2008. He was a celebrated Eagle Scout and continues his work with local, state, and national levels of the Eagle Scout and Order of the Arrow programs. His leadership of the local JROTC program earned national awards and recognition. Dr. Tharp is the Founder, Curriculum Architect, and Creator of the New American High School in Northeast ISD known as ”The Academy of Creative Education” which recaptured many young people who had dropped out of the mainstream and who went on to become productive citizens and even leaders of our community. In 2007, the Professional Center at the School was named The Dr. Twain Tharp Professional Center. He has received many service awards from various organizations, has served as an expert witness for handicapped children in state and federal court, and received the Army Outstanding Civilian Service Medal. For years, Dr. Tharp has supported the Alamo Mission Chapter and the Daughters of the Republic of Texas helping to create a successful launch of the Allies of the Alamo program and for providing creative and content support for our programs honoring Texas Independence Day.
2016: Virginia Nicholas, Dr. Paul Ringenbach, Paula Piper, Susan Chandoha, Dr. Susan Snow, & Dr. Felix Almaraz, Jr. Our 2016 Alamo Mission Chapter Texas Patriot Award goes to 6 very deserving individuals. This
small group of 6 passionate individuals worked for 9 years with their efforts culminating on July 5, 2015 in Bonn, Germany with the inscribing of the San Antonio Missions as a world heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Community partners included the Catholic Archdiocese, the San Antonio River Authority, Bexar County government and non-profit groups like Los Compadres and the San Antonio Conservation Society.
Through this designation, the Missions are now on a par with other great World Heritage Sites, like the Pyramids of Giza, the Great Wall of China, Stonehenge, the Statue of Liberty, and Independence Hall. This group of six individuals credited Alamo Mission Chapter Past President Virginia Nicholas with initiating the project and selecting the remaining members of this successful team.
2015: Sue Ann Pemberton & Marise McDermott have served as Chairmen of the Alamo Plaza Advisory Committee for the City of San Antonio. On March 6, 2014, the San Antonio City Council passed an ordinance approving a process, strategy, and next steps for the development of a comprehensive master plan for Alamo Plaza and the surrounding area, to include the establishment of a 21 member Alamo Plaza Advisory Committee. The Committee was charged with updating the 1994 Alamo Plaza Study Committee Report and Recommendations; creating a vision and guiding principles for the redevelopment of Alamo Plaza and the surrounding area; assisting in the development of the scope of work for a request for qualifications (RFQ) for the development of a comprehensive phased master plan; and in providing general oversight of the development of the master plan. On December 11, 2014, City Council adopted the recommended updates and revisions to the 1994 Alamo Plaza Study Committee Report along with the vision and guiding principles (the Alamo Area Experience Plan Update). City Council further authorized city staff to proceed with the request for qualifications (RFQ) process for the development of a Master Plan.
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2014: Emily Morgan Hotel for their support of DRT, the Alamo, and the Community.
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2013: Estella Avery Executive Director of the San Antonio River Foundation, which is a non-profit organization. The River Foundation’s primary focus has been the San Antonio River Improvements Project, one of the country’s most exciting public works projects creating a linear urban park weaving through San Antonio. The $400 million in public funds budgeted for the 15-mile project is slated to cover basic infrastructure needs; the San Antonio River Foundation’s role is to augment these public funds with donations from corporations, foundations and individuals to fund the additional amenities that will make this linear park world-class. To date, more than $20 million in private funding has been raised through the River Foundation for the project. Improved landscaping, the turning basin at Pearl, a restored pedestrian bridge, and 11 new works of public art created by local, national and internationally known artists have all been made possible with funding from the Foundation.
2012: Ed Mata ,President, for the Los Bexareños contribution to Hispanic genealogy. The Los Bexareños were the original inhabitants of San Antonio. The members of this group have created an entire genealogy library specifically for Hispanic people of this region that date back to the origins.
2011: EXPRESS NEWS: Dean Lockwood - Director of News Production, Adrian Alvarez - Art Director, Robert Kolarik -Senior Copy Editor, Scott Stoddard - Senior Designer, Mike Fisher - Graphics Editor
These Express News specialists were awarded the 2011 Alamo Mission Chapter Texas Patriot Award for their Alamo “immortal” series that included in-depth, multiple full-page articles in the Express News about what happened on each of the 13 days of the siege and ultimately the fall of the Alamo. Their own original artwork was used to illustrate their own serious research what led to that period of time, what happened, and those immortal Texians who fought and died for liberty. They also provided an Alamo Extra insert that captured all of the previous articles in their Sunday Express-News edition. It was a magnificent description of those historic 13 days and the people involved that ultimately resulted in Texas becoming free of tyranny and a Republic in its own right. The Alamo has come to be known at the Shrine of Texas Liberty.