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Gretchen and Sonny
Williams Named Virginia Chandler Dykes Leadership Award Recipients
1/11/05
DALLAS —
Dallas business and civic leaders Gretchen Minyard Williams
and J.L. “Sonny” Williams are the 2005 recipients
of the Virginia Chandler Dykes Leadership Award, presented
by Texas Woman’s University and the TWU School of Occupational
Therapy.
The Virginia Chandler
Dykes Leadership Award was established in 2002 and is given
annually to Dallas residents who represent the caring, commitment
and leadership Mrs. Dykes exemplifies. TWU Chancellor and
President Dr. Ann Stuart will present the award Jan. 25, 2005,
during a luncheon at the Dallas Country Club
“Texas Woman's
University is proud to honor these Dallasites for their commitment
to building a better and stronger community,” said Dr.
Stuart. “They lead by example and demonstrate we all
can make a difference.”
Gretchen Minyard
Williams, a graduate of Texas Christian University, is former
co-chairman of the board and former co-CEO of Minyard Food
Stores Inc. She is a member of the Baylor University Medical
Center Board of Trustees, co-chair of the Leukemia Association
of North Central Texas and a member of the board of directors
of Marketplace Ministries Inc. and Bryan’s House, a
special care facility for children and teens affected by HIV/AIDS.
She also is a member of the Crystal Charity Ball Committee.
“My father
always taught us that nothing is more important to our society,
and consequently our city, than giving back to the community
in which we serve,” Mrs. Williams said. “We care
about the people who shop with us. We care about the neighborhoods
in which we do business. We care about making a difference
in the lives of people who live in the same community as ourselves.”
J. L. “Sonny”
Williams is former president and COO of Minyard Food Stores
Inc. A graduate of Dallas Baptist University, Mr. Williams
is a member of the State Fair of Texas and Southwestern Bell-SMU
Athletic Forum boards of directors, chairman of the Russell
H. Perry Free Enterprise Foundation and a member of the Dallas
Baptist University Board of Trustees. He also is a minority
owner of the Dallas Mavericks.
The couple received
the 2004 Neighborhood Partnership Award from the Food Marketing
Institute for the Minyard First Class Teachers Program, a
teacher appreciation program that awards $1,000 to a different
teacher each week and a matching $1,000 to the teacher’s
school. They also received the 2003 Obelisk Award for Arts
Partnership from the Dallas Business Committee for the Arts,
the 1999 Civic Service Award from the Jewish Day School’s
Akiba Academy and the 1995 Texas Family Business of the Year-Community
Involvement Award from the Texas Institute of Family Business.
The couple has
been married 26 years and have two children, Claire and Conor.
As a health care
provider and through her civic activities, Mrs. Dykes has
spent a lifetime committed to helping others. She is known
internationally for her work in occupational therapy. Locally,
she is known for her leadership in many cultural and charitable
organizations.
Mrs. Dykes completed
the graduate occupational therapy program at Texas Woman’s
University in 1954 after earning her bachelor of arts degree
in art and psychology from Southern Methodist University in
1952. She was director of the Occupational and Recreational
Therapy Department at Baylor University Medical Center for
25 years. Mrs. Dykes developed and supervised the occupational
and recreational therapy programs at Baylor in rehabilitation,
adult and adolescent psychiatry, eating disorders and hand
splinting. She also founded the Boomerang Club, the first
support group for stroke patients and their families in Dallas.
Her community service
activities include establishing the annual Fanny B. Vanderkooi
Endowed Lectureship for the School of Occupational Therapy
at TWU; serving on the board of directors for the Dallas Opera,
Theater III, Fort Worth Opera, Dallas-Fort Worth Ballet, Les
Femmes du Monde and Dallas Theater Center Guild; serving as
president of the Diana Dean Head Injury Guild; and chairing
the auxiliary board of the Healing Environment Program at
Baylor.
###
For Further
Information Contact:
Roy Kron
Director of News and Information
Tel: (940) 898-3456
e-mail: rkron@twu.edu
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