Gonzales Chamber seeking awards nominations
The Gonzales Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture is seeking nominations for the Community Service Award & David B. Walshak Award, to be presented at the annual Chamber banquet in February.
The official nomination form is included with this story and must be returned to the Chamber office by 4 p.m. January 21, 2022.
Community Service Award
The Community Service Award is an annual award given to an individual, business or organization for meritorious service in one or more of the categories below.
• Historic Preservation
• Promotion of the Arts
• Education
• Commerce/Industry
• Youth Motivation
• Volunteer Work
A panel of judges consisting of the Executive Committee of the Gonzales Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture will review the nominees and decide the winner. Judging will be based solely on information contained on this nomination form.
Nominees will be judged without regard to sex, race, religion or age and must live in the Gonzales Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture area. Any job-related task or duty for which nominees are paid a salary will not be considered. This award will be considered for a deceased person provided the death occurred within the year for which the award is being presented.
David B. Walshak Lifetime Achievement Award
The David B. Walshak Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to a person who has proved worthy of distinction in the Community. This Lifetime Achievement Award is appropriately named after a man who gave of himself unselfishly to his family, friends, church and community.
A banker by profession, David B. Walshak was a two-time recipient of the Gonzales Chamber of Commerce "Citizen of the Year Award", once in 1961, the other in 1972. He served as Director and President of the Gonzales Chamber of Commerce and in 1974 was a Charter Member of the Minutemen, ambassadors of our Chamber of Commerce. He served as Chairman of the Gonzales Sesquicentennial Committee from 1973-1975, President of the Gonzales Area Development Corporation and Director of the Texas Allied Poultry Association from 1975-1976.
He served as Past President of many organizations, such as the Gonzales Noon Lions Club, the Gonzales Apache Quarterback Club, the Gonzales Baseball Association, the Gonzales Warm Springs Foundation/Texas Rehabilitation Hospital and the Board of the Gonzales Independent School District. He was a member of the Gonzales Apache Band Boosters, the Parish Council of the Saint James Catholic Church and the Knights of Columbus, where he served as Grand Knight of Council #5090 in Gonzales. He was a member of the Texas National Guard, where he was given the opportunity to aid the victims of Hurricane Carla; he was instrumental in organizing a United Fund Community project and was the Chairman of the United Fund Drive for four separate years and chaired the Cancer Drive on two separate occasions.
David's love for sports carried him from a professional baseball team shortly after graduation in high school to 26 years of play by play announcing of Gonzales Apache football games for the local radio station. In those 26 years he only missed three games. He managed Little League teams from 1955- 1960, then again from 1967-1974, and he also managed Youth League Baseball.
David B. Walshak earned recognition from many sources such as: Outstanding Young Men of America in 1965; Personalities of the South in 1973, 1974 and the Bicentennial Edition in 1976; Notable Americans of the Bicentennial Era; Presidential Commendation "in recognition of exceptional service to others, in the finest American tradition; from President Richard M. Nixon in 1973; Honorary Membership into the Texas 4-H Clubs in 1975; Honorary Chapter Farmer in the FFA; Honorary Membership in the Young Farmers in 1976; South Central Texas Semi-Pro Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973; Lions Club "Citizen of the Year" Award in 1975 and "Who's Who Among Texas Bankers" in 1975.
A panel of judges consisting of three board members from surrounding chambers of commerce, three Gonzales Chamber board members and the Gonzales Chamber award-year president will review the nominations and decide the winner. Judging will be based solely on information contained in the nomination form and statement.
Nominees will be judged without regard to sex, race, religion, or age and must live in the Gonzales Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture area. The nominee must be a resident of Gonzales County or be a good-standing member of the Gonzales Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture. Any job-related task or duty for which nominees are paid a salary will not be considered.
This award will be considered for anyone living or deceased. Previous recipients of the David B. Walshak Lifetime Achievement Award or the Citizen of the Year Award shall be ineligible for nomination.
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