Scheske, Tucy honored by Gonzales Chamber of Commerce

Former Gonzales County Attorney Bob Scheske and Edwards Association President David Tucy were honored Thursday, March 2, for their tireless service to the community by the Gonzales Chamber of Commerce & Agriculture at the annual awards banquet.

Scheske was named the recipient of the David B. Walshak Lifetime Achievement Award, while Tucy was named the recipient of the Community Service Award.

Scheske said he was grateful to receive an award named for Walshak, a Gonzales banker who twice won what was formerly called the Citizen of the Year award.

“I remember when we were young, Dave was the authority,” Scheske said. “Elgin (Heinemeyer) and I went to see Dave when he was in his last days and he still took time to help us with what we were working on and helped us make it work. And that's the thing about Dave Walshak was that he made things work. He put people together. He understood our community.

“Dave was a catalyst. He made things work in Gonzales, and you don't recognize them because they don't have his name on them, but when you go through life in Gonzales, so many things you come across, Dave Walshak was the beginning, so I am greatly honored and humbled to accept this award and to be associated with one of my mentors and a great leader in our community.

“I'm greatly honored to accept this award and I truly trust that you know I could never have succeeded in anything without the uncompromising love and support of my family and my friends right here in Gonzales, Texas,” he added.

Scheske spoke about one of his favorite movies, “The Gallant Hours,” in which James Cagney portrays Navy Admiral “Bull” Halsey. He summarized the epilogue of the movie by noting “there are no great people. There are only great challenges that ordinary people are forced by circumstance to address.”

“Look around this room. Take a second right now and look around this room, because these are the faces of the ordinary people who come from our community who will face the great challenges of the future,” Scheske said. “We've never failed before. We won't fail in the future. This room is full of good people. Our community is full of good people — people that go beyond the call of duty and serve their city, their county, their state, and our nation.”

In addition to serving as county attorney for 28 years, Scheske has been a member of the Gonzales Noon Lions Club for more than 46 years and a member of the Gonzales Area Development Corporation since its inception in the 1970s. Scheske also has served as commander of the American Legion and wrote the articles of incorporation for Pioneer Village.

One of his proudest endeavors is helping create the Gonzales Community Foundation’s Come and Take It Golf Tournament, which was created in the memory of his best friend, the late Tommy Chenault, who was killed in active duty in Vietnam. They now award $5,000 in scholarships to students who attend schools in Gonzales County in Chenault’s memory.

Tucy, who also is the county’s veteran services officer, was recognized for having “a passion to serve his community through community involvement, board and committee membership and a tireless approach for change,” emcee Egon Barthels told the audience.

The first African-American elected to the Gonzales ISD Board of Trustees, Tucy led the efforts to restore and revitalize the former Edwards School, his alma mater, into the Edwards School African-American Museum. He also successfully lobbied Gonzales City council to rename what had commonly been called “Confederate Square” as “Independence Square” while also pushing for the placement of interpretive panels there that depict the accomplishments of African-Americans in the community.

Tucy said he thought he would spend his retirement from the Army and then service on the school board by “waking up late in the morning and maybe going to McDonald's and having that hot cup of morning coffee.”

“That was not meant to be for me, because I have discovered another rewarding career in community service and volunteering,” Tucy said. “I had never given much thought to either, but now that I am involved in community service and volunteering, I take ownership of it. It has become a part of me. My life has taken on a whole new meaning.

“To me, community service and volunteering means that I am now committed to helping this community in which I live to be a better place for all of us to live. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said that everyone can be great, because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verbs agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love.”