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VAN - The Van Area Chamber of Commerce named State Rep. Dan
Flynn its Citizen of the Year at its ninth annual banquet
Thursday night.
Flynn, the Republican from District 2, was hailed for what one chamber leader said was his determination and responsiveness to the citizens of Van. "He made numerous at-tempts to be what he is today and was defeated several times, but he would not give up," said Dwayne Wheeler, past president of the chamber. "He continued to plug along and to fight until he was elected state representative."Flynn, 61, a cattle rancher and businessman, was named one of five outstanding freshmen during the 78th Legislature by Capitol News Service. For more than 35 years, he has been involved in the financial industry and various areas of state government. He was interim Van Zandt County judge in 2000 and chief of staff for state Rep. Kenny Marchant during the 74th legislative session. He has served at every level of banking, including president, with ownership of banks in Dallas and East Texas. During the 78th Legislature, Flynn served on the financial institutions, general investigating and county affairs committees. In the current session, he serves on the financial institutions, general investigating, and pensions and investments committees. "He's a wonderful person," Wheeler said. "He's a Christian man. He upholds the highest morals and ethics." The chamber named Van City Pharmacy its Business of the Year. Molly Russell of the Van Economic Development Corp. said the pharmacy opened circa 1979. "This business has always been a strong supporter of our school system, strong supporter of our community," she said. "They've always had a personal touch - one of those things you don't get when you go to a large company." Guest speaker Marvin Randle, a mayoral candidate and former mayor in Irving, urged the chamber to sustain its role as a kind of community "glue," a bridge between school systems, businesses and the city. Randle said Van reminds him of Irving, "when it was just a small community, when everybody knew everybody." He cited the roughly 200 people he said were in attendance
for the Thursday night banquet at Sky Ranch, lauding chamber
members for their enthusiasm: "Irving's population is 190,000
and we don't get that involvement at our chamber banquet." |
| ŠTyler Morning Telegraph 2005 |