Mayor's Now a "Distinguished Business Leader"

Sam Merten

​So says the press release forwarded this morning by Mayor Tom Leppert's chief of staff, Chris Heinbaugh. It comes from the Dallas Chapter of the Texas Association of Business, which will honor Leppert with its annual Distinguished Business Leader Award early next year, at the 13th Annual Distinguished Business Leader Gala. Previous recipients of said award include: Carl Sewell, Ray Hunt, Ebby Halliday, Norman Brinker, Erle Nye, H. Ross Perot ... and Dick Cheney.

The release follows. But, first, this excerpt:

"We are very excited to recognize Mayor Tom Leppert," said Dan Tresch, President of the Dallas Chapter of Texas Association of Business. "He's an innovative businessman with a reputation that embodies the spirit of the American Entrepreneur, and his philanthropic and civic involvement is felt by us all. In addition, the Mayor's commitment to education is unprecedented."

MAYOR TOM LEPPERT ANNOUNCED AS ANNUAL DISTINGUISHED BUSINESS LEADER RECIPIENT

Dallas, TX -- The Dallas Chapter of the Texas Association of Business is proud to announce its selection of the annual Distinguished Business Leader Award. After reviewing all nominations, the Board unanimously voted to recognize Mayor Tom Leppert for his leadership in promoting economic development, improving our schools and his tireless commitment to serving the Dallas/Fort Worth Community.

Mayor Leppert, the former CEO of Turner Construction, has made the economic development of Downtown Dallas and the city's Southern Sector a key priority of his administration. He has also been responsible for attracting and retaining headquarters for firms such at AT&T, and expanding the city's position in the global economy.

"We are very excited to recognize Mayor Tom Leppert," said Dan Tresch, President of the Dallas Chapter of Texas Association of Business. "He's an innovative businessman with a reputation that embodies the spirit of the American Entrepreneur, and his philanthropic and civic involvement is felt by us all. In addition, the Mayor's commitment to education is unprecedented."

Mayor Leppert helped launch the Mayor's Chesapeake Energy Scholarship program and donates all of his Mayor's salary to scholarships. He created the highly successful Mayor's Intern Fellows Program putting promising students from challenged schools into corporate offices for an 8 week summer internship. He also launched Operation Front Door, where local businesses sponsor a landscaping transformation at the entrance to school campuses. The Ready to Read@Dallas program is preparing tens of thousands of pre-school children for reading. And last year, the Mayor's Back to School Fair helped supply 12,500 children with school supplies.

Mayor Tom Leppert joins a group of dignified recipients including: Dick Cheney, Herb Kelleher, Ebby Halliday, Norman Brinker, Robert Dedman, Erle Nye, Ray Hunt, H. Ross Perot, Ray Nasher, T. Boone Pickens, Paul Bass and Carl Sewell.

The award will be presented early next year at the 13th Annual Distinguished Business Leader Gala.