Title
Consider recognizing Mrs. Doris Taylor as the recipient of the Farmers Branch Witness to History Award and take appropriate action.
Body
BACKGROUND:
In 2011, City Council made the Dennis brothers the inaugural recipients of the Witness to History Award. The award was created to recognize those long term Farmers Branch residents and organizations that have contributed to the City. Webb Chapel United Methodist Church has also been recognized as a Witness to History recipient. To qualify for the award, an individual would have to reside in Farmers Branch for 75 years or more, or an organization would have to be active for 50 years or more.
DISCUSSION:
At their November, 2014 board meeting, the Historical Preservation and Restoration Board unanimously voted to recommend to City Council that Mrs. Doris Taylor receive the Witness to History Award. Not only is Mrs. Taylor an 80 year resident of Farmers Branch, but her family can be considered one of the founding families of Farmers Branch, the Webb family. First arriving in what would become Farmers Branch in 1841, Isaac B. Webb would return to his home in Missouri with a saddlebag full of dirt from Farmers Branch to tout the richness of its soil. Webb would come back to Farmers Branch for good in 1844 with his family and eventually found the first Methodist congregation in the area as well as Webb Chapel Cemetery.
RECOMMENDATION:
City Administration recommends recognizing Mrs. Doris Taylor as the recipient of the Witness to History Award.
ATTACHMENT:
1. Information Memorandum