Jeff Wang and Al Zito have dedicated countless volunteer hours to the city of Southlake.
City View by John Terrell, Mayor of Southlake
In April, the citybrcelebrated its volunteers with a gathering at the Hilton Hotel. Thisbrspecial group of people volunteered more than 38,200 hours of service to citybrdepartments, saving the city more than $846,000! This month, I would like to focus on two volunteers concludingbrtheir service on the city council in a few weeks.
Jeff Wang,bra longtime friend who previously graced the cover of Southlake Style, has volunteeredbrfor the City of Southlake since 2002, when he first got involved with thebrSouthlake 2025 plan, the predecessor to the Southlake 2030 plan. Through the years, Jeff hasbroffered thoughtful insights while serving on the JointbrUtilization Committee (2003–04), the Southlake Program for Involvement of NeighborhoodsbrStanding Committee (2001–06), the Planningbrand Zoning Commission (2006–10) and on the city council. Besides Jeff’sbrservice on city boards and commissions, he has also been busy as the Presidentbrof Southlake Sister Cities, a member of Southlake Citizens on Patrol, thebrCommunity Emergency Response Team, and he’s a founding member of the SouthlakebrDPS Citizens Association. The list is long and impressive, but itbrshouldn’t be surprising since Jeff holds two Master of Science degrees and isbrthe founder of his own company, Argosy Technology. I have known Jeff for morebrthan 10 years, and I am always amazed at the breadth and depth of his knowledgebron important issues here at home and around the world. His global perspectivebrhas benefitted Southlake in so many different ways, and while he is steppingbraway from the council, I know that we can still count on him to stay involvedbras our great city grows and evolves.
Al Zito has lived inbrSouthlake since 2004 and has served on the Southlake City Council since 2010. Whenbrhe's not busy running his own business, he's contributing to the Arts Committeebr(2010–13), the Audit Committee (2010–13), Metroport Teen Court (2011–13),brSouthlake 2030 Plan Committee (2010–13), the Southlake Parks DevelopmentbrCorporation (2010–13) and the Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone No. 1 (2010–13). It'sbrquite a list for a man who is also a devoted husband and father. Duringbrhis time on the city council, Al has been involved in numerous importantbrcouncil decisions and has dedicated countless hours in the pursuit ofbrbettering the city. Al has a great passion forbrSouthlake and its citizens. That passion was evident in every meeting, eventbrand hearing in which he was involved. As Al can tell you, volunteering as a Citybrof Southlake council member is very time-consuming, but seeing children andbrfamilies enjoy the benefits of a new park or one of our special events makes itbrworth it.
I'm not sure exactlybrhow many of the 38,000-plus volunteer hours Jeff and Al contributed, but I ambrgrateful that their time counts as part of the total. Both men have given backbrto this community in ways that can't be measured, and I would like tobrpersonally and publically thank them for their service. I know that webrhave not heard the last from them, and I look forward to working with them inbrthe future.
On May 14, councilbrmember Brandon Bledsoe will be sworn in for his second term as the place threebrrepresentative. Also being sworn in that day is returning councilbrmember-elect Laura Hill (place five) and councilbrmember-elect Randy Williamson (place four). I look forward to working with thebrnew team.
See you in Southlake.
John Terrell, vice president of commercial development for DFW Airport, has spent countless volunteer hours in service to the City of Southlake. He served two terms on the city council prior to becoming elected Southlake's Mayor in 2009 and again in 2012. Married to wife Joanne and father to two Dragons, the 2012 Southlake Citizen of the Year has called Southlake home for more than 15 years.