The Tarleton Alumni Association recognized three Distinguished Alumni at the 2015 Gala of Tarleton State University. Pictured (left to right) are TAA board president Mike Kornegay, Distinguished Alumni Mike Tabor, Marilynn Frances Timberlake Johanson and Leta Andrews, and Tarleton President F. Dominic Dottavio.
Tarleton Honors Distinguished Alumni During University Gala
Tarleton State University Alumni Association
Posted Feb 23, 2015
The Tarleton Alumni Association and Tarleton State University honored several distinguished alumni, former faculty and staff members, and a friend of the institution Saturday evening during The Gala of Tarleton State University, an annual dinner and awards banquet on campus.
Tarleton President F. Dominic Dottavio and Tarleton Alumni Association (TAA) President Mike Kornegay (‘66) welcomed nearly 300 former students, friends of the university and their families to The Gala where three Distinguished Alumni were presented bronze medallions and crystal awards.
This year’s TAA Distinguished Alumni were Leta Andrews (’74), Marilynn Frances Timberlake Johanson (’80) and Mike Tabor (’81). Honored as Outstanding Young Alumnus for 2015 was Britney Webb (’95, ’97). The TAA also named Mike Tate its 2015 Distinguished Staff and Drs. Pat and Don Zelman as Distinguished Faculty. Dr. George Hendrick, who established the Willene Lowery Hendrick Nursing Scholarship at Tarleton in 2011, was named the 2015 Distinguished Friend of the University. Accepting the award on Dr. Hendrick’s behalf was his brother and Tarleton alumnus, John Hendrick (’55).
“You have left a legacy for students of Tarleton, and you serve as an inspiration to not only our current students but to our alumni and to all of us this evening.”
Mike Tabor – Distinguished Alumni
Tabor, one of the most respected western expressionistic artists in America, credits pop artists of the 1960s and the impressionist movement for his approach to breaking traditional representations of western themes.
A career that began with drawings of beef cattle for publications has expanded to paintings, sculptures and assemblages, with collectors and corporate affiliations from coast to coast and across Europe.
For the past 22 years Tabor has shared his passion for art by teaching high school students, many of whom have participated in the Fort Worth Stock Show Art Contest, winning their division 17 of the last 20 years. His leadership continues in other areas, with service on boards such as Texas Farm Bureau, the Glen Rose Rodeo Association and Somervell County Planning Committee. Tabor maintains the family ranch in Hood and Somervell counties.
Tabor’s career highlights include a life-size bronze of Dick and Rick Hoyt commissioned by John Hancock. Over the past three decades, the image of the father pushing his quadriplegic son has become synonymous with Patriots’ Day and their running the Boston Marathon. The sculpture sits on the lawn of Hopkinton (Mass.) School, just yards from the starting line of the annual race.