Alamo Community Colleges News & Events

Alamo Community Colleges' Gala Raises Funds for Senator Frank Madla, Jr. Memorial Scholarships

(l to r) Chancellor Bruce Leslie, Representative Ruth McClendon,
Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst & Helen Madla

Generous $20,000 donation to the Senator Frank Madla, Jr. Memorial Scholarship Fund from Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas

Click here for PDF presentation of the event

Wednesday, October seventeenth, at a very special event, a gathering of his family, friends and colleagues celebrated the legacy of the late Senator Frank Madla
Jr.’s commitment to education and helped establish a scholarship in his
name by participating in a silent and live auction of photographs taken
by the long-term state legislator. Donations to the scholarship fund
will establish an endowment which will begin awarding scholarships to
students in fall 2008.

A number of the photographs are originals signed by the senator. One of
the most eye-catching of these, a framed photo of a lone Longhorn bull
staring down the camera, was presented to representatives of Toyota
Motor Manufacturing Texas in appreciation of their generous $20,000
donation to the Senator Frank Madla, Jr. Memorial Scholarship Fund. Don
Jackson, senior vice president, and Luis de la Garza, vice president of
administration for Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas presented the
oversized “check” to ACCD Board Chair Roberto Zárate, ACCD Foundation
Board Chair Jackie Van De Walle and Alamo Community Colleges’
Chancellor Dr. Bruce H. Leslie and will, in turn, be presented with the
Longhorn photograph. The presentations were especially meaningful in
light of the fact that the senator co-authored measures in the Texas
Legislature to bring Toyota to San Antonio, providing more than 2,000
jobs on the south side of the city.

Preceding the live auction of photographs, Senator Madla’s wife Helen,
son, Dr. Frank Madla, III, and daughter Marci, together with Texas
Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst and Zárate, shared remembrances and
reflections on the senator’s life.

“The Alamo Community Colleges are deeply grateful to Senator Frank
Madla, Jr. for his third of a century of public service as a member of
the Texas Legislature,” said Leslie. “In addition to helping to bring
Toyota to south San Antonio, with many of the workers there receiving
their training from the Alamo Community Colleges, he worked tirelessly
to make the Texas A&M University campus a reality for the south side as
well. He also played a pivotal role in obtaining $20 million for the
redevelopment of Kelly Air Force Base, which resulted in the creation
of the Port of San Antonio and 19,000 jobs,” Leslie added.

“We salute Senator Madla’s deep commitment to education, from his days
as a public school teacher to his service as a faculty member at St.
Philip’s College and to his championing of education as a dedicated
public servant in the state legislature,” said Zárate. “We see here
tonight evidence, as well, of his creative talent as a photographer,
and express our deepest appreciation to his family for donating his
photographs ,which will enable use to continue his legacy of support
for education,” he added.