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I guess I
am now officially a Village Elder… with all the pluses
and minuses of that term.
I came to Austin in 1972 – yes, I am one of those people
who want to claim that early glorious time when Austin was
a small town and when tolerance of all types of people was
the mode of the day.
Austin raised me – nurtured me, molded me, pushed me,
forgave me.
I will be forever grateful for this.
My words back to you. Each one of us makes Austin what it
is. It is our privilege to be able to give back to such a
wonderful city that the world is just starting to discover.
This is it, this is our time – we are the privileged
ones to be here at the fulcrum point of turning a small town
in Texas into a prominent urban city of the World.
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Great
urban design will continue to affect our day to day enjoyment
of the city. Design can tie us together as a community or
the lack of it can split us apart into our individual households.
Great Public Spaces are the living rooms of our community
life: Support them, advocate for them, fund them, participate
in their design, and enjoy them with your friends and family.
I am leaving the Design Commission, but I am not leaving
my passion for Great Public Spaces and citizen involvement
in their design process. My goal is to add public involvement
services to my landscape architectural practice to further
engage the public in participatory design.
I hope to see all of you in the future as we shape this great
city of ours into a place where we can continue to see the
positive results of our joint civic pride and community creativity
– or weirdness as it is.
Thank you Mayor Leffingwell and members of the City Council
for this Distinguished Service Award. It is an honor and a
privilege to have served the city for over 15 years.
Austin, you rock!
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