Norma J. Wallace Citizen of the Year
1967 – Mrs. C.R. Keeton
1967 – W.E. Hightower
1968 – Mame Roberts
1968 – C.D. Wortham
1972 –Wyline Pool
1985 – Marshall Robertson
1985 – James Chisum
1985 – G.T. “Mack” McDonough
1985 – Price Hanning
1985 – Mamie Gee
1986 – James Ogle
1987 – Lana Rideout
1988 – Harold Taylor
1989 – Duane Peters
1990 – Karen Krantz
1992 – Jean Norman
1993 – Coy and Wyline Pool
1994 – Norma Wallace
1995 – Area veterans
1996 – Carrie Waller
1997 – J.C. Waller
1997 – Linda Wall
1998 – Harold Taylor
1998 – Lana Rideout
1999 – Bob Williams
2000 – Ray Bledsoe
2001 – Jimmy Bearden
2002 – Howe Volunteer Fire Department
2003 – Jerry Campbell
2004 – Les Bennett
2005 – Wayne Swineford
2006 – LeAndra Beckemeyer
2007 – Roger Luttrell
2014 – Laura Duree
2015 – Carolyn Cherry
2016 – Monte Walker
2017 – Donna Wormsbaker
2018 – Janie Finney
2019 – Becky Hogenson
2020 – Clarissia Doty
2021 – Nick Upton
2022 – Michelle Carney
Jean Norman Volunteer of the Year
2019 – Sergio Garcia
2020 – Amber Carter
2021 – Brent Brunner
2022 – Kevin Crosson
Business of the Year
2015 – Independent Bank
2016 – Howe Enterprise
2017 – Independent Bank
2018 – Independent Bank
2019 – Howe Family Dentistry
2020 – Don’s Smokehouse
2021 – Guns N More
2022 – Good Fellas Barber Shop
Volunteer Organization of the Year
2015 – Save the Church (Howe Development Foundation)
2016 – Feed My Sheep
2017 – Keep Howe Beautiful
2018 – Keep Howe Beautiful
2019 – Keep Howe Beautiful
2020 – Feed My Sheep
2021 – Friends of the Library
2022 – Howe Youth Softball
Norma J. Wallace
Norma Jean Wallace was born on April 21, 1929, to Gladys McKinney Davis and Custer Violet Davis. In 1938 the Davis family moved from St. Jo, Texas to Howe, Texas. From 1938 to her death Norma resided in Howe.
Things that meant a lot to Norma were: Faith, Family, and Community. Her faith was supported within the Howe United Methodist Church which she attended and also by the Interfaith Community of churches In Howe. Her faith was supported by the citizens of the community in which she lived as well.
Norma loved being part of a community that supported Its neighbors in all aspects of life; the good times, the hard times, and times of tragedy. Having lived 57 years In the Howe Community she knew her neighbors and they knew her. This Is what she loved about Howe, the connectedness of the community.
As a contributor to the community, Norma was actively Involved In the creation of the marching band, the Howe Public Library, the Howe Historical Society, and the placement of a Texas Historical Marker at Hall Cemetery.
Norma quietly started a petition by local citizens advocating the movement of an on-ramp to Hwy. 75 located in Howe. Several accidents had occurred with this on-ramp, some resulting in deaths. The on-ramp was moved and Is much safer.
Norma had an instinct that when neighbors communicate and work together good things will happen and great things can happen.
Norma was a listener and a doer with a quiet yet forceful manner. At her death a faded newspaper clipping was found which she carried In her purse It summarized her lifestyle: “Thank God every morning when you get up that you have something to do which must be done, whether you like it or not. Being forced to work, and forced to do your best, will breed in you temperance, self-control, diligence, the strength of will, contentment, and a hundred other virtues which the idle never know.”
Norma was an integral part of the Howe community and proud to be a citizen of Howe. She knew great things happened when a group with a common background and shared interest cared about their city and one another.
This is still true today in Howe.
Jean Norman
Beginning on May 7, 2021, The Volunteer of the Year award has been named after Jean Norman. She will go down in Howe’s history in much of the same regard as Mame Roberts – a truly iconic figure among all of Howe’s finest ladies. Her fingerprints of leadership are seen throughout the community from Ponderosa to Farmington. She was instrumental in forming the Howe Public Library and eventually the Howe Community Library. Her leadership helped breathe life into the former First Christian Church, not once but twice. Norman was a key member in the foundation and the formation of the Howe Historical Society in the 1980s and 90s and renovated the church previously to house a museum. Serving most recently as president of the Save the Church organization and chairman of the Howe Development Foundation, the group raised enough money to transform one of Howe’s oldest buildings into this event venue. The longtime schoolteacher has also been a longtime member and church leader at the First Baptist Church of Howe. She was named the 1992 Norma J. Wallace Citizen of the Year and was nominated for it again 25 years later.
The Jean Norman Volunteer of the Year Award recognizes those individuals who carry her values and her legacy for decades to come.