Last week, at the 34th Annual Texas Council Conference in Houston, Colonel Howard Daniel Jr., Chair of Burke’s Board of Trustees, was presented with the Frank M. Adams Outstanding Individual Volunteer Service Award. The award is presented annually during the Texas Council Conference and identifies individuals and organizations who exemplify excellent volunteer service in the Community Center system.
Col. Daniel is a leading example, providing specific support to frontline staff and ensuring they have the needs and tools to do their job confidently. The Frank M. Adams Outstanding Volunteer Service Award, honors a founding member of Texas Council of Community Centers, the late Frank M. Adams, who exemplified service that enhanced and enriched the quality of life for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities, mental illness and substance addictions in Texas.
Howard Daniel, Sr. told his son, “there are no large or small people,” words that influenced him to view people equally. Aware that Col. Daniel’s daughter was born with a developmental disability, a former Polk County Judge encouraged him to consider serving on the Burke Board of Trustees. Col. Daniel has been the Chairman of Burke’s Board for eight years now. He is known as a community leader, not just in East Texas, but across all of Texas. After serving our country for 28 years, he returned to his roots in Livingston, Texas in 1988. Since 2011, Col. Daniel has also served as the Burke delegate to the Board of Directors for the Texas Council of Community Centers.
Melanie Taylor, Deputy CEO of Burke, says “Colonel’s career has been in the military, he served as a pastor, and as a motivational speaker. Those combined make him the ideal advocate and board member for our center”.
Under Col. Daniels leadership as Chairman, Burke doubled its mental health services, capacity, expanded developmental disability services, engaged and coordinated law enforcement in mental health emergency management, built new facilities for client services, and expanded its reach to provide care coordination and services for specialty groups, including children and military veterans.
Susan Rushing, CEO of Burke, says, “he brings not only a family member’s perspective, his interest in providing services, and a leader’s viewpoint. He is Colonel Howard Daniel Jr., a man who knows a thing or two about leading complex organizations, to have him on our board and as chair of our board we have been able to see a true leader in action, and I think that’s helped all of us”.
Burke was proud to nominate Colonel Howard Daniel, Jr., US Army Ret., to be recognized and honored as the 2019 Frank M. Adams Outstanding Individual Volunteer Service Awardee.
Watch Colonel Daniel’s Frank M. Adams Awardee video:
