BISD HONORS DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI

Mark Whitehead September 5, 2014

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Four new Distinguished Alumni were honored at the Brenham School District 139^th Anniversary this (Friday) afternoon. The oldest public school district in Texas celebrated its anniversary today (Friday) with a luncheon at the Blinn College Student Center. At the event, Melanie Conway, a counselor at Brenham Middle School, received the Service Above Self award presented by the Brenham Rotary Club.

The luncheon featured a slide show of the highlights of the 2013-2014 school year and introduced the four 2014 Distinguished Alumni. The four alumni selected for the award this year include William H. (Bill) Betts Jr., Bessie Burks, Booker T Hogan, Jr., and Wade Seidel.

William (Bill) Betts served as president of the Brenham High School Student Council from 1973-1974 and graduated with honors from Brenham High School in 1974. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A&M University in 1977 and his Doctorate from Southern Methodist University in 1980. While in law school, he served as president of the SMU Student Bar Association from 1979-1980. He has earned many business and professional awards and honors, including the highest peer review rating for 22 consecutive years by Martindale-Hubbell Legal Directory. He served as president of the Washington County Bar Association from 1984-1985 and has been a multiple year winner of the Brenham Banner Press Reader’s Choice Awards for “Favorite Attorney”. He serves on the State Bar Law Office Management Committee and is a Sustaining Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Association. He currently is president and shareholder of Betts, Walters and Mutscher, P.C.

His strong leadership is evidenced in his investment in the community and surrounding areas. Bill is a founding board member and organizing director of the following organizations: the Brenham ISD Education Foundation, the Boys and Girls Club of Washington County and the Blinn College Foundation Board, where he currently serves as chairman. He was a two-term director of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce, a director of the Mercer University Athletic Foundation since 2012, and coached several Washington County Little League baseball and softball teams.

Betts is married to the former Paula Anger and they have two children, Cayte Betts Neil and Will Betts. They also have two grandchildren, Beckett Neil and Dinah Grace Neil.

Bessie M. Adams Burks was the PickardHigh School valedictorian in 1962. She went on to become one of the first black students to attend BlinnCollege. She was named to the National Dean’s List of American Colleges in 1966, 1967 and 1968. She received both her Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Education from PrairieViewA&MUniversity and was an educator for all of her life. She received the Outstanding Educator’s Award from Aldine ISD in 1993-94. As an intermediate school teacher, she taught science, and in 1994 she was a Presidential Award for Excellence nominee for her outstanding teaching performance in math and science.

Other awards and honors that were bestowed on Bessie Burks include being recognized by Who’s Who of American Women in 2006-2007, and she was proud to be a delegate to the Democratic Party and a member of WheelerAvenueBaptistChurch. Bessie was a philanthropist who was instrumental in assisting many young people in their educational endeavors. She died on April 7, 2012, and is survived by her daughter, Sherri Burks, and many friends who remember her with love and pride.

Booker Hogan small — Booker Y. Hogan Jr.

Booker T. Hogan, Jr. graduated from PickardHigh School in 1952 and went on to obtain a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and a Doctorate in Jurisprudence from Southwestern University School of Law. He was a scientist who completed postgraduate courses in collodial and polymer chemistry, chemical thermodynamics and nuclear chemistry. He also studied the industrial use of radio isotopes and rocket propulsion fundamentals. He was selected as the Outstanding Scientific Graduate from Prairie View A&M in 1957, and “Ebony” magazine recognized him for his contributions to national defense efforts.

His law career has also been successful, and he has been admitted to practice before the California Supreme Court, the Texas Supreme Court, the US Patent Office, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the US Supreme Court. He currently serves the legal and emotional needs of WashingtonCounty citizens via the practice of law and operation of 100 year old Hogan Funeral Home here in Brenham.

Wade Seidel is a 1969 honor graduate of Brenham High School, where he served as BHS Student Body President his senior year. As a summa cum laude graduate of Texas A&M in 1973, he received a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and continued graduate studies at the University of Houston. While at Texas A&M, he was the Deputy Corps Commander and received the Earl Rudder Outstanding Student Award. He also achieved the rank of 1st Lieutenant in the US Army Reserves.

Since 1978, Wade has been managing partner of Seidel, Schroeder and Company and he serves on numerous committees of the Texas Society of CPAs. He is also a member of the American Institute of CPAs. He has served on the Brenham ISD Education Foundation Board of Directors, the Brenham Maifest Association, the Brenham Rotary Club, the Washington County Economic Development Foundation, the Trinity Medical Center Board of Directors and many other organizations. He has been a prominent leader in WashingtonCounty for almost forty years.

He and his wife, Susie, have been married for 41 years and have one daughter, Sarah Brieden, and one son, Sam Seidel. They have four granddaughters, Elizabeth, Evelyn and Ann Margaret Brieden and Greta Seidel. Wade and Susie are members of AbidingWordLutheranChurch in Brenham.