It isn’t often an honor for a career move made nearly 30 years ago comes along, and with it an opportunity to help your hometown community.

Tom Wilson, a Corsicana native who returned to coach the Tigers in 1993, is also one of the seven surviving former Texas A&M; football coaches. From 1978 to 1982, Wilson served as head coach at Texas A&M; University, leading the Aggies to an Independence Bowl victory in 1981.

Aggie Coaches for Charity, a Coach Fran Charity sponsored by current Aggies coach Dennis Franchione, will honor these coaches May 19 in Houston with a banquet at the Westin Galleria. Each coach was also allowed to select a favorite charity, to which $25,000 will be given in his honor.

“This is something the Aggies have done, and I’m proud they included me,” Wilson said. “It’s Franchione’s charity, but this is the fist time it’s happened (like this), as far as I know.

“Daun and I looked around, and we’ve always liked animals, had animals, and knew the animal shelter here needed help. We wanted to help any way we could, and it’s for a great cause, no two ways about it. It’s a pleasure to be able to give to such a worthy cause.”

The Humane Society of Navarro County is the recipient of Wilson’s gift, and board members were stunned and delighted, Humane Society member Julie Maupin said.

“The exciting thing is that Tom chose us,” she said. “We are serving pets, and also serving people through their pets. We are very excited — it’s just a neat deal.”

Tom and Daun Wilson both grew up in Corsicana, graduated from Corsicana High School in 1962, and went to Texas Tech University, with Tom on a football scholarship. Once he graduated from there, he went to work as an assistant football coach at Tech from 1966 to 1974. His career with Texas A&M; University began in 1975, with Wilson serving as assistant coach. He was named head coach of the Aggies in 1978. The Wilsons returned to Tech for 1984 and 1985, and then relocated to Palestine High School, where he served as head coach from 1986 to 1992.

The Wilsons were pleased to have an opportunity to return to their hometown in 1993, when Tom became head coach of the Tigers, which he was until his retirement in 1999. He now works part time for Corsicana Independent School District as the state testing coordinator. In his spare time, he loves to work in his yard, play golf, and spoil the pets.

Daun is also employed by CISD, having served as secretary to the principal at Drane Intermediate since 1994. She enjoys shopping, taking care of Schnauzers Sheba and Mandy, cats Miss Kitty and Yellow, and according to Tom, “feeding breakfast to all the cats in the neighborhood.” The Wilsons also enjoy spending time with their six grandchildren. Daughter Julie is a Texas Tech graduate who works for Lubbock ISD, and son Mark is a Texas A&M; graduate, who is a federal ATF agent in the Austin area.

“We’ll go down to Houston May 19, and it will be good to see a lot of the Aggies I haven’t seen, and also see the other coaches,” Wilson said. “I’m looking forward to reliving this piece of my past. It will be fun, and there will be an auction along with the banquet, where they will raise more money, all to go to great causes.

“I’m just honored to be a part of it.”

The Humane Society of Navarro County is a non-profit organization, not affiliated with any national organizations. For over 30 years, the Humane Society has tried to serve pets and people in Navarro County with generous donations from groups, individuals, and frequent fund-raisers.

“We spend thousands of dollars some months with our spay/neuter program, emergency care for animals, adoption events, educational materials, and our Big Fix program through our local veterinarians,” Maupin said. “We have recently found five sponsors for the Critter Cruiser program, and we also fund projects, like the new equipment for a grooming area at the animal shelter, work on pens, and more.”

The mission of the Humane Society of Navarro County is to promote humane and ethical treatment of animals, as well as attempting to reduce the number of homeless animals in the county. The Humane Society supports the City of Corsicana Animal Shelter in its attempts to place adoptable pets in suitable homes.

“We have so many things going on, but the constant dream is for a new animal shelter,” Maupin said. “Everything in the shelter is so specialized, such as venting, flooring, etc. ... What we really need is for some wonderful, generous person to donate a piece of property for a new shelter.”

The existing animal shelter is too small for the number of animals being handled, which is approximately 4,000 per year. The dream of the Humane Society is to one day have a newer, larger animal shelter to better serve the needs of Navarro County.

“We really need a pleasant facility with a central location and good visibility. Our old shelter building is in such poor shape, and we keep putting band aids on it,” Maupin said.

“We get small amounts of money from trusts and estates, and we have an anonymous donor who contributes $1,000 per month. We also have fund-raisers, and are working on an idea for a Derrick Days fund-raiser/adoption event.”

Good relationships with the local veterinarians is key for the Humane Society, as is good communication. The board members have worked hard to establish positive relationships within the community, and are always hard at work trying to place good pets in loving homes.

“The Wilsons are big animal lovers, and are very sympathetic to our cause,” she continued. “We thank them so much for their generosity.”

Correspondence or donations to the Humane Society of Navarro County may be addressed to P.O. Box 1734, Corsicana, TX 75151, or to the attention of Stephanie Elkins, Trust Department, Corsicana National Bank and Trust, P.O. Box 624, Corsicana, TX 75151. The City of Corsicana Animal Shelter is located at 617 S. 12th St., Corsicana. The phone number is (903) 654-4928. It is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays.

—————

Deanna Plemons may be contacted via e-mail at deannap@corsicanadailysun.com