Whorton receives Fannie Mae Vernon Award at banquet

By Deanna Brown

Life in a small town was celebrated Thursday evening at the 61st annual Kerens Chamber of Commerce banquet.

Held at the Kerens Ex-Students Association, the crowd feasted on pork loin with a spinach cream sauce and a lovely spinach salad, perhaps in honor of the keynote speaker being from the “Spinach Capital” of the world, Crystal City. Max Stalling is a singer/songwriter who extols the value of small towns through lyrics.

Jim Nash of The Ranch 106.9 was emcee for the event, and introduced Stalling as “an A&M graduate who used to work as a scientist developing snack foods.”

Stalling now has 10 years as a working musician/songwriter, has put out five CDs, and has a great band and loyal fan following.

“I grew up in Zavala County,” Stalling said. “The big news in the local paper was when the first baby of the new year was born ... on Jan. 14.

“The only perspective I can give you is my own ... I feel very fortunate having grown up in a small town.”

After graduating from Texas A&M University, Stalling followed the corporate world to Dallas, and also spent time in small-town Bullard. His band has played everything from a Persian wedding to a pigeon shoot, and including a poultry auction.

“Now I write songs for a living, and most seem to be based from standing in the middle of Crystal City,” he said.

On Thursday, Stalling performed two songs he wrote, both about life in small towns.

“We have a strong oral tradition in our family,” he said. “Put another way, we like to visit ... Growing up, you have to use your imagination somewhat to find things to do. We just got Internet in Crystal City ... two weeks ago. We all have to take turns using it.

“I am pleased to see that small town America is still working, still getting together and doing stuff like this. God bless you, Kerens, Texas.”

Stalling was followed by Kerens High School principal David Tyson, who talked about what fine students there are at KHS. Three students in particular stood out, though there were many more, but Susan Greenwell, Shawnee McClure, and Kirby Jackson all have lengthy high school accomplishments. The Student of the Year award was given to Shawnee McClure.

Kerens’ Citizen of the Year was awarded to Janie Quinn, who has served on nearly every organization in Kerens, and been at the Kerens bank for over 30 years. The award was greeted with enthusiastic applause and whistling.

In what was probably the biggest surprise of the evening, the Fannie Mae Vernon Award was given to Tennyson Whorton, who showed true astonishment. Whorton believed he was waylaid from his trip to Hawaii to visit his daughter so he could “roast” his friend Charles “Dink” Reese.

Whorton grew up in Kerens, chopping cotton in the fields, playing football in high school and college, and is still an avid Kerens Bobcats fan. He has traveled in the United States, Europe and the near east, earned degrees from SMU, Duke and Boston College, and had several careers. Whorton served as a minister in Evant and Joshua, was a reporter for the Houston Post, and did various advertising executive jobs.

He returned to Kerens in his retirement years, making frequent trips to Hawaii to visit daughters Vicki and Katherine and grandchildren David and Katie. Though Katherine and her family recently relocated to Houston, Whorton still makes the Hawaii trip.

He has been a contributor to Explore ... /exp magazine since its inception, writing columns and relating tales about Kerens from the past, as well as promoting local businesses and events, such as the Cotton Harvest Festival.

“I’ve enjoyed writing again,” Whorton said. “It’s a great outlet for me. And I love my hometown of Kerens. This is truly an honor.”

—————

Deanna Brown may be contacted via e-mail at deanna@corsicanadailysun.com