Front Row – Congressman Jeb Hensarling, Greg Nixon, Dave Kirk, Kathy Fielder, John Botefuhr. Back Row: Vince Gaddis, Ben Lauer, Jesse Moreno, Nancy Wilson, Chamber Chairman Darlene Ellison (photo by Deborah Brown).
The Greater East Dallas Chamber of Commerce 2018 Business Awards honored several neighborhood businesses at the Lakewood Country Club this week.
Congressman Jeb Hensarling presided over the awards luncheon, thanking the chamber for having him as a guest and even naming an award after him. Hensarling noted the country’s strong economy, and blamed the slow growth over the last decade on poor policy. “We are a free people, we are an entrepreneurial people, and good public policy can release what is intrinsic in the American DNA,” he said. “This is America, and you deserve to dream bold dreams.”
La Popular Tamale House won the Jeb Hensarling Business of the Year Award, recognized as the most outstanding business in East Dallas this year. Family owned La Popular began in 1984, and current owner Jesse Moreno Jr. established a scholarship for Woodrow Wilson High School students in the name of his parents, Amelia and Jesse Moreno, La Popular’s founders.
The Chairman’s Award for longevity in community impact was awarded to Youth Believing in Change, which is one of the longest-serving after school programs in the city. Dallas Theological Seminary graduate Vince Gaddis and his wife Angela started the program 24 years ago to help support the spiritual, emotional and academic needs of students in the Lake Highlands area.
Entrepreneur of the Year was awarded to new brewery and trailside restaurant White Rock Alehouse owners Greg Nixon and Dave Kirk. The Live Local Award went to John Botefuhr of Adjust Chiropractic, who has worked had to develop and keep Garland Road safe, Nancy Wilson of Coldwell Banker Real Estate, who established the Woodrow food pantry, and Ben Lauer of Lauer Real Estate Group for his work with 100 Men Who Give a Damn of East Dallas, which gives money away to worthy charities.
For their innovative design work, Kathy Fielder Design | Life | Style won the R.S. Munger Business Pioneer Award. Fielder is a lifestyle and design expert, blogger, TV host, entrepreneur, manufacturer, philanthropist, equestrian, wife and mother whose design work has won her numerous other honors.
