Several dozen nurses from Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital gathered in front of the hospital to show support for their employer October 20, 2014 in Dallas, Texas. Three nurses delivered prepared remarks defending the hospital. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Many readers assume the Dallas Morning News Texan of the Year is going to be someone who’s been involved in the fight against Ebola. That’s a good starting point for our editorial board’s annual deliberations. It’s a local story, and a scary one. It’s also one with global and national implications.
A few months ago, I said a good TOY candidate would be Dr. Kent Brantly, of Fort Worth, who got the disease while working in a West African missionary clinic.
How things change. One newsroom journalist said cynically the other day that Brantly was yesterday’s news.
Is he? There’s a big difference between Brantly and personnel at Presby Hospital in Dallas. He signed up to go overseas, to a hot zone of a deadly virus that was raging through a vulnerable population. Medical personnel at Presby — and don’t take this wrong — were treating Thomas Eric Duncan because they were scheduled to work certain shifts there. I admire their commitment, but they didn’t put themselves in harm’s way like Brantly did. Tell me I’m wrong.
There are other TOY candidates from this Ebola threat. Perhaps the people at the Galveston National Laboratory, at UT’s Medical Branch in Galveston. How about County Judge Clay Jenkins, who caused a stir with his decision to drive a family exposed to Ebola to temporary quarters?
Are there others we should be sure not to overlook? Or others who have nothing to do with this disease or related panic?
Email me ideas, or add them as comments to this post.
Think broadly. Think arts, sports, law, public service, research, academia, politics. Don’t forget farming and ranching, religion and volunteerism. Education, especially. What teachers or thinkers are making a profound difference in a classroom?
Here is the list of nominees so far this year, based on ideas from readers:
Cathy McMullen, Denton activist who spurred vote on city anti-fracking ordinance
DeMarco Murray, Dallas Cowboys running back
Annise Parker, mayor of Houston
Stan Marek, construction executive and immigration reform advocate
Tea party in Texas
Gary Kelly, Southwest Airlines CEO
Maurie Levin, capital punishment defense counsel
Texas Defender Service, capital punishment defense counsel
Mark Cuban, of Shark Tank fame
Charlie Strong, UT football coach
Ron Washington, former Texas Rangers manager
J.J. Watt, Houston Texans defensive end
Anthony Graves, death row exoneree and justice advocate
Jim Harrington, director of the Texas Civil Rights Project
Wallace Hall, UT regent
Bill McRaven, UT chancellor
Kent Brantly, missionary doctor stricken with Ebola virus
Ebola researchers at the Galveston National Lab, UT Medical Branch at Galveston
Zachary Thompson, Dallas County health chief
Mike Rawlings, mayor of Dallas
Laura and John Arnold, Houston philanthropists
Ted Cruz, U.S. senator
Wendy Davis, state senator/candidate for governor
Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers pitching phenom
Kinky Friedman, humorist
Julian Castro, HUD secretary
Rick Perry, governor/potential presidential candidate
Phil Collins (honorary), pop singer who donated trove of Alamo memorabilia to Texas
Tim Duncan, world champion San Antonio Spurs player
Greg Popovich, Spurs coach
Dan Patrick, state senator/lieutenant governor candidate
Leticia Van de Putte, state senator/lieutenant governor candidate
Greg Abbott, attorney general/governor candidate
Laura Bush
George W. Bush
St. Vincent, singer-songwriter
Jim Parsons, TV actor on The Big Bang Theory
Lori Baker, Baylor prof whose project IDs the remains of immigrants who died crossing into Texas
Steven Polunsky, open-government-savvy former committee director in Texas Senate
Rick Lowe, MacArthur fellow, artist-in-residence for Nasher Sculpture Center
John Henneberger,, MacArthur fellow, housing advocate specialist in post-disaster rebuilding
Patrick Kennedy, urban planner
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins
Mark Phariss, gay-marriage litigant
Lawrence Wright, author
Jerry Allen, Dallas City Council member, payday loan reformer
John Dietz, judge who found Texas school-finance system unconstitutional
Johnny Manziel, Cleveland Browns quarterback
Carol Biedrzycki at Texas ROSE, fights for electricity reform
Alex Winslow of Texas Watch, fights for insurance reform
Janet Ahmad, of HOBB, which fights protect homebuyers from crooked builders
James Derr, A&M geneticist with American bison specialty