D

Honoring Dr. Bobby Lyle Was Easy and Tough

The Hearts of Texas Award Luncheon organizers knew darn well that honoring Dr. Bobby B. Lyle (pictured) with the 2010 Lifetime Award was going to be both easy and tough.

“Easy” because Bobby is the prototype for which the award was created by the Volunteer Center of North Texas — “to recognize individuals in North Texas area, who have dedicated themselves to the betterment of the community through the donation of their time, talent and resources.” To say Bobby fits the description is to understate his accomplishments. From the Salvation Army to the Boy Scouts of America to SMU, he has not just contributed his time, money, and effort. No, Bobby has taken on each task and relationship with a commitment that would stagger even the most accomplished CEO.

On the other hand, honoring Louisiana-born Bobby was going to be “tough” because he has a tricky way of shying away from accolades. Perhaps that’s why his name is unfamiliar to those who aren’t down in the trenches. As Jack Furst put it, “Bobby allows others to take the credit for what he’s done.”

So, Tuesday when guests gathered at the Anatole for the award presentation/luncheon, the room looked like a joint meeting of the Salvation Army, the Boy Scouts of America, SMU, Communities Foundation, and numerous philanthropic and community leaders like Ruth Altshuler, John Crawford, Nancy Halbreich, Cindy and Chuck Gummer, Lyda Hill, Caren Prothro, Kern Wildenthal, Linda Gibbons, and Bess and Ted Enloe. Why Communities Foundation’s Brent Christopher (pictured) kiddingly even knelt before Bobby. Mayor Tom Leppert and his lovely bride Laura made time for this lunch from meet and greet til the final speech was done.

After a showing of the flags, the national anthem, the invocation provided by Salvation Army’s Major Ward Matthews, VCNT Chairman of the Board John Withers welcomed the group. Then VCNT CEO Julie Thomas introduced a video and luncheon chair Lynn McBee, whom Bobby later described as the Energizer Bunny Rabbit. Following marvelous tributes by luncheon co-chairs Charles Wyly, Jack Furst, and Gerald Turner, Gerald introduced a video describing Bobby’s accomplishments and personal involvement in helping others achieve greatness. Perhaps Dean of the SMU Lyle School of Engineering Dr. Geoffrey Orsak (pictured) put it most succinctly, “Your success means more to him (Bobby) than it does to you.”

Then last year’s recipient Erle Nye (pictured) eloquently presented Bobby with the award saying, “He is a true renaissance man. . . We are all blessed that he chose Dallas as his home.”

That’s when it happened. Bobby turned the tribute around extolling Dallas’ present accomplishments and future possibilities — the AT&T Performing Arts Center, the Trinity Trust, the Bush Library, The Visiting Nurses Association, the Boy Scouts of America, the Girl Scouts, the Center for Nonprofit Management, the amazing joint effort being undertaken by the Red Cross, North Texas Food Bank, Salvation Army and Communities Foundation, and on and on.

But he couldn’t continue with praise. Now it was time for a little levity.

He told how impressed he had been with The Bridge, where he had “flipped 845 hamburgers” on Martin Luther King Day. . . “I’ve put that on my resume.”

Getting back to the need for involvement, Bobby told group how he advises young people not to wait til they’re older to get involved. Bobby likened it to a game saying, “You’ve got to get going when you hear the whistle blow (starting the game).”

In gallant and chivalrous style, he applauded the amazing contributions made by the nonprofit community, “You are truly amazing.” To back his words, he dutifully reported that the area nonprofits work with budgets adding up to $12 billion annually, employee 52,000 people, and utilize hundreds of thousands of volunteers. Like a proud chairman of the board, he reeled out more facts and figures about the people and efforts so vital to the community resulting from philanthropic activities.

Like leaving a mint on a  pillow, he ended his acceptance speech humbly and graciously saying, “I am accepting this honor on behalf of Tom Leppert and the thousands of volunteers of Dallas who have heard the whistle blow.”