Pub. 55 2014-2015 Issue 4

36 the family close friends. “They are really good friends and just incredible people. They are true philanthropists...not doing it for the recognition, or with any kind of agenda, but truly from the heart,” says Walsh. While Careity provides many services for patients of all ages who are fighting diseases like cancer, Durant is especially con- cerned with the children they serve. Their Pediatric Palliative Care program, which focuses on symptom and pain management and on providing these young patients with the best possible quality of life, is a program that Durant and his wife, Vickie, have been extremely involved in. Walsh says, “He and Vickie helped us fur- nish our new Careity Birth Care Center, and they have served as honorary chairs of our annual Celebrity Cutting Event.” Weatherford community leader, Prissy Neely, knows that Jerry and Vickie Durant are essential to the quality of life in her hometown. She expresses it this way: “On a Tuesday morning in October, 2010, I walked into Jerry’s of- fice to meet with him about helping me build a new Senior Center for Parker County. I was, at the time, Chairman of the Parker County Committee on Aging and we were very interested in a new building. Little did I know, but Jerry had already had plans drawn and had talks with the City and all his people. The Mayor walked in, Jerry’s head people all walked in and Vickie Durant was there, also. Vickie and I grew up together and have been friends for many years. She is a very important part of Jerry’s business and his work for the people of Parker County. From this meeting, it was decided that the property we had first decided on was not going to work. After several months of negotiating with other groups in town, I had waited long enough. I scheduled a meeting with Jerry and told him we had to do some- thing and soon. At this point he told me to go to the northwest side of Weatherford, find a piece of property and then let him know. I did exactly what he said, and by 3 p.m. that afternoon the property had been found. After this was done, it was a matter of maybe 2 months and the land was bought. We had only asked for 10 acres to build on and this was fine. However, Jerry called one evening and said to take the entire piece of property, 35.968 acres…it was ours. I was speechless, really, but did manage a thank you. Jerry Durant is one of, if not the most, generous people in our County. He does a tremendous amount of giving to all who need it. He has a love for Weatherford and Parker County that is above all others. The fact that he does so much that is never known by anyone is just another reason he is so great. I am so proud to call Jerry Durant my friend, not because he has helped me several times with my projects, but because he is a good man with a good heart for his people. We are so lucky to have Jerry in our community.” While it is hard to get him to talk about all the charities and civic work that he has been involved in, Durant is particularly proud of the service he gave to the community during his years on the Weatherford School Board. Since both of his children gradu- ated fromWeatherford ISD in the ‘90s, making the school system the best it could be was naturally one of his highest priorities. So he rolled up his sleeves and served two consecutive three-year terms between 1991-1997. No one runs for a seat on the school board for the prestige or power of the position; they only do it out of a commitment to service. It typically entails long hours and is a thankless job. “Not many people would do that,” says Joe Tison, who served as “I think especially in rural areas, people tend to follow the leadership of someone they know like Jerry Durant. He is a compassionate person who chooses to give back. He doesn’t have to...he chooses to! And, I don’t know if he realizes the power of his support,” says Mitchell. “By his involvement and by giving to a particular charity or cause, it encourages others to get involved themselves and give to that charity.”  JERRY DURANT — CONTINUED FROM PAGE 35