COLLEGE STATION — Jack Ashworth of Lindale, retired director of the Fort Worth Parks and Recreation Department, had received the Terry Hershey Award for Excellence from Texas A&M University’s department of recreation, park and tourism sciences.
Ashworth, who earned a bachelor of science degree in agricultural economics and sociology from Texas A&M in 1942, joined the Fort Worth department as deputy director in 1964. He retired from the department in 1988 as acting director.
He is the only person selected to serve as president of the Texas Recreation and Park Society three times — in 1965, 1974 and 1984. In recognition of his contributions, TRAPS members established an endowed scholarship fund in his name, and he was awarded honorary lifetime membership in the organization in 1989.
From 1957 until 1964, he was director for the City of Bryan’s parks and recreation department — the first to serve in that position. Prior to that, he was a member of the Texas Technological College economics faculty in Lubbock, joining the faculty in 1948.
The award, instituted in 1995, recognizes significant contributions to development of recreation, parks and tourism by a practitioner, board member, elected official or volunteer. It is named for Terry Hershey of Houston because of her work with parks and natural resources in her hometown of Houston and throughout Texas and the United States.
