NVW2017: Hearts of Texas

VolunteerNow hosted the 11th Annual Hearts of Texas Luncheon on Thursday, April 27 at the Belo Mansion, where we honored John Cuellar and Carolyn Miller with the VolunteerNow Lifetime Achievement Award.

In addition to the incredible legacy of impact of John and Carolyn, our two honorary co-chairs are well-known for their commitment to service. Dr. Lottye and Dr. Bobby Lyleare outstanding civic leaders ,and VolunteerNow is proud to have their support. Bobby has is a past recipient of the VolunteerNow Lifetime Achievement Award.

John Cuellar

John Cuellar is an engaged and active community leader, as the board chairman and president of Las Tres C’s Inc. and previously the senior vice president and general counsel of El Chico Restaurants Inc. Mr. Cuellar’s civic activities include serving as the chair of the Healthy Americas Foundation; secretary of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, and board President of the Friends of the Latino Cultural Center. His board service includes the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas, the YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas, North Texas Food Bank, Austin College Center for Southwestern and Mexican Studies, the Dallas Arboretum, Thanksgiving Square, Dallas Heritage Village, the Senior Source, and Friends of Fair Park.

Carolyn Miller

Carolyn Miller has donated much of her civic life to community building, philanthropy, and volunteerism. Among other causes, she is an advocate for education, social justice and older adults issues. She is an active volunteer and supporter of a number of non-profit organizations including The Senior Source, Shelter Ministries of Dallas (Genesis Women’s Shelter and Austin Street Center), Café Momentum, New Friends New Life, Goodwill Industries of Dallas, Trinity River Audubon Center, Texan by Nature and March of Dimes. She is a member of First United Methodist Church.

Dr. Lottye Lyle

Armed with a master's degree in special education and a PhD in education administration, Lottye blazed trails in North Texas by developing one of only 5 public school special education programs chosen for statewide implementation in Texas. She brought Special Olympics programs for students in the Richardson ISD, implemented the first on-campus educational program for pregnant girls in Dallas County, developed the first public early childhood education program for developmentally challenged 3 to 5 year olds in Dallas County and formed the first cooperative vocation training programs for delayed adolescents in Dallas County.

Lottye has returned to volunteer life again, helping with projects for the National Council of Jewish Women-Greater Dallas Section , Hope Cottage, Visiting Nurse Association, SMU Central University Library and Temple Emanu-El.

Dr. Bobby Lyle

Bobby Lyle is Founder and Chairman of Lyco Holdings Incorporated, a Dallas based private investment firm. His commitment to education is matched by his unwavering dedication to community service. He is past vice chair of The Salvation Army National Advisory Board and a Life Member and former vice chair of its DFW Metroplex Command Advisory Board. He is a Life Member and past president of Circle Ten Council-Boy Scouts of America and recently completed service as a trustee of the Council’s Foundation. He is current chair of the Council’s $90 million Centennial Campaign. He is a trustee and immediate past vice chair of the Trinity Trust Foundation; chairman of the Texas Trees Foundation; trustee of Communities Foundation of Texas; trustee of the W.W. Caruth, Jr. Foundation; and past director of Volunteer Now. Lyle has served as president of the Dallas Assembly, president of the Center for Nonprofit Management, and trustee for the Retina Foundation. Twice a finalists for the Linz Award, he has received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas, Volunteer Center of North Texas, and Dallas Historical Society and was inducted into the Dallas Business Hall of Fame in 2013. He is past President and Chairman of the Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation. In 2013, the American Jewish Committee recognized him with its Dallas Human Relations Award for philanthropy and leadership. In 2014 he received the Robert S. Folsom Leadership Award from the Methodist Health System Foundation. In April, 2016, the worldwide head of The Salvation Army, General Andre Cox, presented him with The Order of Distinguished Auxiliary Service Award, one of the Army’s highest honors for volunteer service, before an audience of 2900 people in Phoenix, Arizona. He is also an Honorary Colonel in The Salvation Army, a very rare distinction among Army volunteers.