[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 5933]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         MAYOR DONNIE McMANNES

                                  _____
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 29, 2015

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, after ten years in office, City of 
Humble, Texas Mayor Donnie McMannes will officially bring his stellar 
public career to an end next month. His tireless efforts have improved 
our community, and it is with great pleasure that I express my 
admiration, gratitude and respect to a hometown hero and committed 
public servant.
  Donnie was born in Houston and spent much of his childhood in the 
Heights area before moving with his mother to Humble in 1945 and 
attending Charles Bender High School, where he became a football star 
before graduating in 1953.
  After graduating high school, he married his high school sweetheart, 
Georgia. He was soon drafted into the U.S. Army. His love for football 
continued while in the service when he played football for the Army in 
Germany in what was called the Rhine Conference. In 1955, his team went 
undefeated and won the Rhine Conference Championship.
  After completing his service in the Army, Donnie returned home to 
Texas and to his wife, Georgia. At the age of 23, he joined the City of 
Houston Police Department.
  For 27 years, Donnie put on the badge to protect and serve 
Houstonians. His long career at HPD included assignments in patrol, 
investigator, and narcotics. He was promoted to detective in the 
Burglary and Theft Division, where he served for fourteen years. After 
retiring from HPD, he continued his career as a Texas lawman, working 
ten more years for Constable Walter Rankin's Precinct One Constable 
Office. He is a lifetime member of what I refer to as the ``Poe-
leece''--a group of my friends in the Texas law enforcement community.
  Donnie is the epitome of civil servant. After officially retiring 
from law enforcement in 1995, Donnie decided to become more actively 
involved in local government and ran for the position of Council Member 
with the City of Humble. He served on the Humble City Council for 10 
years. He then decided to run for mayor in 2005 and has spent the last 
10 years as its mayor.
  Under his leadership, he's overseen many successful projects through 
the Humble City Council, including bringing the City out of debt and 
into a surplus. Mayor McMannes has given Humble financial flexibility 
and the ability to start and complete projects, noting that the 
projects are always ``paid for by cash.''
  Congress could certainly stand to gain from following in Mayor 
McMannes' commonsense, fiscally responsible footsteps. In addition, 
working alongside many of his Humble-born and bred friends from the 
'50s, the City of Humble recently finished managing a total restoration 
project on the old Charles Bender High School building turning it into 
the new Charles Bender High School Performing Arts Center. As an alum 
of Charles Bender High School, this project was close to Mayor 
McMannes' heart, and appropriately, the new facility is immersed in 
important memories and milestones in Humble's rich roots.
  On behalf of the Second Congressional District, I thank Mayor 
McMannes for his service and wish him and Georgia nothing but the best 
in their future endeavors.
  As a resident of Humble, I can tell you that his presence in the city 
government will be missed. As Donnie likes to say, ``I'm Texas born, 
Texas bred, and I'll be Texas dead right here on Main Street.''
  And that's just the way it is.

                          ____________________