Story by Cary L. Griffin; Photos by Judy Griffin, Forney Messenger.

The City of Forney honored former Mayor Darrell Grooms with an appreciation party Sunday afternoon, May 31, at City Hall.

After an invocation, there was a short program. It began with recently-seated Mayor Darren Rozell presenting Grooms’ son, Will, with a symbolic key to the city. Next, Mayor Rozell read and presented Grooms with a copy of a proclamation commemorating Grooms’ tenure as Mayor—a post Grooms held for three two-year terms before choosing not to re-run for fourth term this year.

As he reviewed Grooms’ six years as Mayor, Rozell noted that Grooms led the city during a period of rapid growth and resulting strong economic development. Recently, Grooms was instrumental in getting the Texas Legislature to consider and pass the first bill ever filed on behalf of the City of Forney—a bill enabling Forney to establish a taxing parks district. Later, Rozell pointed that Grooms had served the City of Forney for a total of 12 years, including six years on the City Council along with his six years as Mayor—a whopping 25 per cent of his entire lifetime.

In appreciation for Grooms’ years of service to the city, Rozell presented Grooms with a commemorative past Mayor’s gavel and plaque. In addition, Mayor Pro Tem James Hatley presented Grooms with a gift certificate for two to a bed and breakfast in the Texas Hill Country, and Hatley’s wife, Kathy, presented Grooms’ wife, Cherri, with a gift certificate to a spa. Hatley presented Will with a child’s goodie box. The gifts were in appreciation for Grooms’ years of service to the city from City Council members and the city staff.

A time for refreshments and reminiscing followed the program. The appreciation party began at approximately 2:00 p. m. and ended at 4:00 p. m.

---

This story and any accompanying photo(s) were originally published in the Forney Messenger and are Copyright © 2009, Forney Messenger, Inc. and have been used by permission. The Forney Messenger is the publisher of Kaufman County’s oldest newspaper and may be found online at www.ForneyMessengerInc.com

Welcome to Twenty Peaceful Minutes (20PM) - a community website for Forney, Texas. In addition to this blog, 20PM is home to the Forney discussion forums, which you may reach by clicking the Forney discussion forum link or going to http://20pm.net/forums; also, considering signing up for email or newsreader (RSS feed) notifications of new posts to the 20PM blog!