June 20, 2005
Mayor Henry Garrett Addressing College’s GED Graduates on June 23
Keynote speaker to share his experiences as a GED graduate from Del Mar
Over 170 students will receive their General Education Development (GED) certificates
from Del Mar College on June 23. Their accomplishment is not a small one. For
many of these students, the first step to complete the program was a hard one.
But after Thursday night, they’ll begin moving toward a better future after
receiving the equivalent of a high school diploma.
As a former Del Mar GED graduate himself, Mayor Henry Garrett will serve as
this year’s keynote speaker. The mayor will share with graduates his own
educational experience and talk about the importance of pursuing education for
a better way of life.
The commencement ceremony begins at 7 p.m. in the East Campus Gymnasium, facing
Baldwin Blvd. For a campus map, interested individuals can go online to www.delmar.edu/maps/east.html.
For further information about Del Mar College’s GED program and the ceremony,
call 698-1781.
On April 2, 2005, voters elected life-long resident Henry Garrett as mayor of
the City of Corpus Christi. With 70 percent of the votes, he became a shoe-in
for his first two-year term. Mayor Garrett is a proven leader in the community
with a record of 42 years of public service, including serving as a Corpus Christi
police officer and in the police reserves to becoming Chief of Police of the
Corpus Christi Police Department to sitting on the City Council as Member At-large.
Additionally, the mayor served six years in the U.S. Air Force Reserves.
Mayor Garrett presides over the City Council with authority to establish meeting
agendas. He also serves as a member of the Transportation Policy Committee for
the Metropolitan Planning Organization and is a member of the Executive Board
of the Workforce Development Corporation. Additionally, Mayor Garrett appoints
all members to the Housing Authority Board, Arts and Cultural Commission, Human
Relations Commission, Museum of Science and History Board, Workforce Development
Board and Oil and Gas Advisory Committee.
The mayor represents Corpus Christi as a board member of the Texas Municipal
League. He is also an ex-officio, voting director of the Corpus Christi Regional
Economic Development Corporation and an ex-officio, non-voting member of the
city’s Convention and Visitors Bureau.
In 2000, he strongly supported a Bond Issue, which included $30.8 million for
general improvements and a 1/8-cent sales tax for a multi-purpose arena. In
April 2001, he supported passage of the Tax Increment Finance Zone for the construction
and maintenance of Packery Channel. In 2002, Mayor Garrett also supported the
voter approved 1/8-cent sales tax for Economic Development, which included Whataburger
Field.
Last year, voters approved $95 million in bond projects, including $68 million
in street repairs and $11 million for the Bayfront Master Plan, a project that
Mayor Garrett has supported throughout his terms as a City Council member.
-DMC-mce