As in Dr. Elba Garcia and Domingo Garcia West Dallas Stem School. I was among the crowd of the over one hundred well-wishers that attended the official renaming ceremony on May 14th. Among the people in attendance were local elected officials, area educators that included Dallas ISD superintendent Stephanie S. Elizalde and the former superintendent Michael Hinjosa. As well community partners SMU and Toyota sent representatives However, of all in attendance most important to the honorees must have been having their mothers in attendance along with their two sons.
Before the honorees were presented and given their time to speak at least seven others spoke. And while some people, especially politicians are known for being long-winded (No Offense) this group respected all our time. The common thread among all that spoke was that the Garcias’ deserved this honor for their lifelong commitment to West Dallas and Dallas in general. In addition, they added that it is important for named public facilities to reflect the community they serve.
Once all the preliminaries were dispensed with, Dr. Elba Garcia was the first to address the waiting crowd. Dr. Garcia shared a little about her journey from Mexico to Dallas and now this stage. Most interesting to many was her chance meeting of her follow honoree and husband of almost forty years. They meet in Mexico which led to her journey to Texas. Dr. Garcia earned her Doctorate in odontology in 1984 from the Unviversidad Autonoma Metropolitan. When she immigrated to Texas Dr Garcia attended the Baylor College of Dentistry to recertify. Dr. Garcia went on to also serve as an assistant professor of Dentistry there as well.
Today she owns a private practice in Dallas and serves as the county commissioner for District 4 after serving on the city council District 1. Dr. Garcia thanked all for the honor and sees this as a continuation of service to community.
Domingo Garcia then spoke and joked that he feels he should be dead to receive such a high honor. Mr. Garcia grew up in the Dallas area and participated in team sports as well as in Golden Gloves boxing. He graduated from the University of North Texas in 1980 and received his Juris Doctor from Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshal School of Law in 1983. He was awarded a scholarship to attend the El Colegio de Mexico in Mexico City. It was there that according to what he shared at the ceremony he met and later married Dr. Elba Garcia. He laughably said that she (Dr. Garcia) had a good eye (paraphrasing) for spotting his potential. It worked for both, as stated before this November it will forty years. And not just marriage but a partnership that luckily for the Dallas community and beyond continues to this day.
They truly have partnership in service to others, which has led to receiving the honor of having a school named for them. And not just any school no, this school is special. This school will be providing the educational foundation for tomorrows Scientists, Doctors, and Engineers and more. Yes, this a special school indeed and so are Dr. Elba Garcia and Domingo Garcia. Congratulations to them for this well-deserved honor. West Dallas will now shine even brighter.
By. A. Govea (Some information above from published reports and personal knowledge)
(Domingo Garcia has served as Dallas Mayor pro-tem as well as a Texas State Representative, he is a successful injury attorney committed to seeking justice for all. In addition, he serves as LULAC National president)