Senior Center & Library Help DeSoto Win TML Risk Pool Partnership Award
The Texas Municipal League, which is meeting in Houston, Texas, for its 109th Annual Conference and Exhibition, has presented the City of DeSoto with its TML Risk Pool Partnership Award for helping DeSoto Seniors and other residents navigate the often confusing COVID-19 vaccination registration process. The recognition was made Thursday morning, October 7th, at the TML Health and Risk Pools’ Breakfast during the convention.
TML elaborated on the recognition in a Thursday morning press release stating, “City of Desoto, Texas, staff stepped up to help elderly and other residents navigate the COVID-19 vaccination process. The TML IRP Partnership Award was presented to the City for exhibiting exemplary service to the community, strengthening the bond between risk pool partners, and espousing the core values of integrity, public service, fiscal responsibility, and operational excellence.”
‘DeSoto is at Its Best When Adversity is At Its Worst’
The Texas Municipal League’s Scott Houston presented the award to the City of DeSoto’s delegation which included Mayor Rachel L. Proctor, Mayor Pro Tem Andre’ Byrd, Councilmembers Dinah Marks, Letitia Hughes, and Crystal Chism, and City Manager Brandon Wright. The award was accepted on DeSoto’s behalf by Mayor Proctor.
“Showing personal initiative and caring deeply about our residents are two traits that are common among the DeSoto workforce, so I am proud but not surprised by those who did so much during the pandemic to help protect our high-risk residents,” said Mayor Proctor who added, “When adversity is at its worst, DeSoto is at its best and that’s why DeSoto rises!”
The City of DeSoto’s Senior Activity Center and the DeSoto Public Library were singled out by TML for DeSoto’s outstanding vaccination assistance efforts. Senior Center Manager Dianca McGhee drew praise for including vaccination details in the Center’s newsletter and for assisting Seniors with online registration.
They also noted that as many as 15 librarians from the DeSoto Public Library were assigned to assist those residents who didn’t have internet access by helping them get online and register at the library via their public computers. Both organizations also held in-person registration events with Dallas County HHS representatives which in some cases produced same-day vaccination appointments.
The Texas Municipal League Intergovernmental Risk Pool is an intergovernmental, risk-sharing partnership, formed in 1974 by the members of the Texas Municipal League for the purpose of offering workers’ compensation, liability, and property protection to Texas political subdivisions. The Pool now partners with over 2,800 local governments.
