Reprint from the Progress Times - February 29, 2008
©Progress Times 2008 - All Rights Reserved

Pat Townsend Jr., Joe Roseland inducted into Walk of Fame

 

Former Mission Mayor Pat Townsend Jr. and long-time civic leader Joe Roseland will both be inducted into the Hidalgo Borderfest Rio Grande Walk of Fame at a reception dinner to be held Friday, February 29 at the Dodge Arena.

The Rio Grande Walk of Fame, created at the Dodge Arena and unveiled in 2006, honors Valley citizens from all walks of life and celebrates the life, achievements and significant civic contributions of outstanding men and women from communities in the Rio Grande Valley and South Texas. During the induction, nominees are handed bricks with their names inscribed on them. The bricks are then installed around the Dodge Arena’s walkway.

Townsend, whose community contributions range from serving on the Mission Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors for six years and as president in 1983 to being an active member of the Mission Lions Club since 1978, served for five years as Bishop’s Warden at St. Peter and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. He has participated in several medical missions to Honduras, helping to deliver medical care to those in need south of the border. Currently, Townsend serves as the President/CEO of the Mission Economic Development Authority.

Married to the former Jo Beth Sparks of Mission, Townsend has a daughter, Elizabeth who, along with her husband, lives in Dallas. Townsend also has a son, Drew, who is completing a Masters of Entomology degree at the University of Wyoming in Laramie.

Roseland, a fixture in the Mission Consolidated Independent School District (MCISD), will be joining Townsend as Mission’s other nomination. Roseland, who was born in San Antonio, moved to McAllen in 1950. After graduating from McAllen High School in 1963 and the University of Texas Pan American in 1969 he received his Masters degree from Arizona State in 1971. Roseland joined Mission Duncan Insurance in 1975 after two two-year stints as Mission High School teacher and as a real estate agent. Roseland has served on the Mission Lions Club, the Mission School Board, the Mission Chamber of Commerce Board and is currently the President of the Mission Economic Development Council.