By Treva Harper, candidate for Amarillo City Council Place 2
I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself. In the many places I have spoken, I have given snippets of my life. This is an attempt to give a more rounded picture of who I am.
My mother grew up in Canyon, Texas, graduating from Canyon High School. My mother was introduced to my father through her sister’s boyfriend who later became my uncle. He was attending the same seminary school as my father. Upon marriage, my mother moved to live with my dad and after a few years in Michigan they settled in Ohio. There they raise their 9 children, of whom I am the youngest.
My father and a pair of his brothers served in World War II. Likewise, one sister and four of my brothers (one served in the Vietnam war) have served in the military, along with many nephews. When the Second Gulf War broke out I had 8 or 9 nephews stationed in the Middle East. Among them is 2 Purple Hearts and one Gold Star, received by my nephew Justin Blackwell. My second son served in the Marine Corp Reserves.
Among my siblings there are truckers, military personnel, musicians, stay at home mothers, loggers, medical professionals, and laborers. I myself have worked in the Food Service profession most of my life, having worked every position from dishwasher to manager. I have also worked for a Convenience store promoting to Assistant manager. I have also worked as a Bookkeeper/Office Manager. Many times I have worked two jobs to make ends meet.
I was born in Dover, Ohio March 14, 1966. I have lived in five different states. I moved from one to another for a variety of reasons. Divorce, both my parents and my own as well as a sense of restlessness that I wrestled with when I was a young woman. When I moved to Amarillo I had not planned on staying here long, but that changed when my mother came to live with me.
I moved to Amarillo in June of 2001. In 2003 my mother came to live with me here in Amarillo, granting her longtime desire to return to the Texas Panhandle. Sadly, one month after her arrival she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. During the next five years I cared for as I watched her slowly lose herself. It was quite a challenging time for my family.
My parents raised me with a strong work ethic, respect for what belongs to others and an innate sense of integrity. Those three attributes are what I bring to the City Council with me: a willingness to work hard for Amarillo, respect for the citizens’ tax dollars, and the integrity to never sell out the people of Amarillo for my own personal gain.
