Dorothy Drones receives Odis Dolton Good Neighbor Award

Dorothy Drones, the first Black president of the Abilene Woman's Club Foundation, was given the 2021 Odis Dolton Good Neighbor Award at the end of Mayor Anthony Williams' State of the City address Sunday night.

Dolton, who was assistant director of code compliance and the Office of Neighborhood Services for the city of Abilene, died in 2019.

More: Abilene's Odis Dolton was everyone's friend

His was a lifetime of work "to unite, support and lift up so many people in our community," Williams said.

The award was created in 2020 as a way to keep his work and memory alive and to celebrate those who "reach across community lines to improve the lives of others and build the best Abilene," he said.

Impressive legacy

Williams said he had spoken with Drones through the years and had been "impressed with the number of things" she had done in Abilene.

Her recognition Sunday was for her work with the Abilene Woman's Club Foundation, which has been in the community since 1926, he said.

Drones said she was honored to receive the award, adding she had known Dolton's family for many years.

"(He) was a great role model in the community," Drones said. "I've always watched his work, and I've been around him when he communicated with others, and he did a tremendous job."

Dolton was a man that saw everyone as important and treated everyone as a neighbor, she said.

Surviving and thriving

On her receiving the award on behalf of the Woman's Club, Drones said the organization had weathered much through the years, including in 2018 the possibility it could close.

"But a group of women at a book club decided that no, we cannot let it go this way," she said. "So they came together, and since then, we've been working together to make sure that the (club) is a vital part of the community."

Drones said when she was asked to be the group's president, she was honored that they put their trust in her.

She and other members have been focused on unity, togetherness and making the group the "best club ever," she said.

"We've created diversity within our club," she said, describing its members as "dedicated women" who want it to thrive.

Fitting honor

Williams said that during the month of March, when the contributions of women are celebrated, it was "fitting" Drones receive the award, stating she "represents all that is good in Abilene."

Drones again lauded her fellow club members, as well as all other "dedicated women here in Abilene."

She said the group has a "wonderful time," including a recent fashion show at which her fellow club members looked "amazing."

Gallery: A Century of Style: The Abilene Woman's Club's Historical Fashion Show

The group's theme this year, she said, is "Continuing to Move Forward Together."

"Abilene is changing," she said. "I came here in 1967 from Japan. I was so amazed when I got here. But I want you to know that Abilene has come a long way. We still have work to do."

But she told Williams that with "men like you and (the) women of the Abilene Woman's Club, the people that they are, we will make it."

Williams is the community's first Black mayor.

Annette Lerma of the Abilene-Taylor County Public Health District won last year's award for her work shepherding her department during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brian Bethel covers city and county government and general news for the Abilene Reporter-News. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Dorothy Drones receives Odis Dolton Good Neighbor Award