8 minute read
Edmond Life and Leisure - July 18, 2024
City honors former Mayor Lamb
I was thrilled to see the Edmond City Council honor our former mayor Charles Lamb in their meeting last week. During its July 8, 2024, meeting, the City Council approved the naming of the conservation easement south of E.C. Hafer Park in honor of former Mayor Charles D. Lamb. The 25-acre parcel now will be known as the Charles D. Lamb Nature Preserve
The council approved a recommendation from the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board to name the 25-acre parcel the Charles D. Lamb Nature Preserve. Private fundraising is planned to support the installation of a commemorative plaque and art piece outside the entrance to the park, honoring Lamb, who passed away in December 2018.
Please understand if you are new to Edmond that folks in this town loved our former mayor. Do not let anyone else try to convince you otherwise. Even folks that did not agree with Lamb respected and admired this long time Edmond resident. I can say that he and I did not always agree on all issues, but he took time to listen and weigh the arguments when anyone would disagree. Too often in politics today, leadership will turn a blind eye to anyone who does not share the same view. That was not the case with Lamb.
“Mayor Lamb was an avid outdoorsman, and it is a great honor to be in a position to help get the parcel of land named in his honor,” Mayor Darrell A. Davis said. “Charles Lamb is part of the fabric of Edmond. He cared about the community. He cared about how Edmond grew and his future. He knew Edmond was going to continue to grow and wanted to properly plan for that. He used his years of experience on the council and in life to help navigate its path to today. His orchestration of the ‘Tomorrow’s Edmond’ plan is a great example. If you look at that document, you will see a lot of the things that Edmond is today, and that Edmond will become in the future.”
That statement by Davis is extremely well put. There is so much that people enjoy about Edmond in 2024 that was started by Lamb and a handful of others. Our quality of life is so good in Edmond due to his efforts and past leadership.
A 1965 graduate of Edmond High School who received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Central State University (now the University of Central Oklahoma), Lamb served the Edmond community for decades through his participation in many organizations and boards. He was the City Council Ward 3 Councilmember for 18 years and served as Mayor for seven years. During his tenure as chairperson of the Urban Forestry Commission, he helped to provide an outline for a proactive approach to develop, maintain, and preserve the city’s forest, both urban and native. He was also instrumental in getting Arcadia Lake built.
Can you imagine our Edmond without Arcadia Lake folks? It just would not be the same place with as good a quality of life. The effort that Lamb put into the building of the lake and getting us released from the federal debt for the project is priceless.
“You hear people talk about the ‘Oklahoma Standard’ – well Charles was the ‘Edmond Standard,’ period,” said David Miller, who served with Mayor Lamb on City Council for 12 years and was a close, personal friend. “Charles never did anything that was not for the greater good of Edmond. His wife (Cheri) often said that he had a heart for service, and nothing could be more true than that. When we lost him, we lost one of Edmond’s greatest advocates.”
In a special election held in October 2021, voters supported the use of a temporary sales tax to be used for the purchase of the parcel. In February 2022, the Mayor and City Council passed a resolution to authorize The Edmond Land Conservancy, Inc. (ELC) to create a conservation easement on the parcel. Lamb always believed in the people’s right to decide issues.
Over the course of the next year and a half, a committee of ELC representatives, citizens, city staff, and UCO professors and students worked to develop the structure and guidelines for the property. In October 2023, details of the conservation easement were approved, which included some minor boundary changes that increased the park size to approximately twenty-five acres. The intent of the easement is that the property shall become and remain a “minimally developed natural area” public park.
Lamb was pretty serious most of the time, but I considered that a challenge to make him laugh. He was just a great friend and helped us to get this paper started 25 years ago. He was fair but always lent a helping hand to us. You could always spot him in Edmond. His uniform was generally shorts (no matter the temperature), a golf shirt and he was riding his motorcycle with helmet of course.
He always had a smile for us and a handshake. It was a pleasure to see him, and he is greatly missed. Thank you, City of Edmond and the council, for honoring Lamb this way.
Tres Amigos announces new season
It has been a bit of a challenge but the not-forprofit production company, Tres Amigo” is back announcing its new season. It is an effort to endow more jazz scholarships for the UCO Foundation. All money other than the direct cost of the entertainer goes back to the UCO Foundation to fund these scholarships. So far, we have two fully funded with a third one on its way. The amigos are unpaid in any shape or form, and should a concert fall short of expenses, we make up the difference. Our spouses are thrilled about that part.
You can purchase individual tickets to the shows or take advantage of a special offer. Here is how chief amigo, David Hornbeek, explains the process:
The Tres Amigos are going to offer everyone the ability to have tickets at the front, second or third row tables, at the UCO Jazz Lab, to every show if you agree to purchase season tickets for all our shows and, ALSO, make an additional (above the cost of each ticket) $125/ticket or $750/table (seats 6) contribution to our scholarship fund.
If you agree to become a “Season Ticket Holder” and make the additional contribution, you will, in return, have the same table for all the shows in that season. Please note, there are only fifteen tables w/ 6 seats each (total of ninety tickets) available in this offer. You do not have to buy a full table to participate. You can buy two, or four, season tickets. But, if you purchase less that a full table, you will be put with others who also do not purchase a full table, as well, to fill the seats.
Also, the additional $125/ticket contribution or $750/table contribution shall be made payable to the “UCO Foundation – Tres Amigos Scholarship Fund,” and it will be a pure contribution to our endowed scholarship fund at the UCO Foundation. All seats/tables (on the first three rows) will be allocated on a “first come paid / first served pick” basis.
It is our hope and desire to raise an additional $7,500 this year with this program and continue to grow our third scholarship. Please contact me at (405) 641-6380 at your earliest convenience if you desire to become a “Season Ticket Holder” and want to make an additional contribution.
The 4 Shows for the TRES AMIGOS season… Fall 2024 through Spring 2025
(and one Re-Scheduled Concert from April) are:
“A Night of Jerry Jeff Music!” with
Django Walker & the last Jerry Jeff Walker Band
Friday, September 6, 2024 – 8:00 PM Tickets $85/each
Django (the son of Jerry Jeff) will be bringing the last Jerry Jeff Walker Band (that toured with his father) to perform all the favorites that you would hear at a Jerry Jeff concert when he was still touring, and to celebrate the incredible legacy of his father!
A Very Special & Intimate Evening with John Pizzarelli
Friday, October 11, 2024 – 8:00 PM
Tickets $85/each
An Intimate Evening with JD Souther - SOLD-OUT!
Friday, November 15, 2024 – 8:00 PM
Tickets $80/each
(NOTE: This is a Re-Scheduled concert from last Spring Season – It is SOLD-OUT!)
Below are the Tres Amigos Concerts after Christmas in the Spring of 2024 Season
– Dates &/or Ticket Prices still to Be Finalized & Determined:
A Very Special Concert featuring “the Songs that were written for Linda Ronstadt” with JD Souther & Karla Bonoff (TOGETHER!)
2 Shows on 2 Nights! currently scheduled for:
Friday March 28, 2025 – 8:00 PM
Tickets $110/each
Saturday March 29, 2025 – 8:00 PM
Tickets $110/each
(Ray Hibbard may be reached for comment at ray@edmondpaper.com.)
