Jenny Thompson, Melissa Duffield, Susan Morgan and Jenny Littlefield
Susan Morgan visited Lake Highlands Women’s League members last week to discuss her new book, Build a Bridge to Somewhere: A Guide to Community Volunteering. She shared lessons learned from two decades leading the charge to raise the new Skillman Street Arch Bridge over LBJ Freeway.
Austin Wood has written a great piece about the nuts and bolts of that journey, so watch for Advocate’s March issue to hit your front porch. I won’t duplicate his fine work, but I will share some of Morgan’s takeaways about leadership, volunteerism and perseverance. Her lessons were hard-won.
And, like most good stories, this one began with a good-natured buttinsky.
Morgan and a few other volunteers were wrapping up a planning meeting at Cindi’s New York Deli during the early days of their work on the LBJ-Skillman Interchange Task Force and brainstorming ways to improve the hourglass-shaped dual intersections at Skillman and Audelia. With the help of engineers, transportation experts and other knowledgeable minds, they’d concluded that a “flyover bridge” across I-635 East was the best solution. That’s when a man seated at another table made his way over and apologized for eavesdropping.
“My name is Tip Housewright,” he said. “I’m a commercial architect living in Lake Highlands, and you don’t want a flyover bridge.”
His helpful intrusion began a long and beneficial relationship which resulted in his drafting the plan for our neighborhood’s “Skillman Spaghetti Bowl” replacement: two perpendicular intersections — one north and one south of LBJ. Instead of traffic “flying over” and killing community retail, area businesses would keep their vital visibility.
Sarah Walne Hefton’s father, Alan, was D10 Councilman when Morgan began her journey to build the bridge.
“What do we know about Lake Highlands? If you need help, people are willing to help you,” Morgan recognized over and over again during the 20-year process required to bring the bridge to fruition. “I was amazed that people that just raised their hand and said, ‘Oh, sure, I can help you with that.’ If it’s something people are familiar with, they’ll be glad to help you figure that out.”
Morgan was deferential as she spoke to Women’s League members, fresh off their home tour which raised $236,595 for local schools, nonprofit agencies and college scholarships and their season spent donating hundreds of volunteer hours in our neighborhood, but the women sat riveted on the edges of their seats.
“It is not lost on me that I have been asked to come here today and talk about volunteering in the community,” Morgan laughed. “I am standing in front of one of the premier women’s volunteer organizations in this entire city.”
Preparing people to be leaders is a billion-dollar, worldwide industry, but Morgan believes the core principles are fairly simple.
“One of the things you have to do is listen. If you listen enough, you will find out from the experts what you should do. The other thing is personal integrity. If you say you’re going to do something, you’d better do it, because the next time you say it, if you haven’t built that reputation, you’re going to have a tough time getting people to follow you.”
She also stressed that major projects, such as the Skillman Bridge, need a champion.
“Politicians go in and out of office. Neighbors move. People retire. But it was critical to build continuity through the whole thing.”
Then, of course, she faced the monumental task of funding the project.
“There’s always money somewhere,” she said. “You guys have fundraising down pat, but raising money for a public project is a little bit different.”
Morgan saved the best news for last. She admitted that the Texas Department of Transportation’s bailiwick isn’t landscaping, and she pointed to problematic plantings along Central Expressway to prove it.
“What they do now is take a portion of every construction project and set aside money for landscape opportunities. It’s called the Green Ribbon Project.”
Green Ribbon was designed to enhance corridor aesthetics along Texas highways while addressing air quality and stormwater management concerns. The program has provided for the planting of more than 2 million trees across our state.
Vicky Taylor, executive director of the Lake Highlands Public Improvement District, will spearhead the effort, coordinating with TXDOT and the city of Dallas. She’ll have $1.7 million to spend beautifying the area along 635 when construction is complete.
You may purchase Morgan’s ebook or paperback on Amazon.
Skillman Arch Bridge over LBJ