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F.L. "Steve" and Pollyanna Stephens
1999 Honorary Alumni |
F.L. "Steve" and Pollyanna Stephens have been active, generous volunteers in the
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San Angelo community and Texas for the past twenty-five years. Both of these outstanding individuals have been professionally successful as well. Recently, Steve retired as chairman and CEO of Town and Country Food Stores, and Pollyanna also retired from the company as the Director of Public Relations and Special Events. In 1965, Stephens and Harold Gibbs, a former Town and Country employee, purchased six Town and Country Stores in San Angelo and one in Del Rio from the Austin-based company. When the Austin firm sold the remaining stores, Stephens and Gibbs acquired the Town and Country name. The San Angelo based company eventually purchased Gibbs' interest in the stores. Town and Country employs approximately 1,850 people and has 134 convenience stores in West Texas and eastern New Mexico.
Texas Governor George W. Bush appointed Pollyanna Stephens to the Texas State University System Board of Regents, and she currently serves as the Board Chairman. She is a member of the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts Board of Directors, San Angelo Communities Foundation Board, and is a certified mediator with the San Angelo Mediation Center. Pollyanna has previously served on numerous civic and charitable boards including Volunteers in Public Schools, Rio Concho Manor Retirement Center, West Texas Lighthouse for the Blind, San Angelo Business & Education Coalition, and Fort Concho Museum. She is the past president of the Junior League of San Angelo and Academic Excellence Foundation.
Steve graduated from The University of Texas at Austin in 1962 with a B.A. in economics. He served in the United States Air Force as a Russian linguist for four years. Steve has also been active in professional and civic organizations. He currently is a director of the San Angelo National Bank, West Texas Utilities Company, First Financial Bankshares, Texas Taxpayers and Research Association, Texas Business & Education Coalition, San Angelo Health Foundation, and Schreiner College. He is also a member of the West Texas Training Center Advisory Board. Steve is a past president of the Texas Retail Grocers Association, past chairman of the National Association of Convenience Stores, and has served as president of the Texas Association of Taxpayers, Inc., West Texas Chamber of Commerce, and San Angelo Jaycees. He is a past Tom Green County United Way Chairman and served one elected term on the San Angelo City Council. Steve is one of three coordinating co-chairs of the Governor George Bush Presidential Exploratory Committee Inc. in Tom Green County. He was appointed to the position by Bush and is responsible for helping generate support for the governor as a presidential candidate. Other gubernatorial appointments include his service on the Texas Board of Criminal Justice Forum and Texas Strategic Economic Development Planning Commission Chairman.
Steve and Pollyanna have offered their leadership talents to launch many new projects and events in the West Texas area. They were the first Co-Chairpersons of Fiesta del Concho, and Pollyanna also chaired the First Annual Christmas at Old Fort Concho. The Chamber of Commerce honored the deserving couple by naming them co-recipients of the "1974 Citizen of the Year" award. Pollyanna was recognized as the 1983 YMCA Volunteer of the Year, nominated by the Junior League for State Volunteer of theYear, and was selected to participate in Leadership Texas. Steve has received many professional awards including the 1987 Independent Grocers Hometown Partner of the Year Award and 1988 John Ben Shepperd Leadership Forum Outstanding Texas Leader. Steve was inducted into the Convenience Store Industry Hall of Fame in 1993 and received the 1999 Entrepreneurial Success award from the U.S. Small Business Administration. Steve and Pollyanna have two daughters and sons-in-law, Susan and Randy Brooks, Liz and Devin Bates, and four grandchildren. Susan retired last year from Angelo State University as the Associate Dean of Student Life, but continues to stay involved with the University.
Director of Alumni Relations Sande Harrisons says,"The contributions of Steve and Pollyanna are a rarity - an espoused, dynamic duo who have collectively made an unprecedented mark on ASU, San Angelo, the Concho Valley, and the State of Texas. I hope former students and future alumni of this University will replicate Steve and Pollyanna's visionary posture, supportive demeanor, and loyal spirit for this University. It is an honor for us to call them alumni."
As profiled in the 1999 Fall Alumni Magazine.
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