Granbury High School art teacher Mike Tabor was the recipient of a top award at the Granbury Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Best of Business Awards Banquet on February 5, 2016, at the Granbury Resort Conference Center.
Tabor was awarded the Howard Clemmons Distinguished Service Award along with Steve and Darlene Mitcham, local business owners and community volunteers. The honors were presented during a 1970’s-themed banquet featuring several awards for local businesses and chamber volunteers.
Pictured above are (left to right) State Senator Brian Birdwell, Chamber Board Chairman Jeff McKenzie, Mike Tabor, Diane Williams representing U.S. Representative Mike Conaway, and State Representative Jim Keffer.
Photo courtesy of Granbury Chamber of Commerce
The Clemmons award goes to persons that most closely represent a former chamber chairman’s unselfish dedication to the chamber and the people of Granbury and Hood County.
Tabor, one of the most respected western expressionistic artists in America, credits pop artists of the 1960s and the impressionist movement for his approach to breaking traditional representations of western themes.
A career that began with drawings of beef cattle for publications has expanded to paintings, sculptures and assemblages, with collectors and corporate affiliations from coast to coast and across Europe.
For the past 23 years, Tabor has shared his passion for art by teaching high school students, many of whom have participated in the Fort Worth Stock Show Art Contest, winning their division 18 of the last 21 years. His leadership continues in other areas, with service on boards such as Texas Farm Bureau, the Glen Rose Rodeo Association and Somervell County Planning Committee. Tabor maintains the family ranch in Hood and Somervell counties.
Tabor’s career highlights include a life-size bronze of Dick and Rick Hoyt commissioned by John Hancock. Over the past three decades, the image of the father pushing his quadriplegic son has become synonymous with Patriots’ Day and their running the Boston Marathon. The sculpture sits on the lawn of Hopkinton (Mass.) School, just yards from the starting line of the annual race.