In memory of Betty Teel Bivins Lovell (1919-2008)
Our 2010-2011 CASA Connection is dedicated with deep respect and gratitude to this outstanding Mother/Son team.
Both Betty Bivins and her husband, Lee Truscott Bivins were natives of Amarillo. She graduated Amarillo High School where she was a cheerleader and valedictorian of her graduating class. Betty's younger years were filled with raising four active sons (Levi, Teel, Tom and Mark) and starting a lifetime of volunteerism. One of her first efforts was organizing friends to needlepoint new covers for the kneelers at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. She was the first woman to serve on teh board of First National Bank. She also served on teh West Texas Board of Regents, as well as boards of Amarillo Museum of Art, Harrington Discovery Center, United Way, Lone Star Ballet, Texas Association of Museums, Amarillo Speech & Hearing Center, Llano Cemetery, Don & Sybil HArrington Cancer Center and Wildcat Bluff Nature Center. According to her son, Mark, "She was as loving a person as you could ever meet. I don't think I can find anyone who didn't have something positive to say about her. She always put someone else's interest above hers." In considering all of Mrs. Bivins' accoplishments, raising four outstanding sons who shared her love of service to others was probably her finest contribution to us all.
In memory of Ambassador Miles Teel Bivins (1947-2009)
Ambassador Miles Teel Bivins personified the desire his parents had for the continuation of the Bivins legacy. He graduated from Tulane before receiving a law degree from S.M.U. After college, Teel returned to Amarillo and entered the cattle business with his brothers, Tom and Mark. Beginning in 1989, he served five terms in the Texas Senate for District 31. There he worked on many committee, the Education Committee, co-chair of the Interim Committee on Public School Finance, and many others. He also instituted tort reform in Texas. Senator Bivins was named Legislative Honor Roll by the Texas District and County Attorneys Association, and in 1992 he received the Legislative Leadership Award from the Texas Chamber of Commerce. After the 75th legislative session in 1997, he was named by Texas Monthly as one of the 10best legislators. His contributions to political and higher education were recognized by WTAMU through the Teel Bivins Professor of Political Science Endowed Chair. The scholarship fund he established through Amarillo Area Foundation has helped countless students obtain a college education. In 2004, Senator Bivins was appointed U.S. Ambassador to the kingdom of Sweden by President George W. Bush. He served in that capacity until 2006 when illness forced him to resign from public office and return to Texas.
In memory of Mary Tom Rasco Crain (1918 - 2009)