Maverick County Water Control & Improvement District No. 1 hosts Name Dedication Ceremony of the Travis D. Kelly Hydroelectric Power Plant
By: Miguel Munoz, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2016
The Maverick County Water Control & Improvement District No. 1 Board of Directors will host the official Name Dedication Ceremony of the Travis D. Kelly Hydroelectric Power Plant on Friday, November 4, 2016, at 9 A.M. at the actual site of the Hydroelectric Plant located at 264 Power Plant Road in Eagle Pass, Texas, announced Javier Mancha, Board President of the MCWCID No. 1. The public is cordially invited to attend the Name Dedication Ceremony and a reception following the ceremony at the MCWCID No. 1 Headquarters located at 1622 Maverick Industrial Park Blvd. in Eagle Pass, Texas inside the Maverick County Industrial Park (Radar Base).
The historic MCWCID No. 1 Hydroelectric Power Plant was built in 1932 and will now carry the namesake of former MCWCID No. 1 Board President Travis D. Kelly after the name dedication ceremony. Kelly served 12 years on the MCWCID No. 1 Board of Directors, including six years as Board President, four years as Board Secretary, and two years as a Board member.
“Travis D. Kelly was instrumental in the acquisition of the Hydroelectric Power Plant by the MCWCID No. 1 and under his leadership acquired the power plant and completed paying it off early, saving MCWCID No. 1 members millions of dollars in interest payments,” said Board President Javier Mancha. “Kelly also led the MCWCID No. 1 to acquiring Renewable Energy Credits for the electricity generated by the hydroelectric power plant, saving millions of dollars to District farmers and ranchers,” added Mancha. “It is appropriate that the MCWCID No. 1 Hydroelectric Power Plant be named in honor of past Board President Travis D. Kelly,” said Mancha.
The MCWCID No. 1 Board of Directors approved the naming of the hydroelectric power plant in honor of former Board President Travis D. Kelly at their regular meeting held on June 14, 2016 by unanimous consent. The MCWCID No. 1 Board of Directors include President Javier Mancha, Vice-President Gabriel Garcia, Secretary Yolanda L. Mauricio, and Board members Beyer Junfin and Juan Manuel Garcia, Jr. MCWCID No. 1 General Manager is Cynthia Martinez.
Travis D. Kelly was born in Terry County, Texas to the late E.R. Kelly and Ethel Kelly. He is the middle child and had an older brother, Carlton Kelly, and a younger sister, Ernestine Kelly. Travis D. Kelly and his family moved to Quemado, Texas in 1934 and became farmers there. He attended elementary school at the former Quemado Public School, now known as the Kirchner Elementary School. He graduated from Eagle Pass High School in 1949 and enrolled at Kilgore Junior College, but volunteered in the United States Army in 1951 during the Korean War. He rose to Sergeant First Class and was stationed in Germany and honorably discharged in 1953.
Kelly has enjoyed farming and ranching in Quemado, Texas since the 1930s. After his honorable discharge in 1953, Kelly worked as a Maverick County Deputy Sheriff for Quemado and served under five Sheriffs, including Sheriff Stevenson, Sheriff Annie Stevenson, Sheriff Pete Rossi, Sheriff J.A. “Bean” Salinas, and Sheriff Tom Bowles. He served 30 years with the Maverick County Sheriff’s Department as the Quemado Deputy Sheriff and as a Court Bailiff for District Court in Maverick County.
Kelly enjoyed working with the youth of Maverick County and its Future Farmers of America and 4-H Club through numerous years as a volunteer with the Maverick County Junior Livestock Show and Sale Association, including service as Board President and Show Ring Spotter during the annual Junior Livestock Show Sale. He also volunteered in several non-profit organizations in Maverick County.
Travis D. Kelly is married to Olivia Kelly for 28 years. He had two children born to him during his first marriage, a son, Terry, deceased, and a daughter, Cathy.
“The public is invited to attend the Name Dedication Ceremony of the Travis D. Kelly Hydroelectric Power Plant and reception this Friday, November 4th, at the hydroelectric power plant,” said MCWCID No. 1 General Manager Cynthia Martinez.
