Clyde Allen Jr. Community leader Clyde Allen Jr. is ready to face the fire at the second annual Living Legends of Kingsville Roast and Toast sponsored by Communities in Schools.

The event will be held January 16 at the Texas A&M University-Kingsville Student Union Building Ballrooms.

The social hour begins at 6 p.m. followed by dinner served at 7 p.m.

Seven community members, including Mayor Sam Fugate, who was last year’s honoree, will roast Allen as the 2010 honoree.

This year’s theme will be “Goin’ Fishin’ and fishing attire is encouraged for those who attend.

“I’ve lived such a pure life that I don’t know of any negative things that could be said about me,” Allen said with a smile.

All joking aside, Allen said he is grateful to be a part of the event that benefits the Kingsville Communities in Schools program.

“I am very honored to raise funds for such a great organization,” Allen said.

Allen was born in 1933 in Kingsville. As a life long resident of Kingsville, he is well known and respected as a community and business leader.

He owned and operated Allen Furniture for several decades before his retirement.

Throughout his life, Allen has been involved in many leadership roles, and he has received numerous awards for that leadership.

He served as a member of the Kleberg Bank board of directors from 1968 to 2004 and was president of the bank in 1997.

Allen acknowledged that perhaps one of the greatest honors bestowed upon him was the establishment of a scholarship at Texas A&M University-Kingsville in his name by Kleberg Bank.

The scholarship was announced at a luncheon honoring Allen held in 2008 at Texas A&M-Kingsville.

Joe Henkel, Kleberg Bank president, praised Allen for his successes and contributions to the community.

Henkel said the bank established the Clyde M. Allen Jr. Scholarship Fund to serve as a perpetual memorial to the good works by Allen and to remind people for generations to come, who Clyde is.

“This strong gentle man has a spirited commitment to justice, integrity, philanthropy and people; he has been a faithful steward of this community for all his life,” Henkel said at the luncheon.

Allen is a past president of the Rotary Club of Kingsville, past president of the local Salvation Army Chapter, past president of the South Texas Water Authority, serving on the board from 1979 to 1995, and a Kingsville Independent School District board member for six years.

Allen has served as past president of both the Kingsville Chamber of Commerce and the Kingsville unit of the American Cancer Society.

He has served on the Texas A&M University- Kingsville’s President’s Circle, the Kingsville Area Economic Development Council Board of Directors, and was a board member of the Kingsville-Kleberg County Park Board for eight years.

Allen received the Better Business Bureau’s Torch award in 2005 for his lifetime dedication to customers and the community and in 2008 had an honorary scholarship fund created in his name from Kleberg Bank in order to ensure that his life is never forgotten.

He is a long time member of the Church of Epiphany, Episcopal, where he has served on the vestry many times. He has served as a Senior Warden, a Sunday school teacher, and conducted chapel for Epiphany Day School when the church priest was not available.

Allen and his wife of 53 years, Judy, a native of Jackson, Mississippi, have three daughters Suzanna (Mark) Hawkins of Midland, Ellen (Steve) Brogdon of Ft. Worth, and Allison (Mark) Torgove of Woodland Hills, California. They have eight grandsons and two granddaughters.

He said he has enjoyed being involved in the different civic and social organizations over the years and feels honored for being recognized for his participation.

“I pride myself on being asked to participate in events such as this Roast and Toast; people always want to be recognized for their good deeds and it feels great. I’m looking forward to it,” he said.

Stanley Laskowski, Kingsville City Commissioner and Living Legends of Kingsville 2010 board member cited the reason Allen was selected as the honoree for this event.

“Clyde is a lifelong resident of Kingsville and is part of a tradition. We like to recognize those who have worked hard in this community and who continue to be involved. Mr. Allen is a great example of that; he is not a watcher but a doer,” Laskowski said.

Jeannette Price, CIS Kingsville Case Manager, said that last year’s event was sold out and they are hoping this year it will be the same.

“Tickets are still available at the Kingsville Chamber of Commerce and will be sold until they are all gone,” she said.

There will be a silent and live auction with items donated from the community and businesses in the area including Corpus Christi.

Individual tickets are $30 or a table of 8 is $200.

The reception begins at 6 p.m. and dinner will be served at 7 p.m.

To go along with the, “Goin’ Fishin’” theme, the main course, Surf-n- Turf, will include steak and seafood.

“Your best fishing attire is encouraged,” said one of the organizers.

Anyone in the audience who would like to participate in roasting Allen will have an opportunity to do so for a fee. All money raised from ticket sales, sponsorships, and auctions will stay in Kingsville and will be spent to benefit children of the program and community Tickets may also be purchased by calling Jessica Gomez, (361) 675-6150 or Jeannette Price, (361) 675- 0319.