Houston Partner Linda Schoonmaker to be Honored at this Year's Fort Bend Regional Council's Annual Helen Cordes Awards Ceremony

Each year Fort Bend Regional Council (FBRC) honors a leader within Fort Bend County by presenting him or her with the Helen Cordes Award. The honoree for 2012 is Linda Schoonmaker, a long-time Fort Bend County resident and former FBRC Board President. Several decades ago Helen Cordes, then President of the Board, called Linda to service at FBRC requesting to hire her on as the Council’s attorney in some legal matters. Linda agreed, but graciously declined to accept payment for her services. Linda continued her service to FBRC as its pro bono attorney for a number of years until 2004 when she joined the Board of Directors. Mrs. Schoonmaker served as a member of the Board from 2004-2010 and as the Board President from 2006-2008. Linda was recognized as a Hometown Hero by the Houston Texans and the Halliburton Foundation for her work on the FBRC Board in 2009. While serving as the Board Chair of the FBRC Development Committee in 2010, Linda fulfilled her long-time goal of establishing an annual event for FBRC that would both recognize Helen Cordes’s passion for FBRC’s mission and raise funds to help fulfill that mission. That event, the Helen Cordes Award Luncheon, is now in its third year. Linda was chosen to receive the Helen Cordes Award this year because of her steadfast devotion to countless FBRC projects and because she is a trusted partner in substance abuse prevention in our community.