The Greater Dallas Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) will honor two Westlake residents with gigantic hearts. The 35th annual celebration “The Stars of Texas,” for Dallas’ National Philanthropy Day, VIRTUALLY bringing together area nonprofits, volunteers, funders, foundations, business, and community members to honor this city’s finest who give selflessly in support of numerous worthy causes.
Outstanding Philanthropist(s) Mary and Carl Ice, nominated by The Salvation Army of North Texas, continually inspire others to give both financial support and volunteer leadership to many nonprofits. For years they have generously supported The Salvation Army. Carl is a member of the Army’s National Advisory board and has served as chair of the North Texas Advisory Board, where he played an integral role in creating the organization’s current 10-year vision plan.
At The Salvation Army’s Youth Education Town in Arlington, the music room bears their names in recognition of their generosity to the program which has brought joy to countless children. The Ices also support the Flint Hills Discovery Center; The Lyle School of Engineering at Southern Methodist University; and Kansas State University, where the School of Engineering is named in honor of Carl. The Ices have also long been members of the United Way of Tarrant County’s Tocqueville Society.
Native Kansans, both Mary and Carl graduated from Kansas State University, where Carl was inducted into the College of Engineering Hall of Fame and named the College of Engineering Alumni Fellow. Carl currently chairs the Kansas State University Foundation and Mary serves on the Foundation’s Board of Trustees. The Ices support many other KSU programs, including athletics, the College of Health and Human Sciences, and scholarships.
Mary has also served as chair of the KSU advisory board for the College of Health and Human Sciences in addition to her ongoing board service with the Nature Conservancy in Kansas and the Symphony in the Flint Hills. Mary was instrumental in the founding of the Cats’ Cupboard initiative at K-State that is devoted to promoting food security at KSU by providing direct food access through an on-campus pantry and support through programs that promote health, success, and well-being. Mary was named the first recipient of the Ice-Barrett Champions Award in recognition of her work with Cat’s Cupboard. In addition to their personal philanthropy, Carl has ensured a legacy of giving from BNSF Railway Corporation, where he serves as president and CEO. The couple resides in Westlake and has two children.
“Mary and Carl Ice are servant leaders, who continually answer the call to help those in need,” said Jay Dunn, managing director, The Salvation Army of North Texas. “They perpetually seed funding initiatives that create everlasting impact directly into peoples’ lives and have made it their personal mission to eliminate roadblocks in service with immediate funding relief. It is difficult to think of anyone more deserving of this honor.”
You can watch their virtual acceptance speech here.