John M Holland - Community Service

Before John Holland moved to “GP,” he was a member of the Masonic Lodge and the 32nd Degree Scottish Rite in Dallas. His grandfather Holland and great-grandfather Holland had been very active Masons in White County, Arkansas as had his Uncle John.

When John “moved home” to Grand Prairie, however, he threw himself into community service.

He served locally and nationally in the Optimist International civic club, in such capacities as Lieutenant Governor and District Treasurer. In the GP Evening Optimist Club, he held the offices of President, VP, Secretary, and served as a Director on the Board.

The Optimist motto is Friend of Youth and they never had a better friend. The club was already involved in helping to develop the character of the community’s young men when John joined, but he made sure that the girls would be taken care of as well. He sponsored the Young Tex Anns so that they would have an equal opportunity with the boys. After that, John served as Youth Activities Chairman and Youth Club Chairman of the North Texas District.

John was never just a “shirt and tie” volunteer. During every December he would grab a quick supper at home and then head off to the Optimist Christmas tree lot. It rained, the wind blew, and it was down right cold! John still went to the tree lot. If you’ve ever flocked a tree, you know that it is messy work. As a favor to John: Buy your Christmas tree from an Optimist!

Just after John was named the Optimist of the Year (1972-73), the Epsilon Sigma Alpha sorority named him Man of the Year and proclaimed that he was “the Man with 40,000 Sweethearts.”

John helped to create the first drug abuse organization in Grand Prairie including setting up a “hot-line” for anyone seeking help in overcoming a drug problem. He organized, recruited, and supervised the training of the volunteers and even ran the program for the first two years of operation. The program was called HIP – Help is Possible. At the end of the first two years, John persuaded the City of Grand Prairie to sponsor the program and incorporate it into the new community hospital complete with a treatment center.

In 1974, he was the Director of the March of Dimes for the City of Grand Prairie and was awarded a Certificate of Achievement by the March of Dimes Foundation.

In 1975 he traveled to San Diego to present Grand Prairie’s ten best civic projects which resulted in Grand Prairie, Texas receiving the “All American City Award.” This coupled with his work in the drug abuse study program earned John a “Certificate of Appreciation” from the City of Grand Prairie.

John worked on countless committees, helped with the Punt, Pass, and Kick Program, and was active on the city of Grand Prairie Park Board and received a citation from the Mayor.

He once talked a certain gentleman into being the key note speaker for the Monday night Optimist meeting. During the drive over, the man confided that he was nervous because he had never spoken before a group of people this size. John got him to relax by saying, “Hey don’t worry. Even if you really mess up, you never have to see these people again.” They both started laughing and the evening was a success.

C. Itoh appointed John as their representative in the Texas Cotton Association and the American Cotton Shippers Association. He served on the Transportation Committee of both associations. He held the Office of Chairman of both the TCA and the ACSA Insurance Committees for three years.

He was part of a special committee of the American Cotton Shippers Association whose duty it was to establish rules for MICRO-BRIDGE shipments for each foreign country that buys cotton from the United States.

In 1982, John was elected to the Board of Directors of the Texas Cotton Association.

Aside from the committees and the offices, there are many, many stories from people who knew John, stories about what he had done for them. Daily visits to nursing homes, sitting up all night with families in the emergency room, driving umpteen miles to rescue a stranded driver. John never talked much about these things. He wasn't a self-promoter. He was just the kind of guy who was there when you needed him.