2019 Rita Harmon Volunteer Service Award, Brad & Carla Moran

By Jeff Klotzman, United Way Board Member

Like all the previous recipients of the Rita Harmon Volunteer Service Award, this year’s honorees have done a lot to make the South Plains a better place for all, and they have done so not to receive praise or any type of personal gain. They help and they give because they love West Texas and they love our community.

It was my honor to recognize my former colleague and my friends Brad and Carla Moran with this award at United Way's 2020 Annual Meeting and Volunteer Recognition.

Both Brad and Carla are Texas Tech graduates – Brad graduated in 1982 with his Bachelor of Business Administration and Carla graduated in 1988 with a Bachelor of Arts in English. You might say that Brad was born to broadcast. His father was in broadcasting, and Brad got his first job at a radio station at age 11…as the janitor.

Before long though, he moved from cleaning up to DJing for radio and night clubs which helped pay for college. When he graduated from Tech, he opened Ramar Communications with his dad as a single station operator. Today, Brad operates 10 TV stations in three states plus eight radio stations in Texas. With six TV stations in Lubbock, Ramar operates the largest single market concentration of TV stations in the country.

Brad has been actively involved in a number of community organizations, including the Greater Southwest Rotary Club, the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce, the Lubbock Arts Festival, the Lubbock Advertising Federation, the Lubbock Cattle Barons Ball, the Lubbock Airport Board, All Saints Episcopal School, and the Diabetes Walk.

Carla has been dedicated to the growth and engagement of her alma mater, to the development of the office of Institutional Advancement at All Saints Episcopal School – where their children attended – to the expansion of the arts and cultural interests in our community, and to political relationship facilitation ensuring that local, state, and federal elected officials have a passion for and a strong connection to the people and issues in West Texas.

She is the Vice Chair and President-Elect of the Bob Bullock Texas State History Foundation and is a founding member of the Lubbock Entertainment Performing Arts Association. She also co-chaired the All Saints Episcopal School Endowment Campaign, ensuring that the effort met all the necessary benchmarks for completing the Patriot Learning Center and establishing All Saints High School in 2014. Carla has chaired the History-Making Texan Awards Dinner, the LHUCA Gala, and the All Saints Episcopal School Legacy Event. She also served two terms as the City of Lubbock’s Appointments Advisory Board Chair. In 2011, the Lubbock Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals awarded Carla the Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser Award.

And that’s just a few of the couple’s contributions to our community. Trust me, we’d be here for a while if we named them all.

Moreover, Brad and Carla give their heart and soul when it comes to United Way. Brad’s service to Lubbock Area United Way started in 1991 when he served as a Loaned Executive, volunteering with the Annual Campaign. He would later chair the campaign in 2013, raising $5.8 million thanks to the generous support of our great community. Brad served on the United Way board from 2012 through 2018, chairing the board in 2017. Brad and Carla have opened-up their home numerous times to host United Way donor events. And in 2004, Brad and Carla received United Way’s Alexis de Tocqueville Award for their deep commitment to serve and support our organization and the community.

When asked about Brad and Carla, last year’s Rita Harmon award winner, Norval Pollard, said that, "The passion and compassion Brad and Carla Moran have for this community and its citizens is special. They are truly difference-makers in so many diverse segments of Lubbock and have been for years and years. Their efforts are both inspiring and essential. They have left a legacy of volunteerism that is exceptional."

Brad and Carla are parents to two talented young women, Ava who is attending the University of Texas and Ella who is in her senior year at All Saints Episcopal School.

Please join me me in congratulating the recipients of this year’s Rita Harmon Volunteer Service Award, Brad and Carla Moran.

 

About the Rita Harmon Volunteer Service Award

Rita Harmon served as the Lubbock Area United Way Board Chair in 1992 and 1993. Her untimely death took a great leader from United Way and our community. Each year, the United Way Board Chair appoints a committee to carefully select a deserving recipient. The criteria are as follows:

  • A commitment of service to others
  • Determination and persistence in fulfilling volunteer obligations
  • Loyalty and integrity
  • Actively involved in community activities in addition to United Way
  • Dedication to helping people in Lubbock