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Hospital honors Sen. Shapiro
By Bill Conrad, bconrad@starlocalnews.com
State Sen. Florence Shapiro has received numerous awards during her more than 30-year career as a public servant.
On Thursday, the longtime senator received the 2012 Excellence in Public Service Award at Texas Health Presbyterian Plano. The award has been presented annually since 2005 to those who have made significant contributions to public health in their community.
"Sen. Shapiro has been associated with us for many, many years and has given many years of public service to this community," said Mike Evans, hospital president. "She has worked collaboratively with Texas Health Resources and the health care industry in support of public health policies."
Her involvement in regional health care issues continued after being elected to the Texas Senate in 1993, a position she will officially retire from in January.
"That was a great day for Texas, when she was elected to that position," said Texas Health Resources CEO Doug Hawthorne. "Every year she has served, she has added more value."
Hawthorne said Shapiro will be remembered for her tireless work protecting children, most notably for writing Ashley's laws, which increased the punishments for convicted child sex offenders. Shapiro also chairs the Senate education committee, a position she has held since 2003.
Shapiro has served Plano residents since she was first elected to the city council in 1979. Now, as she enters the final six months of her legislative career, Shapiro said she is beginning the transformation from public servant to private businesswoman.
"I am honored to have served the people in this community for such a long time," Shapiro said. "I have been doing this for a very long time and have loved every minute of it. I have truly enjoyed the service. I think it is in my DNA."
As a first-generation American and the daughter of Holocaust survivors, Shapiro said one of her proudest moments was being named Citizen of the Year by the Plano Chamber of Commerce in 1985. The award was special since her father was never able to become a citizen of his home country, she said.
In addition to serving out her final term, Shapiro is working at Dallas-based Academic Partnerships, where she said she is continuing to put her passion for education to good use. The company works with public colleges and universities and helps them format traditional degree programs for online study. Some of the schools utilizing Academic Partnerships are Purdue, Arizona State and the University of Texas at Arlington.
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