BUDA — At its March 4 meeting, Buda City Council approved its 2025 Local Legend Award recipient. This award will be presented at the fourth annual Buda’s Birthday Celebration, which will be held April 5.
“Each year we have Buda City Council go and select who will be the Buda Local Legend that is honored each year at Buda’s birthday,” said Lysa Gonzalez, director of community relations and destination services.
According to Gonzalez, the nominations opened to the public Jan. 22 and closed Feb. 21.
“From those nominations, we had several nominations come through with a total of eight nominees,” continued Gonzalez.
The nominees were then submitted to the city council. After the council’s review, the city staff gathered the information and presented it back to the council.
The first nominee to be presented at the meeting was Rene Alcala, a Buda native who died in 2022. He was the owner of Helen’s Casa Alde, the first Mexican restaurant in Buda, which had been passed down from his parents, Helen and Pedro.
The second nominee that was presented was Mallory Gray Barnett. Growing up in Buda since 2003, she is the familiar, welcoming face of the Buda Pharmacy and Soda Fountain, said the presentation.
Next, Clay Huckaby was nominated. Another Buda native, Huckaby has served the past 22 years for the Buda Fire Department, where he began as a volunteer when he was only 16 years old.
Sandra Bryant was also nominated. Now a justice of the peace for Hays County Precinct 5, Bryant was also the first African American to be elected to the Hays CISD Board of Trustees. She served as vice president and secretary from 2011-2017. Bryant also founded a nonprofit called “Keeping Communities Connected” in 2011, “which provides mentorship, scholarships and counseling for local youth,” according to the presentation.
The fifth nominee was Nancy Handrick, who is a member of the Buda Lions Club and affectionately known as “Miss Nancy.” She helped to start and sponsor the Leo Club, the Lions Club for youth, at Hays High School. She is also the organizer for many local Buda events, such as the annual country fair and the Buda Wiener Dog Races, every year.
James “Mike” Huckaby was the sixth nomination presented. A volunteer firefighter, he served as the commissioner on Hays County ESD #5 and was also the announcer for the annual Buda Wiener Dog Races for 24 years.
Sandra Grizzle was the next nominee to be presented. A lifelong resident, Grizzle purchased the historic Garison Filling Station property at the corner of Main St. and FM 967 back in 1995.
“Today [Grizzle] owns and operates Shops on Main in this historic building, which houses Little Bluebird and Old Main Street,” according to agenda documents.
The eighth and final nomination was a dual nomination for Charles and Nancy Handrick. Both members of the Buda Lions Club, the couple has also been “the driving force” behind the Buda Lions Country Fair and the Buda Wiener Dog Races.
“I’d like to propose that we include both Helen and Rene,” said council member Evan Ture. “Helen, as the first restaurant on Main [Street] in 1980, kicking that off as a minority [and] female owned business in the 1980s … and then, both her work and then, passing it down to Rene and his work and the way that they — right in the middle of our community — impacted so many folks. I would love to see them be dual posthumous Local Legends.”
Other council members, such as Matt Smith and Greg Bowles, shared similar sentiments to Ture.
The council approved the posthumous selection of Rene Alcala, with the addition of his mother Helen Alcala, as the Buda Local Legend in a unanimous vote.
Buda City Council will meet next March 25.
