Anthony Williams, in his own words:
I was born and raised here, in Abilene. The most notable event of my childhood was my father’s murder, which put me at risk. I was at risk for lots of reasons. One of the most important risks I faced after the loss of my father was the risk of running afoul of the law. Like a lot of single moms, my mother had to work hard just to keep us kids fed and clothed with a safe place to stay. There wasn’t a lot of time left over for handing out warm fuzzies. So, like a lot of young kids with overworked moms, I was left on my own a lot of the time. And you know what can happen in that sort of situation: a bunch of kids get together and sometimes make choices that can get them in trouble.
Pretty soon, I realized there were two ways I could go. I could follow the track being taken by some of my friends: the path of gangs and booze and drugs and developing a reputation as a bad brother. Or, I could do the more difficult thing and try to stay on a different path; a more positive path.
I decided to do my best to stay clean. I got a job working at Payless Cashways Lumber - a job I kept all the way through high school and college. In fact, I was fortunate enough to be promoted up from working out on the lumberyard to my final position as sales manager at the Wichita Falls store. Now, there were times when it wasn’t easy working and going to school at the same time. There were plenty of days when it would have felt really good to sleep through an early class, or else call in sick and not show up for work. But then I got to thinking about some of the kids I grew up with, kids my age who had already done jail time—some of them even in prison. I thought about my buddy Tim, who grew up in the same streets I did, but who spent more time behind bars than he did in school. And I went ahead and got up and went to class. I went to work.
It was hard, but it was worth it. I was able to graduate from McMurry University and move up in the company, as I already said. And a few years later, I had the blessing of being able to come back to Abilene to work for Abilene Christian University. I became active on a number of boards and committees, and eventually had a successful run for a city council seat, where I served for 15 years. I am currently serving in my second term as Mayor of Abilene, Texas.
