Former Lubbock Mayor and attorney David Langston became the latest recipient of the Rotary Club of Lubbock’s prestigious Diekemper Service Above Self Award this spring during the club’s Diekemper Luncheon at the South Plains Food Bank.
Also at the luncheon, the club:
The luncheon and awards are named for the late Ray and Lou Diekemper. Ray was a member of the club and helped start the food bank in the 1980s. Since then, the club has raised around $3 million for its main charity and given countless volunteer hours.
Diekemper award (subhead)
“David Langston embodies the Rotary motto of Service Above Self and we were happy to honor him,” said Brent Magers, club president.
During his time as mayor:
Beyond government, David:
He’s also been involved with:
McCool awards presented by Rotary Club of Lubbock
The Diekemper Award was designed to honor a non-Rotarian, but some club members felt many of their fellow Rotarians were worthy of being honored for what they’ve done for the community.
So the McCool award was created, named for Rotarian McCool, who passed away in late 2024. Her husband, Barry, also a club member, passed out the honors to Lock and Sobel.
First, Barry McCool mentioned his late wife would have been uncomfortable with the attention as she liked to work behind the scenes.
Lock made it clear how much he admired her, adding he was grateful and honored to receive the Audrey McCool Service Above Self Award.
“I’m grateful that, in an apparent moment of weakness, those who nominated me as well as the award’s decision-makers determined I was worthy of an award named after our friend, the late Audrey McCool,” he said. “But more so, I am honored to have my name associated with hers. You see, I don’t really consider this an award for me. This is an award that celebrates Audrey’s lifetime of service to others. After all, she showed us how to be better Rotarians and how to be better people. She truly lived out our motto of ‘Service Above Self.’”Lock added: “When asked to help with an activity for Rotary, what immediately comes to my mind is the time Audrey took the lead on the food bank’s effort to rewrite their bylaws. Since I had quite a bit of experience with such matters, Audrey decided I should ‘volunteer’ to help her. After one of our Rotary lunch meetings, Audrey came to me and, in her colonel’s commanding officer voice, she asked me if I would join her on her project. I immediately knew there was only one right answer, so I said, ‘Mam, yes mam!’ … and I’m glad I did because working alongside Audrey was a hoot. So Audrey, this award is for you.”
Audrey McCool served in the US Army Reserves and was a colonel in the Army Medical Specialist Corps.
She also had a full career after earning her doctorate at Texas Tech:
McCool:
The first two honorees of the award named for her have accomplishments of their own.
Lock, beyond multiple leadership roles for Rotary:
Sobel is adjunct faculty in Texas Tech’s Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering and a retired major general from the United States Air National Guard.
In Lubbock, her service includes:
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Rotary Club of Lubbock presents 2026 Diekemper Award
Reporting by Special for the Avalanche-Journal / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
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