Texas Children’s President and CEO Mark Wallace recently enjoyed an intimate surprise celebration in the building that bears his name. Last week, a few leaders, staff members and Texas Children’s ukulele choir joined him for the unveiling of a new plaque, which officially dedicates the building in his honor.
“Thank you so very much for this,” Wallace said to the choir and the small crowd. “I’m deeply honored by this special moment with all of you.”
As Wallace approached the bridge, he was surprised by a small crowd and the ukulele choir, which sang an original song that music therapists Marial Biard and Alex Brickley composed about Wallace’s legacy of leadership.
Acts of leadership create tidal waves of growth.
Pledging your life to accelerate healthcare.
You’re an exemplar of this oath.
Those are just a few lyrics from the ukulele choir’s song, The Texas Children’s Way. Brickley, who co-leads the choir with Biard, said The Texas Children’s Way is the lyrical epitome of Wallace’s vision for the hospital.
“We wanted to make sure we used Texas Children’s core values in the lyrics,” Brickley said. “We knew we wanted to incorporate those because that’s what Mark Wallace said leadership is about and that’s what Texas Children’s stands for.”
The choir includes employees of all professions and allows them a break during the day to step away from work, relax, and learn music. The choir performs for our patients and is often requested for employee events.
The newly unveiled plaque hangs at the end of The Auxiliary Bridge near the third-floor entrance to Wallace Tower. Previously, Texas Children’s 16-floor clinical building had been the Clinical Care Tower. In March, Texas Children’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously to rename the building Mark A. Wallace Tower in honor of our long-time President and CEO.
Wallace took the reins of Texas Children’s Hospital in 1989, and under his leadership, Texas Children’s has become the largest and most comprehensive pediatric and women’s health care organization in the nation. Although obviously surprised by the small celebration, Wallace immediately offered a few words of aspiration and a promise.
“Even though we’ve done a lot in these last several years together, the best is yet to come,” Wallace said.
Special thanks to the ukulele choir members who performed at Mr. Wallace’s plaque unveiling:
Saharay Alamos-Almeida
Marial Biard
Alix Brickley
Ashby Gleditsch
Amanda Harris
Caley Johns
David Kolacny
Nick Ryan Magdoza
Danh K Nguyen
Halle Nick
Hannah Nilsen
Ashley Wood
