On Tuesday night the Boy Scouts of America, Texas Trails Council, presented its Distinguished Citizen Award to Steve Ellis, former 35th District Judge.  The event was held at the Coggin Avenue Baptist Church Connection Center, with a full house of friends.  A video about Ellis was shown which featured testimonials from Howard Payne University President Dr. Corey Hines, 35th District Judge Mike Smith, Dr. Robert Goodwin, Marianne Lockwood, Mark Bradshaw, and Dennis Graham.

“I am very humbled,” Ellis said.  “It’s a great experience to have all the people here.  I’m just surprised at the turnout, and the amount of money that was able to be raised for the Scouts.  It was beyond my wildest dream.  I am just over the moon happy with the event.  And it was a great excuse to get together with so many people I haven’t seen in a while, and I’m loving that.”

Ellis has been involved in Scouting his entire life, both as a boy and an adult.  A native of New Mexico, he attended school in various Texas towns, then attended college at Baylor University, where he received both a Bachelor’s degree and Juris Doctorate from Baylor Law School.  After law school, he moved to Brownwood to work for District Attorney Gary Price.  Ellis was later elected District Attorney himself, followed by a private law practice where he worked as a defense attorney.  In 1996 he was elected 35th District Judge, and served in that capacity for 24 years until his retirement in 2020.

While working in the legal profession, he spent almost as many hours as a leader in Scouting, including Cub Master, Scout Master, and President of the Texas Trails Council.  In the late 1990’s, the Boy Scouts in this area was in decline, and in danger of ceasing operations.  The local Comanche Trail Council was merged with the Boy Scout council in Abilene, which became the Texas Trails Council.  Ellis took the job of President of the new Council, and worked tirelessly to stabilize its finances, and build the program back.  “That was a dark time.  It was a very challenging time.  But I am happy to tell you that we came back stronger and we still have two Scout camps:  Camp Billy Gibbons (near Richland Springs), which is near and dear to my heart, and Camp Tonkawa, in the Buffalo Gap area.  Our Scouting program continues to grow.  We’ve got both boys and girls in the program now.  It’s good.  But it needs quality folks involved, willing to spend their time to make a difference in the lives of youth.  And when they give of their time, it makes a great dividend with the youth.  It’s been a very rewarding experience for me.”

Below is the biography of Steve Ellis, as presented at the ceremony.

2024 Boy Scouts of America Texas Trails Council

DISTINGUISHED CITIZEN AWARD

William Stephen Ellis

Steve is a senior district judge, rancher, and longtime civic leader in the Brownwood area.  His contributions range from shaping our local judicial system to positively impacting the lives of our citizens and in particular the youth, through his leadership.

He was born in Silver City, New Mexico and grew up in various cities in New Mexico, Texas, and Missouri.  He was first elect in 1996 as 35th District Judge (Brown and Mills Counties).  He retired on December 31, 2020, and became Senior Judge, subject to assignment as a visiting judge as needed.

Prior to taking the bench, he was an active trial attorney.  Ellis was elected 35th District Attorney in 1980 and served for eight years before voluntarily stepping down.  He was an assistant district attorney from 1976 until 1980.  He received a B.A. from Baylor University, Waco, Texas in 1973.  Three years later, Steve earned his Juris Doctorate from Baylor Law School, married Baylor Law graduate Debby Huyser, and moved to Brownwood.

Judge Ellis was selected by Texas C.A.S.A. Inc. as its “Lone Star Proud for Kids Judge of the Year” for the State of Texas in 2002.  Steve served as an Adjunct Faculty Member, teaching political science at the Academy of Freedom at Howard Payne University 2006-2007.  He also served as a member of the Board of Trustees at Howard Payne from 2011 to 2021.  He is a member and Past President of the Brownwood Kiwanis Club.

In 2020, he was recognized with the Groner Pitts Lifetime Achievement Award by the Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce after previously being named Outstanding Man of the Year in 2002 and Professional of the Year in 2013 by that organization.  He is a deacon in the First Baptist Church of Brownwood where he has taught a Sunday School class for over forty-five years.  Steve loves living on his family’s Circle E Ranch near Brookesmith where he raises Black Angus cattle.

Scouting has been a vital part of Steve’s life for a long time, and he has served in many different leadership roles, including: Cubmaster, Pack Committee Chair, Scoutmaster, District Chair, Council Executive Board Member, Council Program Chair, and Council President.  Steve is a Vigil Member of the Order of the Arrow and was awarded the Silver Beaver Award by the Comanche Trail Council.  But it started in 1960 when Steve himself was a cub scout, his mother was his den mother, and his father was his cubmaster.  Later, when Steve’s boys were young, he served as their cubmaster and as their scoutmaster.  They both became Eagle Scouts.  Significantly, Steve has personally helped lead more than 25 young men to become Eagle Scouts.  Now, Steve’s own grandsons are cub scouts, and their father John is their cubmaster.  It continues.

Steve and his wife Mary Jane have been married for over 14 years.  His first wife Debby was an estate planning attorney who died of breast cancer in 2006.  Steve and Debby have three grown children:  Becca Whitacre, who is an estate planning lawyer in Waco; John Ellis, a civil litigation attorney in Austin; and Joe Ellis, also a civil litigation attorney in San Antonio.  Mary Jane has two grown children from a prior marriage:  Justin Pittman of Brownwood and Lindsey Pittman of Weatherford.  Steve and Mary Jane are the proud grandparents of six grandchildren.