LOCAL

Ted Durham and Sierra Blanca Motors honored for generosity

Dave Tomlin
Ruidoso News
Ted Durham of Sierra Blanca Motors was honored Friday with a special award for a lifetime of public service contributions.
Mayor Tom Battin and Chamber of Commerce director Becky Brooks ham it up at Business After Hours Friday at Sierra Blanca Motors.
Ted Durham didn't know as he served drinks at Business After Hours that he was about to receive a Distinguished Lifetime Contributor award.

Sierra Blanca Motors owner Ted Durham worked the room and tended bar during Business After Hours at the dealership Friday, little suspecting that he was about to be the guest of honor at his own party.

But suddenly he found himself standing at the front of the room with Mayor Tom Battin and Chamber of Commerce director Becky Brooks, accepting a Distinguished Lifetime Contributor award to a loud and grateful round of applause for years of service and support for community causes, large and small.

“I have never known anyone so community minded, so generous, so selfless,” Battin said. “They’ve been such a stabilizing influence on this community for all these years.”

“This place has been so instrumental in the backbone of this community,” Brooks added. “Anybody in town who needs anything, they pretty much come here. This place is extraordinary.”

Planners of the presentation had done their best to make the award a surprise, and it appeared that they succeeded. Not ordinarily a seeker of the spotlight, it was clear that Durham was pleased and touched.

“You know, it’s amazing,” he said afterward. “We appreciate the attention. It’s an honor to be able to do what we do in the community. My father instilled that in me, and we just hope to continue doing it.”

Durham’s father, John Durham, bought Sierra Blanca Motors 52 years ago, and although Battin didn’t arrive in Ruidoso until some years later, the mayor said the dealership’s tradition of public service and generosity was already well established.

“We’ve gone through good times and bad times,” he said, “and this company has always been there for the community.”

Others were there with specifics on the beneficiaries of the Durham family’s contributions, including board member Micah Woodul of HEAL, which operates The Nest shelter for women and children.

“They have been such a supporter of The Nest and the ladies and children who live there,” she said. “There has not been a ‘No’ even once. All we hear is ‘What do you need?’ and ‘How much?’”

ENMU-Ruidoso President Clayton Alred expressed gratitude to Durham for his contributions to the school. “They were major supporters and sponsors of our Aim High fundraiser,” he said.

Sierra Blanca customers were also on hand with praise for the way Durham and his dealership take care of business too, including one of its biggest buyers.

“We’ve bought 24 cars over the last two years from Sierra Blanca,” said David Cason of Shuttle Ruidoso. “They’ve been great.”