Life Connected. Magazine Oct-Dec 2026

LIFE CONNECTED. OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2026

FALL FESTIVITIES & HOLIDAY TRADITIONS Celina’s Community Comes Together for Beware! of the Square and Christmas on the Square

Life Connected. | 1

October - December 2026

Contents CITY-RELATED

3/ Letter from the Mayor

4/ City Council

5/ 2026 - 2028 Strategic Plan

38 / Parks & Recreation: Ousley Park Updates & Recreation

42 /

Resident Resources: FY27 Budget, Celina Life Connected. App, Preparing for Severe Weather, Winter Averaging, Blue Santa & Fire

Special Events Calendar

Santa

34 /

25 /

Police Department: Congratulations Assistant Chief Peck!

Life Connected. Podcast

41 / Veterans Day Ceremony

44 /

PUBLIC SAFETY

36 / Fire Department: People Matter

40 /

EDC: Investing in the Heart of Celina

CONTRIBUTORS

Celina Public Library

46 /

Joe Monaco, Director of Marketing &

26 /

Life Connected. Service Day

Communications

Infrastructure Projects & City Facilities

SPECIAL EVENTS

Kelly Blue, Marketing & Communications

24 /

Courtney Ford, Senior Graphic Designer

LIFE CONNECTED.

Beware! of the Square

6/ Snapshots of Celina

150 th FEATURES

31 / Christmas on the Square

Manager Marc Rylander, Chief Communications Officer (Gray Reed Advisory) Charlie Rose, Director of Strategic Communications (Gray Reed Advisory) Cassie McKnight, Cassie Lee Photography

14 / Celina 150: The Stories that Shaped Celina 16 / Thirty-Seven: Celebrating 150 Years of Celina's Championship Tradition 32 / Connected to Our Past: When Bonnie & Clyde's Posse Came Through Celina A heartfelt thank you to the Celina Area Heritage Association & Museum and the featured families for providing the incredible archival photos featured in this special 150th Anniversary edition. Your dedication to preserving our local history has allowed us to beautifully bridge the gap between our storied past and our bright future.

2 | City of Celina

a special place to call home

Letter from the Mayor

CITY CONTACTS Building Services

(945) 362-9291

City Hall

(945) 362-9001

City Manager’s Office

(945) 362-9022

City Secretary

(945) 362-9021

Code Services

(945) 362-9291

Engineering

(945) 362-9145

Finance

(945) 362-9116

Fire Department

(945) 362-9520

Human Resources

(945) 362-9836

Library

(945) 362-9334

Marketing

(945) 362-9816

Municipal Court

(945) 362-9225

Parks & Recreation

(945) 362-9368

Permitting (Commercial)

(945) 362-9249

Permitting (Residential)

(945) 362-9250

Planning & Development

(945) 362-9290

Police Department

(945) 362-9002

Public Works

(945) 362-9710

Utility Customer Service

(945) 362-9968

RYAN TUBBS

DEAR CELINA RESIDENTS, There is something special about this time of year in Celina. As the temperatures begin to cool and the holiday season approaches, our community comes alive in a way that reminds us why Celina is such a special place to call home. From Friday nights under the lights and fall traditions on the Downtown Square to Thanksgiving gatherings and the magic of Christmas, the months ahead give us countless opportunities to slow down, spend time together, and celebrate the community we share. Our students and teachers have already begun another great school year, filling classrooms, campuses, athletic fields, and stages with the energy and excellence that have long been part of the Celina tradition. Their accomplishments remind us that while we are proud of where we have been, there is even more to be excited about when we look toward the future. That message feels especially meaningful as we continue celebrating Celina’s 150th anniversary. Throughout this year, we have had the opportunity to look back at the people, places, and moments that shaped Celina. We have shared stories from generations before us, celebrated traditions that continue today, and reflected on how a small North Texas community grew into the city we are fortunate to call home. But perhaps the greatest lesson from 150 years of Celina history is that our story has always been about what comes next. Today, we are experiencing an extraordinary chapter. New families are choosing Celina. Businesses are investing here. Major projects are taking shape throughout our community. And even as we grow, the connections between neighbors, schools, businesses, churches, organizations, and City staff continue to give Celina the hometown spirit that has defined us for generations. As you explore this issue of Life Connected. Magazine, I hope you feel that excitement. I also hope you will join us throughout the season at our community events, on the Downtown Square, supporting local businesses, cheering on our students, and celebrating the holidays with your family, friends, and neighbors. As we approach the end of this historic 150th year, we have much to celebrate, even more to be thankful for, and so much to look forward to. For 150 years, generations of people have believed in Celina and helped build the community we enjoy today. Now, it is our turn to carry that legacy forward. The first 150 years gave us an incredible story. The best of Celina is still to come.

Ryan Tubbs Mayor

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MEET CELINA’S

City Council

Home-Rule Municipality Celina is a “Home-Rule Municipality,” governed by a Mayor and City Council who are elected by the residents. Since its establishment in 1876, Celina residents have elected representatives to achieve City goals and enhance their quality of life. Acting together, the Mayor and City Council adopt all ordinances and resolutions and determine the general goals and policies for the City. The City’s mission of preserving its agricultural heritage, providing excellent public safety, and an extraordinary quality of life are all key factors in each decision.

Philip Ferguson P L A CE 1

4 | City of Celina

Eddie Cawlfield P LA C E 2

Shea Scott

Shane Lambert

P L A CE 4

P LA C E 5

Andy Hopkins

DEPUTY MAYOR PRO TEM P LA C E 3

Brandon Grumbles MAYOR PRO TEM P LA C E 6

25-YEAR GOAL OUR MISSION

Our mission is to build a community where Life

Connected.

every

investment,

inspires and

every

decision,

opportunity.

Grounded in our heritage and guided by thoughtful

growth,

will

cultivate

extraordinary quality of life through meaningful connections,

distinctive

destinations,

and

enduring places that bring people together.

City Council’s Priority Objectives The City Council’s Strategic Plan serves as a guiding framework to align priorities, inform decision-making, and support the continued growth and vitality of our community. Grounded in thoughtful planning and a clear vision for the future, this plan reflects the Council’s commitment to investing in core infrastructure, enhancing quality of life, preserving community character, and fostering a strong local economy. This document outlines the Council’s Priority Objectives, which will help shape policy direction, guide resource allocation, and ensure that City initiatives are responsive to both current needs and future opportunities. Through a balanced approach to growth, preservation, and innovation, the Strategic Plan aims to strengthen

the foundation for long-term success and civic pride. By focusing on key areas such as infrastructure, development standards, economic development, water resources, historical preservation, and cultural enrichment, the City Council is laying the groundwork for a resilient, connected, and vibrant future. • Prioritize the reconstruction of Downtown roads in accordance with the five-year Capital Improvement Plan. • Complete construction of all phases of Ousley Park. • Expand access to water resources through multiple initiatives. • Advance strategic economic development initiatives that expand the tax base, create jobs, and support a sustainable local economy. • Protect and preserve the historical character of the residential areas of Downtown. • Enhance community identity and connections. • Develop a comprehensive program for arts and culture, including funding and key projects. • Update the Parks and Trails Master Plan.

Strategic Plan Dashboard SCAN TO EXPLORE THE DIGITAL AND INTERACTIVE STRATEGIC PLAN DASHBOARD

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6 | City of Celina

Life Connected.: Snapshots of Celina

Movie Night at the Park: Zootopia 2

Movie Night at the Park: Lilo & Stitch

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RESIDENT RESOURCES

Investing in Celina's Next Chapter: Fiscal Year 2027 Budget On October 1, Celina began a new fiscal year with a budget designed around one of the most significant challenges and opportunities, facing the community: preparing today for the Celina of tomorrow. The Celina City Council adopted a $529.1 million Fiscal Year 2026– 2027 budget, establishing the financial plan that will guide City operations, services, infrastructure, staffing, and capital investments through September 2027. Behind that number is a community experiencing extraordinary change. Celina’s population has grown approximately 282% since 2020, bringing thousands of new residents, neighborhoods, businesses, roads, utility demands, public safety calls, recreation needs, and expectations for City services. The FY27 budget responds to that growth while remaining centered on four primary budget drivers: Population Growth, Market Conditions, City Council Priority Objectives, and Fiscal Responsibility. Together, those drivers shaped a budget focused not simply on serving a larger Celina, but on maintaining the quality of services, infrastructure, and community experience residents expect as the City continues to grow.

FY27 BY THE NUMBERS $529.1 Million

FY 2026–2027 Adopted Budget

282%

Population Growth from 2020–2026

New Full-Time Positions Citywide

$0.571677

Property Tax Rate per $100 of Taxable Value

$277.48

Projected Average Monthly City Property Tax Bill

3.1%

Projected Change in the Average Resident’s Total Monthly City Bill

INVESTING IN SERVICE Growth affects nearly every service the City provides. More residents mean additional calls for police and fire services. New neighborhoods require streets, water, wastewater, and drainage infrastructure. Development creates additional permitting, inspection, and planning demands. New parks and public facilities require employees to operate and maintain them.

8 | City of Celina

FY27 addresses those needs through six primary focus areas: Fiscal Responsibility, Public Safety, Infrastructure Maintenance, Development-Related Operations, Service Expansion, and Employee Compensation & Benefits. The budget adds 49 full-time positions Citywide, including 39 supported by the General Fund and 10 dedicated to water, wastewater, and drainage operations through the Utility Fund. Public safety represents a significant part of that investment. The City is adding nine firefighters/paramedics, allowing the Celina Fire Department to transition from three-person to four-person crews. The budget also adds 10.5 law enforcement and support positions to help the Celina Police Department continue responding to the needs of a growing community. The opening of new City facilities is also creating new service demands. With the Downtown Center anticipated to open in February 2027, the budget includes 11.5 positions to support its operations. Three additional positions will support services at Ousley Park, while four development-related positions and a facilities maintenance technician will help meet expanding organizational needs.

PRIORITIES FOR CELINA’S FUTURE An annual budget funds the work of today, but many of the priorities guiding FY27 are focused on what Celina will need years from now. City Council established Priority Objectives that address infrastructure, recreation, water, economic development, historic preservation, community identity, arts and culture, and long-range planning.

RESIDENT RESOURCES

CITY COUNCIL PRIORITY OBJECTIVES • REINVEST IN DOWNTOWN INFRASTRUCTURE: Prioritize the reconstruction of Downtown roads in accordance with the City’s five-year Capital Improvement Program. • ADVANCE OUSLEY PARK: Complete construction on all phases of Ousley Park, expanding recreational opportunities and connectivity near Downtown. • EXPAND WATER RESOURCES: Advance multiple initiatives to increase access to water resources and support Celina’s longterm needs.

At the same time, the City expects to collect more property tax revenue overall as new homes, businesses, and other properties are added to the tax roll. That expanding tax base provides additional revenue to help serve a larger community even as the adopted property tax rate decreases.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE AVERAGE RESIDENT? Property taxes are only one component of what residents pay to the City. For FY27, water, wastewater, and stormwater fees are expected to remain steady, while the average monthly solid waste charge is projected to decrease from $21.71 to $19.48.

• STRENGTHEN THE LOCAL ECONOMY: Advance strategic economic development initiatives that expand the tax base, create jobs, and support a sustainable local economy.

When the average City property tax bill and projected utility fees are considered together, the average resident’s monthly City bill is projected to decrease approximately 3.1%, from $468.15 in FY26 to $453.45 in FY27.

• PRESERVE DOWNTOWN’S CHARACTER: Protect and preserve the historical character of Downtown residential areas as Celina continues to develop.

Actual household costs will vary based on taxable property value, water consumption, and other individual factors.

• BUILD COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS: Enhance community identity and strengthen connections among residents. • INVEST IN ARTS & CULTURE: Develop a comprehensive arts and culture program, including dedicated funding and key projects.

PLANNING FOR THE CELINA OF TOMORROW A City budget is ultimately about more than revenues and expenditures. It is about determining how resources are used to provide services today while preparing for what comes next. For Celina, FY27 means adding firefighters and police personnel as the community grows. It means investing in roads, water, wastewater, and drainage. It means preparing the Downtown Center and Ousley Park to serve residents. It means supporting the employees who deliver City services every day. And it means continuing to invest in economic development, parks and trails, arts and culture, historic preservation, and community connection. Celina is a different community than it was six years ago, and its needs will continue to evolve. The FY27 budget is designed to meet those needs responsibly - investing in the people, infrastructure, services, and places necessary to serve Celina today while building the foundation for the community it will become tomorrow.

GROWING RESPONSIBLY Even as Celina expands services and invests in infrastructure, fiscal responsibility remains a central driver of the FY27 budget. City Council adopted a property tax rate of $0.571677 per $100 of taxable value, down from $0.576401 in FY26. Based on the average taxable home value, the average monthly City property tax bill is projected to decrease from $289.95 in FY26 to $277.48 in FY27. The average taxable home value also decreased from $603,648 to $582,454.

Adopted Budget FY 2026-27 SCAN TO VIEW THE CITY OF CELINA'S ADOPTED BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2026-27.

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RESIDENT RESOURCES

Celina Life Connected. App: Your City. Right at Your Fingertips. Connecting with the City of Celina just got easier. The new Celina Life Connected. App gives residents a convenient, centralized way to access City services, find information, stay engaged, and communicate directly with the City - all from the palm of their hand. One of the app’s most significant features is a new way to submit and track City service requests.

See a pothole that needs attention? Notice an issue at a City park? Have a utility, street, or code concern? Open the app, select the appropriate service, identify the location using the interactive map, add a description and photo, and submit the request directly to the City. From there, residents can stay connected to the process. Requests can be tracked as they move through review, assignment, and completion, with status updates available along the way. City staff can also provide comments and communicate directly with residents regarding their requests, creating greater visibility from the moment an issue is reported until the work is complete. For certain concerns or tips, the app also provides the option to submit information anonymously.

MORE THAN SERVICE REQUESTS The Celina Life Connected. App is designed to serve as a mobile hub for the City, bringing frequently used services, information, and resources together in one convenient location. Residents can pay their utility bill, discover upcoming City events, explore Athletics and Parks & Recreation programs, connect with the Celina Public Library, access information from Celina Police and Fire, and find other important City resources.

Prefer to use a computer? Service requests can also be submitted and tracked through the web version available on the City’s website. As Celina continues to grow, the way we connect with one another continues to evolve. Technology can make that connection faster and more convenient, but what matters most is what it allows us to accomplish together - listening, responding, and taking care of the community we all call home. It is one more way we continue moving forward as One Celina. One City. One community. One connection.

SCAN TO ACCESS THE CELINA LIFE CONNECTED. APP ON THE WEB

10 | City of Celina

Download the Celina Life Connected. App from the Apple App Store or Google Play, or access the web version through the City’s website.

RESIDENT RESOURCES

Be Ready. Stay Informed. Severe weather can develop quickly in North Texas. While no one can control when storms occur, residents can take steps now to make sure their families know what to do, where to go, and how to stay informed when conditions change.

STAY CONNECTED

From signing up for City emergency notifications to preparing supplies and creating a family emergency plan, a little preparation today can make an important difference when an emergency occurs.

PREPARE BEFORE THE STORM

Sign up for Everbridge emergency notifications and make sure your contact information and important Celina locations remain up to date.

When severe weather is approaching, the best time to prepare has already passed. The Celina Fire Department encourages residents to take a few simple steps before severe weather arrives so everyone in the household knows what to do during an emergency. BUILD AN EMERGENCY KIT When severe weather is approaching, the best time to prepare has already passed. The Celina Fire Department encourages residents to take a few simple steps before severe weather arrives so everyone in the household knows what to do during an emergency. MAKE A FAMILY PLAN Talk with everyone in your household about what to do during severe weather. Identify the safest place in your home to shelter, establish meeting locations, and determine how family members will communicate if they are separated when an emergency occurs. KNOW WHERE YOU WILL SHELTER

SIGN UP FOR EMERGENCY NOTIFICATIONS The City of Celina uses Everbridge, a community notification system that allows authorized City personnel to quickly distribute critical information during an emergency or disaster.

During a tornado warning, move to a small interior room on the lowest level of a sturdy building, away from windows and exterior walls. Knowing your shelter location before a warning is issued can save valuable time. PREPARE YOUR PROPERTY

Residents can register phone numbers and email addresses and include multiple locations within Celina, allowing them to receive applicable notifications involving their home, workplace, children’s schools, or other important locations.

Secure outdoor furniture and other objects that could become hazards during high winds. Keep trees and landscaping maintained, particularly branches near your home.

Everbridge is designed to help the City communicate important information to a large number of people quickly and effectively when the need arises. However, Everbridge is not a real-time alerting system and should not be the only way you receive emergency or severe weather information.

Keep insurance policies, identification, birth certificates, medical information, and other important records in a secure location. Consider maintaining protected digital backups so important information remains accessible following an emergency.

Residents should have multiple ways to stay informed, including weather alerts and other trusted warning sources.

HAVE MORE THAN ONE WAY TO RECEIVE WARNINGS

And remember: Everbridge does not replace 9-1-1. If you are experiencing an emergency and need Police, Fire, or EMS assistance, call 9-1-1.

PROTECT IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Do not rely on a single notification method. Keep phones charged, enable emergency alerts on your devices, monitor trusted weather information, and register for Celina’s Everbridge notifications for important City emergency communications. Life Connected. | 11

RESIDENT RESOURCES

Winter Averaging: Your Water Use Today Can Help Lower Your Bill Tomorrow YOUR WATER USE MATTERS Because the Winter Average is based on actual household water consumption during the averaging period, residents can take steps now that may help reduce their wastewater charges for the year ahead. Simple conservation habits can make a difference. Monitor household water consumption, repair dripping faucets and running toilets promptly, and look for unexpected increases in usage that could indicate a leak. As temperatures cool and outdoor water use decreases, Celina residents have an opportunity to take greater control of a portion of their utility bill. Each year, the City of Celina uses Winter Averaging to determine residential wastewater usage for the following 12-month billing cycle. Instead of wastewater charges increasing and decreasing with monthly water consumption, the City calculates an average based on water usage during the winter months, when irrigation and other outdoor water use are typically at their lowest. For the upcoming calculation, the City will use water consumption from November 18, 2026, through March 18, 2027, to establish each eligible residential customer's Winter Average. Once calculated, that average becomes the resident's fixed wastewater usage amount for the next 12 months. WHY WINTER? During the summer, a significant portion of residential water consumption may be used outdoors for activities such as irrigating lawns, maintaining landscaping, filling pools, or washing around the home. That water does not necessarily enter the City's wastewater system. Winter water consumption typically provides a better representation of the amount of water a household sends into the wastewater system. The City adopted the Winter Average rate method following City Council approval in May 2022. Under the previous system, wastewater charges were directly tied to monthly water consumption, up to 11,000 gallons per month. Winter Averaging provides residents with a more stable and predictable wastewater charge that is not affected by seasonal increases in outdoor water use. 12 | City of Celina

Residents can also use MyCelinaH2O to monitor their water consumption and better understand usage patterns. The online portal provides access to water-use information, helping residents identify unusual consumption and make more informed decisions about how they use water. Residents who experience a qualifying leak during the Winter Averaging period may submit a Leak Adjustment Form for review by the Utility Billing Department. NEW TO CELINA? Residents must have an established water-usage history during the Winter Averaging period for the City to calculate an individual average. For newly constructed homes or accounts without sufficient winter usage history, wastewater charges will be based on a default 5,000-gallon monthly usage until an individual Winter Average can be established during the next annual calculation. Winter Averaging is designed to make wastewater charges more predictable while giving residents greater control over the amount used to calculate their bill. Monitor. Conserve. Repair leaks. A little attention to your water usage this winter can make a difference throughout the year ahead. Residents can monitor their water usage through MyCelinaH2O. For questions about Winter Averaging, contact the City of Celina Utility Billing Department at (945) 362-9968. They are available Monday through Thursday from 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM.

SCAN TO LEARN MORE ABOUT WINTER AVERAGING

FIRE/POLICE DEPARTMENT

Santa Serves Celina: Two holiday traditions bring generosity, joy, and connection to families across our community. During the Christmas season, Celina’s first responders take on a couple of additional assignments. For the Celina Police Department, that means helping ensure local children and families experiencing difficult circumstances have presents waiting for them on Christmas morning. For the Celina Fire Department, it means giving Santa a ride aboard a fire truck as he makes his annual journey through neighborhoods across the community. Blue Santa and Fire Santa have different missions, but both reflect something at the heart of the Christmas season in Celina - people coming together to care for their neighbors and create moments of joy for others. BLUE SANTA: A COMMUNITY COMES TOGETHER Behind every Christmas wish fulfilled through Blue Santa is a community working together. The program connects Celina families in need with residents who want to make their Christmas a little brighter. Working alongside Celina ISD teachers and counselors, the Celina Police Department helps identify families who could benefit from additional support during the holiday season. Christmas wishes are collected and provided to the Police Department, which then gives members of the community an opportunity to adopt families and help fulfill those wishes. The result is much more than presents beneath a Christmas tree. For parents facing difficult circumstances, Blue Santa can provide some relief during a season when financial pressures can be especially challenging. For children, it means experiencing the excitement and joy of Christmas. And for the residents who participate, it is an opportunity to make a meaningful difference for another family right here in Celina. In many cases, the people providing the gifts will never meet the children who receive them. But that anonymous generosity is part of what makes the program special. Neighbors are helping neighbors simply because they know someone in their community needs them. Families available for adoption through the Blue Santa program will be announced in November, giving residents another opportunity to share the spirit of giving this Christmas.

SCAN FOR INF O R MAT I O N ON BLU E SANT A

FIRE SANTA: CHRISTMAS IS COMING TO YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD Elsewhere in Celina, residents may hear the unmistakable sound of a fire truck approaching - but this time, there is no emergency. Fire Santa is back. Each Christmas season, the Celina Fire Department helps Santa trade in his sleigh for one of Celina’s fire trucks and takes him on a special tour through neighborhoods across the community. Children and families gather outside their homes to wave as Santa makes his way down neighborhood streets, creating a simple moment that has become a beloved Celina holiday tradition. For children, seeing Santa riding through their own neighborhood can feel like Christmas magic arriving right outside their front door. For parents, it is another opportunity to create the kinds of memories and traditions families carry with them for years. And for Celina firefighters, Fire Santa provides a different way to connect with the residents they serve throughout the year. Routes, dates, and neighborhood schedules will be shared by the Celina Fire Department on social media, so families are encouraged to follow along and find out when Fire Santa will be heading their way.

S C A N TO V I E W F I RE S A N TA RO U TE S Life Connected. | 13

Celina 150: The Stories that Shaped Celina A City's history isn't written only in dates and buildings. It's found in the people who dreamed big, the traditions that brought neighbors together, and the moments that reminded everyone what it means to call a place home. As Celina celebrates 150 years, these stories offer a glimpse into the people, places, and traditions that helped shape the community we know today. Some are stories of vision and leadership. Others celebrate volunteerism, creativity, and hometown pride. Together, they reflect the values that have connected generations of Celina residents and continue to guide the City's future.

D R . M O S E S H U B B A R D | A Life of Service

As settlers built new lives across North Texas, Dr. Moses Hubbard dedicated his to serving others. Arriving in the area in 1866, he quickly became one of the region's most trusted physicians. In a time when medical care was scarce, Dr. Hubbard traveled long distances to care for the sick, deliver babies, and treat injuries, often asking little in return. His compassion extended beyond medicine. Following the loss of their daughter, Alla, Dr. and Mrs. Hubbard established Alla School, transforming personal tragedy into an opportunity for future generations. Their belief in education created opportunities for countless local children and established a legacy that continues to benefit Celina students today. Dr. Hubbard's story reflects the values that helped build the community: compassion, generosity, and a commitment to investing in the future. His life serves as a reminder that a community grows strongest when its people care for one another. T H E J O H N S T A L L C U P H O M E | Where Past Meets Progress

As Celina’s new townsite began taking shape in the early 20th century, the John Stallcup Home became part of a growing community finding its future. Located at the southwest corner of W. Pecan and N. Arizona streets, the home has stood for more than a century as Celina transformed around it. A photograph from 1915 captures John Stallcup and members of his family outside the home, offering a glimpse into an earlier Celina - when Downtown was still developing, businesses were taking root, and the railroad was helping connect the community to new opportunities. Today, the Stallcup Home remains in its original location, but its story continues in an unexpected way. The former residence now serves as the local office for Swinerton, the construction company building Celina’s Downtown Center and Parking Garage just across the street. More than a century ago, the Stallcup Home stood as Celina’s new townsite was taking shape. Today, it serves the people helping shape Downtown’s next chapter. The Stallcup Home reminds us that progress and preservation can share the same story. Sometimes, the places that witnessed where we began can become part of where we are going next.

14 | City of Celina

T H E R I T Z T H E A T E R | Where Celina Came Together

Long before streaming services and multiplexes, Saturday night in Celina meant one thing: going to the Ritz. Opened in 1932, the Ritz Theater quickly became more than a place to see a picture show. It was where neighbors met on the Square, families spent evenings together, and children watched heroes like Buck Jones and Hoot Gibson ride across the screen. When fire destroyed the theater in 1946, owner J.T. McClure immediately announced plans to rebuild. Just months later, a new $35,000 Ritz opened with 500 upholstered seats, murals, a larger screen, and a glowing neon marquee. Saturday nights soon became a Celina tradition. Stores around the Square stayed open late, keeping customers’ groceries cold while families attended the midnight show. People shopped, visited with neighbors, and went to the movies together. The Ritz is gone today, but what made it special never disappeared. For generations, Celina has been a community that gathers. Today, Downtown still brings people together to shop, dine, celebrate, attend events, and simply enjoy being part of something bigger than themselves. The reasons we gather may have changed, but the feeling would be familiar to those who once walked toward the glowing lights of the Ritz on a Saturday night. The theater belonged to another time. The joy of coming together still belongs to Celina. T H E R A I L R O A D | When Opportunity Arrived

More than a century ago, a new sound rolled across the North Texas prairie - the whistle of a locomotive approaching Celina. The railroad arrived in 1902 and transformed the small community almost immediately. Goods that once required days of travel by horse and wagon could arrive within hours. Cotton and grain could reach distant markets, visitors brought new business and ideas, and Celina suddenly found itself connected to opportunities far beyond North Texas. At the center of that activity was the Celina Train Depot, built along the Frisco railroad line. More than a place to board a train, the depot became part of everyday life - a place to collect freight, send packages, welcome visitors, say goodbye to loved ones, and watch the trains come and go. The railroad also reshaped Celina itself. Homes and businesses developed around the tracks as the community's center shifted toward this new connection to the outside world. The original depot is gone today, but the railroad remains part of Celina's story. Trains still pass through town, and the familiar Celina rail sign has become a backdrop for family photographs, Little League teams, graduating seniors, and other milestones - connecting new generations to a symbol of the community's past. More than 120 years after the first locomotive arrived, the railroad reminds us of a defining moment when new possibilities came to Celina on steel rails. It brought connection. It created opportunity. And it helped put Celina on the track toward everything that would follow.

CELEBRATE CELINA'S 150 TH ! Experience the heart and soul of our community by visiting the official Celina 150th Anniversary website, your digital home for all things celebrating this historic milestone! Dive into the town's founding stories, explore interactive maps of our most cherished historical landmarks, and listen to powerful oral histories from the families who built our legacy. From sprawling photo and video galleries to deep dives into our rich heritage, this is the ultimate destination to see how 150 years of tradition are paving the way for our future. Life Connected. | 15

FEATURE STORY

Thirty-Seven In its 150th year, Celina counts its championships on a flag above the field. The number keeps changing, but the passion doesn't. There is a particular hour on a Friday in the fall when this town empties out. It happens in stages. The shops around the Square lock up early. Somebody flips a sign. Trucks come in off the county roads with the dust still on them, and cars come out of neighborhoods that did not exist five years ago, and they all end up driving in the same direction. Grandparents who graduated from Celina High School in the 1960's sit down beside families who closed on a house in March. Little kids run loose behind the bleachers in orange shirts with somebody's number on the back, and some fans are wearing the number of a player whose father they also watched. Nobody organizes this. There is no committee. It simply happens, every fall, the way it has happened here for the better part of a century, and it is the single most reliable thing about the place. That is the part of Celina that does not show up in the record book. What shows up in the record book is what this town has produced. Generation after generation of kids from a farming community in the northwest corner of Collin County who were told, usually by somebody who had been told the same thing, that they were expected to be the best in Texas at whatever it was they had chosen to do. And then went out and were. Boys who ran a relay in Austin in 1991 and won a state crown by two points. A girl who scored 114 goals in a season. A junior shortstop who hit .538. A young boy who once stood by a fence waiting on a high five from the teams he adored who would become the quarterback who threw five touchdowns in a state championship game. A drum line that has not lost at state in four years. Cheerleaders who spend all fall and all winter yelling for everybody else and then go win four state titles of their own.

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Hometown heroes, in the plainest and least ironic sense of that phrase. Kids who grew up here, were coached by people who grew up here, and are now raising children here who will be coached by people who grew up here. And above all of it, on a pole at the stadium, there is a flag. Orange and white, snapping in whatever wind is coming down out of Oklahoma. One number on it. That's all. No explanation, no plaque, no list of years, no small print. You cannot see it from the highway. That matters. It was never put up there to be read by people passing through on their way to somewhere else. But stand anywhere on that hilltop at the athletics complex, in the parking lot or coming out of the field house in the morning with your gear over your shoulder, and there it is. Every kid who trains in this town looks up at that number a hundred times a season without meaning to. It is not a billboard. It is a scoreboard. Right now, it says 37. This tradition took hold on Superintendent Dr. Tom Maglisceau's watch, and whoever first said the words out loud understood something every person in this town already knew, that a record like this belongs in the wind above the field and not behind glass in a hallway. And when a Celina team wins another one, that team raises the new flag themselves. The competitors and their coaches, hands on the rope, in front of everybody, on their own field. Nobody hands it to them. Nobody unveils it for them. They pull it up. Thirty-seven state championships make up the number stitched in time. Football and boys’ track and girls’ track and cross country and baseball and softball and soccer and marching

Celina, 1908

band and cheer and robotics. Six decades of Bobcats, most of them long since grown and gone, all of them accounted for in a single number flying over a field in their beloved hometown. Celina turns 150 this year. It seems like the right time to say where that number came from, and to whom it belongs. The answer starts a long way back, and it does not start with football. It starts with a town that refused to be left out.

A few years later a local man named J. Fred Smith laid out buildings around a new Square, put in gravel streets and concrete sidewalks, built a power plant, hung streetlights and dug a well. Some people will tell you it was the first shopping center in the State of Texas. Whether or not that holds up, the impulse behind it is unmistakable, and it is the same impulse that once made men hitch a steam engine to a hardware store. Everything that has happened since in this town is a footnote to that decision. Somebody told Celina it was not going to be included. So, Celina moved.

Celina was established in 1876 on Blackland prairie so rich that people came for it from three states away. A settlement formed a few miles southwest of where the town stands today. The first postmaster, a man named John T. Mulkey, gave it the name of the place he had come from, Celina, Tennessee. A Methodist church went up in 1880 and doubled as the schoolhouse for a while, because that is how it was done. By 1885 there was a general store, a mill and a drugstore, and people had begun calling the place Old Celina without knowing yet why they would need to.

For most of the 70 years that followed, Celina Bobcat teams lost games.

Then the railroad came. It missed them by about a mile. Close enough to hear the whistle in the evening and far enough to die slowly, which is exactly how hundreds of Texas towns died, passed over by a survey line drawn by a man in an office who had never been there and never would be.

Then a new coach showed up.

Our pioneers did not accept it.

Which means that on New Year's Day of 1957, in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, in front of better than 60,000 people with NBC carrying the game and Red Grange himself on the call, Virgil Miller's TCU team lined up across from a Syracuse squad led by a senior halfback named Jim Brown.

Settlers jacked up the town. Houses, stores, all of it, set on rollers and dragged across muddy fields by traction engines to the new tracks, building by building, until the entire community had physically relocated itself to where the future had decided to run.

The record book is easy to find, and it isn't kind. Winless seasons in the war years. 0-6 in 1952. 0-7 in 1958. 1-9 in 1959. 2-8 in 1960. In 1964 the Bobcats went 1-8-1, and there was no reason on earth to believe that meant anything other than what it had always meant, which is that Celina was a farm town that played football in the fall the way farm towns do, and that was fine, and that was all.

Virgil Alexander Miller was born on April 28, 1935, ten miles up the road. He went to Texas Christian University and played football and ran track for the Horned Frogs from 1955 to 1958.

It was Brown's last college game. He was about a year from becoming the best football player who ever lived. Life Connected. | 17

from the best athlete in the country and come out ahead. Her way of putting it was simple: “Coach won every day.” Another man, Eddie Fipps, signed the guest book a year and a half after his funeral, which tells you something all by itself. He wrote that he had loved Coach Miller like a father, and that it had been an honor to play for him. Virgil Miller died on May 25, 2024, at the age of 89. Seven months later, Celina won its ninth football state championship.

That afternoon Brown carried 26 times for 132 yards, scored three touchdowns, kicked three extra points, ran back kickoffs for another 96 yards, and accounted for 21 of his team's 27 points. He was named the game's Co-Most Valuable Player, and people who study the sport still put that day on the short list of the greatest individual performances anyone has ever turned in. Despite that effort, Miller and TCU won 28-27. Not long after, Virgil Miller came home to Collin County and eventually took a job in Celina, Texas. By 1965, the Bobcats were 8-1-1. Tied scores made the record books then. By 1967, they were 11-1. By 1968, 10-2. In 1969 they went 12-0, undefeated, in a school that had won two football games five years earlier. In 1971, they went 11-0-1. State champions were not crowned in Celina’s small classification back then, or the flag would have a greater number on it. In the spring of 1969, and again in the spring of 1970, Celina boys came home from Austin with state championships in track. Those were the first two this school ever won in anything. The first two numbers on that flag came from Virgil Miller's kids, and they came on a track, in May, in a pair of shoes. He stayed in this town the rest of his working life. He coached, then he was an elementary principal, then he was the high school principal. He taught biology. He taught driver's education. He and his wife, Jan, raised their children here and buried themselves in the work of a small school district for decades, which is the least glamorous and most consequential job available in any town in America. And every so often, in a biology classroom in Celina, Texas, Coach Miller would thread up a film reel and let a room full of farm kids watch the day he lined up across from Jim Brown. One of those students, Jo Ann Riemer Storie, wrote about it after he died. She remembered the reel, and she remembered what it did to a teenager in a small town to learn that the man teaching her about cell division had once stood across the line 18 | City of Celina

There is a second half to the Miller story, and it may be the more important one. His wife, Jan, taught at Celina High School. In 1992, when Celina had gone eighteen years without a football state title, when the dynasty everybody now remembers had not started and there was no particular reason to think it would, she started an organization to raise money so that Celina kids could go to college. It was called C.A.R.E. in those days. Today, it is the Celina Education Foundation, and in a recent spring, it put over $2,000 into the hands of graduating Bobcats headed off to universities and trade schools all over the country. It funds teacher grants, paying for good ideas that teachers dream up and could never otherwise afford to try. Coach Miller taught them they could beat anybody. His wife made sure that when they were done playing, somebody had already set aside the money to send them on. The flag counts championships. It does not count scholarships. But they came out of the same conviction, and in Celina, Texas, they came out of the same home. G.A. Moore came to Celina in 1972, and this town has never entirely stopped talking about him. He was a Pilot Point boy, born in Mustang in 1938. He played four sports in high school, lettered 16 times, made first team allstate in two of them, and went to North Texas State on a football scholarship. In 1961, he married his high school sweetheart, Lois Ann Graves, and stayed married to her for more than 60 years. In his third season here, 1974, Celina played Big Sandy for the Class B state championship. Big Sandy was on its way to becoming one of the most feared offensive teams in the history of American high school football. Nobody scored. Not one point, either direction, the whole afternoon. They shared the title.

Celina's first football state championship came out of a game in which the scoreboard never moved. If you wanted a single image for what this program was about to become, you could not invent anything better than a group of farm boys standing in front of the most explosive team in Texas and refusing, for 48 minutes, to let one of them into the end zone. Moore left after 1976 and went back to Pilot Point, where he won state championships in 1980 and 1981. In 1986, he took over a Sherman program that had gone 0-10 the year before and went 6 - 4 and got named Dallas Area Coach of the Year for it. Then in 1988, he came back to Celina, and what followed is the part that put this town on the national stage. Moore built a defense they called the 10-1. Ten men on the line of scrimmage, one linebacker roaming behind them, which is not so much a scheme as a dare. He ran it because he was never going to out-size anybody, and because it asked his kids for the one thing he was certain they had. What he had were kids who would not quit before the other team did.

And in the middle of all that, in the spring of 1991, some of G.A. Moore’s runners won a state championship in track. Celina scored 42 points at the Class 2A state track meet. Shelby scored 40. The margin was a 4 x 400 meter relay in which Josh Ferguson, Chris Stelzer, Torinzo Crawford and Adam Mack ran 3:17.5 and beat the field to the line. Two points. Four boys and a baton, on a Saturday in Austin, and their football coach standing there watching them do it. The rest of that championship team was Dusty Gray, Brian Ramsey and Rowdy Vest. Seven kids. A whole state championship. From somewhere deep within the passion for his players that filled his soul, Coach Moore birthed the vision for a mentoring program within the Celina Quarterback Club, where a grown man in this town would be assigned to a high school athlete for the season. Pregame meals. Signs in the yard on game day. Encouragement in their faith journey. Somebody in the stands who was specifically there for a kid, not his own. By 2002, there were 80 men signed up.

What Celina developed were disciplined, motivated kids who bought all the way in and fought their hearts out. And history was about to change here forever. The Bobcat football team won the crown in 1995. They won it in 1998. And 1999. And 2000. And 2001. Four in a row, which tied the state record.

A lot of them had never had a son who played a down. From 1998 through 2002, the Celina Bobcats won 68 consecutive football games. It is still the longest winning streak in the history of Texas high school football, and Texas high school football has been going on for well over a century. Sixty-eight. Four full seasons and part of a fifth without losing to anybody, anywhere, for any reason. Four state championships stacked inside it. A generation of Celina kids who went through an entire high school career and never once walked off a field on the wrong end of a score. The 2000 title game is a vantage point from which you can peer into those unprecedented years. December 23, at Texas Stadium, against Mart. Celina's first possession was three penalties and a punt, which is not how anybody draws it up. Quarterback Adam Herrin remembered that the team was all nervous. G.A. Moore may have been old-school, but he wasn’t stupid. He would always keep his opponents guessing, and that day, he put on the field a no-huddle offense the boys had never run before in their lives. Adam Harvey ran for 165 yards. Celina kept the football and kept Mart's offense standing on the sideline. The Bobcats had done it again. Josh Sharrock, who played through the middle of the streak, has described what that mentality did to a teenage brain. His first three years were 16-0 and state champions. The idea of losing was not something he had weighed and rejected. It had never occurred to him. He said he had never thought about it, that he did not believe it was possible. Life Connected. | 19

or more, including 62-13 over Prosper and 62-0 over Van Alstyne. Four days before Christmas, they beat China Spring 21-14 for the title, and that was the only game all season they won by fewer than 13. Number eight was a state record for total championships. Ford went 122-16 in 10 seasons, with two state titles and two more trips to the final.

That is the whole town in one sentence. Not confidence. Something much deeper than confidence. Sixty-eight games. There was a film crew in the building for that 2002 season, as it happened. A documentary called Power, Passion and Glory, made by Ken Heckmann and narrated by Pat Summerall, followed the Bobcats through the year the streak died and G.A. Moore walked away. It was released as the unscripted answer to Hollywood's version of Texas football, which had just put Odessa Permian on movie screens. G.A. Moore finished with more than 425 career wins, the most in Texas high school football history when he retired in 2011. He is in the Texas High School Coaches Hall of Honor and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. He died at his home in Pilot Point on September 5, 2025, at the age of 86. Ten months before that, Pilot Point named its field after him, and he was there while they did it. When he died, Life. Connected Magazine wrote that his greatest victories were not found on the scoreboard. They were found in the lives of the young men he shaped, in what he taught them about work and discipline and faith and heart. Butch Ford spent 25 years working alongside G.A. Moore, at Pilot Point and Sherman and Celina, and then in 2002, he inherited a football team in the middle of a 68-game winning streak. There was no harder job in the state of Texas in that moment. He became the fastest coach in Texas history to reach 100 career wins. In 2005, his Bobcats went undefeated and beat Paul Pewitt 28-12 in Mesquite behind quarterback Nathan Tune. It was Celina's seventh state football championship, which at that moment put this town in a group with Plano and Brownwood and nobody else in Texas. In 2007, they went 16-0. Seven of those wins came by 40 points 20 | City of Celina

Then in May of 2012 he told his team, told his administrators, packed his office and was gone, all inside a single day. He had been wrestling with it since January. He was 60. He had three kids in college, his youngest was weeks from graduating from Celina, and his oldest had been an assistant on his own staff. He wanted to go fishing. He moved that fast on purpose, so the next man would have time to get his feet under him before summer. In the fall of 2009, a film crew turned up in town on behalf of a country singer. The video for Kenny Chesney's The Boys of Fall premiered on ESPN's SportsCenter the following August. It runs over eight minutes, and a good deal of it was shot right here, at the Bobcats' stadium, with the 2009 team. The coffee shop with "We Believe" spray-painted across the window in orange is here. The hay bales lining Preston Road are the ones Rex Glendenning has been spray-painting before games for as long as anybody can remember. And then on a Friday in late September of 2010, Kenny Chesney walked into a pep rally at Celina High School unannounced and premiered the video for the kids in their own gym. He told them they had been chosen because of what they had accomplished, and because of the size of the town they had accomplished it in. The students in that gym are in their early 30's now. Ask one of them about it and watch what happens to their face. Now. Here is the part that people who only know the football get wrong about this place. Start with the girls who spend all fall and all winter in the stands cheering for everybody else. The Celina cheer program has won four state championships. Understand what that actually requires. These are athletes. They tumble, they stunt, they throw human beings into the air and catch them, and they do it on a hard floor in front of judges who deduct for a bent knee. They condition year-round. They compete in January, in the dead middle of a season when they are also anywhere this school sends a team.

Because that is the other half of it. Celina cheerleaders are in the stands for programs that get a fraction of the attention. They are there in the cold at the end of a long night. They are the ones who make a Tuesday road game feel special. They spend their entire high school careers manufacturing the noise that other people's championships get won inside of. And then they go to Fort Worth and win their own. Under head coach Julie Hall and her staff, Celina won its first UIL spirit state championship in January of 2022. They won again in January of 2024, and again in 2025, and again in 2026, with a score of 94.70 at the Fort Worth Convention Center. Three consecutive titles. Four in five years. In 2025, they did not simply win. They placed first in all three scored categories, crowd leading and band chant and fight song, which is to say they were the best in the State of Texas at every single thing a cheer squad is asked to do. Four of the numbers on that flag were put there by the girls who put them up for everybody else.

for the repetition, and any band director will tell you that the difference between a good band and a state champion is almost entirely the willingness to do a thing again after it was already nearly perfect. Under director Jon Weddle, the Celina band won the school's first state marching championship in 2022 with a show called Origami. Weddle said afterward that it was surreal, that he had not fully grasped it, and that finding out the result standing right there alongside his students, instead of knowing beforehand the way directors usually do, was something he would never forget. Then they won it again in 2023. And again in 2024. And again in 2025, at the Alamodome. Four straight state championships. The program has grown so fast that the district had to buy a bigger trailer, and there are over 400 kids in the middle school band waiting their turn. Then there are the girls who run.

The band has four of its own, and nobody in the school works longer hours.

The cross country team finished second at state in 2019. Then second again in 2020. Both times by single digits. Both times close enough to taste.

Marching season starts in July, in Texas, on a parking lot. It is over a hundred degrees, and a kid is holding a sousaphone and running the same eight counts for the two hundredth time because the seventh rank is a half-step wide. It goes on like that for four months. There is no shortcut and there is no substitute

In November of 2021, they went back to Round Rock and won it by 31 points, with five girls in the scoring top 30. Adele Clarke took third overall in 11:19.7. Alexis Frick was eleventh, Aimee Clarke fourteenth, Samantha Quiroz twenty-third, Sarah Coblentz twenty-ninth. Two Clarke sisters in the scoring five. Their coach, Eric Krepps, said the credit belonged to the girls, because they were the ones putting in the work, and that a lot of them had been there before and they acted like it. They won it again in 2022. Second, second, first, first. Nobody teaches that. A kid either comes back from losing or she doesn't, and 31 points is not a nudge. It is an answer. And then there is what the girls’ soccer team has done, which nobody in the history of Texas has done. They lost a state semifinal in 2021, 1-0, at the end of a season in which Taylor Zdrojewski scored 114 goals, a state record, and the team went 24-2-1. It was the best year the program had ever had. The next April, under head coach Alexander Adams, they met the same Midlothian Heritage team in the state championship game. It went to 4-4 through two overtimes. Zdrojewski, whose whole high school career had been built on scoring, had the ball late with her legs gone and chose to pass instead, setting up Brielle Buchanan to tie it. It went to a shootout. Kaitlyn Gustafson stopped Heritage's first shooter. Celina went five for five. Lexi Tuite hit the last one. Life Connected. | 21

On December 20, 2024, at AT&T Stadium, Celina beat Kilgore, 55-21, to finish 16-0 and win the ninth football state championship in school history, the first since 2007. Bill Elliott, who had been on the Celina staff for eight championships before that one, was the head coach. Bowe Bentley threw for 265 yards and five touchdowns. Coltin Rodriguez caught five passes for 149 yards and two scores. Celina led 27-14 at the half and then scored 28 unanswered points in the third quarter of a state championship game. Fifty years after 11 Celina boys stood in front of Big Sandy and would not give up a single point, their grandsons put up 55. Girls’ soccer had its first state championship in program history. The next season, they scored more than 200 goals and allowed ten. Ten. All year. They finished with no losses and no ties, only the third girls’ team in the history of the UIL to do it and beat a previously-undefeated Stephenville 8-1 in the final with five goals before halftime. Lexi Tuite scored five of them herself, a state tournament record for a championship match. They won again in 2024. In 2025, they beat Comal Davenport 2-1 and became the first program in the history of Texas high school soccer to win four straight. The seniors on that team finished their careers 112-3-3. And in April of 2026, at Birkelbach Field in Georgetown, they beat Salado, 2-1, for a fifth consecutive state championship. No team in Texas had ever done that either. Ryleigh Stifflemire scored the first goal, then broke free down the right wing with eleven minutes left and drove in a low cross that deflected home off a Salado defender and was named most valuable player of the championship for the second year running. There are girls who graduated from Celina High School having never played a single season that did not end with a state championship. Softball won a state championship in 2011 under Billy Coleman, with a junior shortstop named Shelby Carter hitting .538. Baseball won one in 2002, beating Holliday, 7-5. The girls’ track program has three. The boys’ track program has five. That is why the flag carries one number instead of a list. Nobody at Celina High School has ever been asked to sort a championship won on grass from one won on a track, a hardwood floor, a ball field or a parking lot. There is no ranking. There is no asterisk for the ones that happened in front of smaller crowds. It is all one number, and it all goes up the same pole, pulled by the kids who earned it. Which is how it came back around to football on a Friday afternoon in Arlington. 22 | City of Celina

Members of that 1974 team were in the building that afternoon, wearing orange polo shirts with the year stitched on them, watching it happen. One old timer even said it was the best Celina team he had ever seen play. And here is the thing that keeps this from being nostalgia. The men who won those championships did not always leave. Josh Sharrock, who played through the middle of the 68-game streak on three state championship teams, coaches football at Celina. Troy McCartney, who won here, runs the baseball program. Greg Sherwood won here too, and today he is an administrator in this district, which is its own kind of loop, because that is exactly the road Virgil Miller walked. Coach first. Then lead the schools. There are others. Which means a fourteen-year-old walking into that fieldhouse this fall is being taught by men who did the exact thing that kid is being asked to do, 28 years earlier. Not a story about it. The man himself, standing right there, who knows precisely what it costs because he paid it. And when that kid walks into the building the next morning, somebody in the front office won a state championship here too. That is not a coaching staff. That is a town handing itself down. The town those men grew up in is changing. Everybody here knows it, and nobody says it out loud on a Friday night. Celina had 6,028 people in 2010. It had 16,739 in 2020. It will now surpass over 64,000 residents, and the plans on file run to around 300,000 before the last lot is sold. The mechanism is easy to understand and impossible to stop. The Dallas North Tollway and Preston Road run north out of the metroplex side by side, and the ground between them is what developers call the Golden Corridor. When those roads push north, a boomtown happens where they land. It was Plano in the 1990s. It was Frisco in the 2000s. It is Celina now.

The murmuring started in 2011, when Mayor Corbett Howard brought his growth projections to the school board. A former president of the school board has said he did not believe them to save his life. He figured there would be an influx, sure, but nothing on the scale the mayor was describing. His assessment now is that the mayor was probably fifty percent low. The high school outgrew itself so fast that classes were being held in the football film room. Voters approved a bond to open a second high school by 2030, and the district expects four of them inside 20 years. Enrollment pushed the Bobcats out of Class 4A, the classification they had just finished dominating, and up into 5A. Somewhere in the next decade, a kid could grow up inside the City limits of Celina, Texas, and not be a Bobcat. That is a real thing and there is no point pretending otherwise. But go stand at Bobcat field on a Friday night in the fall and tell me what has actually changed. The Quarterback Club still puts grown men alongside kids who need one. The high school coaches still work with the little league coaches, so every seven-year-old in this town is learning the same offense the varsity runs, in the same orange and white. The cheerleaders are still in the stands at the games nobody writes about. And the players still cut their hair and take out their earrings

and don't wear black, because of a rivalry with Pilot Point that most of them couldn't date if you asked them. They enforce it on each other. Bowe Bentley, who threw five touchdowns in a state championship game at AT&T Stadium, says his favorite memory of Celina football is standing on the fence at the old Bobcat Field as a little kid, watching warmups, waiting on a coach to come by and give him a high five. That old field near downtown, on ground the Ousley family gave the school district generations ago, is being preserved. The City and the Celina Independent School District worked it out. G.A. Moore, who coached there across two stints between 1972 and 2002, said it was a place where young men and women learned real life lessons and leadership through hard-fought wins and heartbreaking losses and championships. The Celina Education Foundation a teacher started in 1992 still writes the checks. And the flag still goes up by hand. Thirty-seven. It was 34 not that long ago, and it will not be 37 forever, because somewhere in this town right now there is a girl running in the dark before school, and a boy under a bar at six in the morning, and a horn section that is about to run one phrase again because it was only nearly right, and a squad of cheerleaders in a gym on a Tuesday learning to throw a girl higher than they threw her last week. None of them are doing it for a trophy case. They are doing it because in Celina, Texas, this is simply what is expected. It was expected of Virgil Miller's kids in 1969, in a school that had won two games five seasons earlier. It was expected of G.A. Moore's in 1999, in the middle of a streak they did not know how to end. It was expected of Alexander Adams's girls in 2026, on a soccer field in Georgetown, with the entire history of Texas high school sports telling them nobody had ever won five. It is expected right now, this fall, of children whose families moved here last year from California and Illinois and New York, and who have already figured out exactly what the number on that flag means and exactly what it is going to cost them to change it. In 1902, this town moved itself a mile through the mud rather than being left behind. Celina has been refusing to be left behind ever since. And every single time it refuses again, somebody in this town gets to pull the rope.

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Life Connected. Podcast Discover a deeper look into the stories that shape Celina through the new video podcast, offering a dynamic and immersive way to connect with the people and places that make our community unique.

The Life Connected. Podcast allows residents to watch insightful conversations unfold. Each episode aligns with Life Connected. Magazine, offering an extended look into the feature stories that define our community. Through this multimedia approach, we are not just informing residents - we are creating a deeper connection to the people, places, and initiatives that shape Celina.

RECENT EPISODES GENERATIONS OF CELINA (Featuring Steve Carey)

Longtime Celina resident Steve Carey reflects on his family’s roots and the generations of history connecting the Carey family to the community. Through stories passed down through his family and memories from his own life, Carey shares a personal perspective on the people, relationships, and traditions that shaped Celina. His story reminds us that our history is about more than dates, buildings, and milestones - it is about the families who built their lives here and passed their connection to Celina from one generation to the next. THEN & NOW: WHAT MAKES A PLACE WORTH CALLING HOME

More than a century ago, when the railroad bypassed Celina’s original townsite, residents made an extraordinary decision: they moved their community toward opportunity. That same spirit continues to define Celina today. This special episode journeys from Celina’s earliest days to one of the fastest-growing periods in its history. From the Downtown Square and historic homes to Friday night lights and the water tower overlooking the community, Then & Now explores how the places around us may change while the connections between people remain at the heart of what makes Celina home. A CALLING TO SERVE (Featuring Retired Fire Chief Mark Metdker)

Retired Celina Fire Chief Mark Metdker reflects on a lifetime of public service and the remarkable evolution of the Celina Fire Department. From the community’s early volunteer fire service to the modern department serving Celina today, Chief Metdker shares stories of leadership, mentorship, training, and the generations of firefighters who have answered the call to serve. His conversation offers a look at how Celina prepared for tremendous growth while preserving the commitment to service that has defined the department throughout its history. THE COWBOY WHO CHOSE CELINA (Featuring Punk & Rita Carter)

Legendary horseman Punk Carter and his wife, Rita, share a story rooted in faith, family, hard work, horses, and a lifelong connection to Celina. From Punk’s journey to Celina as a teenager to his celebrated career in the cutting horse industry and induction into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame, the Carters reflect on the experiences and values that shaped their lives. More than the story of an accomplished cowboy, their conversation explores six generations of ranching tradition, investing in others, and preserving the sense of community that made Celina the place they chose to call home.

W HER E T O FI N D T H E P O D C A S T SOCIAL MEDIA E @CityofCelina Q @Celina_Texas

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LEGACY DR WATER LINE (PUNK CARTER BLVD TO CELINA RD PUMP STATION)

TXDOT TRAFFIC SIGNAL FM 1385 & CRUTCHFIELD RD, FM 1385 & FM 428 AND PRESTON RD & LEGACY DR

LEGACY HILLS WASTEWATER RECLAMATION FACILITY

SOUTHEAST PUMP STATION

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MARILEE RD RD (PRESTON (PRESTON RD RD TO TO N. N. MARILEE DALLAS DALLAS PKWYY) PKWYY)

ARIZONA DR (WALNUT ST TO PECAN ST)

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ASPHALT REPLACEMENT CR 100 (PRESTON RD TO COIT RD) AND COIT RD (CR 92 TO CR 134)

TXDOT TXDOT TRAFFIC TRAFFIC SIGNAL SIGNAL GA G.A.MOORE MOOREPKWY PKWY&& PRESTON PRESTON RD RD

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N. PRESTON RD 10-INCH WATER UPSIZE N. PRESTON RD 10-INCH WATER UPSIZE

SUNSET BLVD ASPHALT IMPROVEMENTS (PRESTON RD TO COIT RD)

33 33

CELINA PKWY SCHEMATIC

N. PRESTON RD SEWER UPSIZE (CR 99 N. TOPRESTON CR 134) RD SEWER UPSIZE (CR 99 TO CR 134)

CHOATE PKWY IMPROVEMENTS FROM KINSHIP PKWY TO ROSELAND PKWY

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CELINA PKWY EXPANSION CELINA PKWY EXPANSION

COIT RD (FROM FRONTIER PKWY TO BRAZOS PKWY)

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OLD CELINA PARK PLAYGROUND SOUTHEAST GROUND STORAGE TANK - PHASE 1

COIT RD IMPROVEMENTS (CHOATE PKWY TO OUTER LOOP)

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OLD CELINA PARK RESTROOM OLD CELINA PARK RESTROOM

COIT RD IMPROVEMENTS (VEST LN TO N OF ROCKY RD)

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OUSLEY PARK STREAM RESTORATION OUSLEY PARK STREAM RESTORATION

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OWNSBY PKWY (PRESTON RD TO COIT RD) OWNSBY PKWY (PRESTON RD TO COIT RD)

PARKS ADMINISTRATION

THE CLUBHOUSE AT OUSLEY PARK

PARVIN RD ASPHALT IMPROVEMENTS

CR 52 (CELINA PKWY) RECONSTRUCTION

CR 53 REHAB AND OLD LOG TRAIL EXTENSION

SOUTHEAST PUMP STATION TRANSMISSION LINE - PHASE 1

CHOATE PKWY

TRANSPORTATION

FM 455

OOP

SEWER COLLECTION

DNT INTERSECTION IMPROVEMENTS

DOE BRANCH SANITARY SEWER INTERCEPTOR

DOWNTOWN INNER LOOP - PHASE 1

DOWNTOWN SEWER UPGRADE

DOWNTOWN WRF EXPANSION 3 MGD

WILSON CREEK PARK

FRONTIER PKWY WATERLINE

FRONTIER PKWY (PARVIN RD) - FM 1385 TO DALLAS PKWY

GLENDENNING PKWY (DALLAS PKWY TO PRESTON RD)

DOWNTOWN CENTER & PARKING GARAGE

41 41 42 42 43

PECAN ST (FLORIDA DR TO ARIZONA DR), ILLINOIS DR (WALNUT ST TO BEECH ST), & PECAN ST DR (FLORIDA ARIZONA (PECANDR ST TO TO ARIZONA BEECH ST)DR), ILLINOIS DR (WALNUT ST TO BEECH ST), & ARIZONA DR (PECAN ST TO BEECH ST) PRESTON RD PRV AND PRESSURE PLANE ADJUSTMENT PRESTON RD PRV AND PRESSURE PLANE ADJUSTMENT PRESTON RD GREEN RIBBON

PRESTON RD GREEN RIBBON TXDOT TRAFFIC SIGNAL FRONTIER PKWY & WELLS RD TXDOT TRAFFIC SIGNAL FRONTIER 44 PKWY & WELLS RD PRESTON RD LIGHTING - PHASE 4 45 (LEGACY DR TO N CITY LIMITS) PRESTON RD LIGHTING - PHASE 4 45 (LEGACY DR TO N CITY LIMITS) 46 PRESTON RD TREE REPLACEMENT 43

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PRESTON RD TREE REPLACEMENT PUBLIC WORKS PARKING LOT - PHASE 1

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PUBLIC WORKS PARKING - PHASE TXDOT FRONTIER PKWY - LOT PRESTON RD1 TO CUSTER RD

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TXDOT FRONTIER PKWY - PRESTON RD TO CUSTER RD PKWY RIGHT TURN LANE PUNK CARTER

J FRED J. FREDSMITH SMITHWATER WATERLINE LINE(PRESTON (PRESTONRD RD TO COIT RD)

49 50

PUNK RIGHT TURN LANE RASORCARTER RANCHPKWY WASTEWATER RECLAMATION FACILITY

LEGACY DR - HONEY CREEK RD TO CAREY RD

50 51

RASOR RANCH WASTEWATER RASOR SEWER INTERCEPTOR LINE RECLAMATION FACILITY

LEGACY DR SCHEMATIC DESIGN

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SOUTHEAST GROUND STORAGE TANK - PHASE 1 RASOR SEWER INTERCEPTOR LINE Life Connected. | 27

CIP PROJECTS

Downtown Center Updates

Construction continues to take shape at the Downtown Center as Swinerton, the City’s general contractor, advances work throughout the facility ahead of its anticipated opening in February 2027. Across the exterior, crews continue roof steel installation and decking operations while completing remaining concrete masonry unit work. Penthouse framing and sheathing are underway, brick installation is progressing along the west elevation, and framing and sheathing continue at the Level 4 southwest elevation. Along the east elevation, crews are preparing the concrete substrate for air barrier and waterproofing installation. Inside, several of the Downtown Center’s signature spaces are beginning to emerge. The structure for the grand staircase within the atrium is complete, with preparations underway for installation of the timber treads and cross-laminated timber roof. In the basement, crews are installing the learning staircase structure and beginning interior framing. Work on Levels 2 and 3 includes one-sided drywall installation, electrical rough-in, and plumbing rough-in within the restrooms. From the exterior façade to the spaces that will eventually welcome the community inside, each phase brings the Downtown Center another step closer to becoming a centerpiece of Downtown Celina. ART THAT TELLS CELINA’S STORY

As construction transforms the Downtown Center, plans are also taking shape for public art that will bring Celina’s history, character, and sense of community to the building’s exterior. The Downtown Center was designed with three prominent mural locations: a three-story Statement Mural facing Pecan 28 | City of Celina

Street and two single-story Interactive Murals facing the Downtown Parking Garage. Following approval of the mural locations by the Arts & Culture Board and City Council, the City issued a call for artists that generated 52 submissions. Six semifinalists were selected to develop concepts and participate in interviews, with internationally-recognized muralist Damien Mitchell emerging as the finalist. With more than 20 years of experience, Mitchell is known for large-scale murals and has created work for Major League Baseball, MTV, Google, and Doctors Without Borders. His concept for the three-story Statement Mural, “The Heart of Celina,” celebrates the people, industries, and traditions that helped shape the community. Historic Downtown storefronts, grain silos, agricultural imagery, and other elements of Celina’s past come together to reflect the Square’s longtime role as the cultural and commercial heart of the community. The two interactive murals will offer a more playful experience. Using forced perspective and visual illusions, the artwork will invite visitors to become part of the scene, creating unique photo opportunities designed especially for families, children, and visitors exploring Downtown. Together, the three murals will create more than public art. They will help establish a sense of place, celebrating where Celina has been while creating new experiences and traditions for the generations shaping where it goes next. When the Downtown Center opens in 2027, it will not only introduce a new civic destination to Downtown Celina. It will create another place for the community to connect, gather, and continue writing Celina’s story.

CIP PROJECTS

Fire Station #4 Updates

Construction continues to advance on Fire Station #4, the latest addition to the City of Celina’s growing public safety infrastructure and an important investment in serving the community as Celina continues to grow. Located at 1205 Punk Carter Pkwy., Fire Station #4 is being constructed next to the Celina Police Department as part of the City’s Public Safety Campus. The new station will expand emergency response capabilities in eastern Celina and position firefighters and emergency personnel closer to the residents and neighborhoods they serve.

to support the demands of a rapidly growing community while providing Celina firefighters with modern living and operational spaces, advanced training capabilities, and the equipment and resources necessary to respond when the community needs them most.

Crossland Construction, the City’s general contractor for the project, continues to make significant progress throughout the facility. Recent milestones include completion of exterior brick and stone, building sidewalks, and sheetrock installation, taping, and bedding within the living quarters. Crews are now advancing work on building and site sidewalks, overhead door installation, interior painting and texture, and exterior metal wall panels. Upcoming construction will shift toward additional site improvements and interior building systems. Work will include grading in preparation for landscaping, fire suppression system trim-out, installation of ceiling grid, and completion of hard-lid ceilings. Once complete, Fire Station #4 will provide 24-hour fire suppression, emergency medical services, rescue response, and other emergency services. The facility has been designed

Anticipated to open in spring 2027, Fire Station #4 represents more than another building on Celina’s Emergency Services Campus. It is part of the City’s continued commitment to ensuring that public safety infrastructure grows alongside the community - providing the people, facilities, and resources necessary to serve Celina today while preparing for the needs of tomorrow. Life Connected. | 29

CIP PROJECTS

Ousley Park Stream Restoration & Trail Project throughout the corridor. The work will help strengthen the natural environment while supporting the long-term functionality of the park. Rather than treating Doe Branch simply as a feature running through Ousley Park, the larger vision embraces the creek as an important part of the park experience. Stream restoration will help create a healthier natural corridor while providing a setting where residents can enjoy green space within walking distance of Downtown Celina. CONNECTING THE PARK

The project is also about connecting people to the park - and to one another. A 12-foot-wide trail will follow Doe Branch Creek, creating a scenic and accessible route for walking, jogging, and biking. As Ousley Park continues to develop, the trail will help connect the different destinations and amenities located throughout the corridor. Ousley Park Stream Restoration & Trail Project lays the groundwork for the future of one of Celina’s signature public spaces. Along Doe Branch Creek, a major transformation is underway that will help create a new kind of park experience in the heart of Celina. The City has begun construction on the Ousley Park Stream Restoration & Trail Project, a significant investment focused on restoring the natural environment surrounding Doe Branch while improving recreation, accessibility, and connectivity throughout the park. The project is an important component of the larger vision for Ousley Park, a 29-acre linear park following the Doe Branch corridor. Designed to connect Celina’s past with its future, the park will preserve places that have played an important role in the community’s story while creating new opportunities to walk, bike, gather, recreate, and experience nature near Downtown. Construction on the Doe Branch Trail & Stream Restoration Project began in May 2026 and is anticipated to be completed in November 2027. RESTORING A NATURAL CORRIDOR

At the center of the project is Doe Branch Creek itself. Over time, waterways can experience erosion and changes that affect their banks, surrounding vegetation, drainage patterns, and ecological health. The stream restoration project will address those challenges through improvements designed to stabilize the creek and protect the surrounding parkland for the future. RoeschCo, the City’s contractor for the project, is completing stream stabilization and erosion-control improvements 30 | City of Celina

Those destinations include places that already hold an important place in Celina’s story. Ousley Park will incorporate the original Bobcat Stadium, the Ralph O’Dell Senior Center, and The Clubhouse at Ousley Park, bringing historic and existing community spaces together as part of a larger, connected park. The long-term vision is to create a continuous public space where residents can move between recreation, programming, history, and nature within the same park corridor. PRESERVING THE PAST WHILE PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE

One of the defining ideas behind Ousley Park is that creating something new does not require leaving the community’s history behind. Instead, the park is being designed around places and spaces that generations of Celina residents already recognize. The original Bobcat Stadium represents generations of Friday nights, student-athletes, families, and Bobcat traditions. The Ralph O’Dell Senior Center, which opened in 2023, provides a gathering place for Celina’s senior community. The Clubhouse at Ousley Park will soon introduce expanded opportunities for recreation, education, fitness, arts and crafts, and E-Sports. As those destinations are connected by trails, green space, and the restored Doe Branch corridor, Ousley Park will bring different generations and experiences together within one public space. Planning for the park’s future is also continuing. In March 2026, the Celina City Council approved design services with Parkhill for the remaining parkland and Arkansas Street improvements, helping guide the next stages of the area’s development.

Celebrating 150 years of Celina

CHRISTMAS SQUARE Presented by Specialty Land Services, LLC

CELINA’S DOWNTOWN SQUARE 5 - 9 PM

PHOTOS

WITH SANTA

LIVE REINDEER

TREE LIGHTING CEREMONY

SNOW SLIDES

LOCAL PERFORMERS

KIDS ZONE

FREE

Life Connected. | 31

CONNECTED TO OUR PAST

When Bonnie & Clyde's Posse Came to Celina A quiet farmhouse, a winter night, and one of the most extraordinary stories in our town's history. The events had already become part of American crime history long before they became part of Celina history. In late February 1935, with Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow already dead, surviving members of their gang were desperately trying to evade one of the largest manhunts in Texas history. Among them was Raymond Hamilton, one of Barrow’s closest associates and one of the Southwest's most dangerous fugitives. After ambushing officers near Sunset, Texas, Hamilton and fellow outlaw Joe Palmer stole another vehicle and forced sixteen-year-old J.C. Loftice to drive them south. Along the way, they kidnapped an additional motorist, L.B. Harlow, adding yet another hostage to their growing list. Their destination was completely unknown. Until they reached a quiet farmhouse outside Celina. Inside the home, Cecil Mayes was anything but prepared for unexpected visitors.

History often arrives in unexpected ways. Sometimes it comes with a parade around the Square, another Bobcat championship, or the naming or opening of a school. Other times it arrives after dark, carrying machine guns. For one Celina family in the winter of 1935, history pulled into their driveway in a stolen automobile. For nearly seven decades, Cecil Mayes rarely spoke about the terrifying evening when members of the infamous Bonnie and Clyde gang held her family hostage at their farmhouse just west of Celina. It was a story so unbelievable that many who heard it questioned whether it could possibly be true. It was.

32 | City of Celina

The weather had turned miserable. Snow, sleet, rain and bitter cold had settled across North Texas. Feeling ill with what she believed was the flu, Cecil persuaded her in-laws to remain overnight rather than attempt the drive home. With roadways nearly impassable, that simple decision may very well have saved lives during a winter storm of that magnitude. Her husband, Roy, had already gone to bed after supper. So had his parents, Sally and Bill Mayes. Their young son, Raymond, slept peacefully in another room. Then came the knock. Armed men burst into the farmhouse. Hamilton and Palmer ordered everyone to remain calm, but the weapons they carried left little doubt about who was in control. Machine guns, pistols, and ammunition surrounded the frightened family as the fugitives settled in for the night. “I know you've heard of me,” Hamilton reportedly warned her. “I'm not going to bother any of you if you do what I say.” Cecil noticed blood soaking through his clothing. Hamilton had been wounded during the earlier gun battle with law enforcement, and despite the fear gripping the house, she could not ignore the severity of his injury. The family watched over the injured outlaw through the night.

Roy Mayes was ordered to sit near the front window and keep watch for approaching officers while the gang rested, ate, and tended Hamilton's wound. Every passing minute brought uncertainty. Every sound outside raised the possibility of violence. Cecil later admitted that it was the longest night of her life. Years afterward she reflected with remarkable understatement. “Sure, we were scared,” she said. “Not many people have an outlaw spend the night.” By sunrise, the gang prepared to leave. They intended to take Roy with them as another hostage. Instead, they took his father, Bill Mayes. Before leaving, the gang issued a chilling warning: “Don't tell anyone about this for one hour.” Fearing for both his father's safety and his family's lives, Roy obeyed. When the hour finally passed, he drove to a nearby relative's home, where authorities were contacted by radio. Fortunately, Bill Mayes was released unharmed later that day. Raymond Hamilton's freedom did not last much longer. Within weeks, authorities captured him in Fort Worth. After trial and conviction, he was executed in the Texas electric chair on May 10, 1935. For the Mayes family, however, the headlines faded much more slowly. The memories remained. For decades, Cecil rarely shared the story. Many neighbors never knew their quiet farmhouse had briefly become a hiding place for America's most notorious gang. It wasn't until newspaper reporters rediscovered the account in the early 2000s that the remarkable episode received wider attention. Today, the story serves as an extraordinary reminder that history is not confined to famous cities or battlefields. Sometimes it unfolds in ordinary homes, among ordinary

families, in communities that would one day become thriving communities. As Celina celebrates 150 years of history, the tale of the Mayes family reminds us that our community's story is woven not only from schools, churches, businesses, and railroads, but also from the resilience of the people who called this place home. For one unforgettable winter night in 1935, a quiet farmhouse outside Celina stood at the intersection of local history and American legend. But perhaps the greatest lesson isn't about Bonnie and Clyde at all. Nearly every family that has lived in Celina for generations has a story worth remembering. Some tell of droughts, cotton harvests, school days, military service, or championship seasons. Others recall neighbors helping neighbors through hard times or businesses that became fixtures of the Downtown Square. The Mayes family tells of the night some of America's most notorious outlaws knocked on their door. It is a story that could only happen once. Yet, like so many stories passed from one generation to the next, it reminds us that history isn't something that only happened somewhere else. Sometimes it happens right here, in a farmhouse west of Celina, on a cold winter night, to ordinary people whose courage became part of our sesquicentennial story. One hundred fifty years after Celina was founded, that remarkable night remains one more thread in the rich tapestry of a town whose history has always been larger than anyone could have imagined. The information used for this article was originally published in The Dallas Morning News in 2001 after an interview with Mrs. Cecil Mayes.

Life Connected. | 33

POLICE DEPARTMENT

Celina Police Department: Leading From Within KYLE PECK NAMED ASSISTANT POLICE CHIEF For more than a decade, Kyle Peck has grown alongside the Celina Police Department - serving in nearly every major operational area, developing as a leader, and helping the department adapt to the changing public safety needs of a rapidly growing community. Now, he is helping lead its next chapter. Peck was named Assistant Police Chief in August, succeeding Brent Brown, who departed the department to become Police Chief for the Town of Prosper. In his new role, Peck works alongside Police Chief John Cullison and the department’s leadership team to provide executive oversight, develop officers and professional staff, strengthen community and regional partnerships, and help prepare the organization for Celina’s continued growth. For Peck, the appointment represents the latest step in a career built within the Celina Police Department. He joined CPD as a Patrol Officer in May 2015 and quickly began taking on greater responsibilities. Since then, he has served as Patrol Sergeant, Criminal Investigations Sergeant, Patrol Lieutenant, and Support Services Lieutenant - experience that has given him a comprehensive understanding of the department from both operational and administrative perspectives. “Kyle has earned the respect of this department through his leadership, integrity, and commitment to serving both our officers and the Celina community,” Cullison said. “Kyle understands our culture, he understands our community, and, most importantly, he understands the responsibility we have to prepare this department for Celina’s continued growth.” PREPARING FOR WHAT COMES NEXT Most recently, Peck served as Lieutenant of the Support Services Division, where his responsibilities extended across recruitment and hiring, departmental budgeting, resource allocation, policy development, administrative operations, and specialized programs. He has helped develop relationships with community stakeholders and local, state, and federal law enforcement and government agencies - partnerships that become 34 | City of Celina

increasingly important as Celina and the surrounding region continue to grow. His experience in the field is equally extensive. As Patrol Lieutenant, Peck oversaw patrol operations, staffing, emergency response, field supervision, and communityoriented policing initiatives. As Sergeant of the Criminal Investigations Division, he supervised criminal investigations, case management, intelligence gathering, and specialized investigative operations. Combined with five years of service with the Gunter Police Department before coming to Celina, Peck brings more than 16 years of law enforcement experience to his new role. That experience has been complemented by a continued commitment to professional development. Peck is a graduate of the Senior Management Institute for Police through the Police Executive Research Forum and has completed the School of Executive Leadership and School of Police Supervision through the Institute for Law Enforcement Administration. He holds a Master Peace Officer License and has also completed Leadership Celina. For the City, Peck’s advancement from Patrol Officer to Assistant Police Chief reflects the importance of developing leaders from within - providing employees opportunities to grow, take on new challenges, and ultimately help lead the organization they have helped build. “Celina has been an important part of my life and my career for more than a decade, and I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to serve this community as Assistant Police Chief,” Peck said. “As Celina continues to grow, so does our responsibility to evolve while preserving the relationships, trust, and level of service that have always defined this department.” As Celina enters another period of significant growth, Peck’s focus remains on what has guided his career throughout his time with the City: investing in people, preparing for the future, and serving the community.

POLICE DEPARTMENT

Securing Homes and Safeguarding Families

CHILD ID PROGRAM

DRUG TAKE-BACK PROGRAM

The Celina Police Department is participating in the National Child Identification Program, providing free Child ID kits to Celina families.

The Celina Police Department is proud to offer a safe, convenient, and environmentally friendly way to dispose of your accumulated expired, unwanted, and unused prescription medications. The local Drug Take-Back Program helps protect our community by preventing accidental poisonings, prescription drug abuse, and water contamination. Disposal is completely free and anonymous — no questions asked. Bring your unneeded medications to Police Headquarters today and help us keep Celina families safe.

The program provides parents and guardians with an easy way to securely collect and retain important identifying information about their children should it ever be needed by law enforcement. Each inkless kit takes only a few minutes to complete and provides space for a child’s personal descriptors, fingerprints, and DNA sample. Most importantly, the information is not entered into a database. Completed kits remain in the possession of parents or guardians and are stored securely at home. Since its creation following the 1997 disappearance of Amber Hagerman, the National Child Identification Program has distributed more than 70 million inkless identification kits to families. Celina families interested in receiving a free kit can have their child request one from a School Resource Officer at any Celina ISD campus. Kits are also available in the lobby of the Celina Police Department while supplies last. Additional kits will be ordered as needed. It is a simple resource families will hopefully never need to use, but one that can provide law enforcement with important information quickly should the need ever arise.

CHI L D ID PROG R AM

F O L L O W CELIN A PD!

D R UG T AK E - B AC K P R O G R AM

E @CelinaPolice Q @CelinaPoliceTX

Disposal Guidelines • Proper Drop-Off Options: Medications may be deposited directly into the secure drop box or left inside their original packaging. For your privacy, please cross out or remove all personal details on the label prior to disposal. • Accepted Items: The Department will accept all solidform pharmaceuticals (such as pills and capsules) as well as liquid medications kept in secure, original containers. • Prohibited Items: To protect staff from biohazard exposure and blood-borne pathogens, this program does not accept needles, syringes, EpiPens, intravenous fluids, or sharps. Please consult local health guidance for instructions on safe disposal of medical sharps. • Why It Matters: Keeping unused or expired drugs in home cabinets creates a significant risk for accidental misuse, addiction, or theft. Research demonstrates that most misused prescription medications are taken directly from the medicine cabinets of friends and family members. Drug Take-back is available Monday-Thursday from 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM and is located in the Celina Police Headquarters lobby: 3025 S. Coit Rd, Celina, TX 75009. If you have any questions, please call (945) 362-9002. Life Connected. | 35

FIRE DEPARTMENT

Celina Fire Department: People Matter How the Celina Fire Department’s principles translate into better service for our community. When someone calls the Celina Fire Department, it is often during one of the most difficult moments of their life. A medical emergency. A house fire. A vehicle collision. A hazardous condition. Whatever brings firefighters and paramedics to someone’s door, the resident on the other side of that call needs more than equipment and technical expertise. They need trained professionals who are prepared to act, work together, and treat people with care. That responsibility is at the center of the Celina Fire Department’s mission: To Protect Life Connections Through Excellent Public Service. As Celina grows, the department is building toward its vision to become the premier fire department in Texas. But that vision is ultimately about something much closer to home: providing residents with safe, effective, and compassionate emergency services when they need them most. Four critical questions help guide that commitment. WHY DO WE EXIST? Because People Matter. At its simplest, the Fire Department exists because people should not have to face an emergency alone. When residents call for help, Celina firefighters and paramedics respond to protect lives, families, homes, and the relationships that matter most. The department describes those relationships as life connections.

Behind every patient is a family. Behind every home is someone’s story. Behind every emergency are people who care about what happens next. That perspective keeps the focus of every response where it belongs - on the people being served. As the department puts it: “We stand guard to ensure people have another day together.” HOW DO WE SERVE? With Compassion, Integrity & Respect. Emergency response requires technical expertise, but the way that service is delivered matters too. Celina firefighters are expected to approach every resident with Compassion, Integrity, and Respect. Compassion means being willing to step into someone's difficult circumstances and help solve the problem. Integrity means residents can expect firefighters to align their actions with the values and standards of the department. Respect reinforces a fundamental principle of public service: it is not about us - it is about the people we serve. For residents, those values mean receiving professional care from people who understand that what may be another emergency call for a firefighter could be a life-changing moment for the person experiencing it.

36 | City of Celina

FIRE DEPARTMENT

WHAT CAN RESIDENTS DEPEND ON? A Department Prepared for the Call. The work of the Celina Fire Department extends well beyond fighting fires. Its responsibilities include fire suppression, emergency medical services, rescue, hazardous materials response, technical rescue, emergency management, and fire prevention. Maintaining those capabilities requires preparation long before an emergency occurs. Firefighters and paramedics continually train, practice procedures, maintain equipment, evaluate responses, and prepare for situations they may encounter across the community. For residents, that preparation means having a department

Consistency means those standards are applied across the department, creating predictable actions and expectations. Coordination ensures firefighters, paramedics, apparatus, and partner agencies work together as one team rather than as individuals. Accountability requires every member to know their responsibilities, maintain their skills, evaluate performance, and continually look for ways to improve. For residents, the benefit is straightforward: a coordinated team with established procedures, shared expectations, and a commitment to continuous improvement. PREPARING FOR CELINA’S FUTURE Celina is changing, and its Fire Department must continue changing with it. Additional personnel, new stations, modern equipment, specialized capabilities, and continued training are helping the department prepare for the public safety needs that accompany a growing community. But growth does not change the principle at the center of the organization.

ready to respond to a wide range of emergencies - with personnel trained to know what to do when every second matters. HOW DO WE DELIVER SAFE AND EFFECTIVE SERVICE? Standardization. Consistency. Coordination. Accountability. During an emergency, residents should not have to wonder whether the response they receive depends on which crew arrives. The Celina Fire Department uses four foundational principles to help provide safe, effective, and dependable service. Standardization establishes clear procedures so firefighters have a shared approach to emergency situations.

People matter. It is why Celina Fire exists, why its members prepare, and why the department continually evaluates how it can serve residents better. Becoming the premier fire department in Texas is an ambitious vision. For Celina residents, its meaning is much simpler: When you need help, a prepared team will answer ready to protect the people and life connections that matter most.

FOLLOW C E L I N A FI RE !

E @CelinaFireDept

E @CelinaTXOEM

Q @CelinaFireDept

Q @CelinaTXOEM Life Connected. | 37

PARKS & RECREATION

The Clubhouse at Ousley Park opportunity for participants to compete, develop skills, and connect through shared interests. Together, these spaces will allow the City to broaden its recreational and educational offerings beyond traditional athletics and provide programming that serves an even wider range of the community. CONSTRUCTION MOVES FORWARD Significant progress has also been made throughout the project site.

A new destination for recreation, learning, and community connection is nearing completion at Ousley Park. Construction continues to advance on The Clubhouse at Ousley Park, a new facility designed to expand the variety of recreational and educational programs available to Celina residents. With dedicated spaces for fitness, group activities, arts and crafts, education, and E-Sports, The Clubhouse will introduce new ways for residents of all ages and interests to get involved. The facility is anticipated to open in winter 2026, with construction increasingly transitioning from major site and infrastructure improvements to paving, building systems, and interior finishes. MORE WAYS TO PLAY, LEARN, AND CONNECT When the doors open, The Clubhouse will significantly expand the types of programs and activities available at Ousley Park. Large multipurpose rooms will provide flexible space for education, dance, martial arts, group training, and other community programming, while dedicated fitness and exercise areas will create additional opportunities for residents to stay active. Arts and crafts and activity spaces will provide room for creative programming designed for all ages, while conference room space will offer a convenient setting for meetings and smaller gatherings. One of the facility’s most distinctive additions will be Celina’s first-ever E-Sports facility, introducing a new form of recreation to the City’s programming and creating another 38 | City of Celina

Crews have completed the installation of water, storm drainage, and sanitary sewer utilities, along with mass grading and site layout for new paving. Existing sidewalks have also been removed where necessary to accommodate new paving and site improvements. Current work includes lime treatment to prepare and stabilize the pavement subgrade, installation of light fixtures, and the setting of a meter for permanent electrical service from Oncor. Upcoming construction will include drilling piers for the front canopy and setting form boards for paving. Inside the building, crews will turn their attention to HVAC startup, millwork and countertops, ceiling tile, and additional light fixture installation. These activities represent an important transition as the project moves from major construction toward the finishing details residents will experience when the facility opens. GETTING CLOSER TO OPENING DAY As construction enters its later stages, The Clubhouse is beginning to transform from a construction project into a place where Celina residents will soon gather, learn, create, compete, and stay active. From fitness and martial arts to dance, educational programs, creative activities, group training, and E-Sports, the facility is being designed around the many different ways people enjoy recreation and connect with one another. The Clubhouse also represents the City’s continued investment in recreational amenities that grow alongside the community - creating more opportunities for residents to participate, discover new interests, and spend time together. With an anticipated opening in winter 2026, The Clubhouse at Ousley Park is getting closer to welcoming Celina inside.

PARKS & RECREATION

Festive Fun Ahead: What’s Happening in Celina Parks & Recreation This Season Residents can sign-up for any of these classes at the following: bit.ly/CelinaRecReg or using the QR code at the bottom of the page. All fitness classes are held at the Ralph O’Dell Senior Center. Each class costs is for the full month of classes. More offerings coming soon! Check the link above or follow us on social media for updates!

RECREATION CLASSES

HOLIDAY EVENTS

TEXAS KENPO KARATE • Kids Beginner (7 - 8 years old) – Mondays & Wednesdays October 26 - December 21 from 5:45 - 6:20 PM $80 • Kids Beginner (9 - 12 years old) – Mondays & Wednesdays October 26 - December 21 from 6:30 - 7:10 PM $80 • Kids Intermediate/Advanced (8 - 12 years old) – Mondays & Wednesdays, October 26 - December 21 from 7:10 - 7:45 PM $100 • Adult Beginner (13+) - Tuesdays & Thursdays

PUMPKIN PAINT & CREATE October 23 from 6:00 - 8:00 PM $5 Ralph O’Dell Senior Center

Join us for an evening of pumpkin painting and carving. Pumpkins, paints, stickers, and other pumpkin decor provided.

October 27 - December 22 from 5:45 - 6:30 PM $60 • Adult Intermediate (13+) - Tuesdays & Thursdays October 27 - December 22 from 6:30 - 7:10 PM $80 • Adult Advanced/Expert (13+) - Tuesdays & Thursdays October 27 - December 22 from 7:10 - 7:45 PM $100

FITNESS CLASSES

TURKEY SHOOT Date and Time to be determined, Free Founders Park

Join us for a fun and festive free throw competition! Participants will test their basketball shooting skills for a chance to win a Thanksgiving turkey. Bring your best shot and see if you can take home the prize!

YOGA WITH SARAH Tuesdays at 6:00 PM | $5 per class, No class 10/20

BREAKFAST WITH THE YETI!

STEP AND STRENGTH

Date and Time to be determined, $10 Ralph O’Dell Senior Center

Wednesdays at 6:30 PM in October Check back for Nov. & Dec. details!

Join us for a morning of winter wonder and holiday

POWER HIIT

cheer with the Yeti! Fun for all ages! Don't miss out on this magical morning!

Wednesdays at 5:30 PM in October Check back for Nov. & Dec. details!

KEEP UP WI T H P A R K S & R E C R E A TIO N ! FO LLOW PAR K S & R E C R E AT I O N O N SOCIAL

E @CelinaTXParks Q @CelinaTXParks

SC AN T O C H E C K O U T P AR K S & RE C RE A TI O N P R O GRA M M I N G

S C A N TO C H E C K O U T P A RKS & RE C RE A TI O N ONLINE Life Connected. | 39

CELINA PUBLIC LIBRARY

Fall Fun at the Celina Public Library JOIN US FOR A PUMPKIN PAINTING PARTY! Wednesday, October 21st from 3:00 - 5:00 PM Located on Celina’s Downtown Square

Get ready for a spooktacular afternoon of pumpkin carving and decorating fun! The first 100 artists will receive a FREE faux pumpkin thanks to the Friends of the Library! Paint and decorations will be provided (supplies limited).

WEEKLY PROGRAMS TODDLER TUESDAYS Tuesdays, 10:15 AM & 11 AM | Library | 18 months - 3 years This event is free but ticketed - grab yours early before they're gone!

Dance, shake up egg shakers, and play with the beloved parachute - all to get those toddlers moving!

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SPECIAL EVENTS BUILD A CATAPULT Monday, October 5, from 5:30 - 6:30 PM | Council Chambers Ages 6+

Build and test your own mini catapult in this fun, hands-on engineering challenge! Spaces are limited - sign up at the library front desk or call to reserve your spot. TEEN SOCKBUSTER THEATER Wednesday, October 14, from 5:30 - 6:30 PM | Council Chambers | Ages 13+

BABY STORYTIME Wednesdays, 10:15 AM & 11 AM | Library | Infant - 18 months This event is free but ticketed - grab yours early before they're gone!

Bring your little ones (up to 18 months) to our weekly Baby Storytime. An easy way to socialize your baby, help them recognize colors, and work on hand-eye coordination. We’ll work on gentle lap play, tickles, building memory, motion, and vocabulary skills.

ON THE SAME PAGE BOOK CLUB Tuesday, October 6, at 9:00 AM Celina Public Library Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth

A twisty domestic thriller novel about an 81-year-old woman hiding a shocking past as a teenage convicted murderer. 40 | City of Celina

Lights, camera, socks! Craft your own puppet star and bring a favorite movie scene to life using mime and acting skills. Call or visit the library front desk to sign up. CORN HUSK HULLABALOO Tuesday, October 27, from 5:30 - 6:30 PM | Council Chambers | Ages 6+

Discover a 1,000-year-old tradition! Learn the history of corn husk art and craft your own family-friendly dollies and decorations.

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR DIGITAL RESOURCES! Did you know that with your library card, you have access to millions of books, movies and music? By downloading the Libby and Hoopla apps and supplying your library card information, your world can open into so many more possibilities - all free!

LIFE CONNECTED.

Remember, Honor & Celebrate: Join Us at Celina's Annual Veterans Day Ceremony Friday, November 13, from 8:00 - 11:00 AM at Celina High School

For a few hours each November, the hallways of Celina High School become a place of remembrance. Veterans representing different generations and branches of the United States Armed Forces walk through the school as students line the halls to welcome them. Applause and cheers follow them along the way - a powerful expression of gratitude from young people honoring men and women whose service helped secure the freedoms and opportunities they experience today. It is one of the defining moments of the annual Veterans Day Fellowship and Program, a Celina High School tradition that has brought veterans, students, educators, families, and community members together for more than a decade. This year’s program will be held on Friday, November 13, from 8:00 – 11:00 AM at Celina High School, 3455 N. Preston Rd, and is hosted by Celina High School in partnership with Methodist Celina Medical Center. Over the years, hundreds of local veterans have participated in the program. Some served decades ago, and others represent recent generations of military service. Their experiences may be different, but on this morning, they are united by a community that has gathered for one purpose: to say thank you. A MORNING OF FELLOWSHIP Before the formal ceremony, veterans are welcomed to a special breakfast where they can spend time with fellow service members. It is an opportunity for conversation, fellowship, and reflection - and for veterans from different eras and branches of service to discover the experiences they share. From there, the celebration extends throughout the school. As veterans walk through the hallways, Celina High School students greet them with cheers and applause. For the veterans making that walk, the moment provides a visible reminder that their service is remembered. For the students standing along the halls, it puts a face and a story behind the meaning of Veterans Day. That connection between generations is at the heart of the tradition. CARRYING THEIR LEGACY FORWARD During the commemorative program, Celina High School students take an active role in honoring those who served. Among the most symbolic moments is the presentation of the flags representing the branches of the United States military. Students carry each flag into the program as veterans who served beneath those colors look on.

The ceremony also includes color guard honors, student musical performances, and keynote remarks reflecting on military service and sacrifice. Together, these moments transform Veterans Day from something students encounter in a textbook or on a calendar into something personal. They see the veterans sitting before them. They hear their stories. They shake their hands. And they begin to understand that the freedoms enjoyed by each generation have been protected by real people, including members of their own community. TWO MILESTONES. ONE SHARED HISTORY. This year, that message carries special significance. In 2026, the United States commemorates 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, while Celina celebrates its own 150th anniversary. Separated by a century, the two anniversaries tell stories on very different scales. Yet both invite us to consider the generations who came before us and the responsibility each generation carries to those who will follow. Celina’s 150-year story has unfolded within the larger American story. Throughout those years, members of this community have answered the call to military service, leaving their families and hometown behind to serve something larger than themselves. Their names and individual experiences span generations. Their service connects Celina's past to its present. And each November, the community has an opportunity to make certain that service is not forgotten. MORE THAN A CEREMONY That is what has allowed the Celina High School Veterans Day Program to become more than an annual event. It is a tradition of gratitude. It creates a space for veterans to gather with one another and a place for the community to recognize them. Just as importantly, it gives students an opportunity to understand that remembrance is something we actively choose to carry forward. Someday, the students lining those hallways will be the adults responsible for preserving the stories and traditions of their community. For one morning, they have an opportunity to look into the faces of those who served before them, applaud as they walk by, and offer something simple but meaningful in return. To remember. To honor. And to say thank you. Life Connected. | 41

EVENT CALENDAR

OCTOBER, NOV

10/3: CLEAN SWEEP | 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM 10165 CR 106 Clear out the clutter and help keep Celina clean during the final Clean Sweep event of the year, hosted by the City of Celina Public Works Department in partnership with Community Waste Disposal (CWD). Celina residents are invited to conveniently dispose of bulk trash, household hazardous waste, and other eligible items during this community cleanup event. Participation is open to Celina residents with proof of residency. celina-tx.gov/1895/18437/clean-sweep

10/3: CELINA OKTOBERFEST | 3:00 - 7:00 PM Downtown Square Raise a stein and celebrate fall in the heart of Celina at Celina Oktoberfest presented by Sinacola! Celina’s Downtown Square will come alive with the sights, sounds, and flavors of Oktoberfest, bringing the community together for a day filled with German-inspired food and drinks, live entertainment, local vendors, family-friendly activities, and plenty of festive fun. Put on your lederhosen or dirndl, gather your family and friends, and join us for a celebration of community, tradition, and fall in Downtown Celina. Prost Y'all! lifeincelinatx.com/celinaoktoberfest

10/6: NATIONAL NIGHT OUT | 6:00 - 9:00 PM Celina’s Downtown Square Join the Celina Police Department for National Night Out, an annual celebration dedicated to building stronger relationships between law enforcement and the community they serve. This free, family-friendly event provides an opportunity to meet Celina Police officers, connect with neighbors, and enjoy an evening centered on community, public safety, and the relationships that help make Celina a great place to call home.

Homecoming Parade, beginning at 5:00 PM in the Downtown Square. One of Celina’s favorite traditions, the parade brings generations of Bobcats together to celebrate school spirit and community pride. Cheer on colorful floats featuring Celina’s youngest athletes and cheerleaders alongside current Bobcat football players, cheerleaders, and other members of the Celina ISD community. Wear your orange and white, find your spot Downtown, and help us celebrate Homecoming - Go Bobcats! 10/24: BEWARE! OF THE SQUARE | 4:00 - 9:00 PM Celina’s Downtown Square Get ready for a frightfully fun night at Beware! of the Square presented by Sinacola, one of Celina’s most anticipated community celebrations of the year! Celina’s Downtown Square will transform into a festive Halloween destination as thousands of zombies, superheroes, princesses, anime characters, and other costumed guests come together for an evening of family-friendly fun. Enjoy a variety of complimentary activities throughout the Square, including trick-or-treating, a haunted house, kids’ zone, live entertainment, and plenty of Halloween surprises along the way. Put on your best costume, gather your family and friends, and join us for a memorable night of spooky fun and community connection in the heart of Downtown Celina. lifeincelinatx.com/beware-of-the-square-2026

10/30: DOWNTOWN CELINA CREEPY CRAWL | 6:00 PM Celina’s Downtown Square Pavilion Eat, drink, and get spooky during the Downtown Celina Creepy Crawl, a Halloween-themed night out featuring participating establishments throughout Downtown. Grab your friends, dress for the occasion, and make your way through Downtown while enjoying festive drinks, seasonal specials, and plenty of Halloween spirit at each stop along the way.

lifeincelinatx.com/nno

bit.ly/DTCCreepyCrawl

10/9: CELINA FRIDAY NIGHT MARKET | 6:00 - 9:00 PM Celina’s Downtown Square

11/6: CELINA FRIDAY NIGHT MARKET | 6:00 - 9:00 PM Celina’s Downtown Square

Join us in Celina’s Downtown Square for Friday Night Market presented by Renewal by Andersen, an evening of local shopping, delicious food, live music, and community connection. Explore a vibrant marketplace featuring a variety of vendors offering homemade, handmade, and homegrown goods while supporting local businesses and discovering something special along the way. Enjoy live music as Scotty Schaefer takes the Rodeo Soccer Club Stage.

lifeincelinatx.com/cfnm

10/13: CITY COUNCIL MEETING | 5:00 PM City Council Chambers

11/8: LIFE CONNECTED. SERVICE DAY | 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM Celina’s Downtown Square

Celina City Council Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month. Executive Session begins at 5:00 PM, followed by the Regular Session at 6:30 PM. Meetings occur in the City Council Chambers, which is located at 112 N Colorado St. All City Council Meetings are livestreamed and recorded for public access.

The City of Celina is dedicated to strengthening our community through service, connection, and neighborly support. Life Connected. Service Day is a one-day event designed to bring volunteers together to assist residents in need of home maintenance and repairs. By fostering meaningful relationships and giving back, this initiative exemplifies Celina’s commitment to building a stronger, more connected community. You can volunteer with a group or sign up as an individual.

celina-tx.gov/1350/Live-Video-Stream

10/15: CELINA ISD HOMECOMING PARADE | 5:00 PM Celina’s Downtown Square Celebrate Bobcat Pride in the heart of Celina at the annual Celina ISD 42 | City of Celina

celina-tx.gov/1535/life-connected-service-day

VEMBER & DECEMBER 11/7: VETERAN'S DAY RUCK MARCH | 8:30 AM Old Celina Park Walk with the Celina Police Department in honor of those who have served during the second annual Veterans Day Ruck March, a free community event dedicated to recognizing and honoring our nation’s veterans. Join Celina Police officers for a three-mile route, carrying a rucksack or just alongside the group. Police Chief John Cullison will lead the march. This event offers an opportunity for the Celina community to come together, show its gratitude, and take each step in honor of the men and women who have served our country. bit.ly/RuckMarch26

11/10: CITY COUNCIL MEETING | 5:00 PM City Council Chambers Celina City Council Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month. Executive Session begins at 5:00 PM, followed by the Regular Session at 6:30 PM. Meetings occur in the City Council Chambers, which is located at 112 N Colorado St. All City Council Meetings are live-streamed and recorded for public access. celina-tx.gov/1350/Live-Video-Stream

11/26: TURKEY TROT | 7:45 AM Celina’s Downtown Square The Celina Turkey Trot celebrates community spirit, featuring music, running, and awards for the entire family. Participants are encouraged to dress in their favorite Thanksgiving-themed costumes. The morning begins with a 5K and a 1-Mile Family Fun Run/Walk to kick off a day of tradition. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Lovepacs, an organization dedicated to engaging communities in feeding children in need as an expression of love. runsignup.com/Race/TX/Celina/CelinaTurkeyTrot

12/2: CHRISTMAS ON THE SQUARE | 5:00 - 9:00 PM Celina’s Downtown Square Sleigh bells are ringing — are you listening? Join us for Christmas on the Square presented by Speciality Land Services, LLC - a delightful, familyfriendly Christmas celebration that brings the charm of a hometown holiday, much like a scene from a Hallmark movie. This free event offers a magical tree-lighting ceremony, an opportunity to meet Santa’s reindeer, and a chance for children to create crafts in Santa’s workshop. Enjoy live performances by local talent, and don’t miss the special meet-and-greet with Santa himself, creating memories to cherish for years to come. lifeincelinatx.com/christmas-on-the-square-2026

12/5: CELINA GIFT TOUR | 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM Celina’s Downtown Square The Celina Chamber of Commerce warmly invites you to embrace the holiday spirit by participating in our annual Celina Gift Tour. On the day of this festive event, attendees will receive a complimentary holiday shopping bag and a map of all participating stores in Downtown Celina. Each store will offer a unique gift to enrich your shopping experience, complemented by refreshments as you select thoughtful presents for your loved ones. Tickets go on sale November 14. Due to high demand, tickets are expected to sell out quickly. A limit of two tickets per transaction will be enforced.

12/7: DOWNTOWN CELINA CHRISTMAS CRAFT COCKTAILS & TASTES OF THE SEASON | 6:00 PM Two229 on the Square Eat, drink, and be merry in Downtown Celina during Christmas Cocktails & Tastes of the Season, a festive holiday experience featuring seasonal flavors from participating Downtown businesses. Spend time exploring Downtown while enjoying specially crafted Christmas cocktails, seasonal bites, and holiday-inspired treats along the way. lifeincelinatx.com/countdown-to-christmas-2026

12/8: CITY COUNCIL MEETING | 5:00 PM City Council Chambers Celina City Council Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month. Executive Session begins at 5:00 PM, followed by the Regular Session at 6:30 PM. Meetings occur in the City Council Chambers, which is located at 112 N Colorado St. All City Council Meetings are live-streamed and recorded for public access. celina-tx.gov/1350/Live-Video-Stream

12/12: PHOTOS WITH SANTA’S REINSTEER | 11:00 AM - 2:00PM Celina's Downtown Square Join us on the historic Downtown Square for a festive opportunity to take complimentary professional photos with Santa’s favorite reinsteer. Capture the magic of the season with the beautifully decorated Downtown Christmas Tree as your backdrop. This special event offers a unique holiday experience for the entire family. 12/15, 12/16, 12/17: DOWNTOWN CELINA HOLIDAY CARRIAGE RIDES | 5:00 - 9:00 PM Celina's Downtown Square Experience the magic of the holidays from a different point of view with Downtown Celina Christmas Carriage Rides, a festive tradition perfect for family, friends, and loved ones. Climb aboard and enjoy a relaxing ride through Downtown Celina, surrounded by twinkling lights, holiday decorations, and the charm of the Christmas season. lifeincelinatx.com/countdown-to-christmas-2026

12/19: PHOTOS WITH SANTA | 11 AM - 1 PM Celina's Downtown Square Join us on the historic Downtown Square for a festive opportunity to meet Old Saint Nick. Enjoy complimentary professional photos taken in front of the beautifully adorned Downtown Christmas Tree. This special event captures the magic of the holiday season in Celina’s charming hometown setting. 12/1-12/24: COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS Various Locations Celebrate the season with us as Countdown to Christmas brings a festive atmosphere every day in December. Join us for a month-long celebration where each day reveals a new and exciting activity, spreading joy and holiday cheer throughout the community. Follow our social media channels to discover the daily surprises we have in store. lifeincelinatx.com/countdown-to-christmas-2026

bit.ly/CelinaGiftTour26

Life Connected. | 43

CELINA EDC

Investing in the Heart of Celina preparing for its next chapter. The existing Mayer Building at 313 W. Pecan St will undergo a $1.5 million renovation to create at least 5,000 square feet of restaurant space. Together, the two projects will return some of the remaining underutilized properties surrounding the Downtown Square to active commercial use. “This is exactly the type of strategic reinvestment that helps Downtown Celina remain economically active, welcoming and distinctive,” Celina Economic Development Corporation President Anthony Satarino said. “Adding new dining, retail and office opportunities creates additional reasons for people to spend time Downtown while generating economic activity that supports the broader business community.” A PERFORMANCE-BASED PARTNERSHIP A new public-private partnership is set to bring $7.5 million in private investment to Downtown Celina, creating new opportunities for restaurants, retail, and office space while returning two key properties to active use.

The agreement uses a performance-based approach in which economic development incentives are tied to construction and verified private investment.

The City of Celina has approved an economic development agreement with Celina Real Estate, LLC supporting redevelopment at 102 N. Ohio St and the historic Mayer Building at 313 W. Pecan St. Together, the projects represent another step in the City’s long-term effort to maintain Downtown as the cultural, commercial, and community heart of Celina while encouraging investment that complements its distinctive character. “Downtown is the heart and soul of Celina, and maintaining its vitality as our community grows remains one of our highest priorities,” Mayor Ryan Tubbs said. “This partnership represents an important investment in the future of Downtown while building on the character and sense of place that make Celina special.” BRINGING NEW LIFE TO DOWNTOWN PROPERTIES At the corner of Ohio and Walnut streets, plans for 102 N. Ohio St call for construction of a new two-story commercial building with a historic-style façade inspired by the gas station that once occupied the property. The approximately 12,400-square-foot development is planned to include 7,200 square feet of restaurant and retail space and 5,200 square feet of office space, representing an anticipated $6 million private investment. Just a few blocks away, another piece of Downtown history is 44 | City of Celina

The projects are eligible for a combined maximum of $2.3 million in economic development incentives, funded through Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone No. 11 (TIRZ #11). The 102 N. Ohio St. project is eligible for an incentive equal to 25 percent of verified capital investment, up to $1.5 million. The Mayer Building project is eligible for an $800,000 incentive after the required investment threshold is verified. Construction of the Mayer Building project is required to begin by January 2028 and be completed by June 2029. Construction at 102 N. Ohio St. is required to begin by October 2028 and be completed by March 2030.

CELINA EDC

Understanding Economic Development What does it take to bring new restaurants, retailers, employers, and investment to Celina? The Celina Economic Development Corporation’s In the Know video series takes residents behind the scenes of economic development to explain how projects come together, why certain businesses choose communities, and the tools Celina uses to attract and support investment. Through short, easy-to-understand conversations, the series explores some of the questions residents frequently ask about Celina’s continued commercial growth. NATIONAL BRANDS There may be a familiar national name on the sign, but the people behind the business may be your Celina neighbors. This episode highlights the local entrepreneurs and families who own and operate national brands in our community - creating jobs, supporting local schools, investing in Celina, and contributing to the community they call home. SCAN TO WATCH

BIG BOX RETAILERS PERFORMANCE AGREEMENTS Learn how Economic Development and Performance Agreements can be used to encourage business growth and new investment in Celina. This episode explores how the Celina EDC uses these economic development tools to attract opportunities, strengthen the local economy, and support the continued growth and quality of life of the community.

Explore how the arrival of major retailers can create opportunities that extend beyond their storefronts. This episode looks at how the Celina EDC works to attract new businesses and how larger retail developments can support small businesses, encourage additional investment, and contribute to a stronger, more diverse local economy. SCAN TO WATCH

SCAN TO WATCH

SHOP LOCAL SHAWNEE TRAIL DEVELOPMENT Take a closer look at Shawnee Trail, one of Celina’s newest mixed-use developments bringing together residential living, community gathering spaces, dining, shopping, and more. With Walmart now open as the development’s first major milestone, this episode explores the vision for Shawnee Trail, what’s coming next, and how the development is helping shape

Discover how choosing to shop, dine, and explore in Celina creates an impact that extends throughout the community. This episode highlights how supporting local businesses helps them grow while generating sales tax revenue that supports City services and investments such as parks and roads - showing how spending locally can help strengthen Celina as a whole. SCAN TO WATCH

SCAN TO WATCH

KEEP UP WI T H CEL IN A E D C ! CE L I NA EDC ON SOC I AL

E @CelinaEDC Q @CelinaTXEDC

SCAN T O D I SC O V E R D O WNT O WN O N L I N E !

S C A N TO C H E C K O U T CELINA EDC ONLINE

Life Connected. | 45

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 14 | 8 TO 11 AM The City of Celina is dedicated to strengthening our community by fostering connections through meaningful acts of service. Life Connected Service Day is a one-day event that bring together volunteers to support residents in need, building lasting relationships with our neighbors.

PROJECTS MAY INCLUDE Mowing

Minor Fence Repair

Raking Leaves

Debris Removal

Cleaning Gutters

Tree Trimming

REQUEST ASSISTANCE

OR SIGN UP TO VOLUNTEER! REQUEST ASSISTANCE

SIGN-UP TO VOLUNTEER

AND MANY MORE!

TO LEARN MORE VISIT https://celina-tx.gov/celinaserviceday

46 | City of Celina

FOR INQUIRIES OR CONCERNS: Robert Carter (945) 362-9001 lifeconnected@celina-tx.gov

Stay Connected Did you know Celina has a vast online and social media presence? With an assortment of social media channels and websites, we’re committed to keeping our residents informed and entertained in all areas relating to life in Celina. Below, we break down all the pages that will keep you connected to our vibrant community. WEBSITES City of Celina Government:

City of Celina Events:

Celina Economic Development Corporation:

Celina-TX.gov

LifeinCelinaTX.com

CelinaEDC.com

SOCIAL PAGES City of Celina Government:

Parks & Recreation: CelinaTXParks

Celina Police Department:

Celina Emergency Management:

E CelinaPolice

E CelinaTXOEM

E CityofCelina

Q Celina_Texas

Q CelinaTXParks

Q CelinaPoliceTX

Q CelinaTXOEM

C CityofCelinaTX

Celina Public Library:

C Celina-Police-Department

E CelinaPublicLibrary

Celinas EDC:

Celina Fire Department:

E CelinaEDC

Q CelinaPublicLibrary

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Q CelinaTXEDC

Celina’s Downtown Square:

Q CelinaFireDept

C Celina-Texas-EDC

CityofCelinaTexas

City of Celina Events:

E LifeinCelinaTX Q LifeinCelinaTX

E DowntownCelina Q CelinaMainStreet Life Connected. | 47

LIFE CONNECTED. IS THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE CITY OF CELINA

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CELINA-TX.GOV

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