4 April 2022 | parkcitiespeople.com
News
SMU COMMUNITY, COLLEAGUES REMEMBER SLAIN JOURNALIST
Brent Renaud, known as a kind, compassionate mentor, killed in Ukraine By Rachel Snyder
His death is a reminder to us of the danger that exists to tell these important stories. Elle Toussi
rachel.snyder@peoplenewspapers.com
M
embers of the SMU community remember Brent Renaud, an award-winning journalist and filmmaker killed while covering the war in Ukraine, as a “kind” and “compassionate” alumnus who mentored at-risk children in Dallas. Renaud, 50, graduated from SMU in 1994 with a major in English and a minor in sociology, spokeswoman Kimberly Cobb confirmed. According to Ukrainian authorities, the Little Rock, Arkansas-native was fatally shot March 13 in Irpin, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. Renaud had worked for numerous media organizations. At the time of his death, though, he was working on a TIME Studios project “focused on the global refugee crisis,” TIME executives confirmed. “His death is a reminder to us of the danger that exists to tell these important stories,” said Society of Professional Journalists International Community co-chair Elle Toussi. “We are all diminished by his passing.” “A talented and brave journalist, Brent lost his life while documenting human tragedy, devastation, and suffering of millions of Ukrainians,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. “With all his courage and determination, he traveled to the most dangerous war zones to film the unprecedented ruthlessness and evil, also inflicted upon our nation by the aggressor state.”
Thear Suzuki and journalist Brent Renaud attended SMU in the ‘90s, where they were part of a program mentoring Dallas children. (PHOTOS: COURTESY THEAR SUZUKI)
Members of the SMU community say the empathy shown in his work was evident during his time at the university. While at SMU, Renaud was part of the Inter-Community Experience program, in which he lived with other students in a Habitat for Humanity home, volunteering and working with children in an Old East Dallas neighborhood. Bruce Levy, the SMU professor who ran the program, said Renaud was important to growing that program. “(He was) very kind and compassionate …
he was all in,” Levy recalled. “The kids loved him.” Thear Suzuki took part in the program with Renaud as an SMU student and remembered him as “very worldly” and “conscientious about people who were suffering or lacking access to opportunity.” “He loved getting to know the kids and their families. He would always go the extra mile,” Suzuki said. “I learned from him in terms of how to serve (others).” She said they kept in touch over the years, and he told her about some of his projects.
Podium Pecan
Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Dallas County. Still, age and disease had raised concerns about its safety, prompting its removal in October 2019.
Big monarch’s wood could go to schools
We just want to share the beauty of this wonderful tree. Margo Goodwin
By William Taylor
william.taylor@peoplenewspapers.com
The wood harvested from the historic “Big Pecan” could stand again as podiums in every Highland Park ISD campus. Rather than make money off the tree, town leaders want to use the wood to benefit schools. “We just want to share the beauty of this wonderful tree,” Mayor Margo Goodwin said. The mayor said she talked to Highland Park ISD Superintendent Tom Trigg, who confirmed that the schools could and would
“What was shocking about the news is I knew he would go into dangerous areas to do his work, but he always came back,” Suzuki said. “We had great memories of him. He is so loved, and he loved us.” With his brother, Craig Renaud, Brent won a Peabody Award in 2014 for Last Chance High, a series about a school for at-risk children in Chicago. The brothers’ achievements also include two duPont-Columbia journalism awards and productions for HBO, NBC, Discovery, PBS, The New York Times, and VICE News, the Dallas Morning News reported.
Holly Russell of the town of Highland Park says the Big Pecan provided enough lumber for several podiums plus smaller projects such as commemorative gavels, food serving boards, bowls, drink coasters, and writing pens. (PHOTO: WILLIAM TAYLOR) use additional podiums. “He thought it was a good idea.” Council members Marc Myers and Craig Penfold also called it a good idea, and Mayor Pro Tem David Dowler suggested the podiums
include plaques detailing the tree’s history. The more than 150-year-old monarch at Armstrong Parkway and Preston Road served for decades as the site of the oldest
A nearby pecan, grafted from the famous monarch, planted in 1951, and dubbed the Landmark Tree in 2019, serves as the location of the annual tree lighting now. The Big Pecan, an enduring symbol of Highland Park, served as inspiration for the logo on the Park Cities People masthead. However, Goodwin noted its importance extends beyond the town limits.
“It’s really a community tree,” she said. The town’s website tells how Joseph Cole, a Civil War veteran who had seen too much death, saved a pencil-thin sapling he had accidentally plowed over, allowing it to grow into a colossal landmark, once topping 75 feet, and symbol of resilience. Its lumber went to Urban Timber Harvest for milling, treatment, and storage. Holly Russell, a management assistant in the town’s Parks Department, reported to council members how a recent visit to UTH found ample wood for many projects. “This company can make anything from large tables such as this [one in the study session conference room at town hall] to anything teeny tiny,” Russell said. “Subject to bidding requirements, if UTH were selected to be the craftsmen of choice, the only cost to any project is the labor.”
