Thomas Brown urges committee to add his mother, Katie Mae Brown Smith, to reserve list

Thomas Brown told the Facilities Naming Committee on Sept. 17 that his late mother, Katie Mae Brown Smith, devoted decades to voter registration and turnout in Terrell and asked the panel to consider her for the names reserve list. "So to the committee, when you are considering naming, renaming a street, a park, or anything else in this city, if you would consider Katie Mae Brown Smith," Brown said during public remarks.

Brown described his mother as a long-time Terrell resident and a Terrell University graduate who "registered people to vote" and sometimes "picked them up and took them to the poll so they could be able to vote and cast their ballot." He told the committee she died Feb. 22, 2026, and that the family would appreciate having her name placed on the reserve list for future consideration.

Later in the meeting the chair formally moved to add Katie Mae Brown Smith to the reserve list, but another member checked the list and reported that the name already appears there. The committee took no additional formal action to add the name because it was already recorded on the reserve list.