City Dedicates Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County Location in Memory of Former Arlington City Councilman Dan Serna

By Susan Schrock, Office of Communication

Posted on May 10, 2022, May 10, 2022

The City of Arlington dedicated a Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County location on Friday in memory of Dan Serna, a longtime community volunteer and former Arlington City Council member.

Serna, a resident of Arlington for 35 years, served on the City Council as District 8 At-Large representative from 1994-1998 under the leadership of Mayor Richard Greene. Serna is the ninth of 11 trailblazers, civic leaders and faith leaders tapped by the City’s Honorary Naming Recognition Task Force to be recognized for their service or their contributions to the city.

Serna, president and founder of Serna & Company, was well known for his strong work ethic, volunteerism, and service to the City of Arlington and Tarrant County, former Mayor Richard Greene said during the ceremony.

“Let’s just look at all of the organizations Dan was involved with in the community outside of being a City Council member. The Arlington Chamber of Commerce, Arlington Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, Boys and Girls Club, YMCA… and the list goes on. Dan was always ready for the next assignment. And how he balanced all of that is the work of someone was extremely organized, skilled and talented. And it’s an easy conclusion saying our City is better because of him,” Greene said.

Serna attended Texas Tech University, where he obtained his Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting. Upon graduating and achieving his Certified Public Accountant license, he settled in Arlington where he founded his CPA practice.

During his life, Serna served on numerous boards and commissions, often in leadership roles. These included the Boys and Girls Club of Arlington, the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, the Arlington Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Arlington Ethics Commission, the Arlington Sports Development Authority, the Tarrant County Crime Commission, the Arlington Independent School District Education Foundation, the United Way, the Tarrant County District Hospital Board, and the Texas Health Resources Arlington Memorial Hospital Board. His gubernatorial appointments included the Texas Public Finance Authority, the White House Conference on Small Business, and the Texas Tech Board of Regents.

“Dan loved Arlington, he spent almost three decades serving Arlington in various capacities. It all began here at the Arlington Boys and Girls Club,” said his wife, Susan Serna, during the ceremony. “Dan wanted to give back to the community that he lived in, while inspiring others to do the same. From his own family, to children here at the Boys and Girl Club, to other service-minded adults, he always thought of setting others up for success.”

“While we wish that Dan could be here today to experience this incredible honor personally, I’m certain he would have spent most of the time speaking on the accomplishments of his colleagues instead of his own. Dan had many gifts but it was due to you, this City, his mentors, his friends and his teammates,” she added.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County is a youth development nonprofit that provides a safe place for young people to learn and grow during out-of-school times. Its mission is to enable all young people to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. That’s one of the many reasons it was fitting to name the Arlington location in his memory, said Mayor Pro Tem Dr. Victoria Farrar-Myers, who served as chair of the Honorary Naming Recognition Task Force.

“I had the opportunity to meet Dan when I first moved here in 1997. He was stepping off council and I was stepping into UT Arlington. And we had this conversation about the future and why we loved the idea of investing in kids… And he told me that the future is investing in others, it’s not investing in yourself,” Dr. Farrar-Myers said.