Charlotte Wilcox – With Sunshine in Her Heart
Charlotte Wilcox of Highland Village played one of those ubiquitous Facebook games that’s supposed to reveal personality traits. (Funny thing is, those things are often uncannily accurate!)
Anyway, this one said the way a person writes an “8” and a “2” says a lot about who they are. Charlotte used rather bold-looking strokes to write the two numbers. Among other attributes, her analysis said anyone who meets her is lucky because she has sunshine in her heart and fire in her soul, and she gives everything for her family and friends.
Remember that uncannily accurate remark? It struck again!
The Lewisville Area Chamber of Commerce could have written that description of Charlotte and used it as a guideline when selecting her as its 2023 Citizen of the Year.
Charlotte knew nothing about the award, even though she’s on the Chamber’s board. She commented to some of the other board members she would be out of town on May 19, the date of the Chamber’s 60th anniversary and the annual awards dinner.
Quickly, Charlotte’s friends enlisted the help of Terry, her husband of 44 years.
“He made up some story to keep me in town,” Charlotte explained with a laugh. “We were all supposed to wear 1960s outfits to the event. I’m being completely honest when I say that award was not on my radar.
“For one thing, the title of Citizen of the Year is supposed to be for someone who’s made significant contributions to the community. Never would I dream anyone saw me in that light because I certainly didn’t.”
So, here’s the deal. Charlotte’s father was Citizen of the Year in Bowie several years ago. Terry, her husband, was a Lewisville firefighter for 37 years. Charlotte was a stay-at-home mom while her two kids, Tiffany and Travis, were little. She ventured into real estate with Re/Max in 1998. She’s now with All City and has been very successful with both companies. She’s also served on her city council for three terms and spent seven years in the Mayor’s seat. All that sounds suspiciously like contributing to her communities.
“Yes, but I was unbelievably humbled as well as honored when this happened,” she said. “I mean, I don’t spend any part of my days thinking ‘What can I do today to bring me recognition?’ I’m a ‘people person.’ Becoming a Realtor was natural for me. I like to help people in any way I can. I can say with confidence it’s a calling from above, which means you’re doing it for the right reason.”
The Wilcox family moved to Highland Village in 1995. “Never in a million years did I think I would become involved in politics,” Charlotte said. “But, really, it didn’t seem like politics but more like helping my community.”
There’s that natural leaning to help others — the trait she didn’t deem worthy of Citizen of the Year.
“We were raised to serve,” Charlotte added. “It was just always in our hearts to help others (sunshine in her heart) and to do the best we could when working for our communities (the fire in her soul). But I can still tell you being honored as Citizen of the Year never occurred to me. The feelings of honor and humility are still with me.”
Charlotte and Terry love to travel, and on their upcoming “To Do” list is visiting daughter Tiffany and her family in Colorado.
