Various famous Port Arthurians like Gary Hayes, right, received a key to the city from Mayor Bartie. (Cesar Cardenas/The News)

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As Port Arthur bid farewell to outgoing Mayor Thurman Bartie at his final city council meeting on Tuesday. The city took time to honor several notable hometown figures who have brought pride to the community beyond city limits. 

 

Three influential individuals, rapper and entrepreneur Bun B, media personality Gary “With Da Tea” Hayes, and longtime business leader Fred Wilson, were awarded the Key to the City of Port Arthur in recognition of their achievements and their deep seeded roots.

 

Mayor Bartie, presiding over his last meeting, praised the honorees not just for their individual successes, but for carrying Port Arthur’s name with them in everything they do. The awards served as a powerful reminder of the city’s influence through its people, especially those who remain connected despite their fame.

 

Fred Wilson, a behind-the-scenes leader in Port Arthur for decades, was honored for his longstanding dedication to civic service and development. City officials credited Wilson for helping shape key initiatives over the years and mentoring new generations of leadership. His recognition underscored the impact of those who work quietly but meaningfully to uplift their hometown.

 

“ I do greatly appreciate this [key to the city] and will continue to keep my head down and make my city proud,” Wilson said. “ I’ll be the entrepreneur that I am built to be and continue to push through it because everything that you see, It wasn’t always this journey there’s been multiple failures on the way.”

 

Radio and television personality Gary Hayes, widely known for his celebrity commentary on the Rickey Smiley Morning Show, was also recognized. His rise in the media world has kept him in the public eye, but as Bartie emphasized, he never stopped acknowledging where he came from.

 

“Life is what you make it,” said Hayes. “I am grateful and I am honored for this here award because the first award I got here in Port Arthur Texas was from the Savoy group, the Martin Luther King group and I am so proud of that award.”

 

Bernard “Bun B” Freeman, one-half of the legendary hip-hop duo UGK, has long represented Port Arthur in his music and public life. Though his remarks weren’t captured in the transcript, his recognition was symbolic of his enduring influence in music, education, and civic engagement. 

 

“Growing up in this town, I never thought this was something that was going to happen,” said Bernard. “And I didn’t know I was going to be somebody to be looked up to. I have to remember I’m from Port Arthur and anything is possible.”

 

Bun B’s contributions continue to shape how Port Arthur is seen in national cultural conversations.

 

“I don’t think I’ll hesitate to say that I see the pride of Port Arthur in this room, in everybody’s faces and everybody’s eyes. I’m looking in a mirror right now, I really am, because everything I am you are, because I’m nothing without this city and the people and the people from this city.”