State Representative Alfonso Nevarez was the first to take the podium.  "There are many leaders in this room who have held high positions of leadership and responsibility, many of whom are and have been my mentors.  When you look around this is the past, present and future of Maverick County and it's all for you Mr. Madera.  You've been an example to me and to a lot of us in this room and that tells us that no matter where you are in your career or in your life, the call to service is important.  You answered it, you answered it continuously and when I look at your bio, there isn't much you haven't done, you've served in the private sector, you worked on the Texas Water Development Board which has always been a very important institution in this state.  No more so than now at this particular juncture because of what's going on.  We've had severe drouths in the State of Texas and we're living one right now.  It's a testament to the person that he is, because we're here to name a facility after him and I'm glad that you're here because sometimes we wait too long to honor those who served."

Former General Manager of Eagle Pass Water Works Roberto Gonzalez had this to say, "Not too long ago there was a water faucet at the Maverick County Lake.  There was a faucet at The Pack Saddle.  There was a faucet at where we have El Banquito Las Minas where people would drive their pickups to fill up their 55 gallon tanks with water and haul them off to their homes because there was no running water.  Many of the people here today probably don't remember that, but it was a common sight.  There were about 3 to 4,000 people on the south side of Eagle Pass who had lots and did not have sewer connections and 1,000 homes on the north side that did not have sewer connections and their septic tanks would overflow onto the streets.  We as humans tend to forget these things once these problems are solved.  We as a community were able to solve that problem with this big project that Mr. Madera played an integral part." Amanda Lavin, Vice President of the Amegy Bank National Association who served on the Texas State Water Board with Madera some years ago also addressed the crowd.

"I am very honored to be here to honor Mr. Madera, because this was my favorite project, he worked so very hard and they all did that because they had somebody leading the way and making sure that they did their best and that's Ignacio.  He's done so much for so many and especially for those here in his hometown of Eagle Pass.  In 2008, the water treatment plan won the Pisces Award.  The Pisces Award is based on innovation and national integrity in order to bring water to people that need it so much.  When I joined the Water Development Board, the city's Eidson Road Project was wrapping up in the latter construction phase.  The EDAC Program which the legislature created back in 1989 was struggling.  They needed it to be jump started and they needed those projects to get built so they turned to Mr. madera and said 'Please get this program moving.'  So Ignacio moved into that program as Executive Director and brought in two new people and I was lucky enough to be one of those and we started figuring out how to make it work."

Madera himself was given the podium which he proudly took and gave an emotional speech which evoked several rounds of applause and two standing ovations for a man who was instrumental in obtaining millions of dollars which were used to build the incredible infrastructure which exists to this day and according to guest speaker Robert Gonzalez, "For generations to come." "In Linda Ellis' poem "The Dash," The dash represents the time between our birth and our death.  I'd like to think that that dash represents my life's work.  My job at the Water Development Board was to insure that water and sewer services were available to these areas primarily on the Texas-Mexico Border.  What it does not reflect was that I grew up in the same conditions not far from where this plant is located.  I thank God for the opportunity that He gave me to be of service to Him and I wanted to assure that these people had water and sewer services so that no other child would have to live through what I did."

All in all it was a fitting tribute to a man who began a career in public service at a very young age and made a difference in his community to which he added that his legacy is still not yet complete as he knows of more colonias apart from the 42 he assisted in receiving these services that still are in need of water.

"I know that there are a lot of people in this community without water and sewer services so I want you all to help me grow my dash."