William D. Tate ('64) was 30 years old when he was first elected as mayor of Grapevine.

"I was the kid mayor, and now I'm the oldest mayor," he says. "Can you believe that?"

This year, Tate will mark 50 years as mayor of the suburb that sits between Dallas and Fort Worth and is the home base of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Through his decades of service, he's transformed the farming community -- named for its location on the Grapevine Prairie and known for its vineyards -- into one of the state's most popular cities.

Grapevine is the home of Grapevine Lake, Grapevine Mills Mall and other big chain retailers, and a thriving Main Street filled with local boutiques and restaurants. It also hosts an array of festivals and is the Christmas Capital of Texas.

Tate has led its growth from about 6,000 people in the early 1970s to its current 50,000.

With all those years, it's hard for Tate to pick a favorite moment.

"The memories are too great to even list," he says.

Listening to Dreams

Tate's dedicated nature shines in all aspects of his life. He's shared 57 years of marriage with Betty Curtis Tate ('65 M.S.) and has been practicing law for 58 years.

His introduction to politics goes back to his childhood. His father was mayor of Grapevine and Tate got to release the first fish in Grapevine Lake when it opened in 1952.

"We had a hardware store, and I sat around as a kid and listened to the old men talk about their dreams and aspirations for the city," Tate says. "After the war, the soldiers came home and continued to talk about investments and what they thought the city could be someday, and I made note of that. I wanted to fulfill those dreams as much as I could."

He's lived in Grapevine all his life except for his college years. During his time in Denton, he met his wife, Betty, on a blind date at a movie theater in the downtown square.

"The blind date was not with me. I asked the girl I had a date with if she could get a date for my friend, and she brought Betty. When I saw her, I decided I was going to marry that girl."

He spent much of his time in Denton on his business classes. Tate graduated with a degree in accounting and did some graduate work as well.

"The best course I took in business wasn't in accounting. It was a letter-writing course, and I've probably used that more in my profession than any other course I took at North Texas," he says.

After earning his law degree from the University of Houston in 1968, he opened his law firm that he still runs today. The general practice handles litigation, contracts, family law and now focuses mostly on estates and land titles.

Tate, who grew up shy, says, "Being a lawyer, that made me tough pretty quick."

And he would learn how to be tough and nimble as a mayor.

Taking Flight

When he was first elected in 1974, DFW International Airport was getting ready to begin operations. On the airport's opening day, he got to ride on the plane with a delegation that came from Tarrant County while another plane carrying a delegation from Dallas County landed simultaneously -- the airport's first flights.

But that airport was a big challenge. It took 40% of the city's land off the tax roll. Much of the city's land on the state highways was owned by churches, schools or other public entities that were exempt from taxes.

He had to come up with a new business plan, so he built a sales tax base and his team made a list of big businesses to lure to the area. Now the area boasts Grapevine Mills Mall, Great Wolf Lodge, Bass Pro Shops and Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center -- and the city's revenue comes primarily from sales taxes. He did this while maintaining the city's historic retail and residential districts.

Tate lost the mayoral election by a slim margin in 1985 but was reelected in 1988 and never stopped winning. He's always had the stamina for the job.

"The job became a part of my persona, it became a part of my nature," he says. "And just for people to stop me on the street and tell me how much they love living and working in Grapevine is energy enough to keep you wanting to do the good works."