Blazing Trails: While not the first women to hold office on the Texas side, these dozen are some of the first to have top leadership roles

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Wild Wines of the World

A fundraising event held at the Little Rock Zoo featuring wines from all regions of the world and delicious food from local venues. Saturday, May 3

For the first time, women are in charge of Texarkana, Texas, City Hall.

Two recent appointments to replace departing men brought the number of women in Texas-side leadership positions to an unprecedented dozen.

The City Council tapped Christie Alcorn to fill the Ward 4 seat left vacant by Brian Matthews' resignation. And the council named Shirley Jaster interim city manager when John Whitson stepped down to retire, making her the first woman to serve in that office.

Alcorn and Jaster join four other council members, the head of the health department, director of code enforcement, chief financial officer, communication and economic development manager, prosecuting attorney and Municipal Court judge as the women entrusted with running almost every aspect of city business.

"Women have been here, but this is our first opportunity to be in the highest leadership roles. We have been in supporting roles for many, many years, and it's just we've been given the opportunity now to step into that top leadership role," said Jaster, who has worked her way up through various City Hall positions for 25 years.

"It might be just a little bit of a reflection of where women have finally come in all these years. It shows how we as Americans change, and that's a great thing," she said. "I can't tell you how many times I was the only female in the room."

The women share a sense of obligation to those who came before them.

"We're building on a legacy of hard work here," communication and economic development manager Lisa Thompson said. Ward 1 Council Member Jean Matlock agreed, citing as examples Ward 2 Council Member Willie Ray-who has served for 20 years-and former member Tina Veal-Gooch.

Another trailblazer is Nancy Talley. Now a Bowie County justice of the peace, Talley served five terms on the council in the 1980s and '90s and remembers what it was like to help set a precedent for the next generation.

"Women had to try a little bit harder. If a man said something, he's a man, he knows what he's talking about. When a lady said something, they had to be a little more forceful in what they said," she said.

Today's women in City Hall hope to leave a similar legacy.

"You want to make sure that you set a good example so that it doesn't just stop with you, so that other women behind you have the opportunity," Jaster said. Ward 3 Council Member Barbara Williams agreed.

"We've got to do a good job," she said.

"Not just for girls, but for little boys, too. We need to teach them that girls can do whatever they want. I tell my son that all the time: 'We can drive fire trucks, too,'" Thompson said.

"I hope it's easier for the women after me. I hope they have an easier time than I did," said Mashell Daniel, executive director of code enforcement and inspections.

The city has never chosen a woman as mayor, but Jaster said the election of Ruth Penney-Bell across the state line could help change that.

"The fact that we have a female mayor on the Arkansas side has opened the door for a lot of people to think about running.

"The world is just changing. There's more opportunity for men and women to be who they want to be. Those doors are not closed to anyone anymore," she said.

On Twitter: @RealKarlRichter