Plano volunteer Darrell Rodenbaugh wins Texas lifetime service honor

Darrell Rodenbaugh’s volunteer leadership helped turn a Plano children’s theater into one of the largest youth arts organizations in the country, and Texas has now recognized that work with a lifetime service honor that reflects far more than a trophy on a shelf.

Rodenbaugh received the 42nd Annual Governor’s Volunteer Lifetime Achievement Award, part of a statewide slate administered by OneStar Foundation and announced by First Lady Cecilia Abbott. Honorees are recognized during National Volunteer Month in April at a reception at the Texas Governor’s Mansion, a setting that underscores how unusual Rodenbaugh’s path has been: he has not led North Texas Performing Arts as a paid executive, but as a longtime volunteer who stepped into the work when the organization needed him most.

His service began 19 years ago. North Texas Performing Arts says Rodenbaugh joined the Plano Children’s Theatre Board of Directors in 2010, then served pro bono as executive director through 2011 while the organization worked through financial difficulties. Plano Magazine has noted that he later served as board president for eight years before moving into his current role as the organization’s full-time volunteer CEO, a post he has held for 11 years.

The result is visible across Collin County and beyond. OneStar said North Texas Performing Arts grew twelvefold under Rodenbaugh’s volunteer leadership and is now the nation’s largest youth theatre organization. The nonprofit operates five North Texas locations and serves more than 11,000 students each year, expanding far beyond traditional stage productions to include programs that widen access for more families. Those offerings include NTPA Deaf Theatre, Starcatchers Theatre for performers with disabilities, and film and video programming.

That growth has changed who can participate in the arts, not just how many shows are staged. It has also made North Texas Performing Arts a bigger part of Plano’s civic fabric, connecting students, parents, teachers and volunteers through classes, performances and inclusive programming that would not exist without sustained leadership.

Sara Egelston Akers, the founder of Plano Children’s Theatre, said Rodenbaugh “built on a vision that began 35 years ago.” North Texas Performing Arts also says Rodenbaugh and his family are the organization’s largest private financial and in-kind contributors in its 32-year history, tying his recognition to both hands-on service and long-term investment.

Rodenbaugh was one of four lifetime-achievement honorees in the 42nd annual awards, alongside Larry Dolan of Dallas, Dave Freriks of Lubbock and Timothy Stroud of Houston. For Plano, the award highlights a bigger question facing cities across Texas: what happens when so many essential community programs depend on a few aging super-volunteers to keep them alive.