Current Frisco Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Tammy Meinershagen — who is up for re-election — didn’t always have Texas in her heart — or even Frisco on her radar.
When she traded the bustling streets of Chicago for Frisco’s suburban sprawl in 2004, it wasn’t exactly love at first sight. But over time, the city’s vibrant community and undeniable charm worked their magic, transforming her perspective and inspiring her journey to become the “Spirit of Frisco” according to the Frisco Chamber of Commerce.
Local Profile recently sat down with Meinershagen at HALL Park Hotel to discuss her time in Texas:
How did you end up in North Texas
My husband Todd is originally from Richardson, so we would come down to Texas every year to visit his family for Christmas. They kept telling us to move to Texas, and specifically to find a home in Frisco. His dad always said it was the up-and-coming place, but this was 25 years ago when there was hardly anything here! I’ll never forget when his dad drove us to Quiznos off 121 and Preston Road to show us the area, and it literally looked like the edge of civilization. I remember thinking, 'This is the up-and-coming place? Not possible!’
What was your first impression?
I had such a bad impression of Texas — I really did not want to come. I didn't want to move to Frisco, and I certainly didn't want to become a Texan. I expected everyone to be in cowboy boots and hats, and I had heard several stories of racism in Texas that also concerned me. I just didn’t think I’d ever feel at home in Texas. I pushed really hard against it for many, many years, and then finally, Todd’s 2-hour daily commute from the suburbs to downtown Chicago was too taxing on our young family, so I agreed to give Texas a try.
Has your perception of Texas changed?
Oh absolutely, and it started day one. As we were moving furniture into our new house, I was surprised to see two Indian women walk by. I just did not expect to see any diversity at all. Then that afternoon, another neighbor walked by and said, ‘Oh, you're the new person! We’re having Bunco on Friday, will you join us?’ I had no idea what Bunco was, but I thanked her and said I’d be there. That’s when I met all the ladies in the neighborhood, and everybody was so welcoming. It’s special to be friends with many of those ladies after 20 years! I realized Frisco was not what I expected, but in a good way.
The feel of Frisco, at least for me, was very different from even my Chicago suburb. When I chose to stay home with the girls after working as a public school teacher, I felt like I was the only one in my neighborhood to make that choice. After moving to Frisco, it was the opposite! I was surrounded by lots of moms who were at home with their kids, and there were so many people to meet and ways to get involved. Slowly but surely my impression of Texas changed, and all because of Frisco.
Was there a moment when you realized that your impression changed?
When my oldest daughter entered Kindergarten in 2005, the school was so welcoming, and the teachers wanted Ellie to share a little bit about our culture, as half Korean. I had always grown up very embarrassed of my culture, because it was a different time to grow up Asian, in the 70s. Think about entertainment and media back then, how Asians were depicted- it was a caricature and so stereotypical. I always had such a negative view of myself as an Asian in a rural city in Illinois, so I just kind of assumed it would be the same here. I didn’t want to bring any attention to it. But the teachers and the principal kept saying, ‘No, this would be wonderful, we'd love to have her share her culture with the classroom.’ And Ellie would beg me, ‘Mom, I want to do it, I want to bring my hanbok — the traditional Korean clothing — I want to share about the food.’
It suddenly hit me that the baggage I carried was my baggage, not her baggage, and the natural thing is to be proud of your culture and want to share it and celebrate it with others. It's unnatural to be embarrassed and ashamed and hide it. I realized that my cultural heritage is actually a beautiful thing, and this city wants to celebrate my daughter for who she is, and also consequently, celebrate me for who I am. And that kind of welcoming spirit helped to heal me of my own trauma, even in my young adulthood.
How else have you been able to share your culture?
As the first Multicultural Chair at Bledsoe Elementary, I started a new program called the Multicultural Minute, where we would feature students who did not speak English as their first language. We would highlight them at the Friday assembly in their traditional clothing, and they would proudly teach everyone how to say hello, goodbye and count to 10 in their native tongue. That program grew and was adopted by 11 other schools, which is when I also became the Multicultural Chair for the greater Frisco Council of PTA’s, helping other schools host Multicultural programs to celebrate their diverse student body.
That's how I actually got involved in serving our city, and I loved helping families who might normally feel excluded become celebrated and part of the Frisco family. I also organized the first multicultural float for the community parade in 2011, where kids dressed in their culture of origin while proudly waving an American flag to honor our veterans, and they loved it! A few of our Veterans of Foreign Wars came up to me afterward and said, ‘Seeing these kids from all over the world waving the American flag- that’s why we did what we did.’ It just made me love my city even more.
How did you continue to get involved with the city?
‘What would you like to see for the future of Frisco?’ I remember seeing that question online and decided I was going to attend my very first city meeting. That was in 2013, and it was a comprehensive plan advisory committee meeting where they were taking input for the future of Frisco. I thought, ‘This is amazing. They're actually taking community input,’ and when I arrived, there were whiteboards where I could just write my ideas along with the other attendees. And of course, since I'm a musician and an arts supporter, I said I wanted to see more arts and culture in Frisco. I met several people that night who became fast friends and worked with me while I was on the Citizen Bond Committee, advocating for the arts center.
Now here we are more than 10 years later, and I'm on city council, appointing people to be on those same committees. Isn't that crazy? It's come full circle, and I couldn’t be more grateful to serve Frisco. It’s made me who I am today, and I can honestly say it feels like home. I can’t imagine being anywhere else!
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