“Woodway has a kind of that classic Americana small town feel to it.”

I was in my second year of serving on the Planning and Zoning Commission and an opening became available on city council. I was encouraged by then Mayor Bob Howard, who approached me and said we need more young people to get involved. We need more new ideas, new vision, new leadership on council and so he encouraged me to run. He mentored me through the process. I spent a lot of time saying no, but he kept coming back and just asking. I’d been serving on boards in one way or another for a while. He really encouraged me to give it a shot and finally I did. I saw it as the next step in service to Woodway, and I ran. That one I ran unopposed [which] was nice. I didn’t have to spend any money on campaigning or anything like that. So, I got on council. It was another opportunity to serve the city.

I love the community that we have in Woodway. Our neighbors are some of the finest people, and some of our best friends live right there around us. The community, the people that make up our city, are by far some of the just finest people that we’ve ever met.

Woodway has a kind of that classic Americana small town feel to it. You know when you go to the Fourth of July parade? There’s just something about that kind of community that you don’t get anywhere. It’s not just the Fourth of July parade; it’s the Cops and Kids Halloween event, where officers hand out candy to the kids. If my son is having a lemonade stand, city staff will stop by. Cops will stop by and buy lemonade and shoot some hoops with him in the driveway. That kind of community and culture that we have are my favorite things about our city. I also love that we get our trash picked up twice a week, and the amenities that we enjoy are just first class. I could talk about the natural beauty and the rolling hills and just how pretty Woodway is. But my personal favorite is the community that we have — the classic American town culture that we enjoy.

We attend just about every Baylor event that’s going on, whether it’s athletics or the symphony, or if there’s a play, we’re there. We also enjoy exploring all the natural resources. Cameron Park is amazing [and] of course, Woodway has amazing parks that we enjoy hiking and exploring. We also all have bikes, so we like to cycle the new trails that Waco has put in. Just a couple of weekends ago, we were at the new MKT Trail in East Waco and really enjoyed cycling. And we love going to concerts, going to the farmers market. Any kind of cultural thing that’s happening in town, we’re usually the first ones to sign up.

We like to go to the mom-and-pop place. We love Ranchito on Waco Drive, that’s probably our favorite Mexican restaurant. The kids really enjoy going to Kitok. My wife and I went to Blaine’s. We just happened by that one day and went and it was great. Of course, George’s on Hewitt Drive is always a huge hit for us. And Pignetti’s in downtown, we enjoy that for a date night. We love going to the little hole-in-the-wall places because that’s where we found the best food is.

Amine Qourzal is in his third term on the Woodway City Council after winning a re-election bid in May. He’s serving his second three-year term as mayor, having been re-elected to that role by his fellow council members. He began his first term in 2022 when, at 38 years old, he became Woodway’s youngest mayor.

The son of Southern Baptist missionaries, Qourzal is originally from Málaga, Spain, and moved to Waco to attend Baylor University. After graduating from Baylor with his undergraduate degree and MBA, he spent a couple of years in the agribusiness industry before returning to work at his alma mater. He spent 11 years in Student Financial Aid and is now the associate director of graduate business career management of the Hankamer School of Business.

Qourzal and his wife Lisa — a native of Abbott and also a Baylor graduate — have three children: 14-year-old Abbie; 13-year-old Ava; and Aaron, who is 10. The family has lived in Woodway since 2013.