Leadership Montgomery County announces new board members

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas – Leadership Montgomery County (LMC) is pleased to announce a new chairman, vice chairman and six new board members in 2015.

Rob Koester will serve as chairman of the board for LMC in the 2015/2016 year. Koester is the vice president of consumer product marketing at Consolidated Communications, Inc. He is active in the community currently serving as vice president of community development/government relations for the Conroe/Lake Conroe Chamber of Commerce and on the board of the Montgomery County United Way. He has also provided leadership as a past board member with The Woodlands Village of College Park. He is a graduate of Eastern Illinois University and a 2012 graduate of Leadership Montgomery County, where he has served on the board of directors since 2013.

Julie H. Ambler will serve as the vice chairman for the 2015/2016 year. Ambler is the head of school at The Woodlands Christian Academy. She is past-president and co-founder of the Montgomery County Coalition of Christian Schools and past-president of the Executive Women’s Alliance. She currently serves on the board of the Rotary Club of The Woodlands where she has been named a Paul Harris Fellow. Ambler holds a B.A. and an M.B.A. from The University of Texas at Austin. She is a 2010 graduate of LMC and has served on the board of directors since 2012.

Six new board members are joining the board of directors in the new board year including Barry Blanton of Blanton Advisors, Royce Brooks of Woodlands Online, Candy Emmerich of First Bank, Kelly Hamann of Magnolia Parkway Chamber of Commerce, Dr. Janet Mullings of SHSU-Woodlands Center, and Linda Nelson of Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Hospital.

Barry D. Blanton is owner and founder of Blanton Advisors, LLC, a CFO consulting practice. Blanton is a 2010 recipient of The Woodlands Hometown Hero award. He is actively involved with the Light the Night Walk The Woodlands and was honored as their 2011 Gulf Coast Chapter Volunteer of the Year. He is a past chairman of the Montgomery County United Way and past chairman of both the Conroe and the South Montgomery County YMCAs. Blanton is the founder of Red X Running, a committee member of The Woodlands Marathon, and a five-year Ironman Texas aid station captain. He is a 1982 graduate of The University of Texas at Austin and a 1987 graduate of Leadership Conroe.

Royce Brooks is the sales and marketing manager at Woodlands Online and Conroe Today. He is a member of The Woodlands Area Chamber Board of Directors. In addition, Brooks serves as a diplomat for The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce, and has been a team leader for their Chairman's Ball, Business After Hours, and Woodlands Idol. He is a past president for The Woodlands Kiwanis, chairing their Special Olympics event for the past eight years. Brooks is a graduate of The Ohio State University and a graduate of the LMC Class of 2008.

Candy Emmerich is a vice president / commercial lender with more than fifteen years of community banking experience. In addition to serving as chairman-elect of the Magnolia Parkway Chamber board of directors, she is a member of the Lone Star College Community Advisory Group - Magnolia Center. She is a 2011 graduate of Leadership Montgomery County.

Kelly Hamann is the president of the Magnolia Parkway Chamber of Commerce. She is involved with numerous charitable and community organizations including the American Parkinson Disease Association, National Kidney Foundation, Gulf Coast Chamber Executives, Texas Associations of Business, Texas Chamber of Commerce Executives, and is a prior committee member of the Miss Tomball Pageant. Hamann is a graduate of Leadership North Houston and a graduate of the Leadership Montgomery County Class of 2015.

Dr. Janet Mullings is the executive director of Sam Houston State University – The Woodlands Center. Prior to her selection as executive director, she served as the associate dean and chair of faculty for Sam Houston State University’s College of Criminal Justice, where she continues to hold tenure as a full professor. Mullings served on the Board of Directors for the Montgomery County Women’s Center from 1999 to 2005. She is a graduate of the Leadership Montgomery County Class of 2014 and is currently a member of the Executive Women’s Alliance, Women of Vision, and the United Way Women’s Leadership Council.

Linda Nelson is director of business unit marketing for Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Hospital. She is a board member of The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce where she serves as the vice president of governmental affairs. She is a past board member of the Conroe/Lake Conroe Chamber of Commerce, where she is also a member of the Legislative Affairs Committee and the Strategic Planning Committee. She is a past chairman of the LMC Board of Directors where she also serves as the alumni chair. She was honored by LMC as their Woman of Distinction and their Distinguished Alumnus in 2014. She completed her undergraduate degree in Business at West Virginia Wesleyan College and her MBA at Texas Women’s University. She is a graduate of the LMC Class of 1999.

Leadership Montgomery County (LMC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, dedicated to developing and enhancing current and future leaders of Montgomery County. The mission of LMC is to prepare emerging and existing leaders to understand local issues, grow their leadership skills and connect with others to better serve Montgomery County.

LMC is a joint project of the Conroe/Lake Conroe Chamber of Commerce and The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce. The Greater Magnolia Chamber of Commerce, the Greater East Montgomery County Chamber, the Montgomery County Hispanic Chamber, and the Magnolia Parkway Chamber are also participating Chambers in the LMC program. Participants are chosen by application process in June of each year.

For more information about Leadership Montgomery County, please visit LMCTX.org.