Township Board's New Directors Take Oath of Office

The Woodlands Township honors retirees, Welcomes New Directors

THE WOODLANDS, TX -– Three retiring Directors were honored and five new Directors took the oath of office at The Woodlands Township’s Board of Directors meeting on Wednesday, May 28.

The Woodlands Township honored three retiring directors including: Bob Kinnear, Mayor Fred O’Connor and Ken Smith. The Woodlands Township welcomed five newly-elected directors including: Bruce Tough, Nelda Blair, Peggy Hausman, Tom Campbell and Claude Hunter. Tough, Blair and Hausman will serve three year terms and Campbell and Hunter will serve two year terms.

The three retiring from the Board were honored at the meeting with special plaques of service.

Kinnear served as a director for The Woodlands Township Board from April 1996 to May 2008. “It has been quite an honor to see The Woodlands expand from a place to live to a place to live and work,” said Kinnear, who oversaw the development of The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel & Convention Center among several other projects. “When we moved here, the job base was relatively small. Today, we have many corporations who provide a great work environment for thousands of residents. The Woodlands is world-renown for a place to live and work, and it’s been a pleasure serving this community in that regard.”

Retiring Director Ken Smith, who served as a director from July 2005 to May 2008, said, “Since being appointed to serve on the Board of Directors of Town Center Improvement District, now The Woodlands Township, I have been fortunate to participate in the continued growth and prosperity of the entire South Montgomery County experience. I will truly miss my fellow board members as well as the entire staff who have helped make this an experience I will never forget.”

Fred O’Connor, Mayor of Oak Ridge North, served on The Woodlands Township Board from May 2004 to May 2008. Most recently, he served as Treasurer/Assistant Secretary for the organization. “Serving on The Woodlands Township has truly enhanced our regional approach to public safety and economic development. South Montgomery County is a better place than most in the nation because of the partnerships of local governments, local business and the citizens who make this a great place to live, work and play.”

The May 10, 2008 Election of The Woodlands Township paved the way for five positions on the Board of Directors. Fourteen (14) candidates vied for five positions on the Board. The top three in voting received three year terms and the fourth and fifth in votes received two year terms. The top five in votes were Bruce Tough, Nelda Blair, Peggy Hausman, Tom Campbell and Claude Hunter.

New Directors

- Tough serves as a director for The Woodlands Community Association, President for The Woodlands Fire Department, Chairman for The Woodlands Community Service Corporation, and Trustee for Conroe Independent School District. Mr. Tough’s family moved to The Woodlands in 1974. Tough received the “Hometown Hero” award in 2004 and “Citizen of the Year” award from the South County Chamber of Commerce in 2006.

- Blair, resident of The Woodlands for nearly 20 years, was appointed to The Woodlands Township Board of Directors by Precinct 3 in 1999 and served as Chairman from May 2007 to May 2008. She also serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors for The Woodlands Convention and Visitors Bureau and has served as past Chairman of the Board for the South Montgomery County/Woodlands Chamber of Commerce and the Montgomery County Road Bond Committee, as well as a past member of the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion Board of Trustees. Blair was named The Woodlands’ 2005 Hometown Hero.

- Hausman has served on the Township Board of Directors as an appointee of the Woodlands Community Association since 2000 and has been a resident of The Woodlands since 1981. She has served as past Chairman of the Panther Creek Residential Design and Review Committee, a member of the Board of Directors for the Woodlands Community Association, and was the first resident elected Chairman of the Woodlands Community Services Corporation and The Woodlands Fire Department Board of Directors. Additionally, Hausman was selected as an Original Hometown Hero in 1999.

Campbell, a resident of The Woodlands for 29 years, is a member of The Woodlands Community Association Board of Directors, where he has served as first Vice President and as Treasurer. He represents The Woodlands Community Association as an ex-officio member to the South Montgomery County Woodlands Chamber of Commerce. He was elected to the Board of Directors of The Woodlands Community Service Corporation and The Woodlands Fire Department by his fellow directors and serves those boards as Treasurer. Campbell serves as a director of Municipal Utility District 36 where he is the board secretary-treasurer, and has served as a board member of the Grogan’s Mill Village Association where he is currently an ex-officio member.

- Hunter has served as an elected director and Vice President of The Woodlands Association since 2000, Secretary of the Community Associations of The Woodlands and of The Woodlands Fire Department and President and Vice President of The Woodlands Recreation Center Boards of Directors. He has served as a director of Municipal Utility District No. 67 since 2002 and as a Trustee of the Woodlands Joint Power Agency. In 1999, Hunter was chosen as an Outstanding Volunteer for his service with Covenant Administration.