Dec 25

No Meeting

Speaker
Jim Stoa

Jim Stoa is the Founder and Executive Director of Helping a Hero, a non-partisan 501(c) (3) organization, created to provide a simple mechanism for individuals and corporations to help provide emotional and financial support for our severely wounded /disabled War on Terror veterans and their families. Their programs include:

• Mentoring Support - advise for careers, family issues, resources etc.
• Emotional Support - opportunities to connect with support groups for periodical, social or educational gatherings
• Financial Support - to cover unexpected expenses not covered by some other means.
• Recreational Support - a vehicle to give wounded heroes in long term rehab an opportunity to view or participate in various sporting events.                         
• Scholarship Support - educational grant assistance to heroes and/or their children.
• Educational Support - short term courses, workshops, seminars relating to financial and employment topics.

Speaker
Judge Ken Wise

Photo Not Yet Available

152nd District Court

Speaker
Bill King

Attorney
Bracewell &
Guilliani

Bill King's practice has been developed on a keen interest in public policy issues. He assists both government entities and private companies in their dealings with public bodies. He has served on numerous committees and task forces studying issues related to the efficient delivery of public services, especially in the areas of public infrastructure, mobility, environmental stewardship and emergency preparedness.

His civic involvement has been extensive. In the early 1990s he returned to the City of Kemah where he was elected to city council and eventually served two terms as mayor, and he has erved on numerous charitable and community boards.

Mr. King will speak on transportation / mobility and other pressing city issues.

There will be two speakers at the August 28th meeting.

Speaker
Talmidge
Heflin

Executive Director of the Republican Party of Texas

Speaker
Duncan Hunter

US Representative from California and Republican Candidate for President, 2008

Talmadge Heflin is a former Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives, who represented District 149 from 1983 to 2005. In August 2007, he was named the new executive director of the Republican Party of Texas.

At the time of Heflin's appointment, state party chairman Tina Benkiser, also of Houston, cited his quarter century of experience in the conservative movement, the legislature, and in business. "This background will be invaluable in helping lead the team of political professionals we have assembled who will lead Republicans to victory in 2008," she said.

Between January 1993and January 2003, when Democrats had majority control of the Texas House, Heflin was the only Republican member to have served on both the Ways and Means and the Appropriations committees. Heflin took over Appropriations in January 2003 and helped to close a $10 billion budget shortfall without raising taxes.

In consideration of his new post, Talmadge wil discuss the forthcoming Texas straw poll.

Since first being elected to Congress in 1980, Duncan Hunter has devoted himself to ensuring that our military is second to none, securing our nation’s borders, and protecting American workers from unfair competition. Hunter works on these issues because he believes that America’s greatest strength is our freedom and its protection requires our effort in all areas.

When he came to Washigton in 1980, Hunter successfully sought a seat on the House Armed Services Committee where he could work on America’s national security needs. He has served on this committee throughout his career, and is now the Ranking Member. His efforts are focused on providing President Bush with the necessary resources to win our nation’s military conflicts, protecting our men and women in uniform, and developing modernization initiatives that will move new and more effective technologies into the field of battle.

Living in a border community, Hunter also came to Congress to make securing the California-Mexico border a top priority. Hunter’s goal was to make the region safe for communities on both sides of the border by providing the necessary resources to our border enforcement agencies.

Hunter resides in East San Diego County with his wife Lynne and two sons, Duncan Duane, who served two tours in Iraq in the U.S. Marine Corps, and Sam Hunter, a business student at San Diego State University.

Speaker
Adele Hedges

Chief Justice
Fourteenth Court of Appeals

Adele Hedges is the Chief Justice of the Fourteenth Court of Appeals, which t is composed of a Chief Justice and eight justices. It has intermediate appellate jurisdiction of both civil and criminal cases appealed from lower courts in 10 counties of Texas, in certain civil cases and proceedings as provided by law, and in certain criminal cases.

Chief Justice Hedges will speak on the restoration of the 1910 Harris County courthouse.

Chief Justice Hedges is a native of Orange, Texas, and graduated from the University of Houston with advanced degrees from Rice University. She joined the Texas State Bar in 1974 and has served on the bench since 1992. Prior to that, she was a practicing attorney in litigation, real estate, business, and banking, and she has participated widely in community activities.

Speaker
MJ Kahn

Houston City Council for District F

M. J. Khan was elected to Houston City Council, District F in December 2003 on the platform of "Improving the Quality of Life One Houstonian at a Time!"

Council Member Khan earned Bachelor of Science Degrees in Physics, Mathematics and Engineering from the Universities of Sind and Karachi, Pakistan; he holds Masters Degrees in Science and Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois, and a Masters of Business Administration from Rice University. Currently, Council Member Khan is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Texas.

Council Member Khan has pledged to be a full time city council member to address citizen complaints and concerns. He has continued outreach through his neighborhood office in Sharpstown Mall.

Council Member Khan is focusing on capital improvement projects in District F. He currently serves on five committees: Flooding and Drainage, Housing and Community Development, Ethics, Public Safety and Homeland Security, Budget and Fiscal Affairs and chairs the International Liaison and Protocol Committee.

Speaker
Michael Williams

Commissioner.
Texas State Railroad Commission

Michael L. Williams was initially appointed to the Texas Railroad Commission by former Governor George W. Bush in December 1998. His current six year term expires in 2008. He is the first African American in Texas history to hold an executive statewide elected post and is the highest-ranking African American in Texas state government.

Williams leads the state’s long-term Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, and he is the Railroad Commission “point person” for the agency’s regulatory reform and technology modernization efforts.

Prior to his appointment to the Railroad Commission of Texas, Williams served as general counsel to a Texas-based high-tech corporation and as the general counsel of the Republican Party of Texas and chairman of the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission. He also has a long career in the Federal Government in law enforcement related positions.

Speaker
Austen Furse

Houston Businessman, former Presidential Advisor and White House Staff Member, and Active Republican

Austen Furse is a Houston businessman and former Presidential advisor. He has been active in conservative Republican causes nationally and here in Houston. He is a partner in a family business with roots in early Texas ranching, having grown up in rural Matagorda County.

President GHW Bush appointed Furse as White House Director of Policy Planning, a post charged with long-range planning of a host of issues, mainly involving domestic policy, until the end of the Bush Presidency.

Since then Furse has founded Texans For Tax Limits, which instituted the no-tax pledge among Texas legislators. He has helped in the drafting of the national GOP Platform and was a co-founder of Let the People Vote, a grass-roots citizen's effort that succeeded in passing a tax limitation measure for Houstonians, the Taxpayer Bill of Rights or TABOR. candidates like Orlando Sanchez.

He is a long time member of the Greater Houston Pachyderms, and he will speak on "Winning On the Issues."

Speaker
The Honorable
Robert Eckels

Speaker
C.A. McClelland

Executive Assistant Chief  of Police

Executive Assistant Chief  of Police, C.A. McClelland will speak on the issues of tasers, chases, and other topics related to Houston Police Department policies and procedures.

Charles A. McClelland Jr. was promoted to Executive Assistant Chief of Police of the Houston Police Department in May of 2004 and is in charge of the Administrative Operations. This includes the Internal Investigations Command, Office of the Inspector General, the Professional Development Command, Crime Analysis Division and the Command Center.

Executive Assistant Chief McClelland rose through the ranks during his 30-year law enforcement career, beginning as a patrol officer in May of 1977.  He has experienced virtually every aspect of law enforcement throughout his career with the Houston Police Department.

He has received numerous awards and commendations during his tenure with the Houston Police Department.  He is a graduate of the University of Houston where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice and a Master of Arts degree in Sociology.  He is also a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) National Academy.

Speaker
Jim Murphy

Texas House of Representatives
District 133

For the past 20 years, Murphy has served as one of the principal driving forces behind the Westchase District – the 4.2 square mile business district in west Houston.  He started at the District in 1986 , and today, the District is home to over 80,000 employees and residents and is one of Houston’s leading areas in terms of business activity and commercial development.

Since 1997, Murphy has also served on the Houston Community College Board of Trustees.  Today, HCC is our nation’s tenth largest college and a key player in regional workforce training.

Jim is also an active member of the Greater Houston Partnership, the Houston Association of Realtors, the Urban Land Institute, and a Trustee of the Houston Realty Breakfast Club.

Jim is a lifelong Republican who has been active in the Party as a grassroots volunteer, candidate, and elected official, having been elected to the Texas House from District 133 in 2006.

Speaker
Colonel George McDowell

George is expected to be joined by a Member of the Texas State Legislature to discuss the current legislative session.

George is a 1937 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. During World War II, he served, among other assignments, as Ordnance Officer, Third Air Support Command and participated in the November 1942 invasion of French Morocco under the command of General Patton. He later participated in the defeat and capture of German Forces in North Africa.  By 1944 his staff responsibilities involved the logistics for both the Royal Air Force and the US Tactical Air Support for the Fifth and Eighth Army operations in Italy.

While continuing his military service, George received his MBA from Harvard in 1948 and later served in the Pentagon and in the Air Force ballistic missile program. George retired from the Air Force in 1960 having received the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Commendation Medal, and the Air Force Commendation Medal.

Since 1961 George has been active in the Houston Real Estate market. Clark McDowell & Kic, Inc., now under the control of his son and others, has grown to become the foremost residential property management firm in the city.

Colonel McDowell closely follows and actively participates in local political activities to assure that competent candidates enter the election process. In 2001 and again in 2004 he served on Harris County grand juries.

Speaker
County Judge
Edward M. Emmett

Harris County Commissioners Court

Orlando Sanchez has lived in Houston since 1962 when his father was recruited to be the Spanish voice of the Colt 45's and the Houston Astros. Orlando graduated from Bellaire High School and is a cum laude graduate of the University of Houston.

Orlando served three terms on the Houston City Council and helped pass the first property tax cut in decades. He chaired the city's International Trade Committee, the Legislative Affairs Committee and the Cellular Tower Working Committee. He has served on the Texas Attorney General's Municipal Advisory Committee and was apppointed to the U.S. Senate Task Force on Hispanic Affairs. Orlando has been an outspoken critic of illegal immigration.

Orlando's campaign for Country Treasurer focused on streamling the office and reducing operations costs by the installation of state-of-the-art software systems and the implementation of electronic fund transfers . He committed to fight for property tax rate cuts and for appraisal caps. Orlando has been an outspoken critic of illegal immigration.

Camacho and Associates
Traffic and Transportation Engineering

Gonzalo Comancho was born in Bolivia and finished high school in Minnesota. He attended the University of Texas at Arlington where he received a B.S. and M.S. in civil engineering.  For the last seven years he has worked on his own. His expertise is in transportation and traffic engineering. Gonzalo is advocate of creating pedestrian friendly streets and has formulated various alternatives to traditional highway design. 

Gonzalo has been on the Houston Heights Association Board of Directors, Advisor to 5th Ward Youth Enrichment Program, Bike Houston Technical Advisor, and Chairman of Houston Transportation and Mobility Conference. His passion is transportation planning and urban development, and you can check out his blog here.

Speaker
Tara Ross

Author Enlightened Democracy: The Case of the Electoral College

Tara Ross is a retired attorney turned freelance writer focusing on legal and public policy issues. Her first book is "Enlightened Democracy: The Case for the Electoral College" published last year. Her work has been published in several law reviews and newspapers, including the American Enterprise Online, National Review Online, and Human Events Online

Tara Ross grew up in Sugar Land, Texas. She attended Rice University and graduated with a B.A. in Psychology and Sociology in 1994. She began law school at the University of Texas in 1998, and she obtained her J.D. in 2001. Shortly thereafter she began work as an associate in Fulbright & Jaworski’s Houston office.

Tara Ross currently lives in Dallas. You can read more about her and access her blog here.

Speaker
The Honorable John Culberson

US House of Representatives
Texas 7th Congressional District

Speaker
Tom Phillips

Former Chief Justice, Texas Supreme Court

Justice Phillips will discuss the adverse impact of every state rushing to an early presidential primary. 

Thomas R. Phillips, retired Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas, joined the Austin office of Baker Botts in September 2005, after nearly a quarter-century of judicial service.

In 1987, Governor William P. Clements appointed Mr. Phillips, then a civil district judge in Harris County, to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas. He was elected and reelected to that office in 1988, 1990, 1996, and 2002.

Mr. Phillips clerked for Justice Ruel C. Walker of the Supreme Court of Texas and practiced law in the trial department of the Houston office of Baker Botts prior to assuming the trial bench in 1981.
He was on the carter-Baker Commission for Federal Election Reform.

Speaker
Winston Elliott

Photo not Available

President
Free Enterprise Institute

W. Winston Elliott, III is President of the Free Enterprise Institute.  The Free Enterprise Institute is dedicated to promoting the ideals of a free and virtuous society by teaching the principles of free markets, limited government, the Christian roots of the American founding and an enduring moral order. Prior to joining the Institute as President in 1992, Mr. Elliott had served on the Institute’s Board of Advisory Trustees since 1984.  In 1983, Mr. Elliott founded Elliott and Craft Corporation.  He served as President of this computer services company until it was sold in 1991.

Speaker
Ken Hoagland

Special Consultant and National Spokesperson
Fair Tax.org

Ken Hoagland is a private consultant who has worked on a variety of issues including
national tax policy, healthcare policy, aviation safety, and telecommunications issues. He
brings to FairTax.org a long list of credentials, lending his expertise in policy development, communications, and grassroots mobilization.

Ken began his career in public policy working for former Texas Governor Dolph Briscoe
devising economic development projects and policy on the Texas/Mexico border and in the years since,

He was one of the first national political strategists to develop powerful grassroots campaigns which put hundreds of thousands of citizens directly in touch with their legislators.

Speaker
Jim Bevill

First Vice President American Numismatic Association 

“Financing the Texas Revolution”   A visual journey through the paper money and Texian Loans used by the Provisional Government of Texas
(1835-1836). Of particular interest is how the government funded the war out of an empty treasury and how the runaway scrape, location of the capital and other significant events can be traced through the paper money of the day.

Jim Bevill has been an active member of the American Numismatic Association  since 1996, and he is currently authoring a book on “A Paper Trail across the Republic” a study of the coins and currency used in Texas from the colonial period through  the annexation by the United States in 1846. He graduated from the University of Houston – Clear Lake. He is First Vice President - Investments, and a Wealth Management Advisor with Merrill Lynch Private Client Group

Andy Kahan currently serves as the Mayor’s Crime Victims Director for the city of Houston, Texas. This one-man office acts as an ombudsman for victims of crime and has been instrumental in enacting victim-related legislation in addition to serving as a resource for victims of crime.

Andy Kahan received his Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice in 1983 from the University of Houston and came to work in 1992 as the Director of the Mayor’s Crime Victims Office. His responsibilities include working with local crime victim’s rights organizations to facilitate pooling resources and exhanging information.  His office monitors parole and crime statistics, represents victims before the Parole Board, puts crime victims in touch with local crime victims support and advocacy groups and represents the Mayor before various inter-agency crime groups.

His topic will be Victim Advocacy and current legislation in that area.

Speaker
Rick Thaler

Texas Department of Criminal Justice

Rick Thaler will speak on the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. He began his career with the Department in 1980.  He was promoted thru the correctional ranking structurel He received his first assignment as a Warden in June of 1992, holding this position over a twelve-year period at four separate maximum-security facilities throughout the state.  In September of 2003 he assumed the position of Regional Director for the Agency and oversaw the daily operations of thirteen correctional facilities in the east Texas area.  In May of 2006 he was appointed as the Director of the Manufacturing and Logistics Division for the Agency.
                  
He is a graduate of Sam Houston State University and a member of the Correctional Peace Officers Association.

A lifelong Space Exploration enthusiast, Carl Cadis has had the privilege, for the past 10 years, of working for United Space Alliance (USA), NASA's primary Space Operations Contractor for the International Space Station and Space Shuttle.  His current responsibilities involve managing 20+ Engineer Instructors tasked with training the Astronauts and Flight Operations personnel at Johnson Space Center who operate the International Space Station.

Carl was awarded the "Bronze Star" in the "Desert Storm" war, has worked in over 14 countries and is a member of Encourager Church in Houston  where he serves as the director of outreach. He earned a Masters of Science Degree in Technical Management from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Master of Divinities Degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and Bachelor Science in Education from Louisiana State University.

Dr. Taylor teaches courses on Houston, urban and suburban government and politics, and Political Science statistics. His current research interests lie in suburban government and politics, federalism, and the impacts – both positive and negative – of urban sprawl. 

His most recent scholarly works include “Assessing a Mass Urban Evacuation: Evaluating the Impact of Sprawl on Metropolitan Houston’s Response to Hurricane Rita” Dr. Taylor is also in the process of writing a book on the intricacies, intrigues, and entertainment that is Houston metropolitan politics. 

In honor of President’s Day, Dr. Taylor will speak on President Ronald Reagan.