DeWitt County has been my home since June 1984 when Lisa and I moved here from Fort Worth. The move to the Stratton Community was a return to her childhood home and the beginning of a remarkable journey for me.

For the last 25 years I have told friends and acquaintances that it was my good fortune to marry a homesick girl. Her DeWitt County roots are several generations deep and include pioneer family names including Newman, Matthew, Baker, White and Hollan.

Lisa was born and raised in Yoakum. She earned her formal education at Texas Woman's University in Denton. She has been employed by St. Michael School, Shiner ISD and Yoakum ISD in the past. She is currently employed by Cuero ISD as the Deaf Education teacher on the Yoakum Junior High campus.

 

My roots in the region go back to 1853 when my ancestor, Mark Fowler, settled on the banks of Big Brushy Creek near Hope Community on the DeWitt - Lavaca County line. During the Civil War he served in the Texas State Troops with other men like Lavaca County Judge John Himes Livergood who were considered too old to fight on the front lines in Virginia and elsewhere.

I was raised in Fort Worth and earned a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from Texas Christian University in 1982. My career has included work as an investment broker, bank employee, life and health insurance agent, and cattle raiser.

 

Because of the recent oil and gas leasing and seismic operations in DeWitt County, I went back to TCU in 2008 to acquire new skills related to petroleum land management and oil and gas leasing. The combination of these business experiences has provided me with a wealth of knowledge which should enable me to be an effective rural county judge.

We love it here and the Lord has blessed us so that we could work and live in the same place. Our children range from ten years old to twenty-two. We want them to have the same or better opportunities and that is one of the concerns driving my desire to be the next county judge of DeWitt County.