Public Information
Board of Directors & Committees
A twelve-member Board of Directors (Board) governs the San Antonio River Authority (SARA). The Board consists of two at-large members from each of Wilson, Karnes, and Goliad counties, plus two at large members for Bexar County and one member for each of four SARA Districts in Bexar County, for a total of six members representing Bexar County. The SARA Districts in Bexar County correspond to Bexar County Commissioner Districts.
All Board terms are for a period of six years. There are no term limits. All positions are elected except in the case of vacancy prior to term end, in which case the Governor of the State of Texas appoints a replacement to complete the term. When candidates are unopposed, the Texas election code allows for an entity to declare by ordinance that the candidates are unopposed and are elected to office. Elections for SARA Board members are staggered. SARA holds elections every two years.
For more information about appointments to unexpired terms, log onto www.governor.state.tx.us/divisions/appointments.
The list below identifies SARA’s Board, the county and/or district they represent, and their respective terms of office.
Gaylon J. Oehlke • Karnes County
Chairman of the Board
Board member since: 2003
Current term expires: 2013
Committee memberships: Executive Chair,
Fiscal Committee
Oehlke was born and raised in Goliad County, where he attended Goliad High School. After high school he earned an associate’s degree in arts at Victoria College. From there he attended Texas A&M University and received a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics in 1972. During this time Oehlke was a member of the Texas National Guard. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1972 and served seven years in the guard, ending as commander of Company C, 141st Battalion, in Cuero. Oehlke retired in March 2004 as president of the Kenedy and Robstown credit offices for Capital Farm Credit, ACA, after 32 years of service.
Sally Buchanan • Bexar County At Large
Vice-Chair
Board member since: 1999
Current term expires: 2017
Committee memberships: Executive Vice-Chair, Communications Chair
Buchanan, born and reared in San Antonio, graduated from St. Mary’s Hall. She earned a bachelor’s degree in art history in 1964 at Mills College in Oakland, Calif. She also earned a Texas Teacher’s Certificate in 1965 as a high school specialist. After receiving her bachelor’s degree, Buchanan returned to St. Mary’s Hall as an art history instructor. From 1972 to 1989, she devoted her talents to a variety of professions, including social service caseworker for the Texas Department of Public Welfare, travel agent and meeting planner for the National Trust for Historic Preservation of Washington, DC. In 1989, Buchanan became executive director of the San Antonio chapter of the American Institute of Architects and has since been made an honorary member of the Texas Society of Architects. She has been a long-standing board member and president of the San Antonio Conservation Society and is vice president of the Kangaroo Court Restaurants, which have operated River Walk restaurants for more than 30 years.
Roberto G. Rodríguez • Bexar County, District 2
Secretary
Board member since: 2001
Current term expires: 2013
Committee memberships: Executive Secretary, Communications Vice-Chair
Rodríguez was born in San Antonio and has lived there for 65 1/2 years. He attended San Antonio College. He has served as a board member for the M.H. Calderon Branch of the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Antonio, and was appointed to the board of the Parks and Recreation Department in 1977. Rodríguez was appointed to the Parks Committee within the City of San Antonio’s Community Bond Committees, and he is in his second term on the city’s Linear Creeks Parkway Advisory Board. Rodríguez, a strong supporter of the Boy Scouts of America, is most proud of helping his only son become an Eagle Scout in 1988.
Terry E. Baiamonte • Goliad County
Treasurer
Board member since: 2003
Current term expires: 2015
Committee memberships: Executive Treasurer, Fiscal Chair
Baiamonte was born in Victoria and has lived in Goliad for more than eight years. She graduated magna cum laude from Sam Houston State University in 1976 with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. In 1982, she received a doctorate of jurisprudence degree from St. Mary’s School of Law in San Antonio. Baiamonte practiced civil litigation law until 1996 when she decided to stay home to care for her children. Currently back in law practice, she operates a law office behind the award-winning Blue Quail Deli in Goliad, which she also owns and operates. Additionally, Baiamonte runs a cow-calf operation on the ranch where she lives.
Hector R. Morales • Bexar County At Large
Member-At-Large
Board member since: 2005
Current term expires: 2017
Committee memberships: Executive Committee, Fiscal Vice-Chair
Morales is a native of San Antonio, where he has lived for more than 60 years. He attended Holy Cross High School and received a bachelor’s degree in occupational education from Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos.
Morales retired from the Civil Service after 26 years of service, and from the Texas Air National Guard after 29 years of service. He is an amateur bird enthusiast and enjoys working with stained glass, walking, running, hiking and camping.
Darrell T. Brownlow, Ph.D. • Wilson County
Board member since: Appointed by Governor Perry on July 19, 2011
Current term expires: 2013
Committee memberships: Communications Committee, Fiscal Committee
Darrell T. Brownlow, Ph.D., was appointed by Governor Rick Perry on July 19, 2011 to represent Wilson County on the San Antonio River Authority's (SARA) Board of Directors (Board). Dr. Brownlow replaces Mr. A.D. "Al" Kollodziej, Jr., who retired from the Board in June, after 13 years of distinguished service. Dr. Brownlow's appointment will allow him to serve until the next general election in Wilson County, to be held in November of 2012.
Dr. Brownlow is a member on the South Central Texas Regional Water Planning Group, and he has also served as an appointee to the Evergreen Underground Water Conservation District. He is currently a Principal in Carrizo Consulting, LP and Intercoastal Inland Services, LLC. Prior to this, he was Vice President and Chief Geologist for Cemex USA, responsible for Resource Management of Aggregate and Cement operations across the United States. Dr. Brownlow has authored and coauthored several technical articles and publications on subjects ranging from carbon dioxide capture and sequestration in the cement industry to availability of Carrizo Aquifer water for Eagle Ford Shale development.
John J. Flieller • Wilson County
Board member since: Appointed by Governor Perry on May 6, 2008
Current term expires: 2015
Committee memberships: Operations Vice-Chair, Executive Committee
After graduating from Floresville High School in 1980, Flieller joined his three sisters at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, where he received a degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Risk Management Insurance. After graduation, Flieller went back to Floresville and started working at the family owned insurance company, Flieller Insurance Agency, Inc., where he has been now for over 20 years.
Flieller has served for the past year as a member of SARA’s Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC). Prior to his appointment, Flieller was also an active board member for the Floresville Chamber of Commerce, where he served for six years. He also served a two-year term on the Sacred Heart Catholic School Board and served on the Wilson County Tax Review Board for four years.
Michael W. Lackey, P.E. • Bexar County District 3
Board member since: 2009
Current term expires: 2015
Committee memberships: Fiscal Secretary, Operations Committee
Michael W. “Mike” Lackey is Principal of Lackey de Carvajal Cx, which offers LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) building commissioning services. As a LEED Accredited Professional, Lackey certifies that buildings or communities are designed and built to achieve energy and water efficiency, to reduce CO2 emissions, and to improve indoor environmental quality.
A member of the Sons of the Republic of Texas (SRT), Lackey traces his lineage to Jose Luis Carvajal who inherited land out of the Andres Hernandez grant at the confluence of the Cibolo Creek and the San Antonio River. The spot was known as Carvajal Crossing because it had a firm bottom for the ox carts traveling the Camino Real between San Antonio and Goliad.
Lackey is a graduate of Central Catholic High School. He holds a bachelor’s of science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M and an MBA from the University of Houston. He is a PhD candidate in Civil Engineering at Texas A&M.
Názirite Rubén Pérez • Bexar County District 1
Board member since: 2007
Current term expires: 2013
Committee memberships: Communications Committee, Operations Secretary
A native of San Antonio, Pérez graduated from Lanier High School and has continued his education throughout the years, taking classes at San Antonio College, Palo Alto College, St. Mary’s University, and Texas A & M extension courses. Topics of interest to Pérez include federal OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) laws, refrigeration, and chemistry.
In 2009, Pérez retired from the City of San Antonio where he served as a Senior Maintenance Mechanic. He is a member of the Kelly Restoration Advisory Committee, for which he serves on the Technical Advisory Committee. Pérez has a son and three daughters.
H.B. “Trip” Ruckman III • Karnes County
Board member since: 1987
Current term expires: 2015
Committee memberships: Communications Committee, Operations Chair
Ruckman graduated from Karnes City High School and, in 1967, received a BBA from UT-Austin. In 1984 he graduated from the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at SMU in Dallas. Ruckman was commissioned through the Navy ROTC and served as a supply officer on the USS Hanson during two Vietnam deployments. He also served at NAS-Kingsville and in Bahrain. Ruckman resigned from active duty in 1974. He remained active in the Naval Reserve for 17 years, retiring as a captain. In 1974, Ruckman joined the Karnes County National Bank, where he specialized in lending, and he became president in 1985. In 1995 he became chairman of the bank’s board. Ruckman is currently active with the Karnes City Chamber of Commerce, Boy Scouts of America, First Presbyterian Church, Karnes County Economic Development Corporation and the Karnes County Historical Society.
Adair R. Sutherland • Goliad County
Board member since: 2000
Current term expires: 2013
Committee memberships: Communications Secretary, Operations Committee
Sutherland was born in Goliad and graduated from Goliad High School. She furthered her education at Newcomb College in New Orleans and received a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from the University of Texas at Austin. Sutherland lived for 21 years in New York City and, in 1974, moved to San Antonio. In 1995, she returned to her hometown of Goliad. Sutherland has been an advisor, consultant, fundraising instructor, acting director, public relations coordinator and grant funding development manager. She has worked for the Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of the City of New York, the San Antonio Museum Association, the American Association of Museums Trustee Conference, the Dallas Ballet and the Lacoste School of the Arts in Lacoste, France.
Thomas G. Weaver • Bexar County, District 4
Board member since: 1997
Current term expires: 2015
Committee memberships: Fiscal Committee, Operations Committee
Born in Columbus, Ohio, Weaver moved with his family to San Antonio in 1942. After graduating from Central Catholic High School in 1950, he was appointed to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in military science in 1955. Weaver was commissioned in the Air Force and completed pilot training a year later. During his career, Weaver served as a tactical officer at the U.S. Military Academy, flew 171 combat missions in Southeast Asia in the RF-101, and served on the Air Staff at U.S. Air Force Headquarters at the Pentagon. In 1971, he received a master’s degree in systems management from the University of Southern California. Weaver also graduated from Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama. He retired from the military in 1978 as a colonel, with the rating of command pilot. The same year, he began a career with the Cibolo Creek Municipal Authority, retiring as general manager in 1996.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
Section 176.004 of the Local Government Code requires a “local government officer” to complete a Conflict of Interest Disclosure Statement (CIS) disclosing any business relationship with the local government agency if he of she receive taxable income or certain gifts from any person or business that contracts with the River Authority or is considering doing business with the River Authority.
A “Local Government Officer” (LGO) is required to file a CIS if:
- The person has contracted with the local governmental entity; or
- The local governmental entity is considering doing business with the person and the person has an employment or other business relationship with the local government officer or family member of the officer, that results in the officer of family member receiving taxable income; or
- The person has given a local governmental officer or family member one or more gifts that have an aggregate value of more than $250 in the 12 month period preceding the date that a contract was executed or the local governmental entity is considering doing business with the pers.
The local government officers of the River Authority are:
Board of Directors: |
|
| Terry E. Baiamonte Darrell T. Brownlow, Ph.D. Sally Buchanan John Flieller Michael W. Lackey, P.E. Hector Morales |
Gaylon Oehlke Názirite Rubén Pérez Roberto Rodriguez H.B. Ruckman III Adair Sutherland Thomas G. Weaver |