Don’t miss this special corporate-sponsored event where you can greet old friends and make new ones. There will be an open bar and light hors d’oeuvres will be served.
Keynote Address at Program Committees:
Joint Meeting and Economic Outlook
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway
Saturday, February 11, 8:00 a.m.
Beginning his seventh term in the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressman Mike Conaway represents 29 counties in Texas’ 11th congressional district, including the cities of Midland, Odessa and San Angelo. A conservative Republican, Rep. Conaway believes in the principles of lower taxes, smaller government and a secure nation. His background as a CPA gives him a unique perspective on fiscal responsibility and ensuring every taxpayer dollar is being spent wisely. In the House, Congressman Conaway is the chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture and also serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. He is a deputy Republican whip, a position he has held since the 112th Congress. A native Texan, he grew up in Odessa and graduated from Odessa Permian High School in 1966 after playing on Permian’s first state championship football team. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting from Texas A & M University-Commerce in 1970. After serving in the Army at Fort Hood, he returned to the Permian Basin with Price Waterhouse and settled in Midland, later working with George W. Bush as the chief financial officer for Bush Exploration. He developed a lasting friendship with President Bush as they learned together what it takes to run a business. An ordained deacon in the Baptist church, Congressman Conaway and his wife, Suzanne, live in Midland and have four children and seven grandchildren.
Sponsored by
Saturday Luncheon with Karen Hughes
Saturday, February 11, 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Burson-Marsteller Worldwide Vice Chair Karen Hughes is one of the world’s foremost communication strategists, specializing in strategic messaging and communications, crisis communications and executive positioning with clients ranging from global corporations to Fortune 500 CEOs. Before joining Burson-Marsteller in 2008, she served as Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs from 2005 to 2007. From 2001 to 2002, she served as Counselor to the President, a title reflective of her role as strategic advisor to President George W. Bush. The Associated Press called her “perhaps the most influential woman ever to serve an American president.” Before that, Hughes was President Bush’s communications director in 2000, helping lead his successful presidential campaign. She also served as a senior communications strategist on his 2004 campaign.
Hughes served as director of communications in the Texas Governor’s office from 1995-1999 and directed communications during Governor Bush’s successful gubernatorial campaigns in 1994 and 1998. She was executive director of the Texas Republican Party from 1992-1994, later serving as a consultant and spokesman for the Party. Hughes began her career as a reporter for KXAS-TV in Dallas-Fort Worth working for that NBC affiliate from 1977 until 1984. She is the author of Ten Minutes from Normal, a book about working for President Bush and her decision to leave the White House to return with her family to Texas in 2002.
Tickets are $60 per person and may be purchased on-site at the Annual Meeting registration desk.
Sponsored by
Prayer Breakfast
Sunday, February 12, 8:00 a.m. – 9:15 a.m.
Please join us for some common-sense inspiration from Dr. Rick Rigsby, president and CEO of Rick Rigsby Communications. Through motivational speaking, corporate coaching, books and social media outlets, Rick encourages and empowers those desiring to rise to greater levels of excellence. The San Francisco native is a former award-winning television journalist who earned a Ph.D. from the University of Oregon and then spent two decades as a college professor – most of them at Texas A&M University – where he also served as character coach and chaplain for the Aggies football team. Dr. Rigsby now devotes his full attention to speaking to educational, service, sports and business organizations, including Fortune 500 companies in the Americas, Europe and Canada. In fact, he received high praise after addressing the prayer breakfast at the 2007 National Cotton Council annual meeting in Austin, Texas.
Dr. Rigsby has received numerous commendations and awards, including being named a two-time recipient of the prestigious Outstanding Teaching Award by Texas A&M’s College of Liberal Arts. He is the author of Lessons from a Third Grade Dropout – the story of timeless common-sense wisdom learned from his father.
Tickets are $36 per person and may be purchased on-site at the Annual Meeting registration desk.
Address at the General Session
U.S. Representative Jodey Arrington (R-TX)
Sunday, February 12, 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
A newly elected House member representing Texas’ 19th congressional district, Jodey Arrington serves on both the agriculture and the budget committees. He served as an advisor to President George W. Bush and helped assemble his leadership team in such areas as agriculture, water, and energy. He also served as chief of staff to then FDIC Chairman Don Powell, where he was instrumental in helping cut millions of dollars in waste and inefficiencies. Later, Arrington served as chief of staff to the Texas Tech University Chancellor before being appointed as Tech’s vice chancellor of Research and Commercialization. Congressman Arrington, who earned a B.A. in Political Science and a Master’s in Public Administration at Texas Tech, is president of Scott Laboratories, Inc., a company responsible for commercializing health care innovations. He lives in Lubbock with his wife, Anne, and their three children. They are active members in their church.
