Governor Abbott Names Five To Lower Colorado River Authority Board Of Directors
Governor Greg Abbott today appointed Martha Leigh Whitten, George W. Russell, Joseph M. “Joe” Crane and Charles Barton “Bart” Johnson to the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) Board of Directors, and reappointed current board member Lori A. Berger for terms to expire February 1, 2021.
Martha Leigh Whitten is an owner and operator of Alamo Pecan & Coffee Company and Martin & Whitten Real Estate in San Saba. She currently serves San Saba on its city council, the economic development corporation board and the parks board. After receiving her accounting degree from Texas A&M University, Whitten worked at Ernst & Whinney (now Ernst & Young), Whitten & Rennscheidt CPAs and Whitten & Williams CPAs. She also serves as the assistant treasurer for the First Baptist Church Stewardship Committee and on the Angel Tree Project for Needy Children.
George Russell is in his third term as Mayor of Marble Falls, a position he has held since 2009. He previously served as the city manager of Georgetown, and then as the city manager of Marble Falls. Prior to his service as a city manager, he was Director of Regional Administrative Services for the Texas Department of Health. He serves on the Texas Tech Hill Country Advisory Board, the Hill Country Children’s Advocacy Center Board of Directors, and the Baylor Scott & White Hospital-Marble Falls Board of Directors and is a Rotary Paul Harris Fellow. He also served in the National Guard from 1969 to 1976. Russell received a BBA from the University of Texas at Austin.
Joe Crane is a Managing General Partner of BU Growers, Ltd. and Lester Winfree Rice & Cattle, LLC in Bay City, Texas. He currently serves on the Matagorda County Drainage District and as a member of the Wharton County Fair Association. Crane received a BS from Texas A&M University and an MBA from Houston Baptist University.
Bart Johnson is President/Principal of Painter & Johnson Financial in Brownwood. He is an Eagle Scout, a Rotary Paul Harris Fellow, and a Master Mason. He is also chairman of the development board of Howard Payne University, fellow of the Life Underwriter Training Council and a former president of both the Brownwood Chamber of Commerce and the Brownwood Industrial Foundation. Johnson attended Texas Tech University.
Lori Berger, a former council member and mayor of the City of Flatonia, has served on the LCRA board since being appointed by Governor Rick Perry in 2009. She has been vice chair of the Association of Rural Communities in Texas and served on the boards of the Fayette County Gardenia Jansen Animal Shelter, Fayette Memorial Hospital Foundation, St. Marks Hospital and the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs Board Regional and State Review committees. She also served as co-chair of the Flatonia Czhilispiel, a member of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Committee, Flatonia ISD Education Foundation and Flatonia Chamber of Commerce.
These appointments are subject to Senate confirmation.