Introducing REP's Tenth Chapter... Texas!

On Saturday, April 8, the Texas Chapter of Republicans for Environmental Protection was born at a day-long conference in Austin. REP members came from most of the major metropolitan areas, as well as from smaller towns and cities.

REP’s entire staff—Martha Marks, Ruth Fish, Larry Kanz, Jim DiPeso and David Jenkins—flew in to provide a comprehensive orientation. It was fun and useful for us to get to know over two dozen Texas REP members. We also enjoyed sharing Tex-Mex food with Ira Yates and his wife, Roxanne, the night before the meeting and appreciated the fact that they treated us all to dinner.

Participants included two first-rate speakers. During the afternoon, State Representative Toby Goodman of Arlington, a persistent leader in efforts to clean up the air in Texas’ major cities (and now a REP member), provided insights into what it’s like to try to pass environmental legislation in Texas. And at dinner, Jim Marston, regional director and senior attorney in Environmental Defense’s Austin office—who also serves as president of the Texas League of Conservation Voters—inspired us with his vision of the important role that our Texas chapter will play in future years.

The chapter’s first Executive Committee will consist of Marilyn Brien (San Antonio), Dr. Jim Diamond (Grapevine), Lenny Nichols (Round Rock), Laura Penn (Fort Worth), Pam Ragon (Richardson), Don Walden (Farmers Branch), and Ira Yates (Austin). They all attended the meeting, where they volunteered and got well acquainted. They were subsequently elected by members statewide. Chapter officers will be elected soon.

As we de-briefed following the meeting, the REP staff agreed that the model we tested for the first time in Texas—advance visits by Martha to gauge the level of interest, followed by a full-day event that was well promoted around the state, attended by all REP staffers, and enhanced with guest speakers—is the approach we’ll take in launching future chapters.

Click here to see photos from the first Texas Chapter meeting.