JOHN SHARP NAMED TEXAN OF THE YEAR
BY LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE
Honor to be presented in New Braunfels March 21
NEW BRAUNFELS,
Texas - Former Texas Comptroller and current Texas A&M
University System Chancellor John Sharp has been named the 2013
Texan of the Year by the Texas Legislative Conference, the well
known annual statewide forum that is marking its 47th year next
March.
Sharp will be
presented with the award Thursday evening, March 21, at a
special reception in his honor at the New Braunfels
Civic/Convention Center. He will be joining an array of
prominent past honorees since 1974 including Barbara Jordan,
Laura Bush, Herb Kelleher and John Connally.
The Texas
Legislative Conference is a nonpartisan organization of Texas
business and political leaders who meet annually in New
Braunfels to focus on public policy issues. This year’s topics
on March 22 will include Medicare & Medicaid funding,
transportation funding and a media panel review of post general
election impacts
According to
Conference Chair Senator Jeff Wentworth, Sharp was selected for
his service to the state and ability to work in a bipartisan
manner to build a better Texas. “John has invested more than
three decades of public service. He came to the A&M System from
Ryan & Company, where he was a principal with the largest state
and local tax consulting firm of its kind in Texas. He earned a
Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Texas A&M
University in 1972, where he was a member of the Corps staff of
the Corps of Cadets and was elected student body president.
Those early years of leadership skills serving those from all
walks of life without deference to political parties have
greatly benefited Texas.”
In 1978, Sharp
was elected to the Texas House of Representatives and was named
“Outstanding Freshman” by Texas Monthly. He won a seat
in the Texas Senate in 1982, where he served on the powerful
Senate Finance Committee, and was elected to the Texas Railroad
Commission in 1986. Sharp was elected state comptroller in 1990
and re-elected in 1994.
Sharp is widely
credited with reinventing Texas state government and turning it
into a high-quality, low-cost customer service operation that
has saved taxpayers billions, helping avert a state income tax
and serving as a model around the world. “Many Texans fondly
recall the times when then Gov. George W. Bush, John Sharp and
others worked to solve challenges across party lines. That kind
of partnership and spirit needs to emerge again in Austin and
Washington, D.C.,” Wentworth said.
Information on
registration and tickets for both the Thursday evening, March 21
Texan of the Year reception and the Friday, March 22 half-day
conference program may be obtained from the Greater New
Braunfels Chamber of Commerce at (830) 608-2807 or by emailing
tlc@nbcham.org .
Contact: Michael
Meek, Conference Program Director
(830) 608-2808 or
meek@nbcham.org
Former Senator Jeff
Wentworth, Conference Chair
(210)
826-7800 or
ejeffrey@swbell.net
