Texas Association of School Boards Elects New Officers

For Immediate Release: September 30, 2008
Contact: Barbara Williams, 800.580.8272, ext. 6418

(Austin) – The Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) elected its 2008-09 officers during the Association’s recent annual Delegate Assembly and Convention in Dallas.New TASB President Robert R. Seward of Mesquite ISD succeeds Immediate Past President Renard Thomas of Angleton ISD. Sarah Winkler, Alief ISD, will serve as president-elect.Sylvester Vasquez Jr., Southwest ISD, and Gary Inmon, Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD,will serve as vice-presidents; Viola Garcia of Aldine ISD will serve as TASB’s secretary-treasurer.

Seward joined the Mesquite board of trustees in 1993. He served two years as president, four years as secretary, and is presently serving again as president. He was elected to the TASB Board in September 1998 and serves as a member of the First Public Governance Committee. He was elected as a Legislative Advisory Council member to the TASB Board from 1996 to 1998. The Leadership TASB graduate has served as chair, vice-chair, co-chair, and member of several committees, and has participated in TASB’s Delegate Assembly. In addition, Seward has been a presenter and panelist at various Association conferences and workshops, and served on various National School Boards Association (NSBA) committees. He also is a member of the North Texas Area Association of School Boards and serves on the board of Sharing Life Community Outreach.

Seward is a senior accounting specialist at Luminant, a subsidiary of Energy Future Holdings. He earned a bachelor of business administration degree in accounting from the University of North Texas. Active in his community, Seward has served as an officer and member of several City of Mesquite, Mesquite Chamber of Commerce, and sports officiating organizations, boards, and committees. A recipient of the God and Service Award from the Boy Scouts of America, he is a Texas PTA Life Member and served in the U.S. Air Force from 1968 to 1975.

Winkler joined the Alief ISD board in 1997 and holds the position of president. She previously served as president, vice-president, secretary, and assistant secretary. Elected to the TASB Board in December 2001, she has participated in the Association’s School Board Advocacy Network. A Leadership TASB graduate and master trustee, Winkler has served on the planning committee for the Texas Education Agency’s Statewide Parental Involvement Conference and represented the Region 4 Education Service Center on the TASB Legislative Advisory Council. In addition, she has been a member of the Alief ISD Mentoring Initiative, Mata Intermediate Safe and Drug-Free Committee, Harris County Department of Education After School Initiative Committee, and the Shared Decision Councils at Holub Middle School and Hastings High.

Winkler currently serves as a director on the Executive Board of the Gulf Coast Area Association of School Boards and previously held the positions of president, immediate past president, and second vice-president. She also serves her community as a member of the SPARK PARK Board. A homemaker and volunteer, she earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and managerial studies and a master of accounting degree from Rice University.

Inmon joined the Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City (SCUC) ISD board in 2000. He has served as president, vice-president, secretary, and assistant secretary. He joined the TASB Board in 2002. A Leadership TASB graduate and master trustee, he has also been active in the TASB School Board Advocacy Network, Federal Relations Network, Delegate Assembly, candidate forums, and the Grassroots Advocacy Process.

An attorney, Inmon is in private practice in Schertz. He also serves as a founding director of the SCUC-ISD Education Foundation and as a board member of the Schertz Chamber of Commerce.

Vasquez has served as a member of the Southwest ISD Board since 2000 and is currently the board’s vice-president. Elected to the TASB Board in 2003, he has participated in Delegate Assembly and the School Board Advocacy Network.

A construction estimator/supervisor for SANTEX Painting and Drywall, Vasquez has been a member of various volunteer organizations, including the Southwest High School band and athletic boosters, and has coached with Youth Pony League and CYO. He currently serves his community as a founding member and current vice-president of the Bexar County Board Coalition and as the NSBA Hispanic Caucus Southern Regional Director. He earned a bachelor of arts degree from Texas Lutheran College and has been active in PTA. Vasquez is also a parish member at St. Rose of Lima.

Garcia joined the Aldine ISD Board in 1992 where she has served as president, vice-president, secretary, and assistant secretary. She was elected to the TASB Board in September 2004 and has been a member of the Lone Star Investment Pool Board since 2003. She has chaired the Resolutions Committee and was vice-chair of the Legislative Committee.

Garcia, an associate professor at the University of Houston-Downtown, has served on the Aldine ISD board of trustees for more than 15 years. A graduate of Leadership TASB and master trustee, Garcia is a member of the American Leadership Forum-Houston Education Class 2, is participating in the Reform Governance in Action program with the Aldine ISD board and administrative team, and is actively involved in the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Leadership Initiatives. Garcia earned her undergraduate degree from Texas Woman’s University and master and doctorate degrees from the University of Houston.

TASB is a nonprofit association established in 1949 to serve local Texas public school districts. School board members are the largest group of publicly elected officials in the state. The districts they represent serve more than 4.6 million public school students.