The Future Of Montgomery County: The Woodlands, Conroe & More

Mr. Gordy Bunch is Founder, President & CEO of The Woodlands Financial Group (TWFG), TWFG Insurance Service, TWFG General Agency, TWFG Premium Finance and The Woodlands Insurance Company (TWICO), and Chairman – The Woodlands Township Board of Directors Richard “Gordy” Bunch and his family have been residents of The Woodlands since 1995. Gordy founded The Woodlands Financial Group (TWFG) in 2001. TWFG has become the largest independent insurance agency in Texas, ranked number 10 nationally in personal lines and number 28 in all lines. In 2015, Gordy earned the title of Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for the Gulf Coast Region. In a true demonstration of “Our Policy is Caring,” the company’s driving mantra, Gordy and the TWFG family have contributed to many local charities and community events. From the American Heart Association to the TWFG Gran Fondo Bike Race for Multiple Sclerosis, and as a 2011 Ironman finisher, TWFG has been a continuous sponsor of these organizations. As a community leader, Gordy was selected by his peers again to serve as Chairman of the Board of The Woodlands in 2018. He continues to demonstrate effective leadership that has lowered debt and taxes and represents the best interests of residents and businesses. Prior to be elected by his peers as Chairman of The Woodlands Township, Gordy served as Chairman of the Board of The Woodlands Convention & Visitors Bureau, which markets Visit The Woodlands. Gordy is proud to be a veteran, having honorably served in the U.S. Coast Guard. Gordy and his wife Michelle have three sons. One son is attending Texas A&M University and his other two sons are attending The Woodlands Christian Academy.

Virgil Yoakum was Woodforest's first employee when he was hired in October 2006. With more than 33 years of experience, he is well-known and well-respected in the Houston real estate market. He served The Woodlands Development Company for more than 29 years in principal capacities as Vice President of Residential Land Sales and Development and Senior Engineer/Assistant Vice President of Engineering and Construction. Virgil was the company-appointed representative to The Woodlands Community Association and served on a number of boards including The Woodlands Association, The Woodlands Commercial Owners Association, the Town Center Association, the Carlton Woods Association and the East Shore Community Association. In 1995, he was named Marketing Director of the Year–Developer at the prestigious PRISM Awards given by the Greater Houston Builders Association. Virgil is an Eagle Scout and remains active in Friends of Scouting, George Strake District, Sam Houston Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

Heath Melton joined The Howard Hughes Corporation® (HHC) in 2015 and was recently named President of the Phoenix Region with their 37,000 Acre purchase of Douglas Ranch/Trillium. Prior, he served as Executive Vice President, Master Planned Communities Residential in Houston. Heath is responsible for residential planning & development for the award-winning master planned communities of The Woodlands, Bridgeland and The Woodlands Hills. Prior to joining The Howard Hughes Corporation, Heath was a General Manager for Travisso working for Taylor Morrison, Austin Division. He also worked for Sueba and KB Home in the Houston market. Heath is a West Point Graduate and served in the US Army as a Field Artillery Officer for five years where he deployed to Kosovo and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

As the President and Chief Development Officer, Peter Barnhart brings more than 30 years of expertise in the acquisition, development, and sales. His extensive financial, construction, and marketing skills, coupled with a unique combination of experience in both commercial and community development, helps the team create environments that are appealing to live, work, and play. Within Caldwell Companies, Barnhart plays a lead role in identifying, acquiring, and developing properties across the company’s entire platform. He is highly involved in the acquisition process for all projects. Peter's broad real estate background includes a six-year tenure with RealtiCorp Commercial Investment Fund in Greenville, SC. Starting as the Director of Sales and Marketing and progressing to Regional Partner, he was part of a team that managed many land development transactions across seven different cities, involving thousands of acres of land. Peter also gained experience with Byzance, Inc. and Plantation Homes. A Houston native, Peter earned his bachelor's degree in Construction Science and his master's degree in Land and Real Estate Development, both from Texas A&M University. He is an active member of the Urban Land Institute, Texas A&M Real Estate Development Association Professional Advisory Board, and Texas A&M University’s Century Club. Beyond his professional life, Peter enjoys golfing, fishing, hunting, flying, and various outdoor activities. Residing in Brenham, TX, he and his wife Debra enjoy spending quality time with their daughters, Jordan and Grace

Founded in 2000, MARCEL is a full-service CRE development and management company. In naming the company after his grandfather, Vernon Marcel Veldekens chose to keep a family legacy of hard work, sacrifice, and a commitment to excellence alive. As a young man, Vernon Veldekens returned home from studying in Australia with an idea to establish a family-run retail portfolio. At the time, the family-owned and managed a 96,000 ft2 retail center. Within months of taking over management, Veldekens was able to double the income of the center. Shortly thereafter, he established what is known today as MARCEL to expand into developing, constructing, and managing additional properties. Over the years, MARCEL has become a merchant developer that banks, investors, and tenants of all types can trust and rely upon. In the spirit of his grandfather, Veldekens continues to lead MARCEL in living up to its reputation for dedication and devotion to a job well done. At MARCEL, the development team works on strategic solutions for our investors, tenants, and the community at large. With every new development, we look for ways to better serve both our internal and external clients. As we continue to pursue new CRE development opportunities, we also recognize our responsibility to our neighbors. Toward this end, we always place the needs of the surrounding community in line with the needs of the marketplace. Therefore, at MARCEL we strive to create memorable destinations that provide significant lifestyle landmarks for people who live, work, and play there. Today, through a simple strategy of increased profits and aggressive debt relief, MARCEL continues to grow and further burnish its professional reputation for providing excellent service through each phase of every project. And as a guiding principle, we never forget our core mission: to support people and places in harmony.

John S. Moody, Jr., is Board Certified in Commercial Real Estate by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and has extensive experience in real estate development, leasing, acquisitions, sales and financing. He represents developers, owners, families, financial institutions, investors, retailers and private equity funds in acquisitions, sales, development, leasing, financing and construction of all types of real estate.

Mr. Parsley has been involved in and responsible for all phases of commercial real estate brokerage activity over the past 35 years. A native Houstonian, he returned to Houston after graduating from law school in 1979 to serve as an attorney with Bracewell & Patterson, specializing in corporate law. In 1983, he joined Colliers International, where he is one of the company’s principal shareholders. He served as President and CEO of Collier’s Houston office before assuming the position of Co-Chairman in 2004. He brings a wide range of real estate experience, along with an understanding of the legal issues involved in real estate transactions. He has represented a broad range of corporate clients, both public and private, in office and industrial sales and office tenant rep lease transactions in Houston and throughout the USA. Bob currently serves as a member of Colliers’ Occupier Services Group, Healthcare Services Group, and Law Firm Services Group. Bob has been one of the top two producers in the Colliers Houston office for the past fifteen years. He has also been a Colliers Everest Award recipient since the inception of the award, which is granted to the top 10% of producers for Colliers International in North America. The SIOR designation that he carries signifies the highest level of accountability and ethical standards in commercial real estate.

Gil Staley has been with The Woodlands Area Economic Development Partnership for over 18 years and serves as Chief Executive Officer. In this position, he is responsible for recruiting new businesses to the South Montgomery County area as well as directing the business retention and expansion program. Gil also oversees the operational aspects of the EDP while maintaining the financial integrity of the organization. Prior to joining the EDP, he was the District Sales Director in Houston for Delta Air Lines. In this role, he was responsible for marketing, corporate sales and community affairs for Central & South Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Gil was with Delta for over 26 years. Gil is a 2009 Center for Houston's Future Business/Civic Leadership Forum graduate, as well as a 2006 Leadership Montgomery County graduate. He serves on numerous community boards including The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce, Gulf Coast Workforce Board and Conroe North Houston Regional Airport Advisory Board. Gil is a member of the Texas Economic Development Council, the International Economic Development Council and Commercial Real Estate Association of Montgomery County. Gil is a graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University with a B.B.A. degree in Business Management.

Sean provides leasing services for a diverse mix of commercial product types. He has a wide-array of experience in negotiating transactions and understands the importance of leveraging market knowledge, professionalism, and a strong work ethic to provide his clients with the highest level of service. Prior to joining the J. Beard Real Estate Company, Sean was an Associate in a national brokerage company and was responsible for leasing a one million square foot portfolio across the Houston market. He holds a bachelor's degree from Texas State University, an MBA from The College of William and Mary, and a Texas Real Estate License.

As Executive Director of the Conroe Economic Development Council, Danielle is responsible for marketing Conroe to new and expanding businesses. In the last year and a half she has attracted 6 new projects or expansions to Conroe generating a capital investment of over $240M and 447 jobs. She received a B.S. from Texas A&M University and is a certified Professional Community and Economic Developer (PCED). Danielle is a graduate of both Community Development Institute (CDI) and OU Economic Development Institute (EDI). She was named a 2018 Top 50 Economic Developer in North America by Consultant Connect. Danielle’s professional memberships include the International Economic Development Council, the Texas Economic Development Council (where she serves on the Board of Directors), Team Texas (where she serves on the Advisory Council), the Texas Economic Development Corporation and a host of other commercial real estate organizations (NAIOP, CoreNet, and the Commercial Real Estate Association of Montgomery County). She was also recently appointed to the Houston Galveston Area Council Gulf Coast Workforce Board and to the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce Board. Danielle was recently honored with the Conroe/Lake Conroe Chamber of Commerce’s inaugural ATHENA Award, honoring professional excellence, community service and active mentorship of women. She was also named a 2018 Trailblazer by the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce. Danielle has been honored with a Woman of Distinction Award twice by the Montgomery County Women’s Council of Organizations – once for her work with Leadership Montgomery County and once for her work with the Executive Women’s Alliance. Locally, Danielle was recently elected to return to the board of directors for Leadership Montgomery County. She also serves on the Board of Trustees for Conroe Regional Medical Center and is the Board representative to the HCA Gulf Coast Advisory Board. As the parent of a special needs child, Danielle is especially proud of her current involvement on the Board of Directors for New Danville, serving special needs adults. She also enjoys serving the food insecure in the community on the Board of Directors for Montgomery County Food Bank. Danielle is an ex-officio director for the Conroe/Lake Conroe Chamber of Commerce and is a member of Executive Women’s Alliance. She has previously served as a Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Conroe/Lake Conroe Chamber of Commerce, Montgomery County United Way, Executive Women’s Alliance and Leadership Montgomery County (where she is an active alumni association member). She and her husband Stacy live in Woodforest with their two boys and a menagerie of pets.

Paul H. Layne is President, Central Region for The Howard Hughes Corporation. He is responsible for the master planned communities of The Woodlands, Bridgeland, and The Woodlands Hills in Houston, Texas and the office development at 110 North Wacker in Chicago, Illinois. He also provides strategic oversight for Summerlin in Las Vegas, Nevada and Columbia, Maryland along with other smaller assets within the HHC portfolio. For more than 30 years, Mr. Layne has been a vital leader in Houston’s commercial real estate community as well as in national and international real estate. Mr. Layne received a bachelor’s degree in Management from the University of Houston and attended South Texas College of Law. He currently serves on the boards for the University of Houston Graduate Real Estate Program, the Board of Trustees for Cristo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory School of Houston, advisory board member for Houston’s Urban Land Institute and Catholic Charities. He previously served on the boards for the Houston Downtown Management District, the Central Houston Association, the University of St. Thomas, Lone Star College Foundation, Houston’s Coalition for the Homeless and Houston’s Center for Hearing and Speech. He also serves as a Trustee for the Scanlan Foundation, a moderator and advisory board member for the Houston Business Ethics Forum and the South Texas College of Law Real Estate Conference and is a member of the Serra Club. He is President Emeritus of the Houston Downtown Management District Board and the Christian Community Service Center Board of Directors. Mr. Layne has been a speaker at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Business Ethics Conference.

As Chief Development Officer and Head of Design & Construction for Garfield Public/Private LLC, Mr. Galbreath manages the development of hotels, convention and conference centers, entertainment and mixed-use properties. Joining Garfield in 2016, he brought 22 years as a leader in the global hospitality sector for RTKL Associates in the Americas. In addition to the design of hotels and resorts, his experience has centered around hospitality and gaming components of large-scale, mixed-use developments combining retail, entertainment, sports, residential, office, hotel, and other uses known for their commercial success and lasting sense of place.

Township Director Bruce Rieser was elected to Township Office in November 2016. Bruce Rieser and his wife Sarah moved to The Woodlands in 1989. Married for 32 years, the Riesers have one grown daughter. Bruce retired from British Airways (BA) in 2010 as Director Properties, the Americas, where he managed BA's real estate assets and airport relationships in the Western Hemisphere. In 2011 he founded SKR Consulting, LLc, which provides tactical, operational and real estate advice to the aviation community. He is currently consulting on the proposed new International terminal at Houston George Bush Airport. In addition to his duties as a Director, Mr. Rieser also serves as the Township's representative to The Woodlands Road Utility district, as the Chairman of the Board of Visit The Woodlands and as Chairman of the Township Drainage Taskforce.

The founder and managing shareholder of The Strong Firm P.C., Bret has been a resident and an active community leader in The Woodlands, Texas for over 30 years. Bret spent 11 years with Shell Oil Company in areas of contracting, finance, and information services prior to becoming licensed in the legal field and establishing his practice in The Woodlands in 1996. Bret has represented hundreds of real estate developers, property owners, operators and businesses in the purchase, development, construction, leasing, financing, structuring of businesses and sales all over The Woodlands, Montgomery and Harris Counties, the State and the country. Bret founded The Strong Firm P.C. in 2004.