Board of Directors and Management
A Board of Directors, consisting of six directors who serve without compensation, governs the Agency. The governing body of each of the three Member Cities appoints two persons to serve on the Board. Under the concurrent ordinances that created the Agency, the terms of the members of the Board are two years, with the term of one member from each city expiring annually. The greater of four (4) or a majority vote of a quorum is required for the Board to take action. Four Directors constitutes a quorum. The Board of Directors sets the Agency’s policies and administrative procedures which, at the direction of the Board of Directors, are administered by the Executive Director.
The members of the Board and the Executive Director are as follows:
Carl Pickett, JD, CPA, President
Carl Pickett is currently serving a sixth term as Mayor of the City of Liberty.
A native of Liberty, Mr. Pickett is a graduate of Liberty High School, the University of Texas (BBA with a major in Accounting), and the University of Texas School of Law. He is a principal in the firm of Pickett & Pickett, P.C., and has practiced law and accounting for over 40 years.
Mr. Pickett is an active member of the Liberty Rotary Club and he and his wife, Laura, have a son and two daughters.
Prior to his becoming Mayor of Liberty, Mr. Pickett served as a member of the Liberty Independent School District Board of Trustees for 21 years. He continues to serve as a Trustee of the Lee College Foundation Board of Trustees and is involved in other community activities.
Mr. Pickett has served on the Agency's Board of Directors since January 2009.
Clarke Evans, Vice President
Clarke Evans is an Alderman of the City of Livingston, Texas. He was first elected to that office in May 2003 and served in that capacity until being elected Mayor on May 10, 2008. Mr. Evans served as Mayor until May 2018, at which time he chose not to seek re-election as Mayor but ran for and was again elected as an Alderman. Mr. Evans is the owner of Evans and Associates, a real estate agency specializing the commercial real estate development, and is active in number community and charitable organizations including the Livingston Lions Club and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
A native of Livingston, Mayor Evans attended Livingston High School and graduated with honors from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, with a Bachelors of Science degree and a Masters of Education degree. He is a member of the Livingston Lions Club and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and has served in numerous capacities with various organizations including the First United Methodist Church of Livingston, of which he is a life-long member, the Livingston ISD Board of Trustees, the Polk County Appraisal District, and the Polk County Appraisal Review Board.
Mayor Evans is a nine year veteran of the United States Army, during which time he achieved the rank of Captain.
Mr. Evans has served on the Agency's Board of Directors since November 2009.
Judy Cochran, Secretary
Judy Cochran is the Mayor of the City of Livingston. She was elected as Alderwoman in May 2005 and served in that capacity until being elected Mayor in May 2018. Judy is retired after handling the investments of her husband's estate for many years but remains active in the Rotary Club of Livingston, where she served as President in 1995-1996, and she serves as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the First National Bank of Livingston. She also serves on the Advisory Board of the CHI St. Luke's Memorial Hospital in Livingston and on the Board of Directors of CHI St. Luke's Memorial Hospital in Lufkin.
Judy was born in Garrison, Nacogdoches County, Texas. She graduated from the Southwestern Business University in Houston, Texas, and was employed by Gulf Publishing Company in Houston for five years. Judy has served in many areas of the First United Methodist Church where she has been a member since 1972.
When not busy with her civic duties, Judy enjoys traveling, shopping, and watching the Houston Astros play baseball.
Ms. Cochran has served on the Agency's Board of Directors since April 2017.
John Hebert, Jr., Director
LeQuin Hilderbrand, Director
Lequin Hilderbrand is a City Council member of the City of Jasper, Texas, holding the District 5 (At-Large) position and representing all of Jasper.
Lequin is a native and lifelong resident of the Jasper area, having graduated from Jasper High School followed by graduating from Lamar University. He also attended classes at Georgia Tech, University of Texas – Arlington and Stephen F. Austin State University. His studies, along with degrees and certifications, include, among others, architecture, civil engineering, structural steel design, business administration, Information Systems Technology, environmental science and real estate law and practices. Prior to his being elected to the City Council of Jasper, he served several years on the Jasper ISD Board of Trustees. He spent twenty-five years in management and as a fiduciary with a couple of our past forest products companies and a couple of national TIMO’s and REIT’s.
He is a current or former member of Jasper Youth Baseball & Softball Association, Jasper Lions Club, City of Jasper Mayor’s Task Force, Texas Forestry Association, Jasper-Newton County Landowner’s Association, Southeast Texas Regional Planning Commission, Jasper Economic Development Corporation, Jasper Public Library Foundation, Jasper County Museum Board along with several professional organizations and societies.
Anderson M. Land, Jr., Director
Anderson M. Land, Jr., is a native of Jasper Texas, a graduate of Jasper High School class of 1972, U.S. Navy Vietnam Veteran, has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration, and is a Texas Licensed Realtor. Anderson enjoyed a 30-year career in Facilities Management. Anderson moved back to Jasper in June 2017.
In September 2017, Anderson started as an independent contractor as Property Manager for Hancock Real Estate Company. During his time at Hancock Real Estate, Anderson became a licensed realtor and, in December 2017, attended Champions School of Real Estate, Anderson received his Sales Agent License in August 2018 and became one of the only African American Licensed Realtors in Jasper, Texas.
Anderson was elected to two terms as The City of Jasper District 1 City Council on May 4, 2019, and May 1, 2021. Anderson was elected the Current Mayor of the City on May 6, 2023.
Organization Affiliations:
Current member and past president of the Jasper Noon Lions Club
Member of The Jasper Area Board of Realtors, Texas Association of Realtors, and National Association of Realtors
Board Member Jasper Economic Development Corporation
Southeast Texas Regional Planning Commission Executive Committee Member
Former Board Member of the Greater Jasper Share Food Pantry
E. Bruce Mintz, Esq.
Bruce Mintz is the Executive Director of the Agency and has served in that capacity since being employed by the Board of Directors in April 2012. Prior to his employment as Executive Director, Mr. Mintz provided accounting and administration services to the Agency since September 1999.
A native of Spring, Texas, Mr. Mintz is a graduate of Spring High School. He received a Bachelors of Business Administration degree, with a major in accounting, from Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, in 1978, and a Juris Doctorate degree from the South Texas College of Law in Houston, Texas, in 2000. Mr. Mintz is licensed as an Attorney and a Certified Public Accountant by the State of Texas.
Mr. Mintz has served in numerous civic and community organzations including the Liberty-Dayton Chamber of Commerce and the Liberty ISD Education Foundation. He and his wife, Sonia, are active in their church, the Heights Baptist Church.
When not working or busy with his family, Mr. Mintz enjoys a long motorcycle ride.