Greetings! This is my first message as your president of our State Association, and I look forward to serving you throughout the coming year. This is my 18th year to serve as county judge in Johnson County. My previous 
occupation was the owner of Harmon Insurance, a property and casualty insurance agency, for 20-plus years.
I believe that most of the things you do in life should be centered on helping others. When I was president of the North & East Texas County Judges and Commissioners Association, the theme for that year was Servant Leadership. This year, as your president, I would like to again concentrate on Servant Leadership. This concept covers everything that we do as leaders in our counties. Leadership is not about us, but our desire to help others. Good leaders must first become good servants. I especially appreciate the following quote: “A good leader is to help those who are doing poorly to do well, and to help those who are doing well to even do better.” As elected leaders, I believe that our citizens expect us to be that type of a leader, and as county officials that is what we were elected to do.
The County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas was formed to have a united front through which to promote the interests of county government through continuing education and governmental affairs. Through the State Association and all of the regional associations, we have the opportunity to come together and learn through our relationships the best way to serve our citizens. I would like to encourage all of you to attend as many of the educational conferences as you can. This is a great way to increase our knowledge and build relationships so that we can be more effective in serving the citizens who elected us.
During the past 18 years, I have had the opportunity to work with many great leaders within our Association. If you have not had the opportunity to work with our general counsel, Jim Allison, please take the time to do so. Jim has a wealth of knowledge, and he is always eager to help in any way that he can. He is truly interested in what is best for county government, and he has built important relationships with our legislators in Austin. I found out during the last legislative session what a tremendous asset he is to our Association through those relationships and the trust that the legislators have in him. Thank you, Jim, for what you do for county government.
I would also like to thank Gene Terry and all of the staff at the Texas Association of Counties for their dedication to county government. Gene, being a former county judge, has “been there, done that,” so to speak. He brings a wealth of knowledge and understanding to county affairs. Thank you, also, to Dr. Richard O. Avery of V.G. Young and his staff, and to the staff of County Progress Magazine. They do so much to bring important information to us as county officials.
I hope that you can see that the relationships that we build in county government are why we are so successful in what we do. With everyone working together, we can make a difference.
I hope everyone enjoys blessings and abundance during this season of Thanksgiving.