Bandera County River Authority & Groundwater District

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Bandera County

River Authority &
Groundwater District

Drought Status:  Extreme  

CALL US: (830) 796-7260

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Protecting & Preserving
our Natural Resources

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Protecting & Preserving
our Natural Resources

Menu

CALL US: (830) 796-7260

Drought Status:  Extreme  

Instagram Pinterest Twitter Youtube Facebook

Bandera County

River Authority & Groundwater District

Protecting & Preserving our Natural Resources

Drought Status:  Extreme  

CALL US: (830) 796-7260

Instagram Pinterest Twitter Youtube Facebook

Bandera County

River Authority & Groundwater District

Protecting & Preserving our Natural Resources

Board of Directors

Bandera County River Authority and Groundwater District

Bandera County River Authority and Groundwater District’s Board of Directors consists of 9 elected members, two from each precinct and one member at large. Elections will be announced according to the Texas Election Code. Current board members and their respective precincts are listed below.

Don Sloan - President

Precinct 2 | Term: November 2024 – November 2028

Don Sloan has been a Bandera County property owner for over forty years and a full-time resident of the county since 1998. In 1966, Mr. Sloan graduated from Texas A&M Kingsville with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Biology. Immediately after graduation, he worked for Royaldeck Shell for 4 years before leaving to spend the next 29 years of his professional career with the Garrett Callaghan Company. During his 29 years with this company, Mr. Sloan worked in Industrial Water Treatment. Mr. Sloan officially retired in 1998, which sparked his move to Lakehills, Texas. He is a very active member of the community and serves on several nonprofit boards, including the Medina River Protection Fund. Don was first elected to the BCRAGD board of directors in 2005.

Bruce Hayes - Vice President

Precinct 3 | Term: November 2022 – November 2026.

Bruce Hayes was appointed to the Bandera County River Authority and Groundwater District Board of Directors in August 2021 to fill a vacancy. Bruce graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Science Education Degree and Southwest Texas University with a Masters in Education Administration. He worked with the Texas Department of Health and the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired as an educator. Following this, he worked in Austin ISD and Kerrville ISD, where he retired in 2013. During his retirement, Bruce became a supporter of BCRAGD and frequently attended board meetings prior to his appointment. The Hayes family has very deep roots in Bandera County, dating back to the 1800s.

Ernest DeWinne - Secretary/Treasurer

Precinct 3 | Term: November 2024 – November 2028.

Ernest DeWinne is an active member of the Bandera County community and holds over 33
years of experience in business finance. Following his graduation from St. Mary’s University in
1970, with a BBA in Accounting, Ernest pursued registration as a Certified Public Accountant,
which he obtained on October 13, 1976. Mr. DeWinne worked in business affairs for the
University of Texas at San Antonio from 1982 to 2004. Ernest is an active member of the St.
Stanislaus Catholic Church in Bandera, Texas and has served as the Secretary Treasurer for
the Badnera River Ranch Water Supply Corporation since March 2007. He is currently serving
his third 4-year term as a BCRAGD Director.

Neil Boultinghouse

Precinct 4 | Term: November 2022 – November 2026

Neil Boultinghouse comes from a family of longtime residents in Bandera County dating back to approximately 1884. Neil spent 23 years as a dedicated employee of Ford working in their parts division in San Antonio. During that time he spent 15 years as the parts manager at Ford Grande of San Antonio. Following his tenure at Ford in the 1990’s, Neil was a truck driver delivering seeds and grain from San Antonio, Texas to several agricultural communities all over Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Neil and his wife, Peggy, retired back to Bandera County around 2007. Neil was first elected to the Bandera County River Authority and Groundwater District Board in 2011. His interest in serving on the board comes from his family’s active involvement in their community and his concern for water conservation. His father was one of the original directors appointed by the Texas Governor to serve on the Bandera River Authority Board in 1971.

Rebeca Gibson

Member at Large | Term: November 2022 – November 2026
Rebeca Gibson is a second generation BCRAGD board member, replacing her father in 2021. Ms. Gibson is very active in the Bandera community and a great natural resource steward. As a Bandera native, Rebeca has been heavily involved in the community for many years and currently serves as a board member of Hill Country Alliance. She has spearheaded many initiatives towards proper riparian of the river basin surrounding the Medina River. She currently serves as the Mayor Pro-Tem for the Bandera City Council.

Andrea King

Andrea King, Precinct 2 November 2022 – November 2026
Andrea King was appointed to the BCRAGD board to fill a Precinct 2 vacancy in 2022 and officially elected to serve a full term later that same year. A Bandera County resident since 2017, she describes herself as a lifelong entrepreneur, with a strong interest in gentle density land development. Early education received in North Carolina and later attended classes in Communication and Permaculture / Landscape Design at the University of Alaska Anchorage. While living in Alaska she served her community as a foster mother and built two successful business’ there in the specialty coffee industry before returning to the lower 48 in 2004. Andrea is a proud bonus Mom and Grandma to a former step-daughter and family. Also a Daughter of the American Revolution member via the George W. Kendall chapter in Boerne TX, Andrea is pleased to have this opportunity to serve her community in Bandera county as a BCRAGD board member.

John Bennedict

Precinct 1 November 2024 – November 2026

John Benedict was appointed to the Bandera County River Authority & Groundwater District Board in October 2023 to fill a vacancy. He and his wife Joanna are 25 year residents of Bandera County, living on their ranch in Pipe Creek. John has been active in the family’s small business as well as supporting the animal rescue efforts in the Hill Country since his relocation to the community. He is a graduate of the University of Miami and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. His career in various positions of responsibility at AT&T, BellSouth and CPS Energy have spanned over 45 years.

Jada Jo Smith

Precinct 4 | Term: November 2024- November 2028

Melissa Checkovage

Precinct 3 | Term: November 2024 – November 2028

Elections:

The next election for the Bandera County River Authority and Groundwater District’s Board of Directors is November 5, 2024. The following information is relative to potential candidates for the seats up for election this year.

Applications for place on the General Election Ballot will be accepted during regular business hours between July 20, 2024 and August 19, 2024.
To apply for a place on the Ballot please submit a notarized application (linked below). A notary public is available at the District office during regular business hours.

Ballot Drawing will be held August 26, 2024 at 10 am in the District Office (440 FM 3240, Bandera, Texas 78003).

There is one seat open in each precinct (1, 2, 3, and 4). More information will be posted as it is made available closer to the 2024 election.