Panhandle Twenty/20
Board Members
James Hallmark, President
Dan Adams
Betty Bara
Vicki Covey
Buzz David
Lilia Escajeda
Paul Harpole
Steven Jones
Julie Ontiveros
Gary Pitner
Linda Pitner
Wes Reeves
Matt Richardson
Rod Schroder
Gene Shelburne
Angela Taylor
Lorie Vincent
Prenis Williams
Amarillo Area Foundation Members:
Stanley Schaeffer, AAF Board Representative
Charlotte Rhodes, Facilitator
Jim Allison
Angela Lust
Anette Carlisle, Study Coordinator
BIOGRAPHIES:
CHARLOTTE
RHODES, MS, ACFRE
Charlotte Rhodes, Vice President of Regional
Services of the Amarillo Area Foundation and The Don and
Sybil Harrington Foundation, has contributed her time and
talent in areas of healthcare, volunteerism, the arts,
education, and public affairs. Before joining the
Foundation, she served for twelve years as Vice President,
Development, for the Don and Sybil Harrington Cancer
Center, Amarillo, Texas, five years as Senior Director of
Development for Baylor College of Medicine in Houston,
Texas, and as a Senior Consultant with the Dini Partners.
She has served on over 30 nonprofit boards.
Her professional responsibilities include
fund development, public relations, education and training,
administrative management, and major gift responsibilities.
For Baylor College of Medicine’s recently completed
$500 million campaign, she designed and led major
initiative campaigns for women’s health programs and
the newly created Breast Care Center and Biology of
Inflammation Center.
Ms. Rhodes received a B.S. from Texas Tech
University and an M.S. from West Texas A & M
University. She has received the certification of Advanced
Certified Fundraising Executive, the highest educational
accomplishment in the development field awarded by the
Association of Fundraising Professionals. She is one of 74
individuals to receive this certification. Ms. Rhodes
currently serves as a Fellow for the Susan G. Komen
National Breast Cancer Foundation Board. Ms. Rhodes served
on the AFP International Foundation Board for six years,
the Committee on Directorship for the Association, and
chaired the National Certification Board. She serves on the
International AFP Board of Directors and holds leadership
positions with the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy,
through which she received the certification of CAHP.
She has received the Amarillo Women’s
Forum Distinguished Service Award for Outstanding
Achievement in Healthcare and participated in Leadership
Texas and Leadership America. In 1999, Big Spring, Texas
High School awarded her the outstanding alumni award. Most
recently she received the 2002 Outstanding Fundraising
Executive Award for Houston, Texas and the 2005 Outstanding
Fundraising Award for Amarillo, Texas. She also served as
the Honorary Chair of the 2005 Susan G. Komen Greater
Amarillo Race for the Cure.
ANETTE J. CARLISLE
Anette J. Carlisle is a community volunteer
with a background in science. Originally from Borger, her
volunteer impact areas have included education, senior
issues, science and nature. Anette has been a member of the
Amarillo ISD Board of Trustees since 1996, and has been on
the board of Wildcat Bluff Nature Center since 2001. Her
focus has been on the systems and root causes responsible
for societal problems. Anette helped start Panhandle
Twenty/20 to try and proactively address trends influencing
area issues such as education, future workforce quality,
economic stability and livability in the Panhandle region.
VICKI COVEY
Vicki Covey is Director of Community Services
for the City of Amarillo. The Community Services Division
consists of 11 departments with 297 employees and a
combined annual budget of over $27 million. The departments
include Planning, Traffic Engineering and Field Operations,
Urban Transportation Planning, Code Enforcement, Community
Development and Housing, Public Health, Environmental
Health, Animal Control, Amarillo City Transit, and the
Women’s, Infants, and Children (WIC) Nutrition
Program.
Ms. Covey is a 1972 graduate of West Texas
State University with a degree in Political Science. In
2003, Ms. Covey completed the Certified Public Manager
program sponsored by the Center for Public Service at Texas
Tech University. Ms. Covey’s career includes the City
of Amarillo, City of Lubbock and the Panhandle Regional
Planning Commission Health Services Agency.
Ms. Covey is active professionally and
civically. She is Past President of the National Community
Development Association (NCDA) and twice past President of
the Southwest Region 6 NCDA Association. She has served on
the United Way of Amarillo and Canyon Board of Directors
and Executive Committee. In 1997, she chaired the Community
Report a community based planning effort. She is a member
and past President of the Rotary Club of Amarillo East. The
Amarillo Women’s Network bestowed the Career
Achievement Award to Ms. Covey in 1995 and 2005.
LILIA ESCAJEDA
Lilia Escajeda is Vice President, Public
Relations and Community Reinvestment Act Officer for
Amarillo National Bank, her career spanning 27 years with
the bank. Primary responsibility is community development.
Current responsibilities include: Amarillo College Board of
Regents, Amarillo College Foundation, Cal Farley's Board,
Amarillo Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Texas Nonprofit
Management Assistance Network, Panhandle 20/20, Rotary Club
South, and America's Promise. Previous boards include
Amarillo Area Foundation, Harrington Foundation, Harrington
Cancer Center Board, Cal Farley's School Board, Salvation
Army, Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and
Education, Catholic Family Service, Inc. and others.
JAMES HALLMARK
James Hallmark (Ph.D., University of
Oklahoma) is Dean of the Graduate School and Research at
West Texas A&M University. Dr. Hallmark served for two
years as President of WTAMU’s Faculty Senate, was
designated both the university’s Presidential
Teaching Fellow and Graduate Faculty Member of the Year, is
a past recipient of the National Communication
Association’s award for “Best Research”
in Mass Communication, and is a Fellow in the Texas
A&M University System’s Center for Leadership in
Higher Education. His research interests focus on media
influences and religious communication. Hallmark can be
emailed at jhallmark@mail.wtamu.edu
STEVEN JONES
Steven W. Jones is President of Amarillo
College. He came to Texas from the University of Arkansas
where he served as Chancellor of the Phillips Community
College District. As vice-chairman of the Board of
Directors of the American Association of Community
Colleges, he served as White House liaison from 1992-95. He
has served on the Boards of Directors of the Arkansas
Chamber of Commerce and the Arkansas Community Foundation.
Jones graduated from the School of
Philanthropy at Indiana University and from the Institute
for Educational Management at Harvard. He holds the
doctorate in higher education administration, an MBA in
management, and a bachelor's degree in economics. He is a
recognized author and speaker in the nation's community
college movement with three books to his credit and dozens
of articles in professional journals.
He has served as a consultant to over a
hundred colleges and universities, including the community
college systems in North Carolina, Florida, Alabama, and
Maine. He has also been an advisor to both the W. K.
Kellogg Foundation and the Ford Foundation for community
college programs. He currently serves on the boards of
directors of the Amarillo Museum of Art, the United Way of
Amarillo & Canyon, and the Amarillo Chamber of
Commerce.
GARY PITNER
Gary Pitner is a lifelong West Texan. He is a 1978
graduate of West Texas State University with a degree in
public administration. He began his professional career
with the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission (PRPC) in
1977 as a student intern. Mr. Pitner held several staff
positions with the PRPC until 1985 when he was named to his
present position as executive director. At 28 years of age
he was the youngest individual ever to serve as an
executive director of a regional council in Texas.
Professionally, Mr. Pitner has served as an officer
on the Board of Directors of the Texas Association of
Regional Councils, as Chair of the State's Executive
Director's Council, as President of the Texas Regional
Planning Commission's Employee Benefit Plan Agency, and as
a member of the National Association of Regional Councils
Executive Director’s Committee. In 1996, Gary
received the Al J. Notzon Award as Outstanding Regional
Council Executive Director in Texas.
Mr. Pitner is
active in a variety of civic affairs. He is a past
president of the Amarillo Unit of the American Cancer
Society and a former board member of the Harrington
Regional Medical Center and the Amarillo Chamber of
Commerce. He is currently on the Board of Center City of
Amarillo, is a trustee for the Harrington Cancer Center and
is a mentor in the Amarillo Independent School
District’s Mentoring Program. Mr. Pitner has served
on the West Texas A & M University Community
Advisory Committee, the Texas Panhandle Mental Health
Authority Substance Abuse Advisory Committee, and as a
volunteer for the United Way of Amarillo. Gary is a member
of Polk Street United Methodist Church where he currently
serves as Chair of the Staff Parish Relations Committee.
Gary and his wife, Linda, are the proud parents of
Collin, age 11.
ANGELA TAYLOR
Angela Taylor was born in Amarillo and moved
to Dallas in 1976. She moved back to Amarillo in 1985 where
she attended Amarillo High School and graduated in 1987.
She received an A.S. degree from Amarillo College in
Radio/TV Broadcasting and graduated from West Texas A &
M University in 1993 with a B.S. in Journalism/Public
Relations.
Angela’s work experience includes the
Texas Attorney General’s Office where she worked for
three years as a Child Support Officer; five years at AISD;
three years as Executive Director for the Amarillo
Education Foundation; and she is currently the Executive
Director for the American Cancer Society.
Boards/Committee/Organization Affiliations:
Rotary Club; PEO Chapter CV; Cancer Committee for NWTH and
BSA; America’s Promise; AISD Bond Election;
Parenting: The Underdeveloped Skill; BIGS in School; and
Big Brothers, Big Sisters Board of Directors.
Angela is married to Franklin Taylor and they have
one daughter, Wynter, age 10 who is a 5th grader at Carver
Academy.
LORIE VINCENT, CED
Lorie Vincent serves as the Executive
Director of The High Ground of Texas. The High Ground of
Texas is a regional economic development coalition
established in 1987. Her position requires the
administration of a highly effective, diversified marketing
program for a 60 county region. Prior to accepting the High
Ground position in 1999, Lorie implemented an award
winning, nationally acclaimed, rural economic development
program in Sherman County.
Lorie has served on the
Boards of the Texas Economic Development Council, Panhandle
Workforce Development, and the Texas Panhandle Regional
Development Corporation. She is a member of Professional
Speakers Association of the Southwest, the Leadership Texas
Alumnae Association, and is a Master Graduate III of the
Rapport International Leadership Development Program. She
is the recipient of several honors and is nationally
recognized for her economic development and leadership
accomplishments.
Prior to moving back to the Panhandle, Lorie
resided in the San Antonio area, where she held positions
in corporate property development and public relations.
Lorie attended both Schreiner College and West Texas State
University and holds a BBA in Accounting with a minor in
Finance. She is also a Certified Economic Developer. Her
knowledge runs deep and her enthusiasm is contagious!
Lorie is married to Matt Vincent and they
have one daughter, Mazie Rae. The Vincents reside in
Stratford, Texas.