Friends Of LBJ National Historical Park: Board Member Profiles

BOB KEITH:

Bob was born in Port Arthur, Texas, and educated in Port Arthur and Beaumont schools. He received BA and LLB degrees from the University of Texas at Austin.

He has tried and argued three cases before the Supreme Court of the United States, and cases throughout the state and federal courts of Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana and the District of Columbia.

He is a rancher, a bank director for 38 years, a church warden, a former Beaumont City Council member, and former president of the Johnson City Independent School District Board of Trustees.

He and his wife, Frana, have lived in Blanco County since 1981, and have six children and 11 grandchildren.

PEGGY WELCH:

Peggy was born in San Antonio. She graduated from high school in Corpus Christi and earned degrees from the University of Texas, Lamar University and Rice University. She and her husband, Dick, moved to Blanco County in 1978.

Peggy worked for one year at the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park as an interpreter, driving the buses and telling the visitors about President Johnson and the Texas Hill Country.

She was a long time member of the Blanco Library Board and is a founding member of the Gem of the Hills Community Center. She is presently a member of the Blanco Woman's Club and a member of the Blanco Master Gardeners. Her hobbies are gardening and learning to paint watercolors. She and Dick have six children and ten grandchildren.

GEORGE H. CULP:

George was born in Gainesville, Texas, and has degrees from Texas Tech University, West Virginia University and The University of Texas at Austin. After being involved with academic computing at UT-Austin for 33 years, he retired in 2001 as Director of the Center for Instructional Technologies and Senior Lecturer, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education. He and his wife, Kay, live on 30 acres outside of Johnson City, where their three children, Buck Culp, Karyn Schaubhut and Tracy Clark, and their families are frequent visitors from Austin.

He has served as board member and treasurer for the Blanco County North Library District and as secretary/treasurer, vice-president and president of the Johnson City Lions Club International. He is a member of the Johnson City Townscape Task Force, and a founding member of the Johnson City Community Education Foundation.

JULIA (JUDY) DAVIDSON-ENGLERT:

Judy was born in Dearborn Michigan and raised in a small village in southern Ohio. She received a BS in Education and MA in Educational Media from Kent State University. While her three children were growing up in Ohio, she did volunteer work at the local hospital, United Way, American Red Cross and Cancer Drives, as well as the local women's clubs and organizations.

In 1980 she received a paralegal degree from the National Paralegal School in Atlanta Georgia. She moved to Texas in 1981, and joined the LBJ Volunteer Program as a docent in 1982, becoming the Assistant Volunteer Coordinator in 1988 and Museum Education Coordinator in 1989. On January 1, 1991, she accepted the position as Volunteer Coordinator, a full time, often 50+ hours a week, salaried position. She is responsible for 104 volunteers along with managing the Tour Office which schedules in, among the many groups, approximately 30,000 school children each year.

Judy has also worked with the Nixon Library and Museum and the George H. W. Bush Library and Museum in setting up their volunteer programs.

Judy and her husband, Bob, a retired attorney, live in Austin. Her hobbies are travel, books, and watching things bloom and grow.

CAROLYN KENNEDY:

Carolyn and her husband Jack Kennedy moved to Meadow Lakes in 2006 from Lubbock, where she grew up. Carolyn works for Texas Tech University, the Division of Off-Campus Sites, having transferred here from TTU in Lubbock. From the location in Gateway Center at Marble Falls, she helps to coordinate programs and activities at the 5 TTU sites outside of Lubbock.

Prior to Tech, Carolyn was a Regional Director for the American Heart Association for 12 years. Before her children were born, she taught high school English in New Mexico and in Lubbock. She was active with the West Texas Library System and the Junior League of Lubbock.

Carolyn has two sons and Jack has two children and two grandchildren. Carolyn and Jack are active members of First United Methodist Church in Marble Falls. Their hobby is sightseeing in the Hill Country. She is a member of the Friends of the Burnet County Library-Marble Falls. Carolyn is active in TTU Highland Lakes Alum Chapter and enjoys monthly lunches with Pi Beta Phi alums. She volunteers with Kairos Prison Ministry. Carolyn holds a BA and an MA in English from Texas Tech University.

LARRY NORWOOD:

After 28 years, Larry Norwood retired from AT&T as corporate relations director. He had worked for AT&T in Austin, Dallas, Birmingham and New Orleans in media relations, philanthropy, law and government affairs support, video production and advertising.

He has been publications editor for Tulane University, a Navy journalist aboard an aircraft carrier on two combat cruises during the Viet Nam war, a public relations manager at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, the editor of petroleum industry trade journals in Dallas and Houston, and a newspaper reporter.

He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Baylor University and a Master of Arts from Tulane.

Larry has been vice chair of the Texas Book Festival and of CORD, a Waco-based nonprofit education organization; chair of the Institute of Texan Cultures in San Antonio; and a board member of the Texas Freedom of Information Foundation, the Dallas Business Coalition for the Arts, and the Dallas Business League.

He was born in Wichita Falls and grew up in Corsicana.

He and his wife Jane, a training specialist, live in Austin. They enjoy books, kayaking and cycling.

DANNY R. RICHARDSON:

Danny attended schools in Port Arthur and earned a degree from Lamar University in Beaumont. He worked in the offshore oil service business for 30 years principally with Zapata Corporation. Danny retired in 2000 as a Sr. Vice President.

Danny and his wife Mary Beth have three children. They have lived in Fredericksburg since 1997.

In Fredericksburg he has served on the board of the Good Samaritan Center as treasurer as well as worked for Habitat for Humanity. He currently volunteers at the Needs Council.

An amateur historian, Danny enjoys reading, sports and playing with grandchildren.

VALERIE SCHAFER:

Valerie was born in Fredericksburg, Texas, and followed her Navy Dad from California to Texas numerous times, along with a short stint in Yokosuka, Japan. Ending up as a teenager in Johnson City, Texas, and later in Stonewall, Valerie stumbled into the perfect job. Valerie worked for 20 years for Western National Parks Association (WNPA) as the bookstore manager at the Lyndon B Johnson National Historical Park, as well serving as the WNPA Regional Manager for Texas for eighteen of those years.

Living and working in Stonewall, Valerie was a member of the Stonewall Chamber of Commerce Board, President of the Stonewall Elementary School Community Club and a constant volunteer at the school and with 4-H. Valerie has two girls, Sandra and Cindy Jacoby, who are both currently attending Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi.

Valerie currently lives in Topeka, Kansas, with her husband, Dave, and all the animals they inherited when the girls left for college. She stills works for WNPA as a Field Operations Specialist from her home. With the girls and her family in Texas, Valerie makes frequent trips back and will continue to support the Park through her active involvement in the Friends organization.

KAREN WEBER:

Karen grew up in Abilene, Texas, and earned a BS in Education degree from the University of Texas at Austin. After teaching three years in Austin, she and her husband, Jim, moved to Beaumont, Texas. While Jim practiced law, Karen spent time raising three children and working on church and volunteer activities. They purchased Pedernales River property in Blanco County in 1979, and moved permanently to their Texas Hill Country ranch in 1993.

Currently she is involved in the community of Johnson City as a board member of the Woman's Club, Blanco County North Library District and the LBJ National Historical Park. In Austin, she is involved with her church as a ministry leader and a board member for the Austin Graduate School of Theology, and the Championship Heart Foundation. She is also on the leadership team with Community Bible Study as a children's leader.

In addition, she has her three children, their spouses and five grandchildren who are in close proximity for her enjoyment on a regular basis. Hobbies include memberships in The Garden Club of America, Johnson City Garden Club, Book Club and the "Dreamers," a special program of the Johnson City Library for outreach to the community. She spends a good deal of pleasurable time reading, traveling with friends, gardening and cooking for large crowds.

DARYL WHITWORTH:

Daryl is a native of Stonewall and a fifth-generation Hill Country farmer and rancher. He grew up only a few miles from the LBJ Ranch and remembers as a child "seeing all of the planes coming and going" from the airstrip on the Ranch. He has a passion for the heritage of the Hill Country and its people.

Daryl graduated from Fredericksburg High School and attended Angelo State University where he earned a BS in Animal Science and an MBA in Marketing Management. For the past twelve years, he has served in various sales and marketing positions with the Fredericksburg Convention and Visitor Bureau, and currently serves as the Assistant Director. During his tenure with the CVB, Daryl has been actively involved with local, regional, state and national tourism, hospitality and heritage organizations. He recently served as Chair of the Hill Country Trail; a heritage tourism initiative sponsored by the Texas Historical Commission.

He and his wife Stephanie reside in Fredericksburg with their two children, Delaney and Derek. Daryl continues to actively manage two family ranches and is passing on his agricultural heritage to the next generation.

RUSS WHITLOCK:

Russ grew up in rural Trenton, South Carolina with both parents and a younger sister. He is a graduate of the University of South Carolina with a bachelor's degree in History. Russ is a 26-year veteran of the National Park Service beginning his career working at Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky. Russ was a resource protection ranger at Indiana's Lincoln Boyhood National Monument before transferring as the lead ranger for the Ocmulgee National Monument in Georgia. Russ served as a district ranger on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina for nine years. He was the chief ranger in Virginia's 17,000-acre Prince William Forest Park and later became the deputy superintendent at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts.

Russ served as the National Park Service Director's Chief of Staff before moving to Texas. Working with NPS Director Fran P. Mainella, he became a liaison with the seven regional directors, members of Congress, officials with the Department of the Interior, cooperators, and national partners.

Russ was a commissioned Federal law enforcement officer for 18 years. He has been recognized by the National Park Service, local chambers of commerce, visitor boards and other State and Federal agencies for his cooperative work, volunteerism, and support of partnerships. He has worked, participated in, and directed all facets of national park operations.

Russ began his duties at Superintendent of the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park in August 2006 and continues to be excited about the potential for the park to be a contributing member of the community. Russ leads a capable and talented staff whose first goal is to share the story and legacy of President and Mrs. Johnson with the public through a wide variety of experiences and opportunities.