PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release Contact: Ann Galassi

January 15, 2008 Sabine River Authority of Texas

(409) 746-2192

Governor Perry appoints five to

SRA Board of Directors

(Orange, TX) Governor Rick Perry recently appointed five members to the Sabine River Authority of Texas Board of Directors. The appointments include Don Covington of Orange, J. D. Jacobs, Jr. of Rockwall, David Koonce of Center, Cliff Todd of Marshall and Earl Williams of Orange. Created by the Legislature in 1949, the Sabine River Authority is an official agency of the State of Texas. The Authority was created as a conservation and reclamation district with responsibilities to control, store, preserve, and distribute the waters of the Sabine River and its tributary streams for useful purposes. The Sabine River Authority of Texas is governed by nine Board of Directors who are leaders in their communities and are dedicated to addressing water issues in the Sabine River Basin. The Board of Directors, appointed by the Governor, must reside in a county within the basin.

Don Covington is chairman of Beacon Maritime Inc. and is being reappointed to the board with a term to expire July 6, 2011. In his career, he founded Texas Drydock, Inc., which later became TD-Halter, L.P. He spent 30 years with Levingston Shipbuilding Co. He is a member of the Society of Naval Architects and Propeller Club-USA. Mr. Covington is also a former member of the Port Arthur and Orange Chambers of Commerce, and a board member of First Christian Church. He formerly served in the U.S. Army and attended Lamar University. Mr. Covington and his wife, Claire, have three sons and reside in Orange.

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J. D. Jacobs, Jr. is a farmer and rancher and is being reappointed to the board with a term to expire July 6, 2013. He resides in Rockwall County where he farms 4,000 acres of cotton, corn, milo and wheat and runs a 100-225 head cow/calf operation. Mr. Jacobs is a current member of the Rockwall County Extension Service Advisory Board and serves as vice president for the Rockwall County Farm Bureau Insurance Board. He is a former member of the Farm Service Agency County Committee. Mr. Jacobs and his wife, Ollie, have three children and three grandchildren and are members of the Lake Pointe Baptist Church of Rockwall.

David Koonce is vice president of General Shelters of Texas Ltd. His appointment replaces Sammy Dance of Center with an appointment term to expire July 6, 2013. Mr. Koonce is president of the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce, treasurer of the Shelby County Bass Anglers and assistant district chairman for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s Area Go Texan committee. He is also a committeeman of Ducks Unlimited and a community representative of Center ISD Campus Improvement. Mr. Koonce received a bachelor’s degree from Stephen F. Austin University. He and his wife Angela, are members of the First Baptist Church of Center.

Cliff Todd is the executive director of the Marshall Economic Development Corporation. His appointment replaces Claudia Abney of Marshall with an appointment term to expire July 6, 2011. Mr. Todd is a member of the Texas Economic Development Council. He retired after nearly 30 years with the Texas Department of Agriculture, serving in Austin and later with the TDA Rural Economic division for the entire East Texas region. Mr. Todd is involved in overseeing the management of their family owned farm and ranch in Panola and Rusk Counties. He received a bachelor’s degree

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from Stephen F. Austin State University. Mr. Todd and his wife, Denise have one

daughter and are members of the Central Baptist Church of Carthage where he serves as a deacon.

Earl Williams is CEO of Tool Tech Machining in Beaumont, a partner of Cypress Bayou Industrial Painting, and president of Cypress Bayou, Inc. and is being reappointed to the board with a term to expire July 6, 2013. He has served on the board since 2001 and also served from 1994 to 1999. He received a bachelor’s degree from Howard Payne University, a master’s degree from Stephen F. Austin State University and completed post-graduate work at Texas A&M University. Mr. Williams and his wife, Suzanne have two children and live in the Orange area.

A new slate of officers was elected by the Board of Directors at the annual meeting of the Sabine River Authority of Texas (SRA) held recently in Marshall. J. D. Jacobs, Jr. was elected as Board President for 2008. Other elected officers include Vice President Connie Wade of Longview, Secretary/Treasurer Richard “Link” Linkenauger of Greenville and Secretary Pro-Tem Stan Mathews of Pinehurst. The officer positions take effect January 1, 2008. Other members of the SRA Board, in addition to the newly appointed and reappointed members, include Past President Connie Ware of Marshall.

For further information on Sabine River Authority of Texas contact Ann Galassi, Manager, Economic Development / Public Relations for SRA-TX at (409) 746-2192 or agalassi@sratx.org

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