Solid Candidates On Ballot For TJC Board Of Trustees
Tyler Junior College District residents have one Board of Trustees contest to decide in the May 10 election with three candidates seeking the Place 9 position.
Early voting for the election begins today.
David Couch is not seeking re-election in Place 9. Candidates to replace him on the board are Melinda Coker, Steven Sherwood and Rohn Boone.
David Couch is not seeking re-election in Place 9. Candidates to replace him on the board are Melinda Coker, Steven Sherwood and Rohn Boone.
Mrs. Coker is a business consultant and former director of career services at TJC. Sherwood is a pharmacy owner from Chapel Hill and Boone is president and chief of operations for Boone & Boone Construction Ltd.
Mrs. Coker said she has been a school teacher, counselor and Realtor and would bring a different perspective to the board because of her close work with TJC students when employed there. She said she serves on no other boards and would be able to devote a great deal of time to the trustee job.
Boone said he has spent most of his lifetime in Tyler and attended public schools here and TJC. The Boone family construction business specializes in commercial buildings, schools and churches.
He is involved in civic activities, including volunteer work with the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce, the TJC Foundation, UT Tyler Foundation, UT Health Center Foundation, the United Way, East Texas Symphony and others. As a board member, Boone said he would work to continue the excellence of the school since it started operations in 1926.
Sherwood is a lifelong resident of Smith County except for about two years, graduated from Chapel Hill High School, attended TJC and worked for Central Freight Lines before entering the pharmacy profession. After taking pre-pharmacy courses at TJC for about two years, he went to The University of Texas pharmacy school. He now has pharmacies in Chapel Hill, Whitehouse and Troup.
He served on the Whitehouse school board six years during a period a successful bond issue was approved, has done volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity and has been a member of Friendly Baptist Church more than 30 years. Sherwood says his 22 years of business operation and six years serving on a school board are good experience for serving on the TJC board.
Sherwood also thinks his membership adds to the mix on the board, providing a representative from outside the city of Tyler proper.
All three candidates for Place 9 have past connections with TJC. We think Boone and Sherwood also offer records of positive accomplishments in business and civic areas that enhance their qualifications for trustee service.
Steven Sherwood's school board experience during a successful bond issue and his appeal as adding a representative of more rural areas of the district make him our choice for election to the TJC board in Place 9.
