VOLUME 26, ISSUE 1
The Cord Of Three Strands Is Not Easily Broken…
The Ever Evolving But Unbreakable TSA Team
Shortly before my term as President started, we learned that Clayton Stewart was stepping down as our Director of Governmental Affairs to work for the TMA as the Chair of TexPac. Mr. Stewart served the TSA for about a year before his departure, but made a huge mark while he was here.
Fortunately, we were blessed as an organization, to have several applicants file almost immediately for the open position.
We formed an Ad-Hoc Committee to review those resumes and perform the interviews. After having Mr. Stewart as our Director, the bar was set extremely high for the next Director.
Her roles for the TSA will include lobbying alongside our senior lobbyist, Mr. Jaime Capelo. She’ll also be responsible for organizing and maintaining our Key Contacts for both state and federal legislators in conjunction with the TSAPAC and the Governmental Affairs Committee. Additionally, we’ll rely on her to assist with reviewing and preparing testimony for both legislative and regulatory issues, in conjunction with our legal counsel, Mr. Clayton Devin.
The Ad-Hoc Committee interviewed numerous candidates, but one clearly met the standards we had set, and exceeded them. Ms. Bonnie Bruce was interviewed by me, as well as Drs. Giesecke, Kronberg, Zaafran, and Lindberg at the TSA office in Austin. Ms. Bruce had an exceptional interview. She was such a highly qualified candidate, and with her background, became our unanimous choice to be the new Director of Governmental Affairs. Her hiring was approved by the Executive Committee, and she officially began work on November 1, 2013.
Ms. Bruce comes to us with a wealth of knowledge and experience. She is a graduate of Texas State University with a degree in speech communication, as well as being a Fellow from the University Of Texas Center for Public Policy Dispute Resolution. She has served more than 14 years in the Texas Capitol, with three members, covering both chambers. She began in the House, working with Representative Brimer in 1999. Soon after, she entered a long standing term with Representative Solomons spanning almost 11 years and culminating as his Chief of Staff. She finally moved over to the Senate side to the office of Senator Campbell as her Chief of Staff.
Bonnie’s husband Mark Bruce is a principal in Stratus Energy, an energy lobbying and business development firm. They live in Round Rock with their twin daughters who are in kindergarten.
Please join me in welcoming Bonnie Bruce to the TSA Team.
I’m also excited to usher the TSA into the social media world. I tasked the Communications Committee with reviewing the options and producing a plan to begin a social media website for the TSA. They did a fantastic job. To see their work please visit, and LIKE, our new Facebook page found at https://www.facebook.com/texassocanes
