Abbott appoints Kirby Hollingsworth to Sulphur River board

MOUNT PLEASANT, Texas - Texas Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Kirby Hollingsworth of Mount Vernon, Texas, to the Sulphur River Basin Authority's Board of Directors. He replaces Katie Stedman, who resigned the seat, for a term set to expire Feb. 1, 2021.

Hollingsworth is the owner and founder of Valiant Mark, an investment firm in Mount Vernon. He previously served as an at-large member of the SRBA board for several years, with his last term ending in 2016.

He said he is looking forward to serving on the board again and that he believes the work SRBA does is very important.

"Most of what the board does will serve for information for future years, but

Water is a very important asset in our state and Northeast Texas has an abundance of it and we need to treat it with the respect it deserves," he said. "I look forward to serving on board with current members which I hold in high esteem."

Hollingsworth is also a member of the Mount Vernon Masonic Lodge, Shriner and Scottish Rite and also served as lodge master and former chaplain. He is also the song director and teacher at Calvary Baptist Temple and received the Paul Harris Fellow Award from Rotary International. Hollingsworth attended the American Trade Institute in Dallas.

He added that he is open to hearing concerns about the basin and being brought up to date on what the river authority is working on.

"The board is dealing with new stuff compared to when I was there," he said. "There will be a learning curve and I'm excited to be brought current."

SRBA Executive Director Meg Shelton said she hopes to have Hollingsworth sworn in during their next meeting, which will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24 at the Mount Pleasant Civic Center, 1500 N. Jefferson.

Upcoming Events