Winter 2016

TEXAS LAND / Contributors
LORIE WOODWARD CANTU has worked as a
writer and public relations practitioner exploring
the intersection of agriculture, natural resources
and public policy for almost 30 years. Her career,
which has included stints in the public and private
sector, has taken her across the country and
around the world, where she has been enthralled
by the people of the land and their stories. She is
the president of Woodward Communications and
co-owner of The Round Top Register, a regional
magazine focused on life in the rolling bluebonnet
hills of central Texas where country meets city.
Woodward was reared on a ranch near Lexington,
Texas, but now makes her home in San Angelo
with her two children, Kate and Will.
FARM CREDIT BANK OF TEXAS, headquartered
in Austin, Texas, is a cooperatively owned
wholesale bank that is part of the nationwide Farm
Credit System. Their mission is to enhance the
quality of life in rural America by using cooperative
principles to provide competitive credit and
superior service to our customers. Find out more
at FarmCreditBank.com.
and a Clinical Professor of Finance teaching
real estate investment analysis for the Master
of Real Estate program in the Mays School at
Texas A&M University.
GREG SIMONS received a B.S. degree in
Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences in 1987 from
Texas A&M University and soon after formed
Wildlife Systems, Inc., a company that currently
manages hunting operations on over 800,000
acres of private land in Texas and New Mexico.
He is also co-owner of Wildlife Consultants,
LLC, providing technical assistance to
landowners and other entities on habitat
management and other wildlife-related issues.
Greg served as President of Texas Wildlife
Association through July 2015.
local radio and TV shows, most notably a 10+
year Lazy Gardener run on HoustonPBS (Ch. 8)
and her call-in “EcoGardening” show on KPFT-
FM. Brenda recently ended her decades-long
stint as Production Manager of the Garden Club
of America’s BULLETIN magazine. Although still
an active horticulture lecturer and broad-based
freelance writer, Brenda’s main focus now is
THE LAZY GARDENER & FRIENDS HOUSTON
GARDEN NEWSLETTER with John Ferguson and
Mark Bowen of Nature’s Way Resources.
TEXAS AND SOUTHWESTERN CATTLE
RAISERS ASSOCIATION (TSCRA) offers a broad
range of services, including law enforcement,
government and public affairs, insurance
services, industry news and information on best
practices, educational programs, and discounts
for ranching supplies and related services to
members and the industry.
DR. CHARLES GILLILAND currently holds an
appointment as a Research Economist with
the Real Estate Center in the Mays School
and an appointment as Adjunct Associate
Professor of Agricultural Economics at Texas
A&M University. In addition, Dr. Gilliland is
Helen and O.N. Mitchell Fellow of Real Estate
BRENDA BEUST SMITH’s current column in
the “Lazy Gardener & Friends Houston Garden
Newsletter” is based on her 45+ years as
the Houston Chronicle’s Lazy Gardener. A
nationally-published writer/photographer and
horticulture speaker, Brenda recently ended
her 15+ year span as production manager
of the Garden Club of America “Bulletin”
magazine. Author of Lazy Gardener books and
calendars, Brenda lives and writes in Houston,
Texas. When the Chronicle discontinued
Brenda’s 45-year-old “Lazy Gardener” print
column a couple of years ago, it ranked as the
longest-running, continuously-published local
newspaper column in the Greater Houston area.
A Harris County Master Gardener, Brenda has
served on the boards of many Greater Houston
area horticulture organizations and has hosted
TEXAS WILDLIFE ASSOCIATION (TWA) focuses
its mission on private landowners and their
ethical relationship to the land, and TWA
concentrates on issues relating to private
property, hunting and hunter rights, and
conservation of our natural resources.
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