Events

Captain Beau Hufstetler is a native of Canton, Ohio. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 2001 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. He also holds a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. 

After earning his Naval Aviator wings at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi in 2003, he joined the “Fighting Tigers” of VP-8 at NAS Brunswick, ME from 2003-2007, where he served as P-3 Mission Commander and Instructor Pilot and led Combat Aircrew One on multiple deployments and detachments around the globe.  Following that tour, Hufstetler was selected for Instructor Pilot duty with the “Wise Owls” of VT-31 based at NAS Corpus Christi, TX. While there, he qualified in all 13 phases of instruction for the diverse multi-service, multinational student cadre while performing duties as Pilot Training and Standardization Officer. In December 2009, he joined the “Lonestar Express” of VR-59 at NAS JRB Fort Worth, TX where he flew the C-40A executing intra-theater airlift support for naval units around the world. 

His staff assignments included tours as the C-40A Fleet NATOPS Evaluator Pilot with the Fleet Logistics Support Wing from 2013-2014, Operations Program Manager with Commander, Naval Air Force Reserve from 2015-2018, and most recently the PERS-46 Senior Aviation Detailer with Navy Personnel Command in Millington, TN from 2021-2023.

Captain Hufstetler served as Executive Officer and Commanding Officer of the “Globemasters” of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 56 at NAS Oceana, VA from 2018-2021. He assumed duties as Commanding Officer of NAS Fort Worth JRB, TX in November 2023. 

Captain Hufstetler has accumulated more than 4,000 flight hours in numerous aircraft. His personal awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal and various unit and campaign awards.

Dan Berce is the President and CEO of GM Financial, the captive lending arm of General Motors, which offers retail financing and lease programs alongside commercial lending products with more than seven million retail contracts outstanding, and 15,000 dealers served worldwide. GM Financial’s more than 8,500 team members help fulfill dreams of mobility for our customers and deliver strategic and financial value to the General Motors enterprise.

The Right to Read :A Documentary

An Overview

Learn the stories of an activist, a teacher, and two American families who fight to provide our youngest  generation with the most foundational indicator of life-long success: the ability to read. 

Fed up with the bleak reading scores in his own community, activist Kareem Weaver files an NAACP petition  demanding change in Oakland schools' reading curricula. Working with Ms. Causey, a first-grade teacher in the  lowest-performing school, the two go against district mandates to bring in evidence-based literacy tools to see  if they can turn reading scores around. 

Speakers: Caroline James and Michael Fagella Luby (bios below)

Michael Faggella-Luby, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department of Teaching & Learning Sciences at Texas Christian University. He also holds joint appointments as core faculty in the Alice Neeley Special Education Research & Service (ANSERS) Institute and the Andrews Institute for Research in Mathematics & Science Education. Dr. Faggella-Luby's research focuses on improving educational outcomes for students with learning disabilities, particularly in the areas of literacy, cognitive learning strategies, and postsecondary education. He is the former president of the Division for Learning Disabilities of the Council for Exceptional Children. He enjoys reading and spending time with his two children.

Caroline James, MAT, MEd is a mom of three boys in Fort Worth.  Caroline was a classroom teacher, school administrator and faculty in TCU's school of education.  Caroline is also passionate about the Fort Worth community. She has served as a volunteer at Tarrant Area Foodbank, Trinity Episcopal Church, JLFW additionally Caroline and her husband Mark were foster parents for four years.  Caroline has expertise in curriculum, teacher training and development, department formation and management, annual giving, major gifts, and capital campaigns.  

 Joseph M. Martin did assumed duties as the former 37th Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, July 26, 2019. Martin graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1986 and commissioned as an armor officer. He has served in a variety of troop assignments. From 1987 to 1990, he served as a tank platoon leader, scout platoon leader, and company executive officer in the 1st Battalion, 37th Armor Regiment, 1st Armored Division. Upon graduation from the Armor Officer Advanced Course, Martin was assigned to 4th Battalion, 37th Armor Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, where he commanded Company B during Operation Desert Storm and at Fort Riley, Kansas. He then commanded the 1st Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, during Operation Iraqi Freedom in Ba’Qubah, Iraq and at Fort Hood, Texas. Martin commanded the 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division from Fort Riley, Kansas, and deployed with that command to serve in northwest Baghdad, Iraq. Following brigade command, he became the chief of staff of III Corps in Fort Hood, Texas. From June 2012 to April 2013, Martin commanded the U.S. Army Operational Test Command. Martin served as deputy commanding general (Maneuver) for 1st Cavalry Division, commanding general of National Training Center, Fort Irwin, California, and commanding general of 1st Infantry Division, where he deployed and commanded the Combined Joint Force Land Component Command in Operation Inherent Resolve. His most recent assignment was the director of the Army Staff.

Martin’s key staff assignments have included observer controller, Fort Irwin, California, instructor/writer and aide to the commanding general at the U.S. Armor Center at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He also served as a battalion operations officer, aide to the III Corps commanding general and brigade operations Officer at Fort Hood, Texas. Additionally, Martin served as the armor branch chief and chief of the Maneuver, Fires and Effects Division, at the U.S. Army Human Resources Command in Alexandria, Virginia. He also served as the Initiatives Group director for the commander, U.S. Forces Iraq and U.S. Joint Forces Command. Martin holds a master’s in education from the University of Louisville. He is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and the United States Army War College. Martin’s awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal with “V” device, the Meritorious Service Medal and the Army Commendation Medal with “V” device. He also earned the Combat Action Badge and the Parachutist Badge. Martin is married and has two children, including one that is currently serving as an infantryman in the U.S. Army.

Biography:

Andrea Packard, Director of the List Gallery at Swarthmore College, wrote this statement in an article about Mr. Huckaby:

“Although Sedrick began the series by drawing subjects he encountered near his neighborhood in Fort Worth, Huckaby's ongoing series focuses less on locale than on the process of affirming people who might otherwise remain unseen or unimportant… Although racial and economic biases persist within a globalized consumer culture and often reinforce stereotyping, The 99% affirms the ongoing ability of art to affirm and extend our common humanity.”

In commenting on location Huckaby states, “I was born in Fort Worth in 1975 and I continue to live and work in the same area today. It has been an inspiration to come home to serve my community after being given the opportunity to study art at Boston University, Yale University and at museums all over the world. After learning about the global art world I also learned another simple lesson. The art that I am most often occupied with is about the themes, people and places of my home-town. I found that I could address the issues of global importance through dealing with the same issues within my local community. So, I decided to move back home. Since returning I have married Letitia, who is also an artist, specializing in photo-based art. Our creativity is not limited to art, we also have three creative children:  Rising Sun-17, Halle Lujah-15, and Rhema Rain-7.”Huckaby is represented by Talley Dunn Gallery in Dallas.

President of Fort Worth Stockyards, Inc (FWSI) Jan 2024 - present. FWSI is modeled after Downtown Fort Worth, Inc (DFWI) and Near Southside, INC (NSI). FWSI is a membership funded 501(C)(6) non-profit organization representing the property and business owners of the Fort Worth Stockyards for fostering, promoting, maintaining, and encouraging the civic, social, and general welfare of the Stockyards, as a whole, through the encouragement and promotion of a wonderful visitor experience, improved business conditions, and the promotion of economic interests in and around the Stockyards.

As the Executive Director for the Dallas Sports Commission, Monica Paul plays an essential role in implementing bid strategies and marketing programs that enhance Dallas' acquisition of sports competitions and events, including solicitation of Olympic, professional, collegiate and amateur sports. Paul also works closely with professional leagues, the NCAA, Olympic National Governing Bodies and amateur sports federations, promoting Dallas as a premier destination for events, conventions and meetings.

Prior to joining Visit Dallas in 2008, Paul was the Associate Director of Events at USA Volleyball, where she oversaw the international events for the USA Women's and Men's National Teams and served as Director of Competition for the 2007 National Senior Games in Louisville, Kentucky. Before that, Paul served as Director of International and Domestic Events for USA Taekwondo, and Director of Events, Marketing and Sponsorships for the Junior Volleyball Association of Austin.

Paul earned a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education at the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Arts in Sports Administration from the University of Northern Colorado. She currently serves on the SMU Athletic Forum Board of Directors, Cotton Bowl Classic Board of Directors, the Jason Witten's SCORE Foundation Board of Directors, Women in Sports & Events (WISE) DFW Chapter Advisory Board, and the University of North Texas Sports Entertainment Management Industry Advisory Board. She was selected as the DCEO Non-profit and Corporate Citizenship Award Winner in Leadership Excellence in 2023, DCEO's Dallas 500 in 2022, Women in Business honoree by Dallas Business Journal in 2020, and in 2015 she was honored as one of Connect Sports' Top IX Women in the Sport Tourism Industry.

Paul teaches Contemporary Issues in Sport Management at Southern Methodist University and is also a licensed real estate agent and realtor with Rogers Healy & Associates Real Estate.

Jennifer Cowley is the first female president of The University of Texas at Arlington and the 10th overall. She is also a professor of public affairs and planning in the College of Architecture, Planning, and Public Affairs.

Dr. Cowley is an advocate for public higher education and passionate about UTA's role in developing the Dallas-Fort Worth economy, society, and culture by preparing the next generation of talent. 

Cowley has dedicated her career to public service through leadership roles at national research universities, where she championed student success, engaged communities, created strategic collaborations, and advanced innovation.

Before joining UT Arlington in 2022, she served as the provost and vice president for academic affairs for five years at the University of North Texas and 16 years at Ohio State University in a variety of capacities, including vice provost for capital planning and regional campuses, associate dean of the College of Engineering, head of city and regional planning, and a professor. 

Prior to entering academia, Cowley worked in city government in Amarillo and College Station. She earned a Ph.D. in urban and regional science, master’s degree in urban planning, and bachelor’s degree in political science from Texas A&M University and master’s degrees in interdisciplinary studies and public administration from UNT. She is a fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners and a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administrators. 

An Arlington native, Cowley and her husband, Jon, have a son Nathan who is in college.

Jason Soileau, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Planning, Design, and Construction at Texas Christian University provides leadership and collaboration across the campus community for the strategic growth and stewardship of the TCU physical campus in ways that contribute to a vibrant student experience, strong “sense of place”, strengthened institutional brand, and enhanced financial resiliency.

Dr. Cady previously served as the Senior Minister of Asbury First United Methodist Church in Rochester, NY. The congregation, known for social justice, anti-poverty efforts, and LGBTQ advocacy, flourished during Cady’s tenure. During his tenure, the congregation increased worshipping attendance, grew its endowment from $6 million to over $10 million while reducing the annual endowment draw, and completed the largest capital campaign in its history, raising more than $8 million, to renovate, expand, and transform a historic building into a fully accessible Community Outreach Center that offers meals, showers, laundry, haircare, clothing, and healthcare to the most vulnerable of the community.

Dr. Cady earned his Doctor of Philosophy at Princeton Theological Seminary and a Master of Divinity at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. He earned a Bachelor of Arts at Ohio Wesleyan University.

The Charles Schwab Challenge is a premier event on the PGA TOUR in Fort Worth, Texas. We help generate more than $19 million annually for local Tarrant County charities along with an economic impact of about $40 million annually. Considered a "MUST" attend event, Colonial is amongst very select group of marquee PGA TOUR events.