Written by Amanda Coers – The Brownwood Municipal Development District met at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, June 25th, in the Council Chambers inside City Hall to convene into a closed executive session to discuss personnel matters. 

 

 

In May of this year, Guy Andrews, Executive Director of the BMDD, announced he had been hired to lead the City of San Angelo’s job-creation efforts as its economic developer. Andrews had been leading Brownwood’s economic development since 2015. His last day on the job in Brownwood was May 31st.

After reconvening, Brownwood City Manager addressed the board regarding her recommendation for the newly vacant Executive Director position with the BMDD.

“We did post the opening for the executive director on two statewide sites as well as locally,” Crawford said. She explained a hiring committee comprised of two BMDD board members, one city councilman, and Brownwood Mayor Stephen Haynes completed interviews for the ED position. 

“Ray is no stranger to the business community,” Crawford said during the meeting on Monday. “He displays dedication to the community and displays the core values of the city.” 

A motion to approve Ray Tipton as the new BMDD Executive Director was offered by Daniel Hutson, with a second from Tim Jacobs. The board approved unanimously.

“Welcome Ray, we appreciate the opportunity to work with you,” Board President Ryan Regan said after the vote. “We thank you for everything you’ve done for the community so far and we look forward to working with you to continue that.” 

The Brownwood City Council will meet at 9 a.m. to confirm Tipton’s appointment as part of the agenda posted. Once confirmed, the Brownwood Chamber of Commerce will begin the hiring process for a new Executive Director.

Tipton is expected to begin his duties as the BMDD Executive Director on July 16th.

In 2014, Tipton served as the interim executive director for the Brownwood Chamber of Commerce after working as the chamber’s director of business development and marketing for almost five years. Soon after, he was elected as the chamber’s Executive Director.

Before joining the chamber staff, Tipton was a licensed real estate agent. He has also owned several local businesses over the last two decades. Ray Tipton is a graduate of Brownwood High School who went on to receive his Bachelors of Science in Psychology from Howard Payne University.

He has been married to his wife Lisa for over 25 years and they have two adult children.