Board Leadership
For the past 60 years, the Texas Historical Foundation has been guided by some of the leading preservationists
and historians of the time. Early supporters included John Ben Shepperd, Ima Hogg, Mary Moody Northen, Joe
Ballard, Dr. Rupert Richardson, and Faith Bybee. More recently, J.P. Bryan, Clifton and Shirley Caldwell, Red
McCombs, and current Foundation leaders David Martinez and Tom Doell have carried the torch.
Board Meetings
Each quarter, the Texas Historical Foundation board meets in locations around the state in order to conduct
organizational business, explore local history and projects, visit important historical sites, and interact with area
preservationists.
As part of these meetings, a full-day educational field trip is planned where THF directors go behind-the-
scenes and visit with historical experts in places that might be difficult for the general public to access. Some
examples of interesting past activities include: a guided tour of the Charles Goodnight Home by members of
the small community of Claude who undertook that project, with a presentation by the superintendent of the
Caprock Canyon State Park, where descendants of Goodnight’s bison herd roam today; guided tours led by
professional archeologists working at diverse projects in the Big Bend and the Gault Site in Bell County; and
a tour of the Texas State Archives to view rare artifacts and witness hands-on conservation of early Supreme
Court documents.