MAYOR ALLEN OWEN – Mayor Allen Owen is Missouri City's 10th mayor since the city's incorporation in 1956. He’s faithfully served as Missouri City’s mayor since 1994. He has a long-standing documented track record of placing the citizens of Missouri City first. His track record and dedication was part of the reason Missouri City was honored as one of the top 10 safest cities in Texas by real estate website Movoto back in August of 2014. Movoto combined crime data from the top 100 most populous municipalities in Texas, and used the FBI’s 2012 Uniform Crime Report to determine that Missouri City is the sixth safest city in Texas. 24/7 Wall St., a web-based corporation designed to report financial news and opinions, also recently ranked Missouri City 16th on their list of the top 50 places to live in the United States. Using data to rank municipalities based on factors such as employment, economy and infrastructure, 24/7 Wall St. celebrated Missouri City’s low crime rate, proximity to Houston and affordability. Missouri City was the only city in the Houston area to make the list; other Texas cities on the list include Richardson (#17) and Flower Mound (#9). The news organization’s profile of the “Show Me City” also reflected the following details: Median household income: $84,511; Median home value: $163,000; Average commuter travel time: 29.5 minutes. Missouri City is also one of the most diverse cities in America.
Mayor Owen and his family have lived in Missouri City more than 36 years. And he continues to dedicate much of his time and expertise towards the development of a community where he and his wife of 47 years, Jane, raised their three children.
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INTERVIEW: Mayor Allen Owen (Mayor of Missouri City, Texas) answers a few questions asked by Aubrey R. Taylor about his dream, mission in life, outlook for 2015, and advice to others striving to achieve their dream
QUESTION #1
AUBREY R. TAYLOR: What was life like for you as a child growing up?
MAYOR ALLEN OWEN: My mother was an Elementary Teacher and my dad owned an Insurance Company. I was the middle child with an older and younger sister. I grew up in East Texas and graduated from college at Stephen F. Austin State University. I played sports like most kids and even played minor league baseball during my college days. I knew I would not be a big leaguer so I decided to coach and got my coaching/teaching certificate. During that time I began working in a bank and decided that I would like to do that instead. Job was much more secure and you didn't have to have a winning season to keep your job. I had just married and wanted a better future for us.
MAYOR ALLEN OWEN: My mother was an Elementary Teacher and my dad owned an Insurance Company. I was the middle child with an older and younger sister. I grew up in East Texas and graduated from college at Stephen F. Austin State University. I played sports like most kids and even played minor league baseball during my college days. I knew I would not be a big leaguer so I decided to coach and got my coaching/teaching certificate. During that time I began working in a bank and decided that I would like to do that instead. Job was much more secure and you didn't have to have a winning season to keep your job. I had just married and wanted a better future for us.
QUESTION #2
AUBREY R. TAYLOR: What did you dream of becoming as you were a child growing up?
MAYOR ALLEN OWEN: I really wanted to be a doctor as a child but science courses in college changed my mind. They were too much of a struggle.
AUBREY R. TAYLOR: What did you dream of becoming as you were a child growing up?
MAYOR ALLEN OWEN: I really wanted to be a doctor as a child but science courses in college changed my mind. They were too much of a struggle.
QUESTION #3
AUBREY R. TAYLOR: Did you achieve your childhood dream, or did it evolve into something different?
MAYOR ALLEN OWEN: I did play minor league baseball and that was not necessarily a dream, but something I enjoyed doing.
AUBREY R. TAYLOR: Did you achieve your childhood dream, or did it evolve into something different?
MAYOR ALLEN OWEN: I did play minor league baseball and that was not necessarily a dream, but something I enjoyed doing.
QUESTION #4
AUBREY R. TAYLOR: What is your mission in life?
MAYOR ALLEN OWEN: My mission was just to be successful in whatever I did with my life. I have always said that I thought God put me on this earth to serve others and I have strived to do that in the best way I could. Not only as Mayor but through the many non-profit organizations I serve on.
AUBREY R. TAYLOR: What is your mission in life?
MAYOR ALLEN OWEN: My mission was just to be successful in whatever I did with my life. I have always said that I thought God put me on this earth to serve others and I have strived to do that in the best way I could. Not only as Mayor but through the many non-profit organizations I serve on.
QUESTION #5
AUBREY R. TAYLOR: Do you have a recent accomplishment you would like to share?
MAYOR ALLEN OWEN: I have always said that I hope to be remembered after leaving office for helping guide the City in the development of it being one of the best in the USA to call home. This has been done through the development of Sienna Plantation, Riverstone, Lake Colony, Colony Lakes, Brightwater, Lake Olympia, and the acquisition of Quail Valley Country Club and the preservation of the 400 acres of parkland. Being named one of the safest cities in the USA is another accomplishment I am proud of for our City. I did none of this alone. It took a good Council and dedicated staff to accomplish it all.
AUBREY R. TAYLOR: Do you have a recent accomplishment you would like to share?
MAYOR ALLEN OWEN: I have always said that I hope to be remembered after leaving office for helping guide the City in the development of it being one of the best in the USA to call home. This has been done through the development of Sienna Plantation, Riverstone, Lake Colony, Colony Lakes, Brightwater, Lake Olympia, and the acquisition of Quail Valley Country Club and the preservation of the 400 acres of parkland. Being named one of the safest cities in the USA is another accomplishment I am proud of for our City. I did none of this alone. It took a good Council and dedicated staff to accomplish it all.
QUESTION #6
AUBREY R. TAYLOR: What is your outlook for 2015?
MAYOR ALLEN OWEN: I see a very bright future for our City. Increased property values give our citizens equity in their largest investment-their homes. I see continued growth in our commercial and industrial segments. Placing more value on the ground and creating more jobs for our community means that we can continue to look at ways of taking the tax burden off of the roof tops and placing it on sales and commercial property taxes.
AUBREY R. TAYLOR: What is your outlook for 2015?
MAYOR ALLEN OWEN: I see a very bright future for our City. Increased property values give our citizens equity in their largest investment-their homes. I see continued growth in our commercial and industrial segments. Placing more value on the ground and creating more jobs for our community means that we can continue to look at ways of taking the tax burden off of the roof tops and placing it on sales and commercial property taxes.
QUESTION #7
AUBREY R. TAYLOR: What advice would you give to someone out there striving to achieve their dream?
MAYOR ALLEN OWEN: Never give up trying.
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AUBREY R. TAYLOR: What advice would you give to someone out there striving to achieve their dream?
MAYOR ALLEN OWEN: Never give up trying.
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"I would like to take this moment to thank Mayor Allen Owen for finding value in our vision to uplift, inspire, inform, and empower others in association with our "2014 Year-End Review" edition of Houston Business Connections Magazine." -- Aubrey
As President and CEO of Aubrey R. Taylor Communications, I encourage you to support the people, small business, organizations, corporations and ministries who support our mission and vision to uplift, inspire, inform, and empower others as we climb.
Best regards,
Aubrey R. Taylor
Publisher of Houston Business Connections Magazine
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**** Please do not forget that your support can enable us to reach more people with our message of encouragement, hope, inspiration, and empowerment. So email me your request for a hard-copy of our “2014 Year-End Review” edition of Houston Business Connections Magazine today at: (aubreyrtaylor@gmail.com). And don’t forget that our ad prices start at a very low $40.00 dollars per issue. WE CAN ACHIEVE OUR INDIVIDUAL AND CORPORATE GOALS AND DREAMS BY FINDING CREATIVE WAYS TO WORK TOGETHER!!!
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PEOPLE FEATURED ON THE COVER: Businessman Craig Joseph (owner of Houston's This Is It Soul Food). FBISD Superintendent Dr. Charles Dupre, TSU Program Director Dr. Michael O. Adams (Director of the eMPA and MPA programs at Texas Southern University), Judge Loyd Wright (District Probate Judge for Court #1 in Harris County), Businessman Bill Frazer (2015 Candidate for Controller of Houston), Controller Ronald C. Green (City of Houston Controller), Mayor Allen Owen (the mayor of Missouri City), Judge Christine Riddle Butts (District Probate Judge for Court #4 in Harris County), Grayle James (the FBISD President of the Board of Trustees), and Educator/Attorney Carroll G. Robinson (2015 Candidate for Controller of Houston). Email your request to (aubreyrtaylor@gmail.com) if you would like to have a copy of our "2014 Year-End Review" edition of Houston Business Connections Magazine mailed directly to your home or business.
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Boasting accreditation from the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration (NASPAA), the master of public administration (MPA) program at TSU is a 48-credit-hour program that has produced key change agents in human resources, international development and policy. For more information about these programs, please contact Dr. Michael O. Adams, 713-313-7760.
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Launched in Fall 2013, the emergency management and homeland security (EMHS) program is designed to create graduates with extensive theoretical and applied knowledge in emergency management and disaster research. The Bachelor of Science in Emergency Management and Homeland Security prepares students for careers in emergency management and public safety careers and will introduce students to the all-hazards approach, emergency disaster management phases, risk assessment, prevention and management, counter-terrorism, consequence management, mitigation, and recovery. For more information about these programs, please contact Dr. Michael O. Adams, 713-313-7760.
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Boasting accreditation from the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration (NASPAA), the master of public administration (MPA) program at TSU is a 48-credit-hour program that has produced key change agents in human resources, international development and policy. For more information about these programs, please contact Dr. Michael O. Adams, 713-313-7760.
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Launched in Fall 2013, the emergency management and homeland security (EMHS) program is designed to create graduates with extensive theoretical and applied knowledge in emergency management and disaster research. The Bachelor of Science in Emergency Management and Homeland Security prepares students for careers in emergency management and public safety careers and will introduce students to the all-hazards approach, emergency disaster management phases, risk assessment, prevention and management, counter-terrorism, consequence management, mitigation, and recovery. For more information about these programs, please contact Dr. Michael O. Adams, 713-313-7760.
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About Carroll G. Robinson
Carroll G. Robinson is an Associate Professor and a former Associate Dean of External Affairs at the Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs at Texas Southern University (TSU) in Houston, Texas. Professor Robinson is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of the Houston Community College System (HCC) and a Citizen Member of the Board of Trustees of the Houston Firefighters’ Relief and Retirement Fund. He is a former member of the Board of Directors and Board of Advisors of K9s4COPs. He is also a past chairman of the Houston Citizens Chamber of Commerce.
Professor Robinson is a former At-Large (elected citywide) member of the Houston (Texas) City Council. As a member of the City Council, Professor Robinson chaired the city’s Transportation, Technology and Infrastructure Committee.
Professor Robinson represented the City of Houston on the Board of Directors of the Houston-Galveston Area Council, the local council of regional governments. He served as a member of the Board’s Budget Committee and was a Vice Chair of the Transportation Policy Council. He also represented the City of Houston on the Board of Directors of the Alliance for I-69 Texas and TEX-21, a statewide transportation coalition of elected officials, business leaders and transportation and infrastructure professionals.
Professor Robinson is a former member of the Board of Directors of the National League of Cities where he served as a member of the Board’s Finance Committee and was a member of the Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources Steering Committee. He is a former member of the Texas Municipal League’s Utilities and Environment Committee, and Transportation Task Force; Advisory Board of the Texas Environmental Defense Fund; a past President of the Texas Association of Black City Council Members where he was also a member of the Housing Committee; a former member of the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials (NBC-LEO); a former member of the Texas Attorney General’s Municipal Advisory Committee (1998); Founding Chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council’s Local Elected Officials Network; a former Chairman of the National League of Cities Democratic Municipal Officials; a former member of the Democratic National Committee (DNC); and a former General Counsel of the Texas Democratic Party.
Prior to his election to the Houston City Council, Professor Robinson was an Associate Professor at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University. He has also worked as an adjunct Professor at South Texas College of Law.
Professor Robinson has worked in the Texas Legislature as Chief of Staff and General Counsel to Texas State Senator Rodney Ellis. He received his Bachelor of Arts (with Honors) in Political Science from Richard Stockton State College in Pomona, New Jersey (where he received a Certificate of Academic Accomplishment in African-American Studies) and his Juris Doctorate from the National Law Center at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
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