John J. CARONA
Texas Senate
R-District 16

First elected to the Texas Legislature in 1990, Senator John Carona is now in his fourth term in the Texas Senate, representing District 16 in Dallas County.  Previously, Senator Carona was elected to three terms in the Texas House of Representatives.    Senator Carona has distinguished himself in the Texas Legislature as an effective leader.  Following the 2007 legislative session, The Dallas Morning News named him to their “Legislative Leaderboard,” Capitol Inside selected him as “Most Valuable Player-Texas Senate,” and Texas Monthly recognized him as one of the “Ten Best Legislators.”  Senator Carona serves as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Transportation and Homeland Security and as a member of the Senate Criminal Justice, Jurisprudence, and State Affairs committees.   In addition, he currently serves as President Pro Tempore of the Texas Senate and Chairman of the Joint Legislative Study Committee on Private Participation in Toll Projects.   

Senator Carona has been a resident of Dallas since early childhood.  He was educated in the Dallas Independent School District, graduating from Bryan Adams High School.  He received bachelors of business administration degrees in insurance and real

Rafael Anchia
Texas House of Representatives
D-District 103

Rafael Anchía was elected in November 2004 as the representative of House District 103 in the Texas House of Representatives. District 103 covers a western corridor of Dallas, including parts of North Oak Cliff, West Dallas, La Bajada, Los Altos, Love Field, North Park and portions of the cities of Irving, Farmers Branch and Carrollton.

Rep. Anchía maintains a genuine passion for helping people and true empathy for their struggles and aspirations. These qualities are a byproduct of his family background, varied professional training and numerous public, civic and volunteer commitments. During his service in the Legislature, Rep. Anchía has worked on legislation to fight crime, improve public safety, protect our environment and improve health coverage for women and children.

Rep. Anchía is the son of immigrants from Mexico and Spain who came to this country in search of the American dream. As a child, he watched his mother work her way through college and was proud when she became a public school teacher. His father, who mainly worked nights, emphasized education and taught him the value of taking pride in honest, hard work. As part of his high-quality public school education in a new-immigrant community, he participated in a "court observer" program that inspired him to become a lawyer and enter public service. Rep. Anchía has always viewed educational opportunity and achievement as the gateway to personal and professional fulfillment. Expanding educational opportunities for others is a powerful, driving force underlying his public service.

His high school marks earned him a scholarship to Southern Methodist University, allowing him to triple-major in Latin American Studies, Spanish and Anthropology and graduate with Honors. During college, he attended the Centro Estudiantil Internacional in Madrid, studying Spain's, art, literature, politics and history and their influence in the Americas. A generous scholarship drew Rep. Anchía to Tulane University in New Orleans for his law studies where he concentrated on international and public law. In his legislative advocacy class, he worked on legislation that ultimately became law creating a statewide ombudsman to monitor conditions in Louisiana nursing homes. In law school, Rep. Anchía also served as a volunteer advocate for immigrant detainees denied the benefit of counsel.

Rep. Anchía began his public service at the local level where he was twice elected to the Board of Trustees of the Dallas Independent School District - the nation's 12th largest. During his tenure on the Dallas School Board, he served as First Vice President and chaired the Policy and Governance Committee.

Anchía is an attorney with the law firm of Haynes & Boone, LLP. He specializes in public and corporate finance. In addition to his legal work, Rep. Anchía has distinguished himself in pro bono service and contributions to his community, earning the national 2000 Pro Bono Associate of the Year award.

In 2003, Rep. Anchía also received the "Rising Star" award from the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas for contributions made to improving the lives of young people in his community. And in 2005, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) honored Rep. Anchía as its national "Man of the Year" at its annual conference in Little Rock, Arkansas.

In November 2006, Anchía won unanimous re-election to the Board of Directors, and was chosen Chairman of the Board of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) for a three-year term. NALEO is the leading organization that facilitates full Latino participation in the American political process, from citizenship to public service. 

Anchía also is a member of various professional, civic and charitable organizations, among them: the Leadership Dallas Alumni Association, the Dallas Assembly, the SMU Clements Center on Southwest Studies and the Oak Cliff Lions Club.

Rep. Anchía lives in North Oak Cliff with his wife, Marissa, and daughters, Sofia and Maia, and worships with the Catholic Campus Community at SMU.

Legislative Honors:

79th Session

Texas Monthly "Rookie of the Year": Each session, Texas Monthly reviews the Texas Legislature and hands out awards for Best and Worst Legislators. In addition, they offer recognition for Rookies of the Year. Texas Monthly stated, "The Tulane-educated lawyer had big shoes to fill as the successor to perennial Best Legislator Steve Wolens and got off to a promising start as a force in floor debate. His finest moment came during the fight over school vouchers."

During the 79th Session, Rep. Anchia was also named "Freshman of the Year" by the Mexican American Legislative Caucus and a "Top Freshman" by Capitol Inside who wrote of him, "fellow House members got to know Anchia this year as a lawmaker who has the poise, intellect and style to be a major star on some higher level."

80th Session

Named by Texas Monthly as one of its "Ten Best Legislators."  Texas Monthly wrote this about Rep. Anchia, "If the Legislature were a stock market, Rafael Anchia would be Google…In only his second term, Anchia emerged as a top floor debater in the fight over the voter ID bill…When his ambitious legislative program of environmental bills - mostly improving energy efficiency - stalled, he looked for donkeys on which to pin the tail, and he found Republicans willing to let him attach his proposals to theirs.  Recommendation:  Buy." 

Named by True Courage Action Network as one of its "Top Five Legislators."

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Alan L. Boeckmann

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Fluor Corporation

Friday December 5, 2008
(Joint Meeting with the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth)

Alan L. Boeckmann is chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Fluor Corporation, one of the world's leading and largest engineering, procurement, construction and maintenance services companies.   

Prior to assuming his current position in February 2002, Boeckmann served as president and chief operating officer of Fluor since January 2001.  He has served as president and chief executive officer of Fluor Daniel, the engineering and construction unit of Fluor Corporation, and president of Fluor Daniel's Energy & Chemicals group, Fluor Daniel’s Chemicals, Plastics & Fibers operating company, and the Chemical Processes & Industrial business group.  Prior to that, he served as vice president of the company's business unit that formed its DuPont alliance and as the functional leader of Engineering.           

Since joining Fluor in 1974 as an engineer, Boeckmann has held various management positions, including assignments in California, Texas, South Carolina, South Africa and Venezuela.             

Active in a variety of business and professional organizations, Boeckmann serves as a director on the boards of the American Petroleum Institute, Archer Daniels Midland Company, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, National Petroleum Council, Boys and Girls Clubs of America and Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business.  He is a member of the Business Roundtable, the World Economic Forum and the University of Arizona’s College of Engineering’s Industry Advisory Council. 

Boeckmann graduated from the University of Arizona, with a degree in electrical engineering.