Free Press Person of the Year 2009: Lois Kolkhorst We hadn't planned on naming a "Person of the Year." The Chamber of Commerce has its achievement award, given this year to Charlotte Oleinik for her tireless efforts to bring about the dream of a veterans museum in Huntsville. The Huntsville Item has its Citizen of the Year and this Morris Johnson was honored. We can't quibble with either of those. But, we felt this year there was someone who figured prominently in what happened in Huntsville and Walker County, even though she is not a resident. We refer to State Rep. Lois Kolkhorst, a Republican from Brenham. One of the fears communities often have when the state rep who represents them doesn't live in their community is that they will get short shrift when it comes to representation. This year Kolkhorst has loomed large in three critical projects in Walker County – stopping the ill-advised and unwanted Highway 19 overpass in Riverside; spearheading from the Austin end of the things the approval of a grant to upgrade the two-lane death trap portion of Highway 19 in Huntsville and of course, making possible the land deal and ultimate state funding for the HEARTS Veterans Museum of Texas. She's done more of course. Huntsville Memorial Hospital just honored her for her work in public health. She is the chair of the House Public Health Committee. She also serves on Corrections Committee, the importance of which is huge for Walker County, and she serves on the Calendars Committee, which ultimately has huge control over what bills reach the House floor. She has become a common sight in Walker County and her compassion and ability to relate to people across all levels of society is impressive. She gave the keynote speech at the dedication of the Veterans Museum and it was one of the most honest, passionate heartfelt speeches ever given by an elected official. There were few dry eyes in the house. Kolkhorst's ability to work across the aisle, to reach out and touch constituents is rare. If she were a bit more flashy, she'd probably be on Texas Monthly's annual list of the most effective legislators every year. But, she doesn't count on flash. It's obvious she'd rather get results for the people she represents. A lot of people worked on the projects we cite here – and we could have cited more – but all of those people will tell you that as hard as they worked, if it had not been for Kolkhorst, working often without fanfare and a touch of grace that made results possible, they would not have happened. We are hesitant to give a "Person of the Year" to sitting elected officials, but in this case, it's hard to pick anyone else. Close | Home | Press Room |