Texas Bondsmen State Convention Sets New Records: Attendance, New Members and Fund Raising!

The Annual Meeting of the Professional Bondsmen of Texas was just completed on October 8, 2021.  The meeting was held in San Antonio, Texas at the historic Menger Hotel.  

The annual meeting set new records in attendance, new members joining and in fund raising.

The meeting had many informative presentations regarding new laws going into effect in Texas including the new open carry law, Senate Bill 6 and House Bill 1005.

By all measurements, the meeting was the most successful meeting in PBT's history.  The meeting was attended by over 250 bondsmen from across the state of Texas and from several other states as well.  One guest from another state reported that a bill had been filed in their state legislature with the support of the Vera Institute and they had visited the PBT website and downloaded the information needed to help defeat the bill.

Presentations included a panel discussion from the PBT Legislative Committee highlighting the twists and turns in the most recent Texas Legislative Session and the substantial coordination between PBT and ABC which is the American Bail Coalition and its Texas lobbyist.  The panel also highlighted that there were communication issues and a breakdown that needed to be worked on before the next legislative session.  The panel also highlighted a new email distribution system that was developed for PBT with the assistance of PBT member Charlie Pickens.  The new system sent out over 30,000 emails on behalf of PBT during the legislative session.

Following the final dinner of the event, there was an auction that received a record number of donated items.  By the end of the evening the auctioneer lost his voice.

By all metrics the annual meeting was a huge success!  It was a complete team effort and this level of success could not have been achieved without the work of so many people dividing up the duties to present such a successful event and then getting it done.  The convention committee was spear headed by board Secretary Irma Montemayor and her team members.  The raffle was spear headed by board member Shanna Glawson and her incredible crew.  The auction was spear headed by board member Cindy Hammons and her helpers.  The PBT Bail PAC is headed by Zina Meeker.  Also, there were many other people who helped to make the event so successful; including the logo store, the selfie backdrop, decorations for tables, and the "wind machine."  Additionally, the convention had many sponsors who helped make the event possible:

Also, there were donations by individuals and a county association of items for the logo store and cash.  The Hidalgo County Bondsmen Association donated a large sum and challenged other county assosications to do the same. 

The program curriculum also was devloped using this team concept.  The program contained eight hours of presentations divided over several days.  The responsibilites for developing the different topics and getting speakers were divided between the convention committee, the PBT PR committee, the PBT legislative committee and the PBT CE committee. After each group finalized their 2 hours of presentations, the completed program was compiled and submitted to the State Bar of Texas for continuing education credit for bondsmen in Texas.  As a result of the hard work of these committees, the bondsmen attending the convention received their continuing education credit to satisfy their licensing requirements under Texas law.  

At the end of the annual meeting, PBT gave out many awards to honor all of those individuals and surety companies who have helped make PBT a success.  Melinda Webb, from Denton, Texas was honored as "Bondsman of the Year."  Following the awards ceremony, the PBT membership voted to approve amendments to the groups by-laws and then held their annual election for officers and board of directors.

The election results were as follows:

    President-                    Mike Byrd
    Vice President-            Cory Lee
    Treasurer-                    Moni Salinas
    Secretary-                    Irma Montemayor
    Parlimentarian-            Paul Schuder

    Board Members-          John McCluskey
                                         Scott Walstad
                                         Ronnie Long
                                         Glenn Meeker
                                         Melinda Webb
                                         Ken W. Good
                                         Charilie Pickens 

Appointed by the Board to complete the term of board member Cory Lee after he was elected to be Vice President-

                                         Shelby Burns

Other Board members whose terms expire next year:

                                        Sonny De Lachica
                                        Shanna Glawson
                                        Cindy Hammons
                                        Chris Konnecke
                                        Zina Meeker
                                        Rene Ortega

The Professional Bondsmen of Texas is the voice of the Texas bail industry.  Please join us next year.  Join the fun.  Join our team.  Join the fight!

For more information CLICK HERE.

        The Professional Bondsmen of Texas