The Greater Austin Chamber Board of Directors has unanimously elected Roger Mitchell, President of Texas Gas Service Company, to serve as the 2006 Chair-elect. He will become Chair of the 2,700-member, five-county business organization in 2007, following Tim Crowley, President—Austin Community Banking Group, Frost Bank.

"Roger Mitchell is a hands-on, common sense leader," said current Chamber Chair Kirk Watson of Hughes and Luce, LLP. "He is a great choice for steering the Chamber and building on the economic development success."

Mitchell has served as Chamber Vice Chair for Governmental Relations and on the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors during 2005.

"The Chamber has a busy agenda, and I'm proud to be part of it," Mitchell said. "Our priorities will be building on the success of Opportunity Austin and strengthening the voice of business in Central Texas in local, state and federal government."

Mitchell has 27 years experience in gas distribution operations, customer service, communications and marketing. He became President of Texas Gas Service, a division on ONEOK, Inc., in January, 2003. He formerly served as Vice President, Eastern Region, for ONEOK's affiliate, Oklahoma Natural Gas. He began his career with ONEOK in 1978 and held numerous managerial positions, including Manager of Corporate Responsibility, Manager of Corporate Communications and Advertising, ONG Area Manager for Ponca City, OK, and ONG District Manager for Customer Service in Oklahoma City.

"Roger Mitchell has distinguished himself in his service to the community during his time in Austin," said 2006 Chamber Chair Tim Crowley. "Also, Texas Gas and its predecessor company, Southern Union Gas, have a long heritage of commitment to the betterment of Central Texas. Roger has done a fantastic job as Vice Chair of Governmental Affairs for the Chamber this year, and his skills in this area will serve the Chamber and the Central Texas business community well during his time as Chair in 2007, a legislative year. I look forward to our association during his time as Chair Elect, as we continue the implementation of Opportunity Austin, the Chamber's Central Texas business and jobs initiative." Mitchell has served on committees for the American Gas Association and the Southern Gas Association. He is a member of the Real Estate Council of Austin (RECA), and he also served as Chairman of the Marketing Committee for the Tulsa Area United Way and as a member of the Tulsa Area United Way campaign cabinet. He was also Vice Chairman of the Metropolitan Tulsa Chamber of Commerce Resource Campaign. He is a past Chairman of the Board for Tulsa Senior Services, Inc., and a past Vice Chairman of the Ponca City Chamber of Commerce. He has also served as Vice President of the Board for the Will Rogers Chapter of the Boy Scouts of America.

A native of Muskogee, OK, he received his bachelor's degree in journalism in 1973 from the University of Oklahoma, where he also did postgraduate studies. He and his wife, Nancy, have two daughters and two grandsons.

Tim Crowley, who will take over as Chamber Chair in January, is a 25- year veteran of the Austin banking scene. He joined Frost Bank (NYSE: CFR) in 1997 and is currently President—Austin Community Banking Group. He was previously employed at Norwest Bank (formerly Franklin Federal Bancorp) as Executive Vice President and before that held various lending and management positions at NCNB and its predecessor banks in Austin.

Crowley is a 1980 graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor's degree in government and a graduate of Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University.

Crowley has been a leader in economic development at the Greater Austin Chamber, co-chairing the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce's Economic Development Council from 2001-2003. As Vice Chair of the Greater Austin Economic Development Corporation, he helped raise $14.5 million to finance Opportunity Austin, the Chamber’s five-year, five-county effort to create 72,000 jobs. He has also headed and participated in numerous Chamber business-recruiting missions. He is a long time board member and former Board Chair of Goodwill Industries of Central Texas, and now serves as Vice Chair of the Central Texas Children's Medical Center Foundation for the new Dell Children's Medical Center.

About the Chamber: The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce is the largest business organization in the five-county metro area—building a better community since 1877. It has more than 2,700 business, educational and non-profit organizations as members, of which 80 percent are small businesses. The Chamber is all about economic prosperity in Central Texas. Opportunity Austin—the Central Texas Business Initiative, is in its second year of the effort to create 72,000 new jobs and a regional economic impact of $14 billion. In the first year, 16,200 jobs were created.