Alders, David

Biography

David Alders grew up on a Nacogdoches County cattle farm and followed in the footsteps of his father, a high school agriculture instructor, vocational director, tree farmer, and rancher who invested and reinvested in the family’s cattle and silvicultural operations throughout his adult life.  David’s primary extracurricular involvement during high school was in FFA, where he served as President on the chapter, district, and area levels, and in 1978 became the first Texan to win the National FFA Public Speaking contest.  In the two years immediately following high school, David served as both Texas state president and national vice president of FFA. 

During his time at Texas A&M, David was heavily involved on campus.  He served as the Speaker of the Student Senate, the first student representative to the Faculty Senate, a member of the MSC Council, and President of the Student Body in 1984 to 1985.  David graduated with honors from Texas A&M in May of 1985 with a B.S. in Agricultural Economics.  At his graduation, he received the Brown Foundation/Earl Rudder Memorial Outstanding Student Award.  Following graduation, David moved to Dallas, where he began working as a leasing agent for Trammell Crow Company, and he and his wife, Nicole, began their family.

In 1988, David moved back to Nacogdoches to begin managing his family=s cattle and timber operations.  Shortly after moving back, David and Nicole started Carrizo Creek Corporation, a poultry production operation.  David has served on the board of the Texas Poultry Federation and as President of the Texas Broiler Council.  David has a large presence in Nacogdoches, with managing interests in Dagwood Timber Company LTD, Principatus Properties LLC, and Buck Bay Timber LTD.  He and his wife, Nicole, have been highly active in the Texas Farm Bureau (TFB), serving two years as the leaders of the State Young Farmer and Rancher Committee.  David has served as President of the Nacogdoches County Farm Bureau and as a member of its board for over 30 years.  David has served on both the TFB and American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) poultry advisory committees.  He also served on the TFB farm labor advisory committee.

David served for ten years on the Stephen F. Austin State University Board of Regents, including one year as Chairman.  He was a charter member of the board of Texas’s Office of Rural Community Affairs, later renamed the Texas Department of Rural Affairs (a state agency that existed from 2001-2011, most of the functions of which were later folded into the Texas Department of Agriculture and the General Land Office).  The Governor also appointed David to serve as a public member of the board of the State Bar of Texas, and he served for two terms on the board of the Texas Center for Legal Ethics.

David is currently President of the Texas Forestry Association and has served that organization as a board member, as Legislative Committee Chairman, and as the chairman of its political action committee, FORPAC.  David is also a member of the board of the Texas Agricultural Land Trust and a charter member of the East Texas Regional Water Planning Group.  He served for about two decades as a charter member of the board of the Pineywoods Groundwater Conservation District, including many years as either its Chairman or Vice Chairman.  David also has served the community of Nacogdoches as chairman of the Nacogdoches Economic Development Committee and a two-time member of the board of directors of the Nacogdoches County Chamber of Commerce.  He formerly chaired the board of the Texas Forest Country Partnership, a regional economic development organization.  David is a former director and chairman of the board of the Heritage Land Bank, a Farm Credit association serving agricultural producers in East and North Texas.  Since leaving that board, he has served for many years as a Director of Citizens 1^st Bank, headquartered in Tyler, and is a member of its Loan Committee and chairman of its Audit Committee. 

David is an active mentor to former and current students of the Agribusiness Entrepreneurship program at Texas A&M.  For the past 25 years, David has been the closing speaker for the MSC’s Abbott Family Leadership Conference.  For several years, he spoke to the delegates of the MSC Spencer Leadership Conference; and he has been the Muster speaker at the Dallas A&M Club, the Houston A&M Club, Austin’s Capital City A&M Club, and the Nacogdoches County A&M Club.  

David and his wife Nicole, ’84, have 10 children and 19 grandchildren.  David and Nicole helped found Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, where David has been an elder since it was chartered in 1998.  He has served for decades as a member of the board of directors of Heartbeat Pregnancy Center, a crisis pregnancy resource center in Nacogdoches.  He served a brief stint as the interim chairman of the Nacogdoches County Republican Party and has been a delegate to the State Convention of the Republican Party of Texas.  David has served as a trustee on the board of New Saint Andrews College, a private liberal arts college.  For over two decades, David has served on the board, where he is currently Vice Chairman of Regents Academy, a private classical and Christian school in Nacogdoches.  For many years, he was a part-time Economics instructor at Regents Academy.  David continues to manage his family’s agricultural operations, including cattle, timber, mineral interests, and poultry.  He also serves as part owner of two local businesses owned and managed by his children, The Best Water Store LLC and Texas Elderberry Company LTD.  David enjoys history, economics, public policy, theology, and travel, particularly in Europe.  He most enjoys spending time with Nicole and their growing extended family.

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