Community Affairs Involvement

Tom Selman has been active in community affairs.  He gives of his time and energy and enjoys working on projects that he believes in.  Tom is serving in the following ways:

• Current President of Crime Stoppers of Lufkin

• Current Board Member, Angelina College Police Academy Advisory Board

• Member of Sheriff Kent Henson’s Law Enforcement Grant Advisory Committee

• Co-Founder and organizer of Crime Stopper's Law Enforcement Appreciation Dinner (10^th yr - Banquet just concluded)

• 21 year member of the Lufkin Host Lions Club

• Member and volunteer at Carpenter's Way Baptist Church

• Currently serving 3 year term as member of Carpenter’s Way Baptist Church Finance Committee

• Member of Carpenter’s Way Technical Team, Greeters and cooking crew

Tom, along with members of Carpenter's Way Technical Team, shown on the set of a past Carpenter's Way Christmas Program after wrapping up work on production of the event

Cooking Team for a past Carpenter's Way Summer Youth Camp at Falls Creek, Oklahoma

Past service and associations

• President and Director, Burke Water Supply Corporation

• 3^rd Vice- President of the Lufkin Noon Lions Club

• Director of the Lufkin Noon Lions Club

• Board Member, Z & O.O. Railroad

• Team Captain, Lufkin Host Lions Club

• World Service Day Chairman, Lufkin Host Lions Club

• Volunteer for years at the Angelina Benefit Rodeo

• Director and Board Member, Land O’ Pines Dairy Products Co.

• Junior Achievement Volunteer Instructor in JA School Program at Central High School

• Banquet Chairman of Lufkin-Angelina County Chapter of Ducks Unlimited

• Boy Scouts of America, Tall Timbers District Board Member  

• Chairman of Carpenter’s Way Fall Carnival at inception

• Participated in the Chamber of Commerce’s Shattered Dreams Program

• Former DPS Certified Concealed Handgun Licensing Instructor (1^st from Angelina County)

Tom, out on the firing range above, provided instruction and training to Concealed Handgun License applicants while a DPS Certified Concealed Handgun License Instructor.  Tom was the very first CHL instructor in Angelina County and firmly believes in responsible, law abiding citizen's right to carry a weapon for personal protection.

Community Water

Tom is especially proud of some of his achievements through participation in community affairs.  He is a former President of the Burke Water Supply Corporation and during his administration he led the way for a successful election to offer the members of Burke Water the option and the opportunity to dissolve the Corporation and turn the provision of water service for the community over to the City of Lufkin.  Selman was able to convince other Board Members that the water service needed to relinquish control of the system and hand it over to the City of Lufkin for the good of all the customers.  Burke Water was buying 100% of its water from Lufkin, marking it up higher and reselling it and was in an unfavorable financial state when Tom was recruited to become a member of the Board of Directors by concerned citizens in the community.  The infrastructure that Burke Water had was inadequate and the firm undercapitalized.  Unfair, exorbitant rate increases were the only way that Burke could have modernized its delivery system and water source points and Tom felt that this responsibility should not be placed on his customers.  With the City of Lufkin next door and having the capital to make the improvements, the obvious solution was to dissolve Burke Water.

Tom met with the Lufkin City Manager CG Maclin in mid-1998 and forged a cooperative working relationship between the Burke Water Board and City Administration to move the process of dissolving the water corporation forward.  Within a few months an election was held and the members voted overwhelmingly to dissolve the corporation.  The water system, its cash and assets were handed over to the City of Lufkin.  This move was made to guarantee adequate water service for the future and for upgrades in the delivery systems to the over 1000 subscribers on the Burke system.  This accomplishment was a true win-win situation for all Burke Water customers and the city of Lufkin and Tom was very pleased to have taken a lead role to make it happen.

Crime Stoppers of Lufkin

Click on Crime Stoppers Logo for pictures from recent Crime Stoppers events in support of our local law enforcement officers

Tom is proud of his service to the community in support of the efforts of area law enforcement as President of Crime Stoppers of Lufkin.  Crime Stoppers is a private, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization comprised of a civilian board which reviews the cases worked by local law enforcement where anonymous information called in (tips) results in an arrest of a criminal or recovery of drugs or property.  The Crime Stoppers Board maintains a reward fund in their bank account and vote on how much to pay each caller.  Reward amounts are based on the number of persons arrested, seriousness of the crime, value of property recovered and other factors.  Tipsters never meet with any officer and the rewards are paid in cash through a code-word arrangement with a drive through banking teller at a local bank.  The Crime Stoppers program here has led to numeroust arrests and over a million dollars worth of recovered property since its inception.  Lufkin Crime Stoppers has also received numerous awards and is recognized as one of the more successful programs in the state.  Lt. Greg Denman of the Lufkin Police Department is the Coordinator for Crime Stoppers and he can be seen frequently on KTRE-TV 9 as he presents the re-enactments of the Crime of the Week.

Law Enforcement Officer Appreciation and Support