Milton A. Rister

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District 1

Website: www.miltonrister.com

Milton Rister has over 30 years of executive level management and leadership experience in both the public and corporate sectors.  He is a detail-oriented person who knows how to ask tough questions and require straightforward answers.

He was born and raised in Williamson County and lives in Georgetown.  He has been a PEC member for 25 years.

Milton is retired.  He is especially concerned about how PEC rates impact senior citizens living on fixed incomes.

• He will be a FULL-TIME director.
• He will continue to work to ensure our PEC monthly bills remain as low as possible.
• He will ensure that when members call PEC, a person answers the phone.

PEC is a large organization.  It has over 900 employees and annual revenues exceeding $800 million annually.  It delivers electricity to over 400,000 meters in 24 counties.  Governance is provided by the Board of Directors.  The directors determine the coop’s mission and purpose.  The board is also responsible for providing financial and operational oversight.

EXPERIENCE THAT MATTERS

Milton has extensive experience in building and leading teams of highly trained and experienced professionals.  He has conducted over a thousand employment interviews during his career.

As the Executive Director of the Railroad Commission of Texas, Milton directed the daily operations of a statewide agency in charge of regulating oil and gas exploration and production in Texas.  He managed a $170 million budget and provided leadership to over 800 full-time employees.  He also led efforts to develop and negotiate rules and policies to ensure the safe and reliable production of oil and gas in Texas.

While serving as Governor Rick Perry’s Director of Administration, his responsibilities included management of the Human Resources, Financial Services, Information Systems, Compliance and Oversight, and Staff Support functions in the governor’s office.  He supervised the development and implementation of an extensive audit and review process for all grant and incentive programs in the Governor’s Trusteed Programs.  The Compliance and Oversight Division ensured the financial integrity of grant programs offered by the Governor’s office.

In his role as Executive Director of the Texas Legislative Council, Milton supervised a staff of 500 people who assisted all members of the Legislature, both Democrats and Republicans, in performing their duties.  His staff included 50 lawyers who drafted over 7,000 bills which were filed by Legislators in the Texas House and Senate.  He was responsible for the work of 200 information technology specialists who developed and maintained the software and Internet tools needed to ensure transparency by allowing Legislators and the public to track the progress of various legislative functions and activities.

During his career, Milton also served as a Senior Advisor to Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst and as the Chief of Staff for State Senator Jane Nelson.

In the 1980s, prior to working in the public sector, Milton was the Marketing Research Manager for Midland based ClayDesta Communications.  He was responsible for monitoring the services and rates of ClayDesta’s competitors.  His work ensured that ClayDesta provided excellent client services and competitive rates.

Milton is a graduate of the Governor’s Executive Development Program and the Transformative Leadership Program, both offered by the LBJ School of Public Affairs.

Milton enjoys sharing his knowledge.  Over the past 15 years he has taught other managers how to build and lead successful teams.  He taught the principles of Top-Grading and John Maxwell’s Laws of Leadership and Teamwork to his staff at the Railroad Commission, the Governor’s office and the Texas Legislative Council.  He also served as a mentor to participants in the LBJ School of Public Affairs’ Executive Master Program.

Milton served on the governing board of the State of Texas Data Center and on the board of the State of Texas Centralized Accounting and Payroll/Personnel System (CAPPS).  In 2011, he served as a member of the City of Georgetown Charter Review Committee.

Milton grew-up on a farm near Walburg.  He graduated from Bartlett High School and attended the University of Texas at Austin.

His wife, Nancy Rister, is the Williamson County Clerk.  They have been married for 41 years.  They have two daughters and four precious grandchildren.  They have been members of Crestview Baptist Church in Georgetown for over 25 years.