President: Dr. Paul Bunnell, M.D.
Dr. Paul Bunnell is a physician in Calhoun County. He attended medical school at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston and completed his residency in internal medicine at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. After completing his residency in 1986, he moved to Port Lavaca and had a medical practice at The Port Lavaca Clinic for 29 years. His practice also included caring for patients at Port Lavaca Nursing and Rehabilitation and Trinity Shores Assisted Living Center. In 2015, he took a position as a hospitalist for Memorial Medical Center in Port Lavaca, where he cared for patients requiring hospital admission. He has served as medical director of EMS since 2002 and has been active with the Calhoun County YMCA since being involved with its formation. He is married to a native of Port Lavaca, Dr. Jeannine Griffin who practices pediatrics at the Port Lavaca Clinic. They have raised four sons, all of whom attended Calhoun High School: Griffin, Charlie, Randy, and Riley.
Secretary: Raymond Butler, P.E.
Raymond Butler grew up on Lavaca Bay and has spent most of his life on the waters of the Texas Coast. During high school and college he worked with his father’s marine towing company and onboard the Matagorda Pilot Boat. Captain Butler served as the first Matagorda Bay Bar Pilot, and Raymond occasionally rode ships with his father. After receiving an engineering degree from Texas A&M, he returned home to work for Union Carbide Corporation managing their Olefins unit.
In 1987, he formed his own marine towing company, South Texas Towing, Inc. The company’s towboats pushed barges for major barge lines along the Gulf Coast and Mississippi River. Raymond sold the assets of his company the mid-90’s, moved to Houston, and served in executive barge line management for two major tank barge operators until the early 2000’s. He then served for ten years as manager of the Gulf Intracoastal Canal Association (GICA), a barge industry trade association overseeing the operation of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway from Florida to Texas. Most recently, he was instrumental in forming a small tank barge line located in Port Lavaca. He is a registered professional engineer and operates Butler Consulting, a marine engineering company in Port Lavaca, Texas.
VP/Treasurer: Janet Weaver, Ph.D
Janet Weaver was born and raised in Port Lavaca. She attended the University of Texas at Austin and earned a B.A and a Ph.D. in Psychology with a specialization in Quantitative Methods in Research. In the process of running genetic simulations and analyzing data, she developed an affinity for technology. In 1986, she accepted a job with McDonnell Douglas in St Louis and worked on human-computer interaction until they sent her back to school to study the burgeoning field of artificial intelligence. She enjoyed developing artificial intelligence applications, but after almost a decade landlocked in the Heartland, she realized she needed to get down to the sea somehow. So she packed her bags and moved back home to Port Lavaca in 1995. She taught technology for Victoria College and Our Lady of the Gulf Catholic School and finally decided to retire. She enjoys each sunrise over the bay.
Purpose as Stated in Bylaws
The Lavaca Bay Foundation exists to preserve and protect the natural resources of the Lavaca Bay estuarine system and its tributaries for present users and for posterity. To fulfill this purpose, the foundation will encourage the proper economic use, development, improvement, and protection of the Lavaca Bay estuarine system and its tributaries. The foundation will inform and educate the public about the Lavaca Bay estuarine system and actively serve as its advocate. The foundation will sponsor activities and events contributing to the welfare of the bay system and will preserve and enhance those natural resources of the Lavaca Bay system having aesthetic, recreational, and economic value.