Lone Star Luncheon with John Sharp – Chairman of the Texas Tax Reform Commission and Former State Comptroller of Public Accounts John Sharp will address Leadership – It is not a partisan issue. His presentation will precede the surprise announcement of this year’s Lone Star award, the highest honor bestowed by Texas Grain & Feed Association.

Featured Event Speaker:

John Sharp, Former Senator and Texas State Comptroller

John Sharp grew up in Placedo in Victoria County. He attended Bloomington High School, and upon graduation, enrolled at Texas A&M University where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree, and was commissioned to Second Lieutenant in the United States Army Reserves. He served in the United States Army Reserves as an officer. He later received a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Southwest Texas State University while working full time at the Legislative Budget Board in Austin.

Sharp was elected to the Texas House of Representatives representing Victoria and Calhoun counties, and was later elected as a Senator from the Fifth District in South Central Texas. As a member of the Senate, he served on the powerful Senate Finance Committee, and as a member of the House of Representatives, served as the Vice Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. Four years later, he was elected Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts where he served eight years.

In 1995, he wrote the original welfare reform plan that formed the heart of the most sweeping changes to public assistance in Texas history. The Texas Performance Review became the model for the National Performance Review carried out at a national level. His family Pathfinders program linked welfare families with local civic clubs, congregations and businesses to help them get jobs.

His Texas School Performance Review is credited with saving school districts more than $350 million. His Texas Tomorrow Fund is making it possible for over 110,000 families to secure the future cost of their children's college education at current rates. Sharp is the only government official ever to receive the Texas Quality Award for Efficiency awarded by Texas business leaders.