Events

Edgardo (Eddie) Garcia | Chief of Police | Dallas Police Department

Chief Edgardo (Eddie) Garcia is the 30th police chief of the Dallas Police Department and is the first Latino to serve in this position in the Department’s 140-year history. He was appointed in 2021 to command the ninth largest police department in the country. Originally from Puerto Rico, Chief Garcia’s background has been the driving force that has helped light the path of possibilities between law enforcement and the community. His energetic hands-on leadership style, along with 21st Century Policing practices, has taken the criminal elements off the streets in an unbiased way and reduced crime while maintaining the support of his troops. Prior to his appointment as Dallas’ Chief, Garcia served as the Chief of Police for the San Jose Police Department.

Chief Garcia was with the San Jose Police Department for his entire 29-year career. He joined that department as an officer in February 1992. He worked in Patrol, Narcotics, and Special Operations – M.E.R.G.E (Mobile Emergency Response Group and Equipment). Chief also served as a patrol sergeant, night detective and homicide investigator. He was promoted to Captain and then Deputy Chief. In late 2013, Chief Garcia was named Assistant Chief and was subsequently appointed the top position in 2016.

Chief Garcia earned a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Management from Union Institute and University. He also attended the De Anza College in Cupertino, CA, where he studied Administration of Justice. During Chief Garcia’s tenure, several policies, procedures, and initiatives were implemented which helped build community trust, increased transparency, as well as embraced fair and impartial constitutional policing while maintaining police proactivity. Among his programming successes, the department implemented basic Spanish in the police academy, Read to Succeed Program, launched a Spanish language Facebook page and significantly increased minority recruiting.

Chief Garcia, who is bilingual in English and Spanish, places tremendous value on public safety and community engagement with the understanding that it is a shared responsibility and that police cannot do it alone. He stands eager to start this new chapter in life and this organization with a mission to make Dallas one of the safest cities in the country. 

We are excited to have Chief Garcia join us today to discuss the Challenges the DPD faces and share with us as a community how we can help.

Join our zoom meeting at by using this link.

White Rock Center of Hope is a non-profit, ecumenical organization that makes a difference in peoples lives by providing a place where the community can share God’s blessings by satisfying basic human needs.

The State Fair of Texas Board of Directors has appointed Gina Armour Norris as its new chairwoman of the board during their annual meeting. Mrs. Norris will succeed Richard Knight, Jr., following his four-year term as chairman. By accepting the responsibilities as chairwoman, Gina Armour Norris is the first woman to join a long line of distinguished community leaders who have provided leadership for the State Fair of Texas since it was originally chartered in 1886.

Prior to becoming chairwoman, Mrs. Norris has held multiple leadership roles within the State Fair. She joined in 2004 through the Youth Livestock Auction Committee, raising funds for the State Fair’s Youth Livestock Auction and Scholarship Program, and later served as co-chair of the committee. Gina is the co-founder of the Big Tex Champion Club fundraiser, which has raised more than $1 million for the Scholarship Program since its creation in 2013. Gina has served on the board of directors for 11 years and most recently served as chair of the Finance and Audit Committee.

Samuel “Sam” Thompson is the Scout Executive/CEO of the Circle Ten Council in Dallas, Texas. With a passion for what Scouting provides the youth of America, Sam is committed to growing the number of Scouts within the 24-county council territory. In fact, his goal is to increase the membership to over 114,000 youth members by the year 2027 (doubling the number of Scouts from when he took the reins). 

Sam grew up in Reno, Nevada. He earned his Eagle Scout Award in 1979 in Troop 152. Sam graduated from University of Nevada with a Bachelor of Science in Resource Management.

Sam’s scouting career began in 1990 when he served as District Executive in the Reno, Nevada council. Sam also held the positions of Senior District Executive, and Director of Field Service. He became the Assistant Scout Executive, in Sacramento, California, in 1999. In January of 2002 Sam moved into the position of Scout Executive for the Ore-Ida Council in Boise, Idaho. In 2006, he was promoted to the Cub Scout Division Director at the National Council. Sam became the Membership Impact Department Manager in 2008. In 2010, Sam took leadership of the Regional Support Department and in April 2014, he became department manager of the Strategic Performance Office. In 2015 he took the helm of the Information Technology Group, responsible for transforming BSA systems into a user-friendly experience that addresses the needs of the membership, making extensive progress in Online Registration, Scoutbook, Blackbaud CRM, My.Scouting tools.

Sam is married to Debi and they have a son, Nicolas. Sam’s hobbies are: parenting, golfing, hunting, fishing, camping, and gardening.

Brian Luallen has more than 20 years of experience in destination tourism and

experiential events. His career has been dedicated to developing and delivering

impactful experiences for employees and guests, re-launching attractions, and

growing public-private partnerships including Stone Mountain Park in Atlanta

Georgia, The RMS Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA and the Witte Museum in San

Antonio,Tx.

Brian’s work transforming concepts into reality has been featured in Time

Magazine, The Wall Street Journal and numerous other national media outlets. He

holds degrees in education and pre-law from Georgia State University and enjoys

living in Dallas with his wife, Tina. 

Dallas Summer Musicals, Inc. (DSM) announces the appointment of Kenneth T. Novice as its President. Novice will begin his position on May 1, 2017 with an immediate plan of action to continue the work that David Hyslop, DSM’s Interim Managing Director, started last year of instilling stability and sustainability for the organization.

“We are thrilled to welcome Ken to Dallas as the next President of the Dallas Summer Musicals,” said Ted Munselle, DSM Board Chair. “His experience is the perfect blend of what DSM needs to continue to excel at what we do best, and to build upon our storied history as a leader in the Dallas arts community. Ken has an engaging personality, as well as a broad vision of where we can and should go as an organization. His ability to think outside of the box will help keep DSM relevant and exciting for future generations of arts patrons. We sincerely believe that Ken is the best person to take us forward into our next 77 years, continuing and expanding DSM’s great legacy, while ensuring DSM’s financial and artistic success in the future.”

Patrick Walsh is a retired career Navy pilot and commander and is the current president of strategic programs of the Dallas-based company Academic Partnerships. Within the last year, he has led the expansion of the company to bring more than 40 public and not-for-profit private university degree programs online. Important for Patrick, this means that 110 undergraduate and graduate degrees are now available to members of the active duty military.

In 2012, Patrick retired from his position as the 59th Commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, after 35 years in service. In this last position, he led the U.S. military response to the 2011 earthquake in Japan, after which he was awarded the Grand Cordon – Order of the Rising Sun from the Japanese government. Prior to his command positions, Patrick was a Navy pilot with Carrier Air Wing One and flew with the Blue Angels. Patrick, whose ancestors come from Cork, values his Irish heritage as a source of shared pride with his wife, Andy, and their two children, Jennifer and Matthew.