The City of Texarkana, Texas City Manager David Orr has announced several director level promotions and named two Assistant City Managers.
Texarkana Texas Police Chief Kevin Schutte and Director of Public Works Dusty Henslee will retain their current duties as directors and take on additional duties as Assistant City Managers.
Vashil Fernandez and J.W. Bramlett have been promoted to permanent positions, from their interim jobs. Vashil has been named the Director of Planning and Community Development, and J.W. has been named Director of Administrative Services.
Dusty Henslee began working for the City of Texarkana, Texas in March of 2009 as an Associate Design Engineer. Over the next few years, he was promoted to the Stormwater Engineer, City Engineer, and then in January 2017, to the Director of Public Works. A couple of his most notable accomplishments include the creation of the City’s Major Street Maintenance Program in 2018 and helping convert the City to its first automated work order system in 2016.
Dusty received a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2006 and became a Licensed Professional Engineer (P.E.) in Texas in 2010. He also became a Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM) in Texas in 2010, and a Certified Public Manager (CPM) in 2021.
Dusty has been married to Laney for almost 10 years, and they have two children: Keegen (12), and Kate (8). In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his family and friends, attending all the kid’s extracurricular activities, and hunting and fishing.
Chief Kevin Schutte began his career in law enforcement for the City of Texarkana, Texas in 1988 as a patrolman. Over the past 34 years, Schutte has had many titles, including detective, instructor, sergeant, lieutenant, captain, assistant chief, and was named Chief of Police in December of 2018.
Schutte’s formal education includes classes at Texarkana College, Kilgore College and Texas A&M University- Texarkana. He is a graduate of the Institute of Law Enforcement Administration, and the Certified Public Management course. He has a Master Peace Officer License, and Police Instructor License.
Kevin is married to wife, Kim, and together they have two children, Kade and Kaitlin. In his spare time, the entire family is very active in their community and their church. Kevin is an Associate Pastor of Worship and Family Ministries, Kaitlin and Kade play in the church orchestra and Kim is a soloist in the choir.
Vashil Fernandez began working for the City of Texarkana, Texas in November of 2019 as a community development specialist. In May of 2021, he was promoted to interim Director of Planning and Community Development.
Vashil received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Valparaiso University in 2014, and his Master of Science in International Commerce and Policy in 2015 and a second Master of Science in International Economics and Finance in 2016.
Vashil has been married to his wife Bridget for over 7 years and they have three children: Maia (7), Olivia (5), and Kadence (1). He enjoys spending time with his family and friends, attending, and serving at church and cooking. Vashil also enjoys playing and coaching basketball.
J.W. Bramlett is a 2007 graduate from the University of North Texas with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science. He obtained his Certified Professional designation in 2020 from the Society for Human Resource Management.
He has been employed with the City of Texarkana, Texas since 2016 where he served as the Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator before transitioning into a role within the Human Resources Department. Since joining Human Resources, J.W. has managed the City’s recruitment process, performance management program, and professional development programs.
He has been serving as the Interim Director of Administrative Services for the past year where he has been responsible for directing the operations of the Human Resources office, Municipal Court, and serving as the city’s liaison on the Board of Directors for the Texarkana Public Library.
J.W. has been married to his wife Martha for almost 6 years. In his spare time J.W. enjoys travelling with his wife and attending sporting events.
PHOTO: (From left to right) Vashil Fernandez, Kevin Schutte, Dusty Henslee, J.W. Bramlett
