Texas Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones will be the keynote speaker for Lamar University’s spring commencement at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, May 10, in the Montagne Center.

Lamar is scheduled to confer 730 degrees, including 22 doctorates, to graduates from 12 countries, 14 states outside Texas and 106 cities in Texas. The degree candidates also include 73 receiving master’s degrees and 635 receiving bachelor’s degrees. This will be the largest spring commencement in many years, said Kevin Smith, senior associate provost.

Americans burn 490 million gallons of gasoline and diesel every day and import 65 percent of the oil used to make those products. Worldwide energy consumption is expected to increase 40 percent in the next 25 years, and widespread adoption of alternative energy sources is decades away. Because America will need to rely on energy that comes from natural gas and oil for the foreseeable future, the energy legislation pending in Congress could be disastrous for our country.

Texas is booming. With 23.5 million Texans within our borders, it takes a lot of energy to keep the lights on in our bustling state. With the Texas population poised grow to more than 33 million in the next 25 years, we'll need every power tool in the energy toolbox to meet our future energy needs and to keep our economy churning.

AUSTIN, Texas — Elizabeth Ames Jones, Chairman of the Railroad Commission of Texas, was appointed to the Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA). The RPSEA is a non-profit corporation established to help meet the nation's growing need for hydrocarbon resources produced from reservoirs in America. It is a consortium of premier energy research universities, independent research organizations, national laboratories, energy companies, and federal or state governmental agencies.

AUSTIN — Elizabeth Ames Jones, Chairman of the Railroad Commission of Texas, took the oath of office for her new term as Commissioner on Tuesday, January 23. Governor Rick Perry administered the oath in the Railroad Commission Chambers. Jones, the incumbent, won election to a six-year term last November.

Elizabeth Ames Jones, appointed to the commission last year and now serving as chairwoman, says she belongs on the board that regulates the oil industry because she grew up in the oil patch. Her childhood as the daughter of a successful oil man in San Antonio may be a few hundred miles from the heart of the oil industry, but her experience as former chairman of the House Energy Resources Committee does give her a leg up on the issues.

Railroad Commissioner: Elizabeth Ames Jones, Republican. She has performed well for the past year as an appointee and has earned election to a new term.

Elizabeth Ames Jones deserves your vote for railroad commissioner. (The Railroad Commission is that strangely named state agency that has nothing to do with railroads, but has everything to do with al

Texas Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones, who was appointed to the job in early 2005, deserves a full term.

The former San Antonio state representative understands the energy business and the commission's role in regulating the state's oil and gas sector.

Mella McEwen - Oil Editor
Midland Reporter-Telegram

Appointed more than 18 months ago to complete an unexpired term on the Railroad Commission, Republican Elizabeth Ames Jones is working hard to retain her seat.