TCAD selects new appraiser, director
Trinity Standard -

TRINITY – A new chief appraiser and a board member were picked to served the Trinity County Appraisal District (TCAD) when the group’s board met Jan. 4. Greg Cook was named to replace Susan McKinley as chief appraiser and John W. Reynolds was selected to replace Hayne Huffman on the TCAD board of directors. Cook comes to TCAD from the San Jacinto County Appraisal District where he has served as senior appraiser for the past four years. Prior to that, he worked for the Polk County Central Appraisal District. He is a Registered Professional Appraiser with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation and is knowledgeable in lakefront and complex property appraisal. His background includes working closely with the collection of sales and ratio studies that are required by the Property Tax Division of the State Comptroller’s Office. Cook resides in Onalaska where he has served on the Onalaska Independent School District’s board of trustees for the past four years. He is married to Mandy and has two stepchildren, Jade, 20, and Coye, 16. He also has a daughter, Brittany, who is attending Sam Houston State University, and a son, Ryan, who is attending Texas A&M University. Former Chief Appraiser Susan McKinley retired after 22 years with TCAD. In other action during the meeting, the board appointed Reynolds to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Huffman. A 22-year veteran of the TCAD board, Huffman resigned the post effective Dec. 31, 2011. After joining the TCAD board in January 1990, Huffman helped oversee the operation of the appraisal district and helped guide it through a number of changes. During his tenure on the board, TCAD purchased and paid for two buildings – one in Groveton and one in Trinity. The district also upgraded its computer system three times in their quest to stay current in rapidly changing technology. When Huffman first joined the TCAD board, he set goal that included the buildings and the computer upgrades. A third major goal was to have an up-to-date mapping system for the district. Prior to his resignation, the board voted to pursue the long awaited mapping system. Reynolds, the new board member, served for 20 years as superintendent of the Groveton ISD and six years as superintendent of the Lovelady ISD. He is widely recognized for his knowledge of school finance and has been actively involved in appraisal district operations during his years as a school superintendent. Prior to his appointment to the TCAD board of directors, he served as chairman of the Appraisal Review Board of Trinity County.