How the Freestone County Good Governance Council Started
It began with a domestic-violence case I saw up close, and with the victim-services path under Texas law. There was little clear information about Crime Victims’ Compensation or how to seek a protective order. Texas law requires every prosecutor’s office to designate a victim assistance coordinator. I wanted to understand how that works here, what support exists, and where the gaps are. That was my first real look at how county services reach the people who need them.
The first public town hall I attended was the one where CyrusOne representatives presented the proposed data center to the county. Feelings ran strong in that room. It showed me how much our neighbors want clear, reliable information about decisions that affect them, and how hard it can be to find.
The second was the town hall in the Freestone Medical Center lobby, where the Fairfield Hospital District first presented its proposal to the public. I asked a simple question: had anyone ever considered working with the Teague Hospital District on a countywide approach to health care? The answer, as I heard it that night, was that it had never been done. That question deserved more study.
The Council grew out of those experiences. We are a nonpartisan group of citizens. We ask public questions, request public records, and share what we find, plainly and fairly. The Council has endorsed no candidate or ballot measure to date. No directors have been seated yet; any future endorsement would follow the board-vote rules described on the Home page, and the same rules would apply to every party. Our questions are points of clarification, not accusations. Our goal is simple: county services that work well for every resident, especially when they need help most.
— Robert P. “RancherRob” Sharpe, Founder
About the founder
Robert P. Sharpe, known as “RancherRob,” raises cattle near Teague, where he runs Sharpe Diamond Cattle Co. He served in the Marine Corps from 1984 to 1989, then spent 19 years in Houston in litigation support, including running his family’s firm, Sharpe Impressions Inc., with his wife, Guinn. Sales, client service and account management taught him that an organization succeeds only when the people it serves can count on it. In 2008 he returned to the U.S. Army, served two combat tours in Iraq with the 1st Cavalry Division, and retired as a sergeant.
The Army taught him the after-action review. After every training exercise or engagement, the unit asks four questions: what was supposed to happen, what actually happened, why, and what to do better next time. No one is looking for someone to blame. That habit sits at the center of how the Council works.
Much of the rest he learned at home. His late wife, Guinn, whom he met at the American Productivity & Quality Center, spent her career in organizational development and training. She worked as a people-development manager at Brown & Root and as a consultant to large companies, and she retired from College of the Mainland as an instructor in continuous process improvement. She designed Total Quality Management training for the Department of Veterans Affairs. She also built a multi-year project management program at Brown & Root, and her training materials earned national and international awards from the Society for Technical Communication. From her, Robert learned the working tools of total quality management, continuous process improvement and ISO 9000 quality standards: measure the work, listen to the people who do it, and keep improving. Guinn died in January 2022. Her approach to improving how organizations serve people runs through the Council’s work.
Guinn was also an accomplished harpist. She grew up in a structured, demanding home, studied the harp from childhood and later trained at the Paris Conservatory under Marie-Claire Jamet. Whatever she took on, she aimed to be the best at it, because nothing less was acceptable to her. Her determination and focused discipline still give Robert drive and purpose, and his has been a life of service from the Marine Corps to the Army to this Council.
Read more about Guinn and the Sharpe family on the Sharpe Diamond Cattle Co. website →
The Council brings those experiences together and applies them to county services. No one person has all the expertise this work needs. The Council is looking for neighbors with experience in finance, law, health care, emergency services, business and public service to join the table.
The Council operates independently of any political party.
Get in touch
robert.sharpe@freestonegoodgov.org
info@freestonegoodgov.org
131 FCR 933, Teague, Texas 75860