SEALY — Chandler Marks took over the reins as Sealy Economic Development Executive Director and Main Street Manager on Dec. 5, 2022. Marks,36, was born and raised in Kentucky and eventually found his way to Texas.
He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Po - litical Science and Master of Regional Planning.
As of 2021, he completed the Econom- ic Development Certification program He comes to Sealy with four years of
experience in Economic Development.
He has worked under the community de velopment umbrella for about 8 1/2 years in over-arching community development experience.
Marks planned on working in Urban development or the economic develop- ment field.
He previously worked for the City of Fulshear for almost four years as Eco nomic Development Director.
Marks is experienced in helping guide small towns that grow exponentially. For example, in 2020, the Fulshear popula tion was over 16,000, and the 2021 esti- mate for Fulshear was over 25,000.
"As aggressive and proactive as we tried to be as far as staying ahead in terms of planning and development strategies and staying abreast of development trends, we could still never stay ahead,” said Marks regarding the contin- ued explosive growth of Fulshear.
He sees the same kind of aggressive
growth trend in Sealy. Linking the same types of communities, such as East Ber - nard, Wallis, Bellville and Navasota, our ring of communities is about to become the next X-Urban frontier. He sees Sealy as the X-Urban frontier for the far west side of Houston.
Sealy is in the unique perspective of learning from cities such as Katy, Brookshire and Fulshear, which were once rural communities and have grown exponentially. It gives Sealy the benefit of seeing the results of the implemented growth strategies.
Marks believes the Sealy city leaders agree about staying ahead of the growth in Sealy. Sealy has done a lot to preserve the historic structure that has defined Sealy throughout its history and to leverage that sense of place as a catalyst for strategic growth.
His vision for Sealy is "preserving that sense of place that Sealy has to make Sealy the best version of itself." In addition, he wants to help Sealy improve upon the strategies it already has in place to more clearly define what direction this community pursues based on the feedback from the community.
More of a travel dog than a pet dog person, Marks is a global traveler. He has traveled to 21 countries outside the United States and 40 states.
However, out of all the countries, he finds New Zealand the best country he loves outside the U.S.
