Lonnie Hunt Retiring After 10 Years at DETCOG as Executive Director

If you haven't heard of the Deep East Texas Council of Governments (DETCOG), it operates as a regional political arm in the state of Texas. According to the DETCOG website, it was "founded to facilitate planning, eliminate duplication, and promote economy and efficiency in the coordinated development of our region."

There are seven main departments within DETCOG - Area Agency on Aging, Broadband, Family and Youth Success (FAYS), Housing, Public Safety, Regional 9-1-1 Network and Regional Services - and then there are several other areas that branch off from the main departments. At the top of all these departments is an executive director. That Executive Director is Lonnie Hunt. However, that will be changing in February.

DETCOG Executive Director Announces Retirement

Lonnie Hunt has served as the Executive Director of DETCOG since 2016, according to his website. He was selected for the role after the resignation of the previous director, Walter Diggles.

On the morning of October 1st, a picture was added to the DETCOG Facebook page announcing the job posting for an Executive Director. From there, Hunt confirmed that he was retiring on his personal Facebook page, sharing the DETCOG post with the caption: "Mixed feelings about this, but it's time...I'm planning to retire in February."

Lonnie Hunt's Accomplishments at DETCOG

During his time at DETCOG, Lonnie Hunt oversaw numerous wins as Executive Director. These included moving the DETCOG main offices to Lufkin from Jasper, which allowed them to be in a more centralized location, making it more convenient to the residents of the region. He also oversaw multiple large-scale projects for the region, like a multi-million-dollar regional broadband project which is working to make broadband accessible to all Deep East Texas residents. He was also part of another multi-million-dollar, region-wide interoperable radio project for law enforcement, first responders, and emergency management officials in our area.

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And these are just a few of the things that he's done in the 10 years of being in the position. More of the projects and progress can be seen on the DETCOG website.

As for more details of the change, you can find the job description and all the pertinent details on the DETCOG Jobs webpage. They are taking applications until the afternoon of October 30th and are looking for the selected candidate to start in early 2027.

A Quick Note from Mark

As someone who worked at DETCOG for several years under Lonnie Hunt's leadership, I can say that this is a loss for the Deep East Texas region. Whoever comes in has some big shoes to fill. However, it is a well-deserved retirement for Lonnie. For a decade he has led the organization well and has been quite the asset for Deep East Texas. Congratulations are in order.