Rick Mackey is currently the president of CHL Protection Plan, based in Dallas. Rick has over 30 years of management experience in the consumer electronics and insurance industries. Rick is an avid hunter, outdoorsman and shooting enthusiast. He is married with three children and five grandchildren.

George Pena is a charter member of TCHA. He has been a CHL instructor since 1995, and an NRA instructor since 1980. Besides being a range officer at his local gun club, he and his wife Kathy run their own school, “South Texas Gunslinger,” in Uvalde.

George has been on the board for the better part of ten years and has served in many capacities, including president.

Dean McCormick was born in California in 1949, but with a Texas connection. His dad had been a dust-bowler, leaving Amarillo/Canyon in the late 1930s. He first got gunpowder in his veins from following an older cousin around on a dove hunt, escaping from a boring family picnic. First formal training was in a police-sponsored rifle club, shooting bullseye with .22 target rifles. After a couple of years with the club, he tested and qualified as an NRA assistant instructor, that being the highest rating available to a shooter under eighteen.

After college in Michigan (don't ask why), and Air Force pilot school in Oklahoma, the Air Force eventually sent him to Bergstrom AFB near Austin. Upon separation from active duty in 1980, he and wife Patricia and two kids, Tony and Stephanie, now adults and on their own (although not quite all of their stuff is out of the garage yet), stayed in Bastrop County, near Austin.

Dean became a CHL instructor in 1995, as part of the initial cadre, and was in on the formation of the TCHIA in 1997. He wrote a proposed draft of the original bylaws, some elements of which are still incorporated in the current document. He's been active in small ways all through the history of the organization, but first ran and was elected to the BoD in 2007. He teaches in his living room and does the shooting at his own range, a pretty Spartan setup 300 yards from his front door. He teaches on weekends, having kept his day job, which is not shooting, police, or security-related.

He's an NRA and TSRA member, almost an "of course," but holds no leadership positions in either organization.

Larry has been a member of TCHA for five years. An eighth generation Texan, he was born and reared in San Antonio. He has served almost 30 years in law enforcement including 20 years in the Reserve Unit of the Dallas Police Department, with 12 years at the rank of Deputy Commander. While serving as a peace officer, he received more than 50 awards and commendations, including Reserve Officer of the Year, two Certificates of Merit, a Mayor's Commendation for Exemplary Service, seven marksmanship awards, and a 20-Year Safe Driving Award.

As a speaker, Larry has received many awards, including George Washington Honor Medal from the Freedom Foundation at Valley Forge. He is the Sales Developoment Manager with Multiview, Inc., a web publishing company based in Irving, The company was recently one of the "Best Places to Work in DFW" (fourth out of 100). Larry resides in Dallas.

Bill Titus has been a hunting and shooting enthusiast for most of his life. In addition to teaching Texas Concealed Handgun classes, he also teaches Texas Hunter Education, and is frequently found leading canoe and kayak trips on the historic Brazos river. He lives at Ropesville, near Lubbock, and teaches CHL classes in the Lubbock area and in Brownfield at Outfitter's Supply. He is an endowment life member of the National Rifle Association, the Texas State Rifle Association, as well as the Texas Concealed Handgun Association.

He retired after more than 30 years with the United Methodist Church, where he continues to work in a part-time capacity. During this time he has been a local church pastor, manager of the denomination's area credit union, a church administrator, and an adjunct faculty member teaching Biblical literature. He holds degrees from Ottawa University (BA) and Saint Paul School of Theology (M.Th.) and has done post-graduate work in organizational administration at Emory University. He and his wife Beverly have five children, scattered from Tacoma, Washington to Clifton, Texas, as well as five grandchildren.

Ron Ryle was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1941. He spent the majority of his career in the oil and gas industry traveling extensively. From 1988 to 2008 he assisted his wife Mary, operating her restaurant and private club in North Dallas until they sold it in 2008. He also worked part time for his CPA from 1994 to 2008. He is a member of the NRA, TSRA and the TCHA.
He and Mary are now retired, enjoying their grand kids and all things "outdoors."

Larry Arnold has been shooting since he was a Boy Scout. In addition to being a Texas concealed carry instructor, he holds certification as a NRA Training Counselor, Texas Hunter Education Master Instructor and Becoming an Outdoors Woman Instructor. His military service includes four years active duty and sixteen years in the reserves as an infantry officer.

Larry has designed an interactive computer version of the Concealed Handgun course, and his pro-gun novel, "The Mark of Abel" has been published by Zumaya Publications.

As a writer and desktop publisher he has won many state and national awards in writing and communications contests, including several for the TCHA website. His CHL lesson plan won a First Place national award in 1999. He has also published a number of newsletters for a variety of organizations. He is married, and has two grown daughters, a grandson and a granddaughter. Visit him at http://www.talonsite.com.

Larry maintains websites for TCHA and the Buck and Bull Club.

Chris Bird has been a journalist for 25 years and a handgun shooter for more than 40. He was born in England and his interest in shooting has steered him through the bureaucratic red tape of owning handguns in England, Canada, and Australia. As a commissioned officer in the Royal Military Police of the British Army in the 1960s, Bird was stationed in Berlin, West Germany, and Belgium, serving as company weapon-training officer and winning awards for shooting in competition. After leaving the military, Bird migrated to Canada where he worked as a cowboy in British Columbia while shooting and hunting extensively.

He became a journalist and worked as a crime and investigative reporter for the Vancouver Province newspaper and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He has also worked as a salesman, a private investigator, and a shotgun guard for an armored car company in Australia. In 1986, Bird competed in the Canadian Practical Pistol Championships. In the late 1980s, he and his wife sailed a 27-foot boat from Vancouver, Canada, to Sydney, Australia, and back to San Francisco.

He is a former police reporter for the San Antonio Express-News. Arriving in Texas in 1989, he worked for the newspaper, mostly covering crime and law enforcement at all levels from municipal to federal. Currently, he is author and publisher of a book called The Concealed Handgun Manual which is now in its fourth edition and tenth printing. The book is on the list issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety to concealed-handgun instructors as approved reading for instructors and licensees. Bird is certified in Texas as a concealed-handgun instructor. He is a director of the Texas Concealed Handgun Association, and a member of both the Texas State Rifle Association and the National Rifle Association.

Erwin M. Ballarta began his law enforcement career with the Big Spring Police Department in 1982. He moved up the ranks as a Patrol Sergeant, Narcotics Sergeant, and Criminal Investigator Sergeant. In 1987, he accepted a position as a recruit with the Texas Department of Public Safety and after graduation, he found duties in Highway Patrol, Safety Education, Governor's Protection Detail, and Training Academy. Before retirement in August 2008, he attained the rank of Lieutenant coordinating the In-Service Program, Defensive Tactics Program, and the Specialized School Program of the Texas Police Association.

He had instructed both the United States Army and Marines on pre-deployment training. He was recognized by Major General Box for instructing the Governor's Office of Homeland Security Infrastructure Security Teams. He served as a Committee Chair Person for developing the Texas Department of Public Safety's cultural diversity program, entitled "Valuing Relationships." The program focused on developing and teaching values, ethics, communication, conflict resolution, and leadership.

In 2001, he received the Wallace Beasley Association of Texas Law Enforcement Educator of the year award. He received the "Texas Professional Achievement Award" from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officers Standards and Education for his contribution to Law Enforcement in the field of training. On November of 2001, he acted as Liaison between Phillippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and President George W. Bush on mutual alliance to combat world terrorism in Washington, D.C.

Erwin M. Ballarta is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University and the 188th Session of the FBI National Academy.