Board of Directors

Kevin Sampson, chair, is chief engineer for M.P. Industries, Inc. in Tyler, Texas, where he has been employed for more than 25 years. He runs a cow-calf operation in Smith County.  Additionally, Sampson produces hay, forage, Tifton 85 sprigs and timber.  Sampson serves on the Smith County Appraisal District Agriculture Advisory Committee. He has served as president, vice president and a budget committee member of the Smith County Farm Bureau, as well as a resolutions committee member for the Texas Farm Bureau.  He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. Sampson has served on the board of Heritage Land Bank since 2006.

Roger W. Claxton, vice chair, owns and operates Claxton Farms, which consists primarily of a stocker cattle operation. Claxton is a retired agricultural science teacher. He serves on the Hunt County board of the Farm Bureau, Hunt County Junior Livestock Association, Northeast Texas Farmers Co-op board, a member of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, and is a lifetime member of the Vocational Agricultural Teachers Association of Texas. An elder of the Church of Christ, Claxton is a graduate of East Texas State University with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural economics. He and his wife, Kathryn, have been married for 43 years and have three grown children.  He has served on the board of Heritage Land Bank since 2010. 

John Holloway is the Live Operations Complex manager for Tyson Foods in Center, Texas. He has 24 years of poultry industry experience with Tyson Foods and Pilgrim’s Pride. Holloway owns and operates six broiler houses for Tyson Foods. He also owns and manages a cow-calf operation and timber land. Holloway earned a bachelor’s degree in poultry science from Texas A&M University. He serves as chairman of the board of the Shelby Soil and Water Conservation District and is a member of the board of trustees for Center Independent School District. Holloway also previously served on the boards of the Attoyac Bayou Steering Committee and the Nacogdoches/Angelina Ground Water District. He and his wife, Chelsea, have two sons and are members of the First Baptist Church of Center, Texas. Holloway has served on the Heritage Land Bank board since 2019.

Scott Line is owner and operator of Line Land and Cattle, LLC, a cow-calf operation in Cherokee County with approximately 300 head of cattle, excluding calves. He is a retired Certified Public Accountant and has been self-employed for over 30 years. Line is the previous owner of Map Production Co., Inc., a small, independent oil and gas company. He is a graduate of Texas Tech University with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. Line is a director of Highland Park Estates HOA.  a member of Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association and a former member of the Texas State Society of CPAs. Line has served on the board of Heritage Land Bank since 2014.

Bryan Pickens is a partner and broker associate with Republic Ranches, a full-service farm and ranch brokerage company serving clients across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Colorado and New Mexico. He serves on the board of directors for the Texas Wildlife Association Foundation. He is also a former advisory board member for the Boy Scouts of America Circle Ten Council and a former board member of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation. He is a landowner in Henderson County and spends his volunteer time with groups that encourage and support youth and family involvement in the outdoors. Pickens received his bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University and his MBA from Southern Methodist University. He and his wife, Jennifer, are the proud parents of four daughters. Pickens has served on the board of Heritage Land Bank since 2019.

Jack S. Pullen is a Texas A&M graduate and a retired right-of-way agent with the Texas Department of Transportation. He owns a cow-calf operation in Rockwall County specializing in breeding club calves and registered Hereford cattle. In addition, he is involved in real estate and hay and small grains production. Pullen has been a self-employed rancher for over 50 years. He is president of RCH Water Corporation, past president of Rockwall Youth Fair and a former city councilman for McLendon/Chisholm. He is also a member of Rockwall Lions Club, Texas Polled Hereford Association, Rockwall County Historical Society, Rockwall County Farm Bureau board of directors, the Texas Hereford Association board of directors and First Baptist Church of Rockwall, and a charter member of the Rockwall County A&M Club. Pullen has served on the board of Heritage Land Bank since 1982.

Gary W. Ray is founder and owner of MODCO Insurance Agency Inc. He has 37 years of experience insuring oil and gas wells, ranches and jets. He is a supporter and fundraiser for 4-H and FFA kids showing at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, as well as past chairman and 32-year member of the Fort Worth Stock Show Syndicate, a founding member of the U Ol’ Goats Committee, and co-founder of the Tallest Hog at the Trough Syndicate. Ray serves on the board of directors for Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show and is a member of Port Bay Hunting and Fishing Club. Ray has served on the board of Heritage Land Bank since 2019.

Jeff Striplin is assistant water system manager – treatment for the North Texas Municipal Water District in Wylie, Texas, where he has worked for 26 years. He is also a first-generation rancher with a cow-calf operation on 115 acres and raises stocker calves, dairy heifer replacements, club lambs and replacement ewes. Striplin serves on the Hunt County Farm Bureau board, Hunt County Fair and Junior Livestock Association board, is secretary of the Bland ISD School Board and is immediate past president of the Bland Youth Sports Association and the. He’s also president of the Cotton Belt District of the Texas Water Utilities Association. He was a member of Texas Association of School Boards 2020 – 2021 Legislative Advisory Council and previously was assistant Area 45 director for District 50 of Toastmasters International and served on the Texas Farm Bureau resolutions committee. Striplin is a member of Texas Farm Bureau, Northeast Texas Farmers Co-op, Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, American Water Works Association, Texas Water Utilities Association, Water Environment Association of Texas, Water Environment Federation, Hunt County Junior Livestock Association and Toastmasters International. He and his wife, Samantha, have two children. Previously, Striplin served on Heritage Land Bank’s advisory and nominating Committees.  He has served on the Heritage Land Bank board since 2020.

James Tarrant Jr. has owned and operated Consolidated Wood Products in Bullard, Texas, for over 35 years. He is a former loan officer and credit analyst for North Texas PCA and AgriLand Farm Credit Services. Tarrant has served as a director for Cherokee County Electric Co-op, North Cherokee Water Corp., Texas National Bank and Cherokee County Appraisal District, and served 12 years on the Jacksonville ISD School Board, including two years as president. He’s also been a member of the Bullard Rotary Club. Among his other honors and distinctions, Tarrant is a 1989 graduate of the Texas Agricultural Lifetime Leadership Program, served on the 2002 Texas A&M College of Agriculture Development Council, was a delegate to the State Republican Convention and was an adult Sunday school teacher for over 20 years. Tarrant graduated from Texas A&M University in 1979 with a degree in range science and agricultural economics. He and his wife, Meredith, have five grown children and five grandchildren. He has served on the board of Heritage Land Bank since 2009.