About Richard Kepp

Over thirty years ago, I made my first visit to Llano.  At that time, I knew I would call this quaint, hill country community home.

My ties to Llano County -

My children are sixth generation Llano County descendants, through my wife Cheryl Myers Kepp.   Cheryl’s family is part of the Moss, Myers, Kassell and Schneider families that settled here in the 1800s.  We were married in Llano in 1995 and continued to spend as much time as possible in Llano.  Work took us to Houston for almost twenty years and is where we raised our children.  Having the ability to work from home, we had the great idea of working from home in Llano.  We immediately moved to the Kassell family ranch and took up residence in the home Cheryl’s great-great grandparents built in the 1890s and which our family rebuilt in the 1990s.

Why pursue the Llano County Judge position?

I truly see this position as a service opportunity.  Candidates must have a passion for serving people and to be able to take on the leadership responsibilities of the county.  County Judge is a position charged with guiding a diverse group of citizens through good and bad situations with as much grace, integrity and determination as possible.  With over thirty years experience, as a manager of people, assets and processes, I believe my skillset will be an asset to the community.

My history and activities -

• Born and raised in Corpus Christi, Texas by Dr. and Mrs. Lowell and Betty Kepp

• Texas State University 1991 (BFA)

• Certified Safety Professional with a focus in Process Safety Management

• 30 years of consumer product manufacturing, petrochemical production and consulting; holding positions in human resources, health and safety management, and Risk Management

 Organizations that I have been involved -

• Junior Achievement

• Member of Houston area industrial mutual aid organization

• Committee person with various local emergency planning commissions

• Tarrant County Community College Technical Advisory

• Community Action Council (LaPorte and Freeport)

• Served as youth sports coach and officer

• 2015 Accepted Christ into my life. Lay Minister and regularly teach Sunday School at the second-grade level.

What skillsets do you possess that would benefit the county?

• Ability to communicate with people from all walks of life

• Offer practical solutions and strive to develop consensus among vested parties

• Understanding agreements and contracts, and how to reduce risk to the county

• Experience investigating and adjudicating corporate employment relation issues and crimes

• Work within budget to facilitate the purchase of business insurance for a large international business

• Risk management of highly hazardous industrial facilities

• Led and trained emergency response teams for industrial fire/ hazmat

• Worked with federal and state agencies:  DHS, TSA, OSHA   and TCEQ

• Management style: Hire the right people.  Empower people.  Respect people.  Believe no one is above accountability.

• Use critical thinking to define need, prioritize and build a plan to meet goals.