Dennis McDuffie comes to Diboll with a host of city management experience, much of it in economic development.

That expertise will come in handy as Diboll looks at a future where Temple-Inland's role in the city's sustenance begins to decrease.

McDuffie, a native of Nacogdoches, has been in city management since 1980, when he left the Air Force. He started in California, as an assistant city manager in Delano, Calif. He became manager there in 1982 before moving Rancho Palos Verde in 1986, where he stayed until 1990.

He said he went to law school for two years until his daughters reached college age

and he quit school to finance their educations. He spent some time lobbying for the California Farm Bureau before in 1993 becoming city manager of San Juan Bautista, a town in central California near Monterrey. He calls that a "unique experience"

because the town was nearly bankrupt when he took over. All city employees except the librarian and a public works employee had been let go. He welcomed the experience because it gave him the chance to basically rebuild the city structure from scratch. He stayed there until 1998, when he decided to return to Texas.

His first stop here was in Jamaica Beach, on the coast near Houston. After a year there, he went to Glenn Heights in Dallas County for another year before landing in McGregor, a town near Diboll's size just west of Waco. He's been there since 2002.

He has a 60-day notice clause in his contract with McGregor, which is why it could be Jan. 15 next year before he can start work here, unless he can talk the city fathers into letting him go early. He expressed eagerness to get here and get to work. By the way, his new contract with Diboll has the same clause requiring a 60-day notice.

McDuffie is an only child and his 82-year-old mother, who still lives in Nacogdoches, is beside herself to have her son 35 miles away after all these years. His wife Kathy has two daughters in rural Jefferson County and one in Woodville, so they are more than pleased to have so much family within a two-hour drive of Diboll. The McDuffies are a blended family, with seven adult children between them (she has four, he has three). McDuffie's kids are in Ohio, California and Fort Worth.

Sandra Pouland of Pouland Real Estate already is busy searching out possible homes for them in the city limits.

McDuffie, 61, clearly is proud of what he accomplished in McGregor. The town had a naval weapons center that was closed, given to the city and turned into an industrial park. The former base had utilities and rail service, which helped, but McDuffie's efforts have attracted call center, an irrigation pipe company, a national security training center and on the way is a wind tower construction company. Of the 1,400 jobs lost when the Navy pulled out, 1,200 have been replaced, he said. And a new, updated rail line is being put in.

He also managed to end a lawsuit with Waco over the big city's attempt to annex the McGregor Executive Airport. The settlement allowed the airport to develop commercial businesses and light industry.

He has a comprehensive "to do" list when it comes to economic development and a firm grasp on the things that are needed. Such as, industry before housing. "Residential development will be a drain on services including water, sewer and electricity. Industrial development, "that's your gravy" for successful growth, he said.

He didn't necessarily believe all his work was done in McGregor, but when he saw the listing for Diboll city manager, "it seemed like a natural fit," he said. "I see a lot of potential."

He said he enjoys a challenge and this job "took us where we wanted to be."

"Mainly, Diboll brought us home."