Mayor Pro Tem Jeff Mangum has been a familiar and reliable contributor to Copper Canyon for over 16 years. Jeff and his wife Karen moved here in 1994. They raise Black and Red Angus cattle for beef on their acreage. They also kindly tend to their three “retired” horses – the oldest of which is 32 years old. Karen is a Denton County certified Master Naturalist and was instrumental in designing the natural landscaping at the Old Alton Bridge! Karen was also instrumental in negotiating Copper Canyon’s 20 year easement with the Corps of Engineers for our pedestrian/equestrian trails. She also was the one who persuaded the Corps to place a tunnel under FM 2499 to connect the east and west sections of the trails.
Jeff’s hobbies are hunting, fishing, and camping of any kind – backpacking, tent camping, and RV trips. He loves being in the out-of-doors! Jeff has been a volunteer fire fighter for over 15 years. He has attained the rank of Captain – which is NOT an honorary title. Jeff earned it. He also serves on the Board of the Argyle Fire District, which covers an area from Copper Canyon west through unincorporated Denton County including Canyon Oaks Subdivision, through Lantana, the towns of Bartonville and Argyle, and west of I-35W through the extensive acreage of the Town of Northlake.
By profession Jeff is a licensed professional engineer. He received his Bachelors of Science and Masters of Science in mechanical engineering from North Carolina State University. He has been with Lennox Industries of Carrollton for over 24 years.
Jeff has served on Copper Canyon’s Town Council for almost 14 years and his fellow Council Members have elected him both Deputy Mayor Pro Tem and Mayor Pro Tem. His historical firsthand knowledge of why the Council elected to do – or not to do – certain things is invaluable. He was a member of the Committee that drafted the Town’s Master Plan; he has served on the Trails Committee and worked on many Trail Clean Up days; he has been the council liaison to P & Z for over a decade due to his extensive knowledge of the Town’s subdivision ordinances. He chaired the Town Committee which developed our first gas well drilling ordinance. Jeff was instrumental in incorporating many environmental protections (such as the closed loop drilling system, which does not require open reserve pits) and restricted decibels of noise for daytime and nighttime rig drilling operations. His professional engineering experiences as a Project Manager is very useful in evaluating annual budgets for our Town endeavors.
Jeff said that “We all moved to Copper Canyon because of the small town, rural environment. The current Council has been proactive – rather than reactive – to the surrounding intensive growth that impacts our town. It has been an honor to serve the residents of Copper Canyon. The council is here to listen to neighbors, help out, and solve problems for our Town.”
NOTE: Not surprisingly, Jeff is an Eagle Scout. Our current and former Council Members are often Eagle Scouts – i.e. Steve Hill and John Brothers. The Scout training for leadership definitely carries over into adult life.
Charlie Nicholas is a Candidate for Place 4 on Copper Canyon’s Town Council.
Charlie was born in Lebanon, but his family left when he was a baby. The family came to the United States when he was 15 years old. Charlie graduated from Lewisville High School. At the young age of 26, Charlie started NE Construction. In 1996, he bought Congressman Michael Burgess’ home on Orchid Hill. In 1999, he and his brother Andre Nicholas bought acreage on the north side of Orchid Hill at the Chinn Chapel intersection. Andre and his wife Patti built their lovely home on that site. In 2006, Charlie and his wife Kathy moved into their current home on Copper Woods Lane with sons Alex and Colin.
At age 26, Charlie started NE Construction and is still its sole owner and CEO. Charlie took me on a tour of his company’s headquarters in Lewisville. It is a lovely, practical, functional building, and Charlie knew all the employees personally. They seemed very happy to be working there. When I asked if there was much turnover, Charlie said no. I asked him how many people he employs. He thought a minute and said about 870. EIGHT HUNDRED AND SEVENTY! I must have looked somewhat astounded. Very apologetically, Charlie said, “Well, we own over 21 companies. NE Construction is one of the biggest developers in the country.” That is quite an accomplishment for a man shy of 50 years old!
Charlie’s 21+ companies own single family homes, luxury apartment complexes, restaurants, and shopping centers. In the latter capacity, Charlie is the principal developer for many quality retailers. NE Construction also builds low income housing and military buildings for the government.
Charlie is part owner of Rough Creek Lodge near Glen Rose, Texas. It is a huge corporate conference center on 11,000 acres with a gourmet restaurant and corporate hunting and fishing facilities. He also owns AC Hunting Ranches and Beaver Run Ranch out of Aspen, Colorado and the 24,000 acre AC Ranch out of Junction, TX. All ranches have corporate hunting and fishing facilities. (“AC” stands for the first initial of his and Kathy’s two sons, Alex and Colin.) www.achuntingranches.com, www.roughcreeklodgeglenrose.com.
Charlie is also a rancher. He raises black angus cattle on AC Ranch and provides beef to quality restaurants and hotels. Charlie designed and built a state-of-the-art slaughter house facility as a teaching tool for area college students. He believes in “killing animals humanely, and processing beef in the most sanitary manner possible.”
This is a man who is pleasant, charming, very low key, very unassuming – and obviously doesn’t brag. If you don’t know to ask the right questions, you will never know the extent of his far flung business operations. Charlie didn’t seek out a Council position. But when asked to serve, he thought about it and then stepped up to the plate and said “Yes”. This is not an ego trip for him. It is a way of giving back to our country, because his family has been able to actually live the “American Dream”.
Charlie and Kathy moved to Copper Canyon for its rural beauty, small town atmosphere, and for the privacy that our homeowners can enjoy. He would like to protect the value of our homes by attracting quality retail development. But the retail would only be located in our Master Plan Town Centers along FM 407. As a very successful businessman, he realizes that increasing and diversifying the Town’s tax basis with retail property taxes and sales taxes is the critical path to keeping property taxes low for our homeowners. Charlie has the crucial development experience to attract quality retail to our FM 407 strip – retail similar in caliber to the projects he has successfully masterminded throughout his career. (See the website for photos of the various projects already built. www.neconstruction.net)
Charlie’s opponent for Place Four on the Council is Mike Brasberger.
Mayor Sue Tejml
Copper Canyon, TX
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