Lori Walker was surrounded by more boxes than she could count. The Flower Mound Chamber of Commerce had only moved a few dozen feet down the hall to a slightly larger office just before the holidays, but after 20 years in the same space, she and her team knew all too well that even the shortest moves come with a lot of history—and even more stuff.
To ease the chaos, Lori began sorting through what belonged on the walls in her office: photos, plaques, accent pieces and other framed memories collected over decades of service. One by one, she decided exactly where each should go.
Among them was her 2005 Citizen of the Year plaque.
She dusted off a few specks, then reached for two more plaques to flank it.
“My father, Dr. Jim O. Rogers, was named Citizen of the Year by the Nocona Chamber of Commerce back in 1978. My mom, Annette Rogers, had been named Citizen of the Year in 1974,” Lori said with an unmistakable sense of pride in her voice. “They both came from humble beginnings and set an incredible example for all of us kids on the importance of service and giving back.
“People ask me, ‘What makes you tick?’ Or ‘Why do you do what you do?’ I always say I mimicked what I saw my parents do, time and time again. They were the ultimate community people, and even though they’re both gone now, I still have their plaques next to mine.”
With constant and welcome reminders of her family’s legacy surrounding her, Lori’s own path into the chamber world and community volunteerism seemed almost inevitable. Since 2013, she has been the proud President of the Flower Mound Chamber, helping local businesses thrive, connecting neighbors, raising money and championing initiatives that strengthen the community. Even before that, she was on the chamber board and served as a board member for various other nonprofits and community organizations—so much so that you’d be hard-pressed to find a board in southern Denton County that she and her husband, Neal, haven’t been involved with.
Her professional journey, however, began in politics—a path that would later shape her approach to leadership and community service.
Through it all, the values instilled by her parents have guided every decision and shaped the career she continues to build today.
“I have always loved politics, and I was bitten by that bug pretty early in my life. But I love what I’m doing now and tell people all the time how lucky we are to do what we do,” she said. “I love Texas. I love this community. I love being a cheerleader for local businesses and nonprofits. It’s fun to get up every morning and come to work.”
Lori Walker didn’t grow up in a big city. She is proud to say she was raised in Nocona, Texas, a small town in Montague County, roughly 45 miles from Wichita Falls. With a population of just 3,000, Nocona is known for its strong sense of community and, of course, Nokona American Ballgloves, the only company that still makes baseball gloves entirely in the United States.
Lori is quick to toss out that fun fact because sports have always been part of the fabric of small-town life, and Lori loved every bit of it. Her father served as head basketball coach at Nocona High School before eventually transitioning to superintendent. Her husband was also a childhood friend and grew up diving for line drives on the baseball field before heading to TCU.
Alongside the town’s love of sports, another lesson from Lori’s upbringing was clear: education and legacy mattered.
Her parents graduated from Austin College in 1963. Her uncle was also a proud Kangaroo, as were three of her sisters. Since then, her son, a nephew and a niece have also graduated from Austin College.
Needless to say, the Rogers family has quite a tie to Austin College, and Lori was no different, eventually graduating in 1986.
When Lori says the political bug bit her, she means it. Even today, she owns the entire White House ornament collection and decorates her dining room with that core theme every Christmas. She attended the White House Christmas parties in 1987 and 1988, and still proudly displays the programs and ornaments from those events.
Her mild obsession began during her senior year of college, when she took a Media on the Potomac class that included five glorious weeks in Washington, D.C. Five weeks were all it took for her to set her sights on big dreams upon graduation.
“I had a sorority sister who had an internship in Washington. She offered me a place to sleep, and while my parents didn’t bat an eye, they said if I didn’t have a job by the end of that summer, I’d have to come back to Texas,” Lori said. “I had a job within two weeks.”
That job? Working for then-Republican Congressman Tom DeLay. DeLay represented Texas’ 22nd congressional district from 1985 until 2006. He served as House majority leader from 2003 to 2005. Lori worked for him for 10 years. She started as a staff assistant and, by the time she left, was DeLay’s Deputy Chief of Staff.
“It was an amazing experience,” Lori said. “When I went to Washington, Ronald Reagan was the President of the United States, and the Speaker of the House was Tip O’Neill. One was a Democrat, and the other was a Republican—and they were friends. It was certainly a much different time back then, but looking back on it, it was refreshing to see.”
With a decade in Washington already under her belt, Lori took a short detour to California, where she worked as a field representative in Senator John Seymour’s San Francisco office in 1990 and 1991. From there, it was back to Washington to work for DeLay.
Another few years would pass before it was time to come back to Texas. She instantly settled in Flower Mound and began working as district director for then-Senator Jane Nelson. In 2007, she left Senator Nelson’s office and joined then-Denton County Commissioner Andy Eads’ staff, where she remained until 2013.
By then, her professional and community paths had already begun to converge.
“At that time, the judge and I had served on several boards together. That included the Flower Mound Chamber board,” Lori said. “The Chamber was searching for a new president, and at some point, the chairman of the board and a few board members got to talking and said, ‘Why are we looking elsewhere? You’d be perfect for this role.’”
Lori accepted, and as they say, the rest is history. The skills she had developed in Washington and across Texas—building relationships, navigating complex issues and advocating for people—translated seamlessly into chamber leadership.
In many ways, the move felt like a full-circle moment. After years spent navigating the fast-paced world of politics—first in Washington, then back in Texas—Lori found herself in a role that blended everything she loved: public service, relationship-building and a deep connection to community. The Chamber offered a different kind of leadership, one rooted less in policy and politics and more in people.
And at the heart of it were the small-town values she learned growing up in Nocona and the example set by her parents.
So, as she settles into her new space—just a few doors down the hall, but firmly rooted in decades of service—those familiar reminders on the wall serve as both a reflection and a source of motivation.
The legacy that shaped her continues to guide her, and the work she loves continues, one relationship and one community at a time.
