One of the main reasons longtime East Montgomery County area resident Fred Wetz volunteered to serve as one of the founding Directors of EMCID was to continue growing the area to be a place where families can live, work and play.
Fred was one of the original EMCID board members when it was first created in 1997 through Senate Bill 921 and ratified by local voters.
“I moved to the East Montgomery County area in 1979 and there was one grocery store near FM 1314,” said Fred. “When EMCID first started, there was not a lot of businesses here and we wanted to oversee our own fate. We all wanted to work together for the best of our community and make decisions for the betterment of our community.”
Fred Wetz
Treasurer
One moment that stands out for Fred relative to his time serving as an EMCID Director and as a board member for the nonprofit organization in New Caney, Mission Northeast, where he serves as the Vice President. While visiting a medical facility a few years ago, he passed a lady in the hallway who recognized him immediately.
“She hugged me and said, ‘You’re a board member for the Mission,’ and further stated that when she was working to achieve her Certified Nursing Assistant degree that she was homeless,” said Fred. “She received her GED at Lone Star College-Kingwood and used the $1,000 scholarship from the East Montgomery County Scholarship Foundation, a subsidiary of EMCID at the time, to get her CNA. Therefore, we do what we do; we want our students to succeed. It’s very gratifying.”
In addition to serving as an EMCID Director, Fred is involved in a multitude of activities including performing in a Livingston area band where he serves as Band President, a minister of music for more than 20 years, plays bass guitar in a contemporary praise band, enjoys gardening, canning, rebuilding cars, hunting and fishing.
Additionally, Fred has directed church music for 27 years in the area and now plays bass guitar at Key Life Fellowship, where he serves as an Elder. He was ordained to the office of Deacon in 1974, chairman of the East Montgomery County Government Affairs/Planning Committee from GEMCC, and is a member of the Greater East Montgomery Chamber of Commerce, where he was a three-time past board member. Fred is the recipient of the Chamber’s Home Town Hero Award and selected by NHMCCD/Lone Star College System as Small Business of the Year.
“My goal is to have a community where students can graduate from high school, receive higher education, or attend a trade school and come back here to East Montgomery County to work, live and raise their families and have other people move here to EMC,” said Fred.
Fred and his wife, Sherry, have been married for more than 55 years and have two children, Brady and Brandi, and they have four grandchildren.
He was elected to Position 2 in 2016. His term expires in 2024.