TEXARKANA MAGAZINE
What is your favorite Texarkana memory? My favorite Texarkana memory is riding dirt bikes from dawn to dusk with my childhood best friend, Scott Thomas. Where was your favorite place to eat in Texarkana? Friday nights at The Hush Puppy or Spruell’s, which was past Fouke What was the teen hangout when you lived here? Parties at the Stroud home or driving up and down State Line with my friends Were you a Hawk, Leopard, Razorback, or Tiger? Razorback for sure. We liked the Tigers enough to help them with breakfast eggs during the rivalry game. How do you describe Texarkana to your friends? A small town on the Arkansas-Texas border with good, hard-working people Who is someone from Texarkana who impacted your life? Beyond my mom, I have to highlight Mr. Witherspoon, a teacher so passionate about math that everybody who had him still remembers him vividly and fondly. Beyond teaching us math, he taught life lessons. His favorite example: “You want partial credit, but if you miss a math problem, a bridge can fall down. Life offers no partial credit.” What do you love about Texarkana? The lifelong friends I made there. Some are still in Texarkana; many are spread across the country. What would you change about Texarkana? I’d help its economy grow so it can better meet the aspirations of more people living there. What do you think makes Texarkana famous? Its proximity to highways passing through from multiple directions—most people I meet in Texas say, “I’ve passed through there.” What is your nickname for Texarkana? T-town
TXK ROOTS Monte Dobson
decade in the U.S. shale business, working alongside U.S. pioneers who successfully transformed our country from a longtime energy importer to a net exporter. In his final role, he was the lead country manager and CEO of ExxonMobil in India, where he collaborated with peers worldwide to drive significant growth within the ExxonMobil India team. He spent that time collaborating with India’s government leaders to provide reliable, affordable energy to over 1.4 billion people. Christine and Monte also became passionately involved with a philanthropy that helps the poorest children in India escape poverty in a single generation: the Shanti Bhavan Children’s Project. Dobson credits Christine with being his co-adventurer and collaborator in life. Together, they have traveled to approximately 25 countries while raising their two daughters, Kirsten and Ainsley. They also look forward to continued contact and travel with fellow members of the AHS Class of 1983.
Monte Dobson is a native of Texarkana, Arkansas, and a 1983 graduate of Arkansas High School. Shaped by a supportive and resilient mother who guided him through his father’s loss and instilled in him the values that would carry him into a global career, Texarkana remains a foundational part of who he is. Dobson earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering while his wife, Christine, completed her Ph.D. in Social Work. He began his career with ExxonMobil as a young researcher, where he was drawn to the technical challenge of predicting how much energy could be recovered from formations miles beneath the earth’s surface. Over the course of more than three decades, his work evolved from technical research to global leadership. He contributed to major development forecasting, devising and closing strategic deals that grew ExxonMobil’s position in the Permian Basin, and leading efforts to develop technology for producing Permian resources at lower cost and with lower emissions. He is most proud to have spent a
TXK Roots is Texarkana Magazine ’s forum to highlight and honor Texarkana natives who have accomplished big things in the world. These folks may have relocated, but they took the values, education, work ethic, and creativity instilled in them by growing up in this unique border city and used these qualities to blaze extraordinary trails. We asked them to share their thoughts about growing up here. No matter how far from Texarkana they may find themselves, we will always consider them our neighbors and we are proud to claim them as forever members of our extended Texarkana community. After all, “everyone is famous in their hometown!”
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TXK ROOTS
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