When Bob Hibbetts moved into the Settlers Corner townhomes in The Woodlands in February 1974, he became the third person to call the master-planned community home.

“At that time, Woodlands Parkway and Grogans Mill [Road] weren’t even paved,” Hibbetts said. “We had to come in through an entrance by Lamar Elementary School and go through an old logging road to get to the townhomes.”

Hibbetts came to Houston in 1971 after graduating from the University of Texas to work as an accountant for George Mitchell and Associates, the real estate company owned by The  Woodlands founder George Mitchell. Today, Hibbetts is the longest-serving employee with The Woodlands; he celebrated his 45th year of employment in May.

“For the past 45 years, Bob has been a loyal and dedicated employee and is the epitome of an extremely valuable employee, coworker and friend,” said G. Randy Davis, chief financial officer for the Development Company.

Before starting work on The Woodlands in early 1974, Hibbetts worked on other residential projects Mitchell was developing across the Greater Houston area for about two years.

“The other projects were more like recreational, or weekend, homes,” Hibbetts said.

After he moved to the community, Hibbetts was one of the first volunteers for The Woodlands Fire Department when it was formed.

“A lot of the volunteers were [Development Company] employees,” he said. “Residents didn’t really come along until October 1974 after the grand opening when [The Woodlands] started selling homes.”

Prior to the grand opening celebration, Hibbetts and the department’s first fire chief, Doug Campbell, flew to New York City and drove to Elmira, New York, to drive back the community’s first fire truck to Texas. Thousands of visitors attended the grand opening celebration, which also signified the opening of the Village of Grogan’s Mill.

“At that time, the conference center had opened up, and there were 18 holes of golf there,” Hibbetts said. “A lot of the activity was around there. There were three or four model home parks open because that’s where some of the first homes were built in The Woodlands.”

Over the past four decades, Hibbetts has witnessed an influx of more than 100,000 new residents, retail options and corporate headquarters move to The Woodlands.

“It’s changed a lot over the years from when it was just woods to what it is today,” he said. “The plan for The Woodlands was to have a self-sustaining community, which I think it has become.”