Nelda Blair

"It took me a really long time to decide what I wanted to do, but I've made a very good decision," Blair said. "I put a lot of time and effort into those positions, as well as my heart. I'm not tired of it, but the township is doing well, and I feel good about where I am leaving them and excited about the next opportunities."

Blair has been involved in the governance of The Woodlands since the mid-1990s when the governmental body was known as Town Center Improvement District. She said her two proudest accomplishments since that time were transitioning five different organizations with 35 leaders into one organization with seven leaders, The Woodlands Township.

"We planned it out over three years, but I tailored it down to two years," Blair said.

A second accomplishment she points to is overseeing the development in The Woodlands that has helped turned it into a visitor destination. Blair also serves as chairwoman of The Woodlands Convention & Visitors Bureau.

"[Tourism] brings in sales tax, and it pays for half of the township budget," she said. "That lowers property taxes and elevates quality of life."

A fifth-generation Texan and long-term resident of Montgomery County, Blair has enjoyed a successful legal career for more than 25 years. Twenty of those have been with her husband, retired attorney Jim Blair. Her stepdaughter, Maris Blair, is also an attorney.

Blair has served as president and owner of The Blair Law Firm PC and a solo legal practitioner since 1988. During that time, she has handled more than 1,000 clients in her general real estate, business and litigation practice, and she served as a closing agent for four title companies.

Now that she is free to take on new endeavors, Blair has wasted no time putting a list together.

One of the things at the top of her list is being a public speaker. Organizations have already gotten in contact with her, and she is considering public speaking as a new career, she said.

She also has several books in the works, and has started writing a blog at www.atexantakesthe5th.blogspot.com. She is also in demand in the political arena, having been asked to work on Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott's campaign for governor.

"I've listened to Joel Osteen talk about 'listening to God,' and how every opportunity is good, but what you have to do is figure out which is best," she said. "That's what I am trying to do—pick the right thing."