Biography
Mayor Vargus was elected to Town Council in May 2007, and has served as Lakewood Village's Chief Financial Officer and Chief Investment Officer since January 2008. Dr. Vargus served as Mayor Pro-tem from 2008-2014 and has served as Mayor since June 2014. While on Town Council, Dr. Vargus also served on Lakewood Village's MDD and EDC boards.
Mayor Vargus earned his PhD in Accounting from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he also earned a MA in Economics and an MBA in Finance. He graduated with honors from The Johns Hopkins University with a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering. Prior to his academic career, Dr. Vargus was employed by Lockheed-Martin as a Senior Engineer in the advanced radar systems group. Following his retirement from Drexel University in 2018, Dr. Vargus has continued his research and teaching at Rice University and Texas State. His prior academic appointments include the University of Michigan, University of Southern California, UC Irvine, UT Dallas, Purdue University, Drexel University, GISMA, and Özyeğin Üniversitesi. He has won numerous teaching awards both nationally and internationally and was a finalist for the AAA inaugural Cook Prize for National Teaching Excellence. Dr. Vargus has received several national awards for his scholarly research, including the Outstanding Dissertation Award and the prestigious Notable Contribution to Management Accounting Research Award. Dr. Vargus purchased his Lakewood Village home site in 2003 and has been a resident since 2005.
Biography
Councilman Eric Farage was elected to Lakewood Village Town Council in May 2019. He served as the President of the Municipal Development District (MDD) board from 2016 through his election to Town Council in 2019. Councilman Farage was native to Northeast Ohio when he relocated to Texas in 2014 and moved to Lakewood Village in 2015 with his wife and children. Councilman Farage attended Baldwin-Wallace University in Ohio for both his undergraduate and graduate work. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry followed by an MBA with emphasis in Healthcare.
Councilman Farage is honored and excited to serve on the Lakewood Village Town Council.
Biography
Nikki Blackwell has been a resident of Lakewood Village for a decade, moving here in 2014. Her family has deep roots in the village, with her husband's family residing in the same house for over 50 consecutive years. Nikki holds a bachelor's degree from the University of North Texas. She has triumphed over cancer showcasing her resiliency and determination. Currently, she works in property management and accounting while cherishing time with her two young children. She has a profound commitment to Lakewood Village and is thrilled to serve on the Council. Her goal is to maintain the village as the premier destination for families to thrive and call home.
Councilwoman Blackwell is honored and excited to serve on the Lakewood Village Town Council.
Biography
Councilman Matt Bissonnette was elected to Lakewood Village Town Council in May 2019. Prior to his election, he served as the Chief Financial Officer of the Municipal Development District (MDD) board from 2017 through election to Town Council in 2019. Councilman Bissonnette is a native Texan who grew up in the Northeastern U.S. and spent many summers bank in Texas. The love of the land and people brought councilman Bissonnette back to Texas permanently in 2014 and moved to Lakewood Village in 2016.
Councilman Bissonnette attended The University of Akron in Ohio where he obtained a B.S. in Business Administration and Marketing. Councilman Bissonnette is honored and privileged to serve our neighbors and friends of Lakewood Village.
Biography
Dr. Farage is a Corporate Vice President for Parker Hannifin Corporation (a Fortune 200 global company with annual sales of approximately $20 billion; the world's leader in industrial and aerospace technologies, operated by 61,000 employees in 60 countries).
He is responsible for leading Parker's government affairs, labor relations, media relations, crisis communications, advertising, marketing communications, brand strategy, internal communications, community relations and human resource professionals across the world.
He has extensive experience delivering public presentations to large gatherings of corporations, government agencies, and community groups. He has conducted interviews with local and national television media, and former U.S. presidents & presidential candidates.
He is a licensed clinical psychologist, having received his Doctoral degree from the Chicago Medical School.
Dr. Farage and his extensive family have all lived in Lakewood Village since 2015.
Biography
Graduating from California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 1997, Councilman Bushong is currently employed as an Engineering Supervisor at Peterbilt Motors. There, he oversees a team of engineers responsible for defining future product offerings.
Since purchasing his first home in Lakewood Village in 2001, Councilman Bushong has been deeply committed to community involvement. Appointed as a councilman in 2013, he has spearheaded major initiatives, including the modernization of the Zoning Ordinance and the launch of Building Services, a web-based portal that transformed the construction permit process from paper-based to fully digital. He also led the transition from manual water meter readings to an automated meter reading system, improving efficiency and accuracy for residents. Additionally, he developed the WaterSmart Guide, giving residents convenient online access to their water usage data.
Councilman Bushong is honored to serve the Town of Lakewood Village and looks forward to advancing future projects that embrace innovation, improve infrastructure, and enhance the quality of life for all residents.