Goen, Tom

Head shot of suited businessman (Tom Goen) smiling
Name: 
Goen, Tom
Title: 
Director of the Appraisal Division at the General Land Office
Texas A&M Class: 
1970
Inducted: 
2014

Biography:

Tom Goen graduated from Texas A&M University in 1970 with a B.S. degree in Agricultural Education.  He worked in several off campus jobs during his undergraduate career and also spent a fair amount of time working for the poultry farm. Before continuing his education, he was in the Navy from November of 1971 to April 1976. Next, he returned to Texas A&M to obtain a Master of Agriculture degree in Agricultural Economics in the Land Economics Real Estate Program, working as a research assistant for Dr. Arthur Wright.

During Tom’s service to the Navy, he was a part of a patrol squadron that was stationed out of Barbers Point Hawaii. He began as a Naval Flight Navigator for the squadron and was quickly promoted to Tactical Coordinator and then Mission Commander. While a part of the squadron, he was deployed to the Philippines and to Okinawa in Southeast Asia. The squadron he was a part of was mainly involved in keeping track of Russian submarines while deployed.

Upon graduation with his Master’s degree in 1977, Tom worked for the city of Bryan in the tax office. His duties included assisting in reappraising all of the property in Brazos County. Toward the end of 1978, he went to work for the General Land Office in Austin. His first few years at the General Land Office were marked with successes and promotions. He started off appraising land for the Veteran’s Land Board and quickly began working on special projects which were “a conglomerate of various jobs dealing with the appraisal and trading of state land.” Within six years, he was named the Chief Appraiser at the General Land Office. During his first few years at the General Land Office, Tom served as president of multiple real estate committees and programs. He used his involvement with these committees and programs to stay plugged in with students at A&M, especially those involved with the Land Economics Real Estate (LERE) Program.

In 1984, Tom left the General Land office to work for an independent contractor in the Austin and Georgetown areas. During this time, he worked closely with Larry Kokel for Larry Conner Smith. He left Larry Conner Smith to return to the General Land Office after receiving a phone call from his former boss asking him to come back. He spent another six years at the General Land Office as Director of the Appraisal Division, working on special projects, before he was asked to assist Dr. Rick Floyd with the Real Estate Program and with the purchasing and selling of properties using donations and easements to the university. He retired from Texas A&M in 2005 after working there for 14 years. After leaving A&M, he went to work as a fee appraiser for Holtkamp Realty Consultants which is what he still does today.

The Goen family has been in the Brazos Valley for many generations and has produced a long line of Aggies. Tom’s grandfather was class of 1912 and his father was class of 1943; his father also received a DVM from A&M in 1947. Both his brother and sister went to A&M as well as two nieces. Tom is married to Cathy Goen and they have three children and one granddaughter. Their older daughter, Diane, and her husband Joe Alvarado ’16, live in the Brazos Valley on the family ranch while Joe attends Texas A&M in Agricultural Economics. Tom and Cathy’s other daughter, Erin Price, graduated from Texas Tech in 2012 with a degree in Education. She and her husband Alex live in Austin. Tom and Cathy’s son, John ‘15, is currently at A&M seeking a computer science degree. He is presently engaged to marry Rachael ’13, Computer Science graduate from A&M.  Diane’s and Joe’s daughter, Lael, is class of 2032.

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