The Texas Local Fire Fighters Retirement Act Educational Foundation will host its annual Educational Conference Oct. 5–7, 2025, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Downtown Convention Center, 500 Cypress St., Abilene, Texas. The three-day event will bring together trustees, administrators, investment professionals, and service providers to focus on governance, education, and the future of firefighter pension systems.
Many of TEXPERS’ fire retirement fund members are also members of TLFFRA, making this conference an important gathering for trustees and administrators across the state.
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Conference Schedule
Sunday, Oct. 5
The event begins with registration and vendor setup, followed by networking opportunities, including golf at the Abilene Country Club and clay shooting at Abilene Clay Sports. That afternoon, the TLFFRA Legislative Committee will meet, and attendees will gather at Frontier Texas! for the conference kickoff. The evening will conclude with a reception in the hospitality suite.
Monday, Oct. 6
The opening ceremony will feature the Abilene Fire Department Honor Guard and remarks from Abilene Mayor Weldon Hurt and state Rep. Stan Lambert, R-Abilene, chairman of the House Pensions, Investments and Financial Services Committee.
Educational sessions will include:
- Economic outlook with Rank Dawson of Boyd Watterson Asset Management
- Fund perspectives with Linda Webb of the Fort Worth Employees’ Retirement Fund
- Legal updates with Robert Klausner of Klausner, Kaufman, Jenson & Levinson
- TEXPERS updates with Executive Director Art Alfaro
- Fixed-income insights with Lily Tu and Michael Walton of Sage Advisory
- Diversification strategies with Lisa Ivie Miller of CAPTRUST, Kenneth Wallace of Sit Investment Associates and Philip Palmer of Chatham Capital Group
- Dimensional Fund Matrix book review with Michael Kopec and Kyle Straube of Dimensional Fund Advisors
- Securities litigation concepts with Stephanie Schroder of DiCello Levit LLP and Joshua Ruthizer of Wolf Popper LLP
The day will conclude with a hosted dinner at the Perini Ranch Steakhouse in Buffalo Gap.
Tuesday, Oct. 7
The morning will begin with the TLFFRA business meeting, which will include a legislative report, election of legislative committee cities and presentations from cities bidding to host the 2028 conference. Two scholarships will also be awarded.
Sessions will feature:
- Actuarial panel moderated by David Fee, Pension Review Board actuary, with consulting actuaries Brandon Fuller, David Sawyer, Brad Heinrich and Tom Bevins
- Legal issues impacting TLFFRA funds with Chuck Campbell and Alyca Riley Garrison of Jackson Walker LLP
- Funding for actuarially determined contributions with Mark Fenlaw of Rudd and Wisdom, Ben Marts of Odessa Fire and Jessica Almaguer of the Texas Emergency Services Retirement System
- Case studies in resilience with Justin Graham of Midland Fire and David Florance of Irving Fire, moderated by Baker Bryant of Abilene Fire
- Administrator’s panel with Debra Jones and Jaime Jasso of the TLFFRA Education Foundation
- Open forum for trustees to share updates and issues across the state
The conference will close with a recap session and the TLFFRA Foundation business meeting.
Why It Matters
The TLFFRA Educational Conference provides firefighter pension trustees and administrators with tools and insights to strengthen governance, address investment challenges and support the sustainability of retirement benefits. With many TEXPERS fire retirement fund members also serving in TLFFRA, this conference offers valuable opportunities to learn, network and prepare for the future of Texas’ firefighter retirement systems.
About the Author: Allen Jones is the director of communications and event marketing for TEXPERS. He joined the Association in 2017. Before TEXPERS, he worked in the news media industry, producing content for newspapers, magazines, and online publications and leading newsrooms as an editor and publications manager. [email protected]
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Editor’s Note: This article was prepared with the assistance of artificial intelligence tools to support research, fact-checking, and formatting. Final content decisions, including writing, editing, and publication, were completed by TEXPERS staff.