Special to the Journal
The Bell County Historical Commission is hosting a presentation on Monday, April 22, on the first floor of the Bell County Court House, 101 E. Central Ave., in Belton.
The program will begin at 6 p.m.
The topics for this historic presentation cover the earliest residents of the area, the Spanish Missions, the Indian Wars and Westward Expansion, early settlers coming to Texas, Mexican War of Independence, the Texas Association of 1822, the Nashville Colony of the Texas Association 1838, Sterling Clack Robertson and his Colony, the Taylor Family, Fort Griffin, and when Bell County formed after Texas became the 28th State.
CSM (Ret) Elder will be the guest speaker. He was originally from Norwich, CT and entered the U.S. Army in 1982. His 26-year military career culminated as a Command Sergeant Major in Training and Logistics. He and his wife Gloria relocated to Temple, Texas in 2009 where he founded the Training and Leadership Development Company “TOPSARGE” Business Solutions.
He is a noted speaker and writer and wrote a book titled “Soldier for Life and Educating Noncommissioned Officers.” He was a 2018 General and Mrs. Matthew B. Ridgway Military History Research Grant awardee and he is currently working on his third book, “NCO School: How the Vietnam-era Noncommissioned Officer Candidate Course Shaped the Modern Army.
CSM (Ret) Elder earned a Master of Science degree in Corporate and Organizational Communication from Northeastern University, Boston, MA and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Touro Collage, New York, NY.
He currently volunteers his time as an Historian and Researcher for the Bell County Historical Commission. He is also a Senior Fellow and Speaker for the Association of the United States Army.
