Executive Council Candidate - Authur "AJ" Signater

AJ  Signater is a native of Morganza, Louisiana and is  a  1973 honor graduate in Accounting from Southern University of Baton Rouge, LA.  He obtained his MBA, focused in Finance from the University of Nebraska. He obtained his CPA in 1984. He worked in the oil and gas industry for over 40 years. He worked five (5) years with Northern Natural Gas Company, located in Omaha, Nebraska. In 1977, AJ was hired by Mobil Oil Corporation in Dallas, Texas, (which later became ExxonMobil). In 2000, AJ was transferred to Houston, TX due to the company merger. He worked in Houston for fourteen (14) years and was active in several churches.  He is currently retired.

 He has been married for fifty years to his high school sweetheart, Sarah Morris Signater. They have three (3) children (Shonna, Adrian, and Jeremy) and four(4) grandchildren, and a niece who is like a daughter. Upon his retirement in 2014 from ExxonMobil Corporation, A.J. moved from Houston, Texas back to Garland, Texas, and rejoined Mt. Hebron Baptist Church (The Mount) where he had previously served for 23 years. AJ has over 43 years of service to The Mount because there was no spiritual break in his service to the Mount, despite his away job assignment.

 AJ’s ministry participation at The Mount, both past and present include choir, Deacon and Trustee Board, Trustee Chairman, Church Treasurer, Finance Committee, Sunday School, Men’s Ministry, and Men’s Bible Study. AJ was the first individual to teach “A Debt Free Living” class at The Mount.

 AJ’s major project ministries on the Building and Planning Committee included:

  • Negotiated & prepared land purchase documents for 28 acres at current location -1233 Hwy 66.
  • Negotiated & prepared land purchase documents for the 4 acres of land at 901 Dairy Road.
  • Negotiated & prepared land purchase documents for the 2 acres of land adjacent to the 901 Dairy Road property.
  • Secured the Bank Loan for the above three land purchases.
  • Initiated the church’s first $275,000 bond package to raise church construction funds, due to banks refusal to loan money to minority churches.  
  • Secured a $4.3 million Bank Construction Loan for church building at 1233 Hwy 66, Garland, TX .
  • Secured the loan from Southern Baptist Loan Corporation for the construction of the 901 Dairy Rd. Multi-Purpose building, which is now the Daycare Academy.
  • Upon church approval personally filed documents to incorporate MTHBC as a 501(c)3 organization.
  • Upon church approval personally filed documents to incorporate MTHBC Day Care Center as a tax-exempt organization.

In addition, to rejoining The Mount, AJ found time to volunteer for several years as a member of the Board of Directors for Hope Clinic of Garland, Inc., a 501(c)(3)non-profit corporation, affiliated with Baylor Hospital and caters to the underserved population in Garland, Texas. Hope Clinic provided primary health care services and assistance in identifying community resources.

 He is currently a Member of the Southern University Advisory Council and a current member of the Southern University College of Business Fund Raising Committee.

 AJ's overall work experience entailed Business, Tax planning and compliance, Portfolio Investment, Buy/Sell analyses, and third-party negotiations involving stocks, assets, purchases, and sales. In the tariff rate change industry, A.J. was referred to as the go-to person in the AOPL (Association of Oil Pipeline) industry, because of his extensive experience in rate base calculation, which is a complex analysis of a company’s cost of service. A.J. was selected by Mobil to teach a company-sponsored economics course. The course was taught to company pipeline engineers and field managers. The course provided hands-on instruction on how to calculate the return on investment, make sound economic investment decisions, and how to evaluate the income cash flow of a project proposal.

He served as Board Chairman of Este Pipeline Company, a subsidiary of Mobil Pipeline Company.  A.J. was also a well-recognized member of the Association of Oil Pipe Lines (AOPL), an organization that represents the interests of liquid pipeline owners and operators before congress, regulatory agencies, and the courts.

 In 1988, when the Rev. Jesse Jackson was running for president, A.J. was selected as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention (DNC) but had to decline due to his job demands. However, A.J. went on to participate in the Democratic Black Caucus, where he helped to select Texas delegates to the DNC.