Northside Independent School District - San Antonio, TX

Bennie L. Cole, a longtime Northside ISD and community volunteer, was elected to the Board of Trustees in 2011 and is serving his first term on the Board. Now retired, Cole served 23 years in the U.S. Air Force and more than a decade in civil service.

Cole's commitment to education and to Northside ISD began when his son attended Adams Hill Elementary School, then later Pease Middle School and Jay High School. In 1995, then-Superintendent Dr. Augustin Orci asked Cole to help start the Northside Education Foundation. Cole was a founding member and later served as NEF President from 2001-2004. Cole also served as one of the chairmen of the 1995 Citizens' Bond Committee and later served on the Citizens' Bond Advisory Committee.

Cole's community service extends to the city of San Antonio and Bexar County. He's served as co-chairman of the San Antonio Zoning Commission, Trustee of the San Antonio Local Development Company and has been a member of the Downtown Housing Trust Fund Committee, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commission Scholarship Committee, and the Alamo Colleges Bond Committee. He also is a member of V.F.W. Post 76, Tuskegee Airmen Inc., and the San Antonio Zulu Association.

He has received numerous awards throughout his career and community service, including the Air Force Civilian Medal of Valor, San Antonio Police Officers Association Humanitarian of the Year, and the San Antonio Black Achievement Award for Public Service. Cole is married to Edithe Cole and has a grown son, and six grandchildren.