Speaker:  Judge Mark Davidson, Texas Historian. "Great Characters in Texas History"

Judge Mark Davidson served as Judge of the 11th District Court for twenty years before his retirement in 2009. He is now serving as the Multi-District Litigation Judge for all asbestos cases in the State of Texas, being named to that position by Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson and the Multi-District Litigation Panel of the Texas Supreme Court. In that role, he has judicial duties over the 85,000 asbestos cases pending throughout the state.

While serving as a district judge, he tried over 450 jury trials and cut the backlog in the 11th District Court by 70 percent. In 1993, he was named "Trial Judge of the Year" by the Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists. From 2002 through 2007, he served as Administrative Judge of Harris County.

Judge Davidson is married to Sarah Duckers, and has two sons, William, age eleven, and Thomas, who is nine years old. In his spare time, Judge Davidson is the Cubmaster of a Cub Scout Pack dedicated to the needs of autistic boys. In 2003, he was awarded the Arbor Day award by Trees for Houston for his role in saving a 93 year old tree on the Harris County Courthouse lawn. He also is a regular blood donor, and was recently awarded a 45 Gallon Mug, recognizing his donations of 360 pints of blood.