Meurer has done business in 60 countries

Timothy Newcomb
Tribune assistant editor

Tom Meurer

DALLAS -- Tom Meurer has spent more than his fair share of days traveling the world and doing business in over 60 countries.
  Meurer, 66, a 1959 graduate of Lynden High School, is currently a senior vice president director for Hunt Oil in Texas.
  In his current role, he oversees a Hunt holding company that includes oil and gas interests, real estate interests and even ranching interests. And right now he is overseeing the building of a new office structure in downtown Dallas.
  In his time at Hunt, Meurer has overseen oil deals and production projects across the world, but has spent a large amount of his time in Yemen and Peru.
  He said that what he enjoys about his role is that no two days are alike. Whether working on the building in downtown Dallas, securing oil deals in Iraq or overseeing operations in Peru, he has plenty of variety to keep him occupied.
  Since Hunt Oil is a private company, he is also able to have his hands in many different areas of the company.
  Meurer graduated from the University of Washington after Lynden and then went into the U.S. Air Force in 1963. After about four years, he was recruited by Ross Perot -- the Texas businessman who later ran for President -- to join his new software company.
  He spent seven years with Perot and became involved politically, even making a stop as Richard Nixon’s advance man in the White House. The job made Meurer responsible for setting up presidential visits outside of Washington, D.C.
  In 1975, Meurer went to work for his good friend Ray Hunt, who had just taken over the family business. He has been with the firm for over 30 years now.
  Because of his broad expertise, Meurer is on a Middle East board in D.C., the Perot Systems board of directors, a museum board in Dallas and a trustee for the Institute for the Study of Earth and Man at Southern Methodist University.
  “It all keeps me busy, but I enjoy what I am doing,” he said. “Dealing with younger people (in the company) is as enjoyable as anything. Seeing younger people grow and be rewarded when they do well is a real pleasure.”
  Tom and his wife Sharon still visit Lynden about once per year to see his good friend John Clark, and they also enjoy vacationing on the Oregon Coast in Manzanita.
  In high school, Meurer played football, basketball and baseball and was the ASB president at LHS and he was also the Whatcom County inter-high school president.
  E-mail Timothy Newcomb at tim@lyndentribune.com.