Woodway City Manager Shawn Oubre said Monday that he will retire at the end of March from the post he has held since 2018.
Oubre announced his plans in a letter to the Woodway City Council on Monday, expressing gratitude for the opportunities and experiences he gained.
“I have learned so much and have had the privilege of working alongside a great team,” Oubre wrote. “I appreciate all the support and guidance that you and my colleagues have provided me throughout my tenure.”
Oubre leaves big shoes to fill, for the day to day operations of Woodway, Mayor Amine Qourzal said Monday.
“Dr. Oubre is one of the finest city managers I have ever met,” Qourzal said in a phone interview. “He has led the city with excellence and integrity. I’m happy for him as he moves into the next chapter of his life.”
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In his more than five years at Woodway, Oubre has led the city of about 9,500 people through the pandemic and the great freeze of February 2021. The city has also built a new $6 million Woodway Family Center and renovated the Carleen Arboretum after a $19 million sewer project required excavation in the arboretum.
Oubre, a Port Arthur native, served as city manager of Orange from February 2005 until he took the Woodway job. During his tenure in Orange, the city weathered storms including Hurricane Harvey in 2017, which left parts of town under several feet of water.
Oubre previously served as police chief, acting city manager and city manager in Vidor from 2002 to 2005. Before that, he was a police officer in Groves and worked as an investigator for the Provost Umphrey Law Firm, his resume states.
He also held an adjunct instructor position at Lamar State College in Orange and is a former adjunct instructor at Lamar University in Beaumont. Oubre holds a doctoral degree in public policy and administration from Walden University in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as well as a master of public administration and a bachelor’s degree from Lamar University.
In his statement, Oubre said he will spend the next years traveling with family and spending time with his grandchildren.
