William Tennent Houston Sr.

Board Member

Tennent Houston, born in Augusta in 1950, attended Forest Hills Elementary, Langford Junior High and graduated from Richmond Academy. He received a BA in History from Washington & Lee University, an MBA in Finance from Georgia State University, and is a certified public accountant. He served two years active duty as an officer in the US Army and retired from the US Army Reserves with the rank of captain.

Mr. Houston was President and Chief Executive Officer of Merry Land and Investment Company, Inc., an owner of apartment communities throughout the South. Merry Land was the only Augusta based company ever to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Mr. Houston is active in numerous business, charitable, cultural, and social organizations and has served as President or Chairman of Historic Augusta, Inc., The Tuttle Newton Home, the Augusta Kiwanis Club, Richmond Associates Investment Club, and is a Trustee of the Academy of Richmond County. He has served as Trustee and Treasurer of Reid Memorial Presbyterian Church.

Mr. Houston is a preservationist of historic buildings and was responsible for the rehabilitation of a number of historic properties in Augusta and in Charleston, SC. Most notable was his leadership in the restoration of the Union Baptist Church on Greene St, in Augusta and in saving Broadway Apartments and the Shirley Hotel from demolition.

Mr. Houston is married to the artist, Mary Kilgore Houston. They have five children and six grandchildren.