Bruce E. Hillegeist
President, Greater Tomball Area Chamber of Commerce (1994-Present)
Bruce Hillegeist was born in Tomball Community Hospital to the late Roy Hillegeist and the late Arleah Bruce Hillegeist. A fifth generation Texan whose descendants immigrated to Texas through Indianola from the Black Forest region of Germany in 1842, Hillegeist is a lifetime resident of the Rose Hill and Tomball communities and is a lifelong member of Salem Lutheran Church. He is an alumnus of Tomball Lutheran School (’74), Tomball High School (’78) and Sam Houston State University (’82) and a graduate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Organization Management (1999), as well as Leadership North Houston.
Prior to becoming employed with the Tomball Chamber in 1994, Hillegeist was a hometown banker for 13 years. He was named Tomball Citizen of the Year in 1994 and presided as president of the Texas Chamber of Commerce Executives in 2010. In June, 2019 Hillegeist received the Marvin Hurley Award, the highest honor granted to a Texas Chamber professional by the Texas Chamber of Commerce Executives.
Hillegeist serves HCA Houston Healthcare Tomball as a board of director and is a founding board member of both the Tomball ISD Scholarship Foundation and the Tomball ISD Education Foundation.
In his position with the Greater Tomball Area Chamber of Commerce, Hillegeist, along with his professional staff and Chamber volunteers, coordinates many of the Tomball area’s most popular annual events including Tomball Night (celebrating 54 years), the Tomball Holiday Parade and the Miss Tomball Pageant (both began in 1965). In addition, Hillegeist works actively to develop strong job growth and prosperity in the Northwest Houston Region, as well as promotes and represents Tomball as the place of choice in which to live, work, worship and play for both businesses and residents alike.