Mr. Brown joined the Midland College Foundation Board in 1987. To honor the contributions of Mr. Brown and his longtime business partner, Cy Wagner, the Fine Arts Auditorium in the Allison Fine Arts Building was renamed the Wagner and Brown Auditorium in 1992.
Mr. Brown was born in Brownsville, raised in San Antonio and graduated from Texas A&M University with degrees in mechanical and petroleum engineering. Mr. Brown met Mr. Wagner in Midland in 1962 when they were employed by J.E. Jones Drilling. They pooled their resources to form a company known today as Wagner and Brown, Ltd. That company has exploration and production interests in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana, Michigan, Kansas, Wyoming and Mississippi. The company has helped drill more than 2,500 wells and currently has more than 170 employees in its Midland, Houston, field and affiliate company offices.
The company has diversified over the years. Today it is involved in natural gas gathering and marketing; crude oil purchasing and reselling; pipeline development, construction and operation; real estate development- PFS Thermoplastic Powder Coatings; and Pinnacle CNG Systems, which designs, manufactures, sells and operates compressed natural gas fuel stations and equipment.
Mr. Brown has been honored by Texas A&M University, received the Top Hand Award from the Permian Basin Petroleum Association and was named to the Petroleum Museum's Hall of Fame. This year, the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents approved the naming of its new chemical engineering facility after Mr. Brown.
Brown serves on the boards of numerous Midland organizations including Midland Community Theatre and the Petroleum Museum. He and his wife, Frances, have three children-Van Brown, Peggy Brown Ingram, Patrick A. Brown and 12 grandchildren.
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