News Reader

Dinah Marks is a Native of Auburn, Alabama. She graduated from Beauregard High School, Opelika, Alabama. As a recipient of a Four-Year Academic Scholarship to the school of her choice, she chose Alabama A&M University where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Education/English.

Andre’s leadership style should be considered as a servant leader. Regardless of his title or position, his approach is always to serve those he encounters. This is evident in his role as the controller with Medco Construction a 136 million dollar company, his consulting clients the Omni Corporation, the Rosewood Corporation, and Noble House Corporation—all which attest to Andre’s hallmark of integrating and balancing visionary leadership with common sense, problem-solving, and solution-oriented collaborations.

Nicole Raphiel joined the DeSoto City Council on February 20, 2018, when she was sworn-in to fill the vacancy in Place Three created by the departure of three-term City Council Member Deshaundra Lockhart Jones. Raphiel, a former chair of DeSoto’s Park Development Corporation Board, won the February 3rd special election to fill the remaining portion of Jones' term which runs through May 2019. Councilmember Raphiel has been a proud homeowner in DeSoto for more than two decades and is an active member at her longtime church, Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Texas at Dallas and is a proud mother of three young adults.

Pierette Parker was elected to DeSoto City Council in June 2023 Runoff election following the May General election to serve for Place Two. Ms. Parker is a 20+ year DeSoto resident and has served on many boards/committees both professionally and volunteer. Pierette's most recent service is as the Park Board Chair position on the DeSoto Parks and Recreations Development Board where she was involved in decisions regarding the current and future parks that serve the citizen's needs such as McCowan Aquatic Park, Briarwood Park, Mirkes Park, Ernie Roberts Park, BMX Facility and Moseley Pool. Pierette is Precinct Chair for Precinct 3617 and works to increase voter awareness and engagement.

Rachel L. Proctor was elected as the 22nd Mayor of the City of DeSoto in February 2021 and re-elected for her first official term in May 2022. Texas-bred entrepreneur, Rachel L. Proctor, has revolutionized the way people lead in business and public service. She was first elected to City Council in a Special Election in March 2013 and was re-elected in a General Election in May 2014, winning the election overwhelmingly with 78% of the vote.