What makes Bob Dorsett “out of the ordinary” is well, Bob Dorsett…his story and his vision for the small community he calls home.

“I moved to the Lake Travis area in 1981. We lived on a ranch 9 miles up Hamilton Pool Road. I was a member of the second graduating class of Lake Travis High School. Things were completely different out here. Lakeway was a burgeoning resort community centered on the WCT with two golf courses, Yaupon and Live Oak. In the summers I worked as a ski boat driver at the Lakeway Marina. If you can imagine, the land where the Randall’s on 620 is now was once a rodeo arena. That is where we used to hang out. There was nothing out here. Even the resort back then was mostly undeveloped dirt roads. I had an YZ125 Enduro motorcycle I used to ride all over Lakeway. Now it is all houses and condos.”

After graduation, Bob went to college and eventually to law school, returning each time to the community that was never far from his thoughts. Enter a pretty corporate recruiter who would become his bride and Bob’s thoughts once again turned to returning to the Lake Travis area to raise his family. Raised in Plano, Tanya, a self-proclaimed “city girl” resisted. “Living in Plano I was used to easy access to restaurants, shopping and grocery stores. I never intended to come here, but in my heart I knew we would end up here. I knew it was Bob’s dream to live at the lake.” Eventually two things would change her mind. “The big draw was the school system. We knew that we wanted to raise our children in an area with excellent public schools. About 5 years ago this area really began to develop and I had access to the things a working mother needs to balance her time and make family life easier. I own a window covering business and have flexibility, but it was important for me to have convenient access to the things a mom needs. When they broke ground for the Hill Country Galleria I was very happy.”

Living in Falconhead for the past 5 years the Dorsetts have experienced the ups and downs of rapid growth of the area. Both Bob and Tanya have become totally involved in the community. They are active members of LakeHills Church. Bob now teaches mock trial to the Lake Travis High School Debate class…

a class he observes that has more students than his entire graduating class of 89 members. Their children Hannah, age 9, and Trey, age 5 attend elementary school and preschool in Lakeway. They take advantage of the active Lake Travis Youth Organization participating in soccer, tennis, and t-ball as well as Tex Arts for jazz dance. Bob has coached both children in soccer and was a founder of the local Indian Princesses group. Living what seemed to be a fruitful and satisfying family life, it was Bob’s commitment to building community that became the impetus for running for city council.

“Bee Cave is unusual in many ways. We have 3,000 residents, yet 50,000 people pass through here on a daily basis. Our Town Center forms the heart of a multi-use shopping, business and residential area. With the explosive growth we have to be grateful to Carolyn Murphy for her vision for Bee Cave. We were one blink away from the intersection of 620 and 71 being the location for 3 car dealerships so I give credit to Robert Baldwin, the long time owner of the land and Carolyn, our mayor, for helping create the vision for the Galleria as a town center. Look at it…it is built on some of the most beautiful land in Central Texas. This is more than a shopping center. It is a gathering place. Mothers meet here for play dates. The children love playing in the fountains. We have concerts, dance performances and ceremonies in the amphitheater. It draws from all of the Lake Travis area as well as Westlake and Dripping Springs.”

The Hill Country Galleria and Bee Cave Town Center figure prominently into Bob’s out of the ordinary vision for community building in the area. “This is an area of separate self-contained communities…Lakeway, the Hills, Falconhead all connected through the school system. I wanted to find a way to bring them together and the Galleria seemed to be the vehicle.” In 2007 after the Lake Travis Cavaliers won the State Championship in football, Bob spearheaded a parade down the main street of the Galleria ending at the amphitheater with a presentation by Governor Perry. “People were standing 5 deep along the street. I saw the community come together. Young kids who were playing Pop Warner football and cheerleading were watching and wanting to be those Cavalier players and cheerleaders 10 years later. I know it is old fashioned but that is the kind of event that builds a community’s identity. We decided to make it an annual event and it grew to include the volleyball team and a cross-country runner this year. The Galleria is our town center and I want to utilize it to bring the community together.”

Revenues from the Galleria have also allowed the City of Bee Cave to build a new city park, which will adjoin the new Backyard concert facility. Bob envisions music and art festivals in the new park as well as artisan events and concerts in the Galleria as tools to build community connections and develop a sense of belonging that will be passed along through generations. In a time where most families in the United States are scattered far from their roots, Bob Dorsett has an out of the ordinary vision for embracing the “exploding development “ in the place he calls home…creating an old fashioned small town community on the main street of a mall and hoping to give Hannah and Trey the same feeling he has for “life on the lake.”