Richard S. Schmidt is the United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Southern District of Texas in Corpus Christi. He received a B.S. in Mathematics, with honors, from New Mexico State University and a J.D. from the University of Texas. He served our country and retired as a Col. in the U.S. Air Force Reserve. He is Vice President of Professional Education, Bankruptcy Section, of the State Bar of Texas, and a member of the Louisiana Bar Association. Judge Schmidt was selected one of the top ten Bankruptcy Judges in America by Turn Around & Workout Magazine. He received the 2004 Judicial Appreciation Award from the National Association of Chapter 13Trustees. He is a frequent lecturer at local and national bankruptcy conferences. On a personal note, he was a 1995 finisher of the Houston Tenneco Marathon. He also enjoys local theatre and played Professor Henry Higgins in the 1995 Harbor Playhouse production of My Fair Lady and Frank Butler in the 1998 Harbor Playhouse production of Annie Get Your Gun. He was voted Outstanding Young Man of Shreveport in1977 and received a Legion of Merit in 2003.