Real estate activity’s finally bubbling in Fort Worth’s Historic Southside, but so are prices EMPLOYERS’ DILEMMA
Confronting high health care costs means calling employees on their bad habits
happened when we sat down to lunch with Jonathan Morris and four other minority CEOs
Kennimer, Griff Babb, Toby Cotton, Sarah Huckaby, John Vallance, and Robert Pike
Breadth of knowledge and depth of experience are essential in an ever-changing real estate market. For more than 35 years, our professionals have provided audit, tax, fund administration, and consulting services to real estate developers, lenders, contractors and investors around the country.
September / October 2019
34 Minority Rapport When we gathered a group of successful minority business owners around a table at The Capital Grille, the result was a lively conversation about their “whys,” what’s changed on the local entrepreneurial landscape and how their differences have served not as an obstacle — but an opportunity.
42 Untapped Opportunity While the Near Southside has roared ahead, the other side of Interstate 35 — Historic Southside — awaits the same boost.
48 Cantey Hanger's New Sheriff Brian Newby’s career has had quite the journey, one that’s taken him from the office of Gov. Rick Perry to, now, one of Fort Worth’s largest law firms.
54 Dream Office 2019: River District Time for the big reveal. Take a look inside our inaugural Dream Office, now open for business.
76 Top Commercial Brokers and Agents: 2019 The area’s rock stars in commercial real estate.
ING OUR BRAND. DEFINING OUR REPUTATION. PLANNING OUR FUTURE. MAKING OUR MARK. BUILDING OUR BRAND. DEFINING OUR REPUTATION. PLANNING OUR FUTURE. MAKING OUR MARK. BUILDING OUR BRAND. DEFINING OUR REPUTATION. PLANNING OUR FUTURE. MAKING OUR MARK. BUILDING OUR BRAND. DEFINING OUR REPUTATION. PLANNING OUR FUTURE. MAKING OUR MARK. BUILDING OUR BRAND. DEFIN ING OUR REPUTATION. PLANNING OUR FUTURE. MAKING OUR MARK. BUILDING OUR BRAND. DEFINING OUR REPUTATION. PLANNING OUR FUTURE. MAKING OUR MARK. BUILDING OUR BRAND. DEFINING OUR REPUTATION. PLANNING OUR FUTURE. MAKING OUR MARK. BUILDING OUR BRAND. DEFINING OUR REP UTATION. PLANNING OUR FUTURE. MAKING OUR MARK. BUILDING OUR BRAND. DEFINING OUR REPUTA TION. PLANNING OUR FUTURE. MAKING OUR MARK. BUILDING OUR BRAND. DEFINING OUR REPUTATION. PLANNING OUR FUTURE. MAKING OUR MARK. BUILDING OUR BRAND. DEFINING OUR REPUTATION. PLAN NING OUR FUTURE. MAKING OUR MARK. BUILDING OUR BRAND. DEFINING OUR REPUTATION. PLANNING OUR FUTURE. MAKING OUR MARK. BUILDING OUR BRAND. DEFINING OUR REPUTATION. PLANNING OUR FUTURE. MAKING OUR MARK. BUILDING OUR BRAND. DEFINING OUR REPUTATION. PLANNING OUR FU TURE. MAKING OUR MARK. BUILDING OUR BRAND. DEFINING OUR REPUTATION. PLANNING OUR FUTURE. MAKING OUR MARK. BUILDING OUR BRAND. DEFINING OUR REPUTATION. PLANNING OUR FUTURE. MAK ING OUR MARK. BUILDING OUR BRAND. DEFINING OUR REPUTATION. PLANNING OUR FUTURE. MAKING OUR MARK. BUILDING OUR BRAND. DEFINING OUR REPUTATION. PLANNING OUR FUTURE. MAKING OUR MARK. BUILDING OUR BRAND. DEFINING OUR REPUTATION. PLANNING OUR FUTURE. MAKING OUR MARK. BUILDING OUR BRAND. DEFINING OUR REPUTATION. PLANNING OUR FUTURE. MAKING OUR MARK. BUILD ING OUR BRAND. DEFINING OUR REPUTATION. PLANNING OUR FUTURE. MAKING OUR MARK. BUILDING OUR BRAND. DEFINING OUR REPUTATION. PLANNING OUR FUTURE. MAKING OUR MARK. BUILDING OUR BRAND. DEFINING OUR REPUTATION. PLANNING OUR FUTURE. MAKING OUR MARK. BUILDING OUR BRAND. DEFINING OUR REPUTATION. PLANNING OUR FUTURE. MAKING OUR MARK. BUILDING OUR BRAND. DEFIN ING OUR REPUTATION. PLANNING OUR FUTURE. MAKING OUR MARK. BUILDING OUR BRAND. DEFINING OUR REPUTATION. PLANNING OUR FUTURE. MAKING OUR MARK. BUILDING OUR BRAND. DEFINING OUR REPUTATION. PLANNING OUR FUTURE. MAKING OUR MARK. BUILDING OUR BRAND. DEFINING OUR REP UTATION. PLANNING OUR FUTURE. MAKING OUR MARK. BUILDING OUR BRAND. DEFINING OUR REPUTA TION. PLANNING OUR FUTURE. MAKING OUR MARK. BUILDING OUR BRAND. DEFINING OUR REPUTATION. PLANNING OUR FUTURE. MAKING OUR MARK. BUILDING OUR BRAND. DEFINING OUR REPUTATION. PLAN NING OUR FUTURE. MAKING OUR MARK. BUILDING OUR BRAND. DEFINING OUR REPUTATION. PLANNING OUR FUTURE. MAKING OUR MARK. BUILDING OUR BRAND. DEFINING OUR REPUTATION. PLANNING OUR FUTURE. MAKING OUR MARK. BUILDING OUR BRAND. DEFINING OUR REPUTATION. PLANNING OUR FU TURE. MAKING OUR MARK. BUILDING OUR BRAND. DEFINING OUR REPUTATION. PLANNING OUR FUTURE. MAKING OUR MARK. BUILDING OUR BRAND. DEFINING OUR REPUTATION. PLANNING OUR FUTURE. MAK ING OUR MARK. BUILDING OUR BRAND. DEFINING OUR REPUTATION. PLANNING OUR FUTURE. MAKING
6 Publisher’s Note
Bizz Buzz
9 Bizz Buzz: Arlington’s Levitt Pavilion is getting a lift.
12 Stay Informed: Entrepreneurs of Excellence and the books that changed the way they do business.
14 Face Time: How Freese and Nichols maintains its company culture — even after 125 years.
18 Distinctive Style: The smallest details can make the biggest difference on a traditional women’s suit.
20 Wine and Dine: Two local chefpreneurs face the chopping block of reality TV.
22 Off the Clock: Drive a tank, shoot a flamethrower and toss a grenade — for team building.
26 Tech: Step inside the office of tomorrow.
28 Office Space: Functionality is on par with design at this company
headquarters, located beside the greens of the Hawks Creek Golf Club.
32 Health and Fitness Turns out stress isn’t entirely a bad thing.
88 EO Spotlight: A former TCU tight end ventures into commercial real estate, focusing on the neighborhood not too far from his alma mater.
90 Running Toward the Roar: Getting into the earbuds of pro athletes didn’t happen without tackling a few obstacles.
92 Analyze This/Insurance: Why health care costs are rising and what companies can do about it.
94 Analyze This/Wealth: Seven questions to ask your future financial advisor.
96 Analyze This/Real Estate: Getting the international eye on Fort Worth real estate.
98 Analyze This/FW Chamber Report: The chamber expands its resources for small businesses and preps for its big competition.
100 Business Leadership/Management Tips: Hackers aren’t just targeting computers — they’re tapping into phones too. Here’s how to keep your company safe.
102 Business Leadership/Successful Entrepreneurship: Finish 2019 with a bang.
104 Day in the Life: Twelve-hour days aren’t uncommon for the Hispanic Chamber’s new CEO.
Special Advertising Section
61 Dream Office Vendors
81 Commercial Realtors
Ezekiel Elliott has signed a $90 million contract extension, making him the National Football League’s highest-paid running back, according to the NFL Network. As a Cowboys fan, I hope the damage to the culture of the 2019 team is salvageable. Elliott’s holdout spoke volumes to the “ME versus WE mentality” of Elliott. When I say I’m going to do something, I do it. Webster’s definition of a contract is a “binding agreement between two or more persons or parties, especially: one legally enforceable.” Three years ago, Elliott signed a four-year, $24,956,341 contract with $24,506,340 of it guaranteed. The guarantee means that if Elliott had endured a careerending knee injury in training camp, before his first game as a Dallas Cowboy, he would have received 98 percent of his contract. So, after cashing his $16,350,066 signing bonus and taking three years’ salary, he is now telling his teammates that his becoming the highest-paid running back in history is more important than honoring the contract he signed three years ago and his helping the team win a championship.
While I would not loath having a $50 million Gulfstream V jet at my leisure, an $8 million Airbus H145 helicopter to take to work each day, and a net worth of $5 billion, it comes with a price. I would not have switched seats with Jerry Jones the last two months, having to negotiate my top producer’s contract two years before it expires. Although Jones may have by now become immune to this, I would feel betrayed by Elliott. With 32 teams in the NFL, winning
a Super Bowl is not an easy task. Since its commencement 52 years ago, 12 teams have still never won it. At 79 years old, Jones is running out of time to make it back after a 24-year dry spell.
One player does not win a Super Bowl. That concept can easily be lost on those that find a high level of success. The individual success of Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith in the late ’90s would not have occurred without a legendary group of offensive linemen labelled as the Great Wall of Dallas. In sports and in business, the people that surround you becomes part your success. In Emmitt Smith’s Hall of Fame induction speech, he mentioned all six of his offensive linemen by name. The most successful people and teams realize that it is not just about ME. They understand that success is shared and realize that without the WE, they would never reach their greatest potential and ultimate success.
For teams and companies to grow together and achieve collective success, there has to be a WE over ME mentality. If you want it to be about you, go play an individual sport like golf, or in business become a consultant. That might be what is best for you and your personality. But if you care about the collective success of your team and teammates, or the company you work for and the employees that work beside you, live it out. It has been said that you are either supporting the vision or supporting division. ME thinking does not support the vision.
Hal A. Brown owner/publisher
owner/publisher hal a.
marion c. knight x135 account executive tammy denapoli x141 brand manager scott mobley x140
support amanda kowalski x140 director of events & marketing natasha freimark x158 corporate cfo charles newton cdo robby kyser
To subscribe to Fort Worth Inc. magazine, or to ask questions regarding your subscription, call 817.560.6111 or go to fwtx.com/fwinc.
Fort Worth Inc. is published bi-monthly by Panther City Media Group LP, 6777 Camp Bowie Blvd, Suite 130, Fort Worth, TX 76116. Postage Paid at Fort Worth, Texas.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Fort Worth Magazine, 6777 Camp Bowie Blvd, Suite 130, Fort Worth, TX 76116. Volume 5, Number 5, September/ October 2019. Basic Subscription price: $19.95 per year. Single copy price: $6.99 ©2019 Panther City Media Group. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher.
how to contact us
For questions or comments, contact Scott Nishimura, executive editor, at 817.560.6111 or via email at snishimura@fwtexas.com.
Haynes Fire has been in business since 1979 and provides 24/7 service. We are currently in Amarillo, Dallas/Fort Worth and Austin. We have Licensed Fire Protection Planners in addition to our trained service and installation technicians. We have technicians that have attended Oklahoma State University’s Fire Protection schools. At these schools they teach Wet, Dry, and Pre-Action Fire Sprinkler protection systems. In addition, two technicians have attended the fire pump school at Oklahoma State University. We are a Contractor in the Rapid Response Contractor Network, a division of Tyco Sprinklers.
Arlington’s Levitt Pavilion is offering visitors a bird’s-eye concert view, thanks in part to a big check from Baylor Scott & White Health. BY MATT PAYNE
The City of Arlington will tout a downtown hospitality center at its Levitt Pavilion in months to come.
The venue, made possible by millions of dollars in donations, will accommodate up to 100 people. It will include a second-floor hospitality suite to be constructed over permanent onsite bathrooms the Levitt Pavilion is also constructing.
An outdoor deck will allow guests to see the Levitt’s concert stage from the suite. “With more organizations using the Levitt outside of its free concert season, the hospitality suite makes the venue more appealing to those organizing festivals and events for Arlington’s thriving downtown,” Levitt Pavilion Arlington Communications said in a release.
The Baylor Scott & White Health system donated $750,000 toward the project. For that reason, the venue’s official name will be the Baylor Scott & White Orthopedic & Spine Hospitality Center. Similarly, the Arlington Tomorrow Foundation awarded $500,000 toward the project — the second-floor hospitality suite will be branded after the organization.
The hospitality center-to-be is being built at the pavilion’s southwest corner, where South and Pecan streets intersect. Arlington construction company J. Hutcherson Construction estimates the project will take eight months, making the facility ready in time for the 2020 concert season and the completion of the Abram Street revitalization project.
Built in 2008, the Levitt Pavilion was made possible with support from the Levitt Foundation and a grassroots community effort to raise the construction funds. Once it was built, it was given to the City of Arlington for Founders Plaza, a city park in Downtown Arlington at 100 W. Abram St.
Nonprofit Levitt Pavilion Arlington puts on more than 50 free concerts a year, which attracts more than 100,000 people annually.
What’s your advice for approaching an employee who’s, well, not doing what they’re supposed to be doing?
Usually the problem is they haven’t been told, explicitly, what they are supposed to be doing. Set clear performance expectations at the outset and hold people accountable quantitatively. If they miss their number, help them understand what they are doing right and wrong. Usually, when an employee is not doing what they are supposed to be doing, it’s not their fault — it’s bad management.
— Bret Starr, founder and CEO of The Starr Conspiracy
When tasks are given, set a deadline for completion. Always ask if they are committed to the timeline and if any adjustments might need to be made if there are other tasks that could get in the way. If all agree on the deadline, there should be no excuses to getting the task done in a timely and efficient manner. — Rosa Navejar, president of The Rios Group
Visit one-on-one to talk about what is holding the project back. Is there an external roadblock that needs to be removed? Is time management an issue? Is the needed support in place? Is there some misunderstanding about the nature of the project or the expected deliverables? One-on-one conversations where we talk about the issue are often rewarded with new information and breakthroughs.
— Andy Taft, president of Downtown Fort Worth Inc.
The key factor there is delivering a message that outlines a clear set of measurable outcomes that we can revisit in the future (one week, 30 days, 90 days). If at the next checkpoint there has been no improvement, the next conversation is easier to have, and we will look for alternative solutions or roles within the company. — Chris Powers, Jr., CEO/CIO of Fort Capital
Find these stories and more business news on FWTX.com.
Arlington is one of two cities the National Medal of Honor Museum is considering for its location, beating out Washington, D.C.; New York City; and San Diego. The other city still in the running is Denver. The museum will announce which city it chooses on Oct. 2.
READ MORE: Arlington One of Two Cities Considered for National Medal of Honor Museum
Oven and Cellar, originally slated to open in downtown Dallas, will open doors in Fort Worth instead. It will pick back up on the Italian theme now-closed Avanti Ristorante left off.
READ MORE: Oven and Cellar Takes Over Former Avanti Space
The Tarrant County Furniture Bank, open as of Aug. 14, provides new or gently used furniture to those transitioning out of homelessness. Advocates are struggling to furnish at least 10 households every week.
READ MORE: Tarrant County Furniture Bank Fills New Homes with Hope
So long, Southlake. One health care company takes its growth to a part of Fort Worth that’s equally thriving. BY MATT PAYNE
Fort Worth has landed a health care company from a neighboring city, one aiming to employ hundreds more by year-end.
American Specialty Health will take residence at 13650 Heritage Parkway in AllianceTexas, a multi-development community in North Fort Worth, hosting 500 companies. The Indiana-based company offers benefits management services and is moving its Texas office from Southlake to Fort Worth in order to support the persistent growth officials say they’ve seen.
“We are in the midst of a recruiting effort,” says Lisa Freeman, senior public relations manager for ASH. “We needed to expand. It’s a much bigger office space. It will enable employees to be more comfortable in a larger space as we continue to grow.”
By year-end, Freeman says ASH anticipates growing from 300 current employees in Southlake to 500 in Fort Worth. In total, about 350 to 375 would be full time with the remainder hired as temps.
The health care group will be leasing 164,000 square feet of office space previ-
ously occupied by Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, which recently opened its new Fort Worth business center also within AllianceTexas.
“We are pleased to welcome American Specialty Health to AllianceTexas’ evergrowing office community,” said Steve Aldrich, senior vice president of Hillwood, in a written statement. “Our region has an extensive and impressive list of top-tier health companies, and with its cutting-edge health care services and new employment opportunities, ASH enhances that list in North Texas.”
The folks at ASH say the company covers more than 50 million Americans under its benefits administration programs and that the company has grown into a half-billiondollar corporation since opening in 1987. The company provides services in musculoskeletal health, fitness and exercise programs, and more with a goal of “bending the health care-cost curve.”
A ribbon cutting with Mayor Betsy Price is set to take place in mid-October.
This story originally appeared on fwtx.com.
Before the 2019 Charles Schwab Challenge, the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce hosted a preview luncheon on May 14 at Colonial Country Club. The event's special guest was PGA Tour golfer Rod Pampling, interviewed by TCU Sports Network color analyst John Denton.
1. Rod Pampling, John Denton, Lonnie
Nicholson
2. Natasha Freimark, Claire Maisel, Micah Willis, Michelle Cockrell
Some of our 2019 Entrepreneur of Excellence finalists share their book recs.
Traction by Gino Wickman. This is a book on how to lead, manage and hold people accountable. It has a system with scorecards, meeting cadence, people tools, etc. Our business is better, and there is more accountability to our people, meeting structure and tools to go to for specific issues. — Kevin Lackey, CEO, Freedom Powersports
Jack: Straight from the Gut by Jack Welch really instilled a culture and management style within our organization. As a past engineer, I looked up to Jack as the CEO of GE, and he inspired me to grow, evolve, expand, face challenges and grow some more. — JP Piccinini, CEO, JP and Associates REALTORS
Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh. This book has been a total game changer in my life through an inspirational and powerful message around the importance of focusing everything in your business around culture and customer service through foundational and authentic core values that are truly a reflection of your mission. — Dr. Saam Zarrabi, partner, Rodeo Dental and Orthodontics
Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek. The book states that success or failure of an individual is determined by leading excellence, not managerial acumen. The more power that is transferred from the top down to those actually doing the job, the more powerful the organization and leader. Real leaders effectuate change in the way people think, live and act. — Larry Kemp, CEO, Kemp & Sons General Services
I can’t say that there is truly one book that has influenced me; it is amongst a number of different books. Paychecks for Life by Charles D. Epstein, Founders at Work by Jessica Livingston, Warren Buffett: The Life, Lessons & Rules For Success by Warren Buffett — they all bring their own twist on how you could handle different situations you are faced with. To be honest, though, there aren’t even just a few books that can prepare you for every situation. I feel that they more so set the path, and then you decide which direction you are going to take. — Doug Pignatelli, president, SKU 2 U Fulfillment
The E-Myth and its sequel, E-Myth Mastery, by Michael E. Gerber. E-Myth has a way to simplify and focus your efforts, measure everything and prepare yourself for growth. Behind all your efforts should be an insatiable passion for what you do.
— Roxanne Myers, general manager, Lost Oak Winery
Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin. Certainly my day-today decisions do not have near the consequences of decisions that Navy SEALs make, but I believe the decision-making principles are the same. This book offers guidelines for leadership at all levels. It is an exciting read with action-packed stories that drill in the topic for each chapter. — Michael Freeman, president, Steele & Freeman, Inc.
Shoe Dog by Phil Knight. Learned a lot about how he overcame all the obstacles along the way in order to make Nike what it is today [and also] how to think entirely in a different way [with] out-of-box solutions to the perceived problems. — Prasad Reddy, CEO, Twisted X
Radical Candor by Kim Scott explores the juxtaposition between aggressive guidance and destructive empathy when it comes to communicating with your team. At a fundamental level, people want to do better — to be better for you and your company. Too often we bend the truth to coddle people's feelings. That doesn't serve them at all nor does it ultimately serve your brand. We need to tell the truth, critically, while exploring ways to make the truth matter to each individual in order to promote positive change. — Anna Summersett, partner, VargheseSummersett
Good to Great by Jim Collins. Never thought about being good as a bad thing until I read this. It creates urgency to always be better and, most importantly, be better than your competition. A great company is always changing. A good company is vulnerable. We are now always restructuring and reevaluating. — Robert Whittaker, CEO, Magnolia Fence & Patio
Modern and inviting, BuzziShade pendant light bridges the gap between furniture and architecture in cafes, lobbies and collaborative spaces while absorbing external noise levels
Freese and Nichols, in its 125th year, keeps growing at about 10 percent in a tight labor market, while maintaining its culture.
BY SCOTT NISHIMURA
Freese and Nichols, the Fort Worth engineering and architecture firm enjoying its 125th year, has got a lot on the table. The company’s preparing to move its headquarters to downtown’s Burnett Plaza next year from southwest Fort Worth. The move puts the company closer to major clients like the City of Fort Worth and Army Corps of Engineers and will be a quality-of-life boost for employees, Brian Coltharp, the CEO, says. “A lot of good things have happened downtown.”
The firm continues the national expansion it began in 2013. Today, it has more than 900 employees in 20 offices, up from 450 employees in 2010. The company’s foundation is in water and wastewater, but today, it’s also in engineering, architecture, environmental science and services, construction, public transportation, urban planning, and educational planning and design. A couple of markets the company has invested substantially in and is moving deeper into: transportation and federal work.
Growth vehicles: Freese and Nichols started opening new offices outside Texas five years ago, which has helped maintain its growth, Coltharp says. New offices have included Raleigh, North Carolina; Oklahoma City; Atlanta; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Greensboro, North Carolina; Tulsa; Charlotte; New Orleans; Winston Salem, North Carolina; and Las Cruces, New Mexico. “We hire local people. That’s helped us maintain our culture.”
Competing in the tight labor market:
“Nationally, the unemployment rate is the lowest it’s ever been. Anybody who wants a job has a job.” The company has focused on employees, client relationships, financial stability and growth. “We’re not all about growth and profitability. We’re about all four of those things. We want this to be a great place to work. If we want to maintain our culture, the first thing we have to do is define our culture. Our vision is to be the firm of choice.”
We’re targeting 10 percent growth. We’ve been able to maintain our culture and have had success growing at that rate.
Growth goals: Freese and Nichols has been growing at more than 10 percent annually, with annual revenue today at about $140 million, Coltharp, a civil engineer who joined the firm in 1992 and became the CEO in 2017, says. “We’re targeting 10 percent growth. We’ve been able to maintain our culture and have had success growing at that rate.”
The company’s values include learning continuously, engaging as a family, acting with integrity, delivering quality and serving. “We have 20 offices now. We do a lot of things together as a company. We fly people in.” New employee orientation occurs at the Fort Worth headquarters, and the downtown location will be an asset, enabling new employees to stay downtown and avoid renting cars. “We’re going to generate a lot of synergy.”
Ten years from now: Coltharp figures the company will be at around 1,800 employees.
At Gus Bates Insurance, our clients rely on us to help guide them through the complex world of insurance and investments. But t before
When business is tanking... Turn to page 22 to find out how to get on and shoot one of these bad boys.
Five ways to add a little flair to the classic
BY SAMANTHA CALIMBAHIN
Shirt, jacket, pencil skirt or pants — the classic businesswoman look isn’t going anywhere this fall, though some women aren’t as fond of the ensemble, whether it be due to the stodgy guise it portrays or the way it fits on their body type. But according to Clearfork clothier Double R, which specializes in women’s suiting, you don’t have to be a pear or an apple or an hourglass to look good in office attire. “We don’t pigeonhole people with names and labels,” Double R founder Ravi Ratan says. Instead, all it takes are the smallest details to create a suit with personality and a flattering silhouette. Here are a few they suggest:
Ruffles: Add a feminine, whimsical touch to classic, tailored silhouettes.
Bows: Provide a finishing touch at the neckline, shoulder or waist and can be styled in a number of ways.
Bell sleeves: Can make a shorter sleeve more interesting and, paired with a pencil skirt or tailored pant, offer a flattering, professional silhouette without being fussy.
Pleat sleeves: Can create volume for petite frames without overwhelming the wearer.
Fabric selection (e.g., pinstripes, plaids, etc.): Can vary a silhouette, give suiting a personal look and incorporate texture and pattern to your wardrobe without recreating the wheel.
An
inside
look at “Chopped” from the perspective of two Fort Worth chefs. BY KRISTA
AFood Network show like “Chopped” is anything but a first rodeo for Fort Worth chef-preneurs Juan Rodriguez and Ben Merritt. Rodriguez was Tim Love’s sous-chef on Food Network’s “Iron Chef” back in 2007; both also competed in Top Chef, a local “Chopped”-style showdown hosted by our sister publication, Fort Worth Magazine.
So, when the opportunity came to add another culinary arts battle under their belts, neither shied away from the heat. In fact, both made it out of the kitchen unburned, and they told us just how they did it.
The Initial Chop Merritt, owner of Fort Worth restaurants Ben’s Triple B and Fixture Kitchen, learned about the casting call for
“Chopped” via Facebook. After sending in his audition video, Merritt says his phone rang within 30 minutes — with the casting crew on the other line. A couple phone interviews later, he was on the show.
As for Rodriguez, the chef behind Magdalena’s and Austin City Taco Co., landing on “Chopped” was involuntary. His wife initially encouraged him to audition, but he had no desire to do so. Then, to his shock, “Chopped” contacted him — his wife had gone rogue and sent an application. “She just did it behind my back,” Rodriguez says.
But Rodriguez holds no grudges. Once he received the news that he was going to be competing on the show, Rodriguez says he was excited, albeit nervous.
the most challenging parts of the show. Merritt says he forgot what was in the pantry; Rodriguez says he didn’t figure out the layout of the kitchen until the second round.
The cooking portion of “Chopped” is exactly as it appears — 20 minutes allotted for the chefs to create a recipe out of the ingredients given to them. But there are bits that get edited, like when Rodriguez was told to “tone down the Texas.”
“With the editing, they changed some things that were said; there were some snarky comments,” he says.
Okay. I’ve never seen “Chopped.” What is it?
“Chopped” is one of Food Network’s most popular programs, with new episodes airing on Tuesdays. Each round essentially begins with the chefs receiving a basket of random ingredients with which the contestants must create a dish. Ben Merritt appeared in the episode “Culinary Fireworks”; Rodriguez appeared in “Take the Cake.” Both aired in July.
Several months passed between getting the green light and actually competing. For Merritt, the “Chopped” crew came to Fort Worth to film him cooking at Fixture. Then, months after that, it was off to New York for the competition itself. After landing in New York, Merritt met the other contestants at 5 a.m. at a McDonald’s. Then, “Chopped” crew members picked them up and whisked them to a warehouse in the Upper East Side for the competition. They got a tour of the kitchen (which Merritt says no one would remember come show time) and a rundown of what would happen during the competition (as in, “here’s the theme; good luck”). No one got to meet the judges until the beginning of the first round. Rodriguez says he tried to keep a nonchalant attitude toward the contest. “If I lose, I lose; if I win, I win. At least I got the experience out of it, and hopefully, I get to make some good friends,” he told himself.
Little did he know just how far he would get.
The moment the timer started, Merritt says it was fast and furious. For both Merritt and Rodriguez, not knowing the ingredients and cooking in an unfamiliar environment were
In the end, however, Rodriguez says the final cut is better than the raw version.
“It really showcased who we are,” he says. “It captivated the audience with a story.”
In the end, Rodriguez was the runner-up for his episode. Merritt won the whole thing.
Thanks to “Chopped,” both chefs agree that Fort Worth has gained more recognition from the foodie crowd. But neither are letting it go to their head.
“‘Chopped’ taught me to stay true to myself and to stay humble,” Rodriguez says. “I think that goes a long way.”
Ben Merritt’s Winning Recipe:
Graham Cracker Milk Ice Cream (as seen on “Chopped”)
• 3 cups crushed graham crackers
• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 4 egg yolks
Combine crushed graham crackers and whole milk in a pitcher or large jar and stir vigorously. Let steep for 20 minutes. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve, pushing the graham cracker mush against the sides with a spatula to get out all the milk. Put aside until ready to make the ice cream.
In a small pot over low heat, stir together milk, cream, sugar and salt until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.
In a separate bowl, whisk the yolks. Add a splash of the warm milk mixture into the yolks, stirring vigorously with a whisk (you’ve just tempered your eggs!). Pour the tempered yolks back into the pot with the milk and put the whole thing over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes or until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve. Taste for sweetness — it should be a bit sweeter than you’d like because it won’t taste as sweet once chilled. Add a bit more salt or sugar if desired.
Pour mixture into a container and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Churn your ice cream according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Right after it’s churned, it will have more of a soft serve consistency, or you could put it in a quart container and store in the freezer until needed.
Shoot!
Tanks aren’t just for display at this Uvalde ranch. They’re for climbing in. And firing.
BY MADELAINE WOODHOUSE
Ox Ranch in Uvalde, Texas, was already drawing tourists for its exotic animals that roam the property. Then, about four years ago, owner Brent Oxley’s father-in-law, former Green Beret Todd DeGidio, decided to add something crazy — a military tank from World War II. All for educational purposes, of course.
One tank would lead to the acquisition of several more — along with machine guns, grenades, artillery and other historic weaponry — that visitors can not only look at, but also interact with and, hey, even fire it themselves.
Such is the business of DriveTanks.com (yes, “.com” is part of the name), an accredited museum that offers a long list of
Offi cial sports medicine specialists of everyday athletes.
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World War II Collection
• United States M4A2E8 Sherman Medium Tank
• United States M4A3E2 “Cobra King” Sherman Medium Tank
• Russian T-34/85 Medium Tank
• German Sd.Kfz. 251 Armored Half-Track
• German Kettenkrad Sd.Kfz. 2 Tracked Motorcycle Modern Collection
• British FV101 Scorpion Light Tank
• West German Leopard 1A4 Main Battle Tank
• British Chieftain Mk. 6 Main Battle Tank
• Abbot FV433
• Soviet BMP-1
Heavy Weapons
• M134 Minigun
• M2 Machine Gun
• Barrett M82
• M9 Vietnam-Era Flame Thrower Light Weapons
• M1919 Machine Gun
• M60 Machine Gun
• M249 SAW Machine Gun Infantry Weapons
• M3 Grease Gun MG
• M1 Carbine Full Auto
• M1 Garand (semi)
• M4 Carbine MG
German and Russian weapons are also available.
military weapons and armor from varying time periods and countries. Unlike an average museum, the exhibits are interactive and provide a firsthand experience. Use a flamethrower from Vietnam. Fire a Tommy gun from World War II. Detonate a fireball.
“It’s basically the last place where a lot of these items can even be seen,” says Spencer Tesanovich, director of operations for DriveTanks.com. “The crazy part is they’re still operational, and you can actually shoot them.”
Items come from weapon collectors or other countries no longer in need of older equipment, Tesanovich says. The company also obtained federal licensing for the weapons, as well as licensing to manufacture their own ammunition.
Located two hours south of San Antonio, DriveTanks.com shares 18,000 acres with Ox Ranch, a resort-like property that offers safari-esque activities ranging from feeding giraffes and petting kangaroos to hunting wild exotic game like whitetail deer, turkey, elk and hogs, according to Ox Ranch’s website. There’s also a luxury pool, multiple lodging options, a fine-dining restaurant and a private airport.
Tesanovich says the property is a “one-stop shop” for groups and events, hosting everyone from bachelor parties to companies looking for an atypical team-building activity.
“It allows them to come out and experience a part of history that they weren’t part of … You get to experience all the cool stuff that people want to do but just with less push-ups,” Tesanovich says.
The most popular attraction is the Sherman E8, a World War II tank famously recognized from the war movie “Fury,” which Tesanovich says shot over 300 times last year. Others in the arsenal include German Leopard and British Scorpion tanks. Participants can not only shoot the gun, but also do other activities like run over cars.
Now, the big question — is it safe? “The coolest part, I can say, is we’ve never had an injury,” Tesanovich says, noting that all staff at DriveTanks.com are military veterans (including himself) with federal explosive licenses and first-aid certification, and all activities are supervised.
“It wouldn’t be more dangerous than driving to work, honestly,” he says. “People think that driving a tank could be scary. I like to remind all of our guests who actually hop in a tank to drive it — you know that old saying, ‘It’s built like a tank’? Well, this is actually a tank … so even if a client lost control and would drive it into a tree, it’s literally a tank, so we’re quite OK.”
Visitors can book activities through DriveTanks.com, with no payment required in advance. Once arriving, the process involves checking in and signing a waiver. Patrons may also add to their package once they arrive.
According to DriveTanks.com, pricing is per group for up to six participants, though there is a $100 per person fee for groups of more than six, which covers the museum tour, eye and ear protection, and on-site transportation. Beer and other adult beverages are also free.
For those looking to stay the night on the property, DriveTanks.com offers what’s called “The Barracks” — military-themed rooms with modern amenities and two queen-size beds. Cost is $1,000 per night and also includes perks like dining, Barrett .50 caliber shooting, skeet shooting, a safari ranch tour and a personal guide.
Tank packages vary from $325 to $3,500, big gun packages vary from $250 to $1,950, and tank and machine gun packages range from $650 to $8,250. Corporate packages, however, vary from online pricing, so DriveTanks.com encourages companies to call 830.351.8265 or email info@drivetanks. com for personalized packages.
More information is available on the DriveTanks.com website. For more about Ox Ranch, visit oxhuntingranch.com.
DriveTanks.com is an accredited museum, giving visitors a hands-on experience while learning about military history. Aside from riding tanks, the company also lets visitors shoot guns and detonate high explosives like grenades and fireballs.
Mercedes-Benz Financial Services gets an upgrade with a new office decked out in the latest tech.
BY COURTNI FIELDS
Imagine a conference room that can deduce how efficient your meetings are. Or a door that opens with a scan of your face. Or an office cafe that keeps track of nutritional information in your food.
It sounds like the office of the future — but for Mercedes-Benz Financial Services in Alliance, the future has already arrived. The company’s new Fort Worth Business Center opened in May with all of the above and then some.
“We consider digitalization to be an essential aspect of every part of our business, and we are using it to enhance both the customer and employee experience,” says Chris Kaefer, vice president of credit operations.
The technological upgrades are not just business oriented. Technology-based art —
including LED and digital works, in partnership with TCU and SMU — will be a part of Mercedes-Benz Financial Services’ annual Experiencing Perspectives art exhibition.
Mercedes-Benz Financial Services’ new office was three years in the making. According to Kaefer, employee feedback helped the company learn more about how people worked and how they could maximize productivity. And, before the move, employees received training on the most common technology changes.
Kaefer’s advice for companies looking to do the same — talk to your people.
“I suggest any other company looking to develop a technologically advanced building engage with its employee base first to determine the best tools to create a successful work environment,” he says.
• Smart conference rooms collect realtime usage metrics to provide data on how meeting spaces are used most efficiently.
• Facial recognition software eliminates the need for standard access badges and creates a safer and seamless control experience.
• State-of-the-art cardio equipment at The Body Shop provides immersive videos of places around the world so employees can imagine jogging in the Redwood Forest; on the streets of Auckland, New Zealand; or climbing stairs to some of the world’s most notable landmarks.
• Electronic signage at the on-site cafe informs employees of current offerings, and diners can scan QR codes to track nutritional information.
• Technology-based modern art forms are supported, such as digital and LED art, through the company’s annual Experiencing Perspectives art exhibition (in partnership with SMU and TCU).
• On-site technical support to assist employees with the modern technology features throughout the building.
• A variety of collaborative spaces are available with an ultra-high definition camera for video collaboration.
• TVs throughout the building stream corporate communications and internal broadcasts, and IPTV receivers broadcast local and national TV channels.
• ClickShare, the presentation-sharing technology, automatically opens once employees connect to the conference room equipment and provides a graphic tutorial on how to properly use the program.
• Cloud-based, soft phone system that allows communications from anywhere in the building.
The River District is a locally-cultivated community in West Fort Worth along White Settlement Road, just a quick five minute drive northwest from the West 7th area. This unique district is completely anchored by the Trinity River, providing walkable access to miles of scenic hike and bike paths.
373
LUXURY APARTMENT HOMES
+970 Under Development
276
TOTAL ACRES
Surrounded by the Trinity River
120+
NEW SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES +20 Under Development
39,000 SF OFFICE SPACE +40,000 SF Under Development
30+ TOWNHOMES +70 Under Development
12,000 SF
RESTAURANT/RETAIL SPACE +15,000 SF Under Development
MASTER DEVELOPER AND PARTNER
Reeder Construction builds its headquarters atop the Hawks Creek Golf Club, sporting a space where functionality is on par with design.
BY SAMANTHA CALIMBAHIN / PHOTOGRAPHY BY OLAF GROWALD
An office on a golf course has its obvious perks. There’s the view, for one, along with proximity to a place where one can unwind after a long day — or perhaps distract oneself watching golfers practice their swing just outside the window.
But for general contractor Reeder Construction, building a new headquarters at the Hawks Creek Golf Club in Westworth Village meant more than just taking advantage of the picturesque locale. Reeder needed a space designed to work for its team — one that was conducive to collaboration and efficiency and located in a neighborhood that made sense.
“We do share a passion for golf, but when it comes to real estate, we have three rules. One, location; two, location; and three, location,” says Wes Reeder, president and CEO of Reeder Construction. “The Westworth Village area is a growing demographic with scarcity of commercial acreage development. Being on a golf course does lend itself to a great environment also.”
Reeder Construction moved to Westworth Village after outgrowing its 5,000-square-foot space on South Alta Mere Drive. In late 2018, they moved into their current space — a new building spanning
Floor-to-ceiling windows provide both natural light and sweeping views.
20,000 square feet and two stories, standing adjacent to the 10th tee box at the Hawks Creek Golf Course. Reeder Construction occupies 10,000 square feet on the upper floor, while the ground floor is leasable to other tenants. Aside from the golf course, the building is also walking distance to the restaurants and other establishments that line Alta Mere, from LA Fitness to Chick-filA and about 5 minutes to Interstate 30.
For the building’s design, Reeder Construction worked with Fort Worth-based architecture firm 97w, headed by Jason Eggenberger and Steven Halliday, with Rachael Owens handling interiors.
According to Halliday, inspiration for the
design came from the company’s everyday operations, as seen in the building’s layout, which is divided into three sections: preconstruction, operations and accounting.
“We had this idea about how the building came out of the ground and was more like stone/earth at the bottom, and their office was going to float above that,” Halliday says. “Then it was all about these three pods … The building operates as a machine for the way their business operates.”
Bringing the outside in was another priority. Solo offices line the perimeter of the building, with floor-to-ceiling windows offering not just ample views of the golf course but plenty of natural light that floods to the middle of the space — what Halliday describes as “a democratic way to give window seats to everyone, not just the president and VP.”
Wes Reeder says employees also appreci-
ate that work doesn’t have to stay within the confines of a cube. The building sports plenty of options if one needs a change of environment, from common work areas to a picturesque outdoor patio.
“Space is important,” Reeder says. “We all noticed that we have a little more autonomy without giving up our ‘family’ culture. We have a collaborative workspace now, which means we are not confined to an office or a conference room. We have outdoor spaces and common area space where we can converse or meet.”
But functionality is not without beauty in mind. Clean lines and neutral colors
define both the interior and exterior, while the use of a variety of materials — wood, tile and stone — keep the space from looking stark. One white wall spells the word “Reeder,” with letters written in the company’s brand color (blue), stretching from the ceiling to the floor. Elements like exposed spiral ductwork on the ceiling are one way Reeder Construction shows off its services. The office also features plenty of glass, and some windows double as writable surfaces.
The space also plays with geometric shapes, from the 3D backsplash in the break room to the large Fabbian pendant light fixture near the entryway. Ceiling clouds float above, while some walls start on the floor and don’t quite reach the top. Then, there’s the mural at the entrance — a massive piece that stretches end to end between both floors of the building. Reeder designed the mural with artist John Stout. It essentially tells the history of the company, including Reeder’s early days as a guitar player and his first construction job, the Hillsboro City Library in 1994.
And there are plenty more details and amenities throughout the space. A more traditional conference room. A break room with a foosball table. A patio with a grill. There’s also a Ben Hogan room — a nod to the golf legend, decorated with magazine covers loaned by the Ben Hogan Foundation,
which Reeder Construction supports. And, at the entrance, words from Matthew 7:24 are written on a block at the bottom corner of the building: “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock.”
A rock with a pretty great view.
“It looks like you’re on the frontier,” Halliday says. “You’re just looking over the golf course, and you could see forever.”
Stress has long been viewed as harmful. But is it really?
BY SOPHIE CLEMENT, CLEMENT STRESS ALTERNATIVE
Stress, according to Gallup, costs U.S. industry more than $300 billion each year.
Every business owner clearly understands the hassle and angst of having to deal daily with staff conflict, turnover, sick days and insurance claims. Stress is responsible for 20 percent of turnover and an average 1 million employees missing work each day, according to the American Institute of Stress. The organization also reports that stress costs companies an average $602 per year per employee.
A recent progressive trend is for companies to offer employees some form of stress management program focused on teaching techniques and recognition strategies for coping with stress. But expectations for immediate results have become impractical. In some instances, companies are seeing incremental results, but empirical evidence suggests the rewards are temporary. Stress levels are not declining; they are increasing.
To understand stress is to understand the
science behind it. Stress has traditionally been viewed as harmful. The more classical approach to managing stress often saw it as chronic, taking a real toll on our minds, bodies and behavior. But research has begun to show people can team to develop a response to stress that creates what psychologists label “resilience.”
Developing skills directed toward optimistic thinking and relaxation strategies, coupled with the activation of positive routines such as good sleep and scheduling fun activities, can reduce the toxic negative effects on our health.
Stress, like all of our biological functions, is a natural essential element designed to help us respond to specific situations that require a sudden burst of energy and reaction. Studies show stress enhances our productivity and focus. It improves our health and helps in building resilience. According to Kelly McGonigal, author and health psychologist at Stanford University, stress and life challenges facilitate learning and enhance the emotional and intellectual growth processes. It increases our mental toughness, helps build a foundation grounded in deeper relationships, and provides a greater appreciation for life.
There are tools and programs intended to teach employees to use stress and become more performant and productive. For example, companies that sought help from Clement Stress Alternative reported a dramatic increase of as much as 20 percent in staff retention.
Fortunately, there are many things you can do on your own. You can start by changing your perception of stress. Seeing stress as positive and useful will dramatically alter your attitude. Positivity has always led to the best results in mitigating conflict and harnessing the good side of stress.
Sophie Clement, a workplace stress and behavior coach and strategist, is owner of Clement Stress Alternative and an occasional contributor to Fort Worth Inc. clementstressalternative.com
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What happened when Fort Worth Inc. invited several successful minority CEOs to a roundtable lunch at The Capital Grille to chew over their experiences in Fort Worth business? Here’s what went down.
BY SCOTT NISHIMURA
Jonathan Morris, who’s opened Fort Worth Barber Shop and The Lathery to success in Fort Worth and now is moving into the hotel business with a partner, posed a good question when Fort Worth Inc. invited him to participate in a roundtable discussion about the experiences of being a minority CEO in the city. “What’s the jumping-off point?”
Panelists at the lunch, co-hosted by The Capital Grille and held in a private room at the restaurant downtown in late August, also included John Avila, who bought and revitalized the old Thos. S. Byrne construction company with major contracts including DFW Airport; Kia Lane, a longtime health care worker who went out on her own and started a string of residential assisted living centers in Arlington; Dr. Marie Holliday, who’s called Fort Worth’s Sundance Square home to her dentistry, perfume shop and floral business for years; and Eder Teixeira, founder and owner of Sons of Liberty Coffee downtown, which recently changed its name to Sons. Here’s what happened after we jumped off during the luncheon. The transcript is lightly edited for brevity.
Let’s get to know each other. What was the “why” for you? How and why did you all get into entrepreneurship?
Eder Teixeira (ET): I was raised in Brazil. We grew up in a poor area of town. When we came to the U.S., to me, I always felt like I was doing injustice to my family and friends back home. It was the contrast of living in two places and seeing what was available in one versus the other. From an early age, I wanted to take advantage of what was available in this country and then to one day maybe go back and help. That’s pretty much why I do what I do.
Kia Lane (KL): Health care was all that I knew. It started with helping my mother, helping my grandmother, being a nurse’s assistant starting out and pretty much working my way up. I wanted to dispel the myth that everybody had to go to a nursing
home when they can’t stay at home any longer. That was my goal, to make people thrive again while still living in a residential setting.
John Avila, Jr. (JA): I served in the military, served in Korea and Vietnam from a very young age. I came back and attended the University of Texas and studied architectural engineering. I went to work for a construction company in Houston, and because of that military background — I was an officer — got promotions within the industry. I became the vice president of operations with a company when I was 32 years old. I had a lot of experience in the construction industry and said, “I think I can do this on my own.” I had seen things being done the right way and things being done the wrong way and wanted to have a company that was a family-oriented company, medium-sized, where we all knew each other.
That kind of kicked off the spark of entrepreneurship, that I could create something for the market around me and a product of service that filled a need. Fast forward to 2012, and I moved to Fort Worth, a city that I’ve always been connected to because my parents grew up here, and I was looking for a barbershop. I didn’t see anything that really appealed to me, and so I started looking around the country, East Coast and West Coast, even the U.K., at what was going on in the barbershop culture. So, in 2014, I’m looking around this city; this is a growing city; there’s a lot of people here; there is nothing with a vibe that I want to experience. Why not just create it in Fort Worth? This city has been an amazing backdrop for my thesis, and the community of people have been incredibly supportive.
Dr. Marie Holliday (MH): I wanted to be my own boss from an early age as a child. My father was a Baptist minister; my mother was an educator. I didn’t want to be in a situation where women, once their husbands left them, passed away, they were lost. This was in the late ’50s, early ’60s. I knew African-American professionals who were doctors, lawyers, school teachers and ministers. So, the sciences were an area I was interested in, and I thought about going to medical school and decided to go to dental school because I could be my own boss.
Jonathan Morris (JM): For me, entrepreneurship started in the fourth grade when I started making bookmarks for my classmates. I would put NBA teams on them, or NFL team names on these bookmarks, and very quickly found there was a market with my fourth grade. I would sell them for a dime. Back then, the Bulls were really hot, so those were a quarter.
I want to throw some numbers on the table for discussion: The Census estimates 23.4 percent of DFW companies are owned by minorities, greater than the 17.5 percent nationally. What do we glean from this?
MH: I think it is a little bit of a surprise, but it also relates to the drive and what we see around the places we live and work. It’s the passion, and people have been led to follow that passion. They think out of the box and are not afraid to make a move.
JA: I think the other thing is education. As Dr. Holliday has said, our generation, there were few college graduates then, so they wanted to see their children become more successful. They encouraged us to go on to college. So, among minorities here, there’s a lot of first-time college graduates. Then corporate America started hiring minorities. And they were put into leadership positions
and management positions. And if they had the entrepreneurial spirit, they had the education, they had the experience, they said, “I can try this,” and they started doing it. And I think our children are benefiting from that.
KL: We are reaping the benefits from baby boomers and baby boomers’ children. And there is immigration rising, and as long as population is rising, minority entrepreneurship is going to rise. It has no choice.
JM: I think representation is important. I think people — black and brown like us — seeing people doing things that they either want to do or haven’t thought they could do, or thought they needed permission from someone else to do, seeing those faces is going to be really important. It’s important for people coming up behind us, and it’s especially important in Fort Worth for people in the majority that haven’t seen black and brown folks and young folks that are stepping out into entrepreneurship, to see that we’re at the table.
MH: Absolutely. I’d like to add, with the media and access to information, there are so many people that are encouraging others to be in their own business, to be entrepreneurs, to research an idea, to make it happen. You find out ways to be able to do it.
ET: I represent a different people group, because I’m essentially a second-generation immigrant, because my mom came and was cleaning houses for years. At an early age, my brother and I had to work. I dropped out of business school. I felt like I was wasting a little bit of time. But I knew it was a challenge to have these loans and to know you have to help out a whole family. I think it
a minority figured into the growth of your businesses?
puts us behind a little bit. You’re not established. We don’t have a house. We’re renting. We don’t have anything to borrow against. We don’t have established credit or someone that could cosign. So [for a new immigrant], it may take two generations.
JA: I like to tell [my kids] they’re starting on third base.
ET: That’s what makes us different. White Americans have been here. They have generations of stability. It just takes time. Government can help [with incubators and other programs]. The people that are here can help the generations that are coming. We’ve got to do a good job to make sure that the numbers just keep climbing.
JA: Which is pressure, which is manifested a lot of times with a chip on your shoulder. We have no choice but to do great, because [of] the opportunity for someone to say, you had a shot. So, when we get into the door, it’s all right, we’re in, and we have to create something that matters, that’s lasting and that’s bigger than me.
All five of you have enjoyed a lot of success, some over careers, others a shorter period. And all of you are selfmade. Has the fact that you’re
JA: I was born and raised in San Antonio in the barrio, but I went to a Catholic school, which was 99 percent Anglo and a half percent African-American and a half percent Hispanic. And so, I grew up in that circle and then went off to the Army when I was 18 years old. Now there is no color in the Army. Because of [my military] background and getting positions of responsibility in the construction business after graduating from college, the color sort of went away. And then fast forward, I had the opportunity to purchase a firm here in Fort Worth that was on the decline. It was Thomas S. Byrne that was on the decline. High-profile company. We were a 95-year-old company, but it was going in the ground. And we went from $20 million in revenue to $450 million in revenue over a relatively short period of time. And one of the arrows in my quiver was we were a minorityowned company. I had called on Texas Instruments and American Airlines and Frito-Lay when I was running an Anglicized company. And they said OK now; we have plenty of contractors. We’ll let you know if we need some more. Then [at Byrne], all of a sudden, I get a phone call from Texas Instruments saying, get over here, John, we want to talk to you about
giving you a contract. I said, I’ve been beating on your doors for 20 years. So, what I want to emphasize is lots of minority companies think the work is just going to pour in. That is not the case. A lot of companies are very strong on diversity. They will give you the opportunity. But you have to perform, because that’s what your customers look for.
KL: In the health care industry, I have to show people that I can care for your mom just as good as anyone else. However, people are so used to us being the help, the operators and not the owners, it kind of helps when they see someone with a brown face owning their own business. There’s not much distrust because they’re used to us anyway. I don’t see any benefits to being an AfricanAmerican, although, pridefully, it means everything to me.
JM: Barbershops are historically monolithic and segregated ethnically. For me, when I decided I want to open up a barbershop in Fort Worth, I [decided] I want to serve black folks and white folks and Hispanic folks. I just think that in 2019, when you put out a shingle, you should be able to service people that walk into that space. To me, that was really, really important. I think that we as people flock to familiarity, and I think that if we want to break those habits, it’s important we are able to communicate with everybody.
ET: What I’ve seen is that if I take what I see as a weakness and choose to place it as an advantage, it can propel us. For me, in my business, I speak Portuguese and Spanish and English and [can] travel and source for coffee myself. And [immigrants] grow up in these environments where a lot of people are together, and we develop a lot of good social skills. So, I say for the person who is reading, who is listening, who is a minority, as long as you see the reasons why this holds us back, it’s going to hold you back. But when you start to see how these things help us, it does propel us forward.
JM: I look at my blackness as my superpower. I see it as an opportunity. If I know how to communicate with someone who looks like me, if I know how to communicate with someone who doesn’t look like me, to me, that’s an advantage.
MH: I started my dental practice in the black community, which was something that I always wanted to do. I went to school in Boston and always had planned to move back to Fort Worth. And when I moved my practice downtown [from Berry Street and Interstate 35], I really thought I would have more people from that community come downtown. I’ve been downtown 26 years. Not only did they not want to come downtown at that particular time, other people didn’t really want to come downtown. My ability to socialize with other people of different backgrounds is easy. When I was living in Boston, it’s like the melting pot. I think minorities are really looking to expand our target market because we can service people of all nationalities and ethnic groups.
Is it easier today to start a business in Fort Worth as a minority compared to
years ago? What’s changed?
MH: I think it’s easier to start a business now because of sources [of help] for entrepreneurs. There’s a way you can get help.
John Avila, Jr., Chairman of Byrne, a construction company he purchased in Fort Worth in 1995, revitalized, and grew to about $450 million in contracts today from $20 million. Major clients include DFW Airport.
JA: I would say for a minority to start a business today, it’s easier than it was 10 to 15 years ago, but not dramatically so. It takes time, and it’s moved up. Depending on where you’re at in your education, your experience, will also tell how easy it is to get started.
JM: I want to see more [minority-owned companies]. In a city like Fort Worth that’s growing, compared to other cities across the country, there’s a lot of wide-open spaces. There’s a lot of industries, big and small, wide and narrow, that we need somebody to tackle. I think there are a lot of young black and brown folks who are capable of doing that.
MH: I wouldn’t want people to think this is easy, that just having the drive and desire is all that is necessary. I always say, when I’m serving on panels, that this is like having a baby that never goes to college and never gets off the payroll. And so, it takes a certain kind of person that can be an entrepreneur and be successful. And understanding of the capital needs, the emotional needs, the stamina…
Kia Lane, Sundance Village Senior Living. A longtime employee in major assisted living centers, Lane went out on her own a few years ago and today owns three residential assisted living centers in Arlington and is speaking to investors about building a large, multifamily assisted living center there.
Dr. Marie Holliday, Sundance Square dentist, Parfumerie Marie Antoinette, Flowers To Go. She’s one of the longest-tenured businesses in Sundance Square, opening her perfume shop more than two decades ago and soon after moving her dentistry from Arlington and starting the floral business.
Jonathan Morris, owner of Fort Worth Barber Shop and The Lathery. Morris and a partner are entering the hotel business with plans for a 22-room boutique in an old warehouse on Montgomery Street across from Dickies Arena.
economic development plans they rolled out recently — identified issues like capacity among minority small-business owners as a significant issue. Do you agree? What could we be doing as a community to address capacity?
JM: I’ll speak from a smallbusiness experience perspective. My kids say, when you see something that’s black-owned, OK, awesome. I want to support that. Not because somebody put up a shingle in Fort Worth, and we’re going to support them. Somebody’s doing good work. Let’s support that. And that’s something that we all can do in terms of how we decide to spend our dollars. On the front end, I think there’s opportunities to invest in those businesses and those ideas that are particularly viable. And a lot of times, some of that investment can come from other black and brown people.
JM: The emotional needs, the emotional needs, the emotional needs.
The city and Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce — in the
Eder Teixeira, Sons Coffee (née Sons of Liberty). Teixeira is founder of a consulting and branding company, Creative Mind Lab, advising companies over 10 years, ranging from law firms to coffee shops. In 2017, Teixeira and his wife started their own coffee shop and roaster downtown. They recently opened a roastery in Fort Worth’s River District and want to open more coffee shops around North Texas and out of state, selling the Fort Worth brand.
ET: The city, intentionally bringing us together [through incubators and other programs], could increase capacity. I don’t think we’re connected enough. And maybe that’s something we have to fix outside of an institution, being available [as mentors] to those walking in our shoes.
JA: We do have a capacity issue. One of the key things is capital. If you’re going to go start a business, you’ve got to have the nut to sustain yourself, three, four, five, six months, to get yourself up and going. How you go about doing that is important. When I purchased Thos. S. Byrne, we sold everything we had, except for children. And then had a note that if I didn’t hit certain goals, it reverted back to them. Capital is not easy to get. In fact, banks will not loan you money unless you have money. I had a great
business plan that I put together. And I went to banks when I was assembling the money I needed and was short $200,000. Getting that last $200,000, $300,000, that I needed was the toughest thing. I had to go empty my father’s mattress down in San Antonio to get some of it. I think the Fort Worth Chamber and the Hispanic Chamber and the African-American Chamber have a responsibility to provide incubators and help minority-owned companies in how to get a loan, how to do a business plan, how to determine what the overhead is, and to use us as mentors. In years past, they have done that, where we have been the mentor. We continue to do some of that today. I will tell you, I will challenge right now on film, these chambers are too interested in being social clubs; they are too interested in attracting white corporate America to do whatever it is to give them sustenance. That’s not it. Their job is to give fledging and growing small companies.
MH: And they need to identify needs. We recognize the importance of tourism to the city. At the same time, we have parts of the city that are decaying. We need the chambers to look at the growth and what businesses are necessary and how can we steer other minorities into businesses that become successful because they are going to get business.
KL: And in our inner cities, put some literacy there. Athleticism, we got that. My son is going to be great in basketball because it’s convenient. Let’s talk about business, how to get things started. Our agenda is pulling each other up. That’s how we do it: Education is everything. That didn’t make me six figures. My six figures came from learning from these multimillion-dollar facilities, everything about it, and mastering. That’s
how I was able to open up my own assisted living.
JM: More so now than ever. Information is democratizing. You can get it. You can take Harvard and MIT classes online. Information is there.
ET: How crazy is it that John [Avila], his company builds the airports. For a young kid to know a Hispanic guy did this, to me, that’s 90 percent of it. I think parents aren’t telling their kids because no one taught them. If someone moves here from Brazil, my mom tells them go clean houses because it’s what she knows.
JM: A lot of times, the majority culture, seeing success, seeing someone who looks like them, it’s second nature; you don’t necessarily think about it. When we see somebody who looks like us, whose hair looks like us, who talks like us, maybe from where we’re from, it opens you up to what you’re actually capable of.
One final question: What’s next for all of you?
JA: For me, in the transitional stage. I have two boys and a daughter. Matthew, my oldest, is now CEO. His brother Paul is COO. But they both have earned that. Our president, Martin Lehman, has been with the company longer than anyone else. But most important is to give back. [My sons have] seen their dad become a community leader; they’ve seen their dad giving. And I don’t want them to forget where they’ve come from.
MH: I have children, but I don’t have any that it appears they’re going to take over for me when I transition from being an entrepreneur. I recently became part
of a new medical practice here in downtown that opened up. I opened up an exam room. I am looking at my existing office as more of a treatment center and then able to do diagnosing and exams with the medical group. And I expect to continue to operate my flower shop. I have a great manager there. And I have a great manager at Marie Antoinette Parfumerie, too. My focus is on my practice. It’s important for me for people to know the importance of oral health care and how it relates to other medical issues can develop.
JM: Next for me, back in the last year, myself and my business partner saw this old warehouse come up for sale and decided we wanted to transition that into a boutique hotel — small, 22 rooms. It’s what I feel like is again a gaping hole in Fort Worth, a space we feel can invite visitors to, a creative class of visitors, millennial, Gen Z travelers that are coming to Fort Worth for leisure. We want to create a space that can speak to a traveler I feel hasn’t been spoken to in the way that I would want to be spoken to as a traveler coming to Fort Worth. And at the same time, create a space — a lobby bar, a communal space — that not only attracts our visitors but also our community. Being right across from the Dickies Arena is something that I feel really, really
good about. [On neighborhood controversy stirred up over his plan:] I think it’s very healthy to not have everybody patting you on the back. It’s very healthy to understand not everybody sees you the way your mama does. That was an experience that was healthy for me.
ET: For us, we’re shortening the name Sons of Liberty to Sons. We’ve introduced two taglines, Panther City’s Finest and Carry the Name, Push It Forward. We want to expand beyond Fort Worth [with Fort Worth-roasted coffee]. We’ve recently opened a roastery in The River District. Once we have a few stores in Fort Worth, go to Carrollton and Plano and different states even. And carry that name, Panther City’s Finest.
KL: And for me, more assisted living. There’s room for a lot of us in this industry. I’m speaking with investors who want to help me open up a huge facility. I like the small, but I know the need is there, so that’s what I’m doing. I’m also consulting.
See what happened when we invited several minority business owners to lunch at The Capital Grille to discuss their experiences. Video at fwtx.com/business.
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Historic Southside, founded as a 1900s-era middle-class black neighborhood, is finally seeing signs of redevelopment. But real estate prices are already putting pressure on plans and the neighborhood’s desire to remain a culturally rich and inexpensive landing spot.
BY SCOTT NISHIMURA / PHOTOGRAPHY BY OLAF GROWALD
It’s considered one of Fort Worth’s best remaining interior-city infill opportunities: Historic Southside, the former Terrell Heights, Fort Worth’s first middle-class black neighborhood, dating to 1900. For years, the fading, once-vibrant neighborhood — bounded by Interstate 35 on the west, East Rosedale Street to the south, Vickery Boulevard to the north, and Riverside Drive on the east — has sat, awaiting revitalization, while the neighboring Near Southside on the other side of I-35 has roared ahead.
Public investments — including a new library, public plaza, street improvements on Rosedale and the bisecting Evans Avenue, city office building, and new Fort Worth elementary school — have provided critical infrastructure. The financial toolbox local governments can use to provide public incentives to developers is deep. The city and Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce have identified the Evans-Rosedale intersection as a key economic development focus, given its proximity to the Near Southside, downtown, highways and the unusual amount of property that public entities control. But whither private investment?
It’s finally surfacing, even if belied by the vacant lots and dearth of activity. The Dallas developer and restau-
rateur Mike Hoque, chosen earlier this year to be master developer of 14 acres owned by the city and other public entities in the Evans-Rosedale corridor, is working on final plans and negotiating a development agreement. Details are slowly taking shape: Hoque says his first phase will likely include a maker space to incubate innovators, more than 200 apartments, and retail and offices in a single building of three to four stories. A hotel proposed previously by developers, but questioned by neighborhood skeptics who fear such a product would deteriorate and become an albatross, could end up in his development or elsewhere in the district, Hoque said. The neighborhood wants a grocery store, but Hoque, who has mentioned ALDI as a potential target, isn’t promising one in the food desert yet. He’s first prodding nearby Fort Worth businesses, such as practices in the rapidly growing hospital district, to commit to locating some of their operations in his planned office spaces.
“I’ve got to create a story before I go to ALDI,” said Hoque, credited with revitalizing downtown Dallas’ Main Street with a number of restaurants. He’s brought his Wild Salsa and Chop House Burger restaurants to downtown Fort Worth’s City Place and will open a Wicked Butcher steakhouse in the Sinclair Hotel project, underway downtown, and an Oven and Cellar Italian restaurant at City Place.
Hoque expects to sign the development agreement this fall and break ground in 2020. He doesn’t want to overpromise. “We’re going to try to get a grocery store; I don’t know how
successful I’ll be,” he said. “We have to be realistic about what we can do. I’m going to challenge my neighbors to bring some of their jobs. We need the community to move their businesses.”
Elsewhere in the district, the Fort Worth real estate broker Will Northern and partners Jesse Hejny, who sold his stake in the successful Purple Land Management land company in 2018, and Frank Darden are using Historic Southside to launch HSS Development. They’ve acquired the former Bethlehem Community Center at 970 E. Humboldt St. and put it up for lease to potential office and other users. The partnership has also acquired two acres on East Broadway Avenue and I-35 on the northwest side of the neighborhood and is putting together a proposal for a multi-story, affordable housing building. Brian Dixon, a Fort Worth psychiatrist and president of the Historic Southside Neighborhood Association, is looking for a landing spot for a medical office building he wants to build that would focus on mental health. Dixon’s first idea — to locate next to a park on the east side of Historic Southside, leasing some of the land from the city — was blocked in August when he learned he couldn’t build on park land with a voter referendum.
driven up prices, complicating investors’ pricing models in a neighborhood where new homes will be built next to modest historic bungalows. The historic homes are protected by a restrictive city overlay that governs exterior renovation and new construction on lots west of Evans and Kentucky avenues. Investors have already run up against the overlay, which protects the neighborhood from being run over by homes that aren’t in keeping with the historic flavor.
Basecom, a Fort Worth construction company, recently opened a new headquarters on the I-35 frontage road. Developers Jennifer and Robb Farmer are maintaining plans to convert the former Pinkston Funeral Home at 970 E. Terrell Ave. into a movie theater, with restaurant and retail, that would anchor the north end of Evans Avenue.
Investors have also increasingly waded into the neighborhood’s residential side, buying up lots with plans to build new, modestly priced homes, a product Fort Worth is short on, particularly inside Interstate 820 Loop. That’s
City staff this year issued guidance to at least one investor group that it would be required to come up with a unique architectural plan for each of the two dozen homes it plans to build in the protected section of the neighborhood, potentially increasing costs and list prices, putting pressure on profit margins, and slowing development.
Kelly Allen Gray, the City Council member whose district includes Historic Southside, says she backs the requirement of unique architecture. “I’m really good with that,” she said in an interview. “First, you have to know where you’re building.”
Inflation in lot prices has moved ahead in less than two years. Thirty-two residential lots — typically 5,000 square feet in size — were for sale in the neighborhood in mid-
August, at an average list price of $35,000, according to Multiple Listing Service data, the HSS partners said in an interview. Thirty lots sold over the last year at an average sale price of $21,000. “Eighteen months ago, we saw some offered for $5,000,” Darden said.
That’s touchy ground for a neighborhood in which no significant private development has occurred yet, Hejny said. “We’ve essentially doubled in prices, and nothing’s happened. We could essentially price ourselves out of the market if we’re not careful.”
Much of the property purchases are being made by investors who are waiting for prices to increase and don’t intend to develop. “People are buying properties and sitting on them,” Stacy Marshall, executive director of the Southeast Fort Worth Inc. economic development organization, said in an interview. “So, it’s hard for true development to happen.”
Development around Historic Southside suggests the neighborhood is poised to move ahead. Trinity Habitat for Humanity and pri-
vate builders have been building new homes in the Hillside-Morningside neighborhood off of Evans Avenue, south of Rosedale, on the southern border of Historic Southside. And on Evans, south of Rosedale, the developers Matthijs and Jie Melchiors in December completed a 7,500-square-foot office complex called Connex, made of recycled shipping containers. With 32 leasable units, the complex is 60 percent occupied, the Melchiors said. A solar plant on the building generates the power it needs to operate; July’s electric bill was $100. Connex will do well, Matthijs Melchiors said. “The area’s going to do well. But now we’re waiting for other people to make their mark.”
Like others in the development community, the Melchiors are eagerly awaiting the issue this fall of final plans for Hoque Global’s piece, widely viewed as the biggest focal point on the area’s blank canvas. “If we honor the past and look forward to the future, I think it could be very dynamic and interesting,” Melchiors said.
Hoque was chosen from eight competitors by a group that included neighborhood and city officials. The bid process was triggered after a developer proposed a limited service hotel that residents balked at, and the city recognized its unusual opportunity. The 14 acres includes 46 parcels owned by the city and two related entities, acquired over years. “This is the only area in Fort Worth where the city has this kind of property and has already made this kind of investment [in infrastructure],” Brenda Hicks-Sorenson, assistant economic development manager for the city, said. “You don’t get too many urban villages where you get these blocks of empty space.”
Gray said she envisions a development that meshes with Historic Southside’s old vibrant history. “This is an opportunity to recreate some of the history that relates to music and culture, and also bring in the new,” she said. “It has the opportunity to be a great melting pot, which is what it was initially.”
Residents, in response to a survey that was part of extensive community talks leading to the choice of Hoque, proposed a lengthy wish list of uses that included grocery, mixedincome housing and loft apartments, vibrant outdoor event space, open green space, bike trails, movie theater, skating rink, gym, FedEx store, coffee shop, bar, sandwich shop, services such as oil change and retail, restaurants and bars, brewery, social services, a new location for an African-American museum maintained by the Fort Worth activist Opal Lee, and dog park.
Marshall said in the interview he believes the most likely uses to come are mixedincome and affordable housing and the lofts, outdoor event space that would augment Evans Plaza, green space, bike trails, the theater already proposed, coffee and sandwich shops, and relocated museum. “It’s a slow process, but it’s about the market,” Marshall said. Grocery is at the top of the wish list, but it’s a hard sell without more homes and people living in the neighborhood, he said. “We’ve got to get these infill lots done.”
Hoque said he understands the robust wish list. “The wish list is grandiose because these people have been left behind for 30-
plus years,” he said.
A maker space will be the first piece of Hoque’s phase-one plan, providing offices and showrooms for innovators. “They wanted space for entrepreneurs,” Hoque said of the neighborhood. It will include a coffee shop developed by his DRG Concepts restaurant company and operated by a local firm Hoque wants to recruit. He’s also talking to the SiNiCa Studios nonprofit glass-blowing studio on Fort Worth’s West Magnolia Avenue about relocating. The apartments in the residential piece of the first phase will include a certain number of units that will be rented at belowmarket rates, Hoque said, a requirement of residential developers in Fort Worth who are seeking public incentives for their projects. Hoque also wants to have the museum run by Lee in his development. “We want to create a destination.”
Hoque increases the size of a planned garage to allow public parking, total expenditure, affordable-rate rents, and affordable prices for condos he may include. Hoque and the city are looking at 10 percent of the rents being available at tenants who make 80 percent or less of area median income and another 10 percent at 60 percent or less of area median income, Hicks-Sorenson said. “We’re going to be as aggressive as we can but not go bankrupt,” Hoque said.
I’m going to challenge my neighbors to bring some of their jobs. We need the community to move their businesses. – Mike Hoque, developer
Southeast Fort Worth Inc. is working with Hoque on the idea for a hotel. Hoque said in the interview he believes the hotel will land somewhere else besides his 14 acres. “We want to work with Mike to ensure a hotel is the best use the property,” Marshall said. “If he feels it is not, we would work with him to find another potential site nearby. We’re working on someone else to acquire additional property that could fit.” If that’s the case, Hoque said, “we would like to be the development partner.”
The public incentive Hoque receives will depend on a number of factors in his plan, including square footage, parking and whether
Tools the city could use to offer incentive include a “Chapter 380” agreement under state law that allows cities to make loans or grants of city funds; and money from a tax increment finance district that can be used for public infrastructure in mixeduse “catalytic” projects in Fort Worth urban villages where the developer is investing at least $5 million, Hicks-Sorenson said. Historic Southside also is covered by a “Neighborhood Empowerment Zone” that offers waivers of city fees to development projects, but it’s more likely the city will use a 380 agreement instead, Hicks-Sorenson said. Federal HOME funds could also be available to Hoque if he includes a certain number of residential units for sale at affordable prices in his plan. “On the draft sheet we’re working on, there’s a whole bunch of blanks,” Hicks-Sorenson said.
Gray, the city council member, said she expects the city will be aggressive in its incentive to Hoque. “We have the ability to layer everything we have in our toolbox to make it work,” she said. “I think you’ll see everything
we have brought to bear.”
Hoque said his strategy to maintain “slow and steady” growth in the project. “People think I’m nuts for taking this on, but they thought I was nuts for opening a restaurant on Main Street in downtown Dallas,” said Hoque, whose DRG owns several restaurants on Main Street and is widely credited for turning the strip around. Hoque has moved on to another planned development called SoGood@Cedars in The Cedars, south of downtown Dallas, raising skepticism among some in the Fort Worth development community that he has the capacity to pull off the Fort Worth project at the same time.
Hoque said he initially passed on pursuing the Fort Worth project two years ago when another developer suggested it to him. “I didn’t have the bandwidth” then, he said. Hoque said he expects his office spaces will be attractive to professional and medical users. “We’ll be able to give them better rates,” he said. Hoque said he won’t be offering cutrate deals to get tenants like restaurants. “Yes, I can buy those people,” he said. “But what happens after 36 months?”
Northern, Hejny and Darden chose Historic Southside to start their company because of its location and real estate economics. “The price points of everything on the Near Southside have just gone bananas,” Northern said in an interview. “Land and rents have gotten to the point where people can’t afford it.” In the Historic Southside, “you are so close to all the amenities.”
The partners are mindful of the pressure on land prices that comes with investing in Historic Southside. “The No. 1 thing is land acquisition costs,” Hejny said. “If you can’t buy dirt affordably, then you can’t create the
missing middle. The places that stand the test of time came together as a community and go good for everyone.”
Day-care centers and medical office users have spoken to HSS about locating in their property at 970 E. Humboldt St., Northern said. “The rents we’ll be able to charge will be so much cheaper than anywhere else,” Hejny said.
HSS’ second project — the plan they’re putting together for an affordable housing property on I-35 — would fill a big need, the partners said. “Not only affordable housing, but affordable housing in close proximity to where you live, work and play,” Hejny said.
Getting more residents into Historic Southside will be critical to creating demand for the services residents want, but the balance is already delicate, developers and investors say.
A Fort Worth partnership including the brothers Rian and Rory Maguire and Stephen Mears two years ago purchased 26 residential lots in Historic Southside. It recently launched construction on its first home — three bedrooms, two baths, and one-car garage — at 920 E. Tucker St. The partnership has listed it at $195,000. “That’s pushing the envelope over there,” Mears said in an interview. “This is our test to see if the market’s come up enough to justify the price.”
The partnership ran into difficulty with the neighborhood’s historic overlay. City staff had the partners redesign the front of their home because it was too similar to nearby homes. “When this neighborhood was built, they were catalog homes,” Mears said. Then the staff told the partnership it couldn’t repeat a design anywhere else in the neighborhood, Mears and the Maguires said. “We were trying to rebuild this one eight blocks away,” Mears said. That means higher costs for architectural plans, the partners said. The partnership has four sets of plans that it hoped to use over its 26 lots, a practice which the city, for one, has allowed in the Near Southside’s Fairmount neighborhood. Near Southside for years promulgated a limited set of residential architectural plans that met city guidelines in historic districts, resulting in the construction of a number of similar-appearing homes built in Fairmount.
“I think we’d all like to see what the rule book is,” Rian Maguire said in an interview. Depending on their experience with the first home they build, they may not build another
in Historic Southside, the partners said. “Where else are you going to find a home that costs $200,000?” Rian Maguire said. The city’s historic overlays don’t specifically address investors who own multiple lots in the same neighborhood. Asked if staff has determined that groups with multiple lots must present unique architecture for every lot they own, Randle Harwood, the city’s planning and development director, said in an emailed response, “sort of. Each site is evaluated based on the historical and architectural context
of the individual site. So, if you happen to have two vacant lots across the street from each other in a neighborhood comprised of a variety of period-appropriate houses and the rest are historic houses, you would not want to have identical houses facing each other.”
Asked if requiring unique architecture could conflict with the neighborhood’s goal of maintaining affordable prices, Gray, the council member, said, “It’s not going to kill you. I’m not concerned with the builder’s bottom line. I want to make sure the community has a good product.” Gray said she believes the ideal price point for a new home in the neighborhood is around $160,000 – $180,000. “That’s probably where the market is.”
The Maguire-Mears group is one of a number that’s acquired multiple residential lots in Historic Southside, with a model of using a limited set of plans across all of their lots, instead of presenting a new plan for each
home. Dixon, the neighborhood association president, said he has no problem with that approach. “It’s very costly in time and money to figure out what they want,” he said of the city.
City staff has historically given significant weight to the feelings of neighborhood leaders in making rulings inside historic overlays, but in this case, it’s moved in the other direction. Gray, however, said neighborhood leaders fought for the overlay long before Dixon bought his home — a 1,200-squarefoot, three-bedroom he paid $140,000 for in 2017 — and moved into Historic Southside. “The community pre-Brian worked hard to put that in place,” she said. “They wanted it to have the designation it so richly deserved.”
Conflict with the overlay also led the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth recently to relocate its Cristo Rey high school in Historic Southside to another site on Altamesa Boulevard in south Fort Worth. The Diocese, in a plan to expand enrollment at the school, the former Our Mother of Mercy Catholic School elementary, sought to acquire surrounding land. But the plan stalled when the neighborhood opposed the Diocese’s plans to buy and demolish certain homes. “The Cristo Rey board made the decision that it had to find property that could meet its needs,” Pat Svacina, spokesman for the Diocese, said. The Diocese and Our Mother of Mercy Catholic Church are now discussing the school’s future, he said.
Another signature project that’s looking for a landing spot is Dixon’s Mindful, a mental health office complex he wanted to build overlooking Glenwood Park on the east side of the neighborhood. Dixon wanted to lease part of the site from the city, its owner, but learned in mid-August that would require a voter referendum. But he wants it to be in or around the neighborhood, in proximity to the city’s medical district, on a green space to facilitate things like “walking appointments.” Because of how insurance reimburses mental health, providers can’t locate in prime locations, Dixon said.
“The way we fund health care is stupid,” he said. “We can’t afford to be in the health care district. We can’t be downtown.”
Gray likes the idea and is trying to help Dixon find a site in her district. “He is absolutely on the right track in talking about mental health in our community,” she said.
Brian Newby, elevated this spring to the job of managing partner at the major Fort Worth law firm Cantey Hanger, brings a lengthy resume to the post.
BY SCOTT NISHIMURA / PHOTOGRAPHY BY OLAF GROWALD
Brian Newby’s got a full plate after taking over as managing partner of Cantey Hanger, one of Fort Worth’s largest law firms, this spring. The firm is looking at expanding its Dallas and Austin offices as it prepares to enter strategic planning later in the year. “I wanted to give myself about six months in place before we do strategic planning,” he said in an interview. “What does Cantey Hanger at the end of 2030 look like? What size firm, what practice areas, where do we continue to focus on our strengths? Where do we develop new strengths? Three years, five years, 10 years. And so, that’s kind of the trajectory we’re on right now.”
Cantey Hanger’s also moving around in its downtown Fort Worth offices. The firm is now on Floors 3 and 4, but the building’s owner, having recruited a new tenant, is having Cantey Hanger move around. “Instead of being on the third and fourth floors, we’re going to be on the second and third floors of this building.” The first has 50 lawyers in Fort Worth and 15 in Dallas. Of those 65, lawyers rotate in and out of the Austin office as clients’ needs arise.
Big D Offices: We’re looking to transition in our Dallas office. Most folks are not
as aware of our Dallas office as we believe they should be. We’re looking at a number of oil and gas firms that are out there for potential acquisition or bringing on some lateral partners into our Dallas office. And with the reorganization of our Fort Worth space, we’re looking to get re-established
I could have stayed in Austin. I could have been a politician. You’ve been at the highest level of state government, [but] I also saw that it was a grind. I also saw the good side of politics and the bad side of politics. – Brian Newby, on deciding his future after serving as Gov. Rick Perry’s chief of staff
proached us. But we have no interest at this point in merging with another firm because we have such a strong brand, a great presence here in Fort Worth. We feel like we are the Fort Worth law firm to work with. But at the same time, in our recruitment of talent, it makes it more difficult when you have out-of-state firms coming in trying to establish firms in Fort Worth and also in-state firms who want to establish offices in Fort Worth. There’s a great drive for recruiting big talent. And we’re in that mix as well.
Openings in the Market for New Competitors: It varies. You’ll see firms that are focused on oil and gas, firms that are focused on mergers and acquisitions. I see less and less of just kind of a general practice. When they’re coming into the market, because they’re coming in with a smaller footprint, they’re usually trying to create some sort of a boutique outpost for their firm. Which I think creates a great benefit for us because we are a great general practice firm. We do it all. We do mergers and acquisitions. We do labor and employment, we do litigation, we do oil and gas. And so, we think we can withstand these other firms coming into the market and still excel.
in this space through the end of this year. Then we’re going to be looking to do some strategic planning. We also have an Austin office where we have a number of folks who’ve had experience in Austin. Do we expand? That is another question.
Dealing with Competitors: You’ve seen a lot of firms from out of state wanting to come into the Texas market. And the best way to do that is to hire lawyers from established law practices. And so we’ve been very lucky. Of course, firms have ap-
Cantey Hanger’s Recruitment Pitch for New Lawyers: Probably the biggest recruiting pitch is the fact that we can provide the same service at slightly lower rates. Because I’m not competing with a New York office or a Chicago office or a Miami office that charges $1,000 an hour. I can probably do the same quality work at a lower rate. And that’s the benefit of a local and regional firm like Cantey Hanger. I’m not supporting a New York headquarters.
diversity in the legal practice is important. If you look at the statistics nationally, you’ll find the practice of law is not as diverse as the community at large. And the practice of law in large firms kind of brings the statistics down even more. [One study he’s seen] talks about the lack of female lawyers, African-American lawyers, Hispanic law-
yers, Asian-American lawyers, LGBTQ lawyers. All of those, when they’re measured, the practice of law doesn’t reflect general society. And I think most law firms believe it’s important that your law firm reflects your community, to the extent that it can. What that means for us is the talent pool is smaller because law schools are not necessarily putting out the numbers of lawyers that help the diversity pool grow. And so, we’re all kind of competing for the same lawyers.
Law Firms Versus Corporate America: Corporate America actually does a much better job, I think, than a lot of law firms do [in recruiting and retaining diverse lawyers]. I think it has a lot to do with folks wanting to work for a company versus a law firm. A lot of people like to have one client and focus on one client. If you practice in a law firm, it’s rare that you have one client. You’re expected to have a diverse client base and to grow that client base. And that’s a challenge. Some people excel at it, and some don’t. They’d much rather work for the government or work for a company. And so, that’s why I think a lot of people would rather go to work for the government or a company than a law firm. And law firms are highly competitive. You compete to make partner because the partners are the owners.
Diversity Stats in Law Firms: I think you’re going to see stats below 10 percent [people of color] in large firms [firms over 50 lawyers in Fort Worth]. Some of these candidates are in law schools, but I think I’m competing against Amazon, Google, Lockheed Martin, the District Attorney’s office, the U.S. Attorney’s office, all trying to get these top-quality minority students.
Cantey Hanger’s Percentages: We’ve
had as high as 8 – 9 percent down, to about 5 percent today.
Women in Law Firms: When it comes to women, I think we’ve done an outstanding job. I think the firm has done an outstanding job of promotion diversity of women. I would say probably over 50 percent of the new associates we’ve brought onto the firm have been women. Which ultimately means when you take it out about 10 years, I would anticipate 50 percent of the partners in this firm will be women. We have 30 partners today. I think most law school classes are probably 50-50 right now.
First Assignment as JAG Corps Lawyer: Mountain Home, Idaho. Mountain Home was not on my dream sheet. There was a guy who was in charge of placing new JAG lawyers in assignments. I called him. He said, “I’ll make you a deal: Go to Mountain Home for a year, then I’ll send you to Korea for a year, then I’ll make you a prosecutor.” It’s unusual for your entire career to be planned for you in one call.
Deciding to Come Back Into the Firm
After Serving Gov. Perry: I could have stayed in Austin. I could have been a politician. You’ve been at the highest level of state government, [but] I also saw that it was a grind. I also saw the good side of politics and the bad side of politics. I think I’m more moderate than where the Tea Party arm of the Republican Party is going. That didn’t fit. And my military career has meant a lot. I couldn’t do all of those things.
Job: Managing partner, Cantey Hanger Cantey Hanger career: Joined 1991, became partner 1996. Left for post as general counsel to Texas Gov. Rick Perry, 2004, became Perry’s chief of staff, 2007-2009, returned to Cantey Hanger 2009. Remains chief of public regulatory practice.
Working with Gov. Perry: Was director of Division of Disaster Recovery and Renewal after Hurricane Ike hit Texas.
Military: Texas Air National Guard, 19982018, retired major general. Active duty, began January 1987. Was a JAG corps lawyer, began career in Mountain Home, Idaho.
Education: Texas Tech Bachelor of Arts, 1983; University of Texas law school, 1986
Growing up Fort Worth: Western Hills Elementary School, Leonard Middle School, Western Hills High School
Providing Hollow Metal Doors & Frames, Wood Doors, Door Hardware, and Toilet Partitions & Accessories. We pride ourselves on getting the job done quickly, correctly, and on budget. With an emphasis on quality service and technical expertise. Thanks Fort Worth for 30+ Years of support!
Building a legacy in Fort Worth:
¡ Dickies Arena
¡ Texas Motor Speedway
¡ Kimbell Art Museum
¡ Dorms & Greek Housing at TCU
¡ Clearfork, Westfork, Cassidy (Buildings around Sundance Square)
¡ Radio Shack/TCC Riverfront Campus
¡ Fort Worth area restaurants
¡ Huguley Hospital
A three-story office building, with views of downtown Fort Worth and the Trinity River from a West Side bluff, is set to become the latest addition to the burgeoning River District.
BY SCOTT NISHIMURA / PHOTOGRAPHY BY OLAF GROWALD
From the beginning, Fort Capital has viewed its River District development — a mélange of luxury apartments, townhomes, singlefamily homes, offices, restaurants, shops and bars nestled into a revitalized, leafy neighborhood just off of the Trinity River — as a robust hangout for West Siders. Its office buildings would offer a mix of closely held businesses whose owners find value in the amenity of being close to one another.
“It’s a very professional environment,” Chris Powers, CEO of Fort Capital, The River District developer, says. “It’s very quiet. It’s super-private. Yet it allows the luxury of getting to know your neighbor. A lot of the companies are at similar stages or have something to do with investments or private equity.”
Fort Capital’s second office building — a three-story, 22,000-square-foot building completed this month at White Settlement Road and 101 Nursery Lane — is the newest addition to The River District and the Fort Capital portfolio. The building is Fort Worth Inc.’s 2019 Dream Office, built in partnership
with the developer and some of the area’s finest subcontractors.
The Beck Group was architect; PRIM Construction, general contractor; Royer Commercial, designer of common area furnishings, including those for the covered rooftop deck; and Reardon Construction, contractor for finish-out for the second and third floors.
Jetstream Oil & Gas Partners moved its headquarters this month to the entire third floor of the building, from Fort Capital’s first office building, built next door by Reardon in 2017. The second floor will be executive suites; nine of 12 spaces are available.
The first floor will feature retail and restaurants. Fort Worth artist Jimmy Jenkins has signed a lease for his 2,100-square-foot Studio 101 gallery and wine and beer bar, scheduled to open Nov. 1, fronting White Settlement Road. Studio 101 will have access to the rooftop lounge, and its views of downtown and the river, for special events. Fort Capital has leased the second first-floor retail space but hasn’t identified the tenant yet.
The Dream Office spaces are finished
in a contemporary, industrial feel with brick accent walls, 10-foot ceilings, woods, metals, polished concrete floors and big windows showing off the views. Royer’s modern furnishings for the second-floor conference room and roof lounge complement the spaces.
While Fort Capital views the tenant mix as its office properties’ biggest amenity, the Dream Office comes with a number of other features, including gated parking, controlledaccess entry, cleaning service, coffee and tea community area, first-floor podcast studio, nearby restaurants that include newcomers such as Salsa Limón and Heim Barbecue, and proximity to the River Crest and Shady Oaks country clubs.
“This could be a second office for some people,” Powers said in an interview. A closely held company with a family office in Midland, for example, might need a small Fort Worth office, he said. Fort Capital facilitates lunch-and-learn meetings for tenants, in which outside speakers making a presentation to one tenant can present to all office
tenants. “We’ll email the rest of the tenants; they just get a much bigger audience.”
Fort Capital is under construction on its third office building, a 19,800-square-foot building being built on Nursery Lane by Muckleroy & Falls. Fort Capital will move its headquarters to that building, due to be complete in June or July next year, from its offices in Fort Capital’s first office building at
Fort Capital started buying land in the sleepy neighborhood in 2015 and began developing it in 2016, rebranding it The River District. Fort Capital owned about 60 acres at one point and now holds about 20, Powers said. “By the end of 2020, we will not be out of The River District, but we will have developed everything we’re going to develop.”
Luxury apartments: 373, plus 970 under development
Single-family homes: 120, plus 20 under development
Townhomes: 30, plus 70 under development
Acres: 276, off of the Trinity River
Office space: 39,000 square feet, plus 40,000 square feet under development
Restaurant and retail space: 12,000 square feet, plus 15,000 square feet under development
Source: Fort Capital
About 1,500 people live in the residential development Fort Capital has put up so far. “We think we can bring over 5,000 people to the area over the next 10 years. It’s been gratifying. You’re really changing the landscape of the city.”
The River District brand will be managed and promoted by a nonprofit that Fort Capital is organizing. The nonprofit will charge fees to entities that want to be promoted by The River District’s social media and website, Powers said. “We had to establish a district that people could believe in,” he said. More restaurants are coming to the neighborhood, he said. “In the next 12 months, we’ll have three or four more.”
Jenkins, the artist, is moving from quarters nearby into the Dream Office building. Jenkins, known for murals including his “Three Monkeys” painted in 2016 on the side of the Lettuce Cook restaurant building on White Settlement Road in The River District, said his gallery will largely represent his works but include those of five other artists. He expects the gallery will sell originals, prints and related merchandise. “We have enough art to
get open,” he said. “I have a lot of art I’ve been hoarding.”
Jenkins plans to hold classes for youth and experienced artists in the gallery. Jenkins’ old gallery hosted community events, including musical ones for children, and the new one will, too. “It was a true feeling of community,” he said. “That’s the part we’ll take with us.”
The concentration of new residents in The River District bodes well for businesses such as his, Jenkins said. “Our surrounding demographics are very good. You’ll have a good opportunity to get your art out.”
The Dream Office project, following the model of the long-running Dream Home series in Fort Worth Inc.’s sister Fort Worth Magazine, has brought together an array of partners and subcontractors.
Royer Commercial, which recently rebranded itself from Royer & Schutts after a consolidation of ownership in the 70-year-old company, designed and produced furnishings for the conference rooms, other common areas and rooftop lounge, in partnership with major supplier Haworth, a Michigan furniture designer and manufac-
turer. The clean, modern lines of the furniture complement the building’s industrial feel.
Royer Commercial has evolved, today offering turnkey workplace design, space planning, installation and move-in services. Longtime clients include TCU, Cook Children’s and SMU, and it’s outfitting the new Dickies Arena under construction in Fort Worth. Of the several competitors in its space locally, Royer is the only one headquartered in Fort Worth. In October, as part of its rebranding, the company moved to new modern headquarters in the West Side’s Museum Place from a nearby building it’s been in for 17 years. The open, more efficient space allows easier collaboration and the ability to put on meetings, training sessions, and events for clients. “Rather than finding a venue, we are the venue,”
Charlie Royer, the company’s business development director, said.
Royer Commercial has historically operated very conservatively and has a very
strong cash position, its executives said. The company is growing at 5 to 8 percent annually, Royer said. Its core business segments are education, health care, corporate and government.
Royer’s largest customers have been with Royer for decades. TCU, a customer for 40 years, in recent years hired Royer to furnish the common areas and suites at the expanded and renovated Amon Carter Stadium. Royer’s also done TCU’s fraternity and sorority houses. Royer’s worked for Cook Children’s for 30 years, furnishing public and office spaces. “It’s a relationship business,” Royer says. “It’s about always coming to the phone and taking care of them.”
Reardon Construction, another partner, is a rapidly emerging general contractor. Scott Reardon, the CEO, grew up in Dallas’ High-
land Park suburb around his father’s homebuilding business, moved to Colorado and worked in construction there for 15 years, then returned to Texas and Fort Worth in 2015. Reardon’s father, Bob, who retired a few years ago, is no stranger to the magazine, having built Fort Worth Magazine’s Dream Homes in 2011, 2012 and 2014. The Reardons started Reardon Development together, and Scott Reardon has rebranded the company to Reardon Construction, to focus on general contracting. Scott Reardon, after his return to Texas, built Fort Capital’s first office building in The River District and a series of multifamily properties for Powers around TCU. “One of my goals for 2019 was to do more commercial work.”
He’s in line to secure more work in The River District for Fort Capital, signing on to gut one retail building and build a new one on White Settlement Road for a tenant named Paw Pad, a pet grooming and boarding facility.
Reardon also has a deal to renovate the old Berry Theatre on Berry Street, across from the Travis Avenue Baptist Church, for developer Troy Kunkel. Kunkel is redeveloping the theater into an event center.
Reardon has a staff of five. He’s preparing to open an office in Dallas. He’s developed a project operating manual for each stage of construction. “It’s a definitive system to operate all of our jobs. It just makes the job run a lot smoother.” He wants to have four project managers — two commercial and two residential — who each run four or five projects simultaneously. Reardon currently has three project managers. “We should be able to have 20 – 25 projects going on at once.”
“We’re pointing towards commercial, industrial, mixed-use structures,” he says. “I just enjoy commercial. I like the fact that customers are business people. They understand business.”
• Developer: Fort Capital
• Architect: The Beck Group
• General contractor: Prim Construction
• Interior finish-out, second/ third floors: Reardon Construction
• Interior furnishings: Royer Commercial
• Financing: Amegy Bank
• Office leasing: JLL
• Retail leasing: Graham Ltd.
• Cabinets: Mike Conkle's Custom Cabinets
• Doors and frames: University Building Specialties
• Electrical labor and materials: Fox Electric
• Fire alarm and sprinkler system: Haynes Fire Protection
• Fire suppression: Ranger Fire
• Framing labor: Cesar's Custom Frame
• Framing materials: Sweeney Lumber
• Glass frosted film and logo: Ajax Glass
• Glass walls, storefront: Ajax Glass
• HVAC: Texas Ace Heating & Air
• Insulation: Climate Control Insulation
• Interior trim labor: SSB Contractors
• Interior trim materials: Vintage Floors
• Low voltage systems: New Design Site & Sound
• Paint materials: Benjamin Moore and Texas Paint
• Roofing: In-Line Roofing and Construction
• Tile labor and materials: Vintage Floors
• Tile materials: Daltile
To create our 2019 Dream Office, we relied on the skill and expertise of the best in their field. From the builders, decorators and those who helped kick off touring, the combination of their efforts resulted in an office of the highest quality. Whether you are looking to update your workspace or begin building, those featured on the following pages can help make the dreams for your office become a reality.
The information in this section is provided by the advertisers and has not been independently verified by Fort Worth Inc.
FOCUS: Sales and installation of custom glass work – mirrors, shower doors, commercial storefronts and builders’ hardware. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: We are often recognized as one of Fort Worth’s top glass firms. MOTTO: Complete Glass Service for the Home Builder. FREE ADVICE: Ask questions of any trade you are working with. They may be able to offer alternative options so you can avoid the pitfalls. BIGGEST MISTAKE PEOPLE MAKE WHEN BUILDING A HOME: Building or remodeling is a huge undertaking.
Usually, things do progress smoothly, but you are working with many trades that depend on each other – be patient. PICTURED: Buddy Moses and Blake Halpern in front of display of frame mirrors and glass furniture.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
6200 Southwest Blvd. • Fort Worth, Texas 76109
817.732.3359 • Fax 817.732.3339 ajaxglass.com
FOCUS: Paint Manufacturer. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Over ten years ago, Benjamin Moore revealed its Gennex® Color Technology. Color consistency is the precise result of Benjamin Moore paint and Benjamin Moore Gennex® together and is what makes Benjamin Moore products renowned quality and impossible to replicate. WHY CHOOSE THEM: Benjamin Moore maintains a relentless commitment to innovation and sustainable manufacturing practices, with its paints available exclusively from its more than 5,000 locally owned and operated paint and decorating retailers. AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: Awarded for its “Moore Pride @ Work” Program, PR News CSR on a Shoe String category, 2018; awarded for its Supply Chain Academy at SCM World, 2018; Benjamin Moore SCUFF-X received the Grand Award in the Product Innovations program, Buildings Magazine, 2018, Product of the Year 2017 Editor’s Choice by Architectural Record, and Best of Products Award by Architect’s Newspaper, 2018. MEMBERSHIPS/ AFFILIATIONS: IIDA, AIA, ASID. AREAS SERVED: Independent retailers, professional contractors, architects and designers, and consumers. MISSION STATEMENT: Focus relentlessly on the customer and community by delivering unparalleled experiences through the highest quality, most recommended paint, coatings, colors and solutions. FREE ADVICE: With Benjamin Moore paint, you can use any finish in any room of the house – it all depends on the look you want to create. PICTURED: Allison Berry, Architectural & Design Representative, Benjamin Moore; Joseph Long, General Manager, Texas Paint.
5233 McCart Ave. • Fort Worth, Texas 76115
817.752.9078
benjaminmoore.com
Allison.Berry@benjaminmoore.com
SPECIALTY: Cesar’s Custom Framing is a familyowned construction company. Our expertise is in the area of wood framing. CCF has undertaken projects ranging from low-cost residential to high-end condominiums, multifamily construction, and every task is done with the same motivation and skill. FOCUS: At Cesar’s Custom Framing, our main focus is to maintain the highest quality workmanship at a reasonable profit. We take pride in handling every project with professionalism and dedication. WHY CHOOSE THEM: By working hand in hand with experienced builders, supervisors, and skilled tradesmen, we ensure that every project is completed on schedule and at a high standard. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: CCF has been in business over 15 years and has had a strong and steady growth. With having completed hundreds of projects with great results and happy clients, we have now delved into the building of homes with more than a dozen homes under our belt. We are blessed to be serving the DFW metroplex and surrounding counties. PICTURED: (left to right) Gina Jimenez, Cesar Jimenez, Jullien Jimenez, and Cesily Jimenez.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Cesar Jimenez and Gina Jimenez 2001 E. Division St., Ste. 115 • Arlington, Texas 76011 817.400.4015 Office • 817.975.1806 Mobile cesar_custom_frame@yahoo.com
FOCUS: Making every home or office space as comfortable as possible and saving money on heating/cooling bills for years to come. AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: A+ rating with BBB; Owens Corning Certified Energy Expert (OC CEE). MEMBERSHIPS/AFFILIATIONS: Greater Fort Worth Builders Association (GFWBA), OC CEE, Insulate America. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: We are honored to be part of the Owens Corning CEE group and put a lot of emphasis on being a CEE. AREAS SERVED: DFW market along with some rural areas. We also have a branch in Lubbock. WHY CHOOSE THEM: We are family owned and operated. We offer what you need, not what we want to sell. WHAT’S UNIQUE ABOUT THEM: Honesty, I would rather lose a project than give a customer something they do not
need. Being a CEE also gives the customer peace of mind that our company is valued and trusted by a major manufacturer. MOTTO: A lazy man works double! FREE ADVICE: Go with a knowledgeable contractor you can trust, and that’s not always the one with the cheapest price. PICTURED: (left to right) Jett, Jesse and Tripp Jaime.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
2470 N. Main St. • Mansfield, Texas 76063
817.561.9825 • Fax 817.561.5554
cci-insulation.com sales@cci-insulation.com
FOCUS: Daltile is the industry-leading brand of ceramic, porcelain, glass and metal tile, as well as natural stone, large-format slab, roofing tiles, and countertop products. AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: Daltile has won multiple awards in 2019, including “Best Ceramic Tile Manufacturer” for the 21st consecutive year in the annual “Award of Excellence” competition and “No. 1 in all Ceramic Tile categories” for the 19th consecutive year of the annual “Builder Brand Use Study.” MEMBERSHIPS/AFFILIATIONS: Tile Council of North America, American Society of Interior Designers, National Tile Contractors Association. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Offering the broadest array of fashion-driven tile products in the industry, Daltile is dedicated to innovative product development and distinguished style, providing unmatched design, quality, availability, and customer service. AREAS SERVED: Daltile products are distributed through over 250 Daltile companyowned sales service centers, stone slab yards, and gallery design centers that service a robust network of trade customers. Daltile products are also sold through independent flooring retailers nationwide. WHY CHOOSE THEM: Daltile has products for any budget and offers such a vast selection that they are the one-stop shop for customers looking to purchase tile, natural stone, large-format slabs, roofing tiles, and countertop products, for indoor or outdoor use. MOTTO: With products and styles for every budget, Daltile delivers the broadest array of tile with unmatched availability, helping customers bring any design imaginable to life. PICTURED: Angela Kelso and Jennifer Hipp.
CONTACT INFORMATION: daltile.com
FOCUS: Electrical contracting in residential, commercial, multifamily, and service work. AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: In March 2018, Fox Electric was recognized as a 46-year member of Independent Electrical Contractors, Fort Worth/Tarrant County Chapter Association. MEMBERSHIPS/AFFILIATIONS: Independent Electrical Contractors, Fort Worth/Tarrant County Association. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL
ACHIEVEMENT: Fox Electric has been in business for 59 years. AREAS SERVED: Dallas/Fort Worth and surrounding areas. WHY CLIENTS SHOULD CHOOSE THEM: We believe in providing quality service no matter what job size we are dealing with. FREE ADVICE: Surround
yourself with folks that are smarter than you are, and your word should be your bond. PICTURED: (left to right) Wes Shahan, Deborah Bruce, Geoff Carpenter, Maria Ratliff, Tommy Parker, Tiffany Malone, and John Bailey.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
1104 Colorado Lane • Arlington, Texas 76015 817.461.2571 • Fax 817.261.7311 foxelectric.com wshahan@foxelectric.com
FOCUS: Providing exceptional custom cabinet products and installation for our customers with quality and exceptional service. AWARDS/RECOGNI -
TIONS: Featured in several local magazines for exceptional craftsmanship. Outstanding payment history from all our vendors. MEMBERSHIPS/ AFFILIATIONS: FSC certification. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL
ACHIEVEMENT: Constantly producing a high-quality product at a competitive price using innovative design techniques and high-tech machining centers. BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY: Take care of our customers; our livelihood depends on it. FREE ADVICE: Good quality is defined by the
details. BIGGEST MISTAKE PEOPLE MAKE WHEN BUILDING: Not choosing a building contractor that uses high-quality building materials and quality subcontractors. PICTURED: Ricky Gonzalez and Dean Ojeda.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
318 West Kennedale Parkway • Kennedale, Texas 76060
817.483.9658
mikeconkle@mikeconkle.com mikeconkle.com
FOCUS: Ranger Fire specializes in the installation, service and inspections of fire sprinkler systems, fire alarm systems and fire extinguishers. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Ranger Fire’s greatest achievement is being able to provide a turnkey product from design, fabrication and installation, all in-house at a competitive rate with leading experts in the field. AREAS SERVED: As executive vice president, I run our service division, our fire alarm division and our Midwest division, consisting of multiple states in the U.S. WHY CHOOSE THEM: Even though we are in 23 states, we have managed to keep the small company feel with a focus on communication and relationships with our clients. We have been in Grapevine almost since our inception. We manage everything from our corporate office here locally. MOTTO: We are here 24/7 for all your life safety needs. FREE ADVICE: Experience and professionalism always outweigh the low bid. PICTURED: Billy Lewis.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
1000 S. Main St., Ste. 150 • Grapevine, Texas 76051
817.410.9070 Ext. 221 • Fax 817.410.9050
Cell 214.912.5505
rangerfireinc.com
FOCUS: Reardon Construction is focused on raising the bar and setting the standard for customer service while delivering a superior building product: office, industrial, mixed use, retail, multifamily, custom residential. AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: Colorado Homes & Lifestyles, 2008; Fort Worth Magazine Dream Homes, 2011, 2012, 2014; Fort Worth Inc. Dream Office, 2019. PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS/ AFFILIATIONS: Greater Fort Worth Builders Association, Dallas Builders Association, Texas Association of Builders, National Association of Home Builders, Texas Pistols Volleyball Gold Sponsor. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: The legacy of trust the Reardon family has built in construction for more than 48 years. AREAS SERVED: Fort Worth-Dallas Metroplex. WHY CHOOSE THEM: We’re always ready to go above and beyond to make the project a success. That’s because we care more about our client and their project than the bottom line. MISSION: To be the builder of choice for forward-thinking developers who value our commitment to excellence, integrity and execution. MOTTO: At Reardon Construction, we know that respect is earned, experience is learned, and character is built through hard work. FREE ADVICE: Select a contractor with a proven track record of on-time, on-budget completion. We’re known for that. PICTURED: Scott Reardon, Patty Dimmitt, David Barry, Michael Caughey, Chad Teddar.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
3116 W. Fifth St., Ste. 201 • Fort Worth, Texas 76107 972.369.3432
Scott@ReardonConstruction.com reardonconstruction.com
FOCUS: Helping customers find and implement the perfect finished look for their home or business.
AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: SSB Contractors won overall People’s Choice in the 2002 Kaleidoscope of Homes for custom interior finish work. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: We’ve been able to work in some of the coolest homes in the area from Van Cliburn to Josh Hamilton and still don’t believe that we have reached our greatest professional achievement because we are always striving to be better. AREAS SERVED: Dallas-Fort Worth and surrounding areas. WHY CHOOSE THEM: At SSB Contractors, we work with customers to bring their vision for their home or business to life. We pride ourselves on being innovative and on the forefront of new designs. MISSION STATEMENT: We are committed to providing outstanding quality, craftsmanship and customer service in your home and business. FREE ADVICE: Always leave others better than you found them and train Jiu Jitsu.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
7001 E. Lancaster Ave., Ste. 121 Fort Worth, Texas 76112
817.298.0086 ssbcontractorsllc.com info@ssbcontractorsllc.com
FOCUS: Residential and Commercial Roofing. AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: A+ BBB, five-stars across-the-board customer satisfaction for over a decade and satisfied customer reviews via Home Advisors and Angie’s List. MEMBERSHIPS/AFFILI -
ATIONS: With our Commercial Roofing Specialist, we are certified in GAF, Firestone, US Ply. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: With about 20 years in the construction industry in the Greater DFW market with companies such as In-line Roofing & Construction and now R. Sterling Homes, I have done every trade in construction except plumbing and worked as a service manager for one of the largest homebuilders in the U.S. for 10 years. AREAS SERVED: For commercial roofing, we serve Texas statewide, and for residential roofing, we primarily focus in North Central Texas. WHY CHOOSE THEM: We have been in business over a decade. We also offer discounts across-the-board: military, senior, first responders. MISSION STATEMENT: We offer hassle-free inspections with the goal to serve the community both commercially and residentially with the most qualified workmanship. We build more than just a roof. We build long-lasting relationships. FREE ADVICE: Make sure that the company that you choose is local and has an established business and reputation in the community. Pick a roofer that has a satisfied client base. We pride ourselves on client feedback and positive reviews.
PICTURED: Glenn Rogers, James Stewart, David Yount and Robert Sterling.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
6928 Bent Spur Drive • Fort Worth, Texas 76179 817.880.3500 inlineroofing@gmail.com
FOCUS: Texas Ace installs and services the industry’s leading HVAC equipment while providing the highest levels of customer care. AWARDS/ RECOGNITIONS: Lennox Circle of Excellence - 3 years; Partner of the Year - 2 years. MEMBERSHIPS/AFFILIATIONS: Habitat for Humanity; BBB - A+ rating; Chamber of Commerce; Energy Star; Lennox’s Feel the Love Program; CBUSA; BPI; NATE. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Sustaining incredible growth while building relationships with our customers and vendors, and without compromising on our commitment to community and excellence. AREAS SERVED: Dallas/Fort Worth and surrounding areas within North Texas. WHY CHOOSE THEM: Our company employs nine different license holders and a leadership
team with more than 250 years of HVAC experience. Our team of talent is educated, inspiring and multifaceted, that touches each and every department of our company. PICTURED: (left to right) Shawn Bell, Max Savant, Lyn Wise, Jory McDaniel, Michelle King, Mark Fanning, and Roger Villarreal.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
870 Dividend Road, Ste. C • Midlothian, Texas 76065 817.240.6701
texasacehvac.com info@texasacehvac.com
FOCUS: We specialize in custom wood floors, tile, stone and carpet. AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: Our greatest reward is the smile on the faces of happy, satisfied clients. PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS: National Wood Flooring Association, Greater Fort Worth Builders Association, Custom Builders Association, Better Business Bureau, Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, ASID Industry Partner. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Our ability to maintain a large, loyal client base. We are so privileged to work with wonderful people who refer and recommend us to others. MOTTO: Quality products, trusted service. FREE ADVICE: When making selections for your home, always invest in quality products. Remember, “the bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of a low price is forgotten.” BIGGEST BUILDING MISTAKE PEOPLE MAKE: Being in a hurry to complete the project. When building a new home or remodeling an existing one, please be patient. You can’t rush quality. Unforeseen delays can occur, but you must allow the necessary time to properly complete the project so the quality and craftsmanship are not compromised. PICTURED: (front to back, right to left) Sydni Saucier, Wendy Whitehead, Brady Gibson, Tim York, Sandra Page, Gary Huckabay, Bryan Page (President), Julie Behr (Interior Designer), Riggs Byther and Matt Zentell (General Manager).
5136 Camp Bowie Blvd. • Fort Worth, Texas 76107 817.877.1564 • Fax 817.882.1162 vintagefloors.co
Here’s the second annua l Fort Worth Inc. Top Commercial Brokers and Agents, gleaned from CoStar data for the year through June on square-footage transactions closed, total transactions closed in Tarrant County and other sources of information on regional leaders.
BY SCOTT NISHIMURA
David Adams Vice President The Woodmont Company
Project leasing/retail tenant representation
Derek Anthony
Assistant Vice President The Woodmont Company
Buyer and sales representation, investments
Bo Avery President
TriMarsh Properties, LLC
Tenant representation, project representation, investments, property management
David Barber
Vice President Formation Real Estate LLC
Asset management, relocations, project management
Michael Berkowitz
President/Chief Executive Officer
Colonial Commercial Real Estate, LLC
Investment analysis, development, construction, leasing, property management
Erik Blais
Vice President, Fort Worth Office Division
Bradford Companies Office project leasing
James K. Blake
Managing Director
SVN/Trinity Advisors
Retail and industrial sales and leasing, single-tenant investments
Michael Brady Broker
Michael Brady Realty Leasing, tenant and project representation, property management
Carl Brown Advisor
SVN/Trinity Advisors Sales, property management, industrial and retail leasing
LeAnn Brown
Managing Partner-Broker Silver Oak
Commercial Realty Office and retail project leasing, multifamily and commercial investment sales, owner/user properties, tenant representation, land
Theron Bryant Principal Transwestern Agency leasing and investment sales, office
Todd Burnette Managing Director JLL Market lead
Amber Calhoun Broker Graham Property Brokerage LLC Retail landlord and tenant representation
Cannon Camp Vice President JLL Office leasing, land
David Cason
Vice President, Fort Worth Leasing Holt Lunsford
Commercial, Inc.
Office leasing and sales
Stephen Coslik Chairman The Woodmont Company
Asset management, sales, development
Tony Creme
Senior Vice President Hillwood, A Perot
Company Industrial
George Curry Executive Vice President JLL
Industrial
Joe Davenport
Regional Director Global Fund Investments Retail leasing
Will Dillard Principal Wells CRE Industrial
Robert Dorrough
Commercial Real Estate Agent
Colonial Commercial Real Estate, LLC
Leasing and sales
Keaton Duhon
Associate Holt Lunsford
Commercial, Inc. Industrial project leasing
David R. Dunn
Managing Director/ Principal Broker
SVN/Dunn Commercial Industrial, office, and sale and leasing
Bryan Dyer Senior Vice President The Woodmont Company
Retail shopping center project leasing, tenant representation, general brokerage
Jennifer Dyess Commercial Real Estate Agent Colonial Commercial Real Estate, LLC Sales
Eric English President English Realty, LLC Office and neighborhood sales and leasing
Keith W. Fisher Principal Centurion Real Estate Partners LLC Office, industrial, retail, land sales
Jordan Foster Vice President of Brokerage and Development
Peyco Southwest Realty Commercial and industrial owner/tenant representation
Jamie Galati Vice President JLL
Office and industrial tenant, landlord representation
Grant Gary President, Brokerage Services
The Woodmont Company
Retail brokerage
Nicki George Agent, Property Manager
LTG & Associates, Inc. Sales, property management
Jeff Givens
Principal, Industrial Services
Transwestern Industrial
Michael Gonzalez Senior Director Vision Commercial RE DFW LLC
Retail and office leasing; investment sales, acquisitions, dispositions
Eric Goodwin Director of Office/Industrial Services
Champions DFW
Commercial Realty Landlord/tenant representation; investment property leasing and acquisition/disposition
Thomas Grafton
Marketing Associate Holt Lunsford Commercial, Inc. Industrial
Dak Hatfield
President Hatfield Advisors Brokerage, development, investment
Todd Hawpe
Principal Transwestern Industrial
Hunter Hayes
Marketing Director
NAI Robert Lynn
Retail property leasing
Todd Hubbard
President-Fort Worth/ Principal
NAI Robert Lynn
Industrial
Grant Huff Vice President
Transwestern Occupier solutions
Jack Huff
Principal Transwestern
Tenant representation, brokerage of office buildings, urban land and parking structures
JP Humphrey
Associate
Advisors Commercial
Real Estate
Landlord representation, medical office, office brokerage, project leasing, tenant representation
Peter Jacobsen
Senior Vice President
The Woodmont Company
Project leasing and marketing; retail site selection, acquisition, project planning
George Jennings
Marketing Associate Holt Lunsford
Commercial, Inc.
Industrial leasing, tenant representation, business development
Nanci JohnsonPlump Vice President
CBRE
Tenant representation, development, redevelopment
Michael Karol
Sales/Leasing Agent
Northern Realty Group Commercial
Jim Kelley
Principal/Broker
Champions DFW
Commercial Realty
Commercial sales and leasing, buyer/tenant representation, investment sales, property management
Sarah LanCarte
President
LanCarte Commercial
Real Estate
Acquisitions, sales, leasing, investments
Jim Leatherwood
Managing Partner, Broker
Silver Oak Commercial
Real Estate
Acquisitions, dispositions, pad site sales and leasing, tenant representation
Blake Lloyd First Vice President CBRE
Tenant representation, project leasing, property dispositions, acquisitions
Scott Lowe Senior Partner, Associate Broker
Vision Commercial RE DFW LLC
Tenant and landlord representation, buyer representation, investment acquisitions
Molly MacEwan
Director
Vision Commercial RE DFW LLC
Tenant and landlord representation, buyer representation, investment acquisitions
Jeff Marek
Senior Director
Vision Commercial RE DFW LLC
Tenant and landlord representation, buyer representation, investment acquisitions
Dallas Margeson
Associate Transwestern Office agency leasing
Taylor Marks Director of Brokerage Woodcrest Capital Leasing, brokerage
Matt Matthews
Managing Director
Matthews Commercial Office tenant representation, income-generating investment sales, building acquisition/ disposition
Moore Matthews
Managing Broker
Matthews Commercial Corporate expansion, site selection, general brokerage, private investing
Ryan Matthews Vice President JLL Tenant representation
Mark McCoy
Regional Manager
Marcus & Millichap Sales, acquisitions, investments
Jonathan T. McDaniel
President, Fort Worth Retail
NAI Robert Lynn
Retail
Mike McLain
Property Manager
Kukahi Corporate Solutions Inc. Office, industrial, retail, land
Kristi Miller
General Manager
JW Management Property management
Bobby Montgomery
Market Director
NAI Robert Lynn Retail
Clint Montgomery VP of Commercial Management & Leasing
SVN/Trinity Advisors Property management and leasing
Dan Morris
Senior Advisor
SVN/Dunn Commercial Industrial, office, retail, land sales and leasing
Seth Mullins
Vice President Hatfield Advisors
Market analysis, financial modeling, land transactions, investment sales and development
Dick Myers Vice President Vasseur Commercial Real Estate Retail/office tenant representation and project leasing; sales of investment properties and land
Jake Neal
Marketing Associate Holt Lunsford
Commercial, Inc. Office project leasing
Michael Newsome
Executive Vice President
NAI Robert Lynn Industrial
Will Northern Broker
Northern Realty Group
Commercial sales and rentals, residential sales, property management
Debra Perryman
Managing Partner
Silver Oak Commercial Realty
Land acquisitions and sales
John Pollock
Associate RE/MAX Pinnacle Group Realtors
Commercial
Colt Power Partner-Fort Worth Office Division
NAI Robert Lynn Office, medical office
Trenton Price Director
Vision Commercial RE DFW LLC
Tenant and landlord representation, buyer representation, investment acquisitions
Leland Prowse Principal Transwestern Acquisition, sales, tenant/ landlord representation
Donnie Rohde
Market Director Holt Lunsford Commercial, Inc. Industrial
Alan Rose
Market Associate Holt Lunsford Commercial, Inc Investment sales, office landlord and tenant representation
Joe Rudd Vice President Transwestern Industrial
Robert Sawyer President, Broker Formation Real Estate Tenant representation, sales and leasing, build-to-suit and leaseback services, site selection, due diligence
Bob Scully
Senior Vice President CBRE Corporate advisory services
Daniel Shelley
Commercial Agent
Northern Realty Group
Commercial sales and rentals, residential sales, property management
Geoff Shelton
Managing Principal Holt Lunsford Commercial, Inc Office leasing
Roger Smeltzer
Principal/Broker
Vision Commercial RE DFW LLC
Tenant and landlord representation, buyer representation, investment sales – retail and restaurant, industrial, office, medical office
Gary Smith
Broker Associate Andrews Dillingham Properties Office leasing
Robert W. Snider
Associate The Woodmont Company
Retail landlord and tenant representation
Al Sorrells
Senior Vice President
Majestic Realty Company Land acquisitions, development, leasing
Chris L. Stewart Vice President
Vasseur Commercial Real Estate
Commercial and industrial leasing and sales
Taylor Stinnett Broker Associate
Woodcrest Capital LLC
Leasing of Woodcrest-owned retail, land disposition, thirdparty tenant representation
Benjamin R. Sumner
Managing Partner
Centurion Real Estate Partners LLC Office, flex
Frank Taylor
Senior Vice President
JLL Agency leasing
Clients travel from all over the world to join our DFW based elite, medical Age Intervention Program. Why? Because, we can take you to the next level.
Using groundbreaking testing, bioidentical hormone optimization, nutraceuticals, and an elite lifestyle regimen, we can turn back the clock and fuel your future.
Our program targets the core of unhealthy aging symptoms:
• Decreased Energy & Irritability
• Reduced Sex Drive
• Loss of Skin Elasticity
• Poor Sleep
• Loss of Mental Focus
• Weight Gain
• Erectile Dysfunction
• Age-related Diseases
C.B. Team
Vice President & Principal Ellis & Tinsley, Inc.
Project development, site selection, leasing, buyer/seller representation, property management
Dan Thompson Vice President
The Woodmont Company Mall and outlet leasing
Michael Tran Associate
Marcus & Millichap Office, industrial
Gary Vasseur
Managing Director Vasseur Commercial
Real Estate Sales, leasing, management of commercial, industrial and investment properties
David Walters Senior Vice President CBRE Office, industrial, land
Russ B. Webb
Managing Partner/Broker
Silver Oak Commercial Realty Office, land, industrial, investment sales
Johnny Williams Broker
Johnny Williams Real Estate Brokerage Commercial, acreage
Ryan Wood Executive Vice President
TCRG Properties, LLC Owner/developer industrial
Join us for this annual event as we unveil the Nov/Dec issue of Fort Worth Inc. magazine honoring the Best Companies to Work For in Fort Worth in two categories (small-tomedium companies and large companies).
The company rankings will be revealed at the event, and the top winners in each category will receive special recognition and trophies.
When: Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019 | Check-in: 11 a.m.
Valliance Bank cocktail reception: 11:30 a.m.
Luncheon and awards program: Noon–1:30 p.m.
Where: The 4 Eleven
411 South Main St. | Fort Worth 76104
Tickets: fwtx.com/bestcompanies-2019
Table of 10 tickets: $1,800 | Individual ticket: $250 * Table locations are based on the date of the table reservation.
Apex Capital Corp.
Ardent Creative Inc.
Burns & McDonnell
Cancer Care Services
Comfort Experts, Inc.
Con-Real
Construction Cost Management, Inc
First Financial Bank, N.A.
Forrest Performance Group
Fort Capital
Fort Construction
Forte Benefits
Frank Dale Construction
Freedom Powersports LLC
GUS BATES Insurance & Investments
Imperative – Bulletproof Background Screening
Koddi
Legacy Mutual Mortgage
MineralWare
Muckleroy & Falls
Olympus Property
Qualbe Marketing Group
Satori Capital
Steele & Freeman, Inc.
Sutton Frost Cary LLP
University Building Specialties
VLK Architects, Inc.
Warren Douglas Advertising
Work Wear Safety Shoes
Worthington National Bank
Thank you to our event sponsors
In need of that perfect location for your office, manufacturing or warehousing space? Maybe you’re looking for commercial or residential investment property. The commercial Realtors, advisors and property managers on the following pages would like to tell you about themselves, their practices and why working with them will help facilitate your professional goals. The information in this section is provided by the advertisers and has not been independently verified by Fort Worth Inc.
SPECIALTY: Colonial Commercial Real Estate, LLC is a full-service commercial real estate brokerage company. We provide private, public and institutional clients with landlord and tenant representation, asset acquisition and disposition, project leasing, property management, development consulting, and real estate investment services.
Jennifer Dyess – University of North Texas, BS, Business Computer Information Systems. Robert Dorrough – TCU, MBA, Finance; Texas Tech University, BBA, Finance; Association of Financial Professionals (AFP)Certified Cash Manager; Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) - Series 7, 63, and 66. AWARDS/ HONORS: Colonial Commercial Real Estate, LLC: Fivetime CoStar Power Broker Award winner. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS: Establishing
Colonial CRE as one of the largest privately owned commercial real estate authorities in the Fort Worth area. WHY CHOOSE THEM: Colonial CRE utilizes the same industry analytics, technology and report platforms used by the largest, national commercial real estate companies. These excellent resources provide our brokerage professionals and support team the market tools required to stay current with commercial real estate market trends. MOTTO: We measure our success by the quality of our client relationships. FREE ADVICE: Due to the diversity and complexity of commercial real estate, only use a company whose focus is solely on commercial real estate. PICTURED: Robert Dorrough and Jennifer Dyess.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
3228 Collinsworth St. • Fort Worth, Texas 76107
Office 817.632.6200
Jennifer 817.632.6220 • Robert 817.632.6218
Fax 817.632.6201
colonialcre.com
jdyess@colonialcre.com
rdorrough@colonialcre.com
SPECIALTY: Oilfield Service Facilities, Industrial and Land Brokerage. We also offer Project Leasing, Relocation Consulting and Asset Management for industrial investment properties. EDUCATION/CERTIFICATIONS: Robert Sawyer and John Jinks are both CCIM certified and hold individual and corporate broker licenses in Texas. AWARDS/HONORS: Costar Power Broker awards in DFW and Austin; Blacks Guide top 35 under 35; former NAI Global Elite recipient. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS:
We are currently leasing 740,000sf of multi-tenant industrial space in DFW and have 160,000sf under management. In the oilfield markets, we have completed over 300 transactions since 2015. WHY CHOOSE THEM: We are physically present at all stages of a transaction. Formation provides the highest level of real estate services to our clients without being restricted to a geographic area. MISSION: Our mission is service, focused on
providing clients maximum value with respect to their real estate position.
FREE ADVICE: Work with people who are passionate about what they do every day. We believe our services support the growth of domestic energy production and the local business community. Industrial real estate is our business, and our passion is helping a project improve a location or see an entrepreneur thrive and benefit his or her community with economic impact.
PICTURED: Robert Sawyer, John Jinks, and David B. Barber standing inside Champions Business Park.
CONTACT INFORMATION: 2906 SE Loop 820, Ste. G • Fort Worth, Texas 76140 817.368.6050 • rsawyer@formationtx.com formationtx.com
SPECIALTY: Graham develops unique interurban projects and helps food and beverage operators locate successful locations. PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS/AFFILIATIONS: International Council of Shopping Centers, Near Southside Inc., and Commercial Real Estate Women of Fort Worth. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS: The development of the Near Southside Mercantile, a mixed-use project in the heart of the Magnolia Village. AREAS SERVED: Greater Dallas-Fort Worth and Parker County. WHY CHOOSE THEM: Graham is nimble, agile, creative and savvy while taking our clients’ concepts through securing funding, locating the property, negotiations, engaging architects/general contractors and, lastly, opening for business. PICTURED: Trey Neville, Amber Calhoun, David Duwe and Christopher Maunder.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
201 S. Calhoun St., Ste. 125C • Fort Worth, Texas 76104 817.420.9450 graham-ltd.com amber@graham-ltd.com
SPECIALTY: Industrial and Commercial Real Estate Brokerage and Investments. AWARDS/HONORS: D CEO “Power Broker”; Fort Worth Business Press “Top 20 in their 20s”; Dallas Business Journal’s “Heavy Hitters”; Fort Worth Magazine “Top Commercial Brokers.” MEMBERSHIPS/AFFILIATIONS: Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR), Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM), Real Estate Council of Greater Fort Worth, Urban Land Institute (ULI), Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW), Fort Worth Near Southside, National Association of Industrial and Office Parks (NAIOP). WHY CHOOSE THEM: Partnering with LanCarte Commercial places you in the hands of people who are passionate about real estate, steeped in integrity and committed to excellence. Our expertise and dedication dovetail with our professional connections to produce exceptional results that make us your team of choice. MISSION STATEMENT: Agile, entrepreneurial and steeped in deep institutional expertise, we are committed to delivering exceptional returns through keen market insights, uncommon resources and bold thinking to maximize every opportunity for our clients. FREE ADVICE: Always think about the exit when buying or leasing a building. Functionality and location are always going to be important and will drive value for the next user or sublessor should you need to get out of a lease or sell a building. PICTURED: Sarah E. LanCarte, CCIM, SIOR, President; David de Carion, Vice President; David Corley III, Associate; Lori Loftis, Client & Transaction Manager.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
209 North Hampton St. • Fort Worth, Texas 76102 817.409.4040
lancarteCRE.com info@lancartecre.com
BY TERESA MCUSIC / PHOTOGRAPHY BY OLAF GROWALD
Troy Kunkel likes to put the pieces together. The former TCU tight end has experienced the roller-coaster ride of residential real estate since he graduated in 2001 with a degree in business marketing. He says it has left him humble but energized. After starting out flipping properties and eventually building up to 100 “doors” for student housing, the crash in 2008 left him days away from foreclosure of his own home because of too much leverage with his company, TCU Froghouses. He now owns 50 properties near TCU and in Stephenville near Tarleton State University. Student housing is the “bread and butter” of his business, but Kunkel, 40, is expanding into commercial, including seven properties he’s bought and is developing on Stanley Avenue, just west of Cleburne behind Paschal High School. His first project is The Vintage Rail,
a restored 3,500-square-foot 1940s Quonset hut he turned into an event center primarily for weddings. Other plans he has on Stanley include an icehouse brewery, pizza restaurant, coffee shop and parking. Kunkel also is restoring the Berry Movie Theater, an abandoned 1930s property on the corner of South Hemphill and Berry streets, with plans to remake it into an event space and theater.
Preserving the Past. “I love the way we do business in Fort Worth. It’s relational, not transactional. Everybody’s one degree from someone else in the business world. My clients become my friends. Many of us in Fort Worth are repurposing old buildings. In other areas, they just scrap and build new. Everybody that’s doing this knows each other. We’re on the same page about preserving landmark buildings in Fort Worth.”
No. 1 Business Axiom: Watch the Cash. “Don’t run out of cash. I have, and it’s very difficult. You lose your momentum, your confidence. It’s depressing. Warren Buffett has a funny quote: ‘You don’t know who’s skinny dipping until the tide rolls out.’”
Don’t run out of cash. I have, and it’s very difficult. You lose your momentum, your confidence.
Stay in Your Lane. “I’ve owned a CrossFit gym and mini storage units, but I realized I really didn’t want to be an operator; I just wanted to own real estate. I’ll buy a property and put other people in to run the business. I’ll buy the bus and put other people in it; then I’ll start moving to the back and eventually get on another bus.”
Feet on the Ground. “Stanley Avenue is two miles from my house. I drive by there or go out for runs through the neighborhood, and I think about what the street’s going
to look like and how it’s going to fit together as a whole. I knock on doors of neighbors, meet the owners. It’s taken a year or two years to build relationships. I see what their needs are and how I can meet those needs.” Servant Leader. “I was a believer when I was a little guy, but in 2013-14, God said I don’t want one foot on either side of the fence; I want all of you. I had a friend die of brain cancer, it was a hard season. He takes you through the harder times to refine you and grow you and humble you. Now I’m involved with Christ Chapel kids’ ministry, help with the Good News Club at Como Elementary, sharing the Gospel with them in an after-school club. I volunteer at Justin’s Place in the Stop Six neighborhood. I’m playing with the kids, doing pushups with kids on my back.”
/
Want to know what your favorite NFL quarterback is listening to on his headphones? Earbuds Music, founded in Fort Worth, has just the deal for you. BY JASON
FORREST
PHOTOGRAPHY BY OLAF GROWALD
For as long as he can remember, Jason Fox has always loved music and sports. As he weaved his way through some of the most prestigious halls of football, first as a standout offensive lineman at the University of Miami and then over a six-year NFL career with the Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins, his head swam with entrepreneurial ideas.
Would it be possible to someday bring together his two passions into one business?
Inspiration was not long in coming. As the North Crowley High School product warmed up before NFL games, Fox noticed almost every player bouncing around during their own warmups, their headphones in, listening to music as they strutted past.
“I’d watch players warm up before games with their headphones on listening to music, and I was thinking, man, these guys have massive social followings,” Fox said.
“Millions of people are watching these games; whether it was football or watch-
ing NBA players like LeBron [James] and Steph [Curry] and [Kevin Durant] or other sports, they always have their headphones on. I thought, What if they could share that with their fans and the people watching at home?”
Fox, as it turns out, was onto something.
In the summer of 2016, as Fox was preparing to make the decision to retire from the NFL on his own terms, the dam of inspiration broke. Before one of his gold medal swims at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Michael Phelps was captured by cameras locked into his pre-race prep, headphones on, eyes fixed into the middle distance.
Over the next 24 hours, more than 23 million people tweeted at Phelps, wanting to know what he was listening to.
At that moment, Earbuds Music was born. “It felt like a sign from a higher power that this was what I should do,” Fox said.
Since 2016, Earbuds has grown into something of a social phenomenon.
Fox, a Fort Worth native who started the company here before relocating much of its operation to Austin, and his growing team of eight curate playlists into an app from friends and a growing roster of famous athletes and allow you to listen along. Want to know what Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes listens to in the locker room before a game? Or former Heisman Trophy winner and Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield? Or the playlists your friend listens to at work? It’s all at your fingertips.
lion’s job is to roar and send prey scattering away from the startling noise — right into the path of the waiting lionesses, the true hunters. If gazelles knew to run toward the frightening sound, they would have a better chance of survival. The roar doesn’t represent the real danger.
Likewise, humans sometimes have an instinctive desire to shy away from pursuits that look and sound scary. But often, running toward those challenges and conflicts is the best (or only) way to grow and meet our goals. In business, those who run from the deafening noise never reach their full potential, while those who turn and face the fear thrive.
Fox’s run-toward-the-roar moment came early in his business, and it came in the form of external doubts. Fox’s passion had always been in the music and sports spaces, but as he started his company, he heard one refrain more than any other.
Millions of people are watching these games; whether it was football or watching NBA players like LeBron and Steph or other sports, they always have their headphones on. I thought, What if they could share that with their fans and the people watching at home?
– Jason Fox, Earbuds Music
And yet, the road to here has been paved with difficulties that threatened his business, which still didn’t stop Fox from running toward the roar.
Sometimes the safest place to be is the one that feels the scariest. Lions — with their intimidating teeth and deafening roars — are designed to provoke fear. But the real danger lies with the smaller, quieter lionesses. In the animal kingdom, the
“You’ve never run a tech company, and you don’t know the music industry.”
Maybe a problem for some. But not for Fox.
“In the early days, I got type-casted in completely the wrong way because I heard constantly that big linemen are dumb and they don’t ever know what they’re doing,” Fox said. “We had to fight so many stereotypes to break into the industry just for credibility to get Spotify and Apple Music and the labels to work with us. There was a long time where it was just us butting our heads into the wall 100 times a day.”
Those difficult days didn’t last long. By leaning on his extensive network of contacts within the NFL, Fox gradually built up interest and buy-in for his nascent tech startup. He’s now gone through several rounds of funding, and Earbuds is beginning to catch fire in certain social circles. In July, it was briefly featured on “Good Morning America.”
In the early days, Fox was mining his contacts for any help he could get. “You can’t just pick up the phone and call the head of Spotify,” he said. But over time, word spread. In fact, Fox said he recently heard from the camp of James Harden, who expressed interest in his venture.
“In the early days, I was so protective of the idea,” Fox said. “I thought I knew what was best all the time. But I’ve learned just to ask everybody, because you can accomplish things so much faster and you can reach people and funding and business development so much faster when you ask for help. That’s really where we found our biggest influencers was ‘Hey, do you know anyone who would like this?’”
The gap Fox found in the industry revolves around how people consume and share music. He found that even with the freedom of technology, 82 percent of music discovery still comes from someone’s social network, and a huge segment of music consumers primarily share music through screenshots and texts. There had to be a better way.
And so, Earbuds Music was born, and the returns so far have been stunning. All in a day’s work for a former offensive lineman turned professional entrepreneur.
“I’ve had people message us I don’t even know talk about how we’ve enriched their lives and they’ve been able to discover new music,” Fox said. “We’ve had messages about people who’ve met and gotten married just by connecting through our platform. I know we’re enriching people’s lives in better ways, which is extremely rewarding. That’s made it worth it to keep fighting when the times are tough.”
BY J.D. BREWER AND MARIE CASTRO, DHG HEALTHCARE
Employer-sponsored employee health insurance is a vital piece of an organization’s benefit structure that demonstrates a commitment to the company’s values, mission and the well-being of its people. A solid benefit package that includes employer-subsidized insurance is critical to attracting and maintaining top talent in an increasingly employee-
friendly job market. Yet, the rising cost of health care is eroding margins and forcing many organizations to make trade-offs between their people and future growth.
To further complicate matters, over the last decade, many companies have not reaped the rewards of healthier employees. Medical and pharmaceutical advancements have reduced the per capita total cost of U.S. health care significantly.
Developments in technologies, drug therapies, artificial intelligence and clinical trials have created new best practices and standards of care that have led to a further cost reduction and an improvement in quality and safety. But the cost to the purchaser and consumer continues to increase, with the average annual family health care premium expected to surpass $20,000 in 2019. This misalignment has reached a point of criticality where businesses are exploring new service and payment models that gather stakeholders around a common vision: accessible, highquality care, provided affordably. What’s the story behind the numbers?
Unhealthy Population: Over the last two decades, obesity rates in America have reached crisis levels, and diabetes diagnoses have increased 68 percent. Mental illness and substance abuse among employees have also increased, with 9.5 percent of the U.S. adult population suffering from a depressive illness estimated to cost employers $100 billion annually when left untreated. These conditions are often linked to an unhealthy lifestyle and become a precursor to future dangerous and costly conditions.
A Complex System: The provision of health care in the U.S. is a fractured system of stakeholders with competing priorities and misaligned incentives. This multilayered system is a labyrinth of rules and contractual arrangements that is difficult to navigate, and it often drives up the price of health care with little additional return on employer investment. This leads to confusion, frustration and, ultimately, inappropriate utilization of medical and pharmacy services, such as the use of emergency departments and specialty drugs that are costly to employer and employee.
Broken Payment Model: The fractured nature of the current health care system is largely built on a fee-for-service model that doesn’t focus stakeholders around a common vision of lower cost and improved health, but rather rewards procedural and other volume. Through a
series of federal programs, many insurers and providers are entering into alternative payment models that compensate on value delivered versus volume of services provided. The pace of these implementations is increasing, but there is limited adoption in the self-insured employer market.
Understand Your Population: It is imperative that employers understand the health needs of their unique employee population to make informed decisions around health plan design, wellness and targeted intervention strategies. The first thing an employer should do is request a monthly data feed of adjudicated claims, case management notes, and
wellness and disease management reports to identify key trends and stratify members into risk pools that align with intervention strategies focused on better health outcomes through education and engagement.
"The most successful strategies have the goal of developing long-term healthy behaviors."
Once an employer understands their population’s needs, they should identify high-quality providers in their local market who can serve as a strategic partner to advise the design and implementation of health and wellness strategies. Providers should be evaluated on their outcomes and value — quality divided by cost.
Wellness engagement is the most vital step employees must take as they adopt and maintain healthy behaviors. The most successful strategies have the goal of developing long-term healthy behaviors for employees.
Through a phased approach, employers should first target populations that are most at risk, rather than those already maintaining healthy behaviors. Design programs and intervention strategies that incorporate education, coaching and financial rewards to encourage more informed decisions, higher compliance and healthier lifestyles.
J.D. Brewer is principal and luminous Solution Leader for DHG Healthcare in Raleigh, North Carolina. Marie Castro is a CPA and a partner with DHG in Fort Worth. They are writing this column on behalf of the Fort Worth CPAs, a regular contributor to Fort Worth Inc. Contact: jd.brewer@dhg.com, marie. castro@dhg.com.
Calling all foodies!
Fort Worth Magazine celebrates the local culinary scene by hosting the ultimate action-packed culinary competition of the year, the Top Chef Challenge.
Join chef host Jon Bonnell as four competing chefs battle it out to be crowned Fort Worth Magazine’s Top Chef. Watch the chefs cook while you participate in live auctions, sip on cocktails and grab a bite at this annual event.
COMPETING CHEFS:
Jenna Kinard - 97 West, Hotel Drover Steve Mitchell - Bistro 1031 Kobi Perdue - Paris 7th Max Zubboli - Zeno’s on the Square
Wednesday, September 25 | 6-9 pm River Ranch Stockyards | 500 NE 23rd St., Fort Worth Purchase tickets: fwtx.com/top-chef-2019
Presenting Sponsor:
BY CHRIS PATE, MANAGING DIRECTOR, TRUE NORTH FORT WORTH
If selecting a financial advisor were like buying a car, choices would be easy. Unfortunately, selecting a financial advisor is a lot more complex decision. To simplify, focus on two items: what type of firm do you want and what specific expertise are you looking for within the firm you select.
There are two primary platform types that house companies operating within the wealth advisory space: RIAs (Registered Investment Advisors) and broker-dealers. RIAs are independent firms regulated by the SEC or their state. An RIA typically is owned locally by its founders and/or employees, though some are larger and owned publicly or by institutional investors. RIAs are required to act as a fiduciary, putting the client’s interest ahead of its own.
Many people avoid conversations on investments for the same reason they avoid the car dealership: The sales process is uncomfortable to them.
This is the investment business’s highest standard of care.
RIAs partner with outside brokerage firms (Charles Schwab, Fidelity and TD Ameritrade, etc.) to manage custody of client assets. A client typically pays the RIA an annual fee to advise on the assets and for any additional services provided to the client (estate/financial planning, etc.). The investments are held in the client’s name
at the brokerage firm of choice. In 2019, RIAs manage approximately 17 percent of U.S. wealth, up from 10 percent in 2008. The broker-dealer world is more complex but effectively encompasses everything outside the RIA space. Broker-dealers are registered with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), which supervises member firms and exchanges. Members of FINRA and their advisor representatives operate with a standard referred to as suitability. The suitability standard, while not as rigorous as the fiduciary standard, requires that broker-dealers screen investments for suitability before placing client funds into them.
Broker-dealers are generally grouped into one of three categories: wirehouse, retail brokerage and discount/online brokerage. The wirehouses are comprised primarily of four large, national firms: Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo and UBS. This category makes up about 31 percent of the wealth management market (down from 40 percent in 2008). The retail brokerage space includes companies such as Edward Jones, Raymond James, RBC Wealth Management, Baird and First Allied Securities. The retail brokerage community controls approximately 32
percent of the market. Discount and online brokerage firms include Charles Schwab, Fidelity, E-Trade and TD Ameritrade. These firms may also act as custodians for RIAs, as previously mentioned, but have large numbers of direct clients as well. Together, the discount/online brokerage space controls 20 percent of the market.
Armed with the knowledge of what types of firms exist, then research the expertise of the people within the firm you are considering. The amount of money you have to invest will determine what type of expertise you need in an advisor.
When interviewing advisors, here are several questions to ask:
• How many clients do you have, and what is your average client profile?
• How much money are you/your firm managing and how have those numbers changed over the past few years?
• What are the qualifications of the individuals that will be involved in managing my account?
• Who regulates your firm (FINRA, SEC, etc.)?
• Have you been examined recently by your regulator and what were the results of that examination?
• Do you act as a fiduciary for your clients, or are you held to the suitability standard or something different?
• Will you be willing to provide references of a few of your clients that are similar to me in financial profile?
Many people avoid conversations on investments for the same reason they avoid the car dealership: The sales process is uncomfortable to them. Don’t make that mistake. Spend the time now to understand the advisory landscape, interview several groups and ask the tough questions.
Since 1953, Jewel Charity has worked tirelessly to fulfill its promise to provide for the health and well-being of the precious patients at Cook Children’s.
Please join us in helping the children by visiting us at jewelcharity.org/futures or call 817.810.9849.
BY GRAHAM STILES, CHAIRMAN, BOARD OF GOVERNORS, SOCIETY OF COMMERCIAL REALTORS
Fort Worth should be proud that our region is so well appreciated by global investors.
The enthusiasm was real when representatives from more than 100 countries became privy to large-scale development opportunities in the Fort Worth area and adjacent counties during this year’s global networking event in Cannes, France. Attending the four-day Le Marché International des Professionnels de l’Immobilier (MIPIM) conference were about 28,000 real estate professionals and seasoned investors who were treated with a unique cameo of Downtown Fort Worth and its electric appeal.
Proudly representing our region, members of the Fort Worth’s Society of Commercial REALTORS enthusiastically partnered with the Texas Association of REALTORS to showcase investment opportunities in the Greater Fort Worth area. Important to the success of the mission have been the materials that were distributed, including economic and demographic data and specific economic development projects. An interactive, digital map allowed investors to zoom in on prospects specific to the Greater Fort Worth area.
Our strong investment opportunities and friendly business environment are
drawing huge attention around the world, and we are extremely proud to show international investors the wealth of possibilities existing here. We are committed to promoting our region as a top place to live, work and do business; collaborations like this are truly successful and lucrative. Investors from across the world are choosing the diverse markets of Texas because of both the quality of life and businessfriendly atmosphere that we have to offer.
Being engaged in these global business development activities has already resulted in a potential of up to $3 billion in investments, which will be the very basis for expansion into commercial and residential real estate markets and limitless growth potential for our state. Already, Texas leads the nation in relocation activity and job growth.
Attending the MIPIM conference are other key actors in the real estate industry, such as developers, end-users, architects, hotel groups, public authorities and property associations. Additionally, for municipal representatives who attend, there are opportunities to join in promoting investments, as well as to discuss major key policy issues that urban conglomerations are facing around the world.
Here in Fort Worth, we are already looking forward to 2020. Several of our SCR members will make the trip to serve personally as emissaries for local property owners, businesses and economic development advocates — the doers who can help make things happen. In the meantime, if you want to know more about the professionals who are leading the way, please go to our website at scr-fw.org. We would like to hear from you about how we can all work together to realize even more business successes.
CEO on KERA invites you to the table as renowned journalist Lee Cullum interviews prominent chief executives from North Texas and beyond. Go to explore leadership styles and ethics. Go for insight into what makes companies successful. Go for the engaging conversation Go Public.
HOSTED BY LEE CULLUM
FULL SCHEDULE AT KERA.ORG/CEO
BY JARRED HOWARD, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, FORT WORTH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Small businesses shoulder heavy loads of tough decisions, questions and needs, particularly on the front end of their dream journeys when some are most vulnerable.
The Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce takes all that to heart in its four-year strategic plan, Fortify, and its commitment to provide key resources for entrepreneurs and startups.
Most recently, the Chamber’s inaugural E3 small business summit on Aug. 1 connected 19 experts from the private and public sectors with entrepreneurs and partners in a half-day event that focused on an array of critical small-business issues, peer learning and trans-industry networking opportunities.
E3 — an event for entrepreneurial engagement — was an excellent example source of guidance and connections for small business entrepreneurs, said former banker Cynthia Sadler, Signature Cuffs founder and chief cuff designer and one of several presenters at the event.
“The entrepreneurial experience is one of constant adaptation,” she said. “Connecting with other small businesses and the organizations that support them
creates a much-needed community of support.”
The summit connected business owners with “a like-minded network of experienced pros with helpful advice and first-hand knowledge, allowing businesses like mine to become more nimble and strategic with our decision-making. This type of community event is vital to the success of small businesses like Signature Cuffs.”
Fellow presenter Red Sanders, president of Red Productions, applauded the summit’s “hyper-focus” on small business, as well as startups.
“Fort Worth has always been an exciting and supportive place to grow my small business, but that didn’t happen by accident,” Sanders said. “It took a committed network of leaders in our community to help pave the way and provide opportunities for igniting small business growth here.
“Our business was and is still fortunate to benefit from such leadership, and I personally was happy to share our story at the E3 Summit in a way to help others as we have been helped along our entrepreneurial path.”
The Chamber’s other new small-business initiatives include the small business
cohort group, launched this year, that’s well underway, offering exclusive programming, leadership connections, and expanded network engagement to new Chamber investors and businesses who are in their first five years of operation.
The cohort has explored a wide range of high-priority topics during its first four meetings. In May, Goldman Sachs, a cohort sponsor, presented an overview of its vaunted program, 10,000 Small Businesses, an intense series of classes for small business owners.
Additionally, two of our well-established resources for small business owners — Impact Your Business and Women’s Insight Network — present monthly informational programs focused on creative strategies and tactics to help meet business challenges.
Teamed up with the City of Fort Worth and other robust Chamber partners committed to the advancement of the small business community, it’s no wonder that COMMERCIALCafé, a leading commercial real estate information services provider, recently ranked Fort Worth as the 12th best of 20 U.S. cities for startups.
On a parting note, I want to mention that the Chamber is now taking applications until Oct. 15 for its premier competition — the widely prized Small Business of the Year (SBOY) Forte Awards. Entering carries many benefits. Past entrants have applauded in particular the rigor involved in application preparation as an exercise that yields highly beneficial insights into how they can build a stronger and more profitable enterprise. And the promotional visibility given to finalists and winners is extensive.
The Chamber looks forward to receiving many applications and, in the process, helping to build a stronger small business community.
BY PAUL ENLOE, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, BREVALL TECHNOLOGIES
Most business owners are acutely aware of the security threats their computer systems face but are often unaware their phone system may be an easier target.
Common in business today is the use of a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) system, which enables phone calls to be transmitted via the internet. While VoIP boasts a number of advantages over analog, one drawback is that — like all internet technologies — it exposes businesses to potential security threats.
Failing to protect your corporate telephones with the same vigor you do your other data is flirting with disaster. If hackers breach your VoIP, they can use your resources to perpetrate a number of attacks against your customers, including audio spam.
Also known as Spam over Internet Telephony (SPIT), audio spam accounts for about 10 percent of all spam on the internet. After gaining access to your network, hackers
use your business phone to make high-volume calls to unsuspecting victims, in many cases claiming to be representatives of your business. After establishing credibility, they coerce your customers into divulging financial data and more.
Unlike the days of analog, which would require hackers to dial each number separately, VoIP streamlines SPIT attacks by enabling messages to be delivered in bulk. Since messages are prerecorded, they can be pushed out collectively instead of sequentially, so there’s little your business can do to mitigate the damage until the attack is already complete.
While phone spam is similar to email spam, the phone variety is much more effective. Email spam you have time to read, internalize and identify as fake; phone spam can catch you off guard and uses fear tactics (i.e., expiration of health coverage) to manipulate its victims into making quick, uncomfortable decisions.
We’ve all been on the receiving end of these calls. A number flashes on your phone from what appears to be a familiar
number. You answer, and a robotic voice appears on the other end, claiming that a deadline is fast approaching and that you must provide your credit card information immediately to prevent your coverage from expiring. It’s a tense situation that successfully dupes people across all age brackets.
While SPIT is the most common type of telephone attack, it’s just one of the ways hackers can make you pay for lax VoIP security. They can also eavesdrop on your calls, seize control of your mailbox, flood your system with malware and much more.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that there are several measures your business can take to secure your corporate telephony, many of which are fairly simple.
Password Authentication: Users must input a correct password to make calls. Make sure your passwords are long and complex and that you change them frequently.
Install Antivirus: Since your phones are connected to the internet, they’re susceptible to malware just like your computer is. Antivirus software can help safeguard your devices.
Three-Way Handshake: This adds another level of security by requiring both the client and server to exchange SYN and ACK (acknowledgment) packets before actual data communication begins.
While implementing each of these measures is a good start, the best way to secure your system — and peace of mind — is by partnering with an experienced cybersecurity provider such as BrevAll Technologies. We’ll use the industry’s most sophisticated methods to lock down your system and let hackers know that messing with your phones is the wrong call.
Paul Enloe, CEO of BrevAll Technologies, Inc., is writing this guest column for Fort Worth Inc. BrevAll, which does business as Telecom911|DIAL Communications, is a privately-owned technology provider and service company based in North Richland Hills, with national distribution capability.
Commercial Construction
Frank Dale
CEO, Frank Dale Construction, Southlake
Consumer Goods
Kevin Lackey
CEO, Freedom Powersports, Fort Worth
Energy
Rhett Bennett
CEO, Black Mountain, Fort Worth
Health Care & Life Sciences
Dr. Saam Zarrabi, Partner, Rodeo Dental and Orthodontics, Fort Worth
Hospitality
Walter Kinzie
CEO, Encore Live, Fort Worth
Media Communications & Public Relations
Rich Herbst
CEO, Ascend Marketing, Grapevine
Professional Services
Mike Coffey
CEO, Imperative Information Group, Fort Worth
Real Estate
John Staab
CEO, Motive Real Estate Group, Fort Worth
Residential Construction
Will and Leslie Bannister Principals, Clarity Homes, Fort Worth
Tech and Ecommerce
Sunny Lowe
CEO, Blue Jean Networks, Fort Worth
Transportation, Logistics & Distribution
Derrick Potter
President, Firefighting’s Finest Moving & Storage, Fort Worth
Supporter of Entrepreneurship
Darlene Boudreaux
Fort Worth Inc. would like to congratulate the 2019 Fort Worth Inc. Entrepreneur of Excellence winners and thank our program sponsors for a great event.
Presenting Sponsor:
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BY TONY FORD, CEO, SUCCESS FORT WORTH
Now that 2019 is rushing to a close, many of us are scratching our heads and asking, “Wow, where did all of that time go?” And while I can’t answer that, I’d like to offer a prescription for how we make the most of the year’s time we have left. Think momentum.
For many of us, momentum is a source of ongoing encouragement once we decide what we want and what we are willing to do to get it. But too often, the day-today grind robs us of the focus and energy it takes to maintain and accelerate our momentum. Ultimately, we fall short of our goals. This cycle can become a selffulfilling recipe for mediocrity. I invite you to consider these seven ways to finish the year strong:
• Make a bigger plan and stick to it: If our plan is “hold on to what we have,” we are probably going to end up disappointed. The world is constantly changing and expanding. Just as we need computers and mobile phones to do our jobs, a plan for personal growth and profes-
sional enrichment is vital. Our plans should include hiring a coach to bring focus and accountability and/ or actively participating in a peermentoring group. Accountability and focus are the keys to success.
• Get ahead and stay ahead: Making a bigger plan does not need to be complex. It can be a simple one-page list of goals and activities we commit to. This is where accountability is our friend.
• Learn from the past, but live in the present: No amount of secondguessing is going to change it. The past’s true value lies in the lessons we learned.
• Leverage your vital relationships: When it comes to relational momentum, we often confuse quantity with quality — as in the idea that more relationships are better than deeper ones. For most of us, we already know most of the people who will truly matter in our lives going forward. We should focus our relational momentum on growing deeper with these existing relation-
ships and become very selective about the quality of the people we gather into our inner circle.
• Love your work — or change it: As an executive coach, I often find that my clients have grown to actually hate their work. Many are simply burned out. Helping them identify the core reasons and activities that originally attracted them to the work allows us to change their focus and day-to-day routines to regain momentum.
• Give more than you take: When we focus on ourselves and our own needs, the direction of our momentum becomes circular, and others are quick to notice our selfishness.
• Get serious about your faith — or not: Answering the question “whom do I really work for?” is critical in determining the overarching reasons for everything we do. If we do not believe in God, we will focus all of our time and attention on what is good for us and maybe a select group of relationships. If on the other hand, we believe in God and that we are created for a purpose that should honor Him, we will include that purpose in the formulation of everything we plan and do.
One last thought: Isolation is the enemy of momentum. By reaching out and working with others in an interdependent way, we will surely take better advantage of our experience, expertise and relationships while not allowing ourselves to become isolated and distracted.
He writes this column for each issue of Fort Worth Inc. and can be reached at tford@sfw.com or 817.832.5696.
APPLY NOW TO WIN | Application Deadline is Sept. 15
Is your company a rising star in Greater Tarrant County?
We have created the Fort Worth Inc. Fastest Growing Companies List to honor the fastest-growing companies in our area. By showcasing your hard work and achievements, you will stand out from your competition to future sales and employee prospects.
We will recognize and reveal the rankings of the Fastest Growing Companies in Fort Worth in the January/February issue of Fort Worth Inc.
Don’t be left behind; apply now to find out.
For complete information, go to fwtx.com/business/fastest-growing-companies
For questions, please contact Natasha Freimark at nfreimark@fwtexas.com.
The Hispanic Chamber’s new president has ambitious goals: raise membership, measure effectiveness, and educate members on pursuing government contracts.
BY TERESA MCUSIC / PHOTOGRAPHY BY OLAF GROWALD
As the new CEO and president of the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Anette Landeros says 12-hour days are common. She usually starts with a breakfast or coffee meeting with chamber members or others in the community. That’s followed with office work directing her team
of five, then usually a networking lunch, followed by more office work. The work day usually ends with a mixer or meeting — her position serves on four boards — before heading home.
“There are a lot of meet and greets,” the energetic 36-year-old said. “My job is to be a constant relationship builder."
Beginnings Landeros hails from San Antonio and attended graduate school at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas. She’s dug deep into Fort Worth over 10 years, serving Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas, Carter BloodCare, Fort Worth Sister Cities International, Leadership Fort Worth, Artes de la Rosa Cultural Center for the Arts, and Planned Parenthood. All this on top of a full-time job as project manager for the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Transportation in Fort Worth.
Big Pivot It was her two years on the FWHCC board that led to her new job, which she started July 15, replacing John Hernandez. “Several folks encouraged me to apply.”
Changes Afoot Landeros has identified three areas of improvement she already sees for the 400-member chamber. One is to increase membership; 10 years ago, the FWHCC was near 1,000 members. Secondly, she is implementing a way to measure effectiveness of the chamber’s programming and outreach. Finally, she wants to educate members in advantages minority and women-owned businesses have in pursuing contracts with the federal government and major corporations. “We need to demystify the contracting and bidding process.”
Scaling Up Hispanics are three times more likely to start a business than other races, Landeros said. “But research shows those businesses stay rather small,” she said. “We see value in helping businesses scale. If we can take these small businesses and help them thrive and scale, we are creating jobs and economic impact. We want to help with navigating city permits, finding capital and staff, getting HR policies — connecting these dots for folks.”
Collaborations Another initiative that could expand the reach of the chamber is an initiative — announced in early September — that will have the Hispanic chamber, Fort Worth Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce, and Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce working together. The agreement allows the three chambers to jointly set goals, interact regularly with each other’s staffs and make statements together.
U.S. Chamber of CommerceMinority-Owned Business Achievement Award
FW Inc - Top 400 Most Influential People
FW Inc - Entrepreneur of Excellence Finalist
Dallas Business Journal
North Texas’ 13th Largest Hispanic-Owned Businesses
ENX Magazine - Elite Dealer
Just a few of our 2017 Awards & Recognitions
Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce2017 Small Business of the Year
North Dallas Chamber of CommerceNorth Dallas Business of the Year
Fort Worth Business Press - Minority Leader
Dallas Business Journal - Minority Leader
Euless Award Program - Best of Euless Award
Vistra Energy - Gold Star Legacy Award
SHARP - Platinum Level Service Provider
ENX Magazine - ENX Difference Makers
