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COWTOWN THEATER REVIEW / TEXAS RATTLERS' WINNING RECIPE / 165-YEAR-OLD OCTAGON REMODEL

The City's Magazine

WOMAN IN THE ARENA

FROM PUBLIC EDUCATION TO DATA CENTERS TO A $94 MILLION BUDGET HOLE, MAYOR MATTIE PARKER ISN’T AFRAID TO STEP INTO THE FRAY.

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FEATURES SEPTEMBER 2026 VOLUME 29 ISSUE 9

All Fort Worth’s a Stage

There’s no shortage of mighty fine live theater in these here city limits — Amphibian Stage, Circle Theatre, and Stage West, just to name a few. By Shilo Urban

48 Daring Greatly

Spending a day watching Mattie Parker navigate the causes, challenges, controversies, and increasingly rough politics that come with leading America’s 10th-largest city — while putting her own stamp on what it means to be mayor. By John Henry

42 Moneybull: How to Build a Dynasty With one championship already (literally) on their belts, the Texas Rattlers are betting on an unconventional strategy to capture more — and potentially send shockwaves through professional bull riding. By Brian Kendall

F W T X .COM | S E P TE M B E R 2026

DEPARTMENTS SEPTEMBER 2026 VOLUME 29 ISSUE 9

24 THE FORT 12 City Dweller

Honoring the trailblazing tenacity and lasting legacy of Kay Granger.

16 Calendar

Music, beer, and art. What more could a month possibly need?

18 Fort Worthian

Ontario Mireles: Fort Worth’s most avid people person.

20 Home

A rather geometric 19th-century home — an octagon, to be exact — makes for an elegantly proportioned, sturdily built, and possibly climate-efficient dwelling.

24 State Lines

Shamrock, Texas: pop. 1,699.

28 Cowhand Culture

Thin-skinned, beware the “Texas Gridiron Show,” where no politician, journalist, or public figure was safe from a good ol’ razzing.

32 The Reverie

Profanity, protest, and a very public exit — all in a day’s work at Tarrant County Commissioners Court.

CHOWTOWN 91 Dining

Cowtown scoops up a heck of a chef — and a new downtown restaurant.

98 4 Courses

28 20

A tasty tetrad from Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse, courtesy of “Hell’s Kitchen” winner and Landry’s vice president of culinary Ariel Fox.

ETC. 118 Dream Home 122 Snaps 125 Give Back 128 Close

+ 57 Women Who Forward Fort Worth

Special Advertising Section

103 HealthTalk

Special Advertising Section

S E P TE M B E R 2026 | F W T X .COM

EDITOR’S LETTER

Sweating the Details

owner/publisher hal a. brown president mike waldum EDITORIAL executive editor brian kendall fort worth inc. editor john henry associate editor kenzie johnson contributing writers malcolm mayhew, michael h. price, shilo urban copy editor sharon casseday

can’t recall whose bright idea it was to photograph Mayor Mattie Parker in a boxing ring — it came from one of those brainstorm sessions between our creative and editorial teams where the kernel of an idea managed to go in 20 different directions before someone landed on the keeper. “Let’s put her in a boxing robe and gloves,” someone probably said. “Oh, yeah, and maybe we can apply some makeup to make it look like she’s a couple rounds deep in a boxing match,” another person chimed in. “Guys, she ain’t doing any of that stuff,” a reasonable voice finally asserted. “Let’s just get the mayor in a boxing ring wearing her normal clothes — that gets the point across.” All seemed well when the mayor and her office said they liked the idea. But things would turn slightly sideways the day of the shoot when we realized the boxing gym we received permission to use — the incredible Texas Golden Gloves — didn’t have A/C, a rather normal omission for old-school boxing gyms that was news to this nonboxer. According to Weather Underground, the high on this day was 102 degrees just before 4 p.m. And, yes, we photographed Mayor Parker just before 4 p.m. The photographer, the talented and tenacious Thanin Viriyaki, had been photographing the mayor all morning and was dressed for the occasion in a green doublebreasted suit. After arriving early at the gym, Thanin, working at a breakneck speed, set up his lights — continuously adjusting them and adding new ones when necessary — and shot an entire practice session in the unair-conditioned building without ever removing his green jacket. By the time the mayor arrived, the jacket was three shades darker from the sweat it had accumulated. Ensuring Mayor Parker was in and out in less than 15 minutes — she was an incredible sport, I’ll note — Thanin’s previous frenetic pace and flow of sweat turned up a notch or two. Despite conditions that any normal human would deem rough, a week after completing the shoot on time and delivering incredible photos — all in a double-breasted green suit — I have yet to hear Thanin complain about the heat that day. What a pro.

Brian Kendall

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

S E P TE M B E R 2026 | F W T X .COM

ON THE COVER: Photographed by Thanin Viriyaki in Texas Golden Gloves boxing gym at 1040 N. Henderson St. The gym also serves as a 501(c)(3), nonprofit youth organization that hosts regular local and statewide boxing tournaments..

NEXT MONTH

The Pizza Renaissance Craig Cavileer Returns to the Stockyards Jon Bonnell’s Courageous Fight

ART creative director craig sylva senior art director spray gleaves contributing ad designer jonathon won contributing photographers olaf growald, thanin viriyaki ADVERTISING advertising account supervisors gina burns-wigginton x150 marion c. knight x135 account executive tammy denapoli x141 territory manager, fort worth inc. rita hale x133 account executive patrick mccune x158 senior production manager michelle mcghee x116 MARKETING director of digital robby kyser marketing manager corinn crippin events and promotions consultant victoria albrecht CORPORATE chief financial officer charles newton operations manager kaitlyn lisenby founding publisher mark hulme CONTACT US main line 817.560.6111 subscriptions customerservice@fwtexas.com

CORRECTIONS? COMMENTS? CONCERNS? Send to executive editor Brian Kendall at bkendall@fwtexas.com.

DIGITAL EDITION: The virtual editions of both current and previous issues are available on our website. Flip through the pages to read more about the great city of Fort Worth by visiting fwtx.com.

Fort Worth Magazine (ISSN 1536-8939) is published monthly by Panther City Media Group, LP, 6777 Camp Bowie Blvd., Suite 130, Fort Worth, TX 76116. Periodicals Postage Paid at Fort Worth, Texas. POSTMASTER: Send change of address notices and undeliverable copies to Panther City Media Group, 6777 Camp Bowie Blvd., Suite 130, Fort Worth, TX 76116. Volume 29, Number 9, September 2026. Basic Subscription price: $29.95 per year. Single copy price: $4.99

As Authentic as the Communities We Serve We know the streets, the schools, the neighborhoods, and the people – because this is home to us, too. Our advantage isn’t just data; it’s real relationships and local insight that help you move smarter and feel confident every step of the way. Authenticity isn’t just a word – it’s how we do business.

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MORE TO THE STORIES

EMAILS WORTH OPENING

Newsletters with all the wheat and none of the chaff

The Roundup: Stay in the know as our editors wrangle the week’s best stories about the people, places, and ideas shaping Fort Worth. Delivered Thursdays Chowtown: From barbecue to burgers and beyond, our weekly dining digest serves up fresh and original stories for Fort Worth foodies. Delivered Fridays Visit FWTX.com/newsletters or scan the QR code below to sign up for Fort Worth’s best local newsletters.

FOR THE GRAM

Where the city looks as good as it reads

BOOTS FOR THE WESTERN-MINDED AND WALLET-CONSCIOUS

FWTX.com/culture/amiga-amor-fort-worth-boot-brand

While that title might sound like an oxymoron, it’s precisely the clientele that Paxton Pittman, founder of Amiga Amor, is targeting with her small-batch boot company. “It really started with me as a customer,” Pittman says in our online article. “I felt like though there were a ton of Western-style boots, I personally couldn’t find something that fit me well without an astronomical price tag.” Hallelujah, Paxton. AU REVOIR, COYOTE DRIVE-IN

FWTX.com/culture/goodbye-coyote-drive-in

A personal essay from the magazine’s executive editor about the soon-toclose Coyote Drive-In. While the announcement of the closure was a foregone conclusion — thanks to the ongoing Trinity River Vision — that didn’t make it any easier to stomach the idea that Fort Worth will no longer have this quirky landmark. A piece that garnered a lot of comments and shares — no doubt thanks to its controversial subject matter — was our August cover story on Cullen Davis and the double homicide that may never leave Fort Worth’s psyche. Comin’ Up: Like clockwork, Fort Worth will host one of the region’s largest Oktoberfest events from Sept. 24–26 at Trinity Park. With events that include polka dancing, stein hoisting, bier barrel rolling, and chowing down on bratwurst, it’s an ideal weekend to capture some Grade-A Instagram content. We hope you follow us along. Follow our Instagram @FWTXmag.

VOTE FOR YOUR FAVE BREW On Sept. 21, we recommend highly opinionated beer enthusiasts hop on over to our website for the first-ever Battle of the Brews, where eight Fort Worth breweries will go head-to-head for local beer supremacy. FWTX.com/battle-of-the-brews

S E P TE M B E R 2026 | F W T X .COM

EVEN MORE MATTIE PARKER

FWTX.com/news/mattie-parker

Turns out we couldn’t fit all of John Henry’s incredible — if colossal — 5,600-word cover story on Mayor Mattie Parker on the allotted eight pages. Sometimes we get so used to writing for our publications’ websites that we forget word count limitations exist. That said, if you prefer brevity, you can read the abridged feature on Page 48. THE BULLPRINT FOR TEAM SUCCESS

FWTX.com/sports/texas-rattlers-moneybull

As the annual Rattler Days approach — Oct. 2–4 at Dickies Arena — executive editor Brian Kendall did a deep dive (Page 42) on the Texas Rattlers’ innovative approach to building a championship team, which might become the first playbook for success in the PBR Teams Series. In fact, Kendall dove so deep that only half his story appears in the magazine. Check out the link above to read more.

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Compass is a licensed real estate broker and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only. Information is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, condition, sale, or withdrawal without notice. This is not intended to solicit property already listed. Photos may be virtually staged or digitally enhanced and may not reflect actual property conditions.

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S E P TE M B E R 2026 | F W T X .COM

THE FORT PEOPLE TO KNOW THINGS TO DO PLACES TO GO

FORT WORTHIAN

Smile, you’re on Fort Worth People! Don’t be surprised if you catch the eye of Ontario Mireles, a photographer who captures strangers on Fort Worth streets and turns those encounters into short social media profiles.

WHAT WE’RE WRITING ABOUT THIS MONTH:

On Page 12 Fort Worth celebrates the life of trailblazer Kay Granger. On Page 16 Places to be and people to see in September. On Page 20 Fort Worth’s Ryan Vinson turns neglected history into a vacation home in Meridian. On Page 24 Get your kicks on Shamrock’s part of Route 66. On Page 28 Everybody and just about everything were fair game in the “Texas Gridiron Show.” On Page 32 Abandon ye voice and hold ye tongue, all who enter the Commissioners Court.

F W T X .COM | S E P TE M B E R 2026

THE FORT

by John Henry

CITY DWELLER

A Force for Fort Worth

With four decades of public service, Kay Granger left behind a legacy of barrier-breaking leadership and unwavering advocacy for her hometown.

or nearly 40 years, Kay Granger was Fort Worth’s tireless advocate — first as Fort Worth’s first female mayor and later as one of the most powerful members of Congress. Granger died Aug. 2 at the age of 83, closing one of the most remarkable chapters in Fort Worth’s civic history. “Kay Granger was a trailblazer and tenacious leader,” Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker wrote on social media. “Over the years that I worked with Kay, I learned from her indelible

S E P TE M B E R 2026 | F W T X .COM

spirit, work ethic, constant sacrifice, and unwavering commitment to Texas and Fort Worth. I’m fortunate to have called her a mentor and friend.” Granger was elected mayor in 1991 after sitting on the City Council and to the U.S. House in 1996. She rose to chair of the Appropriations Committee, one of the most powerful positions in Congress. She retired from Congress in January 2025 after 28 years as one of the most impactful

members in the history of the Texas delegation, finishing her career as chairman and chairman emeritus of the Appropriations Committee. She cited increasing health challenges as the reason she would not seek reelection in 2024 and made her last public appearance in May 2025 when she was honored as Fort Worth Inc. Person of the Year. Granger, former TCU political science professor Jim Riddlesperger said, was a throwback to an earlier generation of Congress — one that saw its job as building. As Sam Rayburn once put it, “Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a good carpenter to build one.” And the Good Lord knows Congress has no shortage of jackasses these days. Granger was born in Greenville, Texas, on Jan. 18, 1943. She graduated from Eastern Hills High School before earning her degree from Texas Wesleyan University. She spent nine years teaching English, literature, and journalism in the Birdville school district. After her divorce, Granger sought a higher-paying career and began selling insurance from home. She went on to build a successful insurance business, which she owned and managed for more than 20 years. “Success comes to ordinary people who set a direction and work like crazy,” Granger has said. “Leadership is not comfortable; leadership is a challenge.” Granger’s ascent to her lofty perch in the U.S. House is proof of life’s unpredictability — and its messiness, that could go without saying. There is certainly some irony — and humor — in the career of one of Washington’s most powerful figures beginning in the debate over how to handle waste disposal — a liquid waste disposal plant near her home on Fort Worth’s East Side, to be specific. That squabble set her on the trail of becoming mayor of Fort Worth, succeeding the ever-popular Bob Bolen — a path that would take her

to the center of power in the U.S. as a key force in shaping defense policy, a proponent of fiscal and government restraint, and a steadfast champion for her hometown and Texas’ District 12. In 1996, she was recruited by both parties to run for the House under their banner, and she won as a Republican. Upon arriving in Congress, Granger served on the Budget, House Oversight, and Transportation and Infrastructure committees before joining the powerful House Appropriations Committee. On Appropriations, Granger became a leading voice on defense spending, including championing production of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in Fort Worth. When Republicans regained control of the House in 2023, Granger became chair. Granger would go on to create a legacy that more than matches those of her District 12 predecessors in Congress. Fritz Lanham, who served from 1919-47, was dubbed the “father of Fort Worth’s helium plant” for his work securing the nation’s only helium-producing plant for the city in the 1920s. Jim Wright, who won the seat in 1954, eventually rose to Speaker of the House during a 34-year congressional career. Rather than try to score points with the fringes through populist demagoguery, representatives of District 12 have established a tradition of getting things done for Texas and Fort Worth. “Her legacy is as someone who was a tireless promoter of Fort Worth, someone who represented Fort Worth with dignity in the House of Representatives,” Riddlesperger said. “She obviously was a partisan Republican, but she had a reputation for someone who, behind the scenes, was always trying to figure out a way forward, a way that she could work with people across the aisle, people from different parts of the country, to find solutions to problems rather than to create problems. You will find her as a problem-solver, not a problem-creator.”

Gain Some, Lose Some

The Stockyards Heritage Development may have abandoned its $1 billion Phase II redevelopment, but Craig Cavileer plans to do one better with a $160 million luxury resort at the district’s gateway.

he future of the Fort Worth Stockyards took two sharply different turns Aug. 5. Craig Cavileer, the developer behind Mule Alley and Hotel Drover, announced plans to return to the district with a $160 million luxury resort. That same day, Stockyards Heritage Development Co. confirmed it was abandoning the nearly $1 billion second phase of redevelopment that Cavileer once helped envision before his departure from Majestic Realty. Delightful Development Co., founded by Cavileer and former Majestic Realty executive Kayla Wilkie-Kinne, announced a partnership with Dallas-based Woodbine Development Co. to build a two-hotel luxury resort at the northeast corner of Main and 23rd streets, one of the

last major undeveloped tracts at the entrance to the historic district. The timing is notable and likely not an accident. Only hours earlier, Stockyards Heritage Development Co. announced it was abandoning the massive second phase of redevelopment that had been unveiled in 2024. The proposal would have doubled the size of the Stockyards with three hotels, 300,000 square feet of commercial space, nearly 300 apartments, and two underground parking garages. Developers said changing market conditions prompted the decision to shelve the project. “Having spent the past 15 years leading the curation and renaissance of the Stockyards, I couldn’t be more excited to return and contribute to its ongoing revival with this legacy

F W T X .COM | S E P TE M B E R 2026

THE FORT

CITY DWELLER

project,” Cavileer said. His return follows a bitter split with his former employer, Californiabased Majestic Realty Co., after more than 30 years with the company. Stockyards Heritage Development Co. is the partnership between Majestic and Fort Worth-based The Hickman Companies. “We got the second-best location in the Stockyards,” he said of this new project. “We’re at the gateway. We just got lucky.” The development will include two luxury hotels totaling 225 guest rooms — a 70-room boutique property and a neighboring 155room hotel — connected by a shared underground parking garage with 360 valet-only spaces. “So, we’re able to kind of maintain our existing footprint with the 70-key hotel property,” Cavileer said. “Adjacent to that, we’ll do a 155-key hotel. We’ll have about 225 keys total on the site.” The resort is designed to expand the district’s hospitality offerings. Plans call for five separate foodand-beverage concepts, including restaurants in both hotels, a standalone restaurant, another restaurant in the larger hotel, and a rooftop bar overlooking the Stockyards. The project will also feature roughly 18,000 square feet of meeting space, anchored by an 8,000-square-foot ballroom capable of hosting about 500 people — which would make it the third-largest ballroom and convention space in the Stockyards. The now-abandoned Phase II Majestic-Hickman project had been backed by a substantial publicprivate partnership. In June 2024, the Fort Worth City Council approved a $71.6 million incentive package after Stockyards Heritage Development Co. — the partnership between Majestic Realty Co. and The Hickman Companies — committed to investing at least $630 million in the expansion. Much of the city’s participation was aimed at helping finance two

S E P TE M B E R 2026 | F W T X .COM

underground parking garages north of the historic cattle pens. Under the agreement, Fort Worth would have had the option to purchase the garages for just over $126 million after construction. City projections estimated the combined value of the garages and new tax revenue generated by the development would total roughly $844 million. The agreement was never signed, so no adjustments are required, said Mayor Pro Tem Carlos Flores, who represents the Stockyards. He added in a statement: “I am confident the strong working relationship with Stockyards Heritage and the City will continue and create future development opportunities.” “The Stockyards remains a top performing historic entertainment district in the city,” he added. It sure does, no doubt about it. Cavileer and Wilkie-Kinne’s project grew beyond what they wanted to tackle alone, they said, so they brought in Woodbine Development Co. as a partner. Dallas-based Woodbine is known for hospitality projects, including the Hyatt Lost Pines Resort near Austin, and recently acquired the historic Driskill Hotel. “We’re co-general partners,” Cavileer said. “We’re leading all the design, development, and branding, and they’re partnering with us to build it, oversee operations.” Groundbreaking is planned for fall 2027, with completion expected about two years later. “I think we were itching to get back,” Wilkie-Kinne said. “If someone’s going to get a big property like this, I’d want it to be us — someone who has the track record of doing something that’s appropriate for the area.” — John Henry

Around Cowtown in 8 Seconds A smattering of things you might’ve missed

1. All Hail the New King: Former Fort Worth police chief Ed Kraus has been anointed and crowned the new president and CEO of Sundance Square, taking the reins from Sasha Bass on Sept. 1. 2. Doomsday for the Dome: The clock is ticking for the Fort Worth Convention Center arena, which will host its final public event Sept. 20 before facing the wrecking ball in early 2027 to make way for a new $606 million convention building. 3. Worth Watching: If you watched Season 3, Episode 3 of Taylor Sheridan’s “Lioness,” you might have spotted some familiar real estate. A Fort Worth property in Berkeley Place plays CIA operative Joe McNamara’s Virginia home — and was once featured in our very own Fort Worth Magazine 2010 Dream Home. 4. Staging a Return: Though Bowie House doesn’t technically have a stage, the swanky hotel will host an intimate performance from Leon Bridges in its lobby Sept. 13. The Fort Worth singer last performed there in 2025. 5. A&M and Cowtown’s Brainchild: The “crazy idea” conceived by Tarrant County, Texas A&M, and Fort Worth six years ago came to fruition Aug. 5 when the ribbon was cut on the new $185 million downtown Law & Education Building and ground was broken on the first Research & Innovation Building. 6. The Fountain Runs Dry: After 50 years, Ridgmar Mall — once known for its sweeping spiral ramp and illuminated fountain — is slated for demolition. In its place will rise Ridgmar 30 Logistics Crossing, a six-building, 931,000-square-foot logistics hub. 7. Settlement Reached: The city of Fort Worth has reached a proposed $11.25 million settlement with the estate of Atatiana Jefferson, almost seven years after a police officer fatally shot her in her home. 8. Fair Winds and Following Seas: USS Fort Worth — the first Navy ship to bear Cowtown’s name, thanks in part to former U.S. Rep. Kay Granger — was officially decommissioned July 29 after nearly 14 years of service. And rumor has it, the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History plans to create a permanent exhibit around the ship’s artifacts.

CALENDAR

September 4-5

‘Infinity Rising: The Music of Journey’ Perhaps you’ve never heard ’80s rock anthems in orchestra form, but if you’re a true admirer of hits like “Any Way You Want It” and “Don’t Stop Believin’,” you’ll want to witness the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra take on a few of Journey’s classics. Bass Performance Hall basshall.com

Sept. 11-13

18-19

Hudson Westbrook A nearby Stephenville native, Hudson Westbrook is returning close to home for a two-night performance at Billy Bob’s. This will be the young country singer’s very first stop on his national “Hits Me Tour.” Billy Bob’s Texas billybobstexas.com

11-13

12-20

‘Ain’t Too Proud’ Rock & Roll Hall of Famers The Temptations already have a Broadway jukebox musical to their name, but never before a Casa Mañana production. This version will no doubt have you wanting to cut a rug, chronicling the ups and downs of the beloved R&B group through its charttopping hits. Casa Mañana Theatre casamanana.org

S E P TE M B E R 2026 | F W T X .COM

Beyond Beethoven’s Fifth — one of the most famous classical symphonies, we’ll have you note — the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra is also busting out Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23, featuring the winner of the 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition at the keys. Bass Performance Hall basshall.com

2026 VIRUS Weightlifting Series 2 Count us out of challenging any of the participants in this national weightlifting competition to an arm-wrestling duel, as they’ll be showing off their impressive ability to hoist and heave some seriously hefty barbells. Fort Worth Convention Center usaweightlifting.org

‘Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony’

Hudson Westbrook

Over 40 museums, galleries, retail businesses, and restaurants will be taking part in this year’s Fall Gallery Night. Hosted by the Fort Worth Art Dealers Association, artwork will be on display at venues all across Cowtown from noon until 9 p.m. Various locations fwada.com

Hats will be tipped toward the Flying Saucer this month, as the Fort Worth Convention Center prepares to — under an aptly titled celebration — bid the public one free and final farewell before its demolition in early 2027. Fort Worth Convention Center fortworth.com

“Weird Al” has no doubt earned his stage name, using his wacky persona and musical talents to perform parodies of pop hits to the tune of five Grammy Awards. His trip to Dickies will feature an eight-piece band backing his signature comedy-rock performance. Dickies Arena dickiesarena.com

19-20

24-26

Fall Gallery Night

‘Bluey’s Big Play’ Despite its obvious appeal to the younger crowd, we dare say this musical is not limited to just the halfpints. While a glance or two could be shot at those not accompanied by a kiddo, the live adaptation of the TV series “Bluey” boasts clever puppetry any age could appreciate. Bass Performance Hall basshall.com

‘It’s Goin’ Down: Arena Farewell Event’

Fort Worth Oktoberfest Dirndls for the ladies and lederhosen for the gentlemen will be pulled from the depths of closets for Oktoberfest’s annual fall return, celebrating German heritage with bier and brats, carnival rides, and various competitions across the festival’s three days. Trinity Park fortworthoktoberfest.com

‘Weird Al’ Yankovic

photos provided by USA Weightlifting // Hudson Westbrook // Fort Worth Oktoberfest

THE FORT

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THE FORT FORT WORTHIAN

Ontario Mireles Photographer, Fort Worth People

By Kenzie Johnson Photo by Olaf Growald

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CAMERA ROLL

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1. Only in the Stockyards. 2. Rock ’n’ roll isn’t dead, it’s in Fort Worth. 3. Wait until you see the photo reveal at the end. 4. Tokyo meets Texas. 5. Texas nights, Mexican roots. 6. From scrolling the feed to owning it. 7. When you photograph a photographer.

o one, perhaps, knows as many strangers as Ontario Mireles. Within the last year alone, the photographer has crossed paths with hundreds of folks throughout downtown Fort Worth and the Stockyards, ranging from cowboy-hatted horsemen to khaki-clad tourists — all potential subjects for a feature on Fort Worth People. The account — which has racked up close to 100,000 followers total across TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook — has become a project Mireles has consistently run for nearly a year, with approaching and photographing strangers now second nature to the Fort Worth-born-and-raised artist. “I’ve always had the want to be outgoing,” Mireles says. “I’m always working toward that outgoingness, the ability to just talk to people and get out of my comfort zone. And people do want to talk — and I want to get to know people.” The process, as Mireles describes it, is simple. After photographing dozens of people, Mireles returns home to his near downtown apartment, pulls the footage his Ray-Ban Meta glasses recorded during the interaction, grabs the photo from his camera’s SD card, edits it all together into a reel, and posts the interaction to his aptly titled Fort Worth People social media page. “The greatness of Fort Worth is something I’ve always had my eye on,” Mireles says. “And this is my opportunity to showcase what I think is especially great — which is the people. The whole vibe of everything is solely based off them.” The framework for his social media, however, had already begun a little over a decade ago, with Mireles making the Fort Worth People account around when the prominent Humans of New York first launched. But Mireles’ page sat mostly vacant until November of 2025, spurred back on by the growing popularity of street interviews done through the handy-dandy Meta glasses. “Some days I want to get that specific cowboy individual with the

cowboy hat, but really a lot of days I’m here for everybody,” Mireles says. “As I’m walking, if I see a person, and their outfit and energy look good with the scenery around them in that moment, I’m going right up to them and asking them for a photo.” One of Mireles’ most popular videos — over 70,000 likes on TikTok and nearly 260,000 on Instagram — was filmed at the end of January. The video features a middle-aged man who introduces himself as Mac. His head is shaved, and tattoos peek out from under his winter layers, though his face markings are completely exposed, with the word “trust” inked over one eyebrow and “issues” above the other. While his physical traits may not have fit the criteria for the classic cowboy Mireles commonly and successfully photographs, something about his sad eyes struck a chord with both his viewers and Mireles himself. “He just seemed like a lost person with a deeper story. And people like that, where someone might just pass by and not really consider stopping, I have a big heart for them,” he says. “I feel like they should be heard, and I want their story to be part of the art as well.” It’s nearing the end of our conversation when I ask Mireles if he thinks walking up and randomly approaching people — whether they appear to be homeless or filthy rich — is something he’d still do so seamlessly if he didn’t have a camera in hand. And perhaps if he were born and raised in another city, that would be the case also for Mireles — but not in Fort Worth, he assures. “You hear how wholesome the people in Texas are, and then I get to go practice it every day,” Mireles says. “They genuinely want their photo taken by some random dude on the street, and more than that, they want to connect. And it’s taught me the sense of how people want more. They want to know more about the people that are in their hometown.”

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THE FORT

HOME

A Home and History Lesson

A pair of concrete octagons in the middle of the Texas Hill Country turned into an ideal vacation home. By Brian Kendall Photos by Thanin Viriyaki

S E P TE M B E R 2026 | F W T X .COM

hen Ryan Vinson came to the town of Meridian and first saw the Hill Country property in 2020, it was filled to the brim with knee-high scrub, cedar thickets, and prickly pears. But within this Shangrila for rattlesnakes and scorpions sat a pair of curious-looking octagons so engulfed by overgrowth that they seemed to have emerged from the landscape itself. “You want me to bulldoze those down?” the property’s seller asked Vinson. Intrigued by and perhaps seeing potential in the concrete structures, which had clearly occupied the land for multiple generations, Vinson declined. “I believe it was the day we closed, we found out [the octagons] were still actively listed in the National Registry of Historic Places in the United States,” Vinson recalls. Called the Bridges-Johnson House — you know it’s historical when there’s a name tied to it — turns out the 15-foot-tall edifices were once part of a home constructed in 1861, 13 years before the town of Meridian became incorporated. Built by W.H. Bridges, a physician who had moved to Texas from Georgia, the octagons, which flank a breezeway, were considered an efficient way to save space, increase circulation during the hot summers, and promote heat retention during the cold

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THE FORT

HOME

winters. Popularized by architect Orson Squire Fowler, octagon homes were once a trendy architectural fad in the Northeast but virtually unheard of in Texas, making the Bridges-Johnson House — along with the original Tarrant County Courthouse (which was an octagon) — rarities. Feeling the need to do the 19th century landmarks justice, Vinson and his young family immediately scrapped plans to build a small vacation home elsewhere on the 110-acre property and elected to use the octagons as the literal pillars of their dream vacation home. Bringing in a historical restoration engineer to assess whether Vinson’s idea of incorporating the octagons into a home was even feasible, it took the engineer five minutes to reach a verdict. “He's like, ‘Ok, I'm done,’” Vinson says of their interaction. “I thought he was going to be there for a couple hours, so I'm like, ‘What do you mean?’ And he said, ‘Well, this thing ain't going anywhere. It's been here since 1861. Those walls are almost 2-feet thick. This is where you want to go in a tornado.’” With each octagon functioning as a bedroom — one for the kids and one for the parents — and the breezeway now serving as a common area with TV and kitchenette, the layout wound up being ideal for Vinson and his family. And the decision to leave the octagons’ concrete bare on the interior — with remnants of original wood frames and centuries-old nails still sticking out — ensures the home’s rustic and historic core is always in one’s eyeline. Vinson isn’t 100% sure of the octagons’ climate efficiency — the family has opted to upgrade to air conditioning — but he is stunned by Dr. Bridges’ choice of build site. Having a report done that showed the land’s ideal build locations, Vinson discovered that Bridges chose wisely. “Back in 1861, there were only 2 acres that were the prime, prime, prime place to build on,” Vinson says. “And he built that right smack-dab in the middle of it. So how he knew that in 1861 just blows my mind, but they were a lot more connected to the land back then.”

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Dr. Lane Morrison

Dr. Morrison joined ESMS after graduating from veterinary school in 2017 and completing a yearlong equine internship. She now focuses on general equine practice, reproductive medicine, and mare and foal care. As ESMS’s intern coordinator, she is dedicated to helping shape new equine veterinarians as they begin their careers.

Dr. Savannah Kimball

Dr. Kimball began her career at ESMS as an intern after graduating from veterinary school in 2020. She primarily works in ambulatory practice, traveling to farms and barns to provide hands-on care. In addition to general equine medicine, she specializes in lameness evaluations and chiropractic care, helping horses perform at their best while supporting their long-term health and soundness. She also works alongside Dr. Morrison, supporting and mentoring ESMS interns. Dr. Morales works in ESMS’s 24hour intensive care unit, where each patient presents unique challenges. She values supporting owners during difficult moments and finds it especially rewarding to restore a sick horse to health—whether it is a performance athlete or a treasured family companion. Together, they are proud to care for the horses and owners of North Texas while contributing to the future of equine veterinary medicine.

Dr. Sarah Morales

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T H E F O R T S TAT E L I N E S The Conoco Tower on Route 66

by Shilo Urban

Shamrock, Texas Population: 1,699

oday, you can drive across the Texas Panhandle in about two hours, cruising on pancake-flat Interstate 40 without slowing down. But when Route 66 opened 100 years ago, passing right through the town of Shamrock, things were a little different. Back in 1926, much of Route 66 was unpaved dirt or gravel at best. Dangerous curves and bridges earned scary nicknames like Bloody Alley

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and Devil’s Elbow. Breakdowns were frequent in the Panhandle; radiators quickly overheated in the Texas sun, and the rough roads easily punctured tires. When it rained, the two-lane road turned into a muddy mire that trapped and disabled vehicles. If there wasn’t mud, there was dust, including crop-destroying dust storms with near-zero visibility. Traveling an average of 25 to 35 mph, it would have

taken you an entire day to drive the 178-mile stretch between the borders of Oklahoma and New Mexico — if you were lucky. But it wasn’t all breakdowns and blowouts. Imagine bumping along in your Model T (with no AC and no suspension) and spying a sky-high water tower on the horizon. Then a beacon appears: the shining town of Shamrock, Texas. Located 15 miles west of the Oklahoma border, this thriving oil and ranch hub must have brought blessed relief to Route 66’s weary travelers. The bustling little burg had everything a motorist could want: tourist camps, hotels, mechanics, banks, shops, restaurants, and gas stations — including the famous U-Drop Inn Café and Conoco Tower Station, which still stand in Shamrock today. Opened in 1936, the striking art deco edifice swiftly became one of the most recognizable stops on Route 66. Its iconic tulip-topped tower, dramatic silhouette, and neon design still attract drivers from far and wide who want to experience a slice of American history — or perhaps sit in the same booth where Elvis ate two eggs with bacon, pancakes, chocolate pie, coffee, a Pepsi, and a double order of toast. A boy’s gotta eat. Along with the old-timey café, the landmark is now home to Shamrock’s Chamber of Commerce and a visitor center with Route 66 exhibits and

T H E F O R T S TAT E L I N E S

souvenir tchotchkes. While you can no longer fill your tank at the retro Conoco gas pumps, you can power up your Tesla at the charging stations on the opposite side. And if it all looks a little familiar to you, that’s because the station inspired Ramone’s auto body shop in the hit 2006 movie “Cars.” Shamrock’s vintage vibe continues at the two-story Reynolds Hotel, built in 1928 and now housing the Pioneer West Museum and its 25 rooms of Panhandle artifacts. Next door is a 1920s law office and the adorable Magnolia Oil Gas Station, beautifully restored to its 1929 glory. Check out the antique tractor and buggy collection across the street, then walk one block west to admire the façade of the 1925 Texas Theater. You can also see the skyscraping 1915 water tower that greeted Route 66 travelers a century ago; at 176 feet tall, the daddy-longlegs-like structure is the highest historic water tower in Texas. All this makes Shamrock one of the best-preserved towns on Route 66 — and gives you a glimpse of what early Route 66 travelers encountered on their journey across the Panhandle. As you get back in your car and crank up the AC, give a silent nod of appreciation to the intrepid Americans who once passed through these parts on their way to a better tomorrow.

The Pioneer West Museum, housed in the former Reynolds Hotel, presents local history in the Texas Plains Trail Region.

The historic Magnolia gas station on Route 66

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Explore Shamrock Savor: Located deep in cattle country, it’s no surprise that tiny Shamrock has three well-reviewed steakhouses. Belly up to The Metropole’s saloon bar to try its signature soft-serve margaritas in seasonal flavors like watermelon-lime with chamoy. The upscale hangout also serves fresh sourdough rolls, juicy ribeyes, and an impressive array of whiskeys. Newcomer Grif’s Steakhouse is known for its 1855 Upper Two-Thirds Black Angus beef, and old-school Mesquite Canyon is a low-key local favorite. You’ll find burgers, wings, and pizza (including cauliflower crust pies) at Rusty’s on 66, and the U-Drop Inn Café dishes out classic diner eats along with brisket from the smoker out back. Be sure to save room for coconut cream pie. Shop: Browse colorful metal yard art, cutesy apparel, and Western home décor at Loretta’s Loot on the Route. It’s a fun collection with plenty of personality, from the rodeo-print onesies to the collectible tins. 66 Stage Line & Vintage Market also stocks both new and vintage treasures, including Route 66 memorabilia and Depression-Era uranium glassware. Multiple vendors showcase their antiques at Olde Town Mall, and Grumpy Cactus is the place to go for garden décor and Texas-themed gifts. Enjoy: Shamrock gets its name from an early sheep rancher who wanted to honor his Irish mother, and the town embraces its Emerald Isle connection. A possibly authentic piece of Ireland’s legendary Blarney Stone stands on a pedestal in the middle of town. Like its mother rock in Ireland’s Blarney Castle, kissing it is supposed to give you the gift of gab. Shamrock erupts into a green explosion every year during the weekend closest to St. Patrick’s Day, a quintessential small-town shindig with a parade, rodeo, carnival, 5K, vintage cars, arts and crafts, and a community dance on Saturday night. Snooze: The snazziest stay is the Irish Inn Boutique Hotel, which is the only four-star hotel on I-40 between Amarillo and Oklahoma City. Bright, clean suites feature kitchenettes

with full-size fridges, comfy foamtopped mattresses, and high-end linens. For a rustic getaway, Lone Mound Ranch (about 15 minutes outside Shamrock) is a 400-acre working cattle ranch with a couple of cabins and a bunkhouse with an outhouse. While you’re there, you can ride horses, rent ATVs, and stock your cooler with grass-fed beef from the ranch store.

How to Get There: Head north from Fort Worth on I-35. About 9 miles from downtown, take the exit toward Decatur for U.S. 287 N. Stay on Highway 287 N for 215 miles until you reach Childress, then turn right onto U.S. 62 E/U.S. 83 N. Continue north for about 55 miles to Shamrock. The entire trip takes a little over four hours with no stops.

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T H E F O R T C O W H A N D C U LT U R E : T H E L A R G E R - T H A N - L I F E C H A R A C T E R S O F O U R C I T Y Arlington Mayor Tom J. Vandergriff, right, with a supporter at the 1969 Texas Gridiron Show held at the Tarrant County Convention Center.

by Michael H. Price

A Good Roast

Spearheaded by local journalists, the annual ‘Texas Gridiron Show’ left no prisoners when it came to ribbing the powers that be.

ello, Suckers!” — the greeting resonates as an introduction to the “Texas Gridiron Show.” Elston Brooks, that most humorous specimen of Fort Worth-bred journalists, often intoned the raucous welcome as a bearer of a tradition dating from the 1940s, even as Brooks helped to break that tradition’s No Women Allowed policy of times past as the organization brought any and all genders into the creative process. “Hello, Suckers! Leave your wallets on the bar!” had been the catchphrase of Mary Louise “Texas” Guinan, the Waco-bred speakeasy empress of the 1920s. Hardly an insult: In show business lingo, “suckers” means “customers,” in its sarcastic way. “Gridiron” signifies a grilling, like a

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Friars Club Roast but more generalized. No prominent personage was exempt from a good-natured spoofing, gleefully accepted, and many politicians attended in anticipation of a razzing. General admission ran up to $75 a seat (tables, $800), with proceeds going toward collegiate scholarships in journalism. Manly participation in Fort Worth’s Gridiron persisted to the end, of course. The arrival of women (in the early 1970s) broadened a political and social vision that had eluded the founders’ “Good Old Boys Club.” Not to mention that the play’s femme roles no longer required the men to appear in drag. The organization responsible was Sigma Delta Chi (alias the Society of

Professional Journalists), in league with commercial communications and collegiate journalism. As women became more numerous and influential in the newsgathering racket — no longer compartmentalized in society editor or demeaning “sob-sister” assignments — their voices became essential to the song-and-dance tomfoolery that was the “Texas Gridiron Show.” Music remained a constant, with popular-song parodies and the accompaniment of a musicians’ union orchestra. (Economic shrinkage would reduce the orchestra to a solo-artist proposition during the 1990s, although accompanist Eugene Gwozdz kept the sound orchestral with digital keyboard-sampling.) In an age of the mass-market dominance of MAD Magazine, the prominence of “Doonesbury” among newspaper cartoons, the emergence of “Saturday Night Live” on television, and Texas Monthly magazine’s Bum Steer Awards, Fort Worth’s Gridiron was poised by the 1970s to become an influential bearer of political parody. The tradition ran parallel with kindred productions (often more acerbic) in Austin, Houston, and Dallas. The Fort Worth version developed affiliations with the local-to-national political establishment. Such prominent power brokers as U.S. Rep. Jim Wright and Sen. John Tower found common ground beyond Democrat/ Republican divisions to become eager participants, sometimes gracing the stage but chronically in attendance. Any politico who eluded the Gridiron’s dragnet would feel neglected — just like George Lucas would feel slighted if MAD Magazine neglected to lampoon a “Star Wars” extravaganza. “We were there to laugh with each other, to laugh about each other,” says journalist-turned-publicist and political mover Verlie M. Edwards, prominent among the earliest women to join Gridiron’s creative team. In championing parody over the savagery of satire or political broadsides, she adds: “We weren’t there to push people into the ground, and we never kicked

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T H E F O R T C O W H A N D C U LT U R E

anybody when they were down.” The balance could prove delicate: During one rehearsal of the 1990s, newspaper reporter Lou Chapman portrayed ascendant President Bill Clinton in a mimicry of Elvis Presley, singing the familiar “Mean Woman Blues” — “I’ve got a woman, mean as she can be...,” meaning, of course, Hillary Rodham Clinton. One Social Register woman among our membership objected: “Wouldn’t it be nicer to sing, ‘I’ve got a woman, smart as she can be...’”? I was working as stage director as an offshoot of my Star-Telegram duties; an impromptu conference upheld Chapman’s gruffer version. We weren’t shooting for flattery. The spoofery could turn inward, too, with inside gags that no audience saw. I was impersonating House Speaker Jim Wright in a mashup of Wright and Elton John, for a takeoff on “Pinball Wizard.” Lead scriptwriter Donna Darovich had concocted “Pork-Barrel Wizard,” given Rep. Wright’s fabled ability to pump federal moolah into his native territory. I approached the Steinway Grand before an audience of 1,500 souls at the Amon Carter Jr. Exhibits Hall. Upon opening the keyboard, I found a handwritten note: “Your fly is open.” Prank accomplished. (I’ve never mustered the gumption to consult the videotapes as to whether my reaction had been visible from the audience.) Yes, and horseplay used to be essential to journalism as a class, whether in the newsroom or on stage: Playful camaraderie begets productivity. One discouragement to a communal sense of humor was the regimented spread of the divisive newsroom cubicle and its PEZ (“Personal Expression Zone”) isolation — distancing reporters from one another while replacing the kinetic clacking of typewriters with the muted hum of computerized keyboards. And don’t get me started about how computers destroyed the centuried typesetters’ trade as a function ennobling the raw material of a typewriter manuscript.

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Shown here, left to right, at the 1954 edition of the annual Gridiron show are thenTexas House Speaker Reuben Senterfitt, Attorney General John Ben Shepperd, Congressman Wingate Lucas and Governor Allan Shivers.

And then, gradually, the “Texas Gridiron Show” died out, though with an emphatic epitaph. The 50th-anniversary production signaled its last in 1995. The demise would hang upon several factors (economic, professional, some would say a creeping humor famine in newsgathering and a post-literate society at large). Corporate localized journalism no longer exists as an anchor for such concentrated outbursts of purposeful hilarity. And yet the Gridiron remains a perpetual scholarship engine, bolstered by the strategic investment of long-ago revenues as an endowment of the Society of Professional Journalists, or SPJ. Privately held archives (photographs, scripts, and a Gridiron publication called Yellow Jaundice included) have been preserved within Special Collections at the University of Texas at Arlington. Contributors have included mass communications and academic veterans John Dycus, Carolyn Poirot, Cathy O’Neal, Donna Darovich, O.K. Carter, Roy Eaton, Linda Pavlik, and Verlie Edwards, prominent among those who assembled the UTA archive from personalized collections of memorabilia. The deed of preservation proved as concentrated a labor of love as the “Texas Gridiron Show” had been in its day. Verlie Edwards, as Fort Worth’s SPJ president in 1995, shouldered the difficult call to end the “Texas Gridiron Show.” Edwards bears a family-tradition standard of preserving history; she persists today as curator of the Roger Williams Family Museum in

Parker County, an offshoot of a lengthy affiliation with Williams and the political realm at large. “The whole concern, there at the end, was having enough money to carry on with the scholarships,” says novelist Cathy O’Neal, herself a recipient of an SPJ scholarship. “An endowment fund was established, so that the legacy of the Gridiron is going on, still. But I think we all miss the camaraderie, the closeness, of putting together the annual show.” Such reminiscent ramblings derive from a recent series of conversations with Gridiron mainstays Donna Darovich, O.K. Carter, Cathy O’Neal, and Verlie Edwards. The recollections, as numerous as they are humorous, exceed the immediate limits of space and fleeting time — stories for another day. And shouldn’t there always be stories for another day? Anyhow, to bring matters full circle: We opened, here, with the Gridiron’s welcoming taunt, and so we close with the customary finale, as amended for the 50th-anniversary exit: We’d like to thank you for all the dough that you spent. We’d like to thank you all, every lady and gent. We’d like to thank you for takin’ what we dish out — That’s what the Gridiron is really about! And we won’t be back next year to do it again, So for tonight, this is the end. We want you to know that we’ve had a blast, So thank you from the Gridiron cast!

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THE FORT

by Brian Kendall

T H E R E V E R I E : M U S I N G S , C O M M E N TA RY, A N D I N S I G H T S

A Rumble in Tarrant County

t was last fall that I ran into EJ Carrion one night on the back patio of Tulips. He and I frequent some of the same spots, so this was nothing out of the ordinary. But rather than simply exchanging pleasantries, on this particular night, the local activist had a bone to pick with me. In fact, I recall him literally saying, “I have a bone to pick with you.” Though he might disagree with specifics, when I asked him what he’d been up to, he slyly said something akin to, “Oh, you know, partaking in activist stunts.” Knowing we had recently published a column by my colleague, John Henry, that referenced “activist stunts” — an opinion piece, I’ll note, that mainly targeted those who placed a casket on Mayor Mattie Parker’s front lawn — I knew exactly what he was getting at. The following conversation got understandably heated. No voices were raised, mind you, but we’re both passionate about our respective roles and causes within the city at-large. I’ll refrain from getting into specifics, but I defended our publication’s civic engagement and the part we play in helping move the city forward, despite keeping my personal politics out of the magazine. I’ll say that he and I ultimately agreed to disagree — if only all minor spats could wrap up in such a way. EJ, in case you’re unaware, also hosts the popular 817 Podcast with Wesley Kirk and former City Councilmember Ann Zadeh. Perhaps it’s because I follow him and his podcast on social media and my algorithm is knee-deep into my recent obsession with Commissioners Court meetings, but EJ has, in many ways, become

S E P TE M B E R 2026 | F W T X .COM

the face of a growing willingness to challenge local elected officials. Granted, when elected officials take it upon themselves to conduct an unprecedented mid-decade redraw of precinct boundaries (gerrymandering, for the politically initiated); cut their number of official meetings in half, giving local residents less opportunity for public comment; and propose a significant decrease in voting sites despite an increase in population — curbing dissidence is what these three have in common, by the way — they’re creating a putrid ointment that does nothing but attract flies. While it’s understandable and on brand for the Republican-led Commissioners Court to remain hell-bent on slashing spending and cutting property taxes — something they have admittedly done by 0.85 cents over the last four years — their priorities also show that they’re equally determined to wage war on activists, dissenters, and, well, Democrats. It’s an old and obvious adage, but it’s something I find especially relevant for the moment: If one kicks a hornet’s nest, they should expect to be swarmed. Yet, like an overstimulated novice at soccer practice, the powers that be within the Tarrant County Commissioners Court seem to make a habit of roundhousing the hive and feigning shock by the subsequent swarm. Surely they know it’s coming, so one can only suspect the agitation is purposeful. And all of these provocations have now reached a tipping point with the recent arrests of EJ and Lon Burnam, a former Texas House representative, following an Aug. 4 Commission-

ers Court meeting that centered on the proposed cuts to voting sites. Burnam, picking up the public microphone to address the court and crowd in opposition to the proposal, was tackled and carried out of the court by police — a scene that’s been making the rounds on social media. EJ, meanwhile, was arrested over a week later, in the early morning hours of Aug. 12 after grabbing burgers at Nickel City — another spot I frequent. Turns out, he’d had a warrant out for disrupting the Aug. 4 meeting. The disruption in question: saying the word bullshit during his public comments. Following his comments, which lasted only one minute, Judge Tim O’Hare ordered his removal from the building, and EJ left on his own. Though a misdemeanor, he’s now been fined $2,000 and has a 180-day ban from the public meetings. According to the Commissioners Court Rules of Decorum, “Personal attacks, impertinent, profane, obscene, or slanderous remarks” are deemed prohibited behavior. So, by the book, did EJ fail to comply? Yes. And such failures normally involve cancellation of a speaker’s remaining time and removal from the court. The judge also has the right to punish those who fail to comply with a fine of “not more than twenty-five (25) dollars.” Of course, “failure to comply … may result in sanctions, including but not limited to [insert list of penalties, none of which include a $2,000 fine].” In this instance, the court chose to go beyond the scope of its usual reprimands. Does arresting EJ or Burnam help anything, I wonder? Is this everything the court needs to help push their Republican agenda? I’ve witnessed EJ, though passionate and a bit of a civic gadfly, remain civil in a disagreement and ultimately walk away with a smile on his face. But I can’t say the same about all parties involved in his dispute with the court.

(Left to right) Casa Mañana actors Braxton Jones, Simon Kowalski, and Rachel Rice

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all FORT WORTH’S a STAGE By Shilo Urban Photos by Olaf Growald

HE LIGHTS DIM. A HUSH FALLS OVER THE ROOM. THE CURTAIN RISES, AND YOU LEAN FORWARD IN YOUR SEAT.

Cue the magic. Every weekend across Fort Worth, friends and strangers gather in darkened rooms and under open skies to laugh, gasp, cheer, and maybe even cry together. They experience something that will never happen exactly that way again; something fueled by face-to-face emotion and the electric energy of the crowd. Something real. And in Fort Worth, there’s no shortage of places to feel it. North-Texas-turned-Broadway-star Alex Branton — who swung by Bass Performance Hall in 2024 as the lead in the “Mrs. Doubtfire” stage musical — wasn’t shy about the area’s treasure trove of theatrical offerings. “I mean, Fort Worth has this embarrassment of riches in terms of the quality content that the city provides at Amphibian, Stage West, Circle Theatre, and Casa Mañana,” Branton said. From improv comedy and outdoor shows to musicals and contemporary plays, Fort Worth’s theater scene is one of exceptional quality and diversity. In an era of infinite entertainment options, live performances matter more than ever — and might just be the antidote for the modern malaise of our screen-based existence.

THERE’S NOTHING LIKE LIVE “Aren’t you tired of your phone?” asks Evan

Michael Woods, actor and playwright at Amphibian Stage. “Tired of swiping to a video and half-wondering if it’s even real?” We have endless movies on our TVs and music in our headphones; algorithms engineer our video feeds to juice us with just enough dopamine to keep us scrolling. Entertainment has never been easier — or less satisfying. “People are looking for a more meaningful way to spend their attention,” says Woods. “Theater is that place.” Live performances provide something you’ll never find on a screen: human interaction. “You get to show up and experience it together,” says Faye Austin, marketing manager at Circle Theatre. “Theater gives people something increasingly rare: an experience that isn’t paused, replayed, or chosen by an algorithm.” You silence your phone, give your full attention to the stage, and never have to question whether what you’re seeing is real. Every production is a one-of-a-kind encounter that’s impossible to recreate. “It’s the ultimate you-had-to-bethere moment,” says David Wilk, who co-founded the improv comedy group Four Day Weekend almost three decades ago. “You share this experience with 175 other people in the room, and everybody not in the room isn’t privy to it. It’s like… if you know, you know. If you were there, you get it.” Moments unfold in real time, with all the spontaneity and unpredictability that entails. “That’s something you can’t get anywhere except with live per-

formance. You can’t get that on Netflix.” And unlike streaming or scrolling, you’re part of what happens at every live show. You add to the audience’s energy and are shaped by it yourself. So are the actors, who feed off the atmosphere that you help create. “We work off the crowd,” says actor Brad Gandy, who has performed Wild West gunfight reenactments at the Stockyards since 1988. “Sometimes you have a real active audience who treats it like a melodrama, going ‘boo’ and ‘hiss’ and all this other stuff, which adds to the show.” When travelers from around the globe arrived for the World Cup this summer, seeing the Stockyards (and Buc-ee’s, Waffle House, and ranch dressing) through their eyes was a feel-good experience that made the world a little smaller. “They were loving it,” Gandy says. “It was really cool. People were petting our horses and crying because it was the first time they’d ever seen a horse up close.” Imagining life through other eyes and minds is more than heartening; it’s healing. The Ancient Greeks, who invented theater, built theaters in their healing sanctuaries alongside medical clinics and surgical centers. They believed that dramatic performances were essential to well-being, providing vital social connection and emotional catharsis for processing pain. We can still reap those benefits today — but we have to get off our couches. It’s certainly more convenient to stay home, comfy and streaming, zoned out

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Off the Beaten Stage Storytelling comes in all shapes and sizes, and these live performances deliver a different kind of drama. Choose your emotion and cue the night out. Do you want to feel… …inspired and thoughtful? Listen to poetry and dramatic readings at Fort Worth Poetry Society events, The Dock Bookshop, or Recluse Books.

…smarter than you are now? Settle in for author talks at Recluse Books, The Dock Bookshop, Monkey and Dog Books, the Modern Art Museum, or the Kimbell Art Museum.

…intrigued and deliciously suspicious? Crack the case at murder mystery shows at Log Cabin Village, Texas Star Dinner Theater (Grapevine), Dinner Detective (Hilton Garden Inn Alli-

ance), Lone Star Murder Mystery Dinner Show (Billy Bob’s), or Keith & Margot’s Murder Mystery (Aloft by Marriott).

…relief from your worries and stress? Bust a gut watching comedy acts at Four Day Weekend, Big Laugh Comedy Club, or Hyena’s Comedy Nightclub.

…the wonder of a child? Bring a little one to storytimes at the Reby Cary Youth Library, Fort Worth Public Library (multiple branches), or Monkey and Dog Books.

…absolutely terrified and like you could die any minute? Scream your way through haunted houses like Cutting Edge Haunted House, Hangman’s House of Horrors, or Fort Worth Haunted House.

and scrolling through ads and AI slop. We’ve mastered the art of easy entertainment. Yet that convenience has come at the expense of meaning, leaving us bleary-eyed and feeling empty. Live productions, on the contrary, fill up our spirit and remain stubbornly human. “The direct communication that occurs every time an audience member witnesses the raw power and emotion shared by another human just feet away from them can be transforming,” says Lake Simons, co-artistic director of Hip Pocket Theatre. “Empathy and passion awaken. I think it reminds us of what it

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is to be human.” To be human or not to be, that is the question. Watching and listening to each other share stories in the same physical space is deeply rooted in our DNA. It’s one of humanity’s oldest art forms — and Fort Worth’s theaters are carrying it forward today.

EVOLUTION OF AN ECOSYSTEM “Back in the ’70s when Hip Pocket was established, there were just a handful of theater groups,” says Simons. “Today, we have a diverse and lively scene with each theater committed to offering its own vision and contributing to what is a dynamic theater scene.” When Four Day Weekend opened in 1997, many people didn’t know what improv comedy was. “They would call and ask, ‘Who’s headlining?’” remembers Wilk. “And we would have to explain the show.” These days, Four Day Weekend is a local institution, even after getting booted from their longtime venue in Sundance Square two years ago. Building management decided not to renew their lease, providing no explanation. Wilk and his crew have been nomads ever since, performing at Stage West, then at Casa Mañana’s Reid Cabaret Theatre, and presently at the Ridglea Room. “Our audience, God bless them, they still find us,” Wilk says. Meanwhile, the Reid Cabaret’s parent theater, Casa Mañana — Fort Worth’s ever-evolving venue that’s been a Cultural District staple since 1936 (initially an outdoor amphitheater whose famous dome came in 1958) — has expanded under the leadership of president Wally Jones from a focus on children’s theater to offering a far more ambitious range of programming. In 1998, traveling Broadway productions found a new home in the newly opened Bass Performance Hall, forcing the 1,000-seat Casa Mañana to adopt a slate of programming geared toward children — despite producing stellar, in-house Broadway shows that had also moved to Bass Hall. “When I got here, I was like, ‘We have our own venue. Why are we [producing shows at] Bass Hall?’” Jones says. “So, I said [to Bass Hall], ‘You

do the presenting, and we’ll do the producing and we’ll go down the road to our own place and you have your own place.’” Since 2008, Casa Mañana has delivered some of the city’s most memorable on-stage performances, sometimes even putting a local twist on Broadway staples — “Cats” with a Stockyards setting being a particularly notable example. The theater also uses a hybrid cast of local talent who perform alongside celebrated Broadway veterans. “We are very lucky that there’s a lot of professional performers here,” Jones says. “When we go to New York, we’re really only looking for principals (those with speaking roles). I mean, the ensemble is almost 100% Fort Worth actors. Sometimes some of the leads are here in Fort Worth.” Hopping across I-30, Amphibian Stage has witnessed the Near Southside blossom since it moved into its current space in 2012. “Fourteen years ago, Amphibian was one of the only open businesses on South Main Street,” says Woods. “In the last six years or so, this neighborhood has boomed! Foot traffic, economic growth, thriving residential blocks. We now have a built-in network of business partners, community partners, and audiences within walking distance.” Those audiences have also evolved. “Patrons used to buy a whole season and happily take a chance on something they were on the fence about; today’s audiences are more selective,” he explains. “What we’ve found at Amphibian specifically: When we feel strongly about a play, audiences feel it too. If we’re not fully compelled by a script, people can sense that. Passion translates.” Circle Theatre’s crowds arrive for many reasons. “Some want joy and familiarity, while others are drawn to work that challenges them or introduces a different perspective,” says Austin. “The stories that resonate most are the ones that invite people into a shared experience and continue through the conversations they inspire among friends, families, and communities.” Jubilee Theatre’s artistic director, D. Wambui Richardson, agrees. “Our audiences have certainly evolved,” he says. “They’re looking for more than

Braxton Jones

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Rachel Rice

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just a good production. They want an experience…they want to be challenged, moved, entertained, and sometimes they want an opportunity to have a conversation about what they’ve just experienced.”

NEW PLAYS, NEW PLACES, NEW FACES Some theaters are responding to changing expectations by bringing new plays and playwrights to the stage. “We’ve become much more intentional about developing new works and creating opportunities for new voices,” adds Richardson. “We don’t just want Jubilee to be a place where African American stories are produced. We want it to be a place where those stories are born.” Artist development and community education are key components of Jubilee’s mission to amplify the African American perspective. Investing in artists is also a priority at Amphibian Stage, which has earned a national reputation as an incubator for bold new theater. “Every classic, every long-running Broadway hit, started somewhere as an unproven new work,” Woods says. “Theater companies have to propel the craft forward, not just revisit the same titles again and again.” Amphibian’s multi-week Sparkfest each summer celebrates emerging talent through readings, workshops, and an acting competition. “We get to work with prolific artists at every stage of their careers who see us as a home for that process, and Fort Worth audiences get to be on the ground floor of what’s next in American theater.” For Stolen Shakespeare Guild, the city’s only theater dedicated to classical productions, what’s new isn’t the material — it’s the venue. Opened in 2025, the troupe’s new digs are just north of the Stockyards at 3623 Decatur Ave. “When designing the theater, we intentionally modeled it after the Sanders Black Box Theater at the former Fort Worth Community Arts Center, where we produced many of our shows for years,” says Jason Morgan, who owns the space with his wife, Lauren. “We wanted our longtime patrons to feel at home while preserving the intimate theatrical experience that has always been part

Places, Please: Meet the Stages Want to laugh until it hurts? Escape into someone else’s drama? Be shocked, inspired, or heartwarmed? There’s a Fort Worth theater for you. Driven by local talent and the city’s longstanding devotion to the arts, each company has carved out a distinctive identity. Contemporary playhouses with thought-provoking performances For many people, the idea of “theater” conjures up an image of a relatively intimate space with actors spotlighted on a stage, bringing imaginary scenes to life. The audience is close to the action, and the focus is on storytelling, not spectacle. These community-rooted theaters fit that quintessential image: Fort Worth’s most up-close-andpersonal venue is Amphibian Stage on South Main Street, a 90-seat black box theater (a flexible, unadorned room with black walls and no fixed stage or seating). At this boundary-pushing theater, you’ll likely see something edgy and often provocative, including new works. Circle Theatre in Sundance is a hybrid space that combines the minimalist black box aesthetic and ground-level stage with tiered seating for 125 people on three sides. Productions are polished and have broad appeal: award-winning plays, acclaimed dramas, and smart comedies. Circle’s recently renovated lobby, dubbed the Velvet Lounge, hosts smaller, cabaret-style shows in a speakeasy atmosphere. Nearby is Jubilee Theatre, one of the country’s longest-running theaters dedicated to the African American experience. Now in its 45th season, the 204-seat venue has a traditional layout and features plays and musicals,

often new works, that give voice to Black stories, actors, and playwrights. At Stage West on Vickery Boulevard, you can choose your space. The Jerry Russell Theatre is the main venue with 144 seats and a traditional layout; the “Evie” (Evelyn Wheeler Swenson Theatre) is a black box. Expect to see clever, sometimes cutting-edge plays that spark conversation on the ride home. And if you like clever — Stolen Shakespeare Guild showcases the Bard’s brilliant wordplay in their new theater north of the Stockyards. The 60- to 90-seat venue presents classical pieces, not just Shakespeare but also literary adaptations, nostalgic midcentury staples, and modern classics like “Steel Magnolias.”

Wild cards: Experimental, improv, and living history Not every live performance fits neatly inside the traditional theater mold, and these creative outliers offer the unexpected and adventurous. Celebrating its 50th season this year, Hip Pocket Theatre hosts shows that are whimsical, surreal, poetic, and often downright bizarre. The rustic outdoor venue near White Settlement puts on original ensemble works that blend theater, dance, storytelling, and music. You might see masks or mimes, puppets or handmade costumes, avant-garde sets or all of the above. An award-winning comedy troupe that’s been around since 1997, Four Day Weekend turns spectators’ suggestions into hilarious, unscripted stories on stage. They’re currently performing on Saturday nights at the Ridglea Room inside the historic Ridglea Theater on Camp Bowie Boulevard.

The Stockyards set a historic scene for the Legends of Texas, a group that stages comedic Old West gunfight reenactments on East Exchange Avenue. The ruckus erupts every Friday and Saturday following the cattle drives, around 11:45 a.m. and 4:15 p.m.

Big-stage entertainment: Broadway musicals & family-friendly shows For soaring voices, epic scores, and lavish staging, look to large-scale productions at Fort Worth’s most famous performing arts venues. You know the dome: Casa Mañana has been a local institution for 90 seasons, launching in 1936 and moving into its iconic geodesic dome on University Avenue in 1958. The cultural landmark produces its own Broadway-style musicals and children’s theater, drawing on local actors as well as talent recruited across the country. Casa’s main playhouse is a 1,049-seat space with seating on three sides of the stage, while the smaller Reid Cabaret Theatre holds concert-style shows for around 100 guests. Bass Performance Hall is not so much a theater but a grand, European-style opera house that brings nationally touring Broadway musicals to Fort Worth. The world-class venue features stunning architecture, pristine acoustics, and five tiers of seating for 2,042 guests. Along with large-scale musicals, the Bass hosts touring comedians, family shows, concerts, and dance companies; it’s also home to the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Texas Ballet Theater, Fort Worth Opera, and The Cliburn.

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Fort Worth Fall Calendar: Plays & Live Performances Saturday and Sunday after the cattle drives

Legends of Texas Old West Comedy Shows

Reenactment gunfights from the 19th-century Wild West Stockyards Station

Saturday evenings

Four Day Weekend

Improv comedy show created live from audience suggestions The Ridglea Theatre – with more TBA, stay tuned!

Sept. 11-13

10th Annual Fort Worth International Fringe Festival Theater, poetry, storytelling, and dance from around the world Stolen Shakespeare Guild

Sept. 11-27

‘Soul Notes From the Velvet Elk (A Place of Wild Surrender)’ Original, ensemble-created experimental work with music, movement, and poetry Hip Pocket Theatre

Oct. 9-25

‘As You Like It’

Beloved Shakespearean comedy of romance, disguise, and self-discovery Stolen Shakespeare Guild

Oct. 9-Nov. 1

‘Mega Python vs Gatoroid’

Campy monster musical based on 2011 cult film starring Debbie Gibson and Tiffany Hip Pocket Theatre

Oct. 14-Nov. 1

‘AJAX’

A darkly comic political thriller about the CIA-backed coup that reshaped Iran Amphibian Stage

Oct. 16-31

‘King Lear’

Madness and betrayal in one of Shakespeare’s most powerful tragedies Stolen Shakespeare Guild

Oct. 22-Nov. 8

‘Eureka Day’

Sept. 12-20

Satirical comedy about a virus outbreak in an elite elementary school Stage West

Jukebox musical and true story of brotherhood and betrayal Casa Mañana

4th Annual Twilight Soiree

‘Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations’

Sept. 19-20

‘Bluey’s Big Play’

Theatrical adaptation of the hit children’s TV series featuring life-size puppets Bass Hall

Oct. 1-25

‘Ain’t Misbehavin’’

The music of Fats Waller with the energy, creativity, and joy of the Harlem Renaissance Circle Theatre

Oct. 2-18

‘Rapunzel! Rapunzel! A Very Hairy Fairy Tale’

Family-friendly children’s musical based on the classic fable Casa Mañana

Oct. 2-25

Oct. 29-31

Evolving immersive performance with masks, puppetry, sound, and light Hip Pocket Theatre

Nov. 3-8

‘Jersey Boys’

Broadway musical about Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons Bass Hall

Nov. 7-17

‘Frozen’

Disney’s hit Broadway musical about two sisters who let it go, let it go… Casa Mañana

Nov. 19-Dec. 12

‘Scrooge in Rouge’

Outrageous characters, theatrical mishaps, and a holiday story that won’t behave Velvet Lounge at Circle Theatre

‘I’ll Be Damned If…’

A young performer defies the odds to pursue her dreams Jubilee Theatre

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Nov. 27-Dec. 20

‘If Scrooge Was a Brotha’

A musical spin on A Christmas Carol with icons of Black culture as characters Jubilee Theatre

Nov. 7-Dec. 23

‘A Christmas Carol: A New Musical Comedy’

Fresh musical adaptation of the classic Scrooge tale Casa Mañana

Dec. 1-6

‘MAMMA MIA!’

Feel-good Broadway musical set on a Greek Island with the songs of ABBA Bass Hall

Dec. 2-20

‘All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914’

A cappella musical based on the true World War I story as told by soldiers Stage West

Dec. 4-20

‘Irving Berlin’s White Christmas’

Nostalgic musical about love, friendship, and second chances Stolen Shakespeare Guild

Dec. 10-13

‘Sister’s Christmas Catechism: The Mystery of the Magi’s Gold’ Interactive one-woman comedy about a wisecracking nun Bass Hall

of Stolen Shakespeare Guild’s identity.” With just 60 to 90 seats, depending on the configuration, patrons enjoy a close connection with the performers. Will Four Day Weekend follow suit, settling into a new venue somewhere to continue their 8,000-show run? Wilk’s lips are zipped. “My official comment is: Big news coming soon.” Fort Worth will be ready — because supporting the arts is what we do. “The city supported us from 1997 on, and that was such a rock-steady blessing for us, knowing that word of mouth brought people back every single weekend,” says Wilk. “Everybody does their part. Everybody promotes the arts. The weeklies and the papers and the magazines, they’re very kind when you send a press release. The audience just has to keep saying, ‘Hey, we did this cool thing, and you should go check it out.’”

THE STAGE AHEAD A thriving theatrical community doesn’t simply reflect the richness of a city’s culture; it helps create it. Fort Worth’s continuing promotion of the performing arts makes the city — and the people in the seats — feel more alive, more creative, and more connected. “The arts scene is a huge contributor to what makes a city flourish,” says Simons at Hip Pocket Theatre. For Woods at Amphibian, the future is wide open. “There is great opportunity here through continued tourism efforts and increased investment from the city for Fort Worth to become a premier destination for theater,” she adds. “We’re excited to see all of us keep playing bigger roles as the city itself gets bigger.” This weekend in Fort Worth, someone will step onto a stage for the first time. Someone else will see their first play. An actor will hold a room in complete silence, gripped with raw emotion. Laughter will ripple through the audience at Four Day Weekend, and a cowboy will delight a wide-eyed child. From experimental stagecraft to Shakespearean theatrics, every live performance makes our city more dynamic — and reminds us that no screen or machine can ever replicate what it truly means to be human.

Simon Kowalski

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Riley Lambert, assistant general manager

MONEYBULL (and The Texas Rattlers’ Blueprint for Success)

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In a young team sport where every advantage remains up for grabs, Fort Worth’s own Texas Rattlers get innovative to stay ahead of the herd. By Brian Kendall Photos by Olaf Growald

Cody Lambert, head coach

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“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle

part of the Rattlers’ master plan to not just win but dominate the PBR Team Series. Add to the mix a first-of-its-kind training and recovery center, an assistant general manager with an appetite for innovation, and a legendary coach who boils everything down to the simplest of terms, and it’s clear Oleson is but one cog among many that can give the Rattlers an edge in a new, uncharted team sport that rewards those who can think on their feet.

s soon as Brady Oleson landed square on his head after a bull called Fast Flow flung him to the ground, he knew his riding days were over.

“You ride bulls, you know that’s going to happen,” Oleson, now 30, says of the 2024 fall that broke his neck. There may be no occupational hazard more obvious, and it’s a career-ending risk bull riders face every time they willingly climb aboard the back of a 1,500-pound bovine. And for many riders who find themselves in the same hospital slippers as Oleson, the reality of needing to pivot to a new gig — even with severe injury — comes as fast and hard as a bull out of a chute. The injury happened during a PBR Team Series event in Austin — home of the Texas Rattlers’ rivals, the Gamblers. The previous year, Oleson, a tall, lanky, and mustachioed Idaho native with a missing front tooth that doesn’t keep him from smiling, was a key member of a Rattlers team that captured the 2023 PBR Team Series Championship. By now, Oleson had cemented his place in the Rattlers’ locker room, to borrow language often heard in football and basketball. So, when Fast Flow ended Oleson’s bull-riding career, he didn’t have to look far for his next job. “[Following the injury], it was a little bit of a difficult time, but not really,” Oleson recalls as he quickly avoids any sob story. “My first thought was, ‘Well, I’m screwed. I’m done.’ But I was fortunate to have the team. When I got released from the hospital, [the Rattlers organization was] basically, like, ‘No, we’re not letting you just leave. You’re with us.’” For the remainder of the 2024 season, Brady says the Rattlers started raising funds for his retirement, and in January 2025, the team officially hired Oleson as a full-time assistant coach. While Oleson’s likability and locker room mojo didn’t hurt, there’s more than just sentiment at work when it comes to why the Rattlers put him on the proverbial coaches’ bench. Oleson provides firsthand knowledge that no coach who’s aged out of riding bucking bulls can possess. When the Rattlers receive their weekly draws — the bulls assigned to their team — Oleson doesn’t just recognize the names. In many cases, he’s had a close, personal, and even combative relationship with these fellas and understands their tendencies. Such insight can help match a rider with a bull, one of the few things a team can control in the world of Team Series bull riding. And this process of matchmaking could mean the difference between winning and losing. Get the right rider on the right bull, notch an eight-second trip, and the team is one step closer to claiming victory. Oleson also provides encouragement, assistance in workouts and recovery, and serves as a de facto interpreter between Coach Cody Lambert and the team’s riders — all of which are important responsibilities in the grand scheme of team bull riding. With those intangibles at his disposal, Oleson’s transition to coach is all

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`When Riley Lambert talks bulls, he likes to speak in football, baseball, and basketball metaphors. Chatting about rider pay and salary caps, he drops the Yankees, Astros, and Aaron Judge to make it understandable to the layman. Dan Marino, Aaron Rogers, and the Golden State Warriors all managed to come up in conversation. To describe the weekly draw and rider selection, Riley compares the bulls to an opposing team’s bullpen, while his team’s riders are the hitters. “We have three head-to-head matchups over the weekend — Friday, Saturday, and Sunday — and we have to match up five riders with five bulls each day,” says Riley, the Texas Rattlers’ assistant general manager. “We pair each hitter with a pitcher based on what we know about each. And we have bench guys — we bring seven or eight guys most weekends — so we might also have to decide which draws are better suited for a designated hitter.” The non-Western sports references might surprise many bull riding fans given Riley’s last name, Lambert — a name synonymous with rodeo royalty. Despite his position and being the son of Texas Rattlers head coach Cody Lambert, a pro rodeo legend and co-founder of the PBR who has enough gold buckles in saddle bronc and bull riding to fill a horse trough, Riley attests several times throughout our conversation, “I’m not a bull rider.” “So, why not?” I ask. “One, I was as big as my dad when I was 13,” Riley says — keep in mind that bull riders don’t typically stress the scale much. “At the time, I could have cut weight and made it to [a more ideal size for bull riders] — I’m not a skyscraper of a guy. But I was a football and basketball player. I played basketball in college.” Starting at UTEP, the state school of his hometown of El Paso, Riley then transferred to Abilene Christian University, where he played point guard and led the team in assists during his final year. Riley also saw rodeo as family business, something he grew up around and wanted to blaze his own trail. “In the fourth grade, someone told me I wasn’t going to play Division 1 basketball,” says Riley, who stands at 5 feet, 10 inches. So, I told them they could kiss my ass, and that’s what I was going to do. I was hardheaded about it, but I made up my mind then [that I was going to play basketball], and I became infatuated with it. Nothing was going to derail me.” Only after proving his fourth-grade nemesis wrong, he admits, did rodeo finally pique his interest. Following college, Riley says he dabbled in professional roping but didn’t do it full time. But he was clearly invested enough in Western sports that he later started The American Rodeo with partners Randy Bernard and Keith Ferguson in 2014. Held in Arlington every year, The American Rodeo, at the time, was an unsanctioned event that attracted some of rodeo’s biggest names because of its sizable purse.

Chad Blankenship, president and general manager

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Brady Oleson, assistant coach

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“It was the only rodeo in the world that had the best competitors in every event across the board,” Riley says. Following this, Riley took a job with PBR — a full return to the family business. “There was a three-year period where [my dad] was working for the team, and I was working for the league,” he says. “But I wanted to be in the competition. I didn’t want to be running the competition. I’m a natural competitor — no one wants to win more than me.” Whether inspired by his love and knowledge of traditional team sports, Riley is taking the innovative breakthroughs seen in baseball, basketball, and football and venturing to apply them to the chaotic realm of bull riding. And in a sport new to the team format, that places Riley at the forefront of such an approach in bull riding — the Billy Beane of rodeo, if you will. If you thought bull riding was simply about hanging on for dear life, while technically not wrong, you’re ignoring a bevy of nuances. Revisiting the old playbooks of traditional team sports — before the idea of efficient scoring became a dominant philosophy — football had guys incessantly running up the middle into walls of 300-pound men, basketball saw players feed the bigs in the post, and baseball teams stuck with guys who hammered home runs even if they struck out 80% of the time. All of these archaic approaches to winning would eventually evolve, one step at a time, as information and data became more readily available. This would ultimately lead to the discovery of passing on first down, shooting the corner-three, and prioritizing on-base percentage over flashy home runs. While these are all strategies most professional teams now embrace, those who made the discoveries first had an upper hand. The San Antonio Spurs’ exploitation of the efficient corner-three, for instance, helped the team capture five championships, and the pass-first 49ers under Bill Walsh took home three Super Bowl rings. Working with a blank canvas in team bull riding — considering all methods are new methods when it comes to a young sport — Riley is on a constant search for anything that could give the Texas Rattlers an edge over the competition. While things have the potential to get surprisingly complex in bull riding analytics — the number of variables in such a frenetic sport that lasts a mere eight seconds is potentially staggering — Riley is starting out simple: Stay on the bull. “If you ride three bulls in a game [a ride is completing an eight-second trip, and anything under eight seconds is a score of zero], you win 84% of the time,” Riley explains. “If you ride four bulls in a game, you win 97% of the time. And if you ride five bulls, you win 100% of the time.” Though Riley’s many other prospective metrics dabble in rocket science, this basic principle for success is not that complicated. Ultimately, unlike individual riding where the single highest score wins the day, it’s not about getting the highest score on a single ride — it’s about just getting a damn score on as many rides as possible. “In bull riding, you can’t coast through it,” coach Cody Lambert says. “You can’t half-ass it, because you either get a zero or a score. Well, if you get a zero, that doesn’t help our team win. And you have to do something to help our team win.”

So, coaches and front-office employees do what they can through training, recovery, motivation, and pairing bulls with riders to give their team members the best chance at staying on a rip-roaring bull for eight seconds. “That’s kind of the mantra of our coach, in general,” Riley says. What bull can buck you off if you do everything right?”

In the four years since the inception of the PBR Team Series, Cody Lambert is the first and so far, only coach the Texas Rattlers have had. A giant in the sport who could ride saddle broncs and bucking bulls with the best of them, much like his son, he’s also an innovator. In addition to co-founding the PBR, giving the daring event of bull riding its own stage — full of pyrotechnics to boot — he also invented the protective safety vest after the death of his close friend, Lane Frost. The vest has become mandatory gear across professional bull riding and has, very likely, saved many lives. A natural motivator, he speaks in original proverbs, as if rodeo had its own Confucian sayings. And he’d rather his riders not worry about data and analytics and, instead, focus on working hard. After all, such hard work will show up in the analytics. In Cody’s eyes, it’s practically a way to justify giving starting positions to the hardest workers. “The starters make the choice that they’re going to be starters,” Cody says. “They work so hard that you can’t not notice that they want in the game. When you get to a level where everyone’s talented, the guys will show you who really wants in the game. And we’re at the highest level of professional bull riding. These guys are all capable of being elite. They have to choose to be elite.” No doubt assisting the bull riders in this quest — and giving the Rattlers another upper hand in their pursuit of championships — is the new 3,000-square-foot training center in Decatur. Located within the Fit-N-Wise Fitness and Wellness Center, the complex includes a 2,000-square-foot training and recovery area, physical therapy and rehabilitation space, nutrition and film-review areas, and specialized bull-riding equipment. A separate recovery room features hot and cold plunge tubs, while riders will have access to strength, mobility, rehabilitation, and recovery programs through the team’s athlete performance staff. The gym, a first-of-its-kind in bull riding, is the antithesis of what you’d expect from a bull riding facility. It’s clean, modern, and lacking dust, dirt, muck, and mud. But the location, in the most northern point of bull riding trinity of cities — Decatur, Fort Worth, and Stephenville — is precisely what you’d expect for a PBR team’s headquarters. And it’s now where Cody, Riley, and Brady will put their philosophies into practice — doing everything they can to put a notch in the win column. “If we do it right so many times that we forget how to do it wrong,” Cody says, “then our reaction is just to do it right.”

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DARING GREATLY FIVE YEARS INTO THE JOB, FORT WORTH MAYOR MATTIE PARKER KNOWS SOMETHING ABOUT THE DUST, SWEAT — AND OCCASIONAL SNEER — THAT COME WITH THE JOB.

BY JOHN HENRY PHOTOS BY THANIN VIRIYAKI

EFORE LUNCH, MATTIE PARKER HAD WORKED ON BEHALF OF CHILDREN WHO HADN’T BEEN BORN YET, WELCOMED OTHERS TO THEIR FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, AND MET WITH A NONPROFIT TASKED WITH KEEPING TEENAGERS FROM GETTING LOST.

Then she went downstairs to City Hall’s council work session room to deal with a gaping $94 million budget hole that can only be plugged with two uncomfortable fixes. The Fort Worth city charter doesn’t say anything about getting iron supplements into the hands of pregnant women, encouraging teachers on the first day of school, or helping at-risk teenagers find their footing. Those aren’t really the mayor’s jobs. Except, increasingly, they are. Being mayor of America’s 10th-largest city means presiding over council meetings, voting on budgets and ordinances, and tending to the official business of a rapidly growing city. But it also means being cheerleader, convener, ambassador,

advocate, fundraiser, and communicator. And, at times, a punching bag. Sometimes all before lunch. And Parker’s Tuesday was just getting started. Parker has been in the mayor’s chair since 2021. She never dreamed she’d be in this place — not only in the proverbial arena but leading its direction — when she became former Mayor Betsy Price’s chief of staff in 2013. Six short years later, Parker had become the youngest big city mayor in the country at age 37. The millennial is Fort Worth’s 45th mayor. In 1910, a year after he left the White House, Theodore Roosevelt delivered one of the most compelling speeches in American history. He addressed a crowd at the Sorbonne, the ancient institute of learning on “Citizenship in a Republic.” It was in April of that year. Roosevelt said the credit belongs not to the critic on the sidelines, but to the person “who is actually in the arena” — the one willing to act, to struggle, to make

mistakes and perhaps fail, but who at least “dares greatly.” That person is the one “whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause.” The arena here during Parker’s tenure has been eventful, which is no surprise considering the city’s explosive growth has come with prices to be paid and its share of complications. That’s OK. “We can do hard things,” I’ve heard her say more than once. Since taking office in 2021, Parker has overseen a city that has topped 1 million residents, expanded public safety, folded MedStar into the Fort Worth Fire Department, advanced major infrastructure and bond programs, and continued to attract billions of dollars in private investment through the lead of the Fort Worth Eco-

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nomic Development Partnership. The city also finished off its new City Hall in the former Pier 1 building. She has also put her own stamp on the office with initiatives that reach beyond City Hall’s traditional functions: Good Natured, her push to preserve and expand Fort Worth’s open space; the Mayor’s Council on Education & Workforce, which brings educators and business leaders together to better prepare students for careers; and a maternal and infant health initiative that has united hospitals, physicians, nonprofits, and philanthropists around improving outcomes for mothers and babies. All of those, by the way, most impact underserved communities. The cynics and harshest critics — oh, God bless them — will tell you that I received a carefully curated tour of a typical day for the mayor. Probably so, but so what? They didn’t simply merely make up what is happening out of the office of mayor. And that day begins at the sound of the rooster and sometimes doesn’t close until the moon is high in the Texas sky. On this particular day in August, the first day back from the summer recess, she went from 7:30 a.m. to almost 1 a.m. “She’s just a unicorn of a public figure,” says one admirer who is working with her on the maternal health initiative. Parker’s rise to power in Fort Worth is well-documented. In fact, we documented it five years ago as she took the reins from outgoing Mayor Betsy Price, a five-term incumbent. Parker had been in office six weeks when I tailed her for a day. She was a “scrappy kid” from smalltown Hico. In school, her interests ran more toward English, books, and government, and she became an accomplished

speech competitor at Hico High School. Her maternal grandfather, Cecil “C.W.” Pearcy, was a Democratic member of the Texas House from 1959 to 1964 and later served as an assistant Texas attorney general. He died in 1988 when Parker was young. The political resemblance is intriguing in retrospect. When C.W. Pearcy sought the House speakership in 1961, he resisted what he called “fixed political tags.” He didn’t want to be categorized as conservative or liberal. “If I must be labeled,” he said, “I should certainly be considered a moderate.” His granddaughter has shown a similar distaste for being neatly placed in a political box. Her current job, after all, is nonpartisan, no matter how hard her critics try to pin her into a corner. She ran in 2021 on the mantra of “Go Time,” which she punctuated with the exclamation that Fort Worth was on the verge of greatness. And it still is, no matter how the naysaying dissenters in town try to gum up the works with sand in the gears. Well, whatever, the small-town kid was suddenly responsible for helping lead one of the fastest-growing big cities in America. Some things about the job haven’t changed since she first took office. The budget, Parker has said, is the council’s chief responsibility. Five years into her mayoralty, those priorities — and the city itself — have gotten considerably bigger. Some of the battles fought have been tinged with the toxic political rhetoric that has come to infect politics at every level. She says that her impression is that people have tired of the political environment across the country. And that was before the coming midterms that

“I’m incredibly hopeful. We have great private schools, we have great public schools, we have charter schools, we have homeschooled families. Education is an incredibly personal, intimate decision, but you have to have thriving public education. We’re going to get this right. We just have to as a city.”

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will heat up to a temperature making August seem mild with this Paxton-Talarico U.S. Senate race. “So, how do we recover from that and head into a [city] election season that’s important in 2027?” she says. “Again, it’s all relative, right? But have we had our fair share of battles on council? Yes. But … I wouldn’t trade our council for anything else. I know it’s messy, but you look at other cities that are in complete disarray and we really are not. We are trying to move incrementally in the right direction, which is forward. We all have a difference of opinion on how to get there.” There is now wide speculation about whether she will be a part of that 2027 election and run for a fourth term. She has a busy family life with a teenager and approaching 10-year-old. Her father is also facing a health issue. “What else can I answer for you about our dysfunction junction up here?” she says to me. “Well, I mean, the elephant in the room, of course,” I say, “is whether you’re going to be part of the next city election in 2027. Will you run again?”

FEW MOMENTS BETTER ILLUSTRATE PARKER’S WILLINGNESS TO STEP INTO THE ARENA THAN THE NIGHT SHE WALKED INTO A GOVERNMENT BUILDING OUT OF HER JURISDICTION AND DEMANDED CHANGE. City Hall, of course, has no authority over the Fort Worth school district. They are two separate government entities. She signed up to speak at the school board meeting as a taxpaying citizen, albeit a different kind of taxpaying citizen. The school district was dragging down Fort Worth’s broader successes, she argued. Poor schools ultimately affect workforce development, economic development, poverty, and public health, she said. “A great city demands a great public education system, and our future depends on it,” she said, adding that the district’s results were “unacceptable.” She had assembled more than 40 civic leaders to sign onto a letter to the school board. All members of the Fort Worth City Council signed it, along with business, education, philanthropic, and

community leaders. Within six weeks, Fort Worth Superintendent Angelica Ramsey had resigned. A year and a half later, the state took over the Fort Worth ISD. At the time, the mayor called the action “a good thing.” Out were nine elected school board members. In was a state-appointed board of managers, led by former U.S. Rep. and Secretary of the Army Pete Geren. The new superintendent is Peter Licata. The city of Fort Worth is in 12 school districts, including Lake Worth, another district taken over by the Texas Education Agency. We begin this Tuesday early in the morning for the first day of classes at the Lake Worth school district’s Marilyn J. Miller Language Academy, which serves elementary-age children. Fort Worth’s first day had been the day before. Fort Worth’s and Lake Worth’s reactions to the state takeover have been very different. A loud and opinionated chorus has made clear its belief that the state takeover was unnecessary and unwelcome. Parker says she believes Fort Worth’s board of managers, from her vantage point, seems to be taking “feedback and constructive criticism well in terms of more communication, more transparency.” The board managers are doing all the listening sessions because so much change happened so fast at the beginning of the school year. Much of the change was required by statute, she says. “My hope is now that the school year has started, hopefully things will settle, and we’ll be focused on outcomes for kids,” she says. The Fort Worth school district recently saw improvement in its scores. Though remaining a C, its total score increased from a 73 to a 77, according to TEA data. A score of 80 is needed for a B. That improvement occurred before the

state takeover. “We should celebrate those wins,” she says. And it’s happened in areas of the city that are high poverty. “That’s important to me because I’ve attempted to the best of my ability to preach that every single student is capable and should have opportunity for high-quality education. “And it’s possible, period. The data demonstrates that.” Lake Worth, a fraction of the size of the Fort Worth ISD, hasn’t had the same resistance from parents and taxpayers. Parker is using her bully pulpit on this day to encourage students, teachers, and administrators. She greets both in the school cafeteria, where the children are eating breakfast. Afterward, she tours a handful of classrooms. Work in education and workforce readiness has been a priority of the mayor’s even before she was elected mayor. Parker

was the founding CEO of the nonprofit T3 — the Tarrant To and Through Partnership, which is designed to build a pipeline from high school through postsecondary education and into the workforce. In 2022, Parker, by then mayor, convened the Mayor’s Council on Education & Workforce. Its purpose is to connect education to workforce development — specifically, to influence and improve educational programs and career pathways in Fort Worth public schools so students are prepared for careers that match the present and future needs of Fort Worth and North Texas employers. The council is an extension of her role in promoting economic development, not to mention a moral imperative to do her part — as a citizen and community leader — to be the proverbial rising tide that raises all boats. “I’m incredibly hopeful,” she says. “We have great private schools, we have great public schools, we have charter schools, we have homeschooled families. Education is an incredibly personal, intimate decision, but you have to have thriving public education. “I’m a public-school kid. My grandfather was our high school principal. You

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can’t have all those other amenities and options for families who don’t have a thriving public education system. We’re going to get this right. We just have to as a city.”

ROOSEVELT TOLD HIS AUDIENCE AT THE SORBONNE THAT A GOOD EDUCATION MUST TEACH FAR MORE THAN WHAT CAN BE LEARNED FROM BOOKS. Intelligence, sophistication, and cleverness, he argued, cannot substitute for the qualities necessary for a people to govern themselves: self-restraint, common sense, personal responsibility, cooperation, courage, and resolve. Still, he insisted that ordinary virtues mattered even more. A strong society, he said, depended on people willing to work, to fight when necessary, and to accept responsibility. As well as raising the next generation. Our next stop is the Texas Health Clinic on the campus of All Saints Baylor Scott & White Medical Center on the Near Southside for an update on the Maternal Health Accelerator. I had not the foggiest idea what I was walking into. Parker, of course, is not a physician, a medical researcher, or a hospital executive. But four years ago, confronting troubling maternal and infant health outcomes in Tarrant County, she began bringing together the people who were. That work eventually helped produce something much larger: the North Texas Maternal Health Accelerator, an effort spanning Dallas and Tarrant counties that aims to reduce serious complications during pregnancy and childbirth by taking medical practices that have already been shown to work and putting them to work on a regional scale. The accelerator has roots on both sides of Dallas-Fort Worth. In Dallas, UT Southwestern Medical Center physicians working at Parkland Memorial Hospital brought deep obstetrics expertise and research drawn from one of the country’s largest delivery populations. In Tarrant County, Parker launched the Tarrant County Maternal and Infant Health Coalition, convening hospitals, physicians, community organizations, and other groups around

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maternal and infant health. Dallas-based Child Poverty Action Lab — CPAL — helped bring the two sides together after discovering a federal ARPA-H funding opportunity aimed at reducing severe obstetric complications. The Burnett School of Medicine at TCU and UT Southwestern became the lead institutions in what became the North Texas Maternal Health Accelerator. The original challenge was ambitious: reduce severe obstetric complications by at least 20%. The North Texas effort encompasses roughly 60,000 annual deliveries in Dallas and Tarrant counties. That number exceeds the number of annual deliveries in more than two dozen states. One of its most visible interventions is remarkably simple: giving pregnant women iron supplements. Anemia can leave women less prepared for blood loss during delivery and increase the likelihood of a transfusion. Research at Parkland found that handing patients a bottle of prenatal iron at their first prenatal visit, rather than simply recommending that they purchase supplements themselves, reduced the risk of transfusion at delivery due to symptomatic anemia by about one-third. The idea removes barriers such as cost, transportation, and confusion over what supplement to buy. TCU took the lead in expanding the approach, purchasing over-the-counter iron in bulk and distributing it to participating clinics. Combs says about 100 clinics across the metroplex are participating. Some 30,000 bottles have reached clinics, and about 20,000 have been placed in patients’ hands. Fort Worth OB-GYN Dr. Rachel Lusby has watched the program become part of routine prenatal care. Patients receive

iron early in pregnancy, and Lusby follows their blood work and asks during subsequent visits whether they are taking it. Her pitch to patients is simple. “I would much rather you make your own blood than to have to give you somebody else’s blood,” Lusby says. Lusby says Dr. April Bleich, chair of obstetrics and gynecology at TCU’s Burnett School of Medicine and a maternal-fetal medicine specialist, introduced her to the accelerator’s work. The two trained together at Parkland. But iron is only one piece of what the accelerator is trying to accomplish. The larger idea is to identify proven interventions, spread them across a fragmented healthcare system, and then use actual patient outcomes to determine whether they are working. Hospital claims data from the DFW Hospital Council Foundation is analyzed monthly by the Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation. The accelerator tracks severe obstetric complications and can examine outcomes by ZIP code, race and ethnicity, payer type, and age. Parker brought physicians, hospital systems, community organizations, funders, and policymakers together around a problem that individual doctors could do only so much to address. “There’s been conversation around maternal health morbidity and our rates in Tarrant County for decades,” Parker says. What had been missing was a broader effort across Tarrant County to do something about it. Parker says the goal was to create that table without asking physicians to become policymakers themselves. “From a policy perspective, their hands are tied unless they want to quit practicing medi-

“I’m fortunate in a strange way that I have been around city hall now since 2013. I’ve seen these cycles through and how you tussle with issues. My hope is that I can help the council get to not just a majority opinion, but unanimous decision when it comes to passing the budget on the tax rate.”

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cine and start lobbying on an issue, which is not their responsibility,” she says. The result grew well beyond Tarrant County. TCU and UT Southwestern became anchors of an effort that now includes hospital systems and providers across North Texas. “People like to joke about the rivalry between Dallas and Fort Worth, but we are all one big community in this area,” Parker says. None of this would be happening on this scale if not for the Fort Worth mayor, says Cam Combs, senior director CPAL. “She’s just a unicorn of a public figure,” he says. Her value, Combs says, is that she can move between the public-facing side of maternal health and the far more complicated conversations involving providers, insurers, funders, and government. When federal funding for the accelerator disappeared before a contract was executed, that ability became especially important. By then, philanthropic organizations had committed nearly $25 million, and providers were already putting interventions into the field. Combs says Parker was instrumental in keeping both the funders and providers together. “We need to keep doing this,” Parker and the coalition told their partners, according to Combs. “We’re excited to partner with the feds and with the state, but we don’t need anybody necessarily to partner with us for us to start making a difference for moms and babies right here in our communities.” The objective now is to scale the initiative across the state and, hopefully, nationwide. The intervention is aimed at preventing dangerous complications for mothers, but the potential benefits begin even earlier. The CDC says iron helps develop

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the fetal brain. Meanwhile, the National Institutes of Health calls adequate iron during pregnancy critical to proper fetal development.

AFTER MEETINGS AT CITY HALL WITH COUNCIL COLLEAGUES MICHAEL CRAIN AND JEANETTE MARTINEZ ON GOOD NATURED ENDEAVORS IN THEIR DISTRICTS AND ANOTHER WITH HOPE FARM, A NONPROFIT THAT WORKS WITH AT-RISK TEENS, THE REST OF THE DAY IS DEVOTED TO TWO THORNY MATTERS, STARTING WITH A BUDGET WORK SESSION. The city must address what City Manager Jay Chapa calls “a situation.”

The city is in the red, a $94 million budget shortfall. There are no good ways to fix it. When the city needs more money, they cut services and/or – that is, and – raise the property tax rate. Fort Worth faces the shortfall largely because property owners successfully protested their appraisals and others continue to challenge them through litigation, driving taxable property values — and therefore expected property tax revenue — far below what the city had projected. Chapa said the city added more than $2 billion in new property value, but that growth was essentially wiped out by declines in the value of existing property.

At the meeting, Chapa indeed recommends a 3.2-cent increase in the property-tax rate. Several proposed cuts drew resistance from council members, particularly the elimination of the Fire Department’s HOPE Team, which works with people experiencing homelessness. Councilmember Elizabeth Beck said cutting services dealing with homelessness gave her “a lot of pause,” particularly because homelessness is a council priority across the city. The proposal would return four firefighters assigned to HOPE to regular firefighting duties, saving about $700,000 in overtime costs required to backfill their firehouse positions. The closing of the Alliance PetSmart Adoption Center caused heartburn for Carlos Flores. Others raised concern over reductions in employee raises and the elimination or freezing of vacant positions that could affect city services. The dilemma, Chapa told the council, is that restoring favored programs does not make the budget gap disappear. “We either have to look at the tax rate or find other cuts,” he said. “So, we’d be looking at both. and we would look for direction from the City Council.” The budget must be passed the last week of September. The next six weeks will be spent talking to the subjects about it through town hall meetings. Parker’s job as consensus builder looks ominous. “I’m fortunate in a strange way that I have been around city hall now since 2013,” Parker says to me. “I’ve seen these cycles through and how you tussle with issues. My hope is that I can help the council get to not just a majority opinion, but unanimous decision when it comes to passing the budget on the tax rate. I think that’s a better message than a fight from the dais.”

“EVERYBODY ASKS ME THAT QUESTION,” SHE SAYS OF RUNNING FOR REELECTION. “And my answer’s always the same. I don’t know yet. It’s an awesome job. The part of my life you won’t see today, though, is my awesome family. Keeping them all on point and groceries ordered and dinner done and who gets picked up from practice and who’s on what. “That’s just a part of it. But I’m not alone. Every other of my council members is in that moment. All of us are working. All of us have a job outside of our jobs here. We’re all incredibly busy.” Parker is the chief of staff for Cook Children’s Medical Center. Sources in and around the city have told me that she has indicated to them that she will not run again. She’s not acting like a candidate. She has raised only $20,000 this year, according to campaign finance filings, and $12,000 of that came in one donation from Rhett Bennett. In her most recent filing in July, Parker had raised a grand total of $1,000. Meanwhile, would-be rivals for the job, City Council colleagues Michael Crain and Macy Hill, are raising hundreds of thousands of dollars in apparent anticipation. Attorney Ty Stimpson is said to be putting his ducks in a row for a run. She has more than $750,000 on-hand, and she’d have plenty of financial support incoming. She has expressed a weariness of the political climate. On the docket for tonight’s City Council meeting are a series of measures related to data centers, the newest powder keg in the city. Many of tonight’s speakers have legitimate concerns about what a data center could mean for their neighborhoods and property. How much energy and water will these things generate, as well as noise pollution. Many others are here merely as shit disturbers. Data centers are merely a way to drive a wedge for amateur political hacks. These guys are here every meeting, their presence designed simply to divide. They are the perpetual teenagers lashing out at authority. Their tact isn’t persuasion but rather bullying and intim-

idation. The are rude and unmannered. One guy is here every meeting only to harass. Tonight, he’s babbling, I think, about the CCPD and what he sees as corruption in expending its resources. He punctuates his remarks by slandering Parker and others. “You’re a crook, Mattie, and you’re a two-faced liar.” Many sit there wondering if this First Amendment speech thing was merely a very diabolical practical joke on the part of the founders. If it was, it was genius. I think again to Roosevelt’s “Man in the Arena” speech. This democratic republic “such as ours” and its success or failure “for you and for us [is] the question of the quality of the individual citizen is supreme.” Well, at least they’re here. In public remarks the next day at Fort Worth Inc.’s Best Companies To Work For luncheon, Parker practically begs for a better-informed, better-intentioned City Hall audience. The business community, she says, isn’t “loud enough.” “Our discourse is abysmal,” she says. “I won’t ruin your lunch, but what I could do is repeat some of the commentary from the audience that we got on Tuesday. I could read to you the highlight reel sort of like they do on the ‘Jimmy Fallon Show’ of the worst things people say about you online. But what stands out, honestly, are companies and individuals like you that quite frankly, you’re all grinding. You’re raising families, you’re building businesses.” The data center issue became stickier for Parker when an activist pointed out that her husband, David Parker, was listed as a lobbyist for Virginia-based Data Center Coalition, according to a filing with the Texas Ethics Commission. David Parker responded on social media

that Data Center Coalition “does not actively perform local education or advocacy” in Texas and has not done any work with Fort Worth. Moreover, he said that he had never received a nickel from them. Data Center Coalition has been a client of his Longbow Partners since 2023, he added. It’s a colleague, not him, who advises the company on “state-level policies and politics.” “I’ve got really thick skin at this point, and I really can take things,” she said this summer. “It’s when your family [gets hit]. It just makes me crazy.” In truth, the issue on data centers has cooled a bit — at least for now. Many of the speakers spoke in support of a path to moratorium on new developments. The City Council was clearly leaning that way entering the meeting. This meeting lasts well into the night. She gets home around 1 a.m. And, in the end, the City Council unanimously initiated the process for a temporary moratorium on new data center development. It also created a commission to study the industry’s impact, and imposed a new application requirement as the city considers tougher permanent regulations. Everybody’s happy, right? Ho-ho-ho. Well, I suggest to her, if she does come back, she’ll get a raise. Voters approved an amendment to the charter increasing salaries to $50,000 and $60,000 for the City Council and mayor. Parker is not the least bit amused at my quip. “It’s never really been that important to me.”

“Our discourse is abysmal. I won’t ruin your lunch, but what I could do is repeat some of the commentary from the audience that we got on Tuesday. I could read to you the highlight reel sort of like they do on the ‘Jimmy Fallon Show’ of the worst things people say about you online.”

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FOCUS WOMEN WHO FORWARD FORT WORTH

Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty SPECIALTY: Founded in 1960, Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty is the leading luxury brokerage in North Texas. Our main Fort Worth hub — a modern, minimalist space along the historic Camp Bowie Boulevard bricks — keeps us close to our wonderful clients, right in the heart of things. Plus, we love joining in on the neighborhood fun — from supporting our favorite small businesses (and neighbors) in Camp Bowie District to transforming our office into an artists showcase during the Fort Worth Art Dealers Association’s biannual Gallery Night. And with our newer outpost in Willow Park, we now get to serve even more clients, namely in Parker County and westernmost Tarrant County. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Christ Chapel Bible Church; Cowtown Warriors; First United

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Methodist Church of Fort Worth; Fort Worth Academy; Fort Worth Art Dealers Association; Fort Worth Botanic Garden; The Fort Worth Club; Fort Worth Country Day School; Fort Worth Farm and Ranch Club; Fort Worth Lecture Foundation; Greater Fort Worth Association of REALTORS®; Jewel Charity; Junior League of Fort Worth; Ridglea Country Club; River Crest Country Club; Saving Hope Animal Rescue; Tarrant County Master Gardener Association; TCU Frog Club; Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth; United Way of Parker County; UT Arlington Alumni Association; The Woman’s Club of Fort Worth; Women Steering Business. ADVICE FOR ASPIRING CAREER WOMEN: Love what you do and do what you love. You can’t do it alone, and it’s important to find mentors you admire

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and trust who can guide you throughout your career. Find a group of women who love and encourage you to always be the best version of yourself. Don’t be afraid to try something new. Watch and learn from others who are successful, and don’t be afraid to ask them questions. Promote strategic thinking and embrace change. Always be willing to go the extra mile. In life and in business, treat people the way you would want to be treated. PICTURED: (left to right) Caren Parten, Gwen Harper, Ashley Mooring, Adrianne Holland, Susan Thornton, Michaela Chicotsky, Megan Green, Christy Cockrell, Margaret Motheral, Barbara Schweitzer, Stephanie McPeak, ReyAnne Moorehead, and Michelle Stum.

Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty 4828 Camp Bowie Blvd. Fort Worth 76107 601 Willow Crossing E. Willow Park 76008 817.731.8466 briggsfreeman.com

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Carson Hearing Care EDUCATION: Our team consists of four Doctors of Audiology (Au.D.), each holding a doctoral degree in audiology and committed to providing the highest level of evidence-based hearing healthcare. AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: Best of the West – Hearing Healthcare; Fort Worth Star-Telegram Fort Worth’s Best winner; recognized as a trusted leader in hearing healthcare throughout the Fort Worth community. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Giving back is one of our core values. Carson Hearing Care is actively involved throughout the Fort Worth community by supporting local nonprofits, community organizations, and educational initiatives. We proudly support organizations such as Saving Hope Animal Rescue, Susan B. Komen, local arts organizations, schools, and numerous community events and fundraisers. MISSION: Our mission is simple: to help

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people reconnect with the moments that matter most. We believe better hearing is about much more than hearing sounds — it’s about strengthening relationships, maintaining independence, protecting brain health, and improving overall quality of life. WHAT SETS THEM APART: Carson Hearing Care is an independently owned private practice built on relationships, not transactions. We combine doctoral-level expertise, the latest hearing technology, and personalized, long-term care. We take the time to truly understand each patient’s lifestyle and goals, providing customized solutions that continue well beyond the initial fitting. Our patients become part of our family, and that commitment to remarkable service is what sets us apart. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: While awards are certainly an honor, our greatest achievement has been

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earning the trust of the Fort Worth community. Seeing generations of families return to us, refer their loved ones, and share nearly 1,000 five-star reviews is the accomplishment we’re most proud of. KEY INFLUENCES: Our patients. Every person who walks through our doors reminds us why we do what we do. Their stories, resilience, and renewed confidence after better hearing inspire us every day to continue learning, improving, and serving our community with compassion and excellence. FREE ADVICE: Don’t ignore hearing loss or assume it’s simply a normal part of aging. Hearing loss affects far more than your ears—it can impact communication, relationships, balance, social engagement, and even brain health. If you or someone you love has noticed changes in hearing, don’t wait. A simple hearing evaluation can provide answers and, in many

cases, dramatically improve quality of life. PICTURED: (left to right) Dallas Mager, Aimee Plummer, Melinda Brostad, Dr. Caroline Adams, Dr. Robin Carson, Dr. Erin Hebert, Jan Hurn, Dr. Lydia Zarras (seated), Danna Presbaugh, Janice Carrell. Carson Hearing Care 5104 Camp Bowie Blvd. Fort Worth 76107 817.737.4327 (Coming to Colleyville) 5708 Colleyville Blvd., Ste. B Colleyville 76034 817.820.3100

fwtx.com | SEPTEMBER 2026

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National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: DFW Favorite Museum, DFW Favorite Art Gallery, Best of Fort Worth Gift Shop. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: The Cowgirl plays a vital role in Fort Worth’s arts and cultural community, offering free annual events including Cinco in the District, Trick or Trot, and Cowgirl Christmas. Monthly Cowgirl Connection programs connect visitors with inspiring Honorees, while Cowgirl University provides hands-on experiences in crafts, painting, floral design, and more. As a proud partner of local chambers of commerce and area museums, The Cowgirl welcomes thousands of visitors, students, families, and tourists each year through engaging exhibitions, educational programs, and special events. More than 5,000 students and teachers annually participate in experiences that bring history to life and inspire leadership and

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resilience. MOTTO: Women Who Shape the West … Change the World. WHAT SETS THEM APART: The Cowgirl is the only museum in the nation that recognizes and honors those women who shaped — and continue to shape — the West. We are the only museum that allocates permanent gallery space to those cowgirls who helped make Wild West shows internationally popular and the only museum that dedicates a permanent gallery to the sport of escaramuza and honors current competitive charras. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Opening its expansion Nov. 7, The Cowgirl will house nearly 50,000 square feet of exhibition space to increase its community impact by providing new gathering venues, expanded educational programming, enhanced accessibility, and interactive experiences that welcome an even broader audience.

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KEY INFLUENCES: The more than 260 women enshrined in the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame inspire us every day. Their courage, determination, and unwavering pursuit of excellence fuel our passion for sharing their remarkable stories and ensuring their legacies continue to inspire every visitor who walks through our doors. FREE ADVICE: “Always saddle your own horse,” words of wisdom often quoted by 1997 Honoree Connie Douglas Reeves. This philosophy perfectly reflects women honored by the National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame and our Cowgirl team members who keep their legacies alive. Whether ranchers, rodeo champions, artists, entrepreneurs, military leaders, or pioneers, these women did not wait for permission or rescue: They saddled their own horses and rode toward their goals. PICTURED: Director of Special Events

Jennifer Siegel LeGrand; Associate Executive Director of Exhibits and Education Diana Vela, Ph.D.; Curator of Collections Ashley Kowalski; Director of Research and Education Bethany Dodson; Associate Executive Director of Marketing, Communications and Membership Julie J. Bryant. National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame 1720 Gendy St. Fort Worth 76107 817.336.4475 cowgirl.net

fwtx.com | SEPTEMBER 2026

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PROMOTION

EDUCATION: B.A., Texas Wesleyan University; J.D., Texas Wesleyan University School of Law; M.S. in Organizational Leadership (Public Service/Nonprofit), Quinnipiac University. AWARDS/RECOGNITION: Tarrant County Bar Association (TCBA) Outstanding Bar Leadership Award (2025-2026); Fort Worth Top Attorney 2025, Labor and Employment Counsel; 2025 TMCP Corporate Counsel of the Year Finalist; TCBA President’s Award (20242025); 2024 State Bar of Texas African American Lawyers Section Chair Award; 2021 Texas A&M School of Law Alumni Legacy Community Impact Award. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: I serve in leadership roles across local and state bar associations, helping advance initiatives that widen access to the legal profession and strengthen pathways for future attorneys. I also mentor at-risk youth and teen mothers, guiding decision-making and connecting them with post-secondary opportunities. Additionally, I support high school seniors as a board advisor for Cultivating Leaders Achieving Scholastic Success. MOTTO: Chase purpose, not position. WHAT SETS THEM APART: Amdocs, a global company of over 25,000 employees, is a trusted technology partner to leading communications and digital service providers. Its behind-thescenes innovation powers essential services that millions depend on daily. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Watching my students and mentees earn degrees, build meaningful careers, and grow into leaders themselves. KEY INFLUENCE: My late sister, Kim. Her grace, kindness, and resilience taught me that time is our most precious gift. FREE ADVICE: Read before you sign! PICTURED: Nikki Chriesman-Green.

Nikki L. Chriesman-Green 971.708.9361

Nikki L. Chriesman-Green

Senior Employment Counsel, Amdocs

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amdocs.com

FOCUS WOMEN WHO FORWARD FORT WORTH

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American National Bank of Texas MISSION: As one of Texas’ oldest independent community banks, ANBTX believes banking is about relationships, local decision-making, and long-term trust. WHAT SETS THEM APART: With 150-plus years of history and sixth-generation family leadership, ANBTX blends strong capabilities with true community bank service. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: ANBTX’s Fort Worth women embody the bank’s mission through active local service: Carolann supports multiple civic and nonprofit groups, and Elizabeth serves with the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: The team has also earned significant recognition. Carolann Murtaugh received the Women of Distinction Connect Award, was honored as a Bold Woman by Girls Inc. of Tarrant County, and was named among the Fort Worth Business Press Great Women of Texas. ANBTX has appeared 16 times on The Dallas Morning News Top Workplaces DFW list and is a 2026 finalist. The bank earned the Texas Bankers Association Cornerstone and LiFE Awards for its community development and financial education efforts. The Fort Worth team also received the Riter Hulsey Award, ANBTX’s highest banking-center honor. KEY INFLUENCES: Faith, family, mentors, and leaders have shaped the team’s values and commitment to investing in others. PICTURED: Tamara Rodgers, Senior Commercial Lending Assistant; Carolann Murtaugh, Senior Vice President, Commercial Lender; Becky Guereca, Vice President, Treasury Management Officer; Elizabeth (Lisa) Vega, Banking Center Manager; Kristie Whitaker, Commercial Lending Assistant.

American National Bank of Texas. 2720 W. Seventh St. Fort Worth 76107 817.882.8986 anbtx.com

fwtx.com | SEPTEMBER 2026

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EDUCATION: BSEd, Abilene Christian University; GRI and other real estaterelated designations include Guild Level Luxury Institute. AWARDS: Top Agent and Top Producer for the past three years in Fort Worth and Dallas. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Board of Directors for a manufacturing company, The Woman’s Club of Fort Worth, DAR. PROFESSIONAL MISSION: Making every real estate transaction easier, less stressful, and a win for everyone. WHAT SETS THEM APART: I work with buyers and sellers of build homes, existing homes, farm & ranch, and commercial properties. Compass offers efficient tools and steady support, allowing agents to work with clarity and balance. As a relationship-driven Realtor, I bring calm energy and focused, personal attention clients value. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Helping real estate clients navigate through the transaction process with peace of mind. As a former teacher, I’m equally proud of the students who later told me I inspired them to graduate — a reminder that our impact can last a lifetime. KEY INFLUENCES: My parents instilled a strong work ethic, faith, and the importance of putting people first. My husband, children, and grandchildren inspire me every day with their love, support, and unique perspectives, shaping how I approach both life and my work. FREE ADVICE: Celebrate your successes and learn from your mistakes. Apply that knowledge to be a better version of yourself.

Brenda Adams, Compass 5049 Edwards Ranch Road, Ste. 200 Fort Worth 76109 817.845.4266 BrendaAdamsGroup.com

Brenda Adams Compass RE Texas

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PROMOTION

Burt • Ladner Real Estate Suzanne Burt and Laura Ladner

AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: 360 West Magazine Top Realtor; Fort Worth Magazine Top Realtor & Top Producer; Real Producers Award Recipient; Top Women in Business Award; Women to Watch in Business; Most Influential Women in Business Award. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Giving back is at the heart of Burt Ladner Real Estate. We proudly support local charities, small businesses, and community organizations while encouraging and championing the causes that matter most to our agents. Together, we invest our time, resources, and hearts in organizations including Junior League, ACH, St. Jude, Meals on Wheels, the American Cancer Society, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Junior Women’s Club, and Union Gospel Mission. MISSION: To deliver exceptional service, honest guidance, and strategic expertise while building lifelong relationships founded on trust, integrity, and results. WHAT SETS THEM APART: We combine boutique-level personalized service with the marketing, technology, and expertise of larger firms, providing clients with collaborative support and individualized attention. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Earning our clients’ trust and building a business driven largely by referrals and repeat clients remain our proudest accomplishment. KEY INFLUENCE: We inspire one another and are motivated daily by our agents’ growth, dedication, resilience, and commitment to serving clients. FREE ADVICE: Choose a real estate professional for experience, integrity, and market knowledge. PICTURED: Suzanne Burt and Laura Ladner.

Burt Ladner Real Estate 1600 Montgomery St., Ste. 200 Fort Worth 76107 817.882.6688 burtladner.com

fwtx.com | SEPTEMBER 2026

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PROMOTION

Taylor Lowery, Membership Director Defender Outdoors

EDUCATION: B.A., TCU, Sports Broadcasting/Journalism. RECOGNITIONS: Official Brand Partner of the NRA; guest on The Colion Noir Podcast; former Miss Dallas USA; former TCU cheerleader. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Through my Instagram platform, @taybreann, I advocate for the Second Amendment by educating others on firearm laws, promoting responsible ownership, and encouraging more women to become confident gun owners. MOTTO: Be the exception. I entered a male-dominated industry without a military or instructor background and learned my value wasn’t in knowing everything—it was in being willing to learn, ask questions, and show others it’s okay to begin before you feel qualified. I leaned into my background in pageantry, public speaking, and broadcast journalism to offer a fresh perspective. WHAT SETS THEM APART: At Defender Outdoors, members feel part of a true community. On the range, everyday noise fades, and people focus on shared interests rather than differences. Though often labeled polarizing, the firearms world I see brings people together through a shared passion for shooting sports and the Second Amendment. GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT: Partnering with the NRA gave me a national platform to advocate for responsible firearm ownership and constitutional rights. KEY INFLUENCE: My dad taught me authenticity and conviction, shaping how I confidently and respectfully represent the Second Amendment. ADVICE: Don’t let intimidation stop you. The firearms community is welcoming—start at your local range. PICTURED: Taylor Lowery.

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Defender Outdoors 2900 Shotts St. Fort Worth 76107 817.935.8377 defenderoutdoors.com

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Elisabeth Wagner, D.O., FACOG, MSCP MY Midlife Women’s Health and Menopause MYTexashealthcareobgyn.com

MISSION: To optimize health for midlife women in North Texas. WHAT SETS HER APART: Dr. Elisabeth Wagner is a boardcertified obstetrician-gynecologist and founder of MY Midlife Women’s Health and Menopause. With over 20 years of clinical experience, she provides evidencebased care focused on perimenopause, menopause, and long-term wellness. Known for her compassionate, relationship-centered approach, Dr. Wagner empowers women through education and shared decisionmaking. A Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, she holds additional training in complex peri/menopause and lifestyle medicine, allowing her to address hormonal and quality-of-life concerns with expertise and empathy. She advocates for expanding access to personalized care for women at every life stage and engages in public education on women’s health and preventive care. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Founding MY Midlife Women’s Health and Menopause turned a vision into reality. Dr. Wagner believes the greatest success is still ahead: delivering womencentered care to North Texas through stronger specialty collaborations and normalized mental health, nutrition, and fitness services. ADVICE: Menopause is a universal, natural experience that begins earlier than most realize. This shifting biology can be disruptive and an opportunity. Understand it, then seek guidance to optimize your health for a healthier future. EDUCATION: Texas A&M, Biomedical Science; Kansas City University, Osteopathic Medicine; Wayne State, Detroit Medical Center, OB-GYN Residency.

MY Midlife Women’s Health and Menopause 1250 Eighth Ave. Ste. 435 Fort Worth 76104 817.923.0088 office

fwtx.com | SEPTEMBER 2026

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EDUCATION: B.A. in Communication, UT Arlington; Certificate in Women’s Entrepreneurship, Cornell University. AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: Best CBD Store (Fort Worth Magazine, DFW Favorites); nominee, Fort Worth Inc. (Entrepreneur of Excellence and 40 Under 40); board member, Texas Hemp Coalition. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Patient Advisory Council; Fort Worth Adolescent & Young Adult Oncology Coalition; grassroots legislative advocacy at the Texas Capitol; fitness, community health, and wellness education. PROFESSIONAL MISSION: To love, serve, and empower our community through education-first wellness, transparency, and safe social spaces that foster healing and connection. WHAT SETS THEM APART: Emerald Organics evolved from an education-first wellness brand into Emerald City Lounge, Fort Worth’s first nonalcoholic hemp consumption lounge, pairing innovative hospitality with a strong commitment to public safety. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: I advocated for Fort Worth small businesses and residents at the Texas Capitol, leading a grassroots campaign that mobilized thousands and helped secure a veto of Senate Bill 3. KEY INFLUENCE: After cancer treatment at 21, A.H. introduced me to the therapeutic benefits of cannabis, inspiring my life’s mission of service. FREE ADVICE: Trust your bold ideas. Advocate for your community. Real leadership starts with listening, protecting public safety, supporting economic growth, and ensuring people feel heard and valued. PICTURED: Candice Stinnett.

Emerald Organics 5317 Golden Triangle Blvd. Fort Worth 76244 682.593.0195

Emerald City Lounge 937 Woodward St. Fort Worth 76107 817.238.3025 emeraldorg.com

Candice Stinnett, Founder & Owner Emerald Organics & Emerald City Lounge

SEPTEMBER 2026 | fwtx.com

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First Financial Bank EDUCATION: Degrees in accounting, business administration, finance, and even studies in vocational nursing. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Community service is woven into our culture. A highlight of that commitment is our Annual Day of Service, where more than 1,000 First Financial bankers dedicate a day to volunteering with local nonprofits, schools, and community organizations across Texas. What began as a company initiative has grown significantly over the years, inspiring the Texas Bankers Association to adopt a statewide Day of Service model in celebration of the program’s 10th anniversary in 2025. MISSION: Our mission is to build loyal lifelong relationships by providing first-class service with personal attention. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: More important than any award or accomplishment is that, after many years, we still genuinely love what we do. That passion has allowed us to grow our careers, earn our clients’ trust, and mentor others along the way. KEY INFLUENCES: Faith, family, mentors, trusted leaders, and of course our customers and clients have shaped our values in various ways. FREE ADVICE: You cannot build trust without genuine care. Invest in relationships, embrace challenges, and let your actions speak louder than your words. Success in business, and life, always begins with how you treat people. PICTURED: Haley Snell, VP Treasury Management; Yvette Roach, VP Wealth Management; Pamela Terry, SVP, Commercial Relationship Manager.

First Financial Bank 855.660.5862 ffin.com

fwtx.com | SEPTEMBER 2026

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EDUCATION: B.S., Biology, Texas A&M University; DDS, University of Texas Health Science Center Houston. AWARDS/ RECOGNITION: Fort Worth Magazine Top Cosmetic Dentist/Top General Dentist; Texas Dental Association nominee for Texas Dentist of the Year. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: President of the Fort Worth District Dental Society, board member of Lake Country Christian School and Global Action World Ministry, and member of Ridglea Country Club. PROFESSIONAL MISSION: I aim to restore hope for those who feel they’ve lost their smile, helping patients overcome years of neglect or discouraging dental experiences so they can confidently smile again. WHAT SETS THEM APART: Our 22-person team, including 18 exceptional women, works to make dental visits something patients genuinely look forward to. Growing from four employees in 2008, we treat every patient like family. GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT: Serving multigeneration Fort Worth families is a highlight. Many loyal families stayed after I purchased the practice from a retiring third-generation dentist, creating meaningful moments when generations meet in our waiting room. KEY INFLUENCES: My grandfather first encouraged dentistry, followed by my devoted mother and mentors including Frank Spear, Lee Ann Brady, Dr. Bob Leedy, Bruce Baird, and Victoria Peterson. I’m inspired daily by the women who serve our patients so well. FREE ADVICE: Love what you do — and let your smile prove it.

Fort Worth Cosmetic & Family Dentistry 5720 Locke Ave. Fort Worth 76107

Nikki P Green, DDS Fort Worth Cosmetic & Family Dentistry

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817.737.6601 ngreendental.com

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PROMOTION

EDUCATION: B.A., Sociology, UNT; MBA, TWU. MOTTO: Every Girl Thrives. This guides every decision I make. My mission is to remove barriers so every girl — regardless of circumstance — can build confidence, discover passions, and develop essential leadership skills. WHAT SETS THEM APART: Girl Scouts may be known for cookies, but our true work is developing leaders. At Girl Scouts of Texas Oklahoma Plains, girls gain hands-on experience in STEM, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, outdoor adventure, life skills, and civic engagement. They build resilience, confidence, and a commitment to service — preparing the next generation of innovators, educators, entrepreneurs, and public servants. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Leading organizations through transformational change while keeping people and mission at the center. Leadership requires courageous decisions that create long-term sustainability and greater impact. Today, that means positioning Girl Scouts of Texas Oklahoma Plains to ensure girls thrive for generations. KEY INFLUENCES: My two boys, Abe and Ben, reshaped how I lead. Motherhood taught me that great leaders create environments where people feel seen, supported, challenged, and empowered. They remind me that everyone deserves someone who believes in their potential. FREE ADVICE: Invest in your community. Connection — through volunteering, mentoring, or showing up — consistently strengthens happiness, purpose, and well-being. PICTURED: Jamie Williams.

Girl Scouts of Texas Oklahoma Plains 4901 Briarhaven Road Fort Worth 76109 817.869.0730

Jamie Williams, Chief Executive Officer

gs-top.org

Girl Scouts of Texas Oklahoma Plains

fwtx.com | SEPTEMBER 2026

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PROMOTION

Goranson Bain Ausley Family Law MISSION: At Goranson Bain Ausley, our mission is to support our clients and each other so people see possibilities they could not see before. We bring exceptional legal acumen, determination, and compassion to each matter, striving for the best possible outcome while maintaining dignity and respect. PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS: Women help lead GBA at every level. Partner Cindy V. Tisdale, a past president of the State Bar of Texas, is Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and a Fellow of the American and International Academies of Matrimonial Lawyers. Partner Cassidy Pearson is also Board Certified in Family Law and brings more than a decade of experience guiding clients through highconflict divorce, complex custody disputes, and premarital agreements. Recognized by Best Lawyers in America, Fort Worth Magazine, and Texas Super Lawyers, Cassidy combines strategic advocacy with practical guidance. WHAT SETS US APART: We bring the collective strength and depth of one of Texas’ most experienced family law firms to each client, providing sound advice and strategic advocacy to help them move forward with confidence. FREE ADVICE: Look beyond the immediate conflict. Choose a family lawyer who helps you understand your options, make sound decisions, and keep your long-term interests in focus.

Goranson Bain Ausley Family Law 1200 Summit Ave., Ste. 800 Fort Worth 76102 817.670.2484 gbafamilylaw.com

SEPTEMBER 2026 | fwtx.com

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PROMOTION

Tricia Carter Wood, Founder & CEO

Wealth Advisor of Haber Wealth Management

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Tricia Carter Wood has long invested in her community, serving with organizations such as Ronald McDonald House, The Parenting Center, Samaritan House, and the Aledo Education Foundation. She continues that work as a board member of the Cameron ISD Scholarship Foundation and as president of Osaic’s Women’s Advisory Board, where she champions the advancement of women in financial services. AWARDS/RECOGNITION: 2023-Present Osaic National Women’s Board Member; 2023 Osaic’s Top National Leaders Member; 2016-2022 Osaic’s Top Producer Member; several national speaking engagements annually for our industry. WHAT SETS THEM APART: With four Texas locations, three led by accomplished female advisors, the firm fosters leadership, mentorship, and opportunity while delivering exceptional service to its families and communities. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Tricia considers her greatest achievement the development of a multigenerational advisory team that blends experience with fresh perspective, ensuring continuity and long-term client support. KEY INFLUENCE: Patti Brennan’s example shaped Tricia’s leadership, demonstrating that success and values can coexist. FREE ADVICE: Turn your passions into your legacy; true success is defined by the impact you make. PICTURED: Juanita Stephens, Tricia Carter Wood, and Helen Thornton.

Haber Wealth Management 2501 Parkview Drive, Ste. 610 Fort Worth 76102 817.527.8079 haberwealthgroup.com

Securities and advisory services through Osaic Wealth, Inc. member FINRA/SIPC. Osaic Wealth is separately owned and other entities and/or marketing names, products or services referenced here are independent of Osaic Wealth.

fwtx.com | SEPTEMBER 2026

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Key School and Training Center MISSION: Unleashing student and teacher success through individualized instruction, training, and advocacy. “Where Education Goes Beyond One Size Fits All.” EDUCATION: Melinda Johnson, CFRE – B.S. in Journalism with emphasis in PR, Arkansas State University; Certified Fundraising Executive, Association for Fundraising Professionals. Beth Lamb, MANPM, APR, Fellow PRSA – Master of Nonprofit Management, U of H -Downtown; B.S. in Mass Communication, TWU; Public Relations Society of America Accreditation in Public Relations; PRSA College of Fellows Inductee. Leslie Vasquez, M.Ed. – B.A. in General Studies, Columbia College; M.Ed. in Administration, Lamar University. Kelly Fowler, M.Ed., LDT, CALT – B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies, Stephen F. Austin State University; M.Ed., Special Education, Kings College; Licensed Dyslexia Therapist; Certified Academic Language Therapist. WHAT SETS THEM APART: For 60 years, Key School and Training Center has been the expert in supporting students with learning differences. We offer Academic Language Therapy, individualized instruction, and a low student-to-teacher ratio. FREE ADVICE: Families need more than awareness that learning differences exist. They need guidance on what quality support looks like and how to advocate for it. Key School and Training Center provides that support and practical information for thousands of parents navigating a child’s learning difference. PICTURED: Melinda Johnson, CFRE; Beth Lamb, MANPM, APR, Fellow PRSA; Leslie Vasquez, M.Ed.; Kelly Fowler, M.Ed., LDT, CALT.

SEPTEMBER 2026 | fwtx.com

Key School and Training Center 7950 John T. White Road Fort Worth 76120 817.446.3738 ksfw.org

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PROMOTION

EDUCATION: B.A.; Certified Kitchen Designers. MISSION: Our mission is to elevate the remodeling experience through a turnkey approach that unites design, construction, cabinetry, appliances, and the details that make a home personal. We strive to be a trusted partner from first conversation to final installation, combining thoughtful design, skilled craftsmanship, and attentive project management. By streamlining the process, we deliver an enjoyable experience and a finished space that exceeds expectations. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Giving back is central to The Kitchen Source culture. Our showrooms have long supported nonprofit organizations, beginning with an early event benefiting the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS. Since then, our outreach has expanded to include causes related to cystic fibrosis, humantrafficking prevention, a Wish with Wings, SafeHaven, and others. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Our greatest achievement is earning client trust. Referrals — and invitations to return years later — remain our most meaningful measure of success. MOST INFLUENCED BY: Every design is shaped by the client. Their style, lifestyle, and priorities guide each decision, and our role is to listen closely and translate their vision into a beautiful, functional space. FREE ADVICE: Set a realistic budget early, prioritize quality, and invest in elements that enhance daily living. PICTURED: Corinne Danicki, Elizabeth Tranberg, Jennifer Johns, and Amber Paulk.

The Kitchen Source 3116 W. Sixth St. Fort Worth 76107 817.731.4299

Southlake Showroom 2356 E. SH 114 Southlake 76092 817.857.4001

The Kitchen Source

thekitchensource.com

fwtx.com | SEPTEMBER 2026

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PROMOTION

EDUCATION: Tarleton State University. AWARDS/RECOGNITION: USLege Best in Government Affairs, Female Powerhouse 2025; 360 West Women of Impact 2026; Great Women of Texas, Woman of Influence 2026; Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow 2025 - 2026; Rotary of Fort Worth 4-Way Donor. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Rotary Club of Fort Worth; Women Steering Business; Center for Transforming Lives; Salvation Army of North Texas; UT Southwestern, Community Advisory Board, Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center; Women’s Policy Forum; Literacy Roundup; Fort Worth Sister Cities International; Tarrant County Medical Reserve Corp Volunteer Nurse. PROFESSIONAL MISSION: Rebecca began as a pediatric nurse advocating for children. Today, she champions policies that strengthen businesses and communities. WHAT SETS HER APART: Montgomery Strategies is built on advocacy and service, not politics. Rebecca’s nursing background shaped her belief that policy directly affects families. Her testimony before the Texas Legislature launched a career focused on collaboration and meaningful change. The firm guides organizations through government and economic development, building relationships that drive long-term success. Rebecca is known for uniting stakeholders, fostering consensus, and strengthening communities across Texas. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: First-generation college graduate. KEY INFLUENCE: Rebecca’s father’s resilience and quiet strength shaped her leadership. FREE ADVICE: Use your voice. Lead with integrity, build relationships, and create opportunities for others. PICTURED: Rebecca Young Montgomery.

Montgomery Strategies

Rebecca Young Montgomery Montgomery Strategies

SEPTEMBER 2026 | fwtx.com

montgomerystrategies.com Podcast: Golden Moment with Rebecca Montgomery

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PROMOTION

Paula Perrone

Perrone Pharmacy, Inc./PerroneRX, LLC

EDUCATION: Newcomb College; Tulane School of Law. RECOGNITIONS: Paula Perrone has served as an advisory board member for the UNT Health College of Pharmacy and currently serves as president of the Emeritus Club of Tulane Board of Governors. MISSION: Perrone Pharmacy and PerroneRX, its sister contract services pharmacy, deliver high-quality services while expanding vital access for critically ill patients. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Paula established the Paul M. Perrone Pharmacy Scholarship at UNT Health in honor of her father’s legacy. In addition, she contributes funds for Tulane University scholarships. She is a member of Jewel Charity, benefiting Cook Children’s. WHAT SETS THEM APART: Founded in 1952, Perrone Pharmacy continues its rich legacy of providing personalized care and creating tailored medications. PerroneRX, established in 2010, provides DFW hospice patients with emergency medications delivered 24/7. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: By funding scholarships, Paula fulfills her commitment to making higher education, the greatest equalizer in society, available for deserving students from all walks of life. MOST INFLUENCED BY: Paula’s values are informed by her father whose D-Day survival and life of service in gratitude left an indelible impression; by her mother, a remarkable educator and life-long student. ADVICE: What truly matters in this life is honoring God, your family, and your commitment to others. PICTURED: Paula Perrone.

Perrone Pharmacy, Inc. 3921 Benbrook Highway Fort Worth 76116 817.738.2135 perronepharmacy.com

fwtx.com | SEPTEMBER 2026

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PROMOTION

Personalized Payroll Services, Inc. Kathleen Hunt, President and Founder

MISSION: For more than 15 years, Kathleen Hunt has helped businesses simplify one of their most critical responsibilities: payroll. As founder of Personalized Payroll Services, she believes payroll is about building confidence, protecting compliance, and giving business owners the freedom to focus on growing their businesses and supporting their employees. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Kathleen serves on the boards of WBCS and WBEC South, mentors women business owners, and volunteers with organizations that promote entrepreneurship, supplier diversity, and leadership. One of her proudest accomplishments is welcoming her daughter, Allison Kauffman, into the business to continue the company’s legacy of integrity, hard work, and exceptional client service. GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT: Her leadership has earned recognition through the Titan 100, WBENC Star, Enterprising Women, WBE Volunteer of the Year, and WBE Advocate of the Year awards. While honored by these achievements, Kathleen considers her clients’ trust and the relationships she has built to be her greatest success. WHAT SETS HER APART: Technology matters, but Kathleen believes people make the difference. By blending modern payroll and HR tools with responsive, personalized service, Personalized Payroll Services has built lasting client relationships, with over half staying more than a decade. ADVICE: Invest in relationships before you need them. Trust creates opportunities that no marketing campaign can match. PICTURED: Kathleen Hunt and Allison Kauffman.

SEPTEMBER 2026 | fwtx.com

Personalized Payroll Services, Inc. 1125 Bedford Road, Ste. B Bedford 76040 844.244.8200 X701 personalizedpayroll.com kathleen@personalizedpayroll. com

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PROMOTION

Karla Tamez

Platinum Premium Drywall + Insulation

EDUCATION: Graphic Designer. AWARDS/RECOGNITION: One of our greatest honors is earning the trust of DFW custom homebuilders, reflecting our team’s commitment to excellence in drywall and insulation. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: We support organizations that provide resources for children with learning disabilities and autism. Giving back is a privilege. MISSION: My family, especially my children, is my greatest motivation. I strive to lead by example and create opportunities for others to grow. WHAT SETS THEM APART: We help bring dream homes to life through expert drywall and insulation, craftsmanship, service, and attention to detail. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Helping foster a culture where people grow and thrive. I am especially proud of expanding opportunities for women, including the appointment of our first female supervisor. I believe talent, dedication, and leadership transcend gender. KEY INFLUENCE: My grandmother, mother, and father. They taught me integrity, humility, perseverance, and kindness. FREE ADVICE: Be yourself. Stay true to your values, and don’t be afraid to pursue your dreams. I encourage women, myself included, to strive for financial independence because it creates confidence, opportunity, and freedom. PICTURED: Karla Tamez.

Platinum Premium Drywall + Insulation 1250 Post & Paddock, Ste. 400 Grand Prairie 75050 platinumdrywallinsulation.com

fwtx.com | SEPTEMBER 2026

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PROMOTION

Rodeo Dental & Orthodontics Brenda Calvillo and Brenda Rivera Patient Loyalty Managers

EDUCATION: Brenda Calvillo – Registered Dental Assistant (RDA) Certification – Everest College. Brenda Rivera – Western Governors University. AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: Calvillo – Practice Management & Human Relations – Crown Council (2024); Tech Above: Access to Care Impact Award - Flex (2025). Rivera – Tech Above: Access to Care Impact Award - Flex (2025). MOTTO: Calvillo – “Growth comes from challenges, and success comes from perseverance.” Rivera – “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” - Albert Einstein. WHAT SETS THEM APART: Rodeo Dental is unique because it blends healthcare innovation with a strong commitment to service, making quality dental care accessible while creating memorable experiences for children and families. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Calvillo – My greatest professional achievement has been driving strategic initiatives that strengthen healthcare operations, expand access to care, and improve experiences for both patients and the teams who serve them. Rivera – Watching people grow, overcome challenges, and make a meaningful difference for our patients is the achievement I’m most proud of. KEY INFLUENCES: Calvillo – The people who have influenced me most are the leaders who believed in my potential before I fully recognized it myself. Rivera – One of my greatest influences is Diana Nyad who reminds me that failure isn’t the end; it’s an opportunity to learn, adapt, and come back stronger. PICTURED: Brenda Calvillo and Brenda Rivera.

SEPTEMBER 2026 | fwtx.com

Rodeo Dental & Orthodontics 8505 Freeport Pkwy., Ste. 600 Irving 75068 rodeodental.com

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PROMOTION

EDUCATION: B.A., Texas Tech University; J.D., Texas Wesleyan University; Board Certified in Child Welfare Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization; mediation trained; licensed to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States. AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: Texas Rising Star, Super Lawyers (2019–2026); Top Attorney in Family Law, Fort Worth Magazine; CASA Attorney Ad Litem of the Year (2020). PROFESSIONAL MISSION: To provide exceptional legal representation through strategic judgment, honest guidance, and genuine compassion, empowering clients to make informed decisions and move forward with confidence. WHAT SETS THEM APART: Family law is never just about legal issues — it is about families, futures, and relationships. We listen first, educate our clients, and develop thoughtful strategies tailored to their goals. Every recommendation is guided by what best serves their long-term interests. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Building a firm known not only for exceptional legal advocacy, but for the trust we earn, the professionalism we uphold, and the client experience we provide during life’s most difficult transitions. KEY INFLUENCE: The children I have represented as an Attorney Ad Litem in child welfare cases. Their resilience, courage, and ability to find hope despite extraordinary circumstances have profoundly shaped both my approach to practicing law and my perspective on what truly matters. ADVICE: Feel the fear and do it anyway. PICTURED: Sarah C. Seltzer.

Seltzer Family Law, PLLC 6777 Camp Bowie Blvd., Ste. 340 Fort Worth 76116

Sarah C. Seltzer

817.887.9206 YourTexasFamilyLawyer.com

Seltzer Family Law, PLLC

fwtx.com | SEPTEMBER 2026

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PROMOTION

Carolyn Moyers, DO, MS, FACOG, MSCP, IF Sky Women’s Health

EDUCATION: B.S., TWU; D.O., UNTHSC TCOM; M.S., Clinical Research and Education, UNTHSC; PreDoctoral Fellowship, UNTHSC; Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: DFW Favorites Gold Women’s Clinic; DFW Favorites Bronze Best Place to Work; Fort Worth Magazine Top Doctor; 360 West Women of Impact; 360 West Top Doctor; Texas Top Doctor; Best in Texas Magazine Doctors. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Outside the exam room, I focus on education — hosting the Sky Women’s Health Podcast, leading puberty and midlife health events, and serving as Assistant Professor of OB/GYN at TCU’s Burnett School of Medicine and UNTHSC/TCOM. MISSION: To help midlife women feel like themselves again through precise, evidence-based care — because informed women make remarkable health decisions. WHAT SETS THEM APART: A concierge practice for midlife women, offering unhurried time and expertise in menopause and sexual medicine. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: The trust my patients place in me. Sky Women’s Health grew almost entirely by word of mouth — women travel statewide to see me, and physicians refer patients needing specialized care. KEY INFLUENCES: My grandparents shaped my path — my grandfather saw my potential early; my grandmother modeled strength and lifelong learning. PICTURED: Nathalie Monigold; Sommer Eddleman; Dr. Carolyn Moyers; Holly Jones, RN; Gabriella Miranda; and Lauren Singh, RN.

SEPTEMBER 2026 | fwtx.com

Carolyn Moyers, DO, MS, FACOG, MSCP, IF Sky Women’s Health 1125 S. Henderson St. Fort Worth 76104 817.915.9803 Fax 817.918.7877 skywomenshealth.com

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PROMOTION

Stage West EDUCATION: Texas Wesleyan University, UT Arlington, SMU. AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: Emerging from the pandemic with a fully renovated building and two transformed performance spaces; recipient of the Live Theatre League’s 2025 Outreach Award. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Community is at the heart of everything we do. We create adventurous, professional theater that invites people to connect, encounter new perspectives, and experience the creative spark that happens when we gather together. PROFESSIONAL MISSION: To entertain, provoke, and inspire through great live theater and other live events. WHAT SETS THEM APART: Stage West is more than a place to see a play. We are a creative gathering place where professional theater, a lively café, education programs, and guest artists live under one roof. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Creating hundreds of thousands of connections between artists and audiences, people and stories, and Stage West and the community we’ve called home for nearly 50 years. KEY INFLUENCE: Stage West founder Jerry Russell. FREE ADVICE: Curiosity keeps life interesting. PICTURED: Tiffany Aguero-Cromwell, Alexis Jade Adley, Na’Tori Harris, Tonya Wilson-Brown, Dana Schultes, Lisa Davis, and Holli Price.

Stage West 821 W. Vickery Blvd. Fort Worth 76104 817.784.9378 stagewest.org

fwtx.com | SEPTEMBER 2026

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PROMOTION

Susan Semmelmann Semmelmann Interiors

EDUCATION: Texas Christian University. AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: Best Interiors and Best Design Firms (2022–2026); recipient of 18 ASID Design Excellence Awards; Woman of Impact; Woman of Influence; Best Companies to Work For (2024–2026). Susan has contributed to the design of more than $600 million in luxury residential real estate throughout her career. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Philanthropy is at the heart of everything we do. Through charitable partnerships, fundraising initiatives, and the Susan Semmelmann Foundation, we have helped generate more than $1 million for organizations including St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, National Angels, Wish with Wings, Wings for Life, Texas Health Resources, and local families in need. MOTTO: The spirit of living is in the giving. WHAT SETS THEM APART: Semmelmann Interiors is one of the few firms in Texas delivering true blueprintto-accessory luxury design, combining construction expertise, architectural detailing, custom furnishings, original textiles, and in-house artistry to create homes as unique as the families who live in them. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Building Semmelmann Interiors into one of Texas’ leading luxury design firms while creating a culture rooted in faith, excellence, generosity, and purpose. Most recently, launching the Susan Semmelmann Couture Collection, an original luxury furnishings and textile brand. KEY INFLUENCES: Faith, family, mentors, and the extraordinary people I have the privilege to serve and work alongside every day. PICTURED: Susan Semmelmann.

Semmelmann Interiors 4374 W. Vickery Blvd. Fort Worth 76107 817.774.4045 semmelmanninteriors.com

SEPTEMBER 2026 | fwtx.com

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PROMOTION

EDUCATION: Bachelor and Master of Social Work. AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: Chief Operating Officer at T3; First Vice President of Ellis County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. (DST); Fort Worth Forum member; Bold Woman Award Girls Inc. of Tarrant County; Community Leader of the Year award (Mothers of Murdered Angels); former Interim CEO of United Way of Tarrant County and Chief Impact Officer. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Through The Circle of Her Collective LLC, my role as First Vice President of the Ellis County Alumnae Chapter of DST, and my involvement with the Fort Worth Forum, I focus on developing leaders, strengthening relationships, and building communities where people feel connected and valued. MOTTO: “Success isn’t measured by what you accomplish, but by what continues because you led.” PROFESSIONAL MISSION: I strengthen communities by developing leaders, cultivating healthy cultures, and creating opportunities where people can thrive. WHAT SETS THEM APART: Tarrant To & Through Partnership connects education, workforce, and community partners to help students persist, earn credentials, and enter family-sustaining careers. GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT: My greatest achievement is earning trust as a leader. I’ve guided organizations through growth while staying grounded in integrity and a people-first philosophy. KEY INFLUENCE: My mother taught me that leadership begins with service, humility, and integrity. PICTURED: Regina R. Williams, LMSW.

Tarrant To & Through Partnership 300 Trinity Campus Circle, Ste. TRTR 2305 Fort Worth 76102 817.507.4089

Regina R. Williams, LMSW Chief Operating Officer

T3Partnership.org

Tarrant To & Through Partnership

fwtx.com | SEPTEMBER 2026

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PROMOTION

Emily Messer, Ed.D. President, Texas Wesleyan University

EDUCATION: Ed.D., Higher Education Administration, University of Alabama; MPA, Education, Jacksonville State University; B.A., English, Jacksonville State University. AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: Top 500 in Fort Worth Most Influential Leaders (2025); Top 400 in Fort Worth Most Influential Leaders (2024); Women in Leadership Inspirational Guidance Award; Executive Leadership Academy, American Academic Leadership Institute; 2026 Bold Woman by Girls Inc. of Tarrant County. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: President Messer’s community involvement includes John Roach Executive Roundtable, Fort Worth Business Leaders Thursday Morning Breakfast Association, Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce Board, Mary I. Gourley Foundation Board, and Rev Partnership Board. PROFESSIONAL MISSION: “My personal mission is to make a meaningful difference in the lives of students by creating pathways to opportunity through education. I believe higher education is one of the most powerful tools for transformation — not just for individuals, but for families and communities across future generations.” GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: President Messer’s greatest professional achievement is her transformational impact on students throughout her higher education journey. From her early roles in student life and enrollment management to her current presidency at Texas Wesleyan, she is a champion for student success, access, and retention. FREE ADVICE: Support all institutions of higher education in our Fort Worth community. Each one plays a vital role in shaping the future of our city by educating the next generation of leaders, innovators, and change-makers.

SEPTEMBER 2026 | fwtx.com

Texas Wesleyan University 1201 Wesleyan St. Fort Worth 76105 817.531.4444 txwes.edu

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PROMOTION

EDUCATION: M.Ed., University of Notre Dame; Ed.D., The University of Oklahoma. AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS: Board Member of Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, United Way of Tarrant County, and Rev Partnership; AFP National Philanthropy Award; Fort Worth Inc. Most Influential People, Mayor’s Council on Education and Workforce Development. MOTTO: Listen more than you talk. When we listen, we build trust. Trust is the foundation for solving complex challenges. WHAT SETS THEM APART: Philanthropy is most effective when it catalyzes collaboration, strengthens community expertise, and builds lasting change. Whether helping students succeed, expanding mental health resources, or increasing women’s access to care, we partner with others to improve lives today and for generations to come. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Building cross-sector coalitions with a sense of shared purpose. KEY INFLUENCE: My grandpa Henry. On one of the world’s most dangerous waterways, he saw fishermen risking their lives to safely catch and clean their fish. He built a solution that increased their safety and their prosperity. The company he founded on these values remains today and is a reminder that when people come together to tackle problems — big or small — lasting solutions transform generations. PICTURED: Elizabeth R. Brands, President & CEO. Photo location: Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant – North Fort Worth Branch.

The Morris Foundation 3100 W. Seventh St., Ste. 245 Fort Worth 76107

Elizabeth R. Brands, Ed.D. The Morrison Foundation

fwtx.com | SEPTEMBER 2026

FOCUS WOMEN WHO FORWARD FORT WORTH

PROMOTION

EDUCATION: J.D., TSU, Thurgood Marshall Law; B.A., UT Austin. AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: L. Clifford Davis Legal Excellence; Super Lawyer; Top Attorney; Extraordinary Minority in Law; Trailblazer Award. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: I am involved in the Tarrant County Bar Association, the L. Clifford Davis Legal Association, and organizations that invest in youth, leadership, and community engagement. Meaningful change begins by showing up, serving others, and creating opportunities for the next generation. MISSION: My mission is to protect individual rights, advocate for fairness, and treat every person with dignity, respect, and equal justice under the law. WHAT SETS THEM APART: At Varghese Summersett, we believe everyone deserves to be heard, respected, and strongly represented. Our team is committed to courtroom excellence and meaningful community service. GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT: Building a career centered on justice while earning the trust of clients, colleagues, and community. Whether prosecuting, defending individuals facing life-altering circumstances, or mentoring young attorneys, I’m proud to make a lasting impact. KEY INFLUENCE: My parents shaped my values. My father, a WWII veteran, and my mother, a nurse, taught me that leadership is measured by how you serve others, mentor future generations, and stand by your principles. FREE ADVICE: The way you treat people will define you far more than any title or accomplishment. PICTURED: Tiffany Burks.

Varghese Summersett 300 Throckmorton St., Ste. 700 Fort Worth 76102

Tiffany Burks, Partner Varghese Summersett

SEPTEMBER 2026 | fwtx.com

817.203.2220 versustexas.com

CHOWTOWN LOCAL EATS AND RESTAURANT NEWS

96 Kin Pho

One of several new restaurants to arrive in the H Mart shopping center in Haltom City, Kin Pho is an exciting new spot from the owners of nearby Asiannights, the wildly popular Thai and Lao hub. Kin Pho offers nearly a dozen variations of pho, including this bone-in beauty.

WHAT WE’RE CHEWING OVER THIS MONTH:

On page 92 With a Michelin-starred chef in the kitchen, Adrian Burciaga turns family memories and regional Mexican cuisine into Almacén El Gallo, one of the city’s most anticipated new restaurants. Page 94 The family behind Michelin-recommended Birrieria Cortez crosses Rosedale Street for Mariscos Cortez, the family’s deeply personal take on Jalisco-style seafood.

F W T X .COM | S E P TE M B E R 2026

CHOWTOWN DINING

Adrian Burciaga with his wife and business partner, Maria Jose Cervantes, at their new restaurant, Almacén El Gallo

by Malcolm Mayhew Photos by Thanin Viriyaki

Michelin & Memories

Michelin-starred chef Rodrigo Rivera-Río joins Adrian Burciaga for Almacén El Gallo, a deeply personal new restaurant rooted in the flavors and memories of Mexico.

t Almacén El Gallo, nearly every dish comes with a story. During a recent dinner at the new downtown Fort Worth restaurant, co-owner Adrian Burciaga shared the memories behind the food as dishes arrived at our table — stories of family recipes, childhood meals, and flavors tied to particular people and places. That’s by design. For Burciaga, Almacén El Gallo is as much about food as it is nostalgia, an homage to the dishes he grew up eating, the flavors he’s encountered throughout his life, and the people and places

S E P TE M B E R 2026 | F W T X .COM

that shaped him along the way. Almacén El Gallo also tells a larger story, one that has been unfolding across Fort Worth for years: a widening appreciation for Mexican food that reaches beyond the city’s Tex-Mex roots and deeper into the regions, traditions, and memories that shape the cooking of Mexico. Burciaga has been one of the driving forces behind that change. He first made his mark with Don Artemio, the Cultural District restaurant whose sophisticated take on northern Mexican cooking earned national attention, followed by its seafood-fo-

cused sibling, Dos Mares, located next door. After leaving both restaurants to launch his own Burciaga Hospitality Group, he helped reshape the menu at Tinie’s, his friend Sarah Castillo’s South Main restaurant. Now he’s turned his attention to Almacén El Gallo, the hospitality group’s flagship restaurant and perhaps the most personal expression yet of his ideas about Mexican cuisine. Opened in July on the west end of downtown, in the same midcentury building as 61 Osteria, Almacén El Gallo has Burciaga’s fingerprints all over it, from the sleek yet warm atmosphere to a menu steeped in regional Mexican cooking to the smooth, friendly service that has practically become his signature dish. The restaurant, he says, draws heavily from Mexico’s fondas and cantinas of yesteryear, the neighborhood restaurants and gathering places known for uncomplicated, homestyle cooking. To bring that vision to life, Burciaga and business partner Martin Quirarte turned to Burciaga’s longtime friend Rodrigo Rivera-Río, a highly regarded chef who mans Koli Cocina de Origen, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Monterrey. Burciaga and Rivera-Río first met several years ago at a cooking event in Fort Worth and stayed in touch. When Burciaga began developing Almacén El Gallo, he knew the concept he wanted to create but felt he was missing what he calls its “culinary backbone.” “He had always said to me, if I can help you in any way, let me know,” Burciaga told us the night of our visit. “So, I explained the whole idea, the whole vision of nostalgia and paying tribute to the past, and he said, ‘Adrian, I want to be a part of that.’ To land a Michelin-starred chef, for any restaurant in any city, it’s impossible, right? So the stars definitely aligned for us.” For Fort Worth, landing Rivera-Río is quite the coup. In addition to Koli being awarded a Michelin star in 2024 and 2025, he was recently named best chef at the Food and Travel

Lunch enchiladas come in three varieties: chicken in mole, carnitas, and short rib barbacoa

Reader Awards. At Koli, he has built a reputation around deeply personal Mexican cooking, making him a natural fit for a restaurant rooted so heavily in memory. The menu roams across Mexico, pairing regional traditions with techniques both old and new. Guacamole, for instance, is topped with cacao nibs and the ashes of burnt avocado leaf; the leaf is torched tableside. The Jaiba al pastor taco features a whole soft-shell blue crab, flash fried, its claws and legs fully intact — and fully edible. Taco Olvidado features shrimp prepared zarandeado-style, a coastal Mexican cooking method from Mexico’s western state of Nayarit; the shrimp is served whole. One of the restaurant’s most popular dishes, duck carnitas, is inspired by the cooking of Quiroga, Michoacán. Northern Mexico makes its presence known through the restaurant’s steaks, while the Mole Negro Ceremonial — cuts of organic grilled chicken breast resting on a pool of Oaxacan mole — carries its own remarkable history, the mole’s recipe coming from a family in Mexico that Burciaga says

Among the restaurant’s tacos: soft-shell crab, served whole on a house-made tortilla

has made it for hundreds of years. Anywhere you look in the restaurant is a nod to the past, in fact. The patterned flooring, for instance, reminds Burciaga of visits to his great-grandmother’s house. So do the simple, clean-lined cabinetry lined with antiques and knickknacks, and the restaurant’s stylishly curved oak tables and chairs, custom-made in Guadalajara. In an adjacent dining room, old black-and-white movies from Mexico’s Golden Age flicker across a large screen. “In so many ways, this was my childhood,” he said. Burciaga’s wife and business partner, María José Cervantes, helped develop the restaurant’s concept and interiors, as did their son, Fernando Rojas, who painted a large mural of a Mexican cantina on the restaurant’s back wall. On the night of our visit, Rojas was also cooking. “He’s multitalented,” Burciaga said with a big smile. “He’s here making his own memories. That makes it even more special to me.” Almacén El Gallo, 500 W. Seventh St., almacenelgallo.com

Ashes from a burned avocado leaf, torched tableside, are mixed into the restaurant’s guacamole

F W T X .COM | S E P TE M B E R 2026

CHOWTOWN DINING At their new restaurant, Patricia and Rogelio Cortez Sr. stand in front of a mural depicting soccer great Javier “Chicharito” Hernández

by Malcolm Mayhew Photos by Thanin Viriyaki

Dad’s Turn

After turning his mother’s birria into a Michelinrecommended sensation, Rogelio Cortez Jr. looks across the street — and to his father’s recipes — for the family’s next culinary act, Mariscos Cortez.

he first place I see Rogelio Cortez Jr. at his family’s new restaurant is, actually, the last place I expected to see him: in the restaurant’s parking lot, directing traffic. It’s a busy Saturday night, just a few days after Cortez opened this homage to Jalisco-style seafood, and the parking lot’s a zoo. Cortez is helping guests find spaces in a lot clearly not designed to handle this many cars. This reminds me of the first time I met him, which was in a parking lot like this one, not too far from this one. Back then, he and his family — mom Patricia and pop Rogelio Cortez Sr.

S E P TE M B E R 2026 | F W T X .COM

— had just launched their first professional food endeavor on East Rosedale, a bright red food truck that served birria, a slow-simmered beef used as a filling for tacos. Thanks to social media and word of mouth, Birrieria y Taqueria Cortez became a local sensation. A day or two after the truck opened, I recall asking an employee where the owner was so I could interview him, and I was pointed in the direction of a guy helping direct the insane traffic his food truck was causing. Funny how not even Michelin can change Cortez’s work ethic. Even after two consecutive Michelin

recommendations for the brick-andmortar version of Birrieria Cortez; packed dining rooms; local, regional, national, and international attention, Rogelio Cortez Jr. was still where he has always been: wherever the work needed him. On this Saturday night, that meant standing in a makeshift parking lot playing traffic cop. Michelin may have changed the way people see the Cortez family, but it hasn’t changed the way the Cortez family works, he says. “You have to work at it constantly,” he tells us after helping us find a place to park. “We’re not really the type of people who lay back and get other people to do the work. We do everything ourselves.” Cortez leads us through his new restaurant, colorfully decorated with larger-than-life murals of soccer legends such as Diego Armando Maradona, and Javier “Chicharito” Hernández, the soccer icon who hails from Jalisco.. If you’ve been to Birrieria Cortez, you already know the vibe here: upbeat, boisterous, loud, and fun. Opening a coastal seafood restaurant was never exactly in the cards for the family, but Cortez says he saw a niche that needed to be filled. There aren’t many restaurants in this neck of the woods, he says, that turn out Jalisco-style seafood, from citrusy aguachiles in green, red, black and mango-habanero varieties to shrimp and fish ceviches, Baja-style battered fish tacos, and fiery camarones a la diabla. One of the menu’s most unexpected creations bridges the gap between the family’s two restaurants: shrimp birria tacos, which borrow the rich flavors that made Birrieria Cortez famous but switch out beef for shrimp. “You definitely want to get those,” Cortez says to us as we look at the menu. “And the frijoles puercos.” The latter was a cheesy bean dip, gloriously, unapologetically rich, a nice balance to the lighter ceviches we’d spend the evening plowing through. As Cortez slipped back out, his pop took over, moving between the

kitchen, dining room and the host stand, shaking hands, refilling water glasses and making sure guests had everything they needed. Where Birrieria Cortez celebrates the deep, earthy flavors of slow-braised meats, Mariscos Cortez looks west to the Pacific coast of Jalisco, where seafood takes center stage. The menu is built around recipes Rogelio Sr. has spent decades cooking for family gatherings, alongside dishes he and his son developed together for their new restaurant. “I think of this as dad’s place,” he says, “and Birrieria as mom’s.” Just across Rosedale Street, within walking distance, is Patricia’s place, Birrieria y Taqueria Cortez, the restaurant that introduced much of North Texas to the family’s rich, slow-cooked birria, earning Michelin Recommended recognition in both 2024 and 2025 along the way. The Michelin nods transformed what began as a neighborhood favorite into a destination restaurant, drawing diners from across Texas eager to see what inspectors from the world’s most influential dining guide had discovered. The family’s rise to Michelin recognition began, improbably enough, with a workplace injury. In 2019, after a back injury ended Rogelio Jr.’s career in roofing, he looked for another way to support his family. To help out, Patricia began preparing the menudo and birria she had cooked for friends and relatives for years, and the family started selling the dishes from home before investing in a food truck, serving customers throughout the pandemic. By 2021, they had opened Birrieria y Taqueria Cortez, a modest brick-and-mortar that steadily built a devoted following before earning one of the highest honors in the restaurant world. For the Cortez family, however, the recognition didn’t give them permission to slow down. If anything, it became another reason to work harder. “Michelin looks for consistency,” Rogelio Jr. says. “Like I said, you have to keep at it, keep working at it, which is what we intend to do.” Mariscos Cortez, 1151 Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway, mariscoscortez.com

Shrimp and birria broth tacos

Aguachile and assorted eats at Mariscos Cortez

The Chowtown Lowdown It’s almost a rarity for young chefs to stay put in one restaurant for long, so it was no surprise to hear Emilia’s executive chef Preston Paine recently parted ways with the in-house restaurant at the Crescent Hotel. The Dallas-raised chef is now food and beverage director and executive chef at Keswick Hall, a luxury resort located in the heart of Virginia’s wine country. Worry not: Emilia’s now rests in the capable hands of Sean Malek, promoted from sous-chef to executive chef. He’ll also oversee the Blue Room, the hotel’s secondary — and more exclusive — restaurant, as well as the hotel’s bars and catering services. Following Paine’s departure, Malek worked alongside noted chef Toni Robertson, who temporarily served as culinary consultant and chef-in-residence. Says a release from the restaurant, Malek played an instrumental role in bringing Robertson’s culinary vision for the restaurant to life. I’m sure Malek could have come up with his own plan, though, and saved the restaurant a ton of money. The Chicago-raised chef has worked in several well-known restaurants, including Ellerbe Fine Foods and a pair of Tim Love places: Lonesome Dove Western Bistro and Gemelle. He also served as chef at one of my favorite restaurants, Eazy Monkey, a short-lived Asian-American fusion restaurant on Magnolia Avenue. emiliasfortworth.com Clay Pigeon, chef Marcus Paslay’s flagship restaurant, has introduced two back-to-back dinner specials. On Sunday nights, there’s a Chicken Roast for two, whose star attraction is a Green Circle chicken, brined overnight, rubbed with rosemary, thyme, garlic, lemon, and olive oil, then roasted and served with house-made jus and a trio of rotating seasonal sides. $90 per couple. At a recent media event, Paslay said he was inspired by old-school Sunday suppers in which friends and family gather for big feasts. The very next night is Monday Steak Frites Night. But when Paslay says “steak frites,” he doesn’t just mean the usual steak and fries. In his hands, it means eye of ribeye and fries, prime beef tartare and fries, salmon and fries, hanger steak and fries, and, when available, spinalis and fries — spinalis being the thin outer edge of a ribeye, prized for its rich marbling, exceptional tenderness, and deep, buttery flavor. Can’t wait to try that. 2731 Westside Drive, claypigeonfd.com Fort Worth has a new destination for anyone with a serious candy craving. Swedish Candy Culture recently opened at 3613 W. Vickery Blvd., taking over the former Muy Frio frozen margarita shop. Founded by Crimson and Lukas Nathanson, the shop specializes in Swedish candy, a category of sweets that has boomed in popularity in the U.S. in recent years. More than 200 varieties of imported candies fill the store — everything from sweet and sour gummies to chocolates and other Scandinavian treats. swedishcandyculture.com The Sicilian Butcher has rolled out a revamped menu featuring new house-made pastas, entrees, antipasti, pizzas, and drinks. Among the additions is Lasagna al Forno, stacked 10 layers high with three-meat ragu, ricotta, bechamel, and mozzarella. Amalfi Gold pairs tagliatelle with shrimp, calamari, roasted garlic, heirloom tomatoes, olives, and capers, while Ravioli Cacio e Pepe features spinach-and-cheese ravioli in pecorino cream with black pepper. New entrees include Chicken alla Tomaso, topped with prosciutto, roasted cherry peppers, and mozzarella, and Shrimp Fra Diavolo, featuring jumbo prawns in a spicy tomato sauce. The restaurant has also introduced Sicilian Sodas made with San Pellegrino sparkling water and sweet cream soft whip, available in flavors such as blood orange, black cherry, and Sicilian almond. 3200 Tracewood Way, thesicilianbutcher.com

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CHOWTOWN DINING Newly opened Kin Pho offers a variety of soups

by Malcolm Mayhew Photos by Thanin Viriyaki

Soup’s On

The family behind longtime Haltom City favorite Asiannights brings pho, Lao noodle soups, and more to the new H Mart Plaza.

estaurants are beginning to open one by one around the highly anticipated H Mart development in Haltom City, even as the Korean grocery store itself remains under construction. Among the first arrivals is Kin Pho, a new Vietnamese, Laotian, and Thai restaurant. While the restaurant is new, veteran hands are crafting the food — those of Xayen and Nakasane Chant, a married couple who have been a part of the area’s dining scene for more than 25 years. Kin Pho is a spinoff of Asiannights Lao Thai Cuisine & Bar, the couple’s lively restaurant that opened near the border of Fort Worth and Haltom City in 2000. The new concept brings over many of Asiannights’ longtime favorites while expanding the menu with pho, rice plates, stir-fried noodles, and other dishes. “We’ve been part of this community for a long time, so opening here felt like

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a natural next step for us,” Xayen says. “We wanted to bring over some of the dishes people already know us for but also give them something new.” Pho, naturally, gets plenty of attention. Eight versions are offered, including a combination bowl with filet, brisket, and meatballs; meatball, cooked meat, rare beef, and chicken versions; and an egg noodle soup with duck. Bowls start at $15.99, with extra meat available for $4. But some of Kin Pho’s most interesting dishes come from the Laotian and Thai side of the couple’s cooking. Among them is kow piek sen, a thick and comforting Lao chicken noodle soup made with chewy tapioca and rice noodles. Kin Pho offers several variations of the dish, including versions with fish, duck, and a combination of meats. There’s also kow piek kow, or porridge soup, along with kang kapaw pah, a fish dish with basil.

Another dish to make the jump from Asiannights is the fried pork belly, meaty chunks of pork coated in panko crumbs and fried until crisp. Pork appears throughout the menu, including pork jowl barbecue and basil sauce with pork belly. Other rice plates include crying tiger beef, beef short rib barbecue, and ka na moo kob, made with stir-fried pork belly and Chinese broccoli. The stirfry section covers plenty of familiar territory, too, with pad see ew, pad Thai, drunken noodles, and crispy egg noodles among the choices. “We want people to come in for the pho, but we also hope they’ll try some of the Lao dishes they may not be as familiar with,” Chant says. “Those dishes are an important part of who we are.” Starters include fresh spring rolls, fried pork egg rolls, fried pot stickers, butterfly shrimp, and crab rangoon. Kin Pho joins a rapidly growing group of restaurants opening around H Mart’s first Tarrant County location. Wooga KBBQ, Hanabi Ramen, Kickin’ Crab Seafood House, Hui Lau Shan and Bambu Dessert Drinks are among the restaurants already serving customers, with more expected to open in the coming weeks and months. H Mart will anchor the 50-acre mixed-use development near Loop 820 and North Beach Street. The grocery store, known for its expansive selection of Korean and other Asian groceries, produce, seafood, and prepared foods, is expected to open this fall. For the Chants, the development’s arrival represents something else: a chance to introduce a new generation of diners to food they’ve been serving in Haltom City for two decades. “We’ve been doing Asiannights for so long, we already have generations of customers who know us,” Xayen says. “What’s exciting about H Mart is that it’s going to bring in so many new people. We’ll get to introduce our food and our family to people who might never have found us.” Kin Pho, 3960 NE Loop 820, 682.224.2637

PROMOTION

“Fort Worth’s next chapter is already unfolding and women are helping lead the way.” LEAH M. KING Leadership for What Comes Next Fort Worth has always moved forward because people are willing to step up to lead, to serve, and to imagine what our city can become. In this issue, Fort Worth Magazine celebrates women who embody that spirit, and I am honored to stand among them. As a young girl, I would never have imagined that I could one day be elected to the Tarrant Regional Water District Board of Directors and help guide long-range decisions about

water, infrastructure, and major public investments that will shape our region for decades. Service to this community is a privilege, and it has been my pleasure to serve in business, philanthropy, and public office. Those experiences have taught me that meaningful progress rarely happens alone. It happens when we bring people together, marshal resources around a shared purpose, and remain focused on creating opportunity for everyone.

Growth alone isn’t enough, we must grow well. That means infrastructure that keeps pace, strong and safe neighborhoods, economic mobility, responsible stewardship of public resources, exceptional parks and public spaces, and progress that reaches every corner of our community. Fort Worth’s next chapter is already unfolding, and women are helping lead the way. To the remarkable women recognized in these pages: Thank you for what you build, what you challenge, whom you inspire, and how you serve. There is much to celebrate about where Fort Worth stands today and even more to imagine about what comes next.

LeahKingCampaign.com | Paid political advertisement by Leah King Campaign.

CHOWTOWN 4 COURSES

4 Courses From Ariel Fox of Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse

Recipes by Ariel Fox Photos by Thanin Viriyaki

eptember has always been something of an in-between month in Fort Worth. Summer temps are still beating us down, even as shorter days and the first hints of fall begin nudging us toward richer, more comforting food. For this edition of 4 Courses, Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse embraces both sides of the season with a menu that starts bright and light before steadily building toward the kind of indulgence you expect from one of downtown Fort Worth’s best steakhouses. The four-course meal comes courtesy of Ariel Fox, vice president of culinary for Landry’s, Del Frisco’s parent company. Her name may ring a bell: She’s a past winner on the television show “Hell’s Kitchen,” and she penned a popular cookbook, Spice Kitchen: Healthy Latin & Caribbean Cuisine. Fox’s appreciation for seasonal cooking took root as a teenager in Northern California, where she worked on a small family farm and was exposed early to the farm-to-table philosophy championed by Alice Waters. She later studied classical French cooking at the California School of Culinary Arts, but that early connection to farms, fresh ingredients, and cooking with the seasons has remained a through line in her work. Enjoy her four-course meal at Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse, 812 Main St., or at home.

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YELLOWTAIL CRUDO Serves 4 Ingredients: • 12 ounces sushi-grade yellowtail (hamachi), thinly sliced • 1 orange, peeled and segmented • ¼ cup your favorite salsa verde • ¼ cup Castelvetrano olives, thinly sliced • 3 tablespoons roasted, salted pistachios, roughly chopped • 1 tablespoon fresh dill fronds • 1 tablespoon torn fresh mint leaves • 1 teaspoon dill or herb oil, optional • Maldon sea salt, to taste • Pinch of gochugaru Instructions: 1. Heat a dry skillet over high heat. 2. Add the orange segments and quickly char on one side, about 30 seconds. 3. Remove and let cool. 4. Arrange the yellowtail slices on a chilled serving plate, slightly overlapping. Nestle the charred orange segments among the fish, then scatter with the olives and pistachios. 5. Spoon the salsa verde lightly over and around the yellowtail. 6. Finish with dill, mint, a drizzle of herb oil, Maldon salt, and a light sprinkle of gochugaru. 7. Serve immediately.

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CHOWTOWN 4 COURSES WAGYU & VEAL MEATBALLS

Serves 4

MEATBALLS

Yield: About 12 meatballs Ingredients: • ½-pound ground Wagyu beef • ½-pound ground veal • ½ cup fresh breadcrumbs • ¼ cup whole milk • 1 large egg • ¼ cup finely grated Parmesan • 2 tablespoons finely chopped Italian parsley • 1 tablespoon minced shallot • 1 garlic clove, minced • 1 teaspoon kosher salt • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper • 1 tablespoon olive oil Instructions: 1. Preheat oven to 375°F. 2. Combine the breadcrumbs and milk in a small bowl and let stand for 5 minutes. 3. In a large bowl, gently combine the Wagyu, veal, soaked breadcrumbs, egg, Parmesan, parsley, shallot, garlic, salt, and pepper. 4. Mix just until incorporated, taking care not to overwork the meat. 5. Shape into approximately 2-ounce meatballs and arrange on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Brush lightly with olive oil. 6. Bake for 15–18 minutes, or until browned and cooked through. Transfer the meatballs to warm tomato fondue and serve.

TOMATO FONDUE

Yield: About 2 cups Ingredients: • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil • ½ cup finely diced yellow onion • 2 garlic cloves, minced • 1 can (28 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand • ½ teaspoon kosher salt • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper • Pinch of crushed red pepper • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter • 4–5 fresh basil leaves Instructions: 1. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 4–5 minutes, until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. 2. Add the tomatoes, salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for 20–25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have broken down and the sauce has slightly thickened. 3. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and basil. For a smoother fondue, blend briefly with an immersion blender. Adjust seasoning to taste.

TO SERVE: • • • • • •

8 prepared Wagyu beef and veal meatballs 1½ cup of prepared tomato fondue 2 tablespoons unsalted butter ½ cup finely grated Manchego cheese 1 Fresno chile, very thinly sliced Small handful fresh basil or micro basil

Instructions: 1. Heat oven to 350°F. 2. Melt the butter in an oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. 3. Add the meatballs and turn until lightly browned. Transfer to the oven and warm until heated through. 4. Meanwhile, gently warm the tomato sauce. 5. Spoon the sauce into a shallow serving dish and arrange the meatballs on top. 6. Generously grate Manchego over the meatballs and finish with thinly sliced Fresno chile and basil. 7. Serve hot.

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A STUDY OF STEAK

Serves 4–6, family style Ingredients: • 1 (16-ounce) Prime ribeye • 1 (16-ounce) Prime New York strip • 1 (7-ounce) Snake River Farms Wagyu filet • Kosher salt • Coarsely ground black pepper • 3 tablespoons clarified butter or unsalted butter Instructions: 1. Remove the steaks from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before cooking. Pat dry and season generously with salt and black pepper. 2. Heat a large cast-iron skillet or grill over high heat. Cook the steaks, turning as needed, until deeply browned on the outside and cooked to your preferred temperature. For medium-rare, aim for approximately 125–130°F before resting. 3. During the final minute of cooking, add the butter and baste the steaks until glossy and well-browned. 4. Transfer to a cutting board and rest for 5–10 minutes. Slice each steak separately and arrange the three cuts together on a warm platter so guests can taste and compare.

CHEF’S NOTE:

Because the steaks vary in size and thickness, they will not finish cooking at the same time. An instant-read thermometer is much more reliable than cooking all three for a prescribed number of minutes.

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SIGNATURE BUTTER CAKE

Serves 4

Ingredients: • 4 individual yellow cakes, prepared using your favorite box cake recipe • 3 tablespoons turbinado sugar • Vanilla ice cream • ½ cup caramel sauce • Freshly whipped cream • Powdered sugar, for finishing • Fresh mint, for garnish

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Instructions: 1. Heat the cakes until warm throughout. Sprinkle the tops evenly with turbinado sugar and caramelize with a kitchen torch until golden and crisp. 2. Place each warm cake on a dessert plate and top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Drizzle generously with caramel sauce. 3. Add a spoonful of freshly whipped cream, dust lightly with powdered sugar and garnish with fresh mint. Serve immediately while the cake is warm and the brûléed sugar is crisp.

PROMOTION

HEALTHTALK Welcome to HealthTalk, a section dedicated to empowering our readers with vital insights into the world of health and wellness. Here, we delve into critical topics that matter most from causes and treatments to signs and symptoms. Whether you’re looking to stay informed or seeking to understand complex health issues, HealthTalk is your trusted source for the knowledge you need to lead a healthier life. The information provided in this section is provided by our advertisers and has not been independently verified by Fort Worth Magazine.

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HEALTHTALK Knowledge from the Experts

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What is a deep plane facelift? Q: What areas does a deep plane facelift improve? A: This procedure is especially good for lifting the cheeks, improving the jowls, tightening the jawline, and smoothing the neck. It rejuvenates the midface and creates a clean, elegant contour from the chin to the collarbone. Q: What’s the difference between a regular neck lift and a deep neck lift? A: A deep neck lift goes beneath the surface muscles of the neck to remove deeper fat and, when needed, refine muscles and glands that cause bulkiness. It’s ideal for people with fullness under the chin that generally always had ‘heavier’ necks. These patients tend to be younger and show less of the typical signs of facial aging. Q: Who is a good candidate for this type of facelift or neck lift? A: Great candidates are typically in their 40s to 70s and have noticed sagging in the cheeks, jawline, or neck. If you feel like your reflection looks older or heavier than you feel — especially in photos — this might be a great option for you. It is important to find a surgeon that makes you feel heard, is honest, and whose goals align with yours. It is also essential before moving forward with any procedure to ensure you are in good health and a safe candidate for surgery—your safety is always the top priority. Q: What is the recovery like? A: You can expect some swelling and bruising for the first one to two weeks. Most people feel comfortable returning to social events or work after about 10–14 days. Your results will continue to improve over the next few months as healing completes. Q: Why is the surgeon’s technique so important? A: This is a technically advanced procedure that requires a deep understanding of facial anatomy and an artistic eye. When done well, it avoids the “overdone” look and gives you results that are both natural and long-lasting. In my practice, our goal is to make you look refreshed and like yourself, just younger. Q: What is a deep plane facelift, and how is it different from a regular facelift? A: A deep plane facelift lifts the deeper layers of the face, not just the skin. This allows for a more natural and longer-lasting result. Traditional facelifts often tighten just the skin or surface layers, which can look tight or pulled over time. Deep plane facelifts move the underlying structure, giving you a refreshed but never overdone look, and restore things to their anatomic position.

Q: Why do some facelifts look “pulled,” and how does this avoid that? A: That “pulled” appearance happens when only the skin is tightened without lifting the deeper tissues. In a deep plane facelift, the deeper facial layers are gently repositioned, so the skin sits naturally. You’ll look like a more rested, youthful version of yourself — not like someone who had surgery.

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Accent on You Cosmetic Surgery Center Dr. Sameer Halani 3030 S. Cooper St. Arlington 76015 817.417.7200 accentonyou.com

PROMOTION

Knowledge from the Experts HEALTHTALK

When should I worry about my hearing? Q: Is tinnitus a sign of hearing loss? A: Often, yes. Tinnitus and hearing loss frequently occur together, since both can stem from damage to the same inner-ear structures. That’s why a hearing evaluation is usually the first step in addressing it. Q: Can stress make tinnitus worse? A: Absolutely. Stress and anxiety don’t cause tinnitus, but they can make existing symptoms feel more intense, creating a frustrating cycle of stress and worsening perception. Q: Is there a cure for tinnitus? A: There’s currently no single medical cure that eliminates tinnitus for everyone. However, many effective management options exist, and a meaningful number of people find significant relief. Q: What treatment options are available? A: Options include hearing aids with built-in sound therapy features, cognitive behavioral therapy, and addressing underlying causes like earwax or medication side effects. Newest option is the Lenire Tinnitus Treatment Device. It is a bimodal neuromodulation device, pairing sound with mild tongue stimulation to help retrain the brain’s response to tinnitus. Treatment is tailored to the individual. Q: Can hearing aids really help with tinnitus? A: Yes. Modern hearing aids allow you to hear more clearly, not focusing on the tinnitus. Some include tinnitus-masking programs that introduce gentle background sound. Q: What should someone do if they’re experiencing tinnitus? A: Schedule a hearing evaluation. An audiologist can identify potential causes and recommend a personalized plan. Early evaluation often leads to better outcomes.

Q: What exactly is tinnitus? A: Tinnitus is the perception of sound — ringing, buzzing, hissing, or clicking — when no external noise is present. It’s not a disease itself, but a symptom of an underlying issue, often related to the auditory system.

Q: What causes it? A: The most common cause is exposure to loud noise, which can damage the tiny hair cells in the inner ear. Other causes include age-related hearing loss, certain medications, jaw or neck issues, and circulatory problems. Earwax buildup can contribute to tinnitus.

Cityview Audiology & Hearing Aids, Inc. Diane Blaising, Board Certified Doctor of Audiology

5701 Bryant Irvin Road, Ste. 202 Fort Worth 76132 817. 339.6974 cityviewhearing.com

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How does PRP help your body heal? Q: What are growth factors? A: They’re the body’s healing messengers, small chemical signals that recruit repair cells, build new blood vessels, and create the collagen scaffold your tissue rebuilds on. Q: How does the body heal? A: Healing follows a well-organized sequence, from inflammation, to proliferation (building new tissue), to remodeling (strengthening it), with growth factors directing the process at every step. Q: If healing is natural, why add extra platelets? A: Healing runs on blood flow. Think of it as the supply line feeding an army. Tendons, ligaments, and cartilage have a notoriously thin blood supply. Small tears there often can’t heal and turn chronic, so PRP concentrates your platelets four to 10 times above normal and, under ultrasound guidance, delivers them exactly where that supply line falls short. Q: Does it really work? A: In my own published research, patients with a certain partial rotator cuff tear treated with an ultrasound-guided PRP injection did as well as those who had surgery, and they recovered faster. We’ve since extended it to other tendon and ligament injuries with similar success. Q: Is there more than one kind of PRP? A: Yes. The two main types differ by whether they include white blood cells. The white-cellrich preparation is better for healing tendons and ligaments, while the white-cell-poor version is better for calming inflammation in arthritic joints. Q: What makes Executive Medicine of Texas different? A: Beyond standard PRP, we offer a “super shot” that also concentrates your body’s own exosomes, tiny plasma vesicles carrying extra-healing signals, to further enhance the treatment. And the best part: None of this is a drug. We’re simply harnessing your body’s own ability to heal.

Q: What is PRP? A: PRP stands for platelet-rich plasma. It comes from your own blood. We draw a small sample in the office, spin it in a centrifuge to concentrate the platelets, and place that concentrate right where healing is needed.

Q: Why platelets — aren’t those just for clotting? A: For a long time, that’s all we thought they did. But platelets are packed with granules full of growth factors, and when they arrive at an injury, they release those signals and the real healing begins.

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Executive Medicine of Texas Dr. Edwin E Spencer 2106 E. State Hwy. 114 Ste. 300 Southlake 76092 817.839.3819 emtexas.com

PROMOTION

Knowledge from the Experts HEALTHTALK

Sleep apnea myths vs. facts: Are you at risk? protect you, and even underweight individuals can suffer from severe airway collapse. Q: Can thin, athletic, or highly fit people have OSA? A: Yes. Even Olympic athletes have sleep apnea because internal tissue collapse can happen to any human body when it enters deep sleep. Q: Are there visible facial or neck signs that prove I am safe? A: No. People with completely standard jawlines, average neck sizes, and normal-looking throats frequently experience severe nighttime airway blockages. Q: Why do so many healthy-looking people overlook their sleep apnea? A: Most people try to find reasons to think they are fine, ignoring chronic exhaustion simply because they do not fit the stereotype. Q: What are the invisible warning signs I should look for? A: Snoring, waking up gasping, morning headaches, and constant daytime fatigue are the primary red flags that your body is starving for oxygen. Snoring is probably the most common sign, but you can have sleep apnea without snoring. Q: What happens if I ignore these symptoms because I look fit? A: Untreated OSA quietly ruins your health from the inside out, drastically increasing your risk for high blood pressure, stroke, and heart attacks.

Q: How can I know for sure if I have sleep apnea? A: You cannot diagnose it by looking in the mirror; a professional evaluation or home sleep study is the only way to know. Schedule your consultation today. Do not risk your health by assuming you are safe just because you look healthy. If you are tired of waking up exhausted, call our office today to schedule your sleep assessment. Fort Worth Snoring and Sleep Center is a specialized practice limited to treating sleep apnea and snoring. We are

in network with most medical insurance plans. Q: Can I have sleep apnea if I look completely normal? A: Yes. OSA is caused by internal throat muscles relaxing during sleep, which can block the airway of anyone regardless of appearance. Q: Do I have to be overweight to have sleep apnea? A: No. Fitness level, weight, and body shape do not

Fort Worth Snoring and Sleep Center Dr. Mitch Conditt 451 University Drive, Ste. 102 Fort Worth 76107 817.502.9449 fortworthsnoringandsleepcenter .com

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PROMOTION

Could hormone therapy help you age better? Q: What is happening during perimenopause? A: Perimenopause begins as the ovaries age and ovarian reserve — the remaining supply of eggs — declines. Ovulation becomes less predictable, causing estrogen and progesterone to fluctuate like a hormonal roller coaster. Periods may get “wonky” and sleep, mood, memory, weight, and energy change. Q: Do hormones change before hot flashes begin? A: Absolutely. Symptoms may appear years before the final period (aka menopause). Testosterone also gradually declines beginning in a woman’s 30s, so reduced motivation, libido, strength, stamina, or mental clarity may occur before classic perimenopausal symptoms. Q: Wait — women need testosterone too? A: Yes! Women produce less testosterone than men, but it still contributes to sexual desire, energy, strength, cognition, and overall well-being. Normal labs do not necessarily equate to “normal hormones.” Everyone has a zone where they feel their best, and this needs to be individualized to each person. Q: What if I have no menopausal symptoms? A: Hot flashes affect approximately 50%–82% of women; however, no hot flashes does not equal no problem. Hormone therapy has been proven to prevent bone loss, benefit cognitive function, and heart health. Q: Does hormone therapy cause cancer? A: Risk varies based on the hormones used, duration, route, dose, and personal and family history. Several hormones are protective against cancers — and I actually published a study in the European Journal of Breast Health that showed hormone therapy decreased the risk of breast cancer in treated patients versus the general population.

Q: What about low testosterone in men? A: Low testosterone may cause reduced libido, erectile concerns, fatigue, muscle loss, and mood changes. The Endocrine Society estimates Low T affects about 35% of men. Labs and symptoms combined can be used for diagnosis and treatment. Q: Why does specialized hormone training matter? A: Menopause education remains limited:

only 31.3% of surveyed OB/GYN residency programs reported having a menopause curriculum. Hormones are not “set it and forget it.” A trained practitioner should understand estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, thyroid function, delivery methods, chemical structure, contraindications, monitoring, and side-effect management. The goal is not simply normal laboratory results — it is safe, evidence-informed care designed for the individual. PROMOTION

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Institute for Hormonal Balance Mandy Cotten, APRN, DNP, FNP-C Willow Park • Arlington • Prosper 817.467.7474 donovitz.com

PROMOTION

Knowledge from the Experts HEALTHTALK

What is a Mommy Makeover? such as asthma, high blood pressure, and diabetes may increase your surgical risk and may require a preoperative medical evaluation to gauge suitability for this longer, elective procedure. All patients go home with an overnight nurse, and in some cases, Dr. Steele may recommend that you spend a night at the surgery center to monitor your vital signs and fluid intake/output. Q: What about scars and stretch marks? A: The length and extent of scars will depend on each individual patient and the procedures she chooses. Generally, there will be a tummy tuck scar from hip to hip and some sort of breast incision. Dr. Steele takes the time to make sure that your scars are as fine as possible and will recommend postoperative scar care for optimal healing. Most women are so pleased with their new contours that they feel the results after a Mommy Makeover far outweigh any scarring left behind. Generally, an abdominoplasty will remove all stretch marks below the belly button. Patients with upper abdominal stretch marks will get some improvement — they will be moved lower down on the abdomen and will be tighter, which helps diminish the appearance. Stretch marks in the upper breast cannot be excised; however, the placement of an implant makes them less noticeable by placing tension and stretch on the skin. Q: What if I get pregnant again? A: Ideally, you would wait to have a mommy makeover until after all pregnancies are complete. In the event of future pregnancies, you may suffer more stretching or sagging of the skin. A later revision surgery may be necessary to correct this. Q: What is a Mommy Makeover? A: For mothers, the birth of their children is one the most wonderful times a woman will experience. While the new bundle of joy brings excitement and happiness to the family, many women are left with significant physical changes that can profoundly affect her self-confidence — these changes can include loss of breast fullness and sagging, unwelcome fatty deposits, loose skin, and stretch marks on the breast and abdomen. A mommy makeover is a customized set of cosmetic procedures designed to address postpartum changes of the breast and abdomen. Q: What is done for the breast in a Mommy Makeover? A: In some cases, a breast augmentation alone is adequate to restore volume loss after pregnancy. Some women may be happy with a breast lift alone to reshape and elevate the breast higher onto the chest. In many cases, a combination breast lift with implant is performed to provide the best of both worlds: a fuller

breast that is shapelier and sits higher on the chest. Q: What is done for the abdomen/trunk in a Mommy Makeover? A: In most cases, a full tummy tuck is required. This will allow Dr. Steele to tighten the abdominal wall muscles and remove as many stretch marks and excess skin as possible. This is often combined with flank and hip liposuction to improve the waist contour. Q: Am I a candidate for a Mommy Makeover? A: If you are done having children and are close to your pre-pregnancy or ideal body weight, then you may be an excellent candidate for this procedure. Additionally, you should be in good health and a non-smoker. Q: Is it safe to combine these procedures, and what are the risks? A: There are always risks involved with surgery; however, with today’s modern anesthesia, the risk is very minimal in healthy patients. Medical problems

Q: What other breast and body procedures are available at Steele Plastic Surgery? A: Dr. Steele offers a variety of surgical and nonsurgical options to improve your contours. Breast reductions are very helpful for neck/back pain and discomfort related to larger breasts. Liposuction in combination with Renuvion J-plasma skin tightening is a powerful tool to treat stubborn fat deposits and early skin laxity. Finally, we recently launched Sofwave, a noninvasive, powerful new FDA-approved focused ultrasound device designed to tighten skin and improve contour with no downtime.

Matthew H. Steele, M.D. 5656 Edwards Ranch Road, Ste. 202 Fort Worth 76109 817.731.5330 drsteeleplasticsurgery.com

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HEALTHTALK Knowledge from the Experts

PROMOTION

Is your medication working with your body? managing symptoms well. Can compounding help? A: PCOS can involve a combination of hormonal and metabolic symptoms, and treatment can be complicated. Compounding may provide another option when your treatment calls for a specific formulation, combination, or dosage that isn’t available in the medication you’re currently using. Q: My birth control causes side effects I can’t tolerate. Are there other forms? A: If side effects are making your medication difficult to use, it’s worth talking with your prescriber about alternatives. In certain situations, we can create a personalized formulation that may be easier for you to tolerate and use consistently. Q: I’m dealing with fertility treatments and complex dosing schedules. Can you simplify this? A: Fertility treatment can mean keeping track of multiple medications, doses, and timing. We can help make your routine easier to manage by organizing your medications around your prescribed schedule and providing straightforward instructions, so you can spend less time worrying about the logistics and more time focusing on your treatment. Q: Is compounded hormone therapy safe? A: When prescribed and compounded appropriately, hormone therapy can be customized to meet an individual patient’s needs. We source our ingredients from FDA-registered suppliers and use established compounding procedures to ensure the medication is accurately formulated, consistently dosed, and thoroughly checked before it reaches you.

Q: My hormone therapy doesn’t feel right. Can it be adjusted? A: Absolutely. Hormone therapy is not always one-size-fits-all. Depending on your prescription, we can customize the dose, formulation, or delivery method to better fit your needs. We’ll also work closely with your prescriber if changes are needed. Q: I’m going through menopause and standard treatments aren’t helping. What are my options? A: You have options. Menopause can look different from person to person, so the right approach

depends on your symptoms and treatment goals. Compounded medications can offer additional choices when a commercially available product isn’t providing the relief you need. Q: My prenatal vitamin upsets my stomach. Is there an alternative? A: You shouldn’t have to dread taking your prenatal every day. We can look at the formulation and, when appropriate, prepare a version that is easier on your stomach or easier for you to take. Q: I have PCOS and my current medication isn’t PROMOTION

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Q: How do I get started? A: Start with a conversation with your healthcare provider about what isn’t working for you and whether a customized medication may be an option. Once your prescription is sent to us, we’ll take care of the rest, from preparing your medication to answering your questions and keeping the process simple from start to finish.

Perrone Pharmacy, Inc. Marcus Zavala, PharmD, BCSCP Chief Pharmacist Officer 3921 Benbrook Hwy. Fort Worth 76116 817. 738.2135 perronepharmacy.com

PROMOTION

Knowledge from the Experts HEALTHTALK

How is gynecologic cancer treatment evolving? advanced or recurrent cervical cancer, it has improved survival and become part of standard treatment for many patients. In endometrial cancer, it is now a key option for advanced diseases, particularly in tumors with specific molecular characteristics. Some patients with recurrent ovarian cancer may also benefit from immunotherapy. While it is not effective for everyone, it has created opportunities that did not exist a few years ago. Q: What exciting research is happening now? A: Research is advancing rapidly. ADCs are a major focus because they can target cancer cells while limiting damage to healthy tissue. Several are already approved for recurrent disease, and studies are examining whether they can be used earlier in treatment. Researchers are also exploring artificial intelligence to help predict which therapies may work best for individual patients. Clinical trials continue to evaluate new approaches aimed at improving outcomes and reducing side effects. Q: Why should patients consider clinical trials? A: Every treatment available today was first tested in a clinical trial. These carefully monitored studies evaluate promising therapies and treatment strategies. Many trials are available at diagnosis, not just after standard treatments stop working. Clinical trials may provide access to innovative therapies while helping advance care for future patients. Texas Oncology offers clinical trial opportunities for eligible patients. Q: What gives you hope for the future? A: After 25 years in gynecologic oncology, I have never been more optimistic. Patients are living longer and benefiting from treatments that did not exist a decade ago. As our understanding of these cancers grows, therapies are becoming more precise and less toxic. Through continued innovation and research, we are moving closer to a future where more women survive — and thrive — after a gynecologic cancer diagnosis.

Q: What are the biggest advances in gynecologic cancer treatment? A: September is Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month, raising awareness about gynecologic cancers and a reminder of the progress made in gynecologic oncology. While surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation remain important, newer treatments such as targeted therapies and immunotherapy have expanded options for patients. In ovarian cancer, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) show promise by delivering

treatment directly to cancer cells. Immunotherapy has improved outcomes in endometrial and cervical cancers. Perhaps the most significant advance is personalized medicine — matching treatment to the molecular features of a patient’s tumor to improve results and reduce side effects. Q: Is immunotherapy changing the outlook for gynecologic cancers? A: Absolutely. Immunotherapy helps the body’s immune system identify and attack cancer. In

Texas Oncology, Fort Worth Cancer Center Noelle Cloven, M.D. 500 South Henderson Ste. 300 Fort Worth 76104 817.413.1500 texasoncology.com

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HEALTHTALK Knowledge from the Experts

PROMOTION

Why is recovery just as important as practice? Q: How can a performer tell the difference between normal soreness and an injury that shouldn’t be ignored? A: Pay attention to your time to fatigue — how long you can perform before feeling tired. If that window stays the same or improves, you’re building endurance. But if you’re fatiguing earlier and earlier, it’s a warning sign that your body needs attention. Q: Why is it so common for performers — and the rest of us — to push through pain instead of allowing our bodies to recover? A: It comes down to culture. “No pain, no gain” is one of the most common beliefs in both the performing arts and everyday life — but it’s also one of the most harmful. Pushing through pain doesn’t make you stronger; it often leads to more serious injuries. Q: How can osteopathic medicine help prevent injuries and support recovery? A: Osteopathic medicine looks at the whole person — body, mind, and spirit. Rather than offering one-size-fits-all advice, we develop personalized recovery and prevention plans that help individuals heal, move well, and continue doing what they love. Q: What can the rest of us learn from performers about protecting our bodies? A: An effortless performance is built on grueling behind-the-scenes preparation. It serves as a powerful reminder for the rest of us to respect our physical limits and invest in regular recovery. Q: What’s one habit people can start today to help their bodies recover and perform at their best? A: Schedule recovery the same way you schedule work, rehearsals, or exercise. Set aside 15 to 20 minutes each day to stretch or intentionally rest. Treat recovery as a nonnegotiable investment in your health.

Q: What does recovery really mean, and why is it just as important as practicing your performing art? A: Imagine cutting down a tree with a hand axe. If you keep swinging without stopping, the blade dulls. If you pause to sharpen it, the work becomes easier. Recovery is sharpening the axe. It protects your body — your most important performance tool.

Q: What are the most common injuries you see among performers, and how can recovery help prevent them? A: Every performer has unique movement patterns, and their injuries reflect those demands. Ballerinas commonly develop foot injuries; pianists struggle with hand pain; and vocalists experience neck strain. Recovery helps the body adapt to these repetitive stresses before they become injuries. PROMOTION

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UNT Health Fort Worth Sajid A. Surve, DO, FAOCPMR, FAAO Founder, Performing Arts Medicine

3500 Camp Bowie Blvd. Fort Worth 76107 817.735.2455 unthealth.edu/pam

PROMOTION

Knowledge from the Experts HEALTHTALK

Why use robotic surgery for gynecologic cancer? Q: How does robotic surgery improve recovery for patients compared with open surgery? A: Robotic surgery offers a substantially improved recovery compared to open surgery, often allowing patients to safely return home the same day. We also use enhanced recovery techniques after surgery to maximize healing and minimize downtime. Q: Are there patients who may not realize they’re candidates for minimally invasive robotic procedures? A: Yes — many patients previously considered high-risk due to obesity, multiple prior surgeries, or complex medical conditions are now often able to safely receive minimally invasive robotic surgical procedures. Q: How has robotic technology changed what surgeons are able to do in difficult cancer cases? A: Because of the substantial improvement in high-definition 3D visualization of the abdominal cavity, we can frequently perform highly technical and complex procedures safely via the robotic approach. Q: What role does robotic surgery play in preserving quality of life after cancer treatment? A: Because robotic port incisions are small and recovery is faster, patients experience a rapid return to their normal quality of life, allowing them to quickly get back to what matters most.

Q: What is robotic surgery, and how is it different from traditional surgery? A: Robotic surgery is a type of minimally invasive surgery, similar to laparoscopic surgery, that has superior 3D visualization, highly precise instrument movements, and very fine motor controls to provide optimal operating conditions. Q: How is robotic surgery used to treat gynecologic cancers? A: Surgeons now widely use robotic-assisted techniques to treat many gynecologic cancers, both to remove visible tumors and to stage the

disease for microscopic spread. Q: Many patients hear the word “robotic” and feel nervous. What do you want patients to understand about the safety and precision of this approach? A: Rigorous clinical trials have validated this approach, ensuring both oncologic precision and patient safety. Furthermore, as with traditional procedures, a human surgeon is always physically present in the operating room, maintaining complete control over the entire system.

Q: As a robotic surgeon operating here in Fort Worth, what advancements in robotic surgery for gynecologic cancers are you most excited about right now? A: Multiple cutting-edge technologies are currently in development, and I’m particularly excited about new and advanced instrumentation, innovative imaging treatments that trace and expose cancer cells during surgery, and evolving techniques that allow us to safely and effectively treat increasingly complex cases.

UT Southwestern Simmons Cancer Center Steven Holloway, M.D. 400 W. Magnolia Ave. Fort Worth 76104 817.288.9788 utswmed.org/gyncancer-fw

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HEALTHTALK Knowledge from the Experts

PROMOTION

What are your legs trying to tell you? Q: Is vein disease more than a cosmetic concern? A: While many seek treatment for the appearance of spider or varicose veins, these are often outward signs of venous insufficiency. Addressing them early prevents progression to more serious symptoms like swelling, skin changes, or ulcers. Q: What symptoms should people pay attention to? A: Beyond visible veins, look for “heavy” legs at the end of the day, restless legs at night, or subtle swelling. If your legs feel tired even when you aren’t, it’s time for a consultation. Q: What can patients expect from treatment? A: We use minimally invasive, in-office procedures such as radiofrequency ablation or sclerotherapy. These treatments are quick, typically lasting under an hour, and involve minimal discomfort and recovery time. Q: How long is recovery? A: There is virtually no downtime. Most patients return to work and normal activities immediately. We simply advise avoiding flying and heavy lifting for a few days. Q: Who is most at risk? A: Factors include genetics, age, and lifestyle — specifically professions that require prolonged standing or sitting. Hormonal changes and pregnancy also play a significant role. Genetics are the most common factor. If your parents or grandparents had bad veins, chances are you will too. Q: When should someone start for healthier legs? A: Now. One of the most common things I hear from patients is, “I wish I had done this sooner.” Vein disease tends to progress over time, so addressing it early can help you feel better and protect your long-term vein health.

Photo Credits to Vein Treatment Clinic, powered by VIP Medical Group

Vein Treatment Clinic Q: When should someone see a vein specialist instead of waiting? A: If your leg veins are bothering you cosmetically, that alone is a valid reason to schedule a consultation and learn about your options. But if visible veins are paired with symptoms like heaviness, swelling, cramping, burning, itching, or

leg fatigue, it is especially important to be evaluated. These can be signs of an underlying circulation issue, and a vein specialist can determine the cause and recommend the right treatment path.

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Dr. James Chalk 3455 Locke Ave., Ste. 300 Fort Worth 76107 817.710.3845 veintreatmentclinic.com/ fortworth

PROMOTION

Knowledge from the Experts HEALTHTALK

Are your headaches being misdiagnosed? worsening symptoms should never be ignored—especially when they interfere with daily activities. Q: Why are so many headaches misdiagnosed? A: Studies suggest that up to 50% of headache sufferers are misdiagnosed. Many patients see multiple providers who may not specialize in headache medicine, leading to ineffective treatments and ongoing frustration. Q: How common are headaches, and should you worry? A: Headaches are one of the most common and disabling health conditions, affecting work, relationships, and quality of life. While occasional headaches may not be serious, recurring or

Q: What makes specialized headache care different? A: Specialized care focuses on identifying your exact headache type and tailoring treatment accordingly. Clinics like Cowtown Headache Center use evidence-based guidelines and

individualized plans based on your symptoms, medical history, and lifestyle. Q: Is long-term relief actually possible? A: Absolutely. With proper diagnosis and a personalized treatment plan, many patients experience significant improvement. The right approach focuses on managing the root cause— not just the pain—so you can regain control of your life.

CowTown Headache Center Peter O’Carroll, M.D. 4055 International Plaza Suite 660 Fort Worth 76109 817.592.8427 cowtownheadache.com

How does mental health stigma affect us all? Q: Is mental health different from physical health? A: We wouldn’t question someone for treating a broken bone or heart disease, but many hesitate to treat anxiety, depression, or other mental health conditions because they fear being judged. Mental health is an essential part of overall health and deserves the same compassion and care. Q: What does mental health stigma really look like? A: Most people think stigma is obvious, but it often appears in everyday conversations. Casual phrases like “I’m so OCD” or “she’s bipolar” can minimize real mental health conditions. Stigma also shows up through silence, judgment, or assumptions that make people afraid to ask for help.

Q: Who is affected by stigma? A: Stigma reaches beyond the individual. It impacts families, caregivers, and entire communities. It can also come from within, causing people to believe they should “just be stronger” instead of seeking support. Social media, cultural beliefs, and attitudes can reinforce these misconceptions.

Q: How can we help end stigma? A: Conversations matter. Choosing respectful language, learning facts, listening without judgment, and encouraging help create a culture of hope. Replacing assumptions with understanding makes it easier for everyone to reach out, recover, and thrive. Sometimes stigma is the story we tell ourselves — that asking for help means we’ve failed. The truth is that seeking help is an act of courage, not weakness. Help Support Mental Health with NAMIWalks on Oct. 10, 2026, at McKnight Park in Mansfield. Walking off stigma!

NAMI Tarrant County (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Angela Smith

Executive Director

817.332.6677 namitarrant.org

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HEALTHTALK Knowledge from the Experts

PROMOTION

Could hospice help your family? Q: What types of services are provided by hospice? A: Hospice is an interdisciplinary type of care, which means that it’s not centered around the care team, but around YOU. The RN case manager manages the care as a whole, along with the physician, nurse practitioner, chaplain, social worker, volunteer, and more. But it all revolves around the patient’s and families’ goals of care. Q: When is the right time for hospice care? A: Medicare defines hospice readiness as being when a person has a life expectancy of six months or less if the disease follows its normal course. What we often say at VNA is “what are your goals?” If one goal is to avoid unnecessary or undesired hospitalizations, that is often a great way to start the hospice discussion with your doctor.

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Q: Can I keep my doctor while on hospice care? A: Yes, every patient can choose an “attending” physician to work with our hospice doctor and team. You would simply identify that doctor at the time of hospice enrollment.

Q: What if we are struggling with a severe illness but are still pursuing treatment? A: VNA of Texas has another type of program called Supportive Palliative Care (Care Choices), that might be appropriate for those who need more support and healthcare navigation but are not ready or need hospice care. It can be a big help to the patient and family when serious illness is a factor.

The Visiting Nurse Association Olivia Rogers

RN, BSN, CHPN, MBA - Vice President, Chief Nursing Officer

2821 West Seventh St., Ste. 290 Fort Worth 76107 817.745.5045 vnatexas.org

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DREAM HOME

2026

George and Apollo

A chance to meet Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

by Brian Kendall

Meet-and-greet with the Pittsburgh Steelers

The Literal Dream Fulfillers

A milestone year for a Wish with Wings gets a little star power from the world’s biggest YouTuber.

Wish with Wings, a local nonprofit that serves as the main benefactor of the Fort Worth Magazine Dream Home tour, has had a landmark year that began with a historic milestone and culminated in a blockbuster partnership. In other words, the charity that grants wishes to North Texas children fighting life-threatening medical conditions is running on all cylinders and putting in a little overtime to boot. Over the course of three months in mid-2026, YouTube megastar MrBeast helped fulfill 100 wishes to children across the country battling cancer — quite the altruistic deed. To accomplish this goal, the famed YouTuber partnered with local wish-granting nonprofits. And of the 100 wishes, 10 were granted through Fort Worth-based a Wish with Wings. Putting his substantial clout behind the project, MrBeast and a Wish with Wings fulfilled some pretty jaw-dropping wishes to young Texans and their families, including a Disney-themed trip to Hawaii for a private “Moana” event that included

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a chance to meet Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, a meet-and-greet with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and a hangout with South Korean K-pop boy band Stray Kids. “If we had been doing it on our own, it probably never would’ve happened,” says Judy Youngs, executive director of a Wish with Wings. “But the MrBeast name carries a lot of weight.” And on-site for every granted wish was MrBeast himself — akin to meeting John Wayne in the ’50s, for our analog-era readers. The children, Youngs says, had no idea the celebrity YouTuber would be in attendance. “When they met MrBeast for the first time, it was totally a shock to them,” Youngs says. “And you can see these kids screaming, and some of them are crying. The response was just incredible. And [MrBeast] is unbelievable. He has so much energy and truly enjoys helping others.” Jimmy Donaldson (aka “MrBeast”) is a 28-year-old YouTuber with over halfa-billion subscribers to his channel — one of the most popular channels on the platform. While known for videos that include elaborate challenges and extravagant giveaways, philanthropy is a recurring theme throughout his content. According to a September 2025 article in Fortune, through his nonprofit Beast Philanthropy, Donaldson has amassed a charitable output that includes $300 million in food, $5 million in aid to Ukrainian refugees, $500,000 in school supplies and technology, 2,000 prosthetics, 100 cleft palate surgeries, and 600 e-bikes for people in need. MrBeast and his team first contacted a Wish with Wings earlier this year with a simple proposition: help identify children battling cancer whose wishes could be fulfilled as part of a new philanthropic initiative. Youngs admits the initial outreach raised a few eyebrows. “Honestly, when they first contacted us, we really weren’t sure that it wasn’t a scam,” Youngs says. “I’m of a certain age that I had no clue who MrBeast was.” After several Zoom

meetings, the organization realized the offer was genuine. Working alongside Beast Philanthropy, a Wish with Wings identified 10 Texas children whose wishes fit the project’s criteria while MrBeast’s team handled much of the celebrity coordination. The nonprofit arranged travel, lodging, and other logistics before fronting the costs, which were later reimbursed through the partnership. It takes a lot — time, people, money, resources, coordination — to fulfill these wishes and bring smiles to the faces of the children and their families. Since 2013, Fort Worth Magazine has partnered with a Wish with Wings for the annual Dream Home tour, which showcases the latest in homebuilding and design from some of the industry’s best. This year’s Dream Home, built by Tyler Brabec of Brabec Custom Homes with interior design by Susan Semmelmann of Semmelmann Interiors, brings a Mediterranean design to the Aledo River neighborhood. The stunning build will be open for touring from Oct. 31 to Nov. 15, and ticket sales benefit a Wish with Wings. Far from a novice to the wishgranting business, a Wish with Wings has been around since 1982 and fulfilled its 2,000th wish last October. “Now we’re well beyond that 2,000 mark,” Youngs says. “And that wish, the 2,000th wish, was for a young boy here in Fort Worth who had been diagnosed with leukemia. And his wish was for a puppy.” Getting to meet the always affable and lovable Willie the Wish Dog, the boy, George, naturally wished for a dog just like Willie — a goldendoodle. A Wish with Wings got to work partnering with Willie’s own responsible breeder to deliver George the ideal puppy. When George received his wish, he decided to name the young goldendoodle Apollo, after the Greek god of healing.

For more information and updates on the 2026 Fort Worth Magazine Dream Home, visit 2026dreamhomealedoriver.com

Development

Aledo River

Homebuilder

Brabec Custom Homes

Interior Designer

Semmelmann Interiors

Tour Sponsors

Autobahn First Financial Bank

Key Partners Appliances

The Jarrell Co.

Architectural Plans

Elm Residential

Beams

Green Valley Beam & Truss Co

Cabinets Kitchen

The Kitchen Source

Cabinets (other)

Renova Custom Woodworks

Countertop Fabrication

Set in Stone

Countertop Materials

KLZ Stone

Door Front

Durango Doors

Doors Interior

Henson Lumber

Drywall

Alliance Drywall

Fireplaces

Metro Brick and Stone Co.

Flooring Materials & Labor (wood and carpet)

Vintage Floors + Finishes

Garage Doors and Openers

Open Up Garage Doors

Garage Epoxy Coating

Premier Custom Floors

Glass (all glass)

Fashion Glass & Mirror

Gutters Hardware HVAC (materials and labor) Insulation Landscaping Lighting Fixtures Low Voltage/AV/Security Lumber and Trusses Mattresses

Loveless Modern Gutters Ricks Hardware Performance Heat & Air New Leaf Foam Insulation MDM Landscapes Ferguson The Otium Group Day Lumber Company The Original Mattress Factory

Outdoor Design

Blount Designs

Paint Material

Sherwin-Williams

Plumbing Fixtures Pool Roofing Stone (natural) Stucco Tile Material Trash Removal Windows and Doors Exterior

Ferguson Claffey Pools Red Barn Roofing Texas Stone Creations Precision Finishes Stucco & Stone DalTile Waste Advantage RAM Windows & Doors

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Bringing Your Vision to Life For more than a decade, MDM Landscapes has been transforming North Texas properties through thoughtful design, expert craftsmanship, and an unwavering commitment to doing every project right. Every exceptional outdoor space begins the same way, not with a blueprint or a shovel, but with a conversation. For MDM Landscapes, the most important part of any project happens long before construction begins. It starts by listening. Understanding how a family wants to live outdoors, how they entertain, what inspires them, and how they want to experience their home beyond its walls is the foundation of every successful landscape. “Anyone can install plants, stone, and

irrigation. Our job is to first understand how our clients want to experience their outdoor space. Once we understand that, everything else falls into place.” That philosophy has become the cornerstone of MDM Landscapes’ approach. No two clients are alike, and neither are the landscapes they dream of creating. Whether it’s a peaceful backyard retreat, an inviting outdoor living space for entertaining, or a complete transformation that enhances the beauty and value of a home, MDM believes the best results come from collaboration. Our team takes the time to understand each client’s goals before developing a customized design that balances aesthetics, functionality, and long-term sustainability.

The experience begins the moment you arrive home. Long before family and guests step through the front door, the landscape has already told a story. A thoughtfully designed entry, healthy trees, vibrant seasonal color, elegant lighting, and carefully crafted hardscapes create a sense of arrival that enhances both the home’s architecture and its curb appeal. It’s the first impression visitors remember—and one homeowners have the privilege of enjoying every day. From the initial consultation through design, installation, and ongoing landscape care, communication remains at the center of every project. Clients aren’t simply presented with a plan; they’re guided through the process, ensuring every detail reflects their vision while

benefiting from the expertise and craftsmanship MDM has developed over years of experience. While trends in outdoor living continue to evolve, MDM understands that great landscapes are never built around trends alone. They’re built around the people who will enjoy them every day. The result is an outdoor environment that feels personal, timeless, and uniquely suited to the way each client lives. At MDM Landscapes, success isn’t measured simply by the completion of a project. It’s measured by the moment our clients pull into their driveway, step outside, and realize the vision they imagined has become a reality— creating a place they’re proud to call home for years to come.

Exceptional LANDSCAPES. THOUGHTFULLY designed . Expertly BUILT. 12735 FM 4, Godley, TX 76044 | www.mdmlawncare.com | 817-396-0125

SNAPS

PA R T Y P I C S

Mayor Mattie Parker Christy Jack, Audrey Hatcher, Emrey Mullins, Melody McDonald Lanier

Detavious Hill

Phil Farco, Steve Farco

photos by Asia Eidson with Photobyjoy

Best Companies Fort Worth Inc. magazine

Amy Longspaugh

ort Worth Inc. hosted four dozen companies and their team members for lunch Aug. 13 at River Ranch in the Stockyards to honor this year’s Best Companies To Work for in Fort Worth. Varghese Summersett served as presenting sponsor.Curtis Needs a Ride, serving as MC, cracked guests up. Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker delivered remarks. Guests lunched on herb-crusted chicken breast with a lemon-garlic butter sauce, partnered with whipped mashed potatoes and asparagus. Dessert, worth every calorie and extra steps, featured raspberry cheesecake or chocolate ganache cake. To all these great companies, we say congratulations and onward.

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Reilly Freeman, Courtney Tate

PROMOTION

WHY IS ONE ROOM ALWAYS HOTTER THAN THE REST OF THE HOUSE?

Performance Heat and Air explains what causes stubborn hot spots and why a mini-split system may be the solution. By Olivia Sims

If one room in your home always feels warmer than the rest, you’re not imagining it—and you don’t have to live with it. According to Kyle Lane, owner of Performance Heat and Air, uneven temperatures are one of the most common concerns homeowners face. While many assume it’s simply part of the home’s design, the real cause is often something that can be corrected. “A lot of people think they need a brandnew system when the real issue is airflow,” Lane said. “You have to look at the entire picture before recommending a solution.” An HVAC system relies on properly

designed ductwork to deliver conditioned air throughout the home. Ducts that are undersized, poorly routed, or leaking can prevent cool air from reaching certain rooms. Dirty filters, blocked vents, and aging attic insulation can also contribute. Second-story bedrooms, rooms above garages, and additions often present the biggest challenges. Warm air naturally rises, and many additions were built after the original HVAC system was installed, stretching it beyond its intended capacity. Large windows and afternoon sun make these spaces even harder to cool during North Texas summers. Rather than recommending unnecessary equipment, Performance Heat and Air evaluates each home individually. “We really try to understand what’s happening before telling someone what they need,” Lane said. “Every house has its own story.” For rooms where modifying ductwork

isn’t practical, a mini-split system can help. Operating independently of traditional ductwork, mini-splits provide precise temperature control in spaces like bonus rooms, garages, and home offices, while improving energy efficiency by cooling only the spaces in use. Schedule a professional home comfort evaluation with Performance Heat and Air to identify the source of uneven temperatures. Call today or visit PerformanceHeatAndAir.com.

Performance Heat and Air — Keeping North Texas Comfortable Since 2010 | 817-477-1000

GIVE BACK GREATER FORT WORTH’S CHARITY/SOCIAL EVENTS Sept. 4

Style Show John Wayne: An American Experience American Cancer Society

Sept. 10

Sept. 19

Sept. 11

Sept. 24

Sept. 12

National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month

Paddle Battle Pickleball Tournament Courtside Kitchen Lighthouse School of Fort Worth

Bird Bam Bash Mahjong Party The Women’s Center The Women’s Center Wild Game Dinner Fort Worth Club Ronald McDonald House of Fort Worth

SEPTEMBER

Sept. 17

Safe City Party Private Residence One Safe Place Faces of Dementia Fort Worth Museum of Science and History Dementia Friendly Fort Worth

Hecho en Fort Worth Gala Fort Worth Convention Center Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber

Sept. 24

Sept. 16

Hearts of Gold Dinner and Auction Cullen Yard Rutledge Cancer Foundation

Dinner Under the Stars Cullen Yards Rivertree Academy

Sept. 24

Signature Chefs Simmons Bank Pavillion - Dickies Arena March of Dimes

Sept. 25

Cowtown Ball TBD American Cancer Society

Sept. 26

Rise Rally & Red Shoe Cook-Off Martin House Brewing Co. Ronald McDonald House of Fort Worth

Sept. 26

Mad Scientist Ball Fort Worth Museum of Science and History Fort Worth Museum of Science and History

Sept. 26

Alliance For Children LIVE! Tannahill’s Alliance For Children

Heart Walk The Shops at Clearfork American Heart Association

Sept. 24

Sept. 30

30th Anniversary Celebration The Ashton Depot Community Healthcare of Texas

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The good you make possible today shapes North Texas tomorrow Since 1981, NTCF has been your foundation for good — connecting donors to the causes that matter most and turning one-time gifts into compounding impact.

E X P L O R E T H E I M P A C T at N O R T H T E X A S C F . O R G

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Michael Perez, Laura Harrison and Marty Leonard at the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge

Ketch Weaver really knows how to work a rope, expertly swinging, looping, and wielding the coils of braided hide to his every whim. The professional trick roper and pickup man has a way of drawing nearly every spectator’s eye with his air-cutting moves. At the very least, he caught the attention of photographer Andrew Fisher, who snapped this shot during one of Cowtown Coliseum’s staple rodeos. A Las Vegas resident and active-duty Air Force member, Fisher was in town traveling. And as a part-time professional photographer with a special interest in Western photography, he rarely finds himself on such trips without his camera in hand. Something about the light illuminating the dust and haze of the coliseum during one of Weaver’s trick-rope segments drew Fisher in like a moth to a flame. The result was this cinematic capture — one of many that has Fisher seriously considering a full-time move to Cowtown to quench his creative hankerings.

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@andrewfisher7 PHOTO BY ANDREW FISHER

We Drive the Difference The Gilchrist Valet Service: • Online or over-the-phone sales purchase and delivery • Service pick-up and delivery

Experience the Gilchrist Difference:

• Family owned and operated • Purchase process tailored to your needs • Three stores to choose from where each General Manager personally assists you • Customer relationships do not end with the sale • Each experience is special when you work with Gilchrist Automotive

Platinum Ford | platinumford.com | 469.595.0099  Platinum Ford North | platinumfordnorth.com | 940.686.2236 SouthWest Ford | southwestford.com | 817.596.5700  Triple Crown Ford | triplecrownford.com | 254.968.7000 Jonathan Franco, GM, Platinum Ford North; Dustin Rodgers, GM, Triple Crown Ford, Stephenville; (front row) Stephen Gilchrist, Dealer Operator; Adam Vincze; (not pictured) Chris Bonnett, GM, SouthWest Ford, Weatherford.