Meador Staffing 50th Anniversary Commemorative Magazine

50 YEARS OF MEADOR STAFFING SERVICES • PASADENA, TEXAS

MEA

DOR

With Gratitude “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” Prov. 3:5, 6 Fifty years ago, Gene Brady and I stepped out of comfortable, secure positions with a well-established company to enter the uncertain world of small business ownership.

We had come to a crossroads. Gene worked for Diamond Shamrock’s Greens Bayou plant and was once my boss. I worked in personnel at Diamond Shamrock-Deer Park. Both of us had been offered promotions that would have moved us to other parts of the country. I had been asked to consider a new position in California; Gene was likely headed to Ohio.

We talked things over as we drove home from the State Republican Convention in Dallas one weekend. “If you find out what you want to do, give me a call,” Gene said before dropping me off at my house around six o’clock that night.

Two hours later, I made the call.

“Gene, I’ve got a crazy idea that you and I should open up an employment agency in Pasadena,” I told him.

The doors of Meador-Brady Personnel Services, Inc. opened at 1414 Southmore Ave., just east of Strawberry Rd., on December 11, 1968.

From that day to this, there’s never been a day I have regretted that decision. It was the right move with the right partner at the right time. Looking back, I see God’s providential hand in it, guiding and directing us as we stayed true to our convictions and acted with integrity.

I see His blessing, too, for how does a young man from South Houston, Texas, establish a nationally respected, forward-thinking, award-winning company in any industry without His help?

Gene and I were business partners until 1986, and friends until his death just a few years ago. I’ll always treasure our close relationship.

I will also cherish and value the dedication and commitment on the part of our many employees through the years who have contributed to our success. They are the real difference-makers in our story of 50 years.

On the occasion of Meador Staffing’s Fiftieth Anniversary, I am delighted to share our wonderful story with you and recognize several important friends who stood with me—and with the great City of Pasadena and southeast Harris County—along the way. I have grown and flourished in this town and in the company of these wonderful individuals. What an amazing journey it has been for Janice and me!

Thank you for celebrating the longevity of Meador Staffing with us. Though the years have passed quickly, the memories of many happy adventures and dear friendships have not diminished.

—Ben F. Meador, Jr. Chairman & CEO

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MEADOR STAFFING SERVICES A HALF CENTURY OF EXCELLENCE! Chad Burke President & CEO Economic Alliance Houston Port Region

Bob Mitchell President Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership

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The date–1968. The place–Pasadena, Texas. The need

the southeast population needed top-notch healthcare

to be met–how to match rapidly growing Houston area

facilities, too. Pasadena’s Bayshore Hospital was there to

companies with the most qualified and best-suited

answer the need, and it was expanding right along with

employees to reliably and consistently place the right

the growing population. In fact, all the local hospital

people in the right jobs. All these dynamics converged to

systems are still expanding today, and their staffing

create the leading staffing provider in the United States,

requirements are evolving with technology. The shift to

Meador-Brady Personnel Services, Inc., and today, Meador

electronic medical records, for instance, has led to the

Staffing Services is celebrating its 50th year of success!

need for medical administrative professionals.

The year 1968 was a heady time for Pasadena and

These three industries–aerospace, petrochemicals and

for the Houston, Texas, region. Johnny and Tammy were

healthcare–are just examples of the bigger economic base

belting out Folsom Prison Blues and Stand by Your Man on

that has emerged in the southeast Houston region over the

the car radios at Ritzee Hamburgers, and Steve McQueen’s

past 50 years, and Meador Staffing Services has been there

Bullitt was showing at the movies.

all along to serve the needs of this growing employment

Pasadena’s population and that of the greater Houston

base. All you need to do is look at the list of positions

region were mushrooming. New businesses were flocking

Meador fills today, and you can see how the company has

to the area, and a boomtown atmosphere permeated

evolved over the years to keep abreast of current needs.

the busy streetscapes. People were moving to this part

Meador now has matching relationships with

of Texas from every state in the union, and out-of-state

industry partners that require a wide array of employee

bumper stickers were commonplace. Even Interstate 45–

skill sets from professional jobs, to accounting and

the Gulf Freeway–was being expanded!

finance, to engineering, information technology, web

The 5th Dimension proclaimed it was the dawning

and graphic design, to human resources, marketing,

of the age of Aquarius, and, over at the nearby Johnson

office/clerical, light industrial, manufacturing, medical

Space Center, NASA was well on its way towards

(administrative), and to legal (professional and

accomplishing its mission of “landing a man on the

administrative) positions.

Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” Houston

In addition to building a successful staffing agency

being named as Mission Control and home to human

and business, it’s important to note that Ben Meador

spaceflight meant the beginning of a huge aerospace

has been busy founding and growing organizations

industry cluster–along with the high-paying and

that support the region’s economy, like the Economic

intellectual engineering, technical, and information

Alliance Houston Port Region, the Bay Area Houston

technology jobs it required.

Economic Partnership, and the Pasadena Second Century

Things were more than stirring in the industrial sector, too. Since 1965, the City of Houston had been

Corporation that have served Pasadena so well.

Meador Staffing Services’ culture of service,

locked in a bitter annexation lawsuit with the City

leadership by example, and engagement to support

of Pasadena over a very strategically located piece of

the region have been hallmarks of its existence. These

land. Pasadena prevailed in the suit (in 1969), and the

hallmarks are highlighted by its many volunteers for

stage was set for the creation of the Bayport Industrial

events, leaders of committees, participation and financial

District on this land. Bayport and the entire Houston

support for events that benefit the region and Meador.

Ship Channel region have grown into the world’s largest

So, we send hearty congratulations and a happy

petrochemical complex, surpassing Rotterdam in 2018,

50th anniversary of success to Meador Staffing Services!

with the shift in global dynamics and the startup of

Here’s to the next 50 years and to the jobs it will

multiple world-scale ethane cracker units. This region’s

create: supersonic jet transporters out of the Houston

petrochemical industry and the many support companies

Spaceport, new synthetic composite material specialists in

that serve it have been at the core of Meador Staffing

Bayport, and emergency medical holographic computer

Services ever since Ben Meador left the old Diamond

programmers–the sky isn’t even the limit.

Alkali plant on Tidal Road in Deer Park.

Oh, and let’s not forget the next-generation cement

In the late 1960’s, a third important industry sector

specialists who will still be needed to further expand

was beginning to bloom locally. Despite the wonderful

Interstate 45. We’re sure Meador Staffing Services will be

things going on at the Texas Medical Center in Houston,

there to meet these needs just as capably as always!

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“Commit your actions to the Lord and your plans will succeed.”

Prov. 16:3

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Wow, what a ride!

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7

Meador Staffing Services This Pasadena Icon was Founded on Old-Fashion Values and Integrity

By Terry Brotherton

Core values. Community service. Giving back to your community. At Meador Staffing Services, these qualities permeate. It’s expected and it’s been going on for 50 years.

Not only is it expected, it’s part of the DNA of the company. Rare qualities that don’t just magically happen. They are groomed from years of observation and being raised to live those qualities.

Meador Staffing founder and CEO, Ben F. Meador, Jr., grew up in South Houston, Texas, the son of Reba and Ben Frank Meador, Sr., owners of a general merchandise and grocery store. Ben’s dad was thrust into business at the tender age of 17 following his father’s death.

As Ben was growing up and also when he worked for his dad, he was exposed to the quiet, gentle and generous community leader his dad was. Mr. Frank, as Ben’s dad was known, laid out the original streets of South Houston, or Dumont, as it was known back then.

In the 1920’s, Mr. Frank was a school board member and was instrumental in bringing South Houston into Pasadena ISD. Mr. Frank also gave back to his community by becoming a South Houston City Councilman and Mayor of South Houston in the late 1940’s, all while growing his business to become one of the largest grocers in the southeast part of the county.

Ben was exposed to other business and community leaders, including his uncles, as they would regularly meet at his dad’s store to discuss current events of the city.

When not in school, Ben worked for his dad at the store and also helped build a fence for the family cattle herd. Mr. Frank got to the store at 6 a.m. every morning. No matter how busy he would get, he always found time, quietly and without fanfare, to make sure the needy were taken care of.

Ben’s dad also found time to be the longtime treasurer of his church.

He was an active member of the South Houston Lion’s Club and was instrumental in the Lion’s Club pet project, Camp Kids for the visionimpaired, by collecting used eye glasses.

Ben’s love for athletics began at an early age. A record-setting 45-point basketball game at South Houston Junior High propelled Ben to a lifelong involvement in football, basketball, baseball and track.

At Pasadena High, Ben played all sports and was a prominent member of Pasadena High’s 1957 State Championship Track team. Ben never forgot the on-field leadership of his track coaches, Allan Brown and Harry Morgan, who stressed hard work and teamwork while striving for team goals. A lesson learned and implemented at Meador Staffing to this day.

Ben remembers how Coach Brown loved his young athletes. Years later, after Meador Staffing was formed, Coach Morgan and Coach Stoney Phillips came by to give Ben a congratulatory visit.

Ben took his love of sports to the ultimate level for the Pasadena

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Terry Brotherton

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“Where there is no vision, the people perish.”

Prov. 29:18

community 15 years ago when he spearheaded the Pasadena ISD McDonald’s Texas Invitational basketball tournament and made it into the premier preseason high school basketball tournament not only in the state but the nation.

With Ben as chairman and many Meador Staffing employees working year-round, the annual event attracts more than 400 local volunteers for the three-day event that has raised over $2.38 million for the Pasadena and Deer Park ISD Education Foundations.

As if that wasn’t enough, Ben was also one of the founders and vice-chairman of the Pasadena ISD Athletics Hall of Fame and Museum, formed several years ago to honor special Pasadena ISD athletes and coaches.

Three of Ben’s former coaches who instilled in him the value and importance of hard work and teamwork, Stoney Phillips, Allan Brown and Harry Morgan, have been inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame, as well as the 1957 State Championship track team that Ben was on.

Funds raised at the annual banquet also go to the Pasadena and Deer Park ISD Education Foundations.

Putting Down Roots in Pasadena

After high school, Ben was hired by Sheffield Steel as a cost accountant. Always wanting to be in personnel, Ben interviewed for the personnel department at Diamond Alkali.

At Diamond, Ben met Fred Gray, who was the regional human resources director for the Deer Park plant.

Fred was a well-known community leader in Pasadena.

Fred became another one of Ben’s mentors who believed and insisted on giving back to the community you work in.

An associate of Ben’s at Diamond was Gene Brady. Gene was the Human Resource Manager at Diamond’s Greens Bayou Plant. Gene had served at Diamond for 14 years and Ben was completing his fifth year with the company when

both Ben and Gene were offered promotions and transfers.

Ben was offered a position in California and Gene was offered a position in Ohio.

Both made the decision not to accept the promotions and, at that time, decided to start their own business in Pasadena.

Personality wise, Ben and Gene were polar opposites, but immediately hit it off and by 1968 formed Meador-Brady Personnel Services at 1414 Southmore Ave. with Pasadena banking legend and community leader Buddy Jones helping to cut the ribbon.

Ben and Gene knew the plants around Pasadena and the channel area, which paid off big time. They became so successful that they eventually took over the entire building on Southmore Ave. A second office in 1972 proved they were on to something, and eventually they built the business into 12 locations. During this rapid growth period, Ben and Gene still managed to get Meador-Brady Personnel Services involved in the community through chamber involvement, Rotary and many other ways.

Gene always had a passion for motorcycles and turned that passion into a cause to study pediatric brain tumors, in which he conducted fundraising motorcycle rides.

An opportunity to acquire a Honda dealership in Pasadena was taken advantage of and Pasadena Honda was formed. Years later, the longtime friends and business partners saw the advantage of separating the two businesses. Gene took over sole ownership of Pasadena Honda and Ben stayed with the personnel business, now Meador Staffing.

Both stayed active in the community and worked on community projects together. Ben proudly states that after 16 years in business together, they never had an argument.

Before his death, Gene, a smart, driven and principled man, built Pasadena Honda into one of the largest motorcycle dealerships in the southwest part of the United States.

During the 1970’s, Ben met and became close friends with four very important community leaders. Don Carpenter, of Kosse, Texas, was District Manager for Southwestern Bell Telephone and a very influential figure in southeast Harris

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From left: John Phelps, Don Carpenter, Bill Bailey, Ben Meador, John Moon These five men were past recipients of the Pasadena Citizen of the Year award.

County politics; John Phelps, also from Kosse, who was building his State Farm Agency into what would become the largest in the nation; Galena Park’s Bill Bailey, who was a radio personality and helped build Pasadena’s KIKK into a national country music powerhouse; and Arkansastransplant John Moon, a successful banker who had purchased Pasadena National Bank.

Not only did these five men become fast friends, they also saw a need for the communities in the Ship Channel area to band together for the common good and benefit of all. With that goal in mind, these five community leaders were the force behind the formation of South East Economic Development, or SEED. Their visionary footprint led SEED to later become the Economic Alliance Houston Port Region,

a powerhouse in the promotion of economic development in this area.

With John Phelps’ chamber connections, John Moon as a financial and transportation guru, Don Carpenter’s political connections and Bill Bailey’s rodeo and radio connections, these five helped showcase the port region area.

When you see the expansion of the east part of the Beltway through Pasadena, Highway 225 business development, Highway 146 business development, and the incredible business opportunities along the Port of Houston, one wonders what it would be if not for these big thinking community involved leaders. Each of these five men are past recipients of the Pasadena Citizen of the Year award.

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Building On Biblical Principles

A deeply spiritual man, Ben Meador grew up at Faith Methodist Church in South Houston where his dad was treasurer and a longtime member of the Administration Board.

Ben joined First United Methodist in Pasadena in 1962.

Always involved in athletics, Ben played on the church basketball team, and with that team started a small Sunday school Bible class that eventually grew to 125 members.

In his Bible class, Ben stressed several biblical principles such as: Be Bold About What You Believe; Never Compromise Your Principles; and Never Miss An Opportunity to Influence a Person’s Life. These principles have been adopted by Meador Staffing and remain as an important cog to Meador Staffing involvement in the community for the past 50 years.

Ben was blessed with a future lifetime partner in business and community involvement when he first met Janice at Meador-Brady in 1972. Whether his involvement with the Pasadena Plan, the Chamber, SEED or the huge undertaking of the Texas Invitational, Janice is always there and fully backs every involvement.

Janice served as secretary of almost every organization that Ben was involved in, and actually served for two years as the Executive Director of the Texas Association of Personnel Consultants (TAPC).

Meador Staffing employees accept the core values that the company was formed on. They thrive on them. Each location takes an active role in the community it is located in. These core values make Meador Staffing a wonderful place to work, as evidenced by the fact that there are roughly 15 employees with more than 20 years and over 25 with more than 10 years

at Meador Staffing, including several that have been there 30 years or more and one over 40 years.

Giving back is also an accepted principle by Meador Staffing employees. Ben’s daughter, Melinda Torrison, is the future chairman of the Pasadena Chamber, Rita Townsend was the year-round go-to person for the McDonald’s Texas Invitational for 13 years, and Darla Haygood, who has been with Meador over 40 years, was named the Pasadena Chamber’s Citizen of the Year several years ago.

Meador Staffing is the only personnel company to have four of its employees named president of the Texas Association of Personnel Consultants. Remarkable indeed.

If ever there was a blueprint for success and community involvement, a budding young entrepreneur should live the model of Meador Staffing and its core values: 1. Believe that everything we do matters 2. Is always in pursuit of and seeking to achieve goals 3. Has a heart for the people and the community 4. Strives to always be a positive and optimistic team player 5. Understands the value of reputation Congratulations, Meador Staffing! 50 years of business.

50 years of community service. 50 years of living your core values. Honor well deserved.

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From left: Ben, Janice, Trey, Melinda, Ryan, Morgan

Individualism may win trophies but teamwork wins championships. –Ben

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“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.�

James 1:5

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A Legacy of Leadership

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Saluting Pasadena’s

Legacy of Leadership

By Cristina Womack President/CEO Pasadena Chamber of Commerce

As president and chief executive officer of the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce, I enjoy an advantageous position from which to observe leaders in action.

I came to the chamber first as a volunteer and hired on six years later, in 2014.

From the outset I was told there were a few key individuals I needed to meet with, beginning with Ben Meador.

That meeting was the perfect start to my new career. Ben graciously told me the history of Pasadena and the chamber and sent me off in the right direction.

Ben Meador has been a part of nearly everything important in Pasadena for more than 50 years. Meador-Brady Personnel Services, and now Meador Staffing, has been a member of the Pasadena Chamber for all those 50 years, one of only 15 companies or organizations to be engaged with the chamber for that length of time, and only one of seven small businesses.

When a small business stays involved and committed to the community for 50 years, it’s making a significant statement about what it considers important.

Pasadena Chamber of Commerce meeting.

I’ve been told that Ben’s dad, Frank, once told Ben his first check as a businessman should be to the chamber. Ben has been known to give the same advice to entrepreneurs and new business owners himself.

Certainly Ben got involved on day one. He donated his time to serve on membership drives, ribbon cuttings and fundraisers, then served on countless committees focused on advocacy efforts, infrastructure and more before joining the chamber’s board of directors.

He was chamber board chair in 1984 and 1985, something not done before or since. Directors, including Southwestern Bell Telephone’s Don Carpenter, wanted to see more stability from year to year so on-going initiatives would not be disrupted. Ben claims he missed the directors’ meeting when his name was put forward for a second term.

Those were important years with significant projects on the line, a time when the chamber needed Ben’s leadership skills. He stepped up when the chamber called.

Being willing to serve others when needed is an important ingredient good leaders have in common.

Five Great Leaders

When leaders come together with a vision and right motives, the impact can be felt across an entire community.

It was through the chamber that Ben grew strong relationships with other Pasadena icons John Moon, John Phelps, Don Carpenter and Bill Bailey.

Each of these men were outstanding professionals in their own companies and spheres of influence. Each possessed unique skills and perspectives.

And working together, there was little they couldn’t accomplish. They did not sit around and share stories and complain. They identified problems and recommended solutions. They provided action and resources, and stayed around to follow up until the problem was solved.

These leaders left their mark on projects from transportation and infrastructure, to attracting and recruiting businesses, to developing initiatives that improved the city, making it a better place for families as well as businesses.

“The Five,” as they have been called, were an integral part of the major civic achievements of their generation.

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Cristina Womack

Not surprisingly, these men were each Pasadena Citizens of the Year recipients.

They got behind—quietly and not so quietly—the push to assure that Beltway 8 included an exit at Fairmont Parkway in Pasadena. Sales tax revenues generated by businesses along Fairmont and the Beltway are a tremendous boost to the city to this day.

They presented the concept of a one-cent sales tax for economic development and police needs to area residents.

The measure passed and became the Second Century Corp, now the Pasadena Economic Development Corp, providing millions of dollars each year to street and infrastructure

improvements, business retention efforts, as well as attracting new companies to choose Pasadena.

The Regional Urban Designers Assistance Team (RUDAT), a community planning process, originated with a proposal from Ben Meador through the Pasadena Chamber in the mid-1980s. The familiar names—Meador, Carpenter, Moon and Phelps—got behind the idea, gathered vital input from local residents and businesses, and saw many of those recommendations implemented as The Pasadena Plan over the next decade.

The Pasadena Plan might have remained on a shelf had not Ben, Don Carpenter and John Phelps chaired a committee to provide needed oversight and accountability.

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Regional Impact

Community service is “top down” at Meador Staffing. Ben sets the example and encourages his entire team at every location to get involved.

Every chamber of commerce needs the talents and abilities of great leaders. The Pasadena Chamber has been blessed to have had an abundance over the last half century.

And it’s not just Pasadena that has benefited from Meador’s legacy of leadership.

When asking my chamber colleagues about the impact Meador Staffing has had among their organizations, it was unanimous the level of respect and gratitude we all feel about the involvement Meador plays in each of the chambers respectively.

Not only has Meador sustained membership in numerous chambers, but the entire staff engages in serving the communities in which they work and live. Often chambers discover companies that can offer leadership, financial contributions or volunteer service, but rarely does it find one that provides all three. That’s exactly what Meador Staffing is known for today across the southeast region, the state and nation.

My chamber colleagues used words like generous, reliable, supportive, professional and faithful to describe the team at Meador. They are Christ-centered, visionary leaders with a contagious energy and enthusiasm to achieve goals.

True Leadership

A true leader is someone who can mobilize people around a common goal. It is a person who is able to respect the differences among stakeholders, who can listen to many objectives and create a workable plan that has consensus.

Certainly that describes the capable leaders Pasadena has enjoyed these past 50 years.

A true leader is one who brings along a younger generation to succeed him or her, too.

I think of the legacy Ben Meador has provided his daughter, Melinda Torrison. With her father’s guiding hand, Melinda has flourished at Meador Staffing, rising to become its president and chief operating officer. She now serves on the Pasadena Chamber’s board of directors executive committee and is poised to become its chair in 2020, following in her father’s footsteps.

John Phelps is gone now, but son Ken continues his father’s famous generosity in big and small ways throughout the community, and is making enormous contributions to the chamber’s revitalized educational program for developing leaders who want to make an impact on Pasadena. Ken will pass the gavel to Melinda after having taken his turn at the helm, chairing the chamber in 2019.

Ken also chaired the Deer Park Chamber years ago.

Steve Phelps served as a Justice of the Peace, led the Strawberry Festival and other civic projects throughout the years, just as his father did. He was a Port of Houston commissioner, and in 2018 was recognized as an outstanding Pasadena ISD alumnus.

John Moon, Jr., son of John, Sr., and wife Rose, serves on the San Jacinto College Board of Regents and is involved with numerous civic organizations.

Rae Sinor, daughter of Constable Bill Bailey, also stays committed to serving her community. She is a Deer Park City Council member, and has chaired the Deer Park Chamber and been president of the Rotary Club, among other non-profit and service organizations.

Don Carpenter, Jr., is well-known in Pasadena and runs the Lone Star Convention Center in Conroe. Brother Darrell is a respected building contractor in the area and was chairman of the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce in 2000.

Both have followed their father into public service through their local chambers.

Just as the Bible repeatedly demonstrates the importance of passing the baton to the next generation, these five Pasadena greats clearly understood the value of teaching those who would follow them, and it is evident they have succeeded yet again.

True leaders are bridge builders, too. They promote a common good and build alliances to achieve goals.

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“As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.”

Prov. 27:17

Case in point is the now-famous McDonald’s Texas Invitational Basketball Tournament.

Ben and wife Janice attended a basketball tournament put on by the Pasadena Independent School District in 2002. There was a great game on the floor, but few people in the stands.

Ben thought the community could do better, and did something about it.

He asked the chamber, the school district and the City of Pasadena to get behind a tournament that would benefit the young people in the district and showcase good things happening in the schools.

They did, and Ben oversaw the operation.

In 2005, the tournament asked McDonald’s to become the naming sponsor and make a major commitment. They did.

In 2011, Ben asked the Deer Park community to engage and participate. They stepped up in a big way.

In the years since, the November tournament has grown to require more than 400 volunteers, has been broadcast on the Fox Sports Channel—and has donated more than $2.38 million to the Pasadena and Deer Park ISD foundations.

The bridges Ben built to make the tournament possible still hold strong.

Leaders who work unselfishly for the good of the community with no hidden agendas generate respect from the people who work alongside them.

Who’s Next?

Of that great team of leaders, Carpenter passed in 2009.

Phelps and Bailey died within months of each other in 2017.

Only Ben and John Moon remain. Though well beyond retirement age, both are still engaged with their community.

Both are sought-after mentors. When they speak, people listen.

As a chamber executive, I can’t express how grateful I am to know them and feel the strength of their support for this community.

The old saying is that if you’ve seen one chamber, you’ve seen one chamber. Every chamber is different because every community is unique.

A chamber staff by itself cannot do much of significance—but when a community has solid, wellintentioned people to gather around, there’s not much that can’t be accomplished.

Meador, Moon, Meador, Moon, Carpenter, Phelps and Bailey Carpenter, have been true leaders for Pasadena—its moral Phelps and compass—for half a century. Years “on the scene” Bailey have have not lessened their commitment. been true leaders for Pasadena—its moral compass—for half a century. Years “on the scene” have not lessened their commitment. Successful in their own right, they served without ego, disruptive pride or for personal advancement. They put their community first, and we are all the better for it.

Who doesn’t aspire to be a bit more like Ben Meador?

But what comes next?

We face new challenges today. Who will be the visionaries? The bridgebuilders? The organizers and mobilizers to tackle what lies ahead?

Who today understands that a community needs to thrive in every aspect—businesses, schools, parks, churches, infrastructure—if the whole is to succeed?

Where are the young regional thinkers who can see what’s best for southeast Harris County and have the courage to lead us forward?

All we need to do is look at Pasadena’s legacy of outstanding leadership—through Meador, Moon, Carpenter, Phelps and Bailey—to see what can be accomplished.

We are blessed to have known them and to have witnessed their servant leadership in action.

Now it’s time for the next generation to step forward and make an impact.

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Bill Bailey

A Texan with a Big Heart February 2, 1938 - July 27, 2017 He had a voice as big as Texas and a heart to match.

Milton Odom Stanley—Bill Bailey, as he came to be known—lived and loved large through two long careers, radio broadcasting and county government.

As a radio disc jockey and program manager, he changed country music broadcasting forever and became one of its dominant personalities.

Then at the pinnacle of his popularity, Bill changed hats. He was elected Constable of Harris County Precinct 8, an office he held for more than 29 years.

He was a man of action whose integrity and passion for local causes helped improve lives in his beloved Pasadena, southeast Harris County and Texas.

“I was born a radio guy,” he told an audience in 2006. “In the second grade, I was walking in downtown Houston with my mother and she said, ‘Oh, my goodness! There’s Ted Nabors!’ She introduced me to Ted, an announcer on KTRH, and so I started listening to him. I thought, ‘Oh, boy, that was something I wanted to do.’”

Bill’s family moved from Galena Park to Temple, Texas, after Bill’s sophomore year in high school. There his deep voice and gift for gab opened the door for an early morning spot at KTEM Radio.

Bill’s friends Hudson and Harrigan on KILT-FM Radio

“That started the long trip into my chemical dependency—on adrenaline,” he quipped.

“Mother was the first one who said, ‘You can do this’ and woke me up in high school to be on the radio at 5:45 a.m.”

He graduated in 1957. Offers at radio stations took him to Iowa and Illinois for several years, but the winters were “too cold” and he was too much a Texan to stay long.

Without a job, Bill moved his young family home to Harris County in 1960 and paid a call to KTHT Radio. The station had spent a small fortune plugging a new personality from Missouri whose real name was Bill Bailey, playing the song, “Won’t You Come Home, Bill Bailey?”

Just two weeks into the new assignment, the Missourian up and quit.

That’s when Milton Stanley showed up.

Bill Bailey, the Texan, recalled the day 40 years later.

“They had me go into a studio and do a tape and they liked it, so they said, ‘We’ll give you a job if you’ll change your name to Bill Bailey.’

And I said, ‘You can call me Strawberry Shortcake if you’ll put me on the radio.’”

Within two years, Bill was at KIKK-Radio, and on a steep climb to the top.

In two decades of radio broadcasting, Bill grew KIKK into the nation’s foremost country music station, made friends with some of the most popular musicians on the planet, and collected radio’s most prestigious awards.

His success, he always said, came from hard work, a willingness to get out and listen to people—and an outrageous sense of humor.

“I would always talk about things that people could relate to,” he once said. “I still get people coming up to me and telling me about the time I got mad at my wife and how I was going to turn her in to the government because I had proof positive that she had torn the tags off some pillows. People just thought that kind of thing was real funny.”

But Bill was never crude or vulgar.

“I always remembered that there were girls and grandmothers listening to my show, so I never resorted to bad language or dirty jokes.”

Bill Bailey made two 90-minute cassette tapes of country music for Apollo Astronaut Pete Conrad to take to the moon in 1972.

He specifically chose his favorite, “San Antonio Rose” by Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys, to be the first country music song heard from space.

Those cassettes now reside in the Country Music Association’s Hall of Fame and Museum.

In March 1965, Disc Jockey Bailey was overheard interviewing people at the Houston Rodeo, held then at the Sam Houston Coliseum.

Members of the Rodeo enjoyed his humor and admired the way he engaged with children.

Bill soon became the voice of the Rodeo, a role he cherished for 50 years.

1968 • Ben Meador and Gene Brady leave Diamond Shamrock Chemical Company and form Meador-Brady Personnel Services.

First office located at 1414 East Southmore in Pasadena.

20 | Celebrating 50 Years

The voice of the Houston Rodeo.

1970

1972

1973

• Temporary Services Division established as Top Talent Temporaries.

• Second office opens at 4242 SW Freeway in Houston.

• Established Temporary Systems, Inc. to assist other staffing firms get into the temporary help business. First of 29 affiliates comes on board, Aquarius Personnel in Houston.

21 | Celebrating 50 Years

• Houston office expands and adds recruiters.

With microphone in hand, Bill brought humor and insights to grand entries, calf scrambles, auctions, trail rides, and other special rodeo events.

He was Billboard magazine’s Country Program Director of the Year in 1970. In 1979 he was the Number One Country Music Broadcaster in a Major Market, Gavin magazine’s Program Director of the Year, and the Country Music Association’s Large Market Disc Jockey of the Year.

In 2009, he was inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame and was a Country Radio Broadcaster Hall of Fame inductee in 2010.

Bill left radio when he saw the way the business was changing. The music was coarser; the language was bluer, too.

“I didn’t know if I wanted to go there with the rest of the industry,” he said.

County Lawman

Bill took his personality and big ideas into county government.

In 1982, an opening at Harris County’s Precinct 8 Constable’s office attracted Bill’s attention. He threw his white Stetson hat into the ring and officially added Bill Bailey to his legal name so it would appear on the ballot. He beat out seven opponents in a special election.

As Constable, Bill inherited a 17-member department that focused on serving legal papers, fielded landlord-tenant disputes and patrolled streets in East Harris County.

Bill saw employees wearing jeans and t-shirts to work. He saw confidential papers lying around on desks. Bill brought his precise order and work ethic from Day One. “It’s more than a job; it’s a profession,” he once said. “We are very much accountable. We’re here as a public trust.”

Bill set out to make county police work more efficient and transparent, and community leaders took notice.

He was elected president of the Texas Constables and Justices of the Peace Association of Texas and became the organization’s representation to the Texas Association of Counties (TAC). In 2003, he became TAC president.

County government provided Bill a forum in which to display his innovative thinking, natural leadership skills, and heart-felt compassion for people.

He served many years on the TAC legislative committee

improving county government. The county educational videos he proposed and filmed are still used today.

When the Shuttle Challenger exploded over Cape Canaveral, Florida, in 1986, Bill met the plane carrying the flight crew’s families at Ellington Field. He assigned officers to the homes of each astronaut with instructions to give grieving families peace from the impatient and demanding media that crowded at the curb.

Years later, when Shuttle Columbia came apart over East Texas, Bill drove to the Coast Guard offices and began working with the Coast Guard and NASA assigning personnel to recovery helicopters.

“No one told him to do those things,” his wife Janis remembers. “Bill instinctively understood. He had such respect from every government agency that no one questioned him.”

To this day, Precinct 8 officers are assigned to assist the families of astronauts while on mission.

His leadership during times of tragedy made a life-long friend of NASA Director of Flight Operations George W.S. Abbey.

“George became a frequent guest in our home,” Janis said. “Bill and George became as close as two men could be, almost like brothers.”

Bill retired after seven terms in 2011 when a budget crunch forced him to eliminate several staff positions. To retain officer positions, he eliminated his own job.

Bill Bailey’s Moral Compass

But what made Bill Bailey a respected figure was more than his booming voice and razor-sharp wit; it was his “steady hand” in government.

Friends and family members say Bill had a “moral compass” grounded in faith in God that helped him always do the right thing. He possessed integrity, a genuine compassion for hurting people, and an uncanny knack for knowing what to say or do to bring out the best in others.

1973 • First time to purchase season tickets to Houston Astros for clients, a tradition that has continued for 45 years.

22 | Celebrating 50 Years

• Company sponsors first of many youth sports teams.

On giving back: “I’ve given to every disease but Natural Causes,” Bill once joked.

“We were audited by the IRS three times,” Janis affirmed. “They kept telling us we were giving too much money to charities.

“Bill was raised that way. He’d say, ‘There are no pockets in a shroud. You’re supposed to use what you have to help others.’”

He was generous with his time, too. Bill was a soughtafter emcee for banquets and special events. Janis says he was usually at a banquet or event at least one night a week every year of their marriage—and might attend five or six during “campaign season.”

In addition to his love affair with the Houston Rodeo, Bill was a long-running emcee for the Houston 100 Club, the Salvation Army, the YMCA, the Pasadena Livestock Show and Rodeo, the San Jacinto College Foundation, the Pasadena Rotary, area chambers of commerce banquets, and dozens more.

“He doesn’t just join—he participates,” said colleague Carolyn Faulk. “He gives with his heart, and he has a big heart.”

On his parents: “I’m 70 years old and would never do anything to disappoint my mother and father,” he told an audience at his Radio Hall of Fame induction. “People asked me what I wanted to do with my life, and I said, ‘I want to be a man worthy to be a servant at my father’s table.’”

On family: Bill spoke often with his children Rae, Milton, Sharon and Linda, wife Janis, sister Annette and brother Bobby, as well as many “chosen family” friends. Losing Milton through an accident in 2004 deepened his love of family. Every day he would call family members and friends and ask, “Has anyone told you today that they love you?”

When the answer was, “No!” he affirmed, “I do!”

On compassion for others: Bill often saw people other people overlooked.

The conversations he struck up with hurting or less fortunate people often resulted in years of phone calls and postcards.

When Bill hosted Christmas parties for The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research (TIRR), he made sure he visited with every patient in the room.

On occasion he would anonymously pick up the

• First computer, a NCR 399, purchased.

• Company hosts first client open house.

1974

1976

• Gene Brady serves as President of the Houston Area Association of Personnel Consultants.

• Principals purchase Pasadena Honda and Gene Brady transfers to manage that organization with Ben Meador assuming management of MeadorBrady Personnel Services.

23 | Celebrating 50 Years

“Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

Luke 6:38

restaurant tabs and grocery bills for people he didn’t know. It was his way of “paying it forward.”

Bill often poured his compassion into children he met at the annual Houston Rodeo.

As vice president of the Rodeo’s Lamb Committee, he would stay to the end of the lamb auction, after all the “big spenders” were gone. Bill made sure the children whose lambs had not attracted attention got some money for their lambs.

Through the years, Bill worked with his sister and brother-in-law, Annette and Dudley Parker, Bill made sure the children whose lambs to find a few had not attracted attention got some money for their lambs. investors willing to purchase these “leftover” lambs.

Janis recalled a year when one particular girl touched Bill’s heart. He inquired about her and learned the girl’s mother had been killed in a car wreck just weeks before.

Bill made sure her lambs made a big profit all the years she showed at the rodeo.

On doing his duty: Law enforcement was a public service to Bill Bailey. Sometimes doing the right thing was difficult. As a Constable, Bill often had to uphold the law even if it meant offending a friend.

When irate parents or citizens would call to protest a traffic stop, he would invite them to his office to watch the officer’s dash camera recording.

He often invited young people to ride with him on Saturday nights to see first-hand the importance of driving sober and obeying the laws.

On hard work: “If what I did looked easy, it’s because I was prepared,” Bill said. “That attitude served me well over the years.”

“Everyone calls upon him because he’s such a quick wit,” John Moon said in 2003. “Most people think it’s just a natural gift, but he just works hard at it, to make sure every little thing comes off as nearly perfect as it can.”

On sharing his faith: Bill’s core belief was expressed in a quote by Henry Wheeler Robinson, an English Baptist theologian and Old Testament Scholar: “We are born in debt and we never become solvent.”

“I will die a debtor because you can’t out-give God,” he said.

Of his many speeches, perhaps his favorite was about the importance of volunteers. The talk always ended with Isaiah 6:8: “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’”

“Bill stands for the things that America ought to stand for,” said friend Don Jordan, past show president and chairman of the HLS&R board.

“He doesn’t back away from what he thinks is right, and he defends his beliefs in a conscientious and powerful way. He cares deeply about his friends, his country and his family. He makes each of us a better person.”

On being a good man: “On a plaque over my back door at my home it says, ‘All I want is to enter my house justified.’ When I first heard that line in the movie, Ride the High Country, I didn’t understand what it was talking about— to be proved right, in the Biblical sense, as a good man who’s done the right thing.

“I don’t want to be a great man, and I’m not going to be. But I want to be a good man.”

Bill Bailey, a giant in life. Missed in death. A champion to all.

1976 • Company opens an office in Clear Lake on El Camino Real.

• Company opens fourth office location at 11211 Katy Freeway.

• Company opens sixth office in Corpus Christi.

24 | Celebrating 50 Years

Bailey’s Last Ride, The Houston Rodeo 2018.

• Company opens fifth office in the North Channel area.

1978

1979

• Company establishes a scholarship program for students in Pasadena and Clear Creek ISD.

• Company opens seventh office in Beaumont.

25 | Celebrating 50 Years

Don Carpenter “The Man Who Knew Everybody”

July 5, 1931 - March 1, 2009 Donald Ray Carpenter, Sr., played an indispensable role in Pasadena’s growth and prosperity from the 1970s until his death in 2009. His reputation for integrity, his vision for Pasadena and his ability to work with people and get things done keeps his memory bright even today.

Don was born in Kosse, Texas, in July 1931 and graduated in 1948 from John H. Reagan High School in Houston. He married Barbara, whom he met at SWBT, when he was 19.

He served in the National Guard, but was too young for the troop call-up for the Korean conflict.

At 17, Don got a job in the mailroom of SWBT in Houston, the lowest position in the company. In short order he was made a coin collector, emptying coins from many pay telephones that dotted the region.

“Dad went pretty high pretty quick,” son Darrell says.

He was noticed because he got to work on time and did the job right, and because he was honest and friendly. Don Carpenter got along with everybody.

Co-workers called him “sincere,” a “straight-shooter” who didn’t flatter unnecessarily.

“Dad had a way of telling you something you didn’t want to hear in a way that didn’t make you mad,” son Don Jr. recalls.

From coin collector, Don became a service representative, handling residential customers. His outstanding sales ability soon bumped him up to business rep, where he sold equipment and serviced the communication needs of Houston’s growing business and industry sector.

He was a top salesman. In 1963 he sold all the phone equipment for Humble Oil’s 44-story office building in downtown Houston, then the tallest building west of the Mississippi River.

Don’s career continued to rise. He became a group manager in Freeport, Texas, then unit manager in Austin. He was promoted to district manager stationed in Pasadena before taking a staff position with SWBT’s general manager.

Talent with Integrity Working in the general manager’s office meant working on some of SWBT’s most difficult issues. Don often flew to cities across Texas to meet with city and government leaders, advancing the interests of the phone company.

“Dad didn’t have a college degree,” Don Jr. says, “But neither he or the phone company ever let that limit his success.”

“He was a statesman,” Darrell attests. “Dad had an ability to bring people together. People liked and trusted him. He could get people with different viewpoints into a room and talking together. When you can do that, things can get done.

“He didn’t strong-arm people, but he could help them get along. That’s a talent and a gift you can’t get through a college education.”

Case in point: When the Port of Houston needed help setting up a meeting with the International Longshoremen’s Association, they asked Don Carpenter to get involved, and Don got it done.

He was fair and honest, a “company man” who wasn’t afraid to admit when the company was wrong and side with an employee’s complaint. His commitment for doing what was right, even when it was difficult, earned Don Carpenter respect up and down the line.

1979 • Company opens eighth office in Sugar Land.

26 | Celebrating 50 Years

Don and Barbara Carpenter

1980 • Gene Brady elected President of Texas Association of Personnel Consultants.

1981

• Establishes a word processing skills training center to offer training on new computer and word processing equipment.

• Success Dynamics, a motivational and performance improvement company acquired and merged into Meador-Brady Personnel Services.

27 | Celebrating 50 Years

• Meador-Brady Skill Training Center is certified by the Texas Education Agency.

Darrell tells the story about a time when his dad had to cross a picket line set up by union workers on strike for higher wages. One early morning when the Carpenter car drew near the strikers, someone threw a box of nails across the pavement in front of the car’s tires.

As Darrell tells it: “A man on the line turned to the other and said, ‘What are you doing? That’s Don Carpenter’s car! He’s a good guy! He stands up for us!’ And people set down their signs to help pick up the nails so dad could get through.”

In the days before the Texas Public Utility Commission, the phone company had a contract with each city and town, large and small. To obtain a rate increase, it needed the approval of each community before the rate increase and the added service it provided could go into effect.

“Dad put in lots of work on those kinds of issues,” Darrell recalls. “He would be on the telephone at night. He visited with councilmen and women in their places of business, answering their questions. He held public representations to explain why Southwestern Bell needed the rate increase and what customers could expect from it.

“The company called those times ‘fighting for a rate increase’ because that’s what it was. Dad took it seriously. He could talk about the issues and be persuasive. He got on a firstname basis with virtually every elected mayor, city councilman and community leader from Freeport, Clute, Bay City, Lake Jackson, Matagorda, all the way toward Beaumont.

“And he didn’t fail.”

Don was the point man when SWBT petitioned the City of Pasadena for a five-cent rate increase that would allow callers to phone into Houston and surrounding cities without paying a long-distance toll.

Councilmen were reluctant, until Don summoned more SWBT employees to the meeting than council chambers could hold.

SWBT got its five-cent rate increase.

1981 • Company sponsors championship youth handicapped softball team.

The Political Arena

Maybe it was because Don Carpenter knew everybody and had an interest in politics that Southwestern Bell let him leave to run for mayor of Pasadena in 1973. When he didn’t win, the company took him back at his old position.

He retired from SWBT for good at age 57, and became the volunteer director of southeast Harris County’s first economic development organization, called SEED. Then came a call from Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Jim Fonteno, who wanted Don for his administrative assistant. Don was with the county on two occasions, first from 1988 until 1991.

“Dad was sought after because he had a political mind,” Darrell says. “People respected him. He could keep a confidence and bring people together to get things done.”

Don became chief of staff to new mayor Johnny Isbell in 1982. In his eight years with the city, Pasadena notched many notable improvements, thanks in large part to Don Carpenter’s “steady hand” and fairness.

“I met Don in 1969 when he was with the phone company and I was elected councilman,” says Pasadena’s former mayor Johnny Isbell. “Even before then Don had served on several major city committees and proven himself invaluable wherever he went.

“He knew everybody and everybody loved him. I asked him to be my chief of staff when I was elected mayor in 1982.

Don was indispensable to me, an unbelievable help. He had a God-given talent for dealing with people.”

The City of Pasadena had more than 1,100 employees in those days.

“Don dealt with all personnel issues and daily operations,” Isbell remembers. “Our offices shared a common wall.”

One day Isbell heard muffled voices coming through that wall.

“Clearly Don was making a point to someone. I couldn’t make out what he was saying, but I’m sure when Don

• Purchased Grand Champion Steer at the Pasadena Livestock Show. Over the years the company has invested over $200K in the youth of our community through this effort.

28 | Celebrating 50 Years

Don Carpenter was director of the Pasadena Rodeo.

• First year to have payroll with over 10,000 W-2’s for temporary and contract employees.

1982

1983

1984

• Meador-Brady Personnel Services wins national advertising awards presented by the American Staffing Association.

• Because of recession company conducts numerous outplacement seminars and training to assist clients affected by the economic downturn.

• Janice Meador named to serve as Executive Director of the Texas Association of Personnel Consultants.

29 | Celebrating 50 Years

“For I know the thoughts I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Jer. 29:11

Carpenter felt the need to raise his voice he was telling the person “no” to something that person wanted to do.

“Others might tell a department head yes and be hated for it. Don could tell someone no and everyone love him. That’s the kind of man he was. He was very easy to talk to; people felt comfortable around him.”

The list of Pasadena achievements realized during Don’s years of service include returning hotel tax money to initiatives that made Pasadena its own destination for the arts and culture apart from Houston, and incenting restaurants and retail outlets to the city. He was instrumental in the formation of the Pasadena Cultural Arts Council and the Pasadena Philharmonic Orchestra.

“Dad wasn’t a politician, though he did love politics,” Darrell affirms. “Because he wasn’t, he could see all sides of an issue and be a genuine mediator.”

“Don worked tirelessly and he gave back,” Isbell says. “If everyone gave back one percent of what “Don worked tirelessly and he gave back, Don Carpenter did, we if everyone gave back one percent of what would have an even Don Carpenter did, we would have an greater city. We miss even greater city.” him sorely.”

Along with Ben Meador and John Phelps, Don was instrumental in a chamber effort to get the citizens of Pasadena to approve a one-cent sales tax with half a cent dedicated to streets, roads, storm sewers, drainage and other infrastructure projects and a half-cent dedicated to the police department for equipment, a shooting range and driving training area.

It’s an issue Isbell recalls vividly.

“Pasadena’s sales tax was 7.25 percent. We asked voters for a penny, which would have made the tax equal to most other cities our size. The referendum failed the first time. We didn’t

1984

explain to voters well enough how we were going to use the money. I take fault for that.”

So the mayor put Don Carpenter on the case.

“Don got Ben Meador, John Moon and John Phelps involved. He came up with the idea of wearing a penny on our lapel, and we explained much better what we would do with the money. Half a cent would go to economic development projects—street lights, sidewalks, drainage, and the like—and the other half-cent would be used for one-time police needs—a new patrol car, a bullet proof vest, for example.”

This time the measure passed handily.

“That became the Second Century Corporation. Don asked Ben to chair it at the start, and Ben’s group saw that the money was put to its intended purpose.”

The sales tax, Isbell notes, brought in “a lot of money.”

“For example, Pasadena’s property tax brought in $7 million that first year of the tax and the sales tax—which affected everybody who shopped or ate in the city—contributed another $7 million. It gave us a big boost and helped us make much needed improvements to the city.”

Former Pasadena Chamber of Commerce President and Chief Executive Officer Bill McCoy considers those years some of Pasadena’s best.

“Don Carpenter, Ben Meador, John Phelps and John Moon were successful in different arenas, but they shared a common desire to make Pasadena a better place,” McCoy says.

“For example, when Don was with the city or chamber, he might have an idea that would make an improvement. He would get John Phelps in on the plan and they would ask Ben Meador to be the visible, up-front chairperson.

“Don would remain active and somewhat visible, but Phelps would be in the background. He would provide money or volunteers, but he didn’t want a plaque or any thanks at the end.

“John Moon was another person that would chair a committee and make large contributions to make an initiative a success.

“Whoever had a good idea, the others would rally around it and help get it done.”

Don’s public service career later took him back to Precinct 2 where he served until Commissioner Fonteno’s death in 2008.

1985

• Ben Meador purchases • Corporate office in Pasadena Inter-City Personnel Associates, relocated from 1414 East Inc., a national recruiting network Southmore to new location based in Appleton, WI, with over on Fairmont Parkway.

150 member affiliates. Ben grew the network to over 300.

30 | Celebrating 50 Years

1986 • Ben Meador named President of the Texas Association of Personnel Consultants.

Giving Back

Throughout his career, Don Carpenter put his talents and skills to work for Pasadena. He served as president of the Pasadena Rotary Club and Chamber of Commerce, director of the Pasadena Rodeo, YMCA, Salvation Army, and other good and noble causes.

When local plant managers approached the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce about forming a foundation so companies could donate money designated for local schools, Carpenter, Meador and Phelps sat on its first board.

When the chamber created Leadership Pasadena, an effort to introduce emerging leaders to area organizations and other key leaders, Carpenter, Meador and Phelps helped enroll its first class.

When Ben Meador presented an idea to the chamber to utilize the services of the American Institute of Architects Regional Urban Designers Assistance Team (RUDAT) to create a long-seeing guide to community development, Pasadena’s Administrative Assistant to the Mayor hired an employee to head up a new department to insure the plan was followed.

The name of the report was changed to The Pasadena Plan, and parts of it can still be seen in the development of the city from that time forward.

“Everyone wanted Dad on their board,” Don Jr. says. “He had great ideas; he had many friends; and he could see the big picture. He knew how to get things done. You could rely on Dad; he was good to his word. He never turned on anybody or made someone look bad.”

Don Carpenter’s success for Pasadena and the region was born out of a love for God and family.

“Dad never wavered on his faith,” Darrell says. “He went to church every Sunday and was very involved with his friends.

He wasn’t ‘preachy,’ he lived out what he believed.”

Despite his busy schedule and people vying for his attention, Don Carpenter was home for dinner every night.

“He took personal interest in our lives,” Don Jr. notes. “He had standards, which we picked up. We never left the house without our shoes shined. We learned not to spend money we didn’t have. We learned we needed to work and give back.

“That’s just the way Dad was.”

Darrell agrees. “His deal was family. Dad believed we will be measured not by what we have, but what we leave behind.”

Don Carpenter was a man of sterling character who served with conviction and distinction in every role thrust upon him.

He was a “shining star” who, with his friends, helped make Pasadena a better place to live.

• All stock in MeadorBrady Personnel Services purchased by Ben Meador from Gene Brady. Janice Meador named SecretaryTreasurer of the company.

• Company acquires Wright & Associates, a recruiting firm based in Dallas, TX.

• Inter-City Temporary Services formed as a national network for independently owned staffing services. Darla Haygood is President and Melinda Torrison is Executive Director.

31 | Celebrating 50 Years

Ben F. Meador, Jr. Navigating Life with Biblical Principles

At 79, Ben Meador has much to be thankful for. A lasting marriage. A close family with children who followed him into the business. An award-winning company rated by any standard among the most successful in its industry. A legacy of community service that has touched thousands of lives. A virtually inexhaustible list of clients who have found the right job or the right employee because Meador Staffing Services has done what it does with excellence day after day for 50 years.

He had seen it all and done more than his share. His ideas, influence, inspiration, management, financial support, sweat equity and tenacity have made the difference for such community projects as The Pasadena Plan, the Second Century Corporation, SEED, the Economic Alliance Houston Port Region, Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership, Pasadena ISD Hall of Fame, and the McDonald’s Texas Invitational Basketball Tournament.

His leadership and willingness to serve have strengthened the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce, San Jacinto College, the Salvation Army, the San Jacinto YMCA, and many other institutions.

Ben and Janice Meador

Now, his dark hair turned silver, Ben Meador is sought out for his sage advice and visionary ideas. Entrepreneurs opening a new business want to know how he did it. Candidates aspiring for political office seek his blessing. Organizations wanting to do good know they can accomplish more if Ben Meador is on board.

The man whose name is on the brick at 722A Fairmont Parkway in Pasadena says his secret to success is no secret at all, really. It points back to a decision he made as a young man to live his life by biblical principles and trust God for the outcome.

Ben has, and God came through.

“If you build on biblical principles, not worldly principles, great things are going to happen,” the Meador Staffing chairman and CEO says today.

“If you realize your spiritual gifts and use them for the right reasons and purpose, those gifts are going to be manifested and multiplied. Certainly that has happened for me.”

Principle No. 1: Be a good steward of one’s time, talents and resources “Gene Brady and I started our new company at the worst time of the year—December 11, 1968, the holiday season. We didn’t look back,” Ben remembers.

“I said, ‘Gene, failure is not an option. If we need to get a second job, we’ll do whatever it takes. If it means digging a ditch, we’re going to make this work.’

“So we started our business with $8,000; that’s all we had. We leased a little space on Southmore Ave., right down from City Hall.

“Often we are called upon to do things we don’t think we are capable of doing until God reminds us He has equipped us for everything we need to do in life. We must understand that. God says, ‘I’ve given you the tools.

Use them My way and you’ll be fine.’

“That’s pretty much what we did. When we started, we had no idea our dream was going to grow to the point it has.

“As a young boy growing up, I was quite shy,” Ben says. “When I

1988

1990

• Company hosts twentieth anniversary celebration on The Colonel paddle wheeler docked at the San Jacinto State Park.

• Corporate office moved to new building constructed 722A Fairmont Parkway.

32 | Celebrating 50 Years

Ben Meador

• Company named Business of the Year by the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce.

• Company named Business of the Year by SEED.

1991 • Ben Meador named Citizen of the Year by the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce.

33 | Celebrating 50 Years

• Pam Bratton served as President of the Texas Association of Staffing.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you.”

Matt. 6:33

finally figured out who I was, I realized that, with God’s help, I could do anything He asked me to do. He is my source.

“Of course we must do our part. Persistence must be part of our lifestyle. We’re going to get knocked down a few times, and when we are, we’ve got to get up and dust ourselves off because it’s going to make us a better person.

“But a strong faith in God gives us a right perspective from which to make a positive response to adversity. We believe all things work together for good; that all things are possible to those who believe. That’s what His word says and that’s what we stand on.”

Principle No. 2: Maintain the right priorities Ben Meador has clearly defined priorities: God first, then family, then business.

Darla Haygood, a Meador fixture for 43 years, remembers how Ben encouraged her to get her priorities settled.

“It was the Eighties and I was a young mother with two children. I was trying to be the perfect professional woman and super mom at the same time. I was working myself to death at the office and attending every PTA event.”

When Ben realized her stress, “he looked at me and said, ‘Haygood, there are 24 hours in the day. How you use those 24 hours will determine your success.’

“He was causing me to think about priorities and what matters most and decide where I wanted to be successful.

“I took what he said and tried to use it for good. God first, family second, work third.”

Principle No. 3: Live by the three C’s Ben is known for preaching the importance of the “three C’s” to his employees: conduct, character, conversation.

Former Pasadena Mayor Johnny Isbell once called him “the original Mr. Clean.”

Banker John Moon, a long-time friend, met Ben in 1970.

“I heard from others Ben was ethical and firm, a great guy. I wanted him on our bank board.”

Through the years, Meador and Moon have worked hundreds of hours together on major projects for the Pasadena Chamber, the city, Salvation Army and SEED. “When you know someone extremely well, you’ll discover their internal character,” he says. “It does not change.

“One thing about Ben: If it is good for the city, you don’t have to ask for his support. It’s there.”

Marie Flickinger, publisher of The South Belt Leader newspaper, served with Ben on the San Jacinto College Board of Regents from 2004 to 2010.

“Ben made a fantastic regent,” she says. “He is very even keeled. I never saw him lose his temper or be upset. He has good common sense and no hidden agendas. He truly wants what’s best for the community and asks nothing for himself in return. He’s a most humble man.”

She recalls a year when Ben led a committee to recommend a chancellor to replace the outgoing chancellor.

Ben studied each candidate— and a few others, too.

“In the end he went against popular opinion and recommended we retain the current interim chancellor. That wasn’t what the board was thinking, but Ben’s report was very thoughtful and made great sense. He won the full support of the board, and made me respect him even more.”

Flickinger says, “When you talk with Ben, you know you have his full attention. You know he cares about what you have to say, and you know he is going to give you some of the best advice you could possibly get.”

“He never says anything bad about people,” says 34-year Meador employee Linda Fields. “He may talk about things he doesn’t like, but he doesn’t demean a person. He doesn’t gossip.

That speaks volumes.”

Ben says, “God calls Christians to be ambitious, to use their talents and abilities to be the best they can be. You never know when you’ll have an opportunity by your actions or words to influence someone. We influence people every day, positively or negatively, by how we live our lives.”

1992 • Company begins first of many quarterly client seminars on various topics regarding staffing and human resource management.

34 | Celebrating 50 Years

• Wood Personnel, Nashville, TN, becomes highest producing affiliate of Meador Staffing Services payroll funding division.

Principle No. 4: Love thy employees “My daughter was diagnosed with cancer,” Linda remembers.

“She did not want anyone to know, so I kept the secret. “‘Ben walked into my office and asked, ‘Everything okay?’ “‘Yes, sir.’ “‘Health okay?’ “‘Yes, sir.’ “‘Anything you want to tell me?’ “‘No, sir.’

“That night I told my daughter I had to tell Mr. Meador about her condition because he thought I was the one who was sick.

“When I did, Ben got very emotional because he is very tight with his daughters, just as I am with mine.

“He said, ‘Linda, do whatever you need to do; you don’t even have to tell me. We have you in our prayers.’

“After that he called frequently to check on her. It meant so much to know he truly cared about my daughter. It was heartfelt. He feels that way about all his employees.”

Ben operates with a “reverse organizational chart” and tells his employees, You don’t work for me; I work for you.

Case in point: He Ben operates with a “reverse organizational values getting chart” and tells his employees, You don’t confirmation work for me; I work for you. on ideas from employees he knows and trusts.

“Many times he will slide into a chair across from my desk and say, ‘Let me run something by you,’” Linda says. “If he gets the confirmation he’s looking for, he knows it’s something he needs to do. He will ‘run it by’ a lot of people in the office, taking a private poll.”

Darla Haygood knows her personal assessment will be required if she faces a challenge.

“If I say, ‘Ben, this isn’t working out,’ he’ll say, ‘Darla, if you come in here with a problem, bring three solutions. There’s always a Plan A, a Plan B, and a Plan C. What are they?’

“He makes us think things through, then he will discuss the options until we find the best solution.”

In these and many other ways, Ben continually helps his team make the most of their talents—whether running new companies or new community activities.

1993 • Melinda Torrison named President of the Houston Area Association of Personnel Consultants.

• Company moves from profit sharing program for employees to a 401k.

“He can see a new opportunity and say, ‘You’re really good at this,’” Darla affirms. “He gives us opportunities to work in multiple roles which keep us growing.”

Principle No. 5: Love thy neighbor “Many people come here desperate to work. They have tried everything and are out of options,” Darla says. “If I had a dollar for every $5 bill I’ve given someone for gas to get to a job interview or to the first day of work, I could retire!

“Does Ben tell us to do that? No, but he would do it in a New York minute. We do it because we have seen him do it first.”

The story is told of a day when Ben put cash in an envelope and sent an employee to pay the electric bill of a woman in the community whose power had been shut off.

“Don’t tell anyone I’m doing this,” Ben told his messenger.

“He says, ‘When you do something good, don’t brag about it. Do it from the goodness of your heart and be happy with that,’” Darla reminds us.

Rita Townsend is a 30-year Meador employee who plays a central role in the McDonald’s Texas Invitational Basketball Tournament which Ben proposed to the Pasadena Chamber in 2003.

The three-day tournament now is televised on Fox Sports Network.

“Ben loves sports and he loves the community,” Rita explains. “He started this tournament at an age when most people are winding down, but he saw an opportunity to combine the things he loves and give back to the schools.”

Since its inception, the McDonald’s Invitational has contributed more than $2.38 million to the Pasadena and Deer Park ISD foundations.

Principle No. 6: Act with faith and vision Darla Haygood remembers the day she reported to work for Meador with “a pony tail down to my waist and needing a job” in 1975.

“We were Meador-Brady Personnel Services and Top Talent Temporaries back then,” she recalls. “Ben and Gene Brady had a strong bond, though they were total opposites. Ben was the quiet, confident one. Gene was talkative, loud, colorful.

• Ben Meador receives prestigious Norval Locke Award presented by TAPC for outstanding character and contributions to the staffing industry.

35 | Celebrating 50 Years

1994 • Company acquires Austin Career Consultants, a 23-yearold staffing firm based in Austin, TX.

“Both had wives and small children and had left great jobs in corporate America to follow their dreams. They started with a phone and telephone directory, a pad and a pen, that’s all. But they never thought they wouldn’t be successful. It never entered their minds. They worked hard and dressed like they were successful from the start.”

Even then, she says, Ben could see abilities in people they could not see in themselves.

“He saw a determination in me that I didn’t know I had,” she says now. “He told me, ‘Darla, you can go places. You’ll have to work hard, but you can be a big success.’ He is like that. He brings out the best qualities in people.”

Ben expects a lot from himself—and from his employees.

“No matter how well you do, you can always do better,” says Linda. “Ben believes we have the ability to accomplish more than we think possible. And he is almost always right.”

Along with his knack for seeing abilities in people, Ben can see possibilities for his company and community before others can.

“He is always reading, keeping up with trends,” Darla says.

“He knows what the economy is doing and understands our place in it.”

Meador Staffing opened an office in Sugar Land before the small town became the thriving, trend-setting community it is today.

“Back in the Nineties, he bought everyone in the company a copy of Megatrends 2000 by John Naisbitt. We read it and made reports on each chapter,” Darla laughs.

“Ben is a visionary,” Darla says. “He has us prepared.”

Principle No. 7: Let your light shine Every company meeting at Meador Staffing begins with prayer.

“And at some point in the meeting, Ben is going to preach,” Linda says with a smile. “At some point he is going to talk about God and faith because that’s who he is.”

“Even when things aren’t going well, he puts a positive spin on it and tells us things are going to get better,” adds Rita Townsend.

“Character and integrity, that’s everything,” Ben once said.

“Our employees know that. They know they can trust me with everything they tell me, and I know I can trust them.”

A great leader, Ben Meador believes, must have a firm foundation built on the right principles.

“You’ve got to know the Ten Commandments and the Bible. Great leaders have a firm “You’ve got to know the Ten Commandments foundation, they and the Bible. Great leaders have a firm know who they foundation, they know who they are and where are and where they they are going, and they don’t compromise are going, and they their principles.” don’t compromise their principles.

There are certain things they never compromise.”

To Ben Meador, business is an opportunity for ministry.

“Everyone who comes through our office doors has a story,” he says. “Often behind the closed interview door, our people hear those stories. And many times our people are led to pray with those applicants or give them godly wisdom.

“So many people are living according to the standards of the world and have no idea how to live a spiritual life. God has given us a great opportunity to minister through business.

“I’m not saying we are to wear religion on our shirtsleeves, but we need to ask God to use us in the way He wants to, then let Him have His way.

“That’s the way it should be. That’s how we operate.”

The gospel according to Ben Meador is a good news story every business leader needs to hear.

1994

• Houston • Melinda Torrison named President of the Texas Association Rockets win the NBA Title. of Personnel Consultants.

36 | Celebrating 50 Years

1995 • Temporary division wins most of the awards for excellence at national conference for Inter-City Temporary Services.

1997

1998

• Name of company changed from Meador-Brady Personnel Services, Inc. to Meador Staffing Services, Inc.

• Office in Deer Park opens.

• Company purchases Grand Champion Steer at Pasadena Livestock Show.

37 | Celebrating 50 Years

1999 • Linda Fields, Vice President Executive Search division, named Top Producing Recruiter in the state of Texas at state conference.

John H. Moon, Sr. “Doing the Right Things for the Right Reasons”

In the 115-year history of Pasadena, Texas, perhaps no single development has had a more positive impact on the city’s economic prosperity than the completion of Sam Houston Parkway and Beltway 8 on the east side of Harris County.

As the second loop or “ring” around Houston, the Sam Houston Parkway is 88 miles long. Except for a few places, the Parkway is a toll road. Beltway 8 constitutes the toll-free lanes that serve as its frontage road. The system is owned and maintained by the Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA).

Given Houston’s explosive growth, planning for the Beltway began in the 1950s. Construction was piecemeal. In 1983, Harris County residents voted 70-30 percent to authorize the sale of $900 million in bonds to finance it.

Work began in the mid-1970s. The West Belt portion between I-10 and U.S. Hwy 290 opened in 1989. A section between Hwy 290 and I-45 opened in 1990.

Work on the east side portion was not forth coming. Commissioned studies said traffic in the area was not sufficient to repay 100 percent of the bonds needed to build the road.

In a now-famous meeting between east-side business and civic leaders, then-Harris County Judge Jon Lindsay raised the subject of the Beltway 8 project and its unfinished status.

“Since you don’t have enough traffic to support it, we can’t build the Parkway on the southeast side,” Lindsay said.

That’s when Pasadena Bank chairman and businessman John H. Moon stood up.

“We had been told time after time that our side could not support the construction of the toll road,” John says now. “I could see this was going to be the normal political reality. We had supported the bond sale; now they were telling us we couldn’t have the road we had voted for.”

Voters on the east side of the county had carried a bond referendum for the Port of Houston as well as for the toll road, John reminded the Judge. The west side had enjoyed its portion of the Parkway for more than a decade.

Pasadena was tired of waiting.

“I told the Judge that we would take our money, marbles and chalk and go to the polls to vote against the next bond referendum if the county didn’t get the Beltway on our side built soon.”

Politically, it was a groundbreaking moment. The message got through. Lindsay returned to his office and work on the Beltway south of the Ship Channel began soon after.

John, ironically, was asked to be master of ceremonies at the official ground breaking moment a year or so later.

“I’m sure it wasn’t just what I said that caused us to be heard,” John insists. “I know others who were making phone calls to Lindsay’s office.

Ben Meador for one. Don Carpenter and John Phelps were for it and supported it, too.”

From the meeting with Jon Lindsay came a new understanding of what needed to be done.

1999 John and Rose Moon

• Office in Pearland opens.

38 | Celebrating 50 Years

John Moon

2001 • Office in The Woodlands opens.

• Company sponsors the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace seminar in Houston at NRG.

2003 • Melinda Torrison receives prestigious Norval Locke Award presented by TAPC for outstanding character and contributions to the staffing industry.

39 | Celebrating 50 Years

• Company starts the Texas Invitational Basketball Tournament that benefits the Educational Foundations of Pasadena and Deer Park.

Raising $2.38 million over the past 15 years.

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God and who are called according to His purpose.”

Rom. 8:28

Deep Roots

“It gave us a realization that the cities and chambers on the east side of the county had to have unity of purpose in dealing with the county. We had to work together,” John says.

“The west side of Houston has organizations that join together to say, ‘We need this road built.’ Politicians listen because they speak with one voice.

“Collectively we realized we needed all the organizations on the east side to get behind something if we were going to be successful in the future.”

Without a name or umbrella organization sponsoring them, even without a specific strategy, the “Pasadena Five”— John Moon, Ben Meador, Don Carpenter, John Phelps and Bill Bailey—began calling area leaders they knew.

“Five called five more. Various ones of us talked to the people they knew best. There was no organization to it. We made phone calls and explained what we needed to do. And people agreed with us.”

That face-to-face with Judge Lindsay proved to be more than a jumpstart to the Sam Houston Parkway through Pasadena. It started a movement that led to the creation of the South East Harris County Economic Development Council (SEED), consisting of the chambers and associations in east Harris County.

In 2004, SEED became the Economic Alliance Houston Port Region.

Today, the transportation link through Pasadena is credited for opening up major expansion and construction projects in east Harris County, resulting in a major increase in sales revenues, sales taxes, jobs and a rising quality of life.

Retail outlets along Fairmont Parkway sprang up quickly once Beltway 8 was completed in 2006. Stores and restaurants at the Beltway and Fairmont Parkway account for roughly $10 million in sales tax revenue each year, with 60 percent of the traffic coming from other cities.

No one questions John Moon’s commitment to Pasadena. His roots go deep.

Born in Arkansas, with short stops in Kansas and Oklahoma, his family moved to Texas to live on a 100-acre farm his mother inherited.

John took Distributive Education courses in high school and went to work for Corpus Christi Wholesale Hardware Store each afternoon.

The store owner was a trustee for Del Mar College. He saw John’s potential and provided him a scholarship.

The scholarship opened up the world for John H. Moon.

From Del Mar, he attended Texas A&I University, now Texas A&M-Kingsville, graduating at 20.

He was a CPA at 21, the youngest in Texas at the time.

A professor at the college recommended him as an accountant for an oil and gas company.

“Our farm was very rural,” he remembers. “We didn’t have a telephone in the house. The guy from the oil and gas company walked through mud to get to our house because he wanted to hire me.

“I accepted the job. Within 30 days, the company was bought out by Texas Eastern Transmission Corp, so I moved to Houston. I probably would have never moved here had that not occurred.”

John’s father was a preacher. In the summer of 1956, he met Rose Dickens at a church camp, and struck up a longdistance romance. John and Rose married in 1958.

John and Rose lived in Houston while John John’s father was a preacher. In the worked as chief financial summer of 1956, he met Rose Dickens at officer for Houston a church camp, and struck up a longResearch Institute (HRI), distance romance. part of the University of Houston. When a Louisiana company bought HRI and asked John to move to Louisiana, John declined.

2004 • Ben Meador named to the San Jacinto College Board of Regents, serving until 2011. He is now a Regent Emertius.

40 | Celebrating 50 Years

• Office in Northwest Houston opens.

John Moon was master of ceremonies at the Beltway 8 ground breaking in east Harris County.

2005 • Meador Staffing recruiters sweep top producer awards at state convention. Valerie Smith, Temporary Operations Manager, wins top state Customer Service Award.

• Clear Lake office relocates and doubles in size.

• Meador Staffing ranked #2 Staffing Firm in Houston by the Houston Business Journal.

41 | Celebrating 50 Years

2008 • Company is featured in the monthly Texas Association of Business Newsletter.

John and Ben, 2018

He found himself instead working for Houston entrepreneur and future mayor Bob Lanier.

“He bought and sold banks and savings and loans,” John says. “I had never been in a bank before except to cash a check.

The next day, I was a senior vice president with the loan limit of the bank at my personal signature.

“Now that’s the way to start in banking!” he laughs.

At age 30, John was learning how to evaluate and purchase banks for his boss.

“Bob would send me to check out banks that might be considering selling. I would talk to the bank owners and make a deal. We would sign a letter of agreement which I would take back to Bob. “Bob would look over the arrangement and say, ‘John, go buy it.’ I bought several financial institutions for him.”

Bob Lanier became a business mentor and friend.

“I didn’t realize you could borrow huge amounts of money with your signature,” John admits. “We would buy a bank and sign notes. He would take some notes and give me some. It’s called syndicating a bank.”

Lanier once said, “John, you’re the only guy I send out fishing that always brings back fish.”

The relationship with Bob Lanier set John’s course for life.

“I never dreamed my life would move in this direction. It was natural for my talents and capabilities.”

John soon stepped out on his own.

“With a partner, I bought Pasadena National Bank in 1970 and moved to Pasadena. The bank was in trouble.

“Ben Meador was on the bank board and I wanted to keep him around. He was a young man in business. I heard from people that he was ethical and firm, a great guy.”

2008 • Hurricane Ike causes severe damage to corporate office resulting in displacement of over 40 employees to other locations for 9 months while office is being rebuilt.

After Pasadena National, John purchased Community Bank, then First Interstate Bank. He bought an insurance company, then Rosenburg Bank and Trust.

When his business partner wanted to spend his time in Rosenburg, John sold his portion of the Rosenburg bank and the partner stepped out of Pasadena National.

Banking on People

He’s been Pasadena’s banker for 48 years now, and still loves his job.

“I love what I do,” he says. He believes a good banker can play a positive role in the advancement of a city.

“My friends on the west side of Houston have asked, ‘John, why do you live in Pasadena?’ The answer is because the people are great. They work hard. They have character. Most are people of faith. They may not say it that way, but deep down, they want to do what is right and fair.

“People that work in our refineries know how to save money. If they earn a nickel, they save four cents of it. They have more disposable income than people in most other communities. So I’m in a good place.”

John believes he can help people through banking.

“I can show you examples of small towns which have had a tight-fisted scrooge for a banker. Over time the community has withered and died.

“A good banker who will look at things the right way can help a city prosper and grow.

“Banking is the lifeblood of a city,” he explains. “How many people pay a hundred percent cash for a car or home or business? Everything involves financing. A good banker will

• Darla Haygood receives Outstanding Community Service Award presented by Houston Association of Personnel Consultants.

42 | Celebrating 50 Years

• Meador Staffing purchased a hot air balloon.

work and study to make the financing into a good transaction.”

A profession is a place to live out one’s Christian character, John believes.

“Once a man came to see me about a small loan for his son. The young man wanted to buy a motorcycle costing about $2,000. The man asked me, ‘John, will you make me the loan?’ “’Of course I will,” I told him. I knew the man. I liked him.

He was a good person.

“He then told me he had taken his request to another bank where he had several accounts. He had asked the president of the bank for a loan of the same amount.

“The banker declined. He said the bank had a rule against making motorcycle notes.

“I said, ‘Well, we don’t have a rule like that. We’ll be happy to do it.’”

The man got his $2,000 loan—and proceeded to move several sizable accounts to John’s bank.

“The point is, you can’t look at the motorcycle as being the collateral. The dad and his reputation, his character were the important element.”

Banking is “helping people do something important in their lives. Making a loan for a new home isn’t anything outlandish. It’s normal. But it helps a family and a community.

Helping people is the fun part of banking.”

Sowing and Reaping

John’s involvement with Pasadena’s civic projects has become legendary. In addition to his role in the completion of Beltway 8 and the creation of SEED, John has lent his support to many initiatives that have shaped the city’s future.

He got behind RUDAT, a proposal from a group of architects and engineers to audit Pasadena’s “assets” and challenges and provide recommendations for improving the city.

He spoke up for a one-cent sales tax to provide funds for economic development projects—streets, sidewalks, street lights—and police needs.

“We all got on that team and went through the procedure for an extended period of time. Everyone was excited about it.”

Though his business responsibilities are extensive (he owns three companies), he stepped up to serve on the Harris County Industrial Commission, the Sam Houston Parkway

Transportation Corporation, the San Jacinto River Authority, the Pasadena Street Improvement Authority, the SEED board of directors, the Pasadena City Board of Development, the Pasadena Civic Center Advisory Committee, the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce, and the Salvation Army Advisory Board, Pasadena Branch.

He continues to exemplify the best in banking principles, too. His Pasadena National Bank was one of only 12 banks in Texas recognized for sound practices in The Great Reckoning, a bestselling book on banking by James Dale Davidson and Lord William Rees-Mogg.

The recognition he has accumulated through the years would create a list too long to cite, but includes the Pasadena Chamber’s 1994 Citizen of the Year, the Pasadena Hall of Fame Award, the Pasadena Jaycees Outstanding Young Man of the Year, and four different Who’s Who listings.

Good people doing the right thing for the right reasons can do nearly impossible things to improve the lives of people around them, he believes.

From 1970 until now, John Moon has been one of those “good people.”

“We have been given lots of credit, as if we were an organized group,” he admits. “We never operated that way.

We would ask, ‘Is this good for the city? Would it benefit the people? Is anybody getting any personal benefit out of it?’

“If a project met that criteria, we would put our shoulders behind it and start pushing. We would speak to others in our circle of friends—and an idea would begin to gain traction.”

At the end of the day, there’s no time to celebrate a successful endeavor.

“Tomorrow will bring another project. Life moves on,” he says.

Well past the usual age of retirement, John H. Moon is still going strong. He is not without fresh ideas to “push along.”

“A leader is someone who is self-motivated, who is doing things for the good of others and not just themselves, who knows how to get others involved for the right reasons, too.

“You cannot give of yourself and not get back many times over. It’s true of money, time, morals—in every area of life. It’s a divine principle. ‘Give, and it will be given to you.’

“If out of your heart you are giving and not expecting a return, in time you will undoubtedly get more back than you gave. It has certainly been that way for me.”

2010

2011

2013

• First use of national job boards to recruit candidates. Company established a video resume program for candidates and employers.

• Darla Haygood named Citizen of the Year by the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce.

• Leadership Development training program established for employee management training.

43 | Celebrating 50 Years

John Phelps “The Most Generous Man in the World”

January 17, 1936 - May 27, 2017

He has been called “the most generous man in the world”—and one of the most modest.

Until his death in 2017, John Phelps was considered a pillar in Pasadena, yet he made his biggest contributions and perhaps most lasting impact behind the scenes.

Friends describe him as soft-spoken and unpretentious, not drawn to spotlights or fanfare.

He was successful, they say, but not flashy. He was an outstanding motivational speaker, but known even more as a great listener.

Through talent and hard work, he grew his State Farm Insurance Agency into the largest in the nation, but gave the credit to others. He was frugal for himself so he could do more for others. Many say he was even more generous with his time than with his money.

He was always open to projects and causes that made Pasadena a better place to live and work, and those he supported wholeheartedly. His integrity and compassion earned him the respect of thousands, and made him a sought-after leader for any important civic project.

John and Wynell Phelps

Humble Origins

The man whose legacy of giving spans more than five decades in Pasadena grew up in very modest circumstances. He was raised on a family farm outside Kosse, Texas. His grandfather owned a grocery store and put him to work at a young age.

He joined the Navy, which helped with his college tuition, then worked three jobs to put himself through Sam Houston State Teachers College. He graduated with a degree in Agriculture Business in two-and-ahalf years.

John married his high school sweetheart, Wynell, and moved his small family to the Pasadena area where he taught school. When his firstborn son, Doug, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, John realized he would need more than a teacher’s salary to pay for Doug’s special needs.

In 1962, John became a State Farm agent and went to work from the garage of his home on Strawberry St. in Pasadena.

“Being a State Farm agent gave him the flexibility to work as well as take care of his family’s needs,” son Steve remembers.

It was a “providential” change of direction, one that placed John and Wynell where their talents could thrive and their lives could impact hundreds—and ultimately thousands—of area families.

“I was two or three years old when Dad started,” Steve says. “We lived in the house; the office was in our one-car garage. Mom and Dad worked all the time.

“When I was in the sixth grade, they bought the house behind ours.

We moved into the other house and converted the entire original house into office space. We grew up at the office. Dad’s staff was our family.”

John worked hard. People liked him and bought insurance from him.

The business grew steadily.

2013 • Pam Bratton serves on the Board of Directors for the Texas Association of Business.

44 | Celebrating 50 Years

John Phelps

2014

2015

• Melinda Torrison named President and Chief Operations Officer. Ben Meador named Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

• Ryan Meador, Certified Strength Finder Coach, implements program for company to become a strength-based organization.

• Meador Staffing was named Business of the Year by the Deer Park Chamber of Commerce.

45 | Celebrating 50 Years

“Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance.”

1 Cor. 13:7

When an offer to purchase a third house on Strawberry failed, he decided to build a larger, more modern office on Fairmont Parkway.

That move, too, seemed providential. Locating his business on newly developing Fairmont Parkway turned out to be one of his “biggest blessings,” John later said.

Legendary Generosity

In the early 1980’s, Phelps Insurance grew to be the largest State Farm agency in the nation.

As it did, so did John’s reputation for integrity, generosity and good business sense.

His character was so solid and his name so familiar that local leaders asked John to run for a city council position in 1973. He won easily. During his term he served briefly as Pasadena Mayor Pro-Tem. Though he never considered himself a politician, John’s term on the council helped expand his understanding of the needs of his adopted city and gave him a larger sphere of influence in which to help it.

“He could do a whole lot behind the scenes,” Steve says.

Subsequently, in addition to growing his business, John served as president of the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce, president of the San Jacinto YMCA, and member or director on a myriad of local civic, community and church boards.

Bill Harry, a local real estate entrepreneur, bought and sold properties with John.

“I knew him through the Jaycees and got to know him better when we served on City Council together,” Bill says. “He and I did many partnerships in real estate through the years.

Our partnership was never written down on paper. John was a man of his word.”

Charles Beckman, another long-time Phelps friend and colleague, remembers meeting John in 1962.

“I was insured with State Farm in Mississippi. When I moved here, Phelps Insurance was close by; I met him then.

“John was a man that loved his family and church and loved his business. I heard him say, ‘If you love what you do, you never work a day in your life.’ It was that way with John.

He could talk to anybody he came into contact with, and had the kind of personality people enjoyed being around.

“If John told you he was going to do something, then he was going to do it. He was that kind of man. He had moral character. I never heard him say anything bad about anyone.”

John Phelps loved people and it showed.

“Often in a restaurant he would see a preacher or a police officer having a meal and pick up the tab. Most people never knew it until they got to the cash register to pay,” Bill said.

He showed compassion by attending funerals, too.

Through the years, John and Wynell drove across Texas attending hundreds of funerals of friends and acquaintances, policy holders and their family members.

“If he knew somebody halfway, he would go to their funeral,” Bill affirms.

Ken remembers that his parents got emotionally involved with funerals because they knew sorrow personally. They lost Doug to cerebral palsy when he was 17.

“It was nothing for them to help cover the cost of a funeral for someone,” he says.

They made hospitals visits, too.

Melissa Harrison, who hired on at Phelps Insurance in the early 1990s, remembers the day John and Wynell Phelps came to her dying mother’s hospital room to offer help and support.

“I called them at six that morning to say I wouldn’t be in, and within 25 minutes Mr. and Mrs. Phelps were in the hospital room with me. They stayed until Mother was gone.

“Later, they sent dear co-workers to help clean my mother’s apartment because they knew I wasn’t ready to go in there.”

Stories of John’s thoughtfulness and generosity are endless.

“When I was a new employee, the radiator in my car had a slow leak,” says Suzanne Easley. “Every afternoon, I’d pour a gallon of water into it so I could get home.

“Then one day Ken saw what was happening and told his dad. Mr. Phelps was concerned and determined to get

2015 • Last year that Ben Meador was the chairman of the 2015 Texas Invitational Basketball.

46 | Celebrating 50 Years

my car fixed—even though he thought it was my radio that was broken!”

Melissa goes on. “On many occasions he would call me in and hand me an envelope with cash inside and tell me to take it to someone he knew was having trouble. No questions asked.

I was to give the person the envelope and say, ‘We love you,’ or nothing at all. He was always giving like that. He didn’t want people to know.

“Mr. Phelps had heart surgery years ago and found help with a recliner that could lift him into a standing position.

After that, whenever he knew of a friend or someone’s family member that had open heart surgery, he had that chair delivered to them to use as long as it was needed. That recliner went all over Pasadena.”

Understated Greatness

Part of Melissa Harrison’s job at Phelps Insurance was as community liaison.

“I’m sure many people thought I was serving on a foundation board or helping with a community event because I was a go-getter,” she laughs, “but most of the time Mr. Phelps would ask me to work with an organization in his stead. He wanted us to be his ‘eyes and ears,’ so he would know what the organization needed and how he could help. We often got credit when the recognition should have been his.”

Recognition for doing good seemed to embarrass John Phelps.

“Mr. Phelps did his giving so quietly that no one knew the full extent of his support and contributions to people and organizations,” Suzanne, his former office manager, agrees.

“He never wanted people to know what he had done. He never did it for the fanfare.”

A notable case in point: Phelps Insurance reached the pinnacle of success in the mid-1980s. The agency set monthly records for total sales, total number of families served and policies written. By whatever standard of measurement, the agency was among the elite of more than 18,000 State Farm agencies in the nation.

John was presented awards and put on the cover of State

• Remodeled the Deer Park office.

• Pam Bratton receives Volunteer of the Year award by Texas Association of Business.

Farm’s national magazine. He spent additional time traveling to company functions, talking about his methods and the importance of “keeping our promises.”

He never told his staff of the accomplishment. He kept his personal success to himself.

Soon after, Fortune magazine listed John among the wealthiest agents in his profession nationwide, going so far as to publish his gross salary and comparing it with the CEO of State Farm.

John was embarrassed.

When the edition of Fortune hit newsstands, he sent son Ken around to bookstores, grocery stores, and retail outlets throughout the region to purchase every available copy.

“They quoted my gross salary,” he told a friend. “They didn’t show the net. We have a lot of expenses.”

The man who worked three jobs to get through college never lost sight of his origins. While generous with others, he was frugal and unpretentious in the things he bought for himself.

“When Mom got a new car, Dad would get her old one,” Ken remembers.

He drove a car “till it dropped.”

A Pasadena tow-truck operator who bought and sold old cars once said, “When John gets through with a car, nobody wants to buy it.”

He wasn’t an extravagant dresser, either. For Christmas and birthdays, his employees would chip in to buy him a new jacket or shirt and tie, which he wore proudly.

Suzanne recalls a line her former boss quoted from his grandmother.

“She told me, ‘John, I believe you’re going to be good in this job because what people want as their insurance agent is an average man, and you’re average, John.’ He would tell the story and laugh!”

2016

2017

• Doubled the size of and remodeled the Clear Lake office.

• Company installs Avionte software throughout organization as platform for applicant tracking and search and retrieval process.

47 | Celebrating 50 Years

His feet were on solid ground. He was comfortable with who he was. He didn’t buy into the hype that goes along with success. “If anyone complimented him, he would praise his staff. ‘They’re the reason,’ he’d say. He treated us like a proud parent and bragged on us to everyone,” Suzanne says.

“He was grateful to God for his blessings,” she adds. “Mr. Phelps knew what he had accomplished would not have been possible without God.”

Promise Keeper

John Phelps was one of a very few insurance agents to put his home phone number in the telephone directory. He was always accessible to his customers.

“Insurance is not always a pleasant business to be in,” Suzanne explains. “People call you when they have a problem and rarely call back to tell you thanks for great service.

“When people called with a need or upset, “When people called with a need or upset, Mr. Phelps would remind Mr. Phelps would remind us that what we us that what we do for do for them is what matters most.” them then is what matters most. He was there for his customers—when a house burned or they lost a loved one or had an accident. He didn’t just turn them over to a company; he stayed involved and advocated for his policy holders until they were fully restored.

“He kept his eye on service. It was personal for him, and he made it enjoyable for us.

“John Phelps saw his business as a promise. He was selling a promise—and he was the best promise keeper there ever was.”

John was an integral part of Pasadena’s growth during his long career. Though he stepped away from elected office, he remained engaged with organizations and projects that encouraged Pasadena’s growth and quality of life.

He was one of a handful of business leaders responsible for the formation of the South East Harris County Economic Development Council (SEED) in the 1980s. Later he worked behind the scenes to help SEED evolve into an expanded role as the Economic Alliance Houston Port Region.

The Economic Alliance presented the Phelps family with its first Visionary Award in 2004.

“He took an active interest,” Melissa explains. “I don’t think SEED would have become the Economic Alliance without John Phelps working behind the scenes.”

When the Pasadena Chamber adopted The Pasadena Plan in the mid 1980s, John Phelps and a few

other business leaders stayed involved to see that its recommendations were implemented.

“They brought a ‘nonpolitical’ vision to the city,” Ken replies. “They made a powerful impact on the city’s future because their motives were true. They wanted what was best for the city, not for themselves. They wanted to make this a better place to live.”

During his long career, John was honored as the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year, the Pasadena Independent School District Distinguished Citizen of the Year, and a Distinguished Alumnus of the Sam Houston State University Alumni Association.

Harris County Commissioners placed his name on the courthouse annex in 2007.

“That meant a lot to him,” Steve adds, “but mostly he was proud of his family and his staff. He was proud the way the company he founded responded to this community after Hurricane Ike.” “He was busy with the agency and other interests, but I never felt like my dad wasn’t there for us,” Ken says. “As I look back, he didn’t miss a single football game I played in; we spent weekends at the lake. He did his business, but never let it replace his family.”

His son Ken followed in his footsteps and became a State Farm Agent in Deer Park in 1990. Ken brought his agency to the Fairmont location in 1992.

John retired in 2013 and died peacefully, surrounded by his family, in May 2017.

“John Phelps believed he was put on earth to help people,” his former office manager says. “He never stopped giving. Without a doubt, he was the best human being I’ve ever known.”

2018 • Pam Bratton receives Lifetime Industry Leader Award from Texas Association of Staffing.

48 | Celebrating 50 Years

• Trey Meador named Chief Financial Officer and appointed to Board of Directors.

• Company begins 50th year in business.

Commemorative luncheon planned for later in the year.

• Relocated the Woodlands office to Market Street.

• Pam Bratton receives Volunteer Leader of the Year award by Society for Human Resource Management.

49 | Celebrating 50 Years

“The most important thing about you is who you are, not what you do. That is where your identity comes from.�

Ben F. Meador, Jr.

50 | Celebrating 50 Years

A Bridge to the Future

51 | Celebrating 50 Years

October 4, 2018

Thank You, Dad An Open Letter from Melinda Torrison President and COO, Meador Staffing Services Dear Dad: Great leaders mentor and develop the next generation of leaders. Certainly that’s what you have done for me, and I love you for it.

I have worked alongside you at Meador Staffing for three decades now. It has been one of the greatest blessings of my life. Growing up—and even after graduating from college—my intention was never to work in the family business. It was never a goal of mine.

But never say never. When I came on board full time in a “real job” role, you thought I had learned everything about the staffing business just by sitting at the dinner table from the age of six on. I suppose I did, too.

We are both strong-willed and very determined, so not having you as my direct supervisor in the beginning was probably the best decision you ever made. You spared us both a boatload of frustration.

Instead you put me with Darla Haygood who was my manager and mentor for over a decade. Darla truly saved me!

She is one of the big reasons I’m still here.

One of the life lessons I’ve learned and truly appreciate now (but didn’t in the beginning) is that my Dad never treated me differently from other employees even though my last name was Meador. I was so glad to get married and change my name to “Torrison” so the outside world would never think that I got my job just because I was the owner’s daughter. I was very passionate about creating my own path and proving myself.

Dad, you expected more of me than anyone else in the company, and looking back over 31 years, I’m very grateful.

Your high expectations now serve me well. Having the name Meador can get you in the door, but at the end of the day, you have to stand on your own and create your own reputation and credibility.

We can’t live off of our parents’ faith and achievements. We have to take their teachings and the foundation they give us and decide for ourselves who we are and who we are going to be in this world.

You and I navigated some choppy waters and have had some interesting conversations at times, haven’t we, Dad? Being around you taught me how important it is to honor my parents.

There have been times when I didn’t do that very well, but when I got the revelation of that principle, it changed forever the way I carry myself in the company and community.

Working in a family business has allowed me to know intimately what you do on a daily basis. It has opened my eyes to reality and truth. Truly my greatest blessing is to have fallen

in love with this company and profession and love them with the same zeal and passion you do.

When I started out 31 years ago, you, Janice and I were the only ones in the family to work here. Through the years, I have watched my sister Morgan, brother Ryan, sisters-in-law Hollee and Carrie, and now brother Trey join the firm. I realize how humble you are to allow others in the family to create their own paths and grow here.

Dad, you built this business through hard work, integrity, fairness and compassion. I have watched how you have handled mountaintops and valleys. I have admired the way you have absorbed the blows but shared the glory.

And I value the principles you’ve taught me: That with great blessings come great responsibility.

That each of us have a role to play in making our communities a better place to live for all citizens.

That, while some may settle for “what is,” we need to challenge ourselves to ask, “What if?” knowing the only limits to our leadership and vision are those we impose on ourselves.

That when we begin to focus on what unites us rather than what divides us, we will see more clearly our roles in bringing about the positive changes that will improve the quality of life for everyone.

That if good people will do the right thing for the right reasons, asking for nothing in return, there’s no limit to what we can accomplish in our community, our state and nation.

These are your values, Dad. You live by them. These were the values of your close friends Bill Bailey, Don Carpenter, John Moon, and John Phelps. We will live them, as each of you have.

We will never forget them, and we will never forget you who served well in your generation.

Now, it is our turn to pick up the baton and build a better world for our families, communities and businesses.

Your principles are my principles, Dad. I will live by them, as you have. I will never forget them, and I will never forget you.

You have entrusted me with a company that bears your great and honorable name. You have marked out the path clearly. I—and the entire Meador Staffing family—have big shoes to fill.

Thank you, Dad. Thank you for everything.

So enjoy the celebration! You deserve it! Every one of us—your Meador Staffing family and your many friends—are proud to congratulate you on 50 years of spectacular service and excellence.

You represent a life well lived. A job well done.

Your loving daughter,

Melinda 52 | Celebrating 50 Years

Melinda Torrison

53 | Celebrating 50 Years

If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’re going to keep getting what you’ve got.

–Ben

It’s not necessary to apologize if you gave 100% and did your very best.

–Ben

54 | Celebrating 50 Years

The numbers never lie.

–Ben

Find the Lead Horse and hook your wagon to it and learn.

You’re just huntin’ boogers.

–Ben

–Ben

55 | Celebrating 50 Years

“You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you will never know how soon it will be too late.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson 56 | Celebrating 50 Years

Meador Staffing 50th Anniversary Magazine Copyright Š October 2018

by Meador Staffing Services 722A Fairmont Parkway Pasadena, TX 77504 713-941-0616 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the written permission of the publisher.

Executive Editor Ben F. Meador, Jr. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Editor Melinda Torrison President and Chief Operating Officer Project Manager Steve Lestarjette Wisdom House Publishing Correspondents Tara Barreca Terry Brotherton Chad Burke Steve Lestarjette Bob Mitchell Melinda Torrison Cristina Womack Graphic Design Jay Loucks John Magee Design Special Photography Jeff Myers We wish to acknowledge the help of these individuals and organizations who provided memories, anecdotes and/or photographs which were used in the development of this publication: Janis Bailey, Don Carpenter, Jr., Darrell Carpenter, Ken Phelps, Steve Phelps, Bill Harry, Charles Beckman, Melissa Harrison, Suzanne Easley, Rita Townsend, Darla Haygood, Linda Fields, Marie Flickinger, Johnny Isbell, Cristina Womack, Chad Burke, Bob Mitchell, Bill McCoy, the Economic Alliance Houston Port Region, BAHEP, the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce, the Texas Association of Counties, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

Printed at Emco Printing, Houston, Texas

Meador Staffing Services ________________

Believes that everything we do matters

Is always in pursuit of and seeking to achieve goals Has a heart for the people and community Strives to always be a positive and optimistic team player Understands the value of reputation ________________ We impact the world through service.

1968-2018 AND BEYOND