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Presented By
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FACES & PLACES 
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Heartfelt:
Captain Jonathan Townsend, Commanding Officer of the Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base, was succinct, thankful and complimentary toward a previous base commander while accepting the Chamber's Vandergriff Award last week: "T.D. (Smyers), where he has led, I have followed." Today, Smyers is the President /CEO of United Way Tarrant County.
For more on Whitley, read our blog recap here. View more pics here.
L to R: Allyson Baumeister,
CliftonLarsonAllen, LLP;
Captain Jonathan Townsend, Commanding Officer of the
Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base; and Tarrant County
Judge Glen Whitley.
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Star light, Star bright, Star ling: If you brought your lunch or maybe the vending machine is your ultimate destination, you might skip down to the next giveaway. At his pay grade, Mr. B never has had the pleasure of eating at The Capital Grille. Or Chicken Salad Chick, for that matter. But that doesn't preclude him from yearning of better days ahead. He yearns by scanning the menu at The Capital Grille ... bernaise, sesame and ginger sauce, 15-year aged balsamic, champagne vinaigrette, spicy sriracha ... and the sauces are incredible no matter what lies beneath. Gloria Amazing Star-ling has a saucy Capital idea - come with a guest for lunch and enjoy the highlight meal of your week.
 Follow the leaders: Mr. B has a gal pal named Maggie Jones and you should be jealous of Mr. B if she's not your friend. She arranged for one registration in the Pull for Leading Edge sporting clay shootout Oct. 12. Maggie says, "It's a whole lot of fun and you don't have to be any good." Leading Edge is a program of Leadership Fort Worth and offers emerging leaders in their mid-20s to mid-30s an opportunity to strengthen leadership practices, create connections with community leaders, and move beyond volunteerism into board service. A portion of the proceeds benefits Cook Children's.
Girl, take it to the bank! The Comerica Bank Women's Business Symposium was conceived specifically for women business owners, executives and professionals looking for opportunities to Learn, Connect & Grow professionally, personally and financially. Just in its second year, Comerica has outdone itsownself with the Oct. 5 program. Guest speaker is Bobbi Brown, makeup artist, author, entrepreneur and founder of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, interviewed by veteran broadcast journalist Gloria Campos. There's also a panel discussion featuring Lucy Billingsley, co-founder and partner at Billingsley Company, a land development and property management company; Erin Nealy Cox, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, and Kellie Fischer, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Texas Rangers. It's from 10:30-3 p.m. and Comerica has seats for two people.
We are Sunny Strong: B2B Insider has written before about Sunny (Strong) Brous -- VisionFW, Chamber mentee, former Junior Achievement achiever -- and her slugfest against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Next Wednesday, the sun shines on ALS during The Cowtown Affair, benefiting the ALS Association of Texas. It's a cowboy chic event featuring local music, food and distinctively local auction items, and showcasing the area's commitment to creating a world without ALS. Sunny Strong supporter Jake Richter of Edward Jones provided two tickets.
Congratulations to the September 5th
Prize Winners:
- Emily Wilkins, AEKO
- Gus Clardy, Freeman Mills
- Carla Eakman, Courtney & Courtney Properties
- Kerry Hunsaker, FW Opera
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A WORD FROM OUR GOLD SPONSORS
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HE SAID, SHE SAID, THEY SAID
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 A reason to love work: In 1982, Don Scroggins started at the Blue Bell plant in Fort Worth as a truck driver. Thirty-six years later, he's running the place. All employees have access to ice cream for free, but only when at the office. Don says his family never minds visiting him at work.
Did you know? Mayor Price Is Right likes to take her grandchildren for ice cream after the first day of school.
Why price & cost are different: Tommy Taylor, a veep at Higginbotham, says the price of healthcare has reached a point where something HAS to be done. "Price and cost are very different things," he said. "Over the last 10 years, the actual cost of healthcare has gone up just over 12 percent. The commercial payers, the actual price they are paying, has gone up over 100 percent."
Yearning for more of this guy: Robert Gaudry of Dignity Memorial is deathly serious about providing endearing care and service to his clients. But he's not stiff about it. "It's been a killer summer," he cracked. "Never a downturn in our business." Robert is a Mr. B favorite. Most friends gift / bribe Mr. B with flowers, bacon, good jokes or golf balls. Robert brought Mr. B an urn.
State of the County luncheon: Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley has three priorities that Tarrant should be asking from legislators during the 2019 session that begins in January. 1) Local decision-making -- "I don't want the state making decisions for us just like they don't want Washington making decisions for them;" 2) Get unfunded mandates funded, specifically reimbursements for providing counsel to indigent defendants and for housing state inmates in county jails; 3). Re-commit to historical levels of funding for public education. Among states, Texas is 42nd in funding, but 31st in performance. "Stop blaming the teachers and stop blaming the schools," he said.
Strong link to golf: PGA pro Eric Smith, the lead instructor at Topgolf, loves the City of Fort Worth's renovated Rockwood Golf Course. "It's an awesome course, links-style," he said. "Makes it more challenging on every hole than your regular approach shots to a green."
Self-taught artist: Jan Riggins, OU grad and fab GM at Express Employment Professionals, would Sooner be doing her classic artistry, including portraits, pet portraits and alphabet letter creations. "It's my secret identity," she said. "I'm largely a self-taught artist. After college, I began everything involved with being an adult and working, and found that I missed creating. For years I focused on colored pencil art; recently, I have found a new love with watercolor." September 29, she will be one of the professionals at the Crockett Row Chalk Art Festival.
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"You have to beg, borrow and hopefully not steal to get going."
-- Carolyn Phillips,
Alchemy Pops
on starting a business
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Stuck with her day job: Commenting on the recent Fort Worth magazine Top Chef competition, Kathy Stern of Gorrondona & Associates said, "I hosted a Chopped competition in my neighborhood. I didn't win. Turns out peanut butter and jelly tartare with a tuna reduction is not a big hit."
Dollars and sense: If economics were movies, Comerica Bank Chief Economist Robert Dye would be a perennial Oscar Best Actor nominee. When he talked recently at the Fort Worth Club, the bank guests listened:
- Trade wars are the top downside risk.
- Overall, tariffs are not a drain on the economy ... unless, of course, it directly affects you.
- The economy is running out of workers. For the first time in his memory, there are more jobs than unemployed workers.
- Auto sales are down, housing is sideways, older demographics spend less.
- He has concerns about government debt moreso than consumer debt.
 One for the aged: Former Texas Rangers star Rafael Palmiero, 54 this week, finished his comeback season with the independent Cleburne Railroaders hitting .301. He played 31 of 98 games, hit six home runs and had 21 RBI in 103 at-bats. He only hit into one double play and even managed one caught stealing. |
Date Event Name
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2018 BOOK OF LISTS
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Compiled and published annually by the Fort Worth Business Press, this directory includes lists of top companies in more than 60 industries in Tarrant and Denton counties.
Order a copy for only $95 (members only) from our eCommerce store
here. Members need to login with member ID to receive member pricing on all publications.
Email
Cat Clayton
at Clayton or call 817-338-3373 to schedule pickup or for more information. See more of our publications in our
online store
.
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For sponsorship inquiries in
B2B Insider, contact
Jennifer Vuduris or call (817) 338-3335
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