Growing up like most kids, I had no idea what my dad did for a living. I just knew my mom would put yesterday’s biscuits in the toaster and hand them to him in a paper towel on his way out the door. He would magically appear that evening at soccer practice or one of my baseball games — and I, in my youth, never realized the seeds he was planting at work would someday shape my entire future.
Time passed. I hated junior high and was tired of being beaten up at lunch, so my dad brought up Jesuit College Preparatory School and maybe playing soccer there. The motto at Jesuit is “A Man for Others.” That motto became a theme throughout my life and career.
After college I worked for the Plano Fire Department — nothing but an act of total selflessness, where you risk your life so that others may live. After having three kids in three years, I started to think about working at the office. My dad was nothing but encouragement. I began to understand what he really did: he cared for the families he served as if they were his own. I’d hear him say over and over, “Do what is right for the client no matter what.”
I quickly realized I wasn’t a solo guy. James mentioned David Dugger was interested in a job; we went to Chuy’s, and the next thing I knew, David was part of the team. Nineteen years later it was one of the best decisions we ever made. Susan came back, and we started to look like a real company.
I wish I could take you back to see what we were — the pain of carbon forms and fuzzy faxes, Stephen officing in the kitchen on milk crates. I wish the advisors we haven’t even hired yet could know how James built this business client by client, being a man for others. What a legacy. Cheers to 50 years — and to serving more families as if they were our own.