Leaders from three Centennial Club honorees took part in a conversation exploring how these organizations stayed true to their roots while adapting to new realities. The March 25 discussion was moderated by Quentin McGown, local historian and Tarrant County associate probate judge.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bob Pence, chairman of the board at 132-year-old engineering firm Freese and Nichols, attributed his company\u2019s longevity to low turnover among the company\u2019s leadership and a focus on company culture.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve only had seven CEOs over that whole period,\u201d he said. \u201cThink about that. That\u2019s a really stable leadership.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The company culture was easier to maintain when the firm employed about 100 people between its Fort Worth and Austin locations. That was the size of Freese and Nichols when Pence began working there 32 years ago. Nurturing that culture now takes commitment, with 1,400 employees spread across Texas as well as North Carolina, Oklahoma, Georgia, Louisiana, Florida and New Mexico.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been able to maintain our culture, and we work hard at doing that,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Pence said what really propelled the company forward was Bob Herchert, who was Freese and Nichols\u2019 first-ever president and CEO not from an engineering background.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe put us on the Malcolm Baldrige quality journey, Ronald Reagan\u2019s quality award,\u201d said Pence. \u201cWe\u2019ve been awarded it twice and that has really stabilized our company and I\u2019ll add a little bit of luck.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Freese and Nichols was the first engineering and architecture firm to receive the award, the highest U.S. recognition for quality business practices. The Fort Worth-based organization is one of 13 companies to receive the award twice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Ben E. Keith Co. is 120 years old this year and has grown from a small Fort Worth produce firm into a major food and beverage distribution giant.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Founded by Ben E. Keith, who helped bring Camp Bowie to the city, the company is now a privately held multibillion enterprise.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Current President Michael Sweet said being privately owned and operated is a big part of the secret to the company\u2019s longevity. The company was initially owned and operated by the Keith family and now with the Hallam family. But both owners\u2019 approach to the business has been key to the firm\u2019s success, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey take an approach that the family serves the business. The business does not serve the family,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s something that permeates throughout the organization.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Like Freese and Nichols, Sweet said culture is very important to the organization.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s something that we are very conscious of, regardless of what your title is or your tenure, it\u2019s that everyone plays a role in fostering that culture,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s how you treat people. It\u2019s how you treat each other within the organization. It\u2019s how you treat your trading partners and how you treat the community. We\u2019re very proud to do that and we\u2019re all keepers of that culture, and that\u2019s something that has kept us in Fort Worth for as long as we have been here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Mike Micallef, incoming board chair of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, speaks at the organization\u2019s annual meeting on March 25. (Bob Francis | Fort Worth Report) <\/p>\n
At 118, the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary was the relative youth on the panel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Colby Adams, senior adviser at the seminary that sits on a hill at 2001 W. Seminary Drive, said Fort Worth itself is one reason it has remained here for so long.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were founded in 1908 and immediately began a search across Texas for where we would call home,\u201d he said. \u201cCities across the state competed for this new institution, this new seminary, in the same way that corporate relocations happen today, and everybody was offering their best package.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fort Worth business, elected and local church officials came together and offered a package of 250 acres along with $100,000 to help fund the first building.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was really what put Fort Worth over the top and it wasn\u2019t really close when it came to making the decision,\u201d Adams said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, he said, as the seminary has faced some financial challenges recently, the Fort Worth community has given the school the partnerships it has needed to right its ship.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were able to come through that to where today I can sit here and say, we\u2019ve had three straight years of enrollment growth,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve turned the corner and our financial data is as healthy as it\u2019s been in decades.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The chamber also unveiled a video exhibit that highlighted the city\u2019s companies in the Centennial Club.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The event was held at the Will Rogers Memorial Center, itself just 10 years shy of reaching that centennial mark.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Attendees also heard remarks from outgoing board chair Brian Newby of Cantey Hanger and incoming chair Mike Micallef, president of Reata Restaurant.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The chamber also presented two honors: the chairman\u2019s Spirit of Enterprise Award and the Susan Halsey Executive Leadership Award.<\/p>\n
The Fort Worth Chamber named Crescent Real Estate as this year\u2019s recipient of the Spirit of Enterprise honor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Founded in Fort Worth more than 30 years ago and still headquartered here, the firm is a real estate operating company and investment adviser with assets under management, development and investment capacity of more than $10 billion.<\/p>\n
\u201cCrescent has played a pivotal role in shaping the modern skyline and economic landscape of Fort Worth through high-profile developments that attract businesses, residents and tourism,\u201d Fort Worth Chamber CEO and President Steve Montgomery said. \u201cBy investing in large-scale mixed-use and commercial projects, the firm has helped drive job creation, increase property values, and strengthen the city\u2019s position as a major economic hub.\u201d<\/p>\n
Christopher Goff, senior managing director, and Andrew Lombardi, chief financial officer, accepted the award for Crescent.<\/p>\n
The Susan Halsey Executive Leadership Award was presented to Bob Jameson, president and CEO of Visit Fort Worth, who plans to retire soon<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a humbling and wonderful, joyful experience to represent the city and to represent all of you, as we told the Fort Worth story all around the world,\u201d Jameson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Do you have something for the Bob on Business column? Email Bob Francis, business editor for the Fort Worth Report, at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n