MAJOR
MOMENTS
Life-Changing Lessons of Business Leaders
from the Neeley School of Business at TCU
edited by
rix quinn
homer erekson
Contents
Foreword, by Bob Bolen
Preface, by Rix Quinn and Homer Erekson
Building the Foundation for the Neeley School
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www.neeley.tcu.edu/75
M.J. Neeley – Our namesake and favorite Aggie
Dan Rogers – A century of devotion
Charles Tandy – Focus on simple processes . . . and profit
The Neeley School: It’s More Than Business. It’s Personal.®
Alumni Perspectives
Accounting and Finance
Featured alumnus: J. Luther King, Jr. – Staying the course
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Ann Dully Borowiec – The college class I’ll always remember
Vernon Wilson Bryant, Jr. – Community banks help regions grow
David Corbin – Invest in companies you thoroughly understand
J. Philip Ferguson – Gather your thoughts, and keep a journal
James R. Hille – From Marine officer to endowment officer
Michael B. Hobbs – Every opportunity is a building block
Jenny Jeter – Match your personality with your profession
Urbin McKeever – Life is too short to tread water
Thomas Meagher – From government service to investments
Laura Shrode Miller – A major change . . . a major success
Maribess Miller – It’s better to lead the parade
Phillip E. Norwood – Long-term business relationships are critical
Mike Pavell – From Junior Achievement to major achievements
Robert Schumacher and Frank Kyle – Find a mentor and make a
difference
• Robert Semple – Nothing beats a strong work ethic
Leadership and Innovation
Featured alumnus: Robert J. McCann – Charting a path for college
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D.D. Alexander – The world wants performance, not excuses
Justin Avery Anderson – A success story to chew on
Adam Blake – Advantages of house-hunting
Eddie Clark – Surviving tough times
John F. Davis III – Sometimes failure is the best teacher
Ash Huzenlaub – Promoting entrepreneurship
Warren Mackey – Think big . . . talk small
Jay Meadows – Streamlining the mortgage industry
Greg Meyer – Football referee made right career call
Michael Micallef – Restaurants, ranches, and rodeos
Keira Breeden Moody – Grounded with a twist
David Moran – Innovations create a successful marketing brew
Ricky Paradise – Quit dreaming . . . start doing!
Derek Peachey – Taking the road less traveled
Michael Stanley - Listen carefully, work hard . . . and manage the details.
Marketing and Strategy
Featured alumnus: Spencer Hays – Redefining men’s clothing sales
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John Cockrell, Sr. – Sell the idea first
Donald Cram, Jr. – Give service wherever you can
Lorna Donatone – Keep looking for growth opportunities
Byron Dunn – Sales career started with a newspaper ad
Jim Estill – It takes more than a green thumb
Katie Farmer – Learn to articulate your thoughts
Michael Heard – A frightening lesson from 8th grade
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Christine Kalish – Defining answers helps define career
David D. Kinder – Mastering business details is critical
Roger King – Commit yourself to going the extra mile
Bryan Koop – Learning to lead through tough economic times
Gary Naifeh – Learn how to motivate an audience
Don Thomas – Act responsibly and value other people’s time
Ronnie Wallace – Placement office experience leads to perfect place
Chip Webster – Strive for increasing responsibility
Management and Operations
Featured alumnus: John V. Roach – The most exciting job interview
story you’ll ever read
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Brenda Cline – The call that changed her life
David Coburn – Dr. Detail advises multiple industries
Jennifer Duncan Edgeworth – The persuader
Charles Florsheim – Business training is helpful to any profession
Jeffrey Guy – Financial expertise can also be a work of art
Thomas Hund – On the right track
Thomas Klein – 150-year-old company expands product line and reach
Chris Kleinert – Right answers result from asking good questions
Benjamin D. Loughry – The lunch that changed my life
Pylar Pinkston – Listening to the call of the wild
Roger Ramsey – Deal with honor, act with courage, and refuse to fail
John Robinson – No matter what you do in life, accounting will be a
part of it
• P.D. Shabay – The suit with two pair of pants
• Richard W. Wiseman – 65 yards away from a scholarship
• Rick L. Wittenbraker – Team members work toward common goal
Global Perspectives
Featured alumnus: Gordon England – The soft stuff is the hard stuff
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Laurent Attias – A job is what you make it
Michael Baer – Find a business that fits your personality
David Breedlove – Humanitarian mission drives career
Jesse C. Edwards – Two minutes shifted my priorities
David R. Glendinning – The mysterious case that arrived by plane
Seth Hall – Airplane parts business takes off
J.J. Henry – Serving the community, too
Brian Hoesterey – Prepare to run through the wall
Lori Lancaster – Overseas travel develops new perspectives
Paul Lauritano – Great books help investment career
Melinda Lawrence – Saying yes to new career opportunities
Vinod Mirchandani – Technology analyst creates popular book on
innovators
• Salvador Rodriguez – Prepared to lead around the world
• Wil VanLoh – Firm basis for valuation
• Fehmi Zeko – Become a specialist in a growing field
MAJOR MOMENTS
Major Moments celebrates the thoughts of some remarkable people, the combined wisdom and experience of an allstar business team. These business executives -- alumni or key partners of the Neeley School -- tell you about the
ideas, innovations, and discoveries which led to career advancement and success.
This collection of stories was assembled as part of the celebration of the upcoming 75th anniversary of the permanent
founding of the School of Business at TCU. In gratitude for the willingness of these leading business executives to
be included, a portion of the profits of this book will go to the endowed Neeley Heritage Scholarship. The Neeley
Heritage Scholarship honors the many contributions of Neeley alumni, faculty and staff that have worked together
over the years to create a premier educational experience and will support one or more business students at TCU
each year in preparing the next generation of business leaders.
In a letter dated February 5, 1676, Isaac Newton paraphrased an ancient adage writing, “If I have seen a little
further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” Hopefully this book will help you see further and better.
Foreword by Bob Bolen, former Mayor of Fort Worth from 1982-1991, and Senior Advisor to TCU’s Chancellor since 1991.
Great cities need great universities. And the best universities have a business school dedicated to preparing its
graduates to become leaders in their professions and in their personal and civic lives. The best business education
requires not only solid grounding in business principles and applications, but also a commitment to promoting an
understanding and practice of ethical behavior.
The Neeley School has a long history of graduating men and women who have become leaders in the business
world, and in some cases, in service to government and nonprofit organizations. As you read this book, I think you
will be amused by many of the stories that have been shared by these very special individuals, but even more
impressed by their accomplishments and their advice for success in business and in life.
I have always tried to live by the philosophy passed down to me from my father, “to always leave a place a little
better than you found it.” Clearly the TCU graduates and other successful business leaders highlighted in this book
have achieved that objective many times over, in their professional, civic and personal lives.
The men and women profiled herein provide role models who clearly live out the mission of the Neeley School which
is to develop ethical leaders with a global perspective who help shape the business environment.
About the Editors
Rix Quinn holds a B.A. degree in
journalism from TCU, and a M.A. from
California State University. Primarily a
biographer, he has written two national
newspaper columns and five books.
www.neeley.tcu.edu/75
O. Homer Erekson is the John V. Roach
Dean and Professor of Managerial
Economics and Strategy at the Neeley
School of Business at TCU. He is a Phi Beta
Kappa graduate from TCU with a B.A. in
Economics and Political Science, and earned
his Ph.D. in Economics from the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.