Dallas-area Movers and Shakers Share the Thoughts that Guide Them

They say it makes them think of me. I hope they mean that as a compliment.

 During my 37-year career here, I've been blessed with verbal presents from business legends. Norman Brinker always reminded me: Begin with the end in mind. Stanley Marcus' caution was: It's just as wrong to be too early to market as too late.

 Ross Perot is passionate about Never give in – never, never, never, never.

Turns out, this Churchill quote is also a favorite of Southwest Airlines chief executive Gary Kelly. "Whether it's a bad-weather day for the airline, a health issue or a pickup stuck in the mud, things happen, and you have to persevere," Kelly says. "Getting older just reinforces that truism, and it makes one even more grateful for all the good things in life."

To get us off to a fresh start in 2010, I asked business, academic and community leaders to share a guiding truism.

I was overwhelmed with wonderful responses.

Some are original. Most are treasured words from parents, colleagues, mentors or famous folks. Some came without explanation, others with personal meanings.

Some cheated and sent several, leaving me the difficult task of selecting one.

Enjoy!

Randy Johnston, partner, Johnston Tobey PC

I only use my gun whenever kindness fails. - Robert Earl Keen

This reminds me not to start out every legal conflict by using all my lawyerly weapons if I can get it by being nice. If the other side wants the fight, well then, kindness has failed, and it is time to become the hired gun.

 Adelfa Callejo, attorney and community leader

 Be a master of the job before you. Be a student of the job above you. And be a teacher of the job below you.

I finished high school when I was 16. I was 17 when I had my first job in an office. An old Spaniard who was my mentor told me this saying. He said that would guarantee me an interesting and fruitful life. It's worked for me.

Craig Hall, real estate developer

Never see a lawyer without seeing a lawyer first.

The truth is, except for marrying one and having a lot of them as friends, I try to stay away from them.

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. In the event you didn't plant one then, the second-best time is today.

I use this to highlight the need to adopt a meaningful energy policy that will actually begin to reduce foreign oil use, something every president and presidential candidate going back to Richard Nixon has promised.

Sam Wyly billionaire entrepreneur and author

In all aspects of our lives, each of us must choose between the trivial many and the vital few.

When the first company I founded, University Computing, became publicly owned, I got more than 100 letters and phone calls every day. I had to choose which were the vital few and focus my thoughts on them.

Ross Perot, Perot Systems

Corp. founder

The difference between winning and losing is quitting.

Morton Meyerson, entrepreneur

The point of living, and of being an optimist, is to be foolish enough to believe the best is yet to come. - Peter Ustinov My grandparents wouldn't have left Russia to come to Texas if they believed in sitting still and kvetching. So I try look forward with optimism, believing we all can do better.

Ebby Halliday, Dallas Realtor

Don't drink. Don't smoke. Don't retire.

Liener Temerlin, chairman emeritus, Temerlin McClain

There is no such thing as overkill.

If you jump one hoop, jumping three probably would be better.

Stan Richards, The Richards Group

The only thing that matters is the work, the work, the work. If the work is terrific, everything else will take care of itself.

I sought my God whom I could not see.

I sought my soul. It eluded me.

I sought my brother, and I found all three.

Garrett Boone, co-founder, Container Store

Nothing is more common than a good idea. Nothing is less common than a good idea carried out. - Will Rogers

Valerie Freeman, chief executive, Imprimis Group Inc.

If you're going through hell, keep going. - Winston Churchill

Jerry White

, director, Southern Methodist University's Caruth Institute for Owner-Managed Business

It's not the hand that's dealt you that's important. It's how you play the hand that's dealt you that's important.

Wanda Brice, executive director, the Women's Museum

When confronted with a mountain to move, start with one rock. - My motherWhen I feel almost paralyzed with the enormity of a project or a problem, I get started by completing one task or action. It always gives me the momentum to move on.

Gloria Campos, news anchor, WFAA-TV (Channel 8)

Winners never quit, and quitters never win. - My dad There have been a few trying times in my career when I wanted to quit, but I thought of all the people I would be letting down, particularly being a woman and a Latina in what was then a white male-dominated business.

Ruth P. Morgan, provost emeritus, Southern Methodist University

Use perceived bias as a spur to performance rather than as an excuse for disappointment.

David Davis

, director, public relations, Adolphus hotel

Per aspera ad astra

This is a Latin phrase for "To the stars through difficulties." I had this printed on my very first business notepad to remind me that if I just stuck with it and surmounted the daily obstacles, I'd feel the exhilaration of touching the stars. On occasion, I have.

Brenda Jackson, senior vice president, Oncor

Electric Delivery Co.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We ask ourselves, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and famous?" Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. - Nelson Mandela

I keep his words in a prominent place in my office so I am reminded to do my best and to be respectful of others.

Eric Affeldt, chief executive, ClubCorp Inc.

Goodbye, said the fox. And now here is my secret, a very simple secret. It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye. - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

Tosawi Marshall, executive director, American Indian Chamber of Commerce of Texas

Religion is for people afraid of going to hell; spirituality is for people who have already been.

There is a difference between being religious and being spiritual. I am a spiritual person like my [Comanche] ancestors before me. It is something that resonates from the DNA of my soul, my being.

Ray Hunt, chief executive, Hunt Consolidated Inc.

A person's reputation is like his shadow; it is always longer or shorter than the real thing.

I read that some 30 to 35 years ago. It is a truth that someone always needs to keep in mind.

Don Chapman, director, Catapult Partners

For me there is only traveling on paths that have heart, on any path that has heart, and there I travel – looking, looking, breathlessly. - Carlos Castaneda

, The Teachings of Don Juan

It reminds me to keep my eyes up off the floor and my mind open to finding the joy in whatever is around me.

Bob Buford, author

At this stage of your life, it is your job to release and direct energy, not to supply it. - Peter Drucker

In the mid-1990s, Drucker used this to explain my aging to me. I find Peter's admonition fits almost everyone in life's second half.

Bob Beaudine, author

The real problem of finding your dream or achieving isn't about who you don't know but whom you've neglected.

People have been taught, incorrectly, that mixing business and friends is taboo. The key to success is doing life – and business – with friends.

Hala Moddelmog, chief executive, Susan G. Komen for the Cure

There is a subtle difference between a mission and a promise. A mission is something you strive to accomplish – a promise is something you are compelled to keep. One is individual, the other is shared. When a mission and a promise are one and the same, that's when mountains are moved and races are won.

Mark Kane, owner, Entertainmart LLC

I was wrong.

Rather than make excuses, equivocate or issue general denials, I have required that my children, as well as my employees, simply say I was wrong. I was dead wrong. This utterance will typically put an end to any further discussion on the topic.

Mark Cuban

, owner, Dallas Mavericks

Today is the youngest you will ever be. Live like it. - My dadIt's a reminder never to think that I'm old. There is always someone older who wishes they were my age and regrets taking the vitality that comes with that age for granted.

Connie Beck, executive vice president, Comerica

Bank

Life is not a dress rehearsal.

This is a great reminder to enjoy the moment, not put off anything important to us, to know that we want to get the most of our life, etc.

Melissa Reiff, president, Container Store

At the moment of commitment the entire universe conspires to assist you. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

When we have made the choice to be clear-thinking and focused, the universe does conspire to assist. We persevere and succeed.

Naomi Pevsner, owner, Naomi Designs Inc.

Success is a journey and not a destination. - My father

This quote that he loved reminds me to live in the moment and to enjoy the journey just exactly as it unfolds. The highest peaks and the bumpy parts, too.

Angel L. Reyes III, Reyes Bartolomei Browne

It's better to dare mighty things, even if checkered by failure, than to end up someone who doesn't know victory or defeat.

This proves valuable to me every time my law firm takes on a big hairy new project. If I didn't remind myself that it's OK to fail, I wouldn't be able to stomach being an entrepreneur.

Gail Cooksey, president, Cooksey Communications

If you don't have time to do it right, when do you have time to do it over?

A good one to say to yourself when you get in a hurry. Works well for employees, too.

Jeff Sinelli, president, Sinelli Concepts Inc.

Get in the game, and the game will open up for you. - Paul Sinelli, my father

You must first make a commitment. Too many people sit on the sidelines talking, wishing, and never take action and hence never get in the game. Every time I put myself in a game, great things happen.

Russ Williamson, Texas director, Pfizer Inc

.

Always make the maximum effort.

This is my modification of a Vince Lombardi saying regarding the second effort.

U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn

Keep your nose to the grindstone.

Michael Boone, partner, Haynes and Boone LLP

Kick 'em when they're down but leave 'em laughing.

A few years ago I came up against a very unreasonable New York lawyer representing a company being acquired by our client. I picked up a big rubber band and put it around my head like a basketball player's headband. A few minutes later, I put on a second one, and a little later, a third one. I explained that I was trying to help him become a better negotiator. I told him I was putting one on each time he made an inappropriate negotiation request and promised to take one off each time he made a reasonable request. By looking at me across the table, he could tell how well he was doing. At one point, I put on four or five rubber bands at once, explaining that he had just made the worst request that I had ever heard in my entire legal career. The humor broke the tension, and we got the deal done.

Cappy McGarr, executive producer, Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize

Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand. - Mark Twain

I have a close friend whose teenage son was recently in a boating accident and has had multiple hand surgeries. We talk every day and cry about his son's situation, but we never end the call without a laugh or at least a smile. Laughter is medicine we all need.

Jim Hess, chief executive, Leapfrog HR Executives

Survival precedes success.

Many impressive/promising organizations, small and large, were not able to persevere long enough to be around when a difference-making opportunity knocked.

Dale Wamstad, restaurateur

Non lesse illegitimus de carborundum.

Pseudo Latin for Don't let the bastards grind you down. Don't worry about what your competitor is doing. Take care of your own business. That you can control.

Gabriel Barbier-Mueller, chief executive, Harwood International

Quality remains long after price is forgotten. - Stanley Marcus

It's my inspiration for Harwood International's vision: Yesterday we planned for today, today we plan for tomorrow.

Wendy Lopez, vice president, URS Corp.

Cash is king.

Cash gives you freedom to make the decisions without seeking permission from investors.

Karyl Innis, chief executive, Innis Co.

The skills that bring you to the table don't keep you at the feast.

It's often the breakthrough idea that clears a path for important career growth.

Eknauth Persaud, chief executive, Ayoka LLC

Eat your own dog food.

You've got to follow the same process model that you provide your customers. This is the best way to understand your clients.

Emmitt Smith, chief executive, ESmith Legacy Inc.

It's only a dream until you write it down. Then it becomes a goal.

Pete Schenkel, former vice chairman, Dean Foods

Co.

You inspect what you expect. - The late Jack Evans, former Dallas mayor and CEO of Tom Thumb

Lynn Blodgett, CEO, Affiliated Computer Services Inc

.

I shall do less whenever I shall believe what I am doing hurts the cause, and I shall do more whenever I shall believe doing more will help the cause. I shall try to correct errors when shown to be errors, and I shall adopt new views so fast as they shall appear to be true views. - Abraham Lincoln

In a letter he wrote to Horace Greeley in 1862, Lincoln wrote this about the importance of remaining flexible. I admire this quote because an unbending devotion to flexibility has been an asset in the last 18 months since the recession began to rear its head. Managing a Fortune 500 company requires leaders to be nimble, but the economic uncertainty challenging clients around the world is forcing executives to reach even deeper and maintain a flexible vigilance to meeting their clients' expectations but also leading a large enterprise.

Leadership

June Jones, head football coach, Southern Methodist University

You cannot manage men into battle.

You manage things. You lead people by conducting yourself in such a way that you will lift those around to a higher level of performance.

Carl Sewell, Sewell Automotive Cos.

Leadership is performance. - Peter Drucker

Ideas, plans, hopes and dreams are nice, but performance is really all that counts. The older I get, the clearer it gets that it is not about intentions, it's about results.

Paul Spiegelman, founder and chief executive, Beryl Cos.

The seven most important words in business: I don't know, what do you think? - J.W. Marriott

A leader may know the answers, but if he lets co-workers come up with answers and gives them credit, the company will reach its goals with an engaged, empowered workforce.

Mike Rawlings, chief executive, Legends Hospitality Management

There are simplifiers and complicators. Simplifiers always lead better.

If I want to communicate effectively, I can't get lost in the details.

Fear of failure

Ruth Fitzgibbons, principal, Richards Partners Public Relations

Success is never permanent. Neither is failure.

My late husband had a little sign on his desk that packed a wallop of wisdom in a few short words. That little saw is handy when you're either thinking you're the bees' knees or when you've just bombed spectacularly.

Helen Harkness, Career Design Associates Inc.

We change careers when our pain is greater than our fear.

I also connect with Helen Hayes' If you rest, you rust, since I plan to become a centenarian.

Melendy Lovett, president of education technology, Texas Instruments Inc.

Courage is about the management of fear, not the absence of fear. - Rudy Giuliani

I learned this saying from my former boss and mentor, Steve Leven. It has encouraged me to make courageous decisions and act boldly.

Homespun truths

Ed Pratt III, co-founder, Sunrise Equity Investors LLC

Always be humble. Always be frugal. Always be kind. And remember, it's a short trip from the penthouse to the poorhouse.

Life has a funny way of humbling you when you least expect it. How many examples have we seen in the last year with so many big-name companies going under or needing a government rescue to survive? How many executives of those companies can now tell you how short the trip really is?

Carol Reed, Reeds Public Relations Corp.

When someone is committing suicide, you don't have to kill them and Silence is the best substitute for brains.

Jerry Meyer, chairman, Walls Industries Inc.

Explain not – Friends don't expect it, and enemies won't believe it.

Carl Westcott, entrepreneur

You got to know when to hold them and know when to fold them. - Kenny Rogers

Over my career, I've closed a couple of businesses that were underperforming and had doubtful future prospects. I felt that we should take the loss, focus on our more promising prospects and live to fight another day.

Roland Dickey, Dickey's Barbecue Pit

We don't eat nothin' that wasn't bigger than we are when it died.

That's what's above the doors to the trailers that we Dickeys live in. We've leave all the fish and the chickens to others. As big as some members of my family are getting, that's getting harder and harder to live by. There's less and less things bigger than they are.

Jerry Clements, chairwoman, Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell LLP

Pretty is as pretty does. - My mother

Without a good and decent heart, nothing on the outside matters. I've made a point of passing it on to my children.

Todd Wagner, billionaire philanthropist and entrepreneur

Pigs get fat, and hogs get slaughtered.

You should try to get what is coming your way, but not at the expense of the other side. Become hoggish, and it can come back to bite you.

Mary Brinegar, president and chief executive, the Dallas Arboretum

The louder he spoke of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons . - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Erin Botsford, chief executive, the Botsford Group

Confidence is the electricity that powers human achievement. With confidence you can do anything. ... Without it, you can do nothing.

Bronwyn Allen, president, High Profile Inc.

There are only good days or great days.

If you wake up in the morning – alive, healthy and get to see your family – at the bare minimum, it's going to be a good day.

Paul Bass, vice chairman, First Southwest Co.

If there's a will, try and get in it.

Larry Friedman, managing partner, Friedman & Feiger LLP

When in doubt, take the high road.

Social responsibility

Jim Keyes, chief executive, Blockbuster Inc.

Education IS freedom.

I saw this on a T-shirt on a student at my alma mater, Columbia University.

This is a simple, elegant truth – whether inspiring a young person to stay in school or reminding myself that the answer to a particularly challenging business problem lies in educating myself to make an informed decision.

Paige Flink, executive director, Family Place

If not me, who? If not now, when? - Parapharase of Rabbi Hillel; also attributed to Robert Kennedy

Larry North, fitness expert

Poor is a way of life, and broke is just a temporary state. - My father

Knowing this simple fact has influenced me to take risks, challenges and never be afraid to make mistakes.

Kathleen Mason, chief executive, Tuesday Morning Inc.

What you lose on the swings, you can pick up on the merry-go-round.

It means if you lose out one way, there's an opportunity to win another way.

Gene Street, restaurateur

There is a lot of good water in my commode, but I just can't drink it.

It's from my mom and dad. Anytime I've been approached with a "too-good-to-be-true, we'll-make-a-killing idea," I've used this phrase as a nice, plain, simple way to say, "I am not interested." I've used it several times with overseas investors whose interpreters had a little difficulty in explaining it.

Ike Vanden Eykel, partner, Koons, Fuller, Vanden Eykel & Robertson PC

When you find yourself in a hole, the first thing you do is stop digging.

My kids got very sick of hearing it.

Bobby Haas, Haas Wheat & Partners

When in doubt, make the more correctable mistake.

When you are in doubt between two choices, assume you'll guess wrong and take the path that causes the least damage when you seek to undo your choice. Not sure whether you should marry someone? Don't do it! Not sure whether to do a deal? Don't do it! I have used this pearl of wisdom with my daughters so often that it is now ingrained in the Haas family DNA.

Kim Askew, partner, K&L Gates LLP

You must be the change you wish to see in the world.

My all-time favorite saying from Gandhi is posted on my office door, on my desktop and in the corner of my bedroom closet. My life has been spent in some pretty nontraditional roles for women. When the going gets tough, I frequently remind myself that this is the greater purpose for which I stand.

Michael Brown

, Nobel laureate, UT Southwestern Medical School

The most important decision facing any scientist is the choice of a spouse.

I tell all of our students: With an understanding partner, anything can be accomplished. I took my own advice when I married Alice 45 years ago, and I have benefited ever since.

Larry Lavine, restaurateur

BFC – Behavior is a function of consequence.

Most people do not take the time to thank others for an action that they would like repeated. People will respond to a positive remark much better than being told they did something wrong. This works with employees, your spouse, children and even your dog.

Susan Byrne, chairman, Westwood Holdings Group Inc.

Never try to catch an anvil in the air when you can pick it up off the ground.

My best rule for investing: Wait for the dust to settle before committing capital.

Ken Schnitzer, chairman, Park Place Dealerships

Keep doing what you've always done, and you'll keep getting what you've always gotten.

This is my Texas twist on Benjamin Franklin's "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." Today's leaders should always be evaluating new ideas that ultimately will result in providing the best service or product to the client. When a company becomes stagnant in its processes, the result is a loss of innovation.

Roger Staubach, Jones Lang LaSalle

It takes a lot of unspectacular preparation to get spectacular results , which leads into There are no traffic jams on the extra mile.

Two of my favorite sayings go hand in hand. My coach switched me to quarterback in high school. I didn't really want to play quarterback, but I worked hard to be the best I could be, and it changed my life. I have always felt the same about business. If you go the extra mile, you are usually rewarded for it. Nothing comes easy.

Charles Terrell, insurance executive and former chairman of the Texas criminal justice system

Remember the Alamo.

It means: Don't get mad. Get even.

©2009 Angel Reyes
www.ReyesLaw.com

Baby's Death Leads To Lawsuit Against Wal-Mart
Last updated Wednesday, October 28, 2009 9:24 PM CDT in News
By Richard Dean Prudenti

THE MORNING NEWSBENTONVILLE – A lawsuit filed Wednesday claims Wal-Mart is liable for selling what is believed to be a defective bassinet that allegedly killed a 6-month-old child last year.

Kennedy Renee Jones died Aug. 21, 2008, allegedly while in a bassinet manufactured by Simplicity Inc. of Reading, Pa. The family, who were residents of Johnson County, Kan., at the time of the incident, purchased the bassinet for about $98 at a Walmart in Shawnee, Kan., according to the receipt included as an exhibit in the lawsuit.

Jones died of strangulation, according to the lawsuit.

The plaintiff demands a jury trial and requests punitive damages.

The baby was placed in the bassinet to go to sleep, and subsequently was found with her neck trapped between the bars of the bassinet on the side where it opens, the lawsuit states.

The bassinet was defective and "unreasonably dangerous" because the bars on the side that opens were too far apart — large enough for an infant to become trapped between the bars and the floor of the bassinet with a pad on it, the suit states.
The suit claims Wal-Mart is liable vicariously for the actions of its agents in China who assembled the product.

Wal-Mart spokeswoman Daphne Moore said the company was not aware of the lawsuit, therefore she could not respond immediately with a comment. She referred to a statement Walmart made at the time of the recall.

"Customer safety is a top priority at Wal-Mart," the statement reads. "We are working with the supplier and (Consumer Product Safety Commission) and are directing store managers to remove from store shelves product."

The company also removed the product from sale on its Web site, according to the news release from Aug. 27, 2008.

Walmart issued a recall after the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued an imminent hazard warning on the product.

The lawsuit alleges Walmart and Simplicity knew about the bassinet's defect because the product caused the death of another infant in September 2007 in Jane, Mo. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in its news release, reported a 4-month-old girl from Noel, Mo., became entrapped in the metal bars of the bassinet and died.

"Despite this knowledge, (the companies) failed to remove the product from the market," the lawsuit states.

©2009 Angel Reyes
www.ReyesLaw.com

Dallas Hispanic chamber delays hiring a new CEO
10:40 PM CDT on Wednesday, September 23, 2009
By SHERYL JEAN / The Dallas Morning News

The Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce took key steps Wednesday to address its five months of leadership turmoil, but the nonprofit business group probably will remain without a chief executive into early next year.

The chamber's board of directors voted unanimously to delay its search for a new CEO to study how other groups have handled similar situations.

The group has been embroiled in a power struggle since CEO Cici Rojas left in April to become executive director of the Kansas Republican Party and more than a third of the 16-member board resigned in May. The 70-year-old chamber has more than 1,700 members.

©2009 Angel Reyes
www.ReyesLaw.com

We will be bringing on several new Board members very soon. Each of the individuals brings strong business expertise and acumen to the Board. We’re excited to move forward and will rebuild our house on an even stronger foundation.

See excerpts below from today’s Dallas Morning News Article by Sheryl Jean “Hispanic chamber delays hiring a CEO.”

The group has been embroiled in a power struggle since CEO Cici Rojas left in April to become executive director of the Kansas Republican Party and more than a third of the 16-member board resigned in May. The 70-year-old chamber has more than 1,700 members.

On May 6, before the board could interview finalists to replace Rojas, a group of community activists protested that the selection process was "tainted." The board then halted the hiring process. Within days, six board members, including the chairman and chairman-elect, resigned...

The board voted Wednesday to create an exploratory committee to research how other groups, such as the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, have hired CEOs during difficult times, Ortiz said.

"Houston won the Large Chamber of the Year, didn't they?" said board member Jim Rodriguez. "Remember, before they hired [CEO] Laura Murillo, they had problems similar to ours – and bigger. We should take from their best practices."

Since Murillo was hired in 2007, the Houston Hispanic chamber's membership and corporate sponsorships have increased significantly.

On Wednesday, the Dallas group's board also appointed seven new directors for 2010-11 and three officers. Last month, it had received 20 nominations.

The new board members are: Fernando Andrade, CEO of GSR Andrade Architects; Irvin Ashford, a vice president at Comerica Bank; lawyer Cynthia Figueroa; Aaron Liverpool, CEO of Entrust One Facility Services Inc.; Maria Mendez, regional director of community relations for Aetna; Martha Metzger, owner of Metzger Awards & Promotional Products; and Claudia Mirza, CEO of Akorbi Language Consulting.

The board reappointed Ortiz as chairman and Angel L. Reyes III as vice chairman and appointed Salas secretary.
 

Business leaders worry about national economy but optimistic for Dallas-Fort Worth
Cheryl Hall, Dallas Morning News - September 12, 2009

D-FW business leaders are tiptoeing into the fourth quarter.

They want to believe that the worst is behind us, but they aren't about to let their guard down.

There's too much unsettling stuff going on in Washington to suit them. And they're fearful that a crisis in commercial real estate may send us into another banking crisis.

Most don't expect robust economic growth until mid- to late 2010 or beyond. And they worry that truly scary things on the horizon - like mounting federal debt - will make any recovery short-lived.

©2009 Angel Reyes
www.ReyesLaw.com

Dallas law firms traveling a softer road than many national offices
09:34 AM CDT on Monday, July 6, 2009
By ERIC TORBENSON / The Dallas Morning News

While a painful recession has forced many big law firms nationwide to downsize, Dallas' law practices have dodged most of the bullets and are changing their tactics to fire back when the economy rebounds.

Angel Reyes and partners Luis Bartolomei, Spencer Browne and Ryan Browne, and associate Nick Farris created the Reyes Bartolomei Browne law firm to focus on local cases in Dallas and Tarrant counties. The region's firms have held up better because of North Texas' relative economic strength and because the kind of law specialties that dominate here, such as energy and intellectual property, are somewhat recession-proof.

©2009 Angel Reyes
www.ReyesLaw.com

A tragic fiery collision occurred today, June 24, 2009 in Carrollton, Texas on southbound I-35E near President George Bush Turnpike.  According to television and Dallas Morning News reports, an 18-wheeler struck two cars that were parked on the shoulder. The big rig then struck a cement barrier, overturned and burst into flames. As the cab exploded and the fiery crash continued, another trucker helped the driver of one of the parked cars out, but reports have indicated that one woman, who was in one of the parked cars, died from her injuries. It has been reported that she was only 65. The truck driver is said to be still in the hospital.

©2009 Angel Reyes
www.ReyesLaw.com

Lawyer makes case against immigrant myths
By MERCEDES OLIVERA / The Dallas Morning News
10:53 AM CDT on Sunday, April 26, 2009

While politicians may debate the merits of immigration reform, many economists and researchers have already made up their minds: Immigrants contribute far more to the U.S. economy than they take.

It's a view expressed most recently in the book – Hispanic Heresy: What Is the Impact of America's Largest Population of Immigrants? –released in January and written by a Dallas lawyer and two Texas Tech University business professors.

©2009 Angel Reyes
www.ReyesLaw.com

I have personally met with Ann on several occasions and have known of her community involvement and work in and around Dallas. I thoroughly believe she will be a wonderful addition to the City Council and will be well respected among her colleagues and peers.

Ann's resume is quite impressive - her business experience as the founding partner of a general insurance agency (where she oversaw agents in 23 states), together with her experience in her own investment real estate company provide her with the necessary background and experience to help the City of Dallas remain fiscally responsible and viable.

Ann has tremendous voluntary experience on numerous public and non-profit boards in addition to those boards mentioned already (i.e., the Dallas Park and Recreation Board, Dallas City Plan Commission, and Parkland Memorial Hospital) such as the Safer Dallas Better Dallas Board, World Affairs Council, Southwestern Medical Foundation, Parkland Foundation, Zale Lipshy University Hospital, North Dallas Chamber of Commerce, Temple Emanuel,  Texas Woman's University Business School and several others.

Ann has lived in Dallas for more than 30 years and has lived in District 13 for more than 25 years. No doubt, she will bring her varied background and wise business acumen to the Council and be a tremendous asset to our great city. That’s why the Dallas Hispanic Political Action Committee supports Ann Margolin for City Council, District 13 and I’m proud to say that I personally endorse this outstanding candidate.

©2009 Angel Reyes
www.ReyesLaw.com

New Candidates:
Delia Jasso, District 1
Casey Thomas, District 3
Don Parish, District 7

2 years after student's death, SMU bans fraternity from holding parties
By SAMANTHA URBAN / The Dallas Morning News
Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Two years after an SMU student died from an overdose at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house, the university has acknowledged that drug use at the fraternity was not limited to that isolated incident and issued SAE a $5,000 fine.

©2009 Angel Reyes
www.ReyesLaw.com

If you're interested in volunteering, please visit their website at www.unitedwaydallas.org/eks. My best to you and your family this holiday season, and thank you for your support of this worthy cause.

Dallas Hispanic Bar Association reaches out to new generation
Dallas Morning News
08:27 AM CDT on Saturday, August 30, 2008

When he first moved to Dallas 14 years ago, Dallas lawyer Jaime Ramón remembers when a small group of Hispanic lawyers, most of them in private practice, would gather to discuss issues and concerns in their community.

Back then, it was called the Mexican American Bar Association.

Today, the group has morphed into the Dallas Hispanic Bar Association, and its members – now numbering about 300 – range from high-powered partners in corporate law firms to lawyers in private practice battling employment discrimination and civil rights cases.

"There was only a handful of us who were partners in major law firms back then," said the 54-year-old partner in K&L Gates. "Today, there's a lot of vibrancy in the organization, and there's a crop of younger people coming up who have a great commitment to their community. They don't have the barriers we did, and they're very global in their thinking."

During the past several years, as the area's demographics have shifted, the Dallas Hispanic Bar Association (www.dallashispanicbar.com) has slowly emerged as an agent for change in Dallas County.

A new generation of Hispanic lawyers has become more visibly involved in the organization's civic pursuits, such as the effort to rename Ross Avenue after farm workers advocate César Chávez. Others are content to work behind the scenes to boost the city's growing Latino economic and political clout.

On Sept. 17, many of them will gather to help a younger generation of Latino law students seeking the same path to legal and economic advancement at the group's annual scholarship fundraising banquet at the Belo Mansion.

A dozen students attending an array of Texas law schools will receive from $1,500 to $2,000 in financial awards, some of them named after well-known Hispanic benefactors or emerging civic leaders – Adelfa Callejo, Gilbert Aranza and Angel Reyes.

Much of the $130,000 raised at the annual event is being channeled into the group's scholarship foundation, with a goal of raising $1 million by 2015.

This year, the organization will give its annual La Luz Achievement Award to Regina Montoya. The Harvard law school graduate served as assistant for governmental affairs to President Clinton and recently stepped down after three years as CEO of the New America Alliance.

And Mr. Ramón, who has served as a mentor to a younger generation, will be the recipient of this year's President's Award.

"The best piece of advice I ever got was from Jaime," recalled Aaron R. Ramírez, Hispanic bar president.

He was thinking of walking away from a corporate position with the nation's largest employment law firm to go into private practice with a colleague, Maricela Siewczynski.

He called Mr. Ramón filled with questions.

"He knew I had more passion for representing people than I did a company," he said. "A corporation never really says 'thank you.' They simply write a check.

"It's far more personally rewarding for me now because I can see how individuals are being wronged. Jaime told me, 'Don't ever look back.' And I haven't."

©2008 Angel Reyes
www.ReyesLaw.com

• Demonstrated dedication and continuing commitment to advocating, raising issues of diversity and protecting civil and human rights. (example: civil rights, human rights activist, outspoken group leader, cultural ambassador, humanitarian, etc.)

• Led the development of innovative or contemporary measures to fight discrimination and prejudice and the effects of past discrimination, and/or

• Fostered positive communication and actively promoted inter-group relations among persons of different races, ages, ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, religious backgrounds, or physical and mental abilities.

• Participates in a variety of corporate and community events that promotes mutual respect, acceptance, cooperation or tolerance: any level of involvement in community events, projects, efforts or organizations that promote or celebrate tolerance and contribute to diversity awareness in the community and workplace.

Diversity Luncheons 2008
NORTH TEXAS DIVERSITY LUNCHEON

Event Co-chairs
Roslyn Fitch - UT Southwestern Medical Center
Greg Moore - Raytheon
Jean Hood - The University of Texas at Arlington

Schedule of Events
9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Best Practices Sessions (FREE TO THE PUBLIC)
Limited space - You must RSVP with Mae Marshall at mae.marshall@texasdiversitycouncil.org or 972.298.6447 in order to attend.

• Generational Differences in the Workplace

• Southwest Airlines OnBoarding 2.0

11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Luncheon
Ron Kirk
Former Dallas Mayor,
Partner - Vinson & Elkins LLP

Date:
August 18, 2008

Location:
Cityplace Conference Center
2711 N. Haskell Ave.
Dallas, TX 75204

 Sign-Up Now!




"Generation Differences in the Workplace"
Best Practice Session


Nancy Barry, Motivational Speaker and Author, will have her book, When
Reality Hits: What Employers Want Recent College Graduates to Know,
available for sale.

Renaming Industrial Boulevard for César Chávez is a befitting choice
Saturday, May 24, 2008
The Dallas Morning News

If city government followed the cue of corporate America, our public institutions, highways, and street names would be named after those who could pay for the honor.

And a humble farm worker like César Chávez, whose mission in life was to improve the daily life of his co-workers in the fields, probably would not make the cut.

Yet, there he is, on a short list of six potential names approved by the Dallas City Council's Trinity River committee to replace the current one for Industrial Boulevard.

The others are: Eddie Bernice Johnson Parkway, Riverfront Boulevard, Trinity Lakes Boulevard, Trinityview Boulevard and Waterfront Boulevard.

Interest in the renaming of Industrial Boulevard, which runs along the north side of the Trinity River banks, has increased since the street became a gateway to the multibillion-dollar Trinity River project. That plan would remake the river corridor with a downtown park, lakes, hiking trails and other natural attractions.

Those supporting the effort to rename it for the legendary founder of United Farm Workers said its location is what caught their attention.

"He was a man of the land, of water and nature," said Martin Garza, a lawyer and former president of the Dallas Hispanic Bar Association, which is leading the effort.

"Conserving our natural resources was a big part of his message, that the land is a sacred trust."

Other cities around the state and the country, including Austin and Los Angeles, already have public thoroughfares named after Mr. Chávez, he said.

Dallas has streets and highways named after national figures, such as Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36th president of the U.S., and Martin Luther King Jr. But none are named after Hispanic leaders.

Dallas City Council member Elba García, who sits on the committee that voted to include the Chávez name, said the César Chávez Plaza at Farmers Market is the only public site in the city that bears his name.

But if this effort to rename Industrial to César Chávez Boulevard does not succeed, other opportunities on the south side of the river could come up later, she said.

"Everybody feels passionate about their choice, and it's going to take the same passion to move it forward," Dr. Garcia said.

Dallas lawyer Angel Reyes said the city's dramatic demographic shift also needs to be recognized. Hispanics now represent more than 40 percent of Dallas' population.

"Our city is going to be a Hispanic-majority city in eight years," he said. "This would be a terrific honor for a city with a Hispanic legacy that is growing."

Others, such as Associate Judge Teresa Guerra Snelson, see it as a teachable moment: "He was an American whose contributions need to be recognized."