Photo by Venice Mincey

The best advice I ever heard is: The early bird gets the worm; get up early and attack the day. Take care of the small things. Whatever the current task at hand is, do it well. Everything else will fall into place.  

My three most recommended books are: The Bible (ESV); The Energy Bus, by Jon Gordon; Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business, by John Mackey/Raj Sisodia.

To me, success means: From a personal perspective, living a balanced life prioritizing Christ, family/work, and friends in that order. I see family/work as interrelated because work supports the family and a good family life makes for a more present and productive work life. When the scales shift, I can sense things start to go haywire, and it’s time to rebalance priorities.   

People who know me might be surprised that I: like granola on my cheerios and cinnamon in my coffee. Early morning time alone and routine is critical to the productiveness of my day.    

My biggest pet peeve is: poor service at a restaurant. I know that low unemployment numbers and COVID made it harder, but like many industries, service is the lifeblood. Without it, there is no incentive for folks to come back. It seems to me that management, cooks and waitstaff all have much incentive to make this happen if they truly value job security. Those that figure this out thrive! 

Everyone in Amarillo needs to experience: Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Lake Meredith National Recreation Area, Alibates Flint Quarries, a Sod Poodles Baseball game.

If I could change any one local thing it would be: to figure out how to get city “quality-of-life projects” completed. AEDC funds cannot currently be used for this, and we need to find a way to get a portion of them allocated this way. It is just as vital for recruitment as incentive funds for businesses to relocate here.    

This city is amazing at: embracing the cowboy culture of grit. We have a determination and get-it-done attitude. For the most part, people follow “The Code of the West”: unwritten rules centered on hospitality, fair play, loyalty, and respect for the land.

My favorite place in Amarillo is: on a downtown restaurant patio on a sunny (non-windy) weekend evening.  

A local organization I love right now: the Amarillo Area Foundation, for all it does as a conduit to help serve a large number of Texas Panhandle nonprofit organizations through fundraising, consulting, education, networking, and resources. Every region needs an organization like this. Our part of Texas would not be what it is today without it. 

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