FortWorthBusiness.com
JUNE 17 – 23, 2019
IN PRINT. IN POCKET. IN PERSON.™
Vol. 31, No. 22 • $3.00
Wake up and smell the water lilies — don’t miss this exhibit
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see Coonor on page 28 Claude Monet in front of his house in Giverny in the garden that inspired many of his paintings.
GIFT TO FORT WORTH
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BALLET CONCERTO CELEBRATES ITS 50TH ANNIVERSARY WITH AN OUTDOOR PERFORMANCE AT THE SHOPS AT CLEARFORK IN FORT WORTH.
LOVE THE FEEL OF A “REAL BOOK?”
WESTBEND ANNOUNCES THE OPENING OF COMMONPLACE BOOKS, LOCATED AT 1701 RIVER RUN IN SUITE 181 BETWEEN BLUEMERCURY AND BARTACO. COMMONPLACE OPENS AS A YEAR-LONG POP-UP WITH A GRAND OPENING EVENT SATURDAY, JUNE 22. Page 8
THIS 1921 IMAGE IS COURTESY OF THE MUSÉE D’ORSAY IN PARIS.
C
reatures of habit, we become comfortable in our city, our surroundings. We follow familiar patterns. We drive the same route to work and then back home. We eat in the same restaurants, shop in the same stores. We take things for granted. Too often, our routine becomes a rut and we miss out on treasures that lie nearly beneath our feet but off our beaten path. Do not miss out on one of the crown jewels of not only Fort Richard Connor Worth but the entire country. The Kimbell Art Museum is a jewel and a gift to us, allowing us to gaze upon what is always here – its incomparable architecture and superb collection; and also the visiting exhibitions that annually reinforce the Kimbell’s standing as one of the world’s great museums.
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FortWorthBusiness.com
JUNE 17 – 23, 2019
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THIS ISSUE
JUNE 17 – 23, 2019
NEWS
FOCUS: LAW
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In Market................................................................................................. 6 Real Deals................................................................................................ 8 Council Report...................................................................................... 10 Commentary: O.K. Carter.....................................................................12 Cover Story: Monet at the Kimbell .......................................................14 Newsmakers...........................................................................................16 Worth Noting.........................................................................................17 Focus: Law..............................................................................................18 List: Largest Law Firms ......................................................................... 20 Ballet Concerto at 50 ........................................................................... 23
OPINION Richard Connor............................................................................ 1 and 28
White Collar Crime INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE
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SYCAMORE CREEK
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JUNE 17 – 23, 2019
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IN MARKET
FortWorthBusiness.com
Books vs. Axes? And the winner is … ROBERT FRANCIS
rfrancis@bizpress.net
Spoiler alert: In this case, the winner was books. Last week, the Fort Worth City Council with all due seriousness – and a splinter of humor – approved a zoning variance for Bad Axe Throwing. Bad Axe Throwing is the name of an establishment that will offer, well, axe throwing, in a controlled environment, along with alcoholic beverages. Axe throwing is growing as an activity, somewhat similar to offering darts in 9161 DigitalPRESS - FWBP Ad 061419.pdf a bar, though obviously in a
larger space. I think it has something to do with the popularity of Game of Thrones and blacksmithing programs on DIY channels. Also last week, Trademark Property announced that their WestBend development on University Drive is getting a bookstore. Commonplace Books, an independent bookstore based in Oklahoma City, will open a “pop-up” location that will be open at least a year. That’s a little more sedate an 1 5/14/2019 3:05:58 PM activity than axe throwing.
The moment I saw the announcement I knew the people that once roamed the former Barnes & Noble at University Park Village would be dancing in Jane Eyre heaven. Fort Worth needs a good independent bookstore. I know we have a few, and I appreciate them, but that area near TCU should have one just to complete the “college town” atmosphere. Fort Worth just surpassed San Francisco to become the 13th largest city in the country. But in terms of cool, independent bookstores, San Francisco has us beat by a mile. If you’ve ever roamed or become mesmerized in the many fascinating rooms at Green Apple Books in the city where Tony left his cardiac muscle, you know what I mean.
San Francisco has a Bad Axe Throwing bar too, so it’s not like they’re just sitting around reading Dashiell Hammett or Tales of the City. To see where the cardiac muscles of our readers were, I conducted a very unscientific poll: Are you more excited by Fort Worth getting a bar where inebriated people throw axes or an independent bookstore? The answer: You may like axes, but you certainly dig books, too. War and Peace beat ax warriors fairly handily, though if someone wanted to open a bookstore that also had an ax throwing component that might work, too. Welcome Commonplace Books. I think Fort Worth has been waiting for you. Welcome Bad Axe Throwing, too. We wouldn’t want to make you mad.
TRISHA YEARWOOD TO HEADLINE LEGENDS CONCERT FOR UNTHSC
Grammy award-winning singer, actress, author and chef Trisha Yearwood will be the featured artist for this year’s Legends Concert Series, UNT Health Science Center’s signature fundraising event. The benefit, presented by Chase and J.P. Morgan, will take place November 4 at Fort Worth’s Bass Performance Hall starting at 7:30 p.m. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m., Friday, June 21. Proceeds will go to the UNT Health Science Center Foundation to support student scholarships for UNTHSC’s health care and research leaders of tomorrow. Chairs for the benefit event are Marianne Auld and Jimmy Coury.
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JUNE 17 – 23, 2019
JOIN THE EXCITEMENT AT DICKIES ARENA
CLUB SEAT PACKAGE Club seats at Dickies Arena provide an opportunity to lock down exceptional seating for the Fort Worth Stock Show rodeo performances and offer the ability to purchase premium tickets to all other arena events before they’re offered to the public
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CLUB SEATS CAN’T BE BEAT FOR RODEO Nothing says Fort Worth like rodeo and the next dimension of rodeo action comes to Dickies Arena with the exciting and new FWSSR ProRodeo Tournament. Men and women will compete for a share of a $1 million purse. Drama and excitement unfold January 24 through February 8. Club Seats keep you on top of the action and in the loop as world champions and rising stars fight to survive a bracket style format culminating in the crowning of Fort Worth champions.
RANCH RODEO (BEST OF THE WEST) – JANUARY 17 & 18 BEST OF MEXICO CELEBRACIÕN – JANUARY 19 COWBOYS OF COLOR RODEO – JANUARY 20 PRCA EXTREME BULL RIDING (BULLS NIGHT OUT) – JANUARY 21 & 22 RODEO X EXTREME TEAM COMPETITION – JANUARY 23 FWSSR PRORODEO TOURNAMENT – JANUARY 24 THRU FEBRUARY 8
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REAL DEALS
FortWorthBusiness.com
Independent bookstore to open in Fort Worth
SALES
Olympus Property has acquired Victorian Quarters at Team Ranch, a Class A garden-style 248-unity property built in 2005 in Benbrook. It will be renamed Olympus Team Ranch. Olympus plans
COURTESY
“We opened Commonplace in Oklahoma City in 2016, where it quickly became an anchor of community-oriented retail and food in the Midtown district,” said owner Ben Nockels. “Our roots are important, but we have always believed that Commonplace had the potential to become a network of bookstores each uniquely contextualized to its own community. That’s exactly what took place with the development group at WestBend in Fort Worth. “They came to visit the original location last year, inquiring as to whether we had interest in a second location. Through a series of exploratory trips and meetings, we determined this was precisely the place, and even more importantly the people, we wanted to partner with and the next city we wished to serve.”
Commonplace Books will open at WestBend soon.
COURTESY
For fans of the old Barnes & Noble bookstore in University Park Village in Fort Worth, a welcome sequel is on the way. WestBend has announced the opening of Commonplace Books, located at 1701 River Run in Suite 181 between Bluemercury and Bartaco. Commonplace plans to operate as a year-long pop-up with a grand opening on June 22. “Trademark is thrilled to support an independent bookseller in Fort Worth, as this is the first we have signed a lease with in the last 10 years,” said Terry Montesi, CEO of Trademark Property, developer of WestBend. “Today’s consumers have a real thirst for passionate, independent retailers. Commonplace is a specialty retailer that curates the best of the new books published for its customers. I believe they will do great in Fort Worth.” Based in Oklahoma City, Commonplace bills itself as “a gathering spot for people who want to lead meaningful, thoughtful lives.” It was built by a group of friends who came together over a common dream to own a bookshop that was different from other booksellers, according to a news release. Commonplace’s collection of books and small goods is selected by a small staff with great input from the community, operators say. It also offers poetry readings, civic events, lectures and children’s storytime. The 1,000-squarefoot shop at WestBend will be Commonplace’s second location.
to spend about $2 million on top of the existing finish-outs to enhance the interiors, rebrand the property, and add light amenity upgrades. The upgrades include washers and dryers, and fenced back yards in some units. Fairfield Inn & Suites Dallas Lewisville, a 71room hotel at 2697 Lake Vista Drive in Lewisville, has been sold to a private investor. Chris Gomes, Joseph Jaques and Allan Miller with Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a limited liability company based in Dallas. Marcus & Millichap also procured the buyer. E&R Family Limited Partnership has sold 4,002 square feet of office space at 1507 N. Highway 67 in Midlothian. Tom Heraty with NAI Robert Lynn represented the seller and Judge Fite Century 21 represented the buyer. STRIVE has announced the sale of the Fireside Pies in Grapevine. The property, part of a four-restaurant development, has a long-term absolute net ground lease in place. STRIVE represented the seller, a Dallas investor, and also sourced the buyer, a private investor from the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The MacDonald 3 Value-Add Portfolio, a three-property package totaling 532 units located in Fort Worth and Arlington, has been sold to three investment groups. The properties are the
Olympus Property continues to grow with the acquisition of Victorian Quarters at Team Ranch
228-unit Aspen Woods and 168-unit The Rochester, both in Arlington, and the 136-unit Cobble Hill in Fort Worth. Al Silva with Marcus & Millichap marketed the properties on behalf of the seller, Dallas-based MacDonald Realty Group. Aspen Woods was purchased by Dallas-based Sentinel Peak Capital, Cobble Hill by Austin-based Obsidian Capital and The Rochester by Lubbock-based Madera Residential. All three properties will undergo multimillion-dollar renovations to common area amenities, building exteriors and unit interiors. The Rochester was built in 1980 and is located at 2604 Furrs St. in Arlington. Aspen Woods, built in 1976, is located at 2910 South Collins St. and has been renamed The District on Collins. Cobble Hill was built in 1983 and is located at 6050 Oakland Hills Drive. Medical Offices of Mansfield, a 13,694-square-foot office property at 221 Regency Parkway in Mansfield, has been sold to a limited liability company. Cody Payne and Wayne Bares with Marcus & Millichap represented
the seller, a limited liability company. Payne also secured the buyer.
LEASES
Button Eyes LLC has leased 1,047 square feet of retail space at Cedar Hill Town Center Phase II, 642 Uptown Blvd. in Cedar Hill. Suzy Featherston and Tom Heraty with NAI Robert Lynn represented the landlord and Sarah Mitchell of Mote & Associates represented the tenant. Covington Credit of Texas has leased Suite 121 at 6109 S. Cooper St. in Arlington and is expected to open Sept. 1. Covington Credit was represented by an undisclosed party, and Philander Prounh with Vision Commercial represented the landlord, Smaldino Investments LLC. American Defense Systems has leased 12,756 square feet — the entire sixth floor — in a building at 8701 Bedford Euless Road in Hurst and is expected to open in June. Trenton Price with Vision Commercial represented the landlord, 777 Arnold LLC. Send real deals to Robert Francis at rfrancis@bizpress.net.
JUNE 17 – 23, 2019
6.16–9.15.2019
“Radiant inspiration to the very end” Wall Street Journal
Featuring more than 50 glorious paintings of Monet’s Giverny garden that reveal the radical artistic innovation of the painter’s last decade This exhibition is organized by the Kimbell Art Museum and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, with the exceptional collaboration of the Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris. It is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities and by a grant from the Leo Potishman Foundation, JP Morgan Chase, Trustee. Image: Claude Monet, The Water Lily Pond, 1917–19. Private collection. Courtesy of Sotheby’s
Promotional support provided by
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COUNCIL REPORT
FortWorthBusiness.com
Final drive for Sycamore Creek RICK M AUCH
FWBP Contributor Soon, a golfer will make the last shot ever at Sycamore Creek Golf Course. Whether it’s a putt, a chip, or even a holein-one, it will mark the end of the course’s run after more than four decades as part of the family of City of Fort Worth public courses. The Fort Worth City Council on June 11 approved a resolution authorizing City Manager David Cooke to develop and implement a plan to close and repurpose the course as a community park. The course will close by Oct. 1, the start of the 2019-20 fiscal year. The 66-acre, nine-hole course with two sets of tee boxes has been a part of Fort Worth since 1977. However, a unanimous recommendation by a 16-member study committee, along with the consensus of four neighborhood associations and a recommendation from the Parks and Recreation board of directors, were all for closing the course. The course was already due to close at the start of October for up to two and a half years for sanitary sewer line repair and course restoration. A major problem with the course is that it lies in a Federal Emergency Management Agency floodway. District 8 Councilwoman Kelly Allen Gray, in whose district Sycamore Creek Golf Course lies, said she is sad to see the course go away. “That is the municipal course my son learned to play on with his dad,” she said. “But I have to be realistic and realize the needs outweigh the finances available to keep it sustainable.” The course underwent a $2.58 million renovation in 1992-93. However, a study shows that only about 12,500 rounds are played there
each year, well below the break-even estimated mark of 24,000. Since 1994, the course has a loss of $6.9 million. There is also $1.56 million in known deferred maintenance, including a 2018 clubhouse assessment of $515,459. Using the closing of Z Boaz Golf Course in 2012 as an example, officials said repurposing would provide other uses, such as a playground, bike trails and soccer fields. “I think it will be a fabulous addition to our parks system,” Gray said. “We don’t know what its entire potential is, but we do think it will be a great addition.” Gray added that since Sycamore is closing, the nearby Meadowbrook golf course,
which will likely pick up most of those who regularly played Sycamore, needs some renovations and upgrades. “We can’t close Sycamore and not do anything to Meadowbrook,” she said. “We can’t just say it has good bones. I have good bones, but I still need to drink milk to get my calcium.” The closing will leave Fort Worth with three municipal courses, Meadowbrook, Rockwood and Pecan Valley. Rockwood underwent a $5.1 million renovation between 2015 and 2017.
BOND RATING REPORT
Getting funds often requires good credit rating. The City Council received an informal report June 11 on where the city stands with a
summary of the ratings received on bonds issued under the city’s 2019 debt plan. As part of the 2019 debt plan the city’s financing team has been meeting with rating analysts from Moody’s, Fitch, Standard & Poor’s and Kroll over the past weeks. The city sought ratings for coming bond sales that included Series 2019 general purpose bonds, Series 2019 tax notes, and Series 2019 water and sewer revenue bonds. The presentation this year focused on historical and projected financial performance, the economy, operating highlights and pension reform. “In many cases they got better, which is the whole intent,” City Manager David Cooke said. “One of the reasons for solving the pension problem
was to get us off some of these negative outlooks that the ratings agencies had put us on.” An overview of the rating outcomes featured:
MOODY’S
General operations rating – Aa3, revised outlook to stable from negative. The city continues to be constrained by a high unfunded pension liability and weak annual pension contributions, despite reform. However, the credit profile is supported by the city’s substantial financial resources to afford increasing pension costs due to strong economic growth, as well as the legal ability to reform benefits further, and the demonstrated political will to both exercise this legal right and to increase contributions. The stable outlook reflects
JUNE 17 – 23, 2019 an expectation that the city’s financial profile will remain healthy over the near term. Water rating – Aa1 with a stable outlook (no change). Key credit strengths include a large service area that extends well beyond city limits with a growing customer base, strong fiscal management and capital planning, healthy debt service coverage and low direct debt profile. Key credit challenges include below median liquidity for the rating category, and weak legal provisions. The stable outlook reflects an expectation the system’s strong fiscal management and proactive planning practices will continue in the near term, including implementation of timely rate adjustments.
KROLL
GO rating – AA+, revised outlook to positive from stable. Key credit strengths highlighted are strong financial management policies and an experienced/effective management team; robust economic growth supported by a diverse, growing tax base and low unemployment rates; strong financial reserves and liquidity, and conservative budgeting practices. Key rating concerns include the ability to absorb increasing pension contributions while maintaining financial strength, the reliance on sales tax for operations that exposes the revenue base to economic fluctuations, deviation from the city’s practice of conservative budgeting would increase credit risk. The positive outlook reflects a recognition of the robust and growing resource base, along with a continued strong financial profile and implementation of pension reforms.
S&P
GO rating – AA, with stable outlook (no change). Adequate economy, with access to a broad and diverse metropolitan statistical area; very strong management, with strong financial policies and practices; weak budgetary performance, with operating deficits in the general fund and at the total governmental fund level in fiscal 2018; very strong budgetary flexibility, with an available fund balance in fiscal 2018 of 16% of operating expenditures; very strong liquidity, with total government available cash at 85.8% of total governmental fund expenditures and 10 times governmental debt service, and exceptional access to external liquidity; very weak debt
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and contingent liability profile, with debt service carrying charges at 8.6% of expenditures and net direct debt that is 122.1% of total governmental fund revenue, as well as a large pension and other post-employment benefits obligation. Water Rating – AA+ with a stable outlook (no change). Willingness to adjust rates, including passing through wholesale cost pressures, will be key to rating stability. The city’s continued economic growth and diversity, limiting cyclicality from sectors such as energy and commodities, as well as a housing market not viewed to be in a bubble were enhancements.
FITCH
GO rating – AA+, with a negative outlook (no change). The rating reflects an expectation of strong operating performance through the economic cycle, as well as solid economic and revenue prospects. Fitch states they maintain the negative rating outlook to analyze over the coming review cycle the impact of recent pension reforms on both expenditure flexibility and operating performance. Water Rating – AA with a stable outlook (no change). Key rating drivers included a stable financial performance, improving liquidity, average direct debt, increased capital spending, sound revenue defensibility, wholesaler pressures, a large and diverse service area. City officials said they will continue with the plan of finance for the 2019 debt plan and related bond sales with final closings scheduled on July 16. “We take this very serious. I don’t want to say we go to any lengths, but to significant lengths to see some improvements for our citizens,” District 7 Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem Dennis Shingleton said. District 3 Councilman Brian Byrd recalled praise for the city after he sat in on one of the credit rating meetings. “When we were able to show them and tell them what went on with getting this pension fixed, they were aghast and exceedingly complimentary,” he said. In addition to the rating reports, a Moody’s commentary discussing property tax reform passed by the Legislature was provided. Senate Bill 2 is expected to take effect on Jan. 1, which Moody’s believes will limit revenue-raising flexibility, resulting in negative credit implications for the bulk of local governments.
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COMMENTARY
FortWorthBusiness.com
First comes the vision, followed by determination and hard work. It’s also helpful to know someone who knows someone.
Georgie Zang
“One of the things that’s helped me in my career is when I take on a project, I really focus on it,” Zang said. And that she did, expanding the idea, eventually including Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams and city Real Estate Manager Stuart Young in the discussion. It helped that the city had already accumulated two of the three needed land tracts in the area but had canceled previous development plans. She also met with Arlington architect Mojy Haddad, who is a principal in the Oakhollow Group, which focuses on development.
That still left the need for a construction company that would also be an investor. That connection evolved through a circuitous someoneknows-someone-who-knowssomeone route that began at Ole Miss, where one of Zang’s daughters attends college, shunted to Nashville and eventually ended up back in Dallas with Savannah Developers, a company with a history of upscale construction development in areas such as Highland Park, Uptown Dallas, the Bishop Arts District and Addison.
Long story simplified, Zang made the introductions, brought the potential players together, pitched the project, picked up the commitments and will also market the condos as they come on line, finishing up the total market-to-sales process in 18 months or less, she hopes. “Main 7 has been a great process,” she said. “It’s really a dream project and Mojy’s vision includes green spaces, sculptures and some unique designs. It’ll be a great place to live and a project everybody can be proud about.” Zang, who graduated from Martin High in Arlington and attended UTA as a marketing major, also wants the downtown community to feel an ownership in the project. To that end, she wants as much of the construction as possible to include Arlington and Texas companies. She also sees downtown as the center focus of much of her future efforts with more projects on the horizon. “I’m vested in downtown, believe in it,” she said. https://www.linkedin.com/ in/georgie-zang-3504bb1b/ http://oakhollowgroup.com/ https://savannahdevelopers. com O.K. Carter is a former editor and publisher of the Arlington CitizenJournal and was also Arlington publisher and columnist for the Star-Telegram and founding editor of Arlington Today Magazine. He’s the author of the definitive book on Arlington’s colorful history, Caddos, Cotton and Cowboys: Essays on Arlington. okcarter@bizpress.net COURTESY MOJY HADDAD, OAKHOLLOW GROUP
O.K. CARTER Okcarter@bizpress.net
Whenever Arlington real estate developer Georgie Zang drove by a two-acre tract near Cooper and Main streets in downtown Arlington she’d involuntarily slow down, a vision slowly evolving. That vision: An upscale townhome project – it’s now called Main 7 – in the midst of a resurging downtown. In July work will begin on clearing the area for a gated, 53-unit, luxury condo development with the 1,500-to-2,600square-foot units selling in the mid $300s to high $400s. The first unit should go on the market next spring. Getting to this point hasn’t come easy. True enough, thousands of apartments have been constructed – and continue to be built – in the area surrounding downtown and the booming University of Texas at Arlington campus. But not everyone wants to be a renter. “I knew that when I move downtown, I’m not renting,” said Zang, 51, who is also president of The Zang Group Real Estate. “I’m buying. And I figure I’m not alone in that sentiment. The trouble is that there’s no new product to buy.” She’s correct about that. It’s been more than two decades since any owner-owned new housing was built in the downtown area, a single exception being a long-since-sold-out smallish, less upscale condo project on First Street. But there were obstacles. What Zang visualized would be costly and would require a superior architectural vision and an equally visionary builder. And some deeper pockets for what would clearly be a multimillion-dollar project. In short, she’d need partners. One of the entrepreneurial Zang’s skill sets is finding and putting together the people and companies needed for complex projects. And the patience to keep at it.
O.K. CARTER
New condo/townhome project set for downtown Arlington
Artist rendering of Main 7 condo project
JUNE 17 – 23, 2019
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Events In & Around Town To post or update your event(s), email: jnewton@bizpress.net 2 Fridays prior to Monday publication .
ARLINGTON BOARD OF REALTORS Contact Teri Woodson @ (817) 701-2490, ext. 16 For Informa�on On Events & Loca�on Tues., Every Week Noon-1:00pm Toastmasters 1:00-2:00pm Toastmasters Exec. Mtg. 2nd Tues. of Every Month Thurs., June 20 10:30m Community Svc. Founda�on Thurs., June 27th 9:00am Board of Directors Mtg. ______________________________________________________________________________ GREATER FORT WORTH ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS Contact Alyssa Born @ (817) 336-5165 For Informa�on On Events & Loca�on `Fri., June 21 9:00-10:00am Coffee Talk
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PAUL K. HARRAL
FortWorthBusiness.com
Kimbell Deputy Director George T. M. Shackelford with Water Lilies by Claude Monet (c.1915-26 Oil on canvas 78 3/4 x 167 3/4 in. (200 x 426.1 cm) Saint Louis Art Museum, The Steinberg Charitable Fund).
After a period of inactivity, French artist Claude Monet resumed on a monumental scale PAU L K . H A R R A L
pharral@bizpress.net No one really knows what was in the mind of Claude Monet in the period between about 1909 and 1914 when the artist stopped painting. “He was in really a foul mood. A blue funk, basically,” says George T. M. Shackelford, deputy director of the Kimbell Art Museum and one of the foremost experts on 19thcentury French art. Monet’s wife died in 1911 and one son was sick and eventually died in the spring of 1914. “He’s very depressed,” Shackelford said. “And then
out of the blue, he latches onto this old idea that he had had, of taking the water lilies as a subject and turning them into a kind of, you could even call it a cycle, of paintings that were going to be on a monumental mural scale.” And that’s the focus of Monet: The Late Years, the first museum exhibition in more than 20 years dedicated to the final phase of Monet’s career. With about 50 paintings, the exhibition traces Monet’s work from 1914, through a reinvention of his painting style leading to larger abstract works, to his death in 1926. The shows runs June 16
through Sept. 15 at the Kimbell’s Renzo Piano Pavilion. Earlier works are included as well, so the visitor can see the contrast between the paintings of Monet’s earlier years and those in his later years. “To gear up for it, he starts increasing the size of his canvases, and everything gets bigger,” Shackelford said. “The brushes get bigger, the amount of paint that he uses is larger of course, because you literally physically have to cover that much more surface. “The breadth of the stroke and the motion gets bigger because he’s not painting things in any kind of little
detail anymore, he’s just giving you the big idea.” Glancing around one room of the exhibition during the installation, he gestures to a painting. “Looking around you where we’re sitting, you can see that a water lily pad might be made out of three or four giant brush strokes, and then that’s it. That’s all he needed,” Shackelford said. The show is a companion to an earlier exhibition. In 2016 and 2017, the Kimbell and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco presented Monet: The Early Years, more than 50 paintings that surveyed
Monet: The Late Years
The Kimbell Art Museum Renzo Piano Pavilion 3333 Camp Bowie Blvd. Fort Worth June 16 through Sept. 15 Exhibit admission: $18 for adults, $16 for seniors and students, $14 for ages 6–11 and free for children under 6; half-price on Tuesdays and after 5 p.m. on Fridays General admission: free to view the museum’s permanent collection Tickets are available on the museum’s website: kimbellart.org
Monet: The Late Years Curated by George T. M. Shackelford deputy director of the Kimbell Art Museum The exhibition is organized by the Kimbell Art Museum and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, with the support of the Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris. It is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities and a grant from the Leo Potishman Foundation, JP Morgan Chase, trustee. Promotional support is provided by American Airlines, the Fort Worth StarTelegram and NBC5. The acquisition of an antique frame for the Kimbell’s Weeping Willow was made possible by a grant from the Bank of America Art Conservation Project.
the artist’s work from a picture exhibited in 1858 – when he was 17 – to a group of paintings from the summer of 1872 – when he was 31. “With this show, apart from a little preamble in the exhibition that kind of helps you get yourself primed up and started and ready to look at the main event, we pick him up when he is 73 and take him to the end of his life. He dies at age 86,” Shackelford said. The dating of the paintings in this exhibition is problematic. One is dated in 1915 because there is a picture of Monet painting it. But
Monet didn’t date the paintings. Several were sold in 1919, so experts know that they were finished by then. “But a lot of the others, we’re doing guesswork to say, ‘Well, this one looks like it might be a little bit later.’ But it’s really risky to say that because something looks a little bit more bold that it had to be after the one that looks a little bit more conservative,” Shackelford said. Dates were immaterial to Monet. There are examples in the exhibit of how he would revisit and rework paintings, sometimes over a long span of time. “It’s really only when he is cajoled into selling something that he figures, ‘Well, I’ve got to put a date on this.’ And then sometimes I think it’s the date that he’s selling it, not necessarily the date that he’d begun it. Or it could be that it’s the date that he started thinking about it, rather than the date that he last stopped touching it,” Shackelford said. “But what isn’t approximative is the overall cumulative effect, which is that these are paintings about excitement.” Unknown is the impact of World War I on the mind of the artist. Monet became reexcited about painting in May and June of 1914, and the war began in August. Both his second son and a stepson were in the army – both survived – and family members and others were moving away from Paris to areas less likely for German occupation. “Monet says, ‘I’m not going anyplace. I’m going to keep painting.’ And while he’s in the garden
Claude Monet in his second studio in Giverny with the Duc de Trévise about 920 The Kimbell’s Weeping Willow, with unpainted borders, is visible near the bottom left.
painting, you can hear Big Bertha [firing] 40 miles away on the other side of Paris,” Shackelford said. “And so he is able to keep going, amazingly.” The paintings in this phase are all centered on his garden – at this point of his life in his 70s, he basically didn’t go anyplace else to paint. “He paints exclusively mostly around the pond, where the water lilies are growing in the southern end of his two-part garden,” Shackelford said. “Most of the paintings in this show are around that pond where he has planted water lilies in the 1890s, and where he just makes it better and better all the time.” Monet launched into the large format, eventually painting pictures that are more than 6 feet tall and 14 feet wide. “It’s interesting that once he finds out that he is prepared to start painting again, it does become I think the equivalent of a great drug for him, because the painting itself is so exciting,” Shackelford said. Monet wrote to people to tell them not to visit because he was working
hard and didn’t want to interrupt the process with guests, saying he couldn’t believe it had taken so long and that he was really excited about this phase of his painting. “And this is what he’s writing in the summer of 1914. And it just keeps going,” Shackelford said.
MUSÉE DU LOUVRE, PARIS
JUNE 17 – 23, 2019
Monet was about 5 feet 7 inches tall. “These paintings are a foot taller than he is when he’s painting them,” Shackelford said. Monet would paint by the pond in his garden with helpers carrying the paintings back and forth from the studio down to the pond, a couple hundred yards away.
The 50+ age group is growing fast and presents businesses an opportunity to reach a growing market demographic.
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“But then they come back up into [his] big studio, where they then become the evidence of what he saw, on site. And from them, he paints pictures that are too big to transport down,” Shackelford said. The idea for the exhibition surfaced at a lunch in 2014 with Eric M. Lee, the Kimbell’s director, around the Kimbell’s Weeping Willow painting by Monet. Shackelford said he pointed out that the museum owned works that Monet painted when he was 78 and one painted when he was 24. And the idea of two exhibitions – Monet: The Early Years followed by Monet: The Late Years – was launched. This article includes material from Kimbell Art Museum news releases
CERTIFY YOUR BUSINESS and display the Age-Friendly and Demen Fort Worth Business logos.
Make Fort Worth an Age-Friendly and Dementia-Friendly city
JOIN THE MOVEMENT … CERTIFY YOUR BUSINESS Good for Business – Demonstrates to customers that you value their business by providing a welcoming and safe experience for all age groups and abilites Good for Customers – Increases access, ambience and communicaton for customers of all ages and abilites Good for Community – Expands livability of neighborhoods by increasing access to goods and services while fostering inclusion To learn more: AgeFriendlyFW.org Age-Friendly Contact: Melodía Gutié rrez 214.265.4073 mgutierrez@aarp.org
Dementia-Friendly Contact: Gail Snider 817.332.6266 gsnider@dementiafriendlyfw.org
Thank you to the University of North Texas Health Science Center. Center for Geriatrics and United Way of Tarrant County for generously supporting the Age-Friendly and Dementia-Friendly Collaborative.
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NEWSMAKERS
B.J. Cleveland
1
ARTS
Casa Mañana has named B.J. Cleveland 1 as director of theater for youth. Cleveland will direct all Children’s
FortWorthBusiness.com
Anette Landeros
Theatre productions among other duties, including serving as teaching artist and camp director for Casa Mañana Studios, Casa Mañana’s premiere theater school.
Hispanic Chamber names new CEO The Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce has selected Anette Landeros 2 as its new CEO and president, effective July 15. She succeeds John Hernandez, who will step down Aug. 1. “Anette’s appointment is a clear reflection of the Chamber’s current state: ready to take on the future and fired up after another strong year of growth,” said Michael Dimas, board chairman. Landeros has over 10 years of leadership and problem-solving expertise in government and nonprofit sectors. Most recently she was project manager for the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Transportation, leading teams in program evaluations of national transportation projects. She is also adept in nonprofit fundraising from her years of service in various capacities with the Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas, a state-wide nonprofit organization.
2
“I look forward to working alongside the FWHCC board of directors, Fort Worth business community, and the City of Fort Worth to elevate our city’s economic standing to its maximum potential,” said Landeros. Landeros has served on the Hispanic Chamber’s board for two years. She also is a board member for Carter Bloodcare and has been involved with Fort Worth Sister Cities International, Leadership Fort Worth, Artes de la Rosa Cultural Center for the Arts and several other organizations. Landeros earned a bachelor’s degree in public policy analysis at Indiana University and a master’s degree in public affairs at the University of Texas. “Anette’s unique experience with Fort Worth’s business community will benefit the organization,” said Hernandez. “I’m confident that she will help members achieve continued success.”
Claire Hicks
3
Texas Ballet Theater, the resident ballet company of Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth and the Winspear Opera House in Dallas, has named Claire Hicks 3 as director of development. Hicks was previously director of development at Texas Cultural Trust in Austin, where she led fundraising for the Texas Medal of Arts Awards, Texas Women for the Arts, Art Can initiative and Texas Young Masters, including $10,000$750,000 gifts from individual donors, corporate sponsors and foundations.
BANKING & FINANCE
Ted Norman joined Mutual of Omaha Bank as managing director in the commercial real estate banking group. He is responsible for national permanent placements and marketing of derivative products, as well as for developing a strong commercial real estate book of business in the DallasFort Worth area. He will work out of Mutual of Omaha Bank locations in Dallas and Fort Worth. Norman has more than 25 years of experience in commercial real estate finance. He graduated from the University of Texas and has an MBA from Texas Christian University.
ENGINEERING
Jim Kirschbaum 4 has joined the aviation practice at Burns & McDonnell, where he will focus on major infrastructure projects for airports and other aviation clients across the U.S. With over 30 years of aviation design
Jim Kirschbaum
4
Dennis Knautz
5
Chris Smith
6
Susan R. Bailey
7
and management experience, he has a strong background in large airfield paving projects and the application of Federal Aviation Administration airport design criteria for Airport Improvement Program grants. He has experience managing on-call design and planning services at airports throughout Texas.
HONORS & AWARDS
Dennis Knautz, 5 president and CEO of Acme Brick Co., and Charles Smith, CEO of General Shale Brick, received co-Volunteer of the Year awards from the Brick Industry Association at its annual spring meeting in Alexandria, Virginia.
NONPROFITS
Communities In Schools of Greater Tarrant County Inc. promoted Rachel Peters Kreidler to vice president of development in late May. She originally joined the nonprofit in 2014, where she served as director of events and marketing for nearly four years. She returned to the organization in December. The Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT) has made several staff changes in its Advancement Department to support increased institutional programming and strategic planning efforts. Chris Chilton steps into the newly created position of corporate relations manager from his position as marketing director. He will be responsible for planning and managing the logistics of
wine-related business for BRIT and for annual special events, soliciting corporate gifts, and other advancement activities. Chilton joined BRIT in 2010 as a marketing director with more than 30 years of marketing experience. Chris Smith 6 was promoted to marketing director from her position as marketing manager. She will be responsible for raising public awareness of BRIT’s mission, raising revenue through annual memberships and select public outreach programs. Send newsmakers to Robert Francis at rfrancis@bizpress.net.
WORTH NOTING
Dr. Susan R. Bailey, 7 - an allergist and immunologist in Fort Worth, was named presidentelect at the annual meeting of the American Medical Association (AMA) on June 8. After a year-long term as president-elect, Bailey will become AMA president in June 2020. Bailey previously was president of both the Texas Medical Association and Tarrant County Medical Society. In her acceptance speech, Bailey said, “It is a deep honor and privilege to be named presidentelect of an organization that is committed to helping the medical profession and the patients we serve. Challenging times remain for the health care system and as AMA president-elect, I pledge to serve as a strong voice and dedicated advocate for patients and physicians on the pressing health care issues confronting our nation.” Bailey has more than 30 years of clinical practice and experience. Since 1988, she has been in the private practice of allergy and clinical immunology in Fort Worth. First elected to the AMA board of trustees in 2011, Bailey served as vice-speaker and speaker of the House of Delegates, the AMA’s primary policy-making body. She has held numerous leadership positions at the AMA over the years including two terms on the AMA Council on Medical Education, culminating as chairman. She was a member of the AMA’s advisory panel to the Women in Medicine Project and the AMA’s Ad Hoc Committee on Women Physicians, the precursors to today’s AMA Women Physicians Section. Bailey also has represented the AMA in the American Board of Medical Specialties Assembly and the board of directors of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education. She is on the board of directors of COLA, a national laboratory accreditation organization. She also was vice speaker and speaker of the more than 500-member Texas Medical Association House of Delegates as well as for the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology House of Delegates. An honor graduate of Texas A&M University College of Medicine, Bailey was the first female Texas A&M graduate to become a regent for the Texas A&M University System. She has been recognized as a Distinguished Alumnus of Texas A&M University as well as the College of Medicine.
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United Way partners with TXServes for veterans services Like many military service members, Andy Williams found it difficult to transition back into civilian life. The Marine Corps veteran spent four years fighting wars overseas. He then worked for a private military security firm in Iraq. “It was a challenge,” Williams said about his transition phase. “And a lot of friction on, like, who you go to? Where do you go? Who do you trust? Who is there today? Will it be funded tomorrow.” Acting on his own conviction, Williams started getting involved in the local real estate market in Fort Worth and bought many properties gradually over the years. Turning profits on flipped properties eventually led to the founding of Recon Realty, a residential redevelopment firm focused on veterans’ reintegration. Williams is the CEO of the public benefit corporation, which provides revitalization and investment tools to would-be veteran-entrepreneurs. While Williams, a pioneer in his field, did not have similar resources to use when he was transitioning back into civilian life, he said he hopes he can be a mentor for the newer generation of veterans. “There’s been a lot of investment of time, energy, capital and equity in the veteran space,” Williams said. “Today, there’re a lot of options, there’re a lot of offerings, there’re a lot of
TXServesNorthTexas
https://northtexas.americaserves.org United Way of Tarrant County www.unitedwaytarrant.org/ Neetish Basnet nbasnet@bizpress.net
NEETISH BASNET
Fort Worth physician president-elect of American Medical Association
JUNE 17 – 23, 2019
TD Smyers, left, of United Way of Tarrant County and Andy Williams of Recon Realty.
people who want to help. What’s changing now, I think, is the consolidation of those resources.” And one such consolidating platform is TXServes-North
“We go into a community, we’re already engaged in the community, but there are services that members of this community need that [Recon Realty] doesn’t provide,”
SO WHAT THIS PARTNERSHIP IS PROVIDING IS A FRICTION-FREE PLATFORM TO BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY THE RESOURCES. – Andy Williams, Recon Realty Texas, a recently formed coordinated network of public, private and nonprofit organizations serving veterans, service members and their families. It is one of the 16 regional branches of the AmericaServes initiative which is a coordinated system of public, private and nonprofit organizations working together to serve veterans, service members and their families. Recon Realty has joined in partnership with TXServes-North Texas as one of its network providers.
Williams said. “So what this partnership is providing is a friction-free platform to be able to identify the resources.” Veterans or current service members and their families can access wide-ranging resources and services offered by the community. TXServes-North Texas is data oriented and digitally-driven. United Way of Tarrant County is the current coordination center for TXServes-North Texas. see United on page 24
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FOCUS: LAW
White Collar Crime
FortWorthBusiness.com
The criminal in the next cubicle M A RICE RICHTER
mrichter@bizpress.net For nearly two decades, D’Ann Elizabeth Wagner had been a regarded as a loyal and dependable employee of Fort Worth’s Stockyards Rodeo. A wife and mother, Wagner had worked her way up to the position of bookkeeper. That came with duties that included managing online ticket sales from local, national and international customers who wanted to experience live, authentic rodeo action. With access to the rodeo’s finances and its website server, a “fluke” occurrence positioned her to steal from the organization’s coffers without being detected. PayPal had contacted her to see whether she wanted a debit card to manage the rodeo’s ticket sales. “She said ‘yes,’ ” said Tarrant County prosecutor Brooke Panuthos. She quickly linked the card to her personal accounts and used the card to swipe small amounts of cash equal to the purchase price of a ticket order. She got away with it for years, making her one of the most egregious white-collar criminals in Tarrant County’s recent history. Wagner admitted stealing $1.3 million from her unsuspecting employer. Tarrant County criminal investigators were able to document more than 11,000 incidents of theft between January 2014 and March 2017. In April, she was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to theft of property over $200,000. She received only 15 years because she had no criminal record.
Wagner spent the money on vacations, gambling at WinStar and two Harley Davidson motorcycles. She spent nearly $400,000 on game packages from iTunes. “She was the middleman between both operations and accounting so she was able to stay in front of it,” Panuthos said. “Customers got their tickets so no one complained. “She admitted it had been going on since 2008 or 2009,” Panuthos said. “She didn’t worry about getting caught until the rodeo hired a new general manager.” When Tim Lanier arrived as the rodeo’s new general
manager in 2016, it didn’t take him long to realize something was amiss. Among the telltale signs, Wagner sidestepped requests for the PayPal password to complete a redesign of the rodeo website. “Right after I got here, I realized something didn’t add up,” Lanier said. Lanier and others approached the District Attorney’s office, which launched a full investigation, including a forensic audit. District Attorney Sharen Wilson has promoted awareness of white-collar crime and elevated prosecution of white-collar criminals to a
IF SOMEONE STEALS FROM A 20-YEAR-OLD, THAT PERSON CAN RECOVER. SENIORS DON’T HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY. THEIR LIFETIME SAVINGS COULD BE WIPED OUT. – Sharen Wilson, Tarrant County District Attorney
Tarrant County District Attorney Sharen Wilson
high priority as a hallmark of her tenure.
As the Wagner case illustrates, “white collar crimes are not victimless,” Wilson said. “White collar criminals are more sophisticated than ever and there should not be any embarrassment if it happens to you,” she said. “Our white collar team is in place because of how prolific these crimes have become.” Wilson’s battle against white-collar crime is central to her mission of putting victims first. To achieve that goal, she has established a multipronged approach that involves raising awareness
JUNE 17 – 23, 2019 through community outreach, procedural changes in her department and new initiatives such as the Elder Financial Fraud unit. As a former state district judge, Wilson was familiar with the long trek to justice in these cases so she instituted a procedural change to expedite the process. “It used to be that when someone was indicted it would about a year and a half after that to get to trial because most of the investigating was done after the indictment,” she said. Now, much of the investigative work is done in advance of the indictment, which helps cases move through the system faster, she said. The white collar crime unit is an annual $1.2 million operation staffed with attorneys, investigators, forensic analysts and other staffers. She has prevailed at increasing the budget to add extra staff. The unit tackles a wide range of cases: theft, insurance fraud, mortgage fraud, money laundering, tampering with government records, security fraud, identity fraud, theft of intellectual property and any crime involving use of technology. Wilson did not create the White Collar unit but she has nearly doubled the disposition of cases after being elected in November 2014. Between 2011 and 2014, a total of 243 white collar cases were handled by the district attorney’s office: 68 in 2011; 76 in 2012; 44 in 2013; and 55 in 2014. From 2015 through this year, the unit has handled 477 cases. There were 18 cases in 2015, 106 in 2016, 120 in 2017 and 159 in 2018. Already this year, the unit has tackled 74 cases. Establishing the Elder Financial Fraud unit, under the umbrella of white collar crime, was especially important to her because seniors “are our most vulnerable victims.” “If someone steals from a 20-yearold, that person can recover,” she said. “Seniors don’t have that opportunity. Their lifetime savings could be wiped out.” Among the goals of this unit are to protect seniors from “scam artists” and anyone exploiting seniors, including caregivers and relatives. Staffers support and educate law enforcement, businesses and community organizations in how to
prevent and report elder financial abuse. Wilson said the growth in white collar cases in Tarrant County is the result of increased reporting as well as population growth. As more people move in, these types of cases rise. White collar criminals are also becoming more adept and creative in carrying out their ploys, she said. “It’s amazing what people will do,” she said. As the Wagner case illustrates, “people will steal what they can.” Noteworthy white collar crime cases handled by Wilson’s administration include: • Chad Cappiello was sentenced in May to 47 years in prison for stealing more than $50,000 from Tarrant County residents, including some seniors, as part of a remodeling scheme. He took money from his victims but never performed the work. • Michael Oguin was sentenced in May to seven years in prison for posing as an oil and gas investment expert and conning more than $1 million from wealthy would-be investors. • Patrick Jenkins was sentenced to eight years in prison in January for absconding with down payments for roof repairs from multiple Tarrant County residents. • As an instructor at a real estate training center, Bobby Vise convinced his 10 students to more than $1.2 million with him. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison last November for running a Ponzi scheme with the money. • Nancy Carroll, a former attorney, pled guilty in 2018 to stealing more than $8.6 million from many victims of her Southlake title company. She was ordered to pay restitution and is serving 10 years in prison. • Attorney R. Kent Livesay pled guilty in 2018 and was sentenced to five years in prison for insurance fraud connected to a scheme of suing insurance companies over roof claims after hail storms without the knowledge or consent of homeowners. • Desiree Boltos was sentenced to 85 years in prison last year for theft of $1.7 million from elderly victims. She was dubbed the “Sweetheart Swindler” for entrapping through romantic overtures. Wilson said victims should contact local police or the district attorney’s office to report these types of crimes.
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Tips to avoid white collar theft or fraud M AT T SMID
The most common white collar defendant is the person that you least expect. No matter how much you trust someone, and no matter how smart or charismatic a salesperson may seem, always keep up your guard. Contractor Fraud • Watch out for pressure tactics to sign a contract or make very quick decisions. • Do not prepay more than 10 percent. • Seek out a minimum of bids from 2 different companies at a minimum, and preferably 3 or more. • For significant remodeling work or add-on jobs, be sure to ask to see the building permit. • Ask for references. If you are going to invest thousands of dollars that type of investment warrants some validation you are working with a trustworthy person. • As simple as it sounds, do some Google searching to see if you can dig up any dirt or complaints. • If possible, pay with a credit card. Some victims who use credit have success disputing charges for work never delivered, while cash is much more difficult to recover.
EMPLOYEE THEFT
• Companies that rely on only one person for accounting services are very susceptible to fraud. • Even if you feel that this one employee is “like a family member,” have someone else oversee his or her work. Time and time again, our victims of employee theft (aka embezzlement) tell us this. The victim is always stunned when they find out that the defendant stole from them. • Have another employee review bank statements to make sure transactions are authorized.
INVESTMENT FRAUD
• All of our investment fraud victims were victimized by someone that they thought they could trust. Sometimes it is a person they have known for many years and treated like a family member. • A white collar criminal will exploit a close relationship with a victim as a way to win an investor’s confidence. • If a promoter of an investment cannot provide supporting paperwork explaining costs, commitments and risks. This is a big red flag. • If you ever feel like you don’t understand any aspect of the investment, ask the promoter of the investment to explain it. They have a legal duty to explain material information to you. • Vet the promotor. Put in the time to research previous work done by the investor. Just as with contractors, a simple Google search can go a long way. • Do not throw good money into any already bad situation. Once a white collar criminal convinces you to invest in a bad investment, they will likely apply pressure to invest additional funds. For example, in the Chad Isaacs case, after Isaacs received an initial investment for an oil and gas “working interest” he called the victim months later and asked for an additional $15,000 for a new drill head at the oil and gas drilling site (that really never existed). Isaacs said if he did not get this drill head fixed, the entire project would be a loss. Matt Smid is chief of the White Collar/Public Integrity Team in the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office
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FortWorthBusiness.com
Largest Tarrant County Area Law Firms
Ranked by number of attorneys Company Address Rank Phone/Fax / Website
No. of Tarrant County Attorneys Total Personnel No. of Shareholders
1
Kelly Hart & Hallman 201 Main St., Ste. 2500, Fort Worth 76102 817-332-2500/817-332-1100 / kellyhart.com
124 204 48
2
Cantey Hanger LLP 300 Cantey Hanger Plaza, 600 W. 6th St., Fort Worth 76102 817-877-2800/817-877-2807 / canteyhanger.com
45 78 28
3
Brackett & Ellis PC 100 Main St., Fort Worth 76102 817-338-1700/817-870-2265 / belaw.com
34 63 22
3
Whitaker Chalk Swindle & Schwartz PLLC 301 Commerce St., Ste. 3500, Fort Worth 76102-4186 817-878-0500/817-878-0501 / whitakerchalk.com
34 60 15
5
Harris, Finley & Bogle, P.C. 777 Main St., Ste. 1800, Fort Worth 76102 817-870-8700/817-332-6121 / hfblaw.com
33 65 16
6
Bourland, Wall & Wenzel PC 301 Commerce St., Ste. 1500, Fort Worth 76102 817-877-1088/817-877-1636 / bwwlaw.com
29 DND 14
7
Decker Jones P.C. 801 Cherry St., Ste. 2000, Fort Worth 76102 817-336-2400/817-336-2181 / deckerjones.com
26 46 22
8
McDonald Sanders, P.C., Attorneys at Law 777 Main St., Ste. 1300, Fort Worth 76102 817-336-8651/DND / hmcdonaldlaw.com
24 48 17
9
Taylor, Olson, Adkins, Sralla & Elam LLP 6000 Western Place, Ste. 200, Fort Worth 76107 817-332-2580/817-332-4740 / toase.com
23 DND DND
10
Brown Pruitt Wambsganss Ferrill & Dean PC 201 Main St., Ste. 801, Fort Worth 76102 817-338-4888/817-338-0700 / brownpruitt.com
11
Year Established Managing Partners or Officers 1979 Marianne Auld, Managing Partner
Sample Areas of Practice Administrative, appellate, aviation, banking and finance, business reorganization and bankruptcy, corporate and securities, environmental and water law, estate planning and probate, health care, intellectual property and technology, labor and employment, litigation, nonprofit organizations, oil & gas/ energy, public finance, real estate, tax, and transportation law.
Representative Clients American Airlines Group Inc., Anne W. Marion/Burnett Interests, Bass Family Interests, BNSF Railway Company Burnett Oil Company, Kimbell Art Foundation, Sabre Holdings Corporation, Sid W. Richardson Foundation, Sundance Square
Baylor Scott & White Health Care System, Bell Helicopter/ Textron, Berkshire Hathaway, Brand Energy, Cook Children's Health Care System, D/FW Int'l Airport, ExxonMobil, FWISD, Jacobs Engineering Group, Sabre Corp, Texas Health Resources, UNT Health Science Center Banking, bankruptcy, commercial, insurance and employment Underwriters at Lloyds of London, State Farm Insurance 1978 litigation, consumer, corporate, estate planning and probate, Company, Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School Henri J. Dussault professional liability defense, insurance coverage, real estate, District, Dallas Independent School District, and school law and taxation. Worthington National Bank. Litigation, intellectual property, oil and gas, real estate, health 1978 care, arbitration, ADR, construction, securities, mergers and John Allen Chalk, Hunter T. DND acquisitions, banking, condemnation, bankruptcy,employment, McLean, Thomas S. Brandon Jr. non-profit and administrative. Administrative law, appellate and litigation, arbitration and Bank of Texas, BBVA USA (formerly Compass Bank), 1977 mediation, banking and finance, business and corporate, estate Durant Auto Group, EOG Resources, Frost Bank, Huffines Paul Westbrook planning and probate, labor and employment, oil and gas, Auto Group, UMB Bank, PlainsCapital Bank, Range professional liability defense, real estate Resources, Texas Capital Bank, XTO Energy 1983 Estate planning, tax and business planning, business, real W. Marc McDonald - Managing estate, litigation, employment, health law and charitable entity DND Shareholder law. M Real Estate, Employment Law, Patent; Trademark; IP; 1896 Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc.; Martin Sprocket & Gear, Inc.; Insurance Defense; Med Mal Defense; Commercial Litigation; AIG; Champion Home Builders, Inc.; History Maker Homes; Matthew L. Motes, Managing Construction; Construction Litigation; Banking; Tax; Probate; Partner AZZ, Inc. Estate Planning; Oil & Gas; Appellate, Banking & Finance, Business Transactions, Condemnation & Eminent Domain, Construction, Corporate, Texas Christian University, Cassco Land Company, Fort Creditor Rights & Bankruptcy Education Employment Law & Worth Independent School District, Frost Bank, Wells 1951 Labor, Energy & Utilities, Estate Planning & Probate, Fargo, Ben E. Keith Distributing Company, Fort Worth & Rick Sorenson Homeowners Associations, Landlord/Tenant, Litigation, NonWestern Railroad, United Electric Cooperative Services, Subscribers to Workers' Compensation, Oil & Gas, Real Estate, Tarrant County Hospital District, and Grapevine Mills Mall Tax, Technology, Transportation & Logistics 1997 Allen Taylor, Wayne Olson, Municipal law, school districts, water districts, MHMR districts Cities of Southlake, Richland Hills, and Euless and Mental Carvan, Adkins, Tim Sralla, and colleges Health Mental Retardation of Tarrant County Elizabeth Elam 1882 Brian C Newby
Aviation, construction, corporate & securities, energy, environmental, health & insurance, family, immigration, IP, labor & employment, litigation, real estate, and trusts & estates
20 DND 10
1991 Christopher J. Pruitt
Civil litigation, adoption, wills, probate and estate, and general corporate matters
Gladney Center for Adoption, Masonic Home and School, Chubb Insurance Co. and Republic Insurance Cos.
Thompson & Knight LLP 777 Main St., Ste, 3300, Fort Worth 76102 817-347-1700/817-347-1799 / tklaw.com
18 DND 10
Trial, real estate and banking, corporate and securities, tax and probate, oil and gas, estate planning, health care, and white collar crime
Basic Energy Services, BNSF Railway Co., Brazos Midstream Management LLC, Double Eagle Development LLC, Point Energy Partners
12
Haynes and Boone, LLP 301 Commerce St., Ste. 2600 , Fort Worth 76102 817-347-6600/817-347-6650 / haynesboone.com
17 DND DND
1988 Travis W. McNellie, Fort Worth Office Leader Mark M. Sloan, Managing Partner Firmwide 1984 Brian Barnard, administrative partner
Business, energy, labor and employment, bankruptcy, appellate, real estate, estate planning, media and entertainment
Alcon, AMR, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Hillwood Development Co. LLC, Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Co., Galderma, BNSF and OmniAmerican Bancorp., Inc.
12
Winstead PC 300 Throckmorton St., Ste. 1700, Fort Worth 76102 817-420-8200/817-420-8201 / winstead.com
14
Phelps Dunbar LLP 115 Grand Ave., Ste. 222, Southlake 76092 817-488-3134/817-488-3214 / phelpsdunbar.com/ Pope, Hardwicke, Christie, Schell, Kelly & Taplett, LLP 500 W. 7th St., Ste. 600, Fort Worth 76102 817-332-3245/817-877-4781 / popehardwickelaw.com The Blum Firm, PC 777 Main St., Ste. 700, Fort Worth 76102 817-334-0066/817-334-0078 / theblumfirm.com
14 16
17 24 10
2000 David Fowler Johnson
16 21 5 16 15 0 15 DND DND
Firm, 1853; Southlake, 2013 Matt Terrell 1952 George F. Christie 1980 Marvin Blum, founder and managing partner
Corporate, Securities/Mergers & Acquisitions; Real Estate Development & Investments; Business Litigation; Appellate Litigation; Fiduciary Litigation; Franchisor Representation; Radiology Associates of North Texas, P.A.; Cook Children’s Investment Management & Private Funds; Estate Planning & Healthcare System; MedProperties; Trinity Title. Probate; Finance & Banking; and Tax (including Opportunity Zones). Business, Construction/Design, Energy, Environmental, Insurance and Reinsurance, Labor and Employment, Litigation, DND Real Estate, Taxation Real estate, banking, land use, zoning, creditor rights, oil and gas, water law, civil litigation, eminent domain, corporate, DND governmental representation, probate, and estate planning Estate planning, tax planning, asset protection, charitable planning, probate, fiduciary litigation, guardianship, and DND mediation. Commercial, farm & ranch real estate; estate planning; mergers Banks, construction and development firms, municipalities, and acquisitions; complex business, oil and gas, real estate energy exploration and service companies, major farms litigation; public policy and state government; franchise law; and ranches administrative and municipal law; property tax law. Autobahn Motorcar Group, Allstate Insurance, BNSF All major areas of civil litigation including health care, Railway Co., Bell Helicopter Textron Inc., Factory Mutual insurance, employment, environmental, products liability, Insurance Co., State Auto Property & Casualty Insurance construction, public housing, condemnation, property Co., Union Pacific Railroad and Liberty International valuation, taxation, personal injury, aviation and real estate Underwriters.
17
Eggleston King, LLP 102 Houston Ave., Ste. 300, Weatherford 76086 817-596-4200/817-592-4269 / ektexas.com
14 DND 6 partners/14 total lawyers
2005 James D. Eggleston, Jr.
18
Brown, Proctor & Howell LLP 830 Taylor Street, Fort Worth 76102 817-332-1391/817-870-2427 / browndean.com
13 27 5
1922 John W. Proctor
19
Bonds Ellis Eppich Schafer Jones LLP 420 Throckmorton St., Ste.1000, Fort Worth 76102 817-405-6900/(817) 405-6902 / bondsellis.com
12 16 6
2016 John Bonds, Christian Ellis, Josh Eppich, Roland Schafer, Brandon Jones, Clay Taylor
Bankruptcy, Corporate Restructuring, Construction Law, Business Litigation, Insurance Law, Oil and Gas, Banking Transactions, and Employment Litigation
DND
20
Blaies & Hightower LLP 420 Throckmorton St., Ste. 1200, Fort Worth 76102 817-334-0800/817-334-0574 / bhilaw.com
11 27 3
1997 Greg Blaies Wesley Hightower, Grant Blaies
Civil, commercial and business litigation, oil and gas, medical malpractice, personal injury, labor and employment, governmental liability, transportation, corporate & securities law, mergers & acquisitions, Intellectual property and technology.
Texas Health Resources, Cook Children's Health Care System, and Texas Association of Counties
NOTES: DND - Did not disclose Source: participating firms. NR: Not Ranked. Updated 6/13/19. The Fort Worth Business Press makes every attempt to publish accurate information on its lists.
This is page 1 of our Law list of firms in Tarrant County. If your firm was not listed or the listing was incorrect, please contact Marice Richter at mrichter@bizpress.net. The full list will be published in the 2020 Book of Lists. You can also purchase the full list on our website: www.fortworthbusiness.com
RESEARCHER: Marice Richter
COMMENTARY
JUNE 17 – 23, 2019
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New guidance for investment in qualified opportunity zones (Part II)
SEAN BRYAN
The intent of the QOZ statute is to require new capital investment or increased economic output of property.
Since the first guidance regarding investment in Qualified Opportunity Zones (QOZ) was issued by the U.S. Treasury Department in October 2018, investors have shown immense interest in taking advantage of this opportunity to defer taxes on capital gains. In February 2019 Treasury held a public hearing to receive comments on the proposed regulations, and while considering those comments, released a second set of proposed regulations on April 17, 2019. Part I of this series (published in the June 3-9 issue) discussed portions of the New Regulations relevant to investors, and this article (Part II) discusses provisions of the New Regulations related to assets and operations of a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) and its subsidiaries. • 90% Asset Test. A QOF must meet an asset test each 6 months in order to qualify as a QOF, but a number of ordinary events can cause a QOF to fail in any testing period. The New Regulations provide that new contributions in the 6-month test period are disregarded if held in cash or short-term debt instrument. The New Regulations also modified the permitted method of valuing assets for purposes of the test to provide greater flexibility; in addition to the prior “applicable financial statement” method, alternate methods for both owned and leased property are proposed. The statute requires that QOFs have a reasonable period of time to reinvest proceeds of the sale of QOZ property (including equity in qualifying subsidiaries) without failing the asset test. The New Regulations define that “reasonable period” to be 12 months beginning on the date of disposition, and state that if during such period the
proceeds are held in cash or short-term debt instruments, then they will be considered to be QOZ property. Treasury requested comment on whether QOF subsidiaries should have an analogous rule, so this currently applies only to a QOF itself. • Substantially All. The QOZ statute uses “substantially all” in numerous places without defining it. The Initial Regulations defined the term for purposes of being a QOZ business to require that at least 70% of property leased or owned be QOZ business property. The New Regulations now propose to use 70% in the context of the use of property within a QOZ and 90% in the context of holding periods (i.e., the qualification of a subsidiary equity under the QOZ rules while owned by a QOF or the qualification as QOZ business property while owned by a QOF). • Trade or Business. While the Initial Regulations provided reasonable initial guidance to investment (and particularly real estate investment), the QOZ statute also provides for deferral if investment proceeds are used to start a trade or business in a QOZ. The New Regulations decline to provide a specific definition of a “trade or business” but instead default to the extensive history under Code Section 162. Other specifics included in the New Regulations regarding qualifying as a QOZ business will be discussed in Part III of this series The New Regulations do provide examples of what does not qualify. The introduction to the New Regulations states that merely holding land for investment and not as part of a trade or business is not itself a trade or business and the land cannot be a QOZ business property. The intent of the
QOZ statute is to require new capital investment or increased economic output of property, and so merely purchasing property without an intent to improve it, or to only minimally improve it, is not a qualifying use; an example given in the introduction to the New Regulations is purchasing a tract of land for the purpose of growing crops on it. • Original Use. An issue that sparked significant comment is the requirement that property have “original use” by a QOF. The New Regulations define it as the date that such property is first placed in service in a QOZ that starts or would permit depreciation or amortization of that property; if this event occurs by a prior owner of the property, then that property would not satisfy the “original use” requirement by a QOF. The New Regulations also address “original use” as applied to an existing building acquired by a QOF, and propose that it must have been vacant for at least 5 years prior to being acquired by the QOF in order to satisfy this requirement. • Substantial Improvement. Defined as increasing the tax basis of property by an amount at least equal to its initial basis, the New Regulations provide that the requirement for “substantial improvement” will be determined on an asset-by-asset basis; however, Treasury requested comments on how an aggregate approach might be implemented. Treasury also requested comment regarding non-realty (e.g., equipment) that cannot be “substantially improved.” • Intangible Property. The QOZ rules incorporate certain parts of Code Section 1397C, which defines “enterprise zones” to require that 50% of gross income be derived from active
conduct of a business, that a substantial portion of any intangible property be used in the active conduct of a trade or business, and that less than 5% of the tax bases of the property of such entity be attributable to nonqualified financial property. The New Regulations define a “substantial portion” of intangible property to be at least 40%; neither the New Regulations nor Code Section 1397C, however, define what constitutes such intangible property, and a discussion of such matter is outside the scope of this article, but the applicability of other Code Section 1397C concepts will be discussed in Part III of this series. • Multiple Zones. Where a QOZ business straddles census zones, at least 50% of total gross revenue must come from within the QOZ portion. • Anti-Abuse Rules. The QOZ statute authorized Treasury to issue rules to prevent abuse under the QOZ regime. The New Regulations propose as a general anti-abuse rule that the IRS may recharacterize a transaction, based on the facts and circumstances, if a “significant purpose” of the transaction is to achieve a tax result that is inconsistent with the QOZ statute. Treasury also reserved for the future possible other anti-abuse provisions and requested comments on rules for matters such as “landbanking” or other acquisition of unimproved land for inappropriate purposes under the statute. The provisions of the New Regulations regarding leased property and qualifying trade or business activities will be addressed in Part III of this series. Sean Bryan is a tax partner at Kelly Hart & Hallman LLP.
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FortWorthBusiness.com
Initiative paying off for kids in foster care to reunite with family DON G . B IN NICKER
When 5-month-old twins Chloe and Catie, along with their big brother Cole, were removed from their home and placed in foster care, there was little chance that they would return home to their mother, Crystal. With minimal support and access to resources, many people doubted that Crystal would ever prove capable of providing a safe, stable home for her children. However, things changed when CASA volunteers John and Jenifer were appointed to the case to represent the children’s best interests – and that’s exactly what they did. How? By advocating for them, and just as important, by advocating for Crystal. CASA became the catalyst that helped Crystal turn things around by connecting her to family and keeping other family members engaged during the long court case. Through a Texas process called Collaborative Family Engagement (CFE), the CASA volunteers worked with Child Protective Services (CPS) and those involved in the case to
create and strengthen a support network around Crystal and her children. CFE brought the whole team together at family meetings to build a custom plan that fit the family’s needs while simultaneously creating a system of accountability that ensured the execution of the agreed-upon plan. At the first meeting, Crystal seemed reserved but she was nevertheless engaged and listened to everyone. By the second meeting two months later, her confidence had grown and so had her relationships with her children, her support network and the CASA volunteers. It was at the third meeting that a complete transformation was apparent. Crystal entered smiling, and her confidence shone. It was reported that she had, in fact, exceeded CPS’s expectations for a monitored return home of her children. She had not only completed her parenting classes and counseling required by CPS, but also secured her own apartment and a full-time job and embraced the support of the network around her. Now that CASA and CPS are no longer on the case, the support network of family built by CFE is still there for Crystal and her children, who are safely and happily living at home with their mother. This is the power of CFE and only one example of the success we’ve seen in the three years since this program’s implementation in Tarrant County. When we implemented CFE, we hoped to create positive change in the lives of families like Crystal’s. What we didn’t expect, however, was that CFE would change the entire core of
our organization and how we advocate for children. Volunteers with CASA of Tarrant County complete 33 hours of intensive training before they are appointed by a judge to represent the best interest of a child in foster care. CASA volunteers get to know everyone involved in the child’s life and report back to the judge to ensure that the child’s physical, emotional and educational needs are being met. This has been the nationwide CASA movement’s model since the program’s founding in 1979. Though CASA is broadening its approach to positively impact child outcomes through initiatives like CFE, advocating for the child is still the heart and foundation of what we do. That focus will never shift. What we are changing is the lens through which we see parents, relationships and permanency outcomes, in relation to the best interest of the child. When we stopped looking at how we used to approach cases, new possibilities surfaced.
THIS IS THE POWER OF CFE AND ONLY ONE EXAMPLE OF THE SUCCESS WE’VE SEEN IN THE THREE YEARS SINCE THIS PROGRAM’S IMPLEMENTATION IN TARRANT COUNTY. – Don G. Binnicker, CASA of Tarrant County
Participation in the CFE initiative encouraged the team to consider all possible scenarios. If mom is still working to get back on track and isn’t ready to parent full time, can we still keep her engaged and connected to her children in other ways, like through phone calls and letters? Are there grandparents, aunts, uncles or close family friends that the children can visit for holidays? Just because a relationship can’t be a permanent placement or home doesn’t mean we have to, or should, close the door on these relationships forever. Another benefit of CFE is that it recognizes that children have many blood relatives and other important connections that can be identified, engaged and leveraged at a case’s inception. CFE stresses the importance of: • Involvement of the support network in the planning and decision-making for the child or youth, • Placement with kin or fictive kin whenever possible, but not as the first question posed, and • Connection as a contributing factor for positive child outcomes. In CASA of Tarrant County’s first year using CFE, we served 36 children. The approach was so impactful that in year two, we almost tripled our numbers and served 101 children; and already this year we’ve reached 118 children. How did we achieve this growth? By incorporating CFE into everything we do. CFE has been rolling out to CASA programs in Texas with the help of the state membership organization
Texas CASA. Texas CASA provides the programs with a CFE coach who works with multiple programs in the region. Here in Tarrant County, we further committed to the initiative by hiring our own CFE coordinator to oversee the embedding of CFE into our culture. The foundation of CFE is collaboration. We’ve taken our work with CPS and turned a good partnership into a true team for these kids. The CFE team shares the work, and every success is a cooperative achievement. By encouraging open communication and collaboration, this team approach also models the goal of establishing a community of support, or network, around the children and their families. Because CASA of Tarrant County remains focused on advocating for the best interest of children, we look forward to strengthening our CFE model to use as yet another tool to create better outcomes for children we serve. I can’t say the last three years have been easy, but I can say they have been worth it beyond measure.
BECOME A CASA
CASA volunteers, or Court Appointed Special Advocates, are people doing extraordinary work by choosing to speak up for children in their communities who have been abused or neglected. They are screened, trained and then appointed by the court to advocate for the best interests of a child or sibling group in the foster care system. Learn more at https:// www.speakupforachild.org/ see Law on page 24
JUNE 17 – 23, 2019
23
Ballet Concerto turns 50 in a new outdoor setting PAU L K . H A R R A L
Ballet Concerto Summer Dance Concert
The Shops at Clearfork, 5188 Monahans Ave., Fort Worth Performances: Friday, Saturday, Sunday, June 21, 22, 23 at 8:30 p.m. Opening Night Gala performance/fundraiser: Thursday, June 20, at 7 p.m. Free lawn seating Reserved table seating ($50 for a single seat, $200 for a table for four, and $500 for a table for 10): 817-763-5087 or www.balletconcerto.com Adjacent parking, restaurants and retail businesses Summer Dance Concert is supported in part by the Arts Council of Fort Worth and Tarrant County, the Texas Commission on the Arts, the Amon G. Carter Foundation, the Ryan Foundation and the Garvey Texas Foundation.
Ebb and Flow – a ballet about life, love and loss
everything. It was so wonderful, I said, ‘We need to do that in Fort Worth,’ and that was what sparked the beginning of it,” Dean said. Ballet Concerto was incorporated in 1969 to present ballet and other forms of dance to audiences of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds. If you don’t know Margo Dean, you wouldn’t know her dry sense of humor. For example, reacting to 50 years of Ballet Concerto, she says: “I’m just excited that I’m still alive. It seemed like it sure went by in a hurry. I was telling somebody today, I said, ‘Well I guess you probably read that I have, I won’t say I’m the oldest, but I have the oldest studio of anybody in the Metroplex.’ Somebody said, ‘Why do you suppose that is?’ I would just think, ‘Well they got older and died, and I just got older and stayed.’ ” Three ballets are being staged. Luis Montero, who has been working with Dean and Ballet Concerto for 31 years, returns to stage his ballet Bolero, which he choreographed for Ballet Concerto early in their relationship. Montero is widely
PAUL K. HARRAL
Ballet Concerto is celebrating its 50th year Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 21, 22 and 23 at 8:30 p.m. on an outdoor stage at a new location, The Shops at Clearfork in Fort Worth, just adjacent to its prior location at Heart of the Ranch. Those performances are free, but reserved table seating is available for purchase. An Opening Night Gala performance/fundraiser for patrons only is at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 20. Ballet Concerto has presented this popular professional ballet performance every summer since 1983. The concept was inspired by a trip to New York by Margo Dean, artistic director of Ballet Concerto and owner of Margo Dean School of Ballet. “My daughter lived and is living in New York, and one summer we went to a free performance in Central Park. People had their blankets and
BARBARA PENDLETON
pharral@bizpress.net
Margo Dean, Luis Montero and Elise Lavallee in the rehearsal space at the Margo Dean School of Ballet
known for his expertise in Spanish dance, and the ballet has been presented in venues across the globe. The bolero is a form of dance developed in Spain in the late 18th century and later in Cuba. Montero’s ballet is set to a one-movement orchestral piece by French composer Maurice Ravel. The program will begin with the classical work Pas Classique Hongrois from Raymonda by Russian chorographer Marius Petipa, first performed in 1898 in St. Petersburg. Other works include one by Fort Worth choreographer Elise Lavallee and another by Dean. “I love Margo and she treats me well, and the dancers are beautiful this year, gorgeous dancers.” Montero said. “We’re blessed.” Lavallee is a professional choreographer with a background in musical theater and was a member of the Actors Equity Association. She danced professionally and has choreographed shows extensively in North Texas. And she teaches for Margo Dean, Texas Wesleyan University and Casa Manaña. Lavallee came to the Margo Dean School of Dance in 1991 when she was 11. A year later, Ballet Concerto was staging Bolero again and she was playing on the grassy area outside the studio and could hear the music from inside. “I had to stop and look and watch. I just became in awe of what I was seeing. My heart started racing. I got chills all over my body. It was the first time I realized that that was what I wanted to do,” she said. “It was Luis’s Bolero that did that and inspired me.” Her ballet this season is called Ebb and Flow, first choreographed in 2017. see Ballet on page 24
24 BALLET from page 23
“I’m doing it again, but I’m tweaking it to make it better. Anytime I choreograph a piece here, you know, new work, it’s not a lot of time,” Lavallee said. “It’s really nice this time to be able to go back to a piece and then really refine it.” Dancers who trained with Dean and have gone on to professional careers have returned for the 50th celebration and she says it’s a treat for her to work with them. “What’s awesome is they choose to be here because they
LAW
from page 22
COLLABORATIVE FAMILY ENGAGEMENT
In 2015, the 84th Legislature appropriated funds to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) and Texas CASA to work together to develop a statewide model of family
UNITED from page 17
“For a veteran coming back from a combat tour who just wants to get employed and find their way in the community and the economy it can be really frustrating,” said TD Smyers, president and CEO of the United Way of Tarrant County and former commanding officer of Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base. “Because they are making a phone call that they get referred to from a 211 or some other source and nobody answers the phone. Or somebody answers and doesn’t get back to them. Then they can lose their way in this morass
FortWorthBusiness.com believe in this concert and the fact that it is this jewel. It’s a free concert that is a gift to this community,” Lavallee said. “And Margo’s given me this platform that I get to choreograph pieces. I would never have gotten to choreograph on such outstanding dancers.” Ebb and Flow, is about life, love and loss, she says. Lavallee quotes from a HuffPost blog from 2014 by Joyce Marter, a psychotherapist and the founder of Urban Balance, that Lavallee says is “exactly how I think of it.” Relationships ebb and flow, like the waves of the sea. They swell with intimacy,
passion, and energy and then naturally wane through periodic episodes of separateness, quietness and space. Attachment and connection, followed by detachment and disconnection. Up and down, back and forth, give and take, push and pull. Such is the rhythm of life – a necessary process to prevent stagnation and promote our evolution of our consciousness. And also in her mind was the suicides of her sister and of her best friend. She’s using what she calls “popular-ish music. It’s stuff that some people may recognize. It’s different artists
like alt-J, Bishop Briggs, Mansionair and Son Lux.” “The reason I’m using artists like that is because we’re out here in this venue where just about anybody will walk by and see ballet,” Lavallee said. She thinks the music may draw in people who think they would never be interested in ballet and “open their eyes and their minds to what they’ve never seen before and show it to them in a different light.” The choreography, she said, is a fusion of dance styles – a bit of hip-hop, ballet and contemporary.
“But it’s really like a fusion of how I want to express myself, and not draw a line as to I’m going to do this style,” Lavallee said. She also noted that Dean is the reason that Fort Worth and Dallas have Texas Ballet Theater. “She was the founder of Fort Worth Dallas Ballet, which is now Texas Ballet Theater. I truly believe that the arts in this community would not be where they are today without her,” Lavallee said. “I think that that’s important for people to know. The Ballet Concerto started as a little concert and now it’s this big, beautiful concert that is free.”
finding known as Collaborative Family Engagement, or CFE. With a focus on authentic family engagement, the CFE approach brings CASA, the DFPS and CPS together to complete the work of family finding, as federal law requires. The goal of CFE is to establish and strengthen support networks around children and youth in foster care as
well as for their families, and to improve permanency outcomes, both physical (legal) and relational (emotional). CFE is an integrated or embedded model of family finding in which CASA and CPS share the tasks of finding, engaging and involving family and fictive kin to build the supportive network – allowing more integration and transfer into
standard case practice while modeling a team approach for the family. Now in its fourth year statewide, CFE has expanded to 31 local CASA programs and their local CPS, representing about 44 percent of the statewide CASA network.
WHAT WE ARE CHANGING IS THE LENS THROUGH WHICH WE SEE PARENTS, RELATIONSHIPS AND PERMANENCY OUTCOMES, IN RELATION TO THE BEST INTEREST OF THE CHILD. WHEN WE STOPPED LOOKING AT HOW WE USED TO APPROACH CASES, NEW POSSIBILITIES SURFACED.
Don G. Binnicker is CEO of CASA of Tarrant County.
– Don G. Binnicker, CASA of Tarrant County
very easily because there’s not great connectivity.” The TXServe network is a strong platform where no military member can “fall through the cracks,” Smyers said. United Way coordinates all the local service providers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, a piece of the whole AmericaServes nationwide network. So, in case a certain service is not available in the area, a service member may be referred to services somewhere else in the nation. “It’s focusing on things less on the programmatic side and more on the systemchange side,” Smyers said. “In other words, let’s bring things to the space that
change the environment where people live, work, learn, suffer. This is a gamechanger in this space, that’s systemic. It’s not bringing in another program to the table that helps veterans. It’s bringing mortar-betweenthe-bricks connectivity that ensures all can network collaboratively, additively to the benefit of the veterans.” Since it formally became the coordination center in November, United Way of Tarrant County has reached more than 1,138 clients and answered 1,333 requests, according to data provided by TXServesNorth Texas. TXServes-North Texas has about 40 network providers,
which makes it one of the largest networks in the AmericaServe platform. “The community embraces it,” Smyers said about Fort Worth. “The community understands veterans here really well. This is a veteranfriendly community. We finally have the connectivity we need and everybody is jumping into it. We want this to be a wide and deep network.” United Way is seeking more agencies that can help veterans to join the network. The AmericaServes initiative is an effort of the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) at Syracuse University. The institute first started the veteran service
provider network in New York in 2013. Since then, AmericaServes has worked with more than 25,000 clients. More than half of them requested income support and about a quarter requested housing and shelter support. “This is a great effort to quite simply make it easier for veterans and their families to access and navigate care and services in this community,” IVMF COO Maureen Casey said. In the TXServes-North Texas market, about 52% of clients served were post 9/11 veterans. “[TXServes-North Texas] is well-prepared to serve those who have served us,” Casey said.
JUNE 17 – 23, 2019
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FortWorthBusiness.com
Employment Law: a critical concern for local nonprofits Stronger nonprofits mean a stronger community. According to a recent study commissioned by CNM, there are nearly 6,000 nonprofits actively providing services in Tarrant County. And they generated $16.2 billion in total assets. These nonprofits rely on the hard work of their thousands of employees. This means that while focusing on their mission, nonprofits must also pay attention to employment law compliance. Employment disputes are expensive and time-consuming and can divert critical resources from a nonprofit’s mission. Contrary to popular For more information about the workshop on “Employment Law for Nonprofits” or to register, go to https://northtexascf. org/news-and-events/
Rose Bradshaw
Vianei Braun
opinion, nonprofits do not receive exemptions or special treatment under federal and state employment laws. They must be just as vigilant as any for-profit business. Following are key areas of concern: Managing Employee Performance – Nonprofits are sometimes run by “do-gooders” who overlook performance issues and are reluctant to fire
employees. This can damage morale and organizational performance; the better path is to confront issues head on. Preventing Workplace Harassment Claims in the #MeToo Era – Many nonprofits maintain a casual and close-knit work environment, which ironically can increase the odds of a harassment or hostile-environment claim.
Other Employment Law Risks – Discrimination issues, wage and hour compliance, and the employee/ independent contractor conundrum are three risks most commonly encountered by nonprofits. The latter is an especially pervasive problem in this sector, as organizations tend to engage “contractors” (for fundraising projects, event planning, web site management and other tasks) without considering the legal risks. Fortunately, Tarrant County nonprofits do not have to struggle alone. Our local legal and philanthropic communities are dedicated to providing resources, information and capacity-building services to local nonprofits. To that end, the North Texas Community Foundation, The Morris Foundation and CNM (formerly the Center for
Nonprofit Management) have partnered with the Decker Jones’ Labor and Employment Law group to create “Employment Law for Nonprofits,” a two-hour workshop designed to help nonprofits improve employment law compliance and avoid legal risks. The workshop will take place at ACH Child and Family Services on July 11. North Texas Community Foundation and Decker Jones, PC, are pleased to collaborate with local partners such as The Morris Foundation and CNM to fortify our local nonprofit organizations and ensure that our region is strong for generations to come. Rose Bradshaw is the president and CEO of the North Texas Community Foundation. Vianei Braun heads the Labor and Employment Law group at Decker Jones.
JUNE 17 – 23, 2019
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OPINION
from page 1
Starting this month and running through Sept. 15, we have the priceless opportunity to view Monet: The Late Years, a collection of 52 paintings representing the work of famed impressionist Claude Monet during the final 13 years of his life. The exhibit at the Kimbell’s Renzo Piano Pavilion features paintings gathered from public and private collections around the world. The exhibit, which includes more than 20 of Monet’s renowned water-lily paintings, focuses on work done while he suffered the problems of age, most notably failing eyesight, in the years before his death at 86 in 1926. Ill health did not diminish his talent for detail or his vast imagination. It was in those final years that Monet, who embodied the impressionist movement, is credited with reinventing his style. He is known for his use of light and forms that created his impression of what he saw. His life was the complex one of an artist, particularly one who broke from the norm and experimented in a new form of painting. He knew scorn, despair, depression, and financial distress. He is thought to have personally destroyed up to 500 of his works that he found unworthy. Yet, he continued to push and to paint and found new inspiration in the last decade of his life, often arising at 4 a.m. and painting all day until he literally collapsed. Despite age and infirmity, his creative instincts demanded he paint as often and as long as he could.
Monet found most of his beauty in nature and was fascinated by the way the natural world changed, bobbed and weaved, and danced in varying forms as light changed. He did not take his surroundings for granted and, in fact, the inspiration for his water-lily series was found in his backyard pond in Giverny, the village in the Normandy region of France where lived and created many of his greatest works. One of Monet’s paintings, Mueles, sold at auction in New York last month for $110.7 million. It had been unseen by the public for 78 years. Another of his works, from the water-lily collection, is expected to bring $44.6 million. We can go to the Kimbell and see his works for less than the price of ticket to a Texas Rangers baseball game. These are the types of things we often overlook but which make Fort Worth unique and great. Take your children and grandchildren. If they gain nothing else from the experience they can learn about a man who followed his passion no matter the odds, no matter the critics. He challenged tradition. They may even find their own inspiration. When my youngest daughter was in fourth grade, she saw a Monet exhibit in Pennsylvania. Having learned to paint at Kinderplatz, the incredible pre-school in Fort Worth, she came home and painted her own version of water-lilies, this one with a small sailboat in it. We framed it and it remains one of our most prized possessions.
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With hats off to Monet: A North Texas water lily
We like art and beauty at the Business Press and miss the days when photography was a prized component of printed publications. A few years ago, we decided we should offer our readers a weekly departure from the bleak imagery that clutters and darkens our world in these troubled times. Such departures are not common practice among newspapers today, but we care little about following the pack. K.P. Wilska and his photos, mostly on Facebook, came to our attention. He is a retired CEO of a Fortune 500, worldwide company and has a
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fiery passion for photography, a passion he often focuses on nature: birds, trees, flowers, sunrises and sunsets, bodies of water ... He agreed to supply us with at least one photo per week – for free, believe it or not – and we run it regularly as our “Parting Shot.” His work makes us feel good and we have a hunch it makes our readers feel good, too. Taking note of Wilska’s photos, longtime subscriber Daniel Roe asked us if he could submit a Parting Shot. We quickly accepted his offer and our latest issue (June 17-23) features his photograph, a captivating image of the arcade entry to the garden
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Bill Thompson bthompson@bizpress.net associate editor
Paul Harral pharral@bizpress.net
at Fort Worth’s First United Methodist Church K.P.’s contribution this week accompanies this column and serves as our own nod to Monet – a water lily photographed by Wilska at a private garden in Trophy Club. If June turns to September and you have not seen Monet: The Late Years, you might as well live in Abilene. You, your friends, your children may never have another chance to view art this glorious. Richard Connor is president and publisher of the Fort Worth Business Press. Contact him at rconnor@bizpress.net
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Rick Mauch lists
Marice Richter copy editor
Libby Afflerbach
The entire content of this newspaper is copyrighted by Fort Worth Business 2019, with all rights reserved. Reproduction or use, without permission, of editorial or graphic content in any manner is prohibited. Fort Worth Business Press (USPS 004-204) is published weekly, except for Christmas, New Years, for $125 per year by Fort Worth Business, 3509 S. Hulen St., Suite 200 • Fort Worth, TX 76109. Periodical Postage Paid at Fort Worth, Texas. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Fort Worth Business Press, 101 Summit, Suite 803 • Fort Worth, TX 76102.
JUNE 17 – 23, 2019
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Parting shot This week’s Parting Shot shows the arcade entry to the garden at Fort Worth’s First United Methodist Church, 800 W. 5th St. The photo was contributed by church member and longtime Business Press subscriber Daniel J. Roe, a Fort Worth architect. “I have always thought this was one of the best outdoor spaces in Fort Worth,” Roe says.
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WE CONGRATULATE OUR 2019 GRADUATES! Dani Dani Ray Ray Barton Barton Stacy Bowers Stacy Bowers
Dione Dione Mitchell Mitchell Joseph Joseph Orloff Orloff
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Jessica Jessica Lewis Lewis Terrell McCoy Terrell McCoy
Dan Dan Buhman Buhman Krystal Krystal Bybee Bybee
Rand Rand Otten Otten Vanessa Vanessa Roberts Roberts Bryan Bryan
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Sandy Sandy El-Rayes El-Rayes Emily Galey Emily Galey
Jonathan Jonathan Rittenhouse Rittenhouse Jeimie Rodriguez Jeimie Rodriguez
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Omar Omar Rosales Rosales Lozano Lozano Stefanie Schafner Stefanie Schafner
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Thank Thank you you to to everyone everyone who who attended attended on June 13! We hope to see you on June 13! We hope to see you at at the the next Leadership Fort Worth event. next Leadership Fort Worth event.
Woodcrest Capital is the home team. Whether you’re a business owner, a vendor, or a shopper you know that when you do business in a Woodcrest retail center you are doing business with your neighbors. All of our 65-plus commercial properties across 11 states are owned and managed by Woodcrest Capital with our total committment to reflecting the lifestyle and values of the communities we serve. From the warm and inviting architecture to the carefully selected shops and services that adorn our centers, each of our properties provides an ideal showcase for our tenants and a first-class destination for their customers. We have honored this committment for more than 30 years and carry it forward as we search for new and diverse opportunities to expand our portfolio and enhance the markets we serve.
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