Good Thursday afternoon!

After closing the November chapter – along with fond memories of family Thanksgiving gatherings or Zoom Thanksgivings – let’s continue our commitment to our local retailers. This past Saturday was Small Business Saturday, and we need to prioritize taking care of our small businesses in Northeast Tarrant County.

Now, let’s reflect on what a wonderful event we hosted on November 5 with our 24^th Annual Heart of North Texas Conference.

This event attracted a record number of sponsors and attendees that resulted in over $14,000 being raised for our scholarship fund.

I want to personally thank our tri-chairmen, Eli Mercer, RaDonna Hessel and Craig Hulse, for leading their committee to create such an outstanding event.

We are indeed grateful for the following speakers sharing their amazing insights:

… and, of course, Dr. Faye Beaulieu, who once again offered the kindest and most inspirational opening prayer imaginable.

Please allow me to also thank Chris Connolly, General Manager of the Hurst Conference Center, for overseeing such a smooth operation from a logistics perspective. We have had nothing but positive comments about the food, service, and audio/visual elements.

The Heart of North Texas reaffirms that the Northeast Leadership Forum is an organization of leaders that focuses on connecting leaders and building leaders.

Your NLF board held our regular board meeting on Tuesday, November 9, and approved four new members: Jerry Cantu, Clayton Fulton, Matia Messemer, and Laura Ingram.

Please look for award nomination requests for our Distinguished Leader Award, which will be presented at the banquet. The deadline for nominations will be Monday, February 28.

And finally, let’s pay attention to what FBI Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge Brett Leatherman told us at the Heart of North Texas:

The theme of “Building for an Economic Boom” created energy inside the Hurst Conference Center for the 24^th Annual Heart of North Texas Conference. The sold-out crowd learned how nonprofits and social service agencies pivoted during the pandemic, what the demographic trends will mean to Texas and Northeast Tarrant County, how education is changing to meet emerging vocational and workforce training, and how daunting cybersecurity threats are to our businesses and our families.

One of the cleverest elements of the conference took place between speakers, as our conference committee created a theme for each networking break. Attendees were asked to visit with someone new to discuss:

We were honored to attract such captivating and timely speakers as:

Leah King, President/CEO of United Way of Tarrant County, shared insights on how nonprofits and social service agencies pivoted to meet community needs during the early days of the pandemic. She gave specific examples of how United Way partnered with Tarrant County, cities, and nonprofits to be creatively resourceful during such a dire time of need. She added that some of these collaborations have led to long-term solutions that will last beyond the pandemic.

Dr. Lloyd Potter, our Governor-Appointed Texas State Demographer, provided insights on how the 2020 census is impacting Texas. He gave reasoning behind why the Fort Worth-Dallas area did not receive one of the two new congressional seats allotted to Texas. He also detailed how upward birth rates among Hispanics and declining birth rates among the Anglo population will lead Anglos to become a minority in Texas in the near future.

Dr. Kenya Ayers-Palmore, President of Tarrant County College-Northeast, moderated the Education, Industry, and Vocational Training Panel. Participants consisted of TCC Chancellor Dr. Eugene Giovannini, TCC Executive Vice President of Corporate Solutions Shannon Bryant, and Birdville ISD Superintendent Dr. Gayle Stinson.

Among the revelations were that a growing number of graduating high school students are seeking trade training that can lead to fulfilling and lucrative careers, how TCC will customize training to meet individual company specifications, and that the TCC Foundation will match funds from NLF’s scholarship program on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

The luncheon keynote varied from the schedule when M3 Networks founder/CEO Michael Moore was unable to attend because of a family funeral at the same time. Communications Director Casey Messner from the company joined Brett Leatherman, Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge from the FBI Dallas Office, to discuss cybersecurity issues for our businesses and homes. Brett shared that 80% of all ransoms paid help fund additional criminal action, most specifically illicit drugs and human trafficking. He also strongly encouraged each of us to use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) that encrypts our data and makes it more difficult for hackers to access.

What a wonderful transition we had from last year’s “Surviving and Thriving” theme to this year’s “Building for an Economic Boom.”

Our event committee consisted of:

We could never have hosted this event without the financial support of our sponsors, whose generosity is helping us fund scholarships for college, university, and trade school education.

Glen Whitley, Tarrant County Judge

Gary Fickes, County Commissioner Precinct 3

Our families began gatherings this past weekend for Thanksgiving, and Tarrant County Public Health Director Vinny Taneja is recommending that we remain vigilant and cautious with get-togethers and public events from now through the first week of 2022. He shares that the new Omicron variant could be a stronger strain even though it has not been identified yet in Texas.

Our membership has grown by almost 25 new members over the past year, so please continue to invite colleagues and influential members of our community to join NLF. 

These influencers are making a difference in our area, so let's invite them to participate in NLF. Membership is the lifeblood of our organization, and we are providing a valuable forum for new members to have close access to so many of the decision makers that shape the course of events in Northeast Tarrant County.

For any prospective NLF members you know, click here to download the membership application. We want both established and emerging leaders to continue to join our organization to further the dynamic economic growth of Northeast Tarrant County.

In the five years of the NLF Foundation scholarship program, 126 students have received a total of $173,000 to help fund their dreams of attending a community college, four-year university, or a trade school.

These students have attended 52 different universities, ranging from TCU, Texas Wesleyan University, and U.T. Arlington in the Fort Worth area, Stanford University and the University of Southern California on the west coast and New York University on the east coast. Trade-focused students have attended Tarrant County College, the Culinary Institute of America, and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Council has renewed Ian MacLean, President/CEO of Highland Landscaping in Southlake, as Chair of its Small Business Council for a second year. The move, while not unprecedented, is traditionally made with the organization is impressed with the first year of service.