Jubilee Theatre has appointed Christie M. Howard as the new managing director of the longtime downtown Fort Worth theater.
She joins the theater’s management team after working for more than seven years as the director of public relations for Texas College in Tyler.
A native of Athens, Texas, Howard began her career in marketing management with MCI Worldcom, where she created strategic alliances for some of the nation’s leading consumer, retail and service providing companies.
After eight years in the corporate world, Howard moved to the area of nonprofit cultural arts. She was director of sales for Dallas Black Dance Theatre and then joined The Black Academy of Arts and Letters as marketing and media relations manager.
In 2012, Howard created LimeQuest Agency, which offers communication and marketing support and solutions to small and mid-sized businesses, nonprofits, organizations and entrepreneurs.
“On behalf of the Jubilee Board of Directors, we are thrilled to have Christie join our dedicated staff,” said Board President Ellen Benson. “She will be instrumental in focusing her talents and skills on the theater’s fund development/fundraising programs and initiatives, including ongoing special events benefitting the overall financial success of Jubilee Theatre.”
Howard joined Jubilee in late 2016 but will officially be introduced to Jubilee patrons at a pre-show reception sponsored and hosted by Worthington National Bank before the opening night performance of Thurgood on Feb. 3.
Founded by Rudy and Marian Eastman in Fort Worth in 1981, the theater became a downtown fixture in 1993 when it renovated its current space at 506 Main St.
FW Councilman Jordan receives Tarleton Legacy Award
Fort Worth City Councilman Jungus Jordan received Tarleton State University’s 2017 Civility with Integrity Legacy Award from President F. Dominic Dottavio at the university’s annual gala Jan. 28.
Legacy Awards recognize individuals and supporters who exhibit Tarleton’s core values – civility, integrity, excellence, leadership, tradition and service. The university president selects recipients.
“A man of honor and impeccable integrity, Councilman Jordan serves his community with grace and distinction,” Dottavio said in a statement. “Championing the commercial and residential development along Chisholm Trail Parkway and the construction of our new full-fledged campus in southwest Fort Worth, he is committed to improving quality of life for today’s families and future generations. Because of that commitment, North Texas is guaranteed a bright, prosperous future.”
Jordan was elected to the city council in June 2005, representing District 6 in the far south and southwest portions of Fort Worth. He serves on the Texas A&M Transportation Institute Advisory Council and the Regional Transportation Council of the North Central Texas Council of Governments.
“I am honored by the fact that I’m recognized for dealing with people in a civil and transparent way,” Jordan said. “I was raised to love my neighbor and deal with all with respect and humility.”
Jordan served in the U.S. Air Force including tours in Vietnam and Germany as well as working for the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He received more than 15 medals and commendations, including the Defense Superior Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal and the Vietnam Service Medal.
After retiring as a lieutenant colonel, Jordan returned home to work as a development officer at Texas Christian University, then as vice president of marketing and business development for Eurpac Service Co. He also was an adviser with two national financial companies and now works part time for Cook Children’s Health Care System.
As a volunteer, Jordan has been involved with the American Red Cross, Rotary Club, Optimist Club and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
He and his wife, Glenda, have been married 46 years and have two adult children and two grandchildren.
University of Tennessee Chancellor Jimmy Cheek, a Tarleton alumnus, received the president’s Excellence through Leadership Award, and TexasBank received the Tradition of Service Award.
DISTRIBUTION
Electrocomponents PLC has announced the appointment of Steve Newland as president of its Fort Worth-based Allied Electronics, a trading brand of the parent company, effective Feb. 7.
Newland will be responsible for driving transformational and profitable growth in the Americas and strengthening customer service.
Newland has over 30 years’ experience as a senior sales and operations executive, the last six of which he spent at Mouser Electronics as a senior vice president.
Before joining Mouser, Newland was chief operating officer for GEOS Communications. Previously, he spent 12 years with Grainger and eight years with Honeywell. Originally from Fort Worth, he has an MBA from the University of Dallas and a bachelor’s degree in industrial distribution from Texas A&M University.
EDUCATION
Tom Sumner, a leading Houston business executive who serves on the Texas Christian University Board of Trustees, and his wife Marilyn, have made a $5.5 million leadership gift to support the planned expansion of the TCU Neeley School of Business. Both are TCU alumni.
Tom Sumner has founded six companies since 1979. He is CEO and chairman of Allpoints Service Corp., which provides land surveying services to home builders. He earned his bachelor’s degree from TCU in 1967 and MBA in 1968. Marilyn Sumner was a career education administrator before co-founding a consulting company to advise school districts in the Houston area. She serves on several nonprofit boards. She earned her education degree from TCU in 1968.
ENGINEERING
Wier & Associates Inc.’s board of directors has elected Randy Eardley – as a senior associate and the firm’s newest shareholder. Eardley joined the firm in February 2005 as an engineer in training after graduating from Texas A&M University with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. The board also elected Priya Acharya as an associate. Acharya joined the company in March 2006 as an intern and began working as a full-time engineer in May 2007 upon graduating from the University of Texas at Arlington with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering.
HONORS AND AWARDS
Dwain Mayfield, president of international business consulting firm ADM Global Resources and a former vice president at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, was recognized Jan. 28 as the 2017 Distinguished Alumnus of Tarleton State University at the Tarleton Alumni Association’s annual awards banquet.
Mayfield completed an associate degree at Tarleton in 1957 and then earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from Texas A&M University and an MBA from Texas Christian University.
Mayfield joined General Dynamics in Fort Worth (now Lockheed Martin) as a design engineer in 1961. He became vice president of program development and later vice president of marketing initiatives.
Mayfield is the immediate past president of the Tarleton Foundation. He and his wife, Lynda, established an endowed scholarship for Tarleton engineering students.
Others honored included Jonathan Rios, Outstanding Young Alumnus; Linda Jones, who retired in 2014 after 14 years as dean of Tarleton’s College of Graduate Studies, 2017 Distinguished Faculty Award; and Alpha Building Corp. as Distinguished Friend of the university.
MEDIA
Andrea Parquet-Taylor, formerly news director at CBS affiliate WNCN in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, has been named vice president and news director at KTVT-CBS 11, the CBS-owned station in Dallas-Fort Worth. Parquet-Taylor has worked as assistant news director at KHOU, the CBS affiliate in Houston; news director at WXYZ in Detroit; WRAL/WRAZ in Raleigh-Durham; and WMAR in Baltimore. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications arts and sciences from Michigan State University and began her career as a producer at WXYZ.
REAL ESTATE
Assurant Valuations, part of Assurant Mortgage Solutions, has appointed Marc Hinkle as senior vice president. Previously Hinkle was senior vice president at Mortgage Contracting Services, where he oversaw valuation operations, strategic initiatives, vendor management, third party service providers and other operational teams.
RETAIL
Marshall Grain Co., a local retailer of organic gardening supplies and pet and animal care products, has expanded its landscape design and installation services to include irrigation services.
The new services will be managed by licensed professional Brandon King, who is the founder and former owner of GreenView Irrigation Solutions of Plano.
Since starting its organic landscape design, installation and maintenance services in 2015, Marshall Grain’s landscaping department has grown to include three design professionals and a staff of 10 other employees, including King.
SMALL BUSINESS
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has named Herbert Austin the acting regional administrator for the South Central Region, which serves 3.3 million small businesses in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. In addition to his regional administrator duties, Austin will continue as the SBA’s Dallas-Fort Worth District director, a position he has held since 2008.
As the acting regional administrator, Austin will lead 10 district offices in the delivery of SBA’s financial, entrepreneurial development, government contracting and international export services. He will also oversee a network of small-business counselors assigned to Small Business Development Centers, SCORE Offices, Women’s Business Centers and Veteran Business Outreach Centers throughout the South Central Region.
A native of Haiti, Austin began his career at SBA in 1989 when he was hired in New Jersey to strengthen assistance to export businesses. He has served as manager of the Business Information Center in Jamaica, Queens; trade finance manager at the U.S. Export Assistance Center in New York, followed by a stint as SBA Long Island, New York, branch manager. In 2003, Austin was named deputy director of the New York District. In 2007 he became acting director of the South Central Region’s largest producing district in Dallas-Fort Worth. He earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from New York University and an MBA from Pace University.
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