Gail Bennison Special to the Business Press
Pam Minick’s heading into the sunset. Well, sort of…. During her career she has been a champion calf roper, actress, movie stunt person, Miss Rodeo America, sports commentator and TV host. She has been the marketing director, owner and the face of Billy Bob’s Texas for 25 years. Fort Worth icon Pam Minick will retire her official duties at the legendary country music nightclub the end of June. “I think it’s kinda cool that George Strait and I are retiring at the same time,” Minick said. “He’s 60, and the cowboy rides away. I’m 60, and the cowgirl rides away. She’s not retiring, she emphasizes. “I’m just not doing the day-to-day media buys and the other responsibilities as marketing director,” she said. And, she’ll get to spend more time with Billy Minick, her husband of 31 years who retired a few years ago. “We need to be retired together. It’s not like my job is a whoopin’ but we promote 120 concerts a year. No venue does that. There are more events here than at American Airlines Center, and when an event rolls in there, they’ve got different people promoting the different events,” she said. Her retirement party? Willie Nelson’s July 4th Picnic at Billy Bob’s. Minick came to Fort Worth as a director and contestant in the National Finals of Women’s ProRodeo, Fort Worth businessman Steve Murrin Sr. recalls. Murrin was one of the original partners in Billy Bob’s Texas. “Billy developed a sudden interest in what was going on,” Murrin says chuckling. “First thing you know they get married. Worked out pretty good. Providence brings about amazing developments, and the combination of them working together at Billy Bob’s is one of the all time examples,” he said. Murrin said while she has been the public face of Billy Bob’s she does even more that few see. “As much as she gets done out front, where it is obvious, she does four times that much behind the scenes, not just for Billy Bob’s, but for the whole city of Fort Worth,” he said. Minick’s fierce passion for country music and the western way of life helped make Billy Bob’s a worldwide icon. Billy Bob’s Texas has been honored as the Country Music Club of the Year 12 times – three awards from the Country Music Association (CMA) and nine from the Academy of Country Music (ACM). “My favorite part of all this was seeing the artists on their way up and appreciating the work that we do to get a crowd out to watch their show,” Minick says. “Nothing was more evident in that than when Alan Jackson was a showcase artist here. He left the stage and went backstage and wrote the song Dallas because he had gotten on stage and said, ‘I wish Fort Worth was in Tennessee.’ Many careers were made on the stage at Billy Bob’s Texas.” Business people have responded to Minick’s ability to make things work. “Pam is business savvy with an intuitiveness that’s spot on, one of the many reasons she is so respected in our industry,” says Darla Fisher, event marketing manager at Justin Brands. But it’s not just people in the stockyards and affiliated industries that have seen Minick’s abilities at work. “I am reassured only by knowing that Pam will not stop working for Fort Worth,” says Fort Worth businessman Ed Bass. “She has been, and I am sure will continue to be a fabulous ambassador for our city.” Billy Minick is a father of four from a previous marriage. Brandy Minick works as associate publisher of Cowboys & Indians magazine. Cheyenne Bill is a magistrate in Fort Worth. Concho Bill became president of Billy Bob’s in 2011. Another son, Cody Bill, passed away. Billy and Pam have five grandchildren. Brandy worked at Billy Bob’s for 20 years. “I got to see how important Pam was in the organization,” Brandy says. “If anybody needed anything the first thing they would always say was ‘Ask Pam.’ She’s always there. We ended up calling it ‘the Pam factor’ because with anything she touches, she gives her all.” Looking toward the future, Minick said she has several passions. “I love to paint and I don’t get to spend enough time painting. I donate them to charities as auction items, so I’ll be able to do some more of that stuff. And I’ll have more time to work with the Fort Worth Herd and the Fort Worth Mounted Police. There are so many charities that I don’t have a lot of time to work on just because I have one-and-a-half full-time jobs.” Minick says she will miss being involved with the management, the artists and the media. “I’m not saying that I’m not going to miss driving 45 minutes down I-35 each way, either. But when you’re headed out and the club is full and the band is appreciative, and you know you had a hand in driving the ticket buyers, well, that feels pretty good.”
More Accolades:
From Rosie Moncrief:
Pam Minick has been my friend and hero since we met in the early 80’s. I’ve never known anyone who could so effortlessly juggle multiple projects at one time while never taking her eye off her full time job at Billy Bob’s. She’s the best at multitasking; and she does with efficient charm. Working with her on the Super Bowl Host Committee was not only a pleasure, but to watch her gracefully navigate an alligator pond was nothing short of amazing. You could spend a lifetime looking for something negative to say about her and you just won’t find it. That’s a unique and cherished characteristic. She is the most gracious and unassuming friend anyone could ever have. In fact, she is so low key with her MANY accomplishments that it sometimes takes months or years for me to hear about them. Pam’s moral compass never veers off course; she is rock solid in friendships, work and her service to this great community. We’ve had the opportunity to work on many community projects and once she commits, she’s all in. Her bio is as long as Obama’s health care plan, but I digress. I can’t imagine Billy Bob’s without her. Someone special will surely sit in her chair when she retires, but her boots will never be filled. She set a very high water mark and she will be missed in the industry. But, now she and I have much more time for golf and we have all intentions of taking advantage of that time. How lucky am I?
From Concho Minick:
Pam is the quintessential “get it done” person. More often than not she is working on something while you are talking about it and likely done before you leave her office! She has poured amazing energy into the Billy Bob’s Texas brand for decades. She is a pillar in the success and popularity of the club and huge factor in what Billy Bob’s means to the community. Her finger prints will not soon fade from the red, white, blue, and gold of the Billy Bob’s brand. From Debbie Garrison:
Pam was the major influence in me learning to Team Rope. She had been competing when she lived in Arizona and when she came to Texas she continued competing in the WPRA in Breakaway Roping and Team Roping. She convinced me at the ripe old age of 35 that I could learn to rope. I had been a barrel racer and goat tyer but team roping is a whole different thing. Anyway with the help of Pam and my husband they taught me how to rope and they were the only ones who would rope with me at first. Now 23 years later Pam is still my roping buddy and in exchange I got her into playing golf. Her husband was having a hard time trying to come up with something for her birthday and I suggested golf clubs. Billy, Walt and I all played so naturally I thought it was time for Pam to learn. Let’s put it this way. She learned to play golf much better and faster than I learned to rope!! She’s a regular in charity and celebrity tournaments.
Tuff Hedeman, Four-time world champion bull rider:
We have worked together on television telecasts, charity events and whatever else she told me I should do. Pam Minick is simply the best. Anyone who has ever worked with her in any way shape or form will tell you that. She can get more done in one day than most people can in a month. She has IT. She never backs down from a challenge and always prevails. Everything she does is with class and integrity. It doesn’t matter whether it’s promoting a concert or bull riding, raising money for charity, giving a motivational speech, team roping, or hosting a television show. Pam always delivers.