Full Transcript for #22 - Pat Smith

long, and then wasn't it? 00:04:46.399 --> 00:04:47.680 Well that's why you went to Air Force. 00:04:47.839 --> 00:04:49.199 You get a scholarship to play football. 00:04:49.519 --> 00:04:50.639 Right, exactly. 00:04:50.879 --> 00:05:06.639 And then um had hoped to fly, but because of my concussions, I couldn't fly, so I went and became a civil engineer and graduated in 84, went to Tinker Air Force Base, and uh really didn't know what was gonna happen, but uh God had other plans. 00:05:06.720 --> 00:05:07.600 So Yeah. 00:05:07.839 --> 00:05:11.920 But you you stayed in the Air Force really, I mean, had a whole career in the Air Force. 00:05:12.160 --> 00:05:16.639 I retired as a colonel, uh was uh retired in 2008. 00:05:16.720 --> 00:05:20.079 During my career, I built air bases in the Middle East. 00:05:20.240 --> 00:05:25.439 I rebuilt Homestead Air Force Base after Hurricane Andrew in 1992. 00:05:25.680 --> 00:05:28.480 I my first big project was at Tinker. 00:05:28.560 --> 00:05:37.279 We had a building that was a mile long and a quarter of a mile wide, and it caught fire on Veterans Day 1984 and burned 33 acres of roof. 00:05:37.519 --> 00:05:49.680 And I was one of the project officers and we rebuilt it in nine months,$100 million project in nine months, and uh really cut my teeth on big project management. 00:05:50.160 --> 00:05:55.680 That seems virtually impossible in general, but especially with probably the bureaucracy that you were working through. 00:05:55.759 --> 00:05:57.759 I I can't even imagine how you get something done like that. 00:05:58.079 --> 00:06:02.480 Yeah, what happened is the all the bureaucracy got dissolved. 00:06:02.720 --> 00:06:03.680 They had to get it done. 00:06:03.920 --> 00:06:15.519 All the B-52 engines uh that and this is 1984, height of the Cold War, were in that area, and this was a major national security concern. 00:06:15.759 --> 00:06:23.680 And so we we eliminated a Congress gave us the permission to eliminate a lot of the government procurement requirements. 00:06:24.000 --> 00:06:38.480 I was bidding contracts on cranes and things like that with just as a 23-year-old uh lieutenant, and uh it was really uh amazing to see what you could do when you had to. 00:06:38.720 --> 00:06:39.199 Yeah, yeah. 00:06:39.439 --> 00:06:41.439 We worked 24-7, 365. 00:06:41.920 --> 00:06:46.240 There was always three shifts going every day all through the holidays, everything. 00:06:46.399 --> 00:06:46.879 I'm sure. 00:06:47.120 --> 00:06:47.680 Wow. 00:06:47.920 --> 00:07:02.959 So you I know we're gonna talk a lot about your philosophy in general of uh servant leadership, but I imagine kind of starting in in the Air Force and working through that, you were kind of picking up and starting to notice some of those those techniques, maybe probably even from your parents, even before that. 00:07:03.040 --> 00:07:06.560 But yeah, it wasn't real concrete to me early on. 00:07:06.720 --> 00:07:18.480 Uh picked a lot of it

up at the academy because of uh the training there, and I was uh cadet squadron commander, so I was fairly high in the cadet chain of command. 00:07:18.720 --> 00:07:27.360 Uh, but then I got to my first base, and um I actually share the story when I talk about serving leadership. 00:07:27.680 --> 00:07:36.160 We uh were going through getting ready for an inspection and uh to go deploy, and the unit did really poorly. 00:07:36.399 --> 00:07:49.360 And uh I was in charge of getting us ready, and the colonel um Colonel Dick Thompson, I walked up to his office after the wing outbrief, and I said, Sir, I guess you're gonna fire me. 00:07:50.079 --> 00:07:52.879 And he said, Pat, why would I fire you? 00:07:53.120 --> 00:07:55.519 You've made all the mistakes, go fix it. 00:07:56.399 --> 00:07:58.800 And that was really meaningful to me. 00:07:59.199 --> 00:08:04.480 And two years later, that same inspection came back and we got an excellent, almost got an outstanding. 00:08:04.800 --> 00:08:10.560 And uh what I learned from that is I gotta have Colonel Thomson was patient with me. 00:08:10.639 --> 00:08:15.199 He allowed me to fail, and he allowed me to learn from my mistakes. 00:08:16.079 --> 00:08:24.480 And because of that, that confidence that he gave in me and the and the support showed me what good leadership's look looks like. 00:08:24.639 --> 00:08:29.519 That you don't kill the person the first time they make a mistake. 00:08:29.680 --> 00:08:31.199 You coach them, and he did. 00:08:31.279 --> 00:08:34.320 He coached me, but he gave me an opportunity to learn. 00:08:34.480 --> 00:08:37.200 And uh I grew a lot in that experience. 00:08:37.440 --> 00:08:39.600 Now the reward for that was three weeks later. 00:08:39.679 --> 00:08:45.440 I was on my way to uh Saudi Arabia to build air bases out in the middle of the desert, but it's all good. 00:08:45.519 --> 00:08:46.000 It's all good. 00:08:46.240 --> 00:08:47.279 You did such a great job here. 00:08:47.440 --> 00:08:48.720 Go over there and do this, yeah. 00:08:48.960 --> 00:08:49.279 Exactly. 00:08:49.519 --> 00:08:50.799 How long were you in Saudi Arabia? 00:08:50.960 --> 00:09:10.399 So first time was for a year, yeah, and uh built a series of radar sites along the Iraqi and Israeli borders and uh up on mountains and did some amazing things working with Bedouin tribesmen and um building roads 20 miles long up mountains and building radar sites. 00:09:10.480 --> 00:09:16.879 So it was a real different experience, but I a very challenging. 00:09:16.960 --> 00:09:17.919 I was all by myself. 00:09:18.559 --> 00:09:18.720 Wow. 00:09:18.879 --> 00:09:21.919 My boss was in a thousand miles away in Riyadh. 00:09:22.080 --> 00:09:22.480 Wow. 00:09:22.639 --> 00:09:23.519 So young. 00:09:23.679 --> 00:09:25.360 I was yeah, how old were then? 00:09:25.679 --> 00:09:26.559 29. 00:09:27.120 --> 00:09:27.600 Wow. 00:09:27.919 --> 00:09:31.039 Doing 150 million dollars in construction. 00:09:31.360 --> 00:09:32.320 No problem. 00:09:32.559 --> 00:09:34.960 So wow, very impressive, Pat. 00:09:35.120 --> 00:09:38.080 So uh went on, spent some time at the Pentagon, right? 00:09:38.240 --> 00:09:49.440 Yep, spent a year three years in the Pentagon, and that's really it was the hardest tour I had, but I also really crystallized what kind of leader I wanted to be. 00:09:49.679 --> 00:09:50.960 I had a terrible boss. 00:09:51.039 --> 00:09:54.159 I had probably the worst boss you can imagine. 00:09:54.320 --> 00:09:56.000 She I had to be there at 6 a.m. 00:09:56.320 --> 00:09:58.159 and never got to leave before 6 p.m. 00:09:58.559 --> 00:10:06.080 And she was very uh caustic and and cussed me out every morning at 8 a.m. 00:10:06.480 --> 00:10:09.200 and really hard person to work for. 00:10:09.440 --> 00:10:12.480 Um had a lot of health problems because of that. 00:10:12.639 --> 00:10:12.960 Yeah. 00:10:13.120 --> 00:10:15.440 But I learned what kind of boss I didn't want to be. 00:10:15.759 --> 00:10:19.120 Sometimes you learn as much from that kind of like, okay, I'm never gonna do that. 00:10:19.360 --> 00:10:19.759 Exactly. 00:10:20.240 --> 00:10:32.320 And so the next assignment I had, I was gonna be run the DOD fire academy, and uh there were some problems there that I was being asked to fix, but I said I know what kind of leader I don't want to be. 00:10:32.559 --> 00:10:36.480 So I sat down and I wrote down what kind of leader I would want to be. 00:10:36.559 --> 00:10:44.240 Yeah, and that's one of the things we learned in the Air Force is to write down who you want to be as a leader and then continually check yourself against that. 00:10:44.399 --> 00:10:57.279 And I did that and uh turned the unit around, uh the fire academy around, but I knew what I didn't want to be, I didn't want to rely on you know my authority and my power, I wanted to lead by trust and influence. 00:10:57.679 --> 00:11:01.679 And um that has stayed with me up to this day. 00:11:02.000 --> 00:11:04.320 That's the only way I believe in that too, man. 00:11:04.399 --> 00:11:05.200 That's great. 00:11:05.440 --> 00:11:11.279 Well, uh, so eventually decided, okay, I'm I'm gonna hang it up and retire from the Air Force. 00:11:11.440 --> 00:11:14.240 That that happened when 2008. 00:11:14.320 --> 00:11:18.240 So I was uh I made colonel in uh 2006. 00:11:18.480 --> 00:11:21.919 I uh got selected to be the landlord of the Air Force. 00:11:22.080 --> 00:11:26.799 Wow, managed about a hundred thousand homes, a$3.7 billion portfolio. 00:11:27.039 --> 00:11:37.679 And we were doing a lot of privatization where we were working with developers and investment banks to re fix up Air Force housing, which was not in great shape. 00:11:37.919 --> 00:11:45.360 And I closed uh 10 deals in two years, and uh 2008, of course, the economy took went in the tank. 00:11:45.519 --> 00:11:53.679 I thought it was a good time to get out and went into the consulting world and uh made a lot of money

but didn't enjoy it. 00:11:53.840 --> 00:12:00.480 Yeah, I missed the people uh and I missed just making a difference in people's lives. 00:12:00.799 --> 00:12:01.279 Yeah. 00:12:01.600 --> 00:12:07.279 So kind of about 2011 when you started thinking about this served in, or where were the roots of that? 00:12:07.519 --> 00:12:11.679 Yeah, so the roots for that were uh October 11th, 2009. 00:12:11.840 --> 00:12:15.440 That's uh dad uh passed away. 00:12:15.679 --> 00:12:20.240 Um and I learned a lot about my dad after he passed. 00:12:20.399 --> 00:12:20.720 Okay. 00:12:21.120 --> 00:12:32.480 I was off doing my Air Force career from 1980 to 2004 when we moved back to Denton, and then I took this assignment in San Antonio but left the family here. 00:12:32.559 --> 00:12:42.000 And long story made short, uh while dad had his restaurant, he fed a lot of people out the front door, he fed a lot of people out the back door as well. 00:12:42.720 --> 00:12:47.120 And he um really impacted a lot of people's lives. 00:12:47.360 --> 00:12:59.919 And so when he passed away, there was a big article in the paper that was written uh about him, and people came from all over the country uh for his memorial service on November 11th, 2009. 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:09.200 And I was officiating it, and I stood at the door afterwards and I shook the hand of everyone who came and I said, Well, you know, who are you? 00:13:09.279 --> 00:13:10.240 Where'd you come from? 00:13:10.399 --> 00:13:21.600 And and I was struck by all these people who had come from all over the country, San Francisco and New York and Dallas or Dallas and Denver and Atlanta, and I was like, Well, why did you come to my dad's funeral? 00:13:21.759 --> 00:13:24.159 And they go, Well, your dad saved my life. 00:13:24.720 --> 00:13:25.039 Wow. 00:13:25.279 --> 00:13:36.320 And uh I stood in that door that one day, and I had my service dress on, and I have the Colonel's Eagles on, and I was like, you know, my dad did more for people than I ever have. 00:13:37.360 --> 00:13:57.360 And I decided right then and there I was gonna change, and uh took a year, but I decided to go into ministry at that Bible church, okay, um, and did that, and uh Tommy Nelson uh asked me to do two things. 00:13:57.600 --> 00:14:01.600 First was to get the ministries in the church working to together better, yeah. 00:14:01.919 --> 00:14:08.639 And the second was to figure out what the church could do to be more loving in the community. 00:14:08.799 --> 00:14:09.039 Okay. 00:14:09.279 --> 00:14:11.440 What could the church do to make a difference? 00:14:12.240 --> 00:14:16.639 I didn't know, but Pat, you go figure it out and come back to me. 00:14:17.360 --> 00:14:19.039 That was literally my job description. 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:21.840 So I started talking to a lot of folks. 00:14:21.919 --> 00:14:51.519 I talked to Mark Burroughs, I talked to guys like Tom Newell from the Community Food Center, Gary Henderson was you know in

that mix and talked to city staff and came back and said, Hey, what if we did this nonprofit center kind of thing where we take we had a vacant church building, chat sanctuary, uh, and convert it into office complex for nonprofits and make it easy for them to do their job. 00:14:52.000 --> 00:14:59.039 And Tommy said, We actually met at Hula Hands up on the square and he goes, Pat, I love it. 00:14:59.600 --> 00:15:03.360 And so that was March of 2011. 00:15:04.480 --> 00:15:08.799 And uh two weeks later I had lunch with a lady named Priscilla Sanders. 00:15:08.879 --> 00:15:19.679 Yeah, and uh we she heard me talk and she said I she thought I was talking like Colin Powell, the general colin Powell, and she said, I'm in. 00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:34.480 And uh we met at the Abbey and we uh took off from there and um started building a board and talking to people in the community, building consensus and getting people bought in and uh having look back. 00:15:35.440 --> 00:15:35.840 Wow. 00:15:35.919 --> 00:15:41.840 Well, it's incredible what can be done when somebody doesn't give you any boundaries, just say go go figure this out. 00:15:42.159 --> 00:15:46.720 Here's the problem, or not problem, but just here's my idea, go figure out a solution for this. 00:15:46.879 --> 00:15:53.600 And and you you man, very impressive what came out of that conversation from from Tommy. 00:15:53.919 --> 00:15:54.240 Thank you. 00:15:54.480 --> 00:15:58.159 So it started officially in 2012, yes, sir Denton. 00:15:58.480 --> 00:16:01.840 Yeah, and that so that was on the campus there at Denton Bible. 00:16:02.080 --> 00:16:02.399 That's right. 00:16:02.559 --> 00:16:07.279 So we took over the old sanctuary right there at the corner of University in Nottingham. 00:16:07.519 --> 00:16:15.679 We didn't have the whole building, but we had a part of it, and uh started operating and uh bringing in two tenants. 00:16:15.840 --> 00:16:21.679 Uh the first one was uh Big Brothers, Big Sisters, and the second one was a group called uh Rising Star. 00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:35.840 And uh after a couple of years we had six in there and started trying to raise some big money and talking to people who could write big checks, and they said, You really need to own your own building. 00:16:36.240 --> 00:16:43.039 Uh we're not comfortable giving money to a building that the church owns because we were leasing it from for a dollar a year. 00:16:43.279 --> 00:16:43.840 I see. 00:16:44.320 --> 00:16:51.840 And so I went back to Denton Bible, went to Tommy and to Jerry Falbo, the executive pastor, and I said, I need a million dollars. 00:16:52.799 --> 00:16:56.240 And uh Denton Calvary was looking to buy that building. 00:16:56.399 --> 00:16:58.720 So, long story made short, we worked out a deal. 00:16:58.799 --> 00:17:08.160 Stan Morton was the board chair at the time, and um we uh the church sold the building to Denton Calvary Academy. 00:17:08.240 --> 00:17:12.160 They gave us a million dollars and we went and bought the building from Virgil Strange. 00:17:12.640 --> 00:17:14.960 Technically, it what they called a termination fee, wasn't it? 00:17:15.599 --> 00:17:16.000 Exactly. 00:17:16.319 --> 00:17:20.240 You had it written in your lease that if if this lease is gonna be terminated, you need to be paid. 00:17:20.319 --> 00:17:21.200 Is that how it was structured? 00:17:21.680 --> 00:17:24.960 No, it wasn't it it ended up being structured like that. 00:17:25.119 --> 00:17:29.440 It was a termination fee, that's what we called it, but it was not in the original lease. 00:17:29.759 --> 00:17:30.000 I see. 00:17:30.160 --> 00:17:39.039 So we had to modify the lease and then do the wow so yeah, that gave you the seed money, then yeah, go buy the building that Virgil had out on 288. 00:17:39.279 --> 00:17:39.440 Right. 00:17:39.519 --> 00:17:46.240 So we bought bought it, just did a five percent down on our financing with Virgil Strange. 00:17:46.480 --> 00:17:54.480 He built out what we called phase one, and then we were able to do a capital campaign that ultimately raised$3.3 million. 00:17:55.359 --> 00:18:00.960 And then we I knew from my Air Force experience this thing called New Market Tax Credit Funding. 00:18:01.359 --> 00:18:08.640 And I uh reached out to a consultant that I just uh happened to find that did this. 00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:14.960 She lived up in uh Paris, Texas, and she came down and said, totally can do this. 00:18:15.119 --> 00:18:19.920 We had the right location, and uh so we got$3.1 million from US Bank. 00:18:20.400 --> 00:18:26.240 And so that put a lot of energy and and financial capital into the project. 00:18:26.799 --> 00:18:36.640 And basically the New Market Tax Credit is a seven-year loan that you pay a very low interest rate, 1.75% interest on it. 00:18:37.119 --> 00:18:38.720 That was all prepaid interest. 00:18:39.119 --> 00:18:41.440 At the end of the seven years, the loan's forgiven. 00:18:41.759 --> 00:18:42.079 Wow. 00:18:42.640 --> 00:18:51.839 So we get this huge injection of cash, and it also told told potential donors that we were investment worthy. 00:18:52.079 --> 00:18:52.319 Right. 00:18:52.640 --> 00:18:58.160 And we brought in Health Services North Texas, Chones Apsey Center led by Kristen Howe, and then Dan Community Food Center. 00:18:58.240 --> 00:19:00.079 They were a big three anchor tenants. 00:19:01.039 --> 00:19:03.599 And they brought some cash to the table. 00:19:03.759 --> 00:19:12.400 So we went from a million to ten million dollars in a year, and that's what resulted in the uh campus that we have today. 00:19:12.720 --> 00:19:13.279 Wow. 00:19:13.599 --> 00:19:14.400 Really neat. 00:19:14.640 --> 00:19:16.720 That that it's impressive what you built over there. 00:19:16.799 --> 00:19:24.319 I've I had an opportunity uh, I guess a year or so ago to tour it with you and just to see the whole behind the scenes operation. 00:19:24.559 --> 00:19:30.079 And and I know

that y'all employed a lot of the the Toyota production system within that, right? 00:19:30.160 --> 00:19:38.079 And maybe touch on that for a second, because I know I think you now that's one of your revenue streams as well as as you're kind of going out and teaching people, other people this the system, right? 00:19:38.319 --> 00:19:44.160 Yeah, so when we opened the building in October 2019, all the construction was done. 00:19:44.400 --> 00:19:52.640 I built 40 buildings across the world, and uh I knew the building would never look as good as the day we moved in. 00:19:52.720 --> 00:19:53.039 Yeah. 00:19:53.440 --> 00:20:02.960 And I didn't want it to deteriorate because I had looked at a lot of nonprofit offices and they were usually not well maintained. 00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:03.200 Right. 00:20:03.440 --> 00:20:08.480 And so I uh who's best in the world at operating stuff? 00:20:08.640 --> 00:20:16.720 And I had read a book years ago called Lean Thinking, and so I read it again and I said, I'm gonna reach out to Toyota. 00:20:16.880 --> 00:20:23.440 So I emailed them, and it took a while to, but they got back to me and they said, Yeah, we're interested in talking to you. 00:20:23.599 --> 00:20:32.319 And so that was in December of 2019, and we they came to visit in uh May of 2020 during the pandemic, height of the pandemic. 00:20:32.480 --> 00:20:33.680 We're all wearing masks. 00:20:33.759 --> 00:20:38.240 Yeah, and uh they were like, Man, we're really interested in this. 00:20:39.039 --> 00:20:49.039 So uh we spent the next six or three months uh that whole summer really just working on our property maintenance process so that we could our response time was not very good. 00:20:49.119 --> 00:20:52.559 It was like eight and a half days, and we wanted to get down to two business days. 00:20:53.119 --> 00:20:59.359 And so we they worked on that, and by September we were down to 2.05 days. 00:21:00.160 --> 00:21:17.119 And uh we're really happy, Toyota was really happy with the project, and they brought in their senior leadership, and we had to brief them there at at uh sort of I had to do the briefing to show them how well I've been taught TPS. 00:21:17.279 --> 00:21:17.759 Yeah. 00:21:18.079 --> 00:21:29.680 And they they liked what I did and they continue to invest in us over the years, and we just kept spreading that learning into other parts of how we operate. 00:21:30.400 --> 00:21:39.599 And um Toyota has now said you guys are really strong in in doing TPS and we want you to help others. 00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:44.799 So we teach a class now with Toyota at ServeDutton showing how to use TPS. 00:21:45.279 --> 00:21:45.599 Wow. 00:21:45.680 --> 00:21:50.720 And so people pay you to come to this class and you just kind of that's one of the revenue streams for for serve. 00:21:51.359 --> 00:21:55.359 We charge four hundred for nonprofits and five hundred for businesses and government. 00:21:55.519 --> 00:21:55.759 Yeah. 00:21:56.000 --> 00:21:59.759 Toyota charges a lot more than that for their classes. 00:22:00.480 --> 00:22:02.160 Wow, that's really that's really cool. 00:22:02.240 --> 00:22:06.240 It's quite an endorsement for them to say, all right, hey, you you do this now. 00:22:06.400 --> 00:22:13.359 And we we're they're still obviously using that system and branding it that way, but yeah, they trust you to to lead out. 00:22:13.599 --> 00:22:13.920 Yep. 00:22:14.160 --> 00:22:14.799 Well, very cool. 00:22:14.960 --> 00:22:23.920 Well, I want to I want to really spend a few minutes talking about what your mission is and kind of what you're the the at the core what you're trying to do and what you don't do. 00:22:24.079 --> 00:22:27.039 I I mean, you know, there's some things it's like that we're not this. 00:22:27.359 --> 00:22:29.839 So so what are what's kind of your core mission? 00:22:30.240 --> 00:22:36.559 So our core mission is to partner with nonprofits and communities to help them better serve people in need. 00:22:36.720 --> 00:22:37.039 Okay. 00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:46.559 Partnering for us looks like providing high-quality space at a very affordable cost and support services. 00:22:46.720 --> 00:22:54.640 We provide a receptionist, we provide IT backbone, we provide office equipment, we provide marketing support. 00:22:55.200 --> 00:23:00.079 Um a lot of those things that most nonprofits aren't inherently good at. 00:23:00.319 --> 00:23:00.720 Yeah. 00:23:01.200 --> 00:23:02.640 What about the accounting side? 00:23:03.200 --> 00:23:16.160 We we told we looked at that accounting side, we could do it, but uh we our experience is most nonprofits are not as mature as we'd like them to be in their accounting. 00:23:16.319 --> 00:23:20.160 And so and because of the fiduciary responsibilities, we kind of steered away from that. 00:23:20.480 --> 00:23:21.440 Gotcha, okay, okay. 00:23:22.000 --> 00:23:41.519 If we can provide great space and support services so that the organizations can focus on their core mission and they don't have to worry about the bathrooms and the trash and you know, people coming in uh that may or may not be the right people, we take that off of them. 00:23:42.079 --> 00:23:45.440 And we get very high feedback that they like that. 00:23:45.759 --> 00:23:46.880 They value that, yeah. 00:23:47.599 --> 00:23:54.559 As we've learned gone through this process and working with nonprofits, and we have now 25 nonprofits at Servedin. 00:23:54.960 --> 00:23:55.200 Wow. 00:23:55.440 --> 00:23:58.799 Never did in my wildest imagination we'd have that many. 00:23:58.960 --> 00:24:09.200 Um we also realize that you know sometimes they probably need some education, some upskilling and leadership and in how to operate. 00:24:09.519 --> 00:24:12.960 We've had several agencies say, Man, we wish we could operate like you. 00:24:13.519 --> 00:24:18.079 And they've some of them have worked with Toyota and have seen great results. 00:24:18.319 --> 00:24:24.480 Um,

but we teach that class uh so that they can learn to operate better. 00:24:24.640 --> 00:24:29.119 And then because of that, our reputation has spread. 00:24:29.359 --> 00:24:37.839 We uh have worked with the city of Louisville, we did serve Louisville, that closed because two of our major tenants lost all their federal funding. 00:24:38.559 --> 00:24:39.359 No tenants. 00:24:39.599 --> 00:24:40.720 Yeah, you know the business. 00:24:40.960 --> 00:24:41.920 Yeah, you gotta hit that. 00:24:42.000 --> 00:24:48.799 Yeah, can't can't operate a building with no tenants, and uh so we handed the keys back to the city of Louisville. 00:24:49.119 --> 00:24:59.519 But we're now on a consulting basis working with uh a church in Garland and then also the city of Plano to help them create their own centers modeled on what we do. 00:24:59.759 --> 00:25:04.160 I see and uh City of Round Rock's coming to see me on June 29th. 00:25:04.240 --> 00:25:08.079 So and we've had lots of cities across the country come visit us. 00:25:08.240 --> 00:25:08.400 Right. 00:25:08.559 --> 00:25:16.240 We've had Edmonton, Canada come and they created a center and they say, Oh yeah, everything we do is based on what we learned at Servedon. 00:25:17.200 --> 00:25:21.039 And these these nonprofits, 27, 28, you said 25 right now. 00:25:21.279 --> 00:25:21.680 25. 00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:30.319 They I mean they could be in just using a one-room space or a desk to having several thousand square feet within your facility, right? 00:25:30.559 --> 00:25:30.799 That's right. 00:25:31.119 --> 00:25:31.359 Exactly. 00:25:31.519 --> 00:25:32.240 Everything in between. 00:25:32.400 --> 00:25:32.640 Yep. 00:25:32.880 --> 00:25:37.440 Or maybe they just need it on a monthly basis to have a board meeting or something like that. 00:25:37.839 --> 00:25:38.160 Exactly. 00:25:38.400 --> 00:25:43.440 So there's all kinds of options if if you're a nonprofit to say there's there's a home for you there, right? 00:25:43.680 --> 00:25:45.839 That's right, there is, and that's really well said. 00:25:46.000 --> 00:25:55.359 And yeah, we want to, you know, we want to help new nonprofits get off the ground, but then we also want to help mature nonprofits uh, you know, expand. 00:25:55.440 --> 00:26:01.279 So Catholic Catholic Cherries of Fort Worth just announced last week they're creating a hub at Serve Denton. 00:26:01.519 --> 00:26:01.920 Oh, great. 00:26:02.240 --> 00:26:04.240 A year ago they weren't even in Denton County. 00:26:04.319 --> 00:26:20.559 Yeah, and they all are they've uh have three offices now, and uh they're doing a great job helping families with financial literacy and education, and uh we're just excited to have them uh grow, and that's what we want to see. 00:26:20.880 --> 00:26:23.759 Denton, as you know, is growing 86 people a day. 00:26:23.920 --> 00:26:26.640 Denton County, 86 people a day are moving here. 00:26:26.880 --> 00:26:31.839 Yeah, they're not bringing roads, they're not bringing water, and they're often not bringing a job. 00:26:31.920 --> 00:26:43.200 And so, how do we help those families who are struggling, especially with the challenges of uh inflation, to get by, and that's the idea. 00:26:43.519 --> 00:26:44.480 Yeah, okay. 00:26:44.720 --> 00:26:50.480 Now you you're you've kind of drawn a line in sand though, you don't provide any direct service to individuals. 00:26:50.880 --> 00:26:52.640 So why is that important to you? 00:26:52.720 --> 00:26:55.359 That I mean I know and it's I know it's not because you don't care. 00:26:55.680 --> 00:27:02.799 No, the reason we don't is we never want uh an agency to fear that we're gonna get in their lane. 00:27:02.960 --> 00:27:08.720 Yeah, they can look at us sometimes and say, Well, you're the 800-pound gorilla in the room. 00:27:09.039 --> 00:27:16.160 Uh we're pretty good at fundraising, we're pretty good at operations, but we want to be Switzerland. 00:27:16.240 --> 00:27:18.720 We want to be that place that's neutral and safe. 00:27:18.880 --> 00:27:19.279 Yeah. 00:27:19.599 --> 00:27:24.559 And we never want a nonprofit to say, Oh, you guys are getting into our business. 00:27:24.799 --> 00:27:29.200 And uh uh the board drew that line in the sand very early on. 00:27:29.279 --> 00:27:32.480 We are never gonna do direct services other than the receptionist, right? 00:27:32.640 --> 00:27:37.359 And we're very limited in what we do, we don't ever get into case management or things like that. 00:27:37.680 --> 00:27:44.960 And it just makes it there's never a uh us versus them, it's always us together. 00:27:46.720 --> 00:27:55.119 Well, a year or so ago is when I introduced my sister-in-law, Tarantia, that uh she and her good friend have Meg, you know, started Meg Matters. 00:27:55.279 --> 00:28:03.119 And so I know they've found tremendous value out of what Served Denton provides, and so appreciate all y'all done to kind of guide them along. 00:28:03.200 --> 00:28:04.640 That's how happy to do so. 00:28:04.960 --> 00:28:13.359 And again, if you're if you're nonprofit thinking, how do I I maybe I'm smaller, it's just me and I've got an idea, Bat's your guy from my experience. 00:28:13.519 --> 00:28:14.400 Go talk about you. 00:28:14.640 --> 00:28:15.440 Go talk bat. 00:28:15.599 --> 00:28:22.720 So I want to talk, um, I guess first of all, what what are you most proud of on on that kind of served dentin front and what you're doing? 00:28:22.880 --> 00:28:36.319 You know, I'm most proud of, and I've said this publicly several times, I'm most proud of how we as a community came together and did this with zero government funding. 00:28:36.480 --> 00:28:37.119 Yeah. 00:28:39.119 --> 00:28:44.559 I spent 28 years in the military, uh, so I always spent a lot of time on the government side. 00:28:44.640 --> 00:28:44.799 Yeah. 00:28:45.039 --> 00:28:50.079 And I spent a lot of time in the Pentagon working on government funding. 00:28:50.880 --> 00:28:56.079 And

everyone's first answer is always, oh, we need to go ask the government for more money. 00:28:56.240 --> 00:28:56.559 All right. 00:28:56.799 --> 00:28:58.559 And I was like, no, we don't. 00:28:59.200 --> 00:29:00.880 We're not gonna ask the government for more money. 00:29:00.960 --> 00:29:03.200 We're gonna figure a way to solve this ourselves. 00:29:03.359 --> 00:29:14.079 And one of the things I admire about what you do is you go out and build community by raising private investment to make uh the community better. 00:29:14.400 --> 00:29:15.279 That's all we're doing. 00:29:15.359 --> 00:29:22.720 We're just doing a nonprofit focus versus a business or some other type of uh focus. 00:29:22.960 --> 00:29:41.279 And uh the fact that we could do this in Denton uh just means a lot to me, especially you know, being my hometown and seeing how many people stepped up from different walks of life and different political views. 00:29:42.160 --> 00:29:49.200 But at Servant Denton, we we all wear one patch, just like in the military, you wear one patch, you have an American flag. 00:29:49.519 --> 00:29:56.079 We wore one patch, you know, then community and how many people got behind that. 00:29:56.400 --> 00:29:57.519 Yeah, love it. 00:29:57.680 --> 00:29:58.400 Thank you. 00:29:58.799 --> 00:30:04.160 Well, you're your one of your driving philosophies, as I touched on earlier, is servant leadership. 00:30:04.480 --> 00:30:13.200 And so you you talked on talked about that a little bit, kind of your experiences in the Air Force, and I I I know over the years you've honed in on that even more, right? 00:30:13.440 --> 00:30:16.319 And that's exactly the way you try and lead. 00:30:16.480 --> 00:30:19.920 But you're teaching other people these these principles and skills now, too, right? 00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:24.480 Yeah, why why is that kind of your why do you think that's so important for that to be your core philosophy? 00:30:24.799 --> 00:30:26.079 Well, twofold. 00:30:26.240 --> 00:30:37.359 One, uh I've as I said earlier, been on the receiving end of the other way, power play and the you know, you're gonna do it my way or else. 00:30:37.599 --> 00:30:43.359 And uh while that can work, it's not sustainable in the wrong long run. 00:30:43.519 --> 00:30:43.839 Yeah. 00:30:44.240 --> 00:30:50.799 Um and someone said to me years ago, Pat, you always are thinking about the long game. 00:30:51.440 --> 00:30:54.240 And I I really try to think, what's the long game here? 00:30:54.799 --> 00:30:57.279 I'm not worried, I'm not interested in short-term gains. 00:30:57.359 --> 00:31:00.640 I'm like, how do we build something that is sustainable? 00:31:00.720 --> 00:31:01.839 And I saw that my mom. 00:31:01.920 --> 00:31:06.240 I mean, my mom built a business in 1976 with$400. 00:31:06.799 --> 00:31:07.200 Right. 00:31:07.599 --> 00:31:10.319 And it's now 20, 26, 50 years. 00:31:10.559 --> 00:31:11.359 50 years, yeah. 00:31:11.519 --> 00:31:12.160 And thriving. 00:31:12.319 --> 00:31:21.599 It's thri thriving, you know, and she's now probably the oldest women-owned small business in Denton County that's over 50 years old. 00:31:21.759 --> 00:31:22.240 Yeah. 00:31:22.640 --> 00:31:28.480 And uh you gotta build you if you're really serious, you gotta build for the long game. 00:31:28.640 --> 00:31:30.160 To me, servant leadership does that. 00:31:30.240 --> 00:31:32.160 And it's all about you know, how do you lead? 00:31:32.240 --> 00:31:36.960 Well, you lead by building trust, which gives you influence to lead people. 00:31:37.039 --> 00:31:38.480 And how do you build that influence? 00:31:38.640 --> 00:31:40.400 Well, you serve and you sacrifice. 00:31:40.880 --> 00:31:43.519 And that service and sacrifice is built on love. 00:31:43.680 --> 00:31:46.240 And love is a verb, not a noun in this case. 00:31:46.480 --> 00:31:52.960 And love is commitment, forgiveness, honesty, humility, kindness, selflessness, patience, respect. 00:31:53.119 --> 00:31:53.440 Yeah. 00:31:53.839 --> 00:31:59.680 And I said, if you live that way as a leader, people will follow you anywhere. 00:32:00.160 --> 00:32:26.960 I was watching uh a part of the movie Gettysburg last night, and uh in the movie Gettysburg, uh, there's a major chamberlain who led the 20th Main Regiment on uh a battle at Gettysburg, and he was given these uh main soldiers from another regiment, and they have been really mistreated by their commander. 00:32:27.119 --> 00:32:42.160 And he took these guys over, and in a matter of three days, he cared for them, and they went on to have one of the most successful military uh battles, you know, the battle of Little Roundtop. 00:32:42.400 --> 00:32:47.680 And uh, if you're not familiar with Gettysburg, it was really key to the Union victory. 00:32:47.920 --> 00:32:52.319 And Chamberlain led as a servant leader, and he took care of his people. 00:32:52.400 --> 00:32:55.359 And I say, you take care of the people, the people take care of the mission. 00:32:55.920 --> 00:32:59.200 And if you can do that, you're gonna be wildly successful. 00:32:59.599 --> 00:33:08.400 I have found that it people will just run through brick walls to if if they know that you are there for them, that you care, that you love them, that you're yeah, yeah. 00:33:08.880 --> 00:33:09.279 Absolutely. 00:33:09.680 --> 00:33:10.640 Wow, that's great. 00:33:10.720 --> 00:33:12.480 So, how how how does that look now? 00:33:12.720 --> 00:33:14.240 You're teaching that to others. 00:33:14.400 --> 00:33:15.440 Is that a formal program? 00:33:16.000 --> 00:33:18.160 Yeah, it's um we have two formal programs. 00:33:18.319 --> 00:33:30.720 The first one is a two-hour workshop uh called Embracing Servant Leadership, where we teach just kind of what I walk through, and then we do a leadership assessment, and then I teach some coaching and listening skills. 00:33:30.880 --> 00:33:34.640 Good leaders are really good at listening and they're really good at

coaching. 00:33:34.720 --> 00:33:51.359 And coaching is not giving advice, it's asking questions that help the uh person you're trying to coach arrive at where you want them to be, but it's making them think that's what Colonel Thompson did for me. 00:33:51.839 --> 00:33:52.480 It was your idea. 00:33:52.799 --> 00:33:56.160 He said, Pat, you made all the mistakes, now just go fix it. 00:33:56.319 --> 00:34:01.200 Yeah, he didn't tell me what to do, he let me learn in the process. 00:34:01.759 --> 00:34:25.519 Um, and so if I can give a little bit of that, then the longer version is a 16-hour version where we uh meet um over about four or five sessions, and we talk about leading yourself first, leading a team, leading an organization, and then leadership capstone where you write down who you want to be as a leader, why you want to be that kind of leader, and what are those behaviors. 00:34:26.079 --> 00:34:33.280 Leadership is all about is a way of behaving and making choices about what kind of person you're gonna be. 00:34:33.440 --> 00:34:36.800 Are you gonna be the same person at work that you're at home? 00:34:37.760 --> 00:34:44.000 Um, and people often don't think about that, they just start doing, yeah. 00:34:44.239 --> 00:34:46.719 And then they're like, How did I end up here? 00:34:47.679 --> 00:34:55.039 Well, I know this sounds like a lot of just foo foo lovey dovey stuff, but I can attest that it it really matters. 00:34:55.119 --> 00:35:07.039 And and I've like you have had experience where with bosses or employers that have been this way or that way, and it's like are the ones that people want to work for and that really I mean they they'll even sacrifice how much you make, you know. 00:35:07.360 --> 00:35:07.440 Right. 00:35:07.679 --> 00:35:13.360 I I I don't need to make as much if I can work in this type of organization, and and then they just go that extra mile often. 00:35:13.440 --> 00:35:16.719 So yeah, I have employees that have done that very thing. 00:35:16.880 --> 00:35:16.960 Yeah. 00:35:17.280 --> 00:35:23.519 Took a lower-paying job to come work for me, and my retention right now is 100% over the last three years. 00:35:23.920 --> 00:35:24.320 Wow. 00:35:24.719 --> 00:35:26.400 Um, I'm very grateful for them. 00:35:26.559 --> 00:35:37.599 And I want to be a place where people in this day and age where you're always competing for talent, be a place and be a leader that people want to work for, and you're gonna win the talent game. 00:35:37.840 --> 00:35:38.320 Yep. 00:35:38.639 --> 00:35:39.039 Amen. 00:35:39.519 --> 00:35:40.400 Love it, Pat. 00:35:40.559 --> 00:35:49.679 Well, so if people want to know more about those two classes, the leadership servant leadership class or the toy owner production service, are they reaching out to you directly or where where do they get more information? 00:35:50.079 --> 00:35:50.400 Both. 00:35:50.480 --> 00:35:59.119 Uh they can email me directly at psmith at servedentonor.org, or

you can go to our website and click on events, and uh those classes are always listed. 00:35:59.360 --> 00:35:59.599 Okay. 00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:08.320 And then just more broadly in general on on Serve Denton, any anything upcoming or that you need to promote, or you Yeah, we're we're doing something new. 00:36:08.400 --> 00:36:18.800 I always like to rock the boat, so pardon the pun, but we're gonna do the first uh dragon boat races on Lake Louisville uh on June 27th. 00:36:18.960 --> 00:36:19.199 Okay. 00:36:19.440 --> 00:36:20.639 We're signing up teams. 00:36:20.719 --> 00:36:39.039 There are 20 people a team, and uh dragon boats are a pretty grow new but growing sport where teams come together, there's professional teams but also community teams where you you know we always talk about and getting everyone to row together this that I that analogy. 00:36:39.199 --> 00:36:46.559 Well, this is literally doing that and doing it on Lake Louisville right in uh Highland Village, and that's gonna be June 27th. 00:36:46.800 --> 00:36:49.039 And so that's our next fundraiser. 00:36:49.199 --> 00:36:59.679 Um, and uh it'll benefit both Servedenton and the Denton Lake Cities Rotary Club and uh and by you know extension the other nonprofits that we support. 00:36:59.840 --> 00:37:05.440 The funds that we raise basically cover our indirect costs, our rent covers our direct costs. 00:37:05.760 --> 00:37:06.159 I see. 00:37:06.320 --> 00:37:08.719 Okay, that's the that's the funding model there. 00:37:08.800 --> 00:37:15.039 So all right, so servedenton.org is where people can find that the information on that and other ways to get involved, right? 00:37:15.360 --> 00:37:16.159 Yep, absolutely. 00:37:16.559 --> 00:37:18.559 Well, I a couple of things as we close up here. 00:37:19.039 --> 00:37:22.639 I really really enjoyed the conversation, appreciate sitting down with me. 00:37:22.719 --> 00:37:28.719 Um obviously, Rose costume, no longer Jim Diner, but I mean what what are your favorite spots to hit in Denton? 00:37:28.960 --> 00:37:30.800 You got Tetron or other hot spots? 00:37:31.119 --> 00:37:34.000 Yeah, so I'm a huge fan of Metzler's barbecue. 00:37:34.239 --> 00:37:34.800 Okay, yeah. 00:37:34.960 --> 00:37:39.360 Uh Roy and I are good friends, but Roy reminds me so much of my dad. 00:37:39.519 --> 00:37:39.920 All right. 00:37:40.079 --> 00:37:50.079 Uh just uh wears the same kind of polo shirts and built that restaurant from scratch and you know, really great German food and which I enjoy. 00:37:50.159 --> 00:37:57.920 And uh Roy does so much for the community uh with our daily bread with UNT Athletics. 00:37:58.079 --> 00:38:02.079 Um, and uh I eat there every couple weeks just whether I need to or not. 00:38:02.400 --> 00:38:03.519 Okay, great shout out. 00:38:03.679 --> 00:38:06.639 I hadn't I hadn't been there in a while, I hadn't thought of it, so I'll have to hit that up. 00:38:06.880 --> 00:38:07.920 Thanks for sharing. 00:38:08.159 --> 00:38:15.519 Well, you also get a hat as one of my guests, Norman Roscoe hat, so you get to pick your your choice of Denton hats there. 00:38:15.760 --> 00:38:17.199 Oh wow, I like this one. 00:38:17.440 --> 00:38:18.239 Okay, all right. 00:38:18.320 --> 00:38:18.800 Well, thank you. 00:38:19.039 --> 00:38:19.519 That one's fine. 00:38:19.679 --> 00:38:20.719 I wear it proudly. 00:38:21.039 --> 00:38:26.719 All right, well, you're a great dentite, so you know whether you wear the hat or not, you're always wearing the hat, so to speak. 00:38:26.800 --> 00:38:32.239 So proud of our community and uh grateful to have a friendship with you. 00:38:32.559 --> 00:38:32.960 Absolutely. 00:38:33.039 --> 00:38:33.519 Well, thank you. 00:38:33.679 --> 00:38:39.599 I it's it's an honor to call you friend and and uh really appreciate all the great work you're doing in the community. 00:38:39.679 --> 00:38:42.800 So well, I'm so excited for the Fine Arts Theater to open. 00:38:43.440 --> 00:38:50.800 And uh David Pierce and I are gonna do a concert, a Christmas concert there on uh December 21st with his 20th. 00:38:51.440 --> 00:38:51.599 Yeah. 00:38:51.679 --> 00:38:52.719 Oh, I hadn't even heard. 00:38:52.880 --> 00:38:54.559 Yeah, this is exciting, breaking news. 00:38:54.639 --> 00:38:55.119 I've been excited. 00:38:55.599 --> 00:38:58.239 We're gonna have cartwrights cater it. 00:38:58.639 --> 00:39:03.760 Um we're we've done it the last two years at Dan Silverleaf. 00:39:03.840 --> 00:39:06.960 Yeah, we packed it out and we said we got to get a bigger space. 00:39:07.280 --> 00:39:08.159 David's so talented. 00:39:08.719 --> 00:39:13.280 And so we David's talked to your folks and wow, I'm so excited about that. 00:39:13.440 --> 00:39:14.719 Yeah, so it's I'll be there. 00:39:14.960 --> 00:39:17.119 High-end Christmas music. 00:39:17.679 --> 00:39:22.960 Uh he but I didn't realize this, but his people in his band come from all over the country. 00:39:23.199 --> 00:39:25.199 He's got just to play with him. 00:39:25.440 --> 00:39:27.920 Yeah, he's very talented and creative. 00:39:28.000 --> 00:39:29.199 So that's gonna be fun. 00:39:29.440 --> 00:39:33.119 Well, if somehow you didn't know Pat Smith before today, now you do. 00:39:33.199 --> 00:39:37.039 Thanks again for for joining us on another episode of If You Didn't Know.