An Owner’s Perspective

As a business owner I believe that I have a substantial responsibility to my family, to my employees, to my clients and to the larger society. I believe that  if I excel at what I do,  and reach out to others for guidance and interaction  there is little that I cannot accomplish as an individual,   and as the founder  and  CEO of a major construction company  headquartered in North Texas.

It is extremity important to me that young people look at my life and realize that they, too, can accomplish some of the things that I have been blessed to do. I grew up in Oak Cliff and graduated from Carter High School in 1984. My parents, my church and organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club helped to mold my life as a young person.

Although I became an All-American basketball player at Baylor University, and played in the National Basketball Association for the Detroit Pistons, where I was a member of a world championship team, the Indiana Pacers, and the Minnesota Timberwolves, where I sat the then league record of making 97 consecutive free throws, it was off the court that I learned extremely valuable lessons that have enabled me to become successful in the construction industry, and in life.

I learned the value of working with people from various racial, religious and economic backgrounds.  I established relationships with people who grew up on farms in small Texas towns. We learned from one another, grew to respect each other and have carried those valued relationships into adulthood.

Having studied marketing and finance at Baylor, 16 years ago I started 3i Contracting. The letter (i) in the name stands for integrity, innovation and information. During my summers in the NBA, I worked in the construction

industry where I learned valuable lessons from some very experienced and honest business owners.

I was diligent while working during the off-seasons and that experience has allowed me to mold a company that enabled me to partner with Manhattan Construction Company to build AT& T Stadium in Arlington, and to participate in the building of the Concord Missionary Baptist Church in Dallas.

Among 3i’s projects is the building of a new school for the Dallas Independent School District. We are the first African American owned firm to complete such work.  At present we have offices in Dallas, San Antonio and Houston.

None of what I have been able to accomplish in business would have been possible without my family, including my parents, my wife and my daughters. Each day of my life, I strive to make them as proud of me as I am of them.

My company has afforded me tremendous opportunities. I realize that I have a major responsibility to return the blessings that I have received to others, to young men and women who are students like I once was.

As human beings in our society, we can make a difference. We can help to improve the lives of others. We can encourage young people to dream, and to do great things as they work, and as they live.