August 4 – Stan Richards and Jay Cockerell & Ward Olgreen

On the August 4th edition of PlayMakers Talk Show, our guests were:

Stan Richards  – Principal & Creative Director, The Richards Group and Jay Cockerell & Ward Olgreen – JC’s Burger House


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Stan Richards, Principal & Creative Director, The Richards Group

Stan Richards founded The Richards Group as a freelance practice after graduating from Pratt Institute in New York. Over the next 20 years, it became one of the nation’s premier creative resources. In 1976, it became a full-service advertising agency.

Stan’s work has received awards in virtually every major competition in the world. In 1976, Stan was chosen by the Dallas Society of Visual Communications as “the single individual who, over his career, has made the most significant contribution to the advancement of creative standards in the Southwestern United States.”

In 1981, 1983, and 1984, Stan was named by Adweek to the Southwest Creative All-Stars Hall of Fame. In 1986, Adweek named him Executive of the Year, and he was included in The Wall Street Journal’s “Giants of Our Time.” Adweek named the firm Agency of the Year in 1988, 1990, 1994 and 2002. In 1995, Stan was named an Entrepreneur of the Year by Inc. magazine.

In 1997, Graphis magazine named The Richards Group one of the 10 best agencies in the world, and the American Association of Advertising Agencies honored the firm with its A+ Award, given annually to America’s best agency. In 2007, Graphic Design USA named the firm one of America’s six most influential agencies.

Richards.com

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Jay Cockerell & Ward Olgreen, JC’s Burger House

In 1999, Sondra and Jay Cockerell founded JC’s Burger House, Inc. By making the burger the “star”, they turned a 1400 square foot, “hole-in-the-wall” destination restaurant a standing room only establishment within 3 months.  And they’ve been voted Best Tasting Burger in Plano 8 years in a row.

By 2003, standing-room-only crowds demanded the opening of an Allen location of JC’s. A third followed soon after, when a regular customer and friend asked to franchise a JC’s in McKinney. Locations in Frisco, Addison and, most recently, Richardson bring the total the number of JC’s franchises to six in the Dallas area.

Ward Olgreen currently holds the position of Brand Evangelist and Chief Bottle Washer at JC’s Burger House.  Like many in the restaurant industry, Ward began his career with McDonald’s and never looked back.  Now a 35+ year veteran of the Restaurant Industry, his background includes lengthy stints with 4 iconic Texas brands (Whataburger, Pizza Inn, Grandy’s and Souper Salad).  Ward’s background includes Concept Development, Menu Creation, Brand Renovation, Marketing, Franchising, Supply Chain Management and International Operations.

He recently completed his commitment as President & CEO of Souper Salad and Grandy’s restaurant chains.  After achieving the success reorganization and sale of both brand’s, Ward took time to identify his next opportunity.  After meeting Jay and Sondra through a mutual friend they quickly saw how they could partner together to help each other take JC’s to the next level.

Their goal is to double to 16 restaurants in the next two years. Three to four years from now, they expect to be adding four to 12 locations annually.

JCsBurgerHouse.com

2013-07-25 09.57.50Ward Olgreen, Jay Cockerell, Stan Richards and Host Steve A Klein

July 28 – Doug Brooks and Scott Boxer

On the July 28th edition of PlayMakers Talk Show, our guests were:

Doug Brooks  – Chairman of the Board, Brinker International and Scott Boxer – President & CEO, Service Experts

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Doug Brooks, Chairman of the Board, Brinker International

Doug Brooks currently serves as Chairman of the Board for Brinker International, whose brands include Chili’s® Grill & Bar and Maggiano’s Little Italy®.

Doug earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management from the University of Houston in 1975.

He joined Chili’s in February 1978 as a manager at the company’s original location on Greenville Avenue in Dallas. He rose through the ranks at Chili’s, holding numerous positions including General Manager, Area Director and Regional Vice President. Doug was named President of the brand in 1994. In January 1999, he was promoted to President and COO of Brinker International. CEO and Chairman of the Board were added to his title and responsibilities in 2004. In January 2013, Doug handed the reigns over as CEO and President while remaining active as Chairman.

Doug also serves on the board of directors for Limbs for Life Foundation, Kenny Can Foundation, Southwest Airlines, and on the professional advisory board of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Outside of the restaurant business and his community activities, Doug spends his time with his wife of more than 35 years, Holly, and their two adult sons, Taylor and Kyle.

            Chilis.com                             Maggianos.com                      Brinker.com

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Scott Boxer, President & CEO, Service Experts

scottboxerpjpgScott Boxer is President/Chief Executive Officer of Service Experts, North America’s largest heating and air conditioning service company with 108 offices in the U.S. and Canada. Headquartered in Richardson, Texas, Service Experts has approximately $385 million in annual revenues and provides complete HVAC services for the residential and light commercial markets.

Scott has an unbroken track record of growth, turnarounds and profits as the P&L leader of manufacturing/distribution/service businesses of $40 million to $1.4 billion over three decades. As a nationally recognized leader in the HVAC business, he successfully ran the biggest divisions of industry leaders Lennox and York, while also being tapped by their CEOs and boards for critical turnaround/growth challenges. He first joined Lennox in Belgium to expand its largely North American business internationally, launching a $230 million air conditioning/ventilation/heating/refrigeration unit in 14 countries (12 factories). In total, he spent 11 years abroad as the sole American directing UK and European businesses.

Mr. Boxer has served on executive, governance, audit and compensation committees of business and industry boards. He holds the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Institute (ARI) and is a member of the College of Engineering Hall of Fame at his alma mater, the University of Rhode Island, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering.

 ServiceExperts.com

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Doug Brooks, Host Steve A Klein, Scott Boxer