August 2024 News & Notes

Tuesday, August 13 at 7:45 a.m. should be a date and time on your calendar to be at the Hurst Conference Center for our August breakfast meeting. Come hungry and ready to learn about what is happening in the realm of Economic Development in and around Fort Worth and Tarrant County. Our guest speaker will be Robert Allen, CEO of the Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership (pictured).

Robert joined the Fort Worth EDP at the organization’s formation in 2023. In his role, he is responsible for board governance, organizational strategy, and financial and operational efforts for the Fort Worth EDP. Prior to being named President & CEO, Robert served as Deputy Chief of Staff to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, and most recently served as President and CEO of the Texas Economic Development Corporation (TxEDC).

During his six years leading TxEDC, Robert spearheaded initiatives that advanced the organization’s mission to market Texas as the best state for business, including major international business missions to Japan, India, and Europe. His organization’s efforts have helped catapult Texas to a record-breaking number of Governor’s Cups as awarded by Site Selection Magazine.

A fifth-generation Texan, Robert earned a bachelor’s degree from The University of Texas at Austin. He and his wife, Rachel, have two children.

We hope that not only will you attend, but that you will invite others that would like to learn about our region, partner with us on promoting all that is Northeast Tarrant County and network with others to build an even stronger region!

Thank you to our meeting sponsor!

Prayers to a Friend of NLF and their Family

Former Northeast Leadership Forum Treasurer and Board Member Nolan Clemens passed away on June 26. He was a big fan of the Northeast Leadership Forum! His wife Lynette shared with Mary Frazior that his death was sudden and peaceful.



A memorial service for Nolan will be held at Abiding Grace Lutheran Church on Saturday, August 3, at 10:30 a.m. Attendees are invited to stay for lunch. The church is located at 1060 E. Highland, Southlake, 76092.

Heart of North Texas - Be a Part of the Team!

Kathryn Rotter and her committee continue to work on the November 8th Heart of North Texas planning for this year’s event. Co-Chairs Craig Hulse / RaDonna Hessel continue to work with a team of regional leaders to put together the remaining list of speakers to make this an informative and worthwhile event.

While the details are still coming together, the two confirmed speakers are the keynote luncheon speaker Brigadier General (Ret) Joseph Ramirez (pictured) who serves as the Vice President For Student Affairs of Texas A&M University. Not only does he have a great background, but he will also share several stories and advice he gives to the cadets and others on building a positive “TEAM” and future.  

Our other confirmed speaker is Monica Paul of the Dallas Sports Commission (pictured). Her name, if not familiar now, will become very familiar to you by 2026. She is leading the group that not only secured the FIFA World Cup for the DFW region, but will be coordinating the many aspects that will need to come together to show the world that not only did we deserve nine games, DFW should have gotten the finals! She will share how she is working to create a “TEAM” from multiple organizations, cities and agencies to showcase our region to the world. She will also share how you can be involved as a “TEAM” member! 

Did you catch the theme of this event?!

STRONG TEAMS, STRONGER REGION

Details of sponsorship opportunities are list in the flyer link below and the full agenda with speakers will be out soon, but in the meantime, make sure you have November 8, 8:00 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. at the Hurst Conference Center on your calendar. Thanks to everyone who is serving to coordinate this year’s exciting event!

Make Northeast Leadership Forum a Priority!

Now’s The Time – Mark Your Calendar – Save the Dates

All Events and Meetings to be held at the Hurst Conference Center.

Breakfast meetings open at 7:45 a.m. and the program will begin at 8 a.m..

DATE/TIME

Tuesday, August 13

Tuesday, October 8

Friday, November 8

8:00a – 1:30p

MEETING

NLF Breakfast - Robert Allen, CEO Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership

NLF Breakfast - NE Tarrant Economic Development Panel

HEART OF NORTH TEXAS CONFERENCE

Hurst Conference Center

SPONSOR

6 Stones Mission Network

Atmos Energy

Click here to view the sponsorship options

Chairman’s Notes

The NLF Nominating Committee will be meeting in August, chaired by Craig Hulse as the Chair-Elect per the NLF by-laws. He will present the nominated slate of board members in September. Others on the nominating committee include Kathryn Rotter, Randy McCauley, Trasa Cobern, Mary Frazior and as the 2024 Chair, I will serve as an ex-officio member of the group. If you are interested in serving on the NLF Board, there is still a little time to reach out to any of the committee listed and let them know of your interest. We look forward to continuing to serve you this year, while preparing for 2025!

We are also looking forward to August as the plan is to have our new website live! Special thanks to Eli Mercer, Kathryn Rotter, Trasa Cobern and the rest of the board for working to make this happen. We all know this isn’t an easy process and I will be encouraging you to go to the website, check all of the links (and our spelling) and let us know anything that you find that needs to be corrected. We want this to be a website that represents the Northeast Leadership Forum, and all of you as businesses who make this region so great!

If you have any comments, questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to myself or any of the NLF Board members. We look forward to continuing to work with you and for you in 2024 – One Degree at a Time!

Be Safe & Be Kind (because life's too short to be otherwise!),

RaDonna

RaDonna Hessel, 2024 Chairman of the Board