Record details
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Before graduation from Chapel High School, I was offered a full scholarship to UCLA in California, based on an SAT test I took. It was a multiple-choice test and I was sure I must have guessed lucky. I wasn’t ready to leave the area and I wasn’t prepared for a big school. I decided that Tyler Junior College could give me a good background and it did. Like for so many others, Tyler Junior College was the gateway to a bigger world and the beginning of the rest of my life.
After college, I worked in the oil business where I met Joanne who was the company secretary but knew more about the business than just about anybody. We fell in love 44 years ago and still are, even after all the ups and downs we went through buying and selling various businesses. We borrowed money to get into the restaurant business and motel business. Before long, we had interests in five Terry’s restaurants and seven Coachlight Motels. Soon, “Jo” and I had 600 employees and were working what seemed like 24/7. We sold it all when I was age 32 and I went fishing every day, but early retirement just wasn’t for me.
They call people like me “entrepreneurs” which is a better way of saying “gamblers”. We bet that through hard work, good decisions, and some luck, we’ll be successful. In business I’ve found that one year you might be one dollar short of making a million and the next year be a million away from making a dollar, but I must be wired to be a businessman.
I got back into the business and haven’t fished again and don’t plan to ever retire. I don’t have any hobbies except work and I’ve had a great time of it. Starting at TJC, I can testify that you can go anywhere you want to in life and have a wonderful time along the way. I haven’t always made money but I’ve had more fun than ought to be legal. We’ve probably bought and sold dozens of businesses and been involved in hundreds of business deals. I’ve had a number of international businesses ranging from flying in fresh flowers from China and Columbia to importing oil from Mexico and coal from Columbia. I’ve had a tool and die business, an oil field equipment business, and agri-businesses in Central America. A good entrepreneur sees a need then figures out a way to fill it.
I’ve gotten into a lot of businesses by accident. We did some PVC and ABS fittings for Tyler Pipe but because our specifications were exacting, we couldn’t get needed repairs done. As a result, I got into the tool and die business by starting Hess Die Mold and then sold it a few years later.
Over the years, I found myself on the sidelines of some big events. I’m nobody special but two years ago, I had a contract with the Kremlin and was the only person from the West to ever get a contract to export oil out of Russia. I didn’t make much money but it was a great adventure. In fact, I’ve had a lot of adventures in business and plenty of misadventures too. Because of my international business dealings, some of which have involved presidents and premiers, I’ve been asked by different operatives to help with their projects, most of which I’ve declined.
Nevertheless, some years ago, when the CIA was involved with the anti-Sandinista forces in Central America, I nearly got into the airplane business. I’ve always considered myself a patriot, so when they needed to buy six more cargo planes for the CIA, I agreed to help and didn’t ask questions. I had businesses in Central America and a relationship with a German bank that could be used to purchase the planes. The bank needed a history for this “airline company” (soon named Southern Air) so there were some delays.
I told my contact to create the necessary history and paperwork to finalize the deal. Then on October 5, 1986, Sandinista soldiers, using a Soviet SA-7 missile supplied by Cuba, shot down the CIA’s C-123k cargo plane over Nicaragua and the lone survivor of the crash spilled the beans. I hadn’t really known what was going on until the news came out.
Just when our businesses were flourishing, our faith was tested 21 years ago when Jo was diagnosed with incurable cancer. Doctors said she was filled with cancer and at most would live five months. We are both strong Christians and Jo must have been on every prayer list in town. I learned everything I could about cancer and developed an anti-cancer regimen and diet. I stayed home for a year to prepare her meals and do all I could to help. Now, 21 years later, I know I was witness to a miracle. We’ve had a grand life together and hope we’ll have many more years together.
But I never forget that, there at the start when I was a young person wanting to venture out in the world, TJC helped educate me, shape my values and become who and what I am. I’m a proud TJC alumnus and pleased that TJC is still the gateway to dreams and adventures for anyone with the desire and determination to go after them.
- Biography
- TJC Hero and Friend Louie is a Tyler-based businessman and entrepreneur whose business interests have stretched across the United States and around the globe.
