FWSSR 2021 Summer Newsletter

10 Texas Mutual Jackson commends all the hard work and dedication shown by every competitor at the FWSSR – from the student scramblers to the professional rodeo athletes. Bill Jackson, regional vice president of the Dallas and Lubbock offices of Texas Mutual, understands the excitement of the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo Calf Scramble, because he chased his fair share of elusive livestock during his childhood growing up on his family’s ranch near Antlers, Okla. Texas Mutual (TXM) Insurance Company and Justin Boots ® are the co- presenters of the FWSSR Calf Scramble, and TXM is just the third sponsor company in the program’s 35-year history. “It is an honor for Texas Mutual to be associated with the FWSSR and the Calf Scramble,” Jackson says. “We love the letters we receive from the kids. I love the stories about how they take care of their animals, what they feed them and love seeing the pictures they send.” Jackson remembers his time in the arena as a child, “at the pig scrambles. The rodeos I attended didn’t offer calf scrambles, but the event just brings back personal memories for me. I look forward to the Calf Scramble every year.” TXM is the largest provider of workers’ compensation insurance in the state, managing 42 percent of the market. The company serves almost 73,000 policyholders, covering 1.5 million workers. For three years running, they have been able to pay back $330 million in dividends to “roughly 50,000 policyholders that qualify each year,” he says. Those dividends are not guaranteed each year, but “we’ve now paid close to $3 billion in policyholder dividends over the past 20 years,” he says. Jackson says it is unique and gratifying to be able to reward policyholders for working safely and for keeping workers safe. “Texas Mutual is one of the few companies that makes it possible for companies to actually invest their workers’ compensation premium. As long as they minimize workplace injuries and keep their employees safe, they can get a return on that premium investment.” Jackson appreciates the hard work and dedication that goes into completing the Calf Scramble program; from catching the calf, then purchasing, caring for and exhibiting their own heifer the following year. Much of his youth was devoted to driving a tractor to bushhog their pasture lands, fixing fences, working cattle and helping manage the family’s beef cattle operation. Sports, and not production agriculture, caught his interest and he was determined to be a sportscaster. “I earned my B.A. in Radio-TV Journalism degree from OU (University of Oklahoma) in 1977 and got into the television broadcasting business,” he says. Right out of college, he went to work for the CBS affiliate in Wichita Falls, Texas as Sports Director. “I covered every local sport that moved, including rodeo, and just had a blast doing it. But they just don’t pay the sportscaster in Wichita Falls a lot of money to have fun,” he says, chuckling at the memory. After nine years of sportscasting, he moved into programming and advertising sales and later advanced to news director. “Then, I made that complete left turn into commercial insurance in 1990, and I’ve been there ever since,” he explains, and has spent the past nine years with TXM. With his background in broadcasting, it is no wonder that when Jackson has the chance to talk with young people about how to be successful in the workplace and in life, he encourages them to learn to communicate. “Our communications technologies are great these days, but relationships with people will never go away. Success comes from being able to write well, verbally communicate effectively, and learn, along with a strong work ethic. Having that human connection and the ability to work with people takes you a long way,” he says. Watching the grand entry at the beginning of each rodeo performance brings back one of Jackson’s favorite memories of the FWSSR. “My dad was a big pro rodeo fan and growing up on our ranch, I went to all the local rodeos,” he says. “But I’ll never forget when I was 10 years old, in 1965, my mom and dad took me to the Fort Worth Rodeo,” where he first experienced the World’s Original Indoor Rodeo. In 2015, 50 years after that first visit, he hosted his mother, father and granddaughter for her first rodeo experience. “We had really good seats down by the edge of the arena. You know in the grand entry, when the horses come by and you are that close to the arena, you can get a little bit of arena dust and dirt on you. Dad loved every minute of it. I remember him being so pleased and my granddaughter is now hooked on horses and the rodeo experience.” Thanks to the generous support of companies like TXM, and individuals like Bill Jackson, tremendous scholarship and educational opportunities continue to be available for our young people. And, families, just like the Jacksons, have opportunities to create lasting memories at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo. Individuals, foundations and corporations step up with money and manpower supporting the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo’s objectives to provide great entertainment, competitions and scholarships. Texas Mutual is a shining example of community leadership and a proud sponsor helping to keep the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo legendary. A SALUTE TO STOCK SHOW SPONSOR CALF SCRAMBLE, RODEO BRING BACK CHERISHED MEMORIES FOR BILL JACKSON