Today we’d like to introduce you to Pat Smith.
Hi Pat, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
It is incredible to me what you learn about people after they pass away. My Dad passed away in October 2009. While we tried to have a simple obituary in the local newspaper, the editor, who knew Dad, insisted on doing an article in the paper about him titled, “A legacy of taste and art.” This article elicited a community-wide response not only about his restaurant that was very popular but by the many people, Dad helped along the way. At his memorial service, I explained how he struggled as a young man but eventually turned things around. He left this job with Xerox in 1980 to pursue his passion for cooking by starting a restaurant called Jim’s Diner. It was just off campus from the University of North Texas, and quickly became a hangout of students, faculty, and the surrounding neighborhood. Dad not only made great food; he helped dozens of people by giving them little jobs around the restaurant and feeding them a 2,500 calorie breakfast or lunch. Those people never forgot what he did and came to his memorial service to show their love for him. After the service, I met with everyone who came and asked them the simple question, “Why did you come?” And they almost all responded the same way: “Your Dad saved my life.” You see, Dad’s legacy was more than food and art; it was also changed lives. The appreciation of these people showed for my Dad convicted me about my life and my legacy—or lack of it. I had recently retired from the Air Force and worked on housing projects at military installations across the country. I was frequently on the road. I was busy making a lot of money but did nothing for others.
After a couple of months of reflection, I decided to leave my job and go into full-time ministry to work with those in need. Doing so showed me how complicated it was to get help and how under-sized health and human services agencies were to meet the growing demand. I knew there had to be a better way and met some people who had tried to create a one-stop-shop for health and human services agencies; however, because funding and buildings were hard to come by; the idea never got off the ground.
I proposed to the church I was working to use an existing building and turn this idea of a one-stop-shop into reality. The church eagerly supported the idea, and Serve Denton was born. I was soon introduced to a wonderful lady named Priscilla Sanders. Priscilla was a very successful business person who had recently retired from a great career at Sears. She had been President of the Chamber of Commerce TWICE and knew everyone in town. No one said no to Priscilla. Together we became a team that was going to turn this idea into reality.
We formed the board in 2012, and our first two tenants moved in on April 1, 2014. We opened a second facility in 2015 that provided transitional housing for single moms with children and a health clinic near downtown. We continued to add new agencies over time and had eight by 2016. In late 2016, a Christian school offered to buy the building we were in from the church. As part of the agreement, Serve Denton received $1M to purchase a new property elsewhere. In September 2017, we bought a 5-acre property with a 32,000 square foot building on Loop 288, the major north-south road on the east side of town. We were able to renovate part of it and moved in eight agencies in April 2018. That move was huge for us and opened the doors to some other opportunities.
We learned we could secure financing through a federal program called New Market Tax Credits that provided an additional $2M for construction. Along with some funding from other organizations and a capital campaign, we could renovate the rest of the building and construct a 10,500 square foot food pantry. We closed on the New Market deal on December 22, 2018, and started construction the next day. On October 17, 2019, we had our grand opening, providing a new home for Health Services of North Texas, Children’s Advocacy Center for Denton County, and the Denton Community Food Center. With the project’s completion, we became the second-largest health and human services center in Texas.
My Dad is my inspiration. I keep a picture in the window overlooking my desk and think about him every day. People often comment when they come to my office who think the picture is of me. I quickly but politely correct them and explain it’s my Dad, and he is the inspiration for Serve Denton.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I don’t think smooth roads exist. Anything worthwhile is going to take great effort. There have been many challenges in starting Serve Denton and growing it to an $8M organization in 8 years. The three biggest challenges have been: 1) helping people understand our mission, 2) eliminating confusion between Serve Denton and Denton Bible Church, and 3) building trust with other agencies. Our mission is to “partner with nonprofits to help make services more accessible for people in need.” While it is accurate what we do, it is hard for people to understand how we do it until they take a tour. Once people take a tour, they walk away with a clear understanding of our mission.
Because Denton Bible Church helped us get our start, many people believe we are part of the church and don’t need support. But early on, the board decided to be a community-based nonprofit. Denton Bible has been very generous with its support over the years, loaning much of my time toward Serve Denton until I took over full-time in July 2019. Many believed Serve Denton was a church ministry because of that support, which resulted in some people being reluctant to support us.
It has been said that “collaboration happens at the speed of trust.” It took much effort to build trust with our partners and not to be viewed as a threat. We did that by serving them, such as raising money to create a refrigeration center that several food pantries could use. That was a big first step for us. We had to have a lot of little wins to earn the trust of other agencies. Once we had done that, then we were able to tackle the more significant efforts. I am pleased to say that collectively, we have brought in over $4.5M of investment from outside Denton County because of the trust we have with our partner agencies. We have helped some agencies that have existed for decades to significantly grow in scale that they would have never been able to do otherwise.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Essentially, I do nonprofit real estate development. I love to build a team and then create a project that helps nonprofits do what they do better while improving service to people in need. Besides, I helped Anyah Martinez open the Explorium Children’s Museum. I am now helping Shiloh Field The largest community garden in the country, scale its production from 20K pounds to 80K pounds per year. Recently we reached 42K pounds on half as much land as we used in the past.
My expertise is in leadership, strategic planning, project management, financing, and lean management using the principles pioneered by the Toyota Motor Corporation. I am a voracious reader and love to learn. Learning Toyota’s management philosophy and systems and how they can benefit nonprofits is a whole new way of adding value to our partners, clients, and community.
I am most proud of starting Serve Denton with $6K in a checking account in 2011 and growing it to an $8M organization in 8 years. It has been an honor to be involved with some very talented people and immensely humbling at the same time. If you told me in 2009, in the wake of my Dad’s passing, I would be doing this ten years later, and I would have said you were crazy. Completing Serve Denton Center has been a game-changer for people across the area, just like my Dad was a game-changer for the people who came to his restaurant.
Do you have any advice for those just starting?
First, FOLLOW YOUR PASSION. I left my corporate job and took a 60% pay cut to go into ministry. Everyone thought I was crazy, but I knew my “why”–which is to be “a servant leader serving others for God’s glory.” President Ronald Reagan commissioned me as a Second Lieutenant in 1984. On his desk in the Oval Office, he kept a small plaque with the words: “There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he does not mind who gets the credit.” I firmly believe in that ideal and try to live it every day.
Second, HAVE A TRUE NORTH. No road maps are telling you how to get where you want to go. The path will change many times during the journey, but you will get there if you are clear about your True North. In my case, Serve Denton has turned out to be far greater than my wildest dreams by God’s grace and much hard work.
Third, PRAY AS THOUGH IT DEPENDS ON GOD—BECAUSE IT DOES; WORK LIKE IT DEPENDS ON YOU; AND NEVER, EVER GIVE UP. I was blessed to have my parents set an excellent example for me. They each started their own small business and grew them into Denton icons. It was hard work, but they never gave up; that’s why you have to have passion; it carries you through the hard times. I like to joke that I work only half-days from 6 am to 6 pm. Every cause has to have its zealot. I have been Serve Denton’s—along with many other beautiful people. I would run Serve Denton for free if the board let me. I love our mission, our partners, our board, and the team. I am 58 and plan to be helping nonprofits do what they best for as long as I can.
Contact Info:
- Email: psmith@servedenton.org
- Website: servedenton.org
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/servedenton
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Pat_Smith_
