Today we’d like to introduce you to Kyle Ogden.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
After graduating from The University of Texas with an MBA degree, I earned my CPA certificate and worked briefly in public accounting for Deloitte. My future father-in-law invited me to work in his family business, which manufactured chemical specialties. I began in materials management and ended up running the business for over 30 years. Over that time, we expanded from a regional business to one with a national scope.
I was ready for “the second half” when I retired in 2016, and I began looking for opportunities in the non-profit community. Networking with friends old and new led me to an opening at The Thanks-Giving Foundation. To be a part of an organization that provides pathways to understanding in our culturally diverse world, through our common belief in gratitude, and is located in the heart of Dallas, felt very much like the right direction for me.
Has it been a smooth road?
We saw enormous change in our industry over the 30 plus years I was involved, and we had to continuously refine the business model in an attempt to address the future. Business and the competitive marketplace is such an efficient teacher, and the lessons learned in my first career are invaluable at The Thanks-Giving Foundation. Non-profit organizations deal with changing constituencies and must make adjustments to strategy just like businesses do. When Thanks-Giving Square was opened in 1977, less than 300 people lived downtown. Now, there are over 11,000 residents. A vibrant Arts District has sprung up, helping to shape the narrative. The Square, having for years been the only greenspace downtown, has now been joined by a couple of others, with four more on the drawing board. It’s an exciting time to be a part of the downtown community, and The Thanks-Giving Foundation expects to be an increasingly important part of the many positive things going on in the city. The beautiful and iconic Square may be the most visible part of the Foundation, but the gratitude based programming, including but not limited to our Interfaith and Multi-Faith initiatives, may prove to have an even deeper reach into the community.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
The Thanks-Giving Foundation is in the business of change, and GRATITUDE is our lever! There is literally no organization in the world with a like collection of assets, focus and approach.
Thanks-Giving Square has been an important part of downtown Dallas for over 40 years. The Square was imagined by Peter Stewart and three others forward thinking business men, and ultimately supported and financed by a virtual “who’s who” of Dallas. Centered around the virtue of gratitude, the men employed one of the most influential architects/designers of the day, Philip Johnson, and set out to create a monument that would be to gratitude what the Statue of Liberty is to freedom. Johnson designed the sunken Thanks-Giving Garden as a place of escape from the hustle and bustle of daily life, with extensive use of flowing waters to muffle city noise and facilitate an atmosphere ripe for contemplation, and then punctuated the site with a bell tower at the western entrance. To the east, a spiraling structure was constructed of an innovative blend of marble and cement, with the Hall of Thanks-Giving accessed from the Garden level. In the Hall, a display that tells the story of Thanksgiving gives way to event and meeting space. On the upper level, and accessed by a bridge spanning the width of the grounds, is the star attraction…the Thanks-Giving Chapel. Inside, passing beneath the etched glass dove provided by English artist John Hutton, one finds the Glory Window…French artisan Gabriel Loire’s masterpiece stained glass window that transports the soul from earth upwards to the heavens.
With the mission of bringing diverse people together on the common ground of gratitude, Thanks-Giving Square, owned and operated by The Thanks-Giving Foundation, anchors the foundation’s gratitude based initiatives. The foundation seeks to study, develop and communicate the transformational power of gratitude and its direct relationship to enhanced quality of life. This thought leadership initiative proceeds alongside an ongoing activation of the multi-faith clergy community, Faith Forward Dallas at Thanks-Giving Square, who have come together to advocate for peace and justice.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
We have an exceptionally good working relationship with the City of Dallas, and Mayor Rawlings is a huge friend and supporter of Thanks-Giving Square! Dallas is a very progressive city with an excellent reputation for being business friendly, with a quickly developing important presence of art and culture. The Thanks-Giving Foundation, with The Square at the center of the city, provides the city a spiritual soul…a home base for the people of goodwill and gratitude that comprise Dallas. It is our goal to further solidify the Thanks-Giving Foundation and its member organizations as advocates for the people of Dallas, and as an instrument of positive change in the community.
Of course, a non-profit like The Thanks-Giving Foundation depends on donors to support the organization’s works. Again we are fortunate that Dallas has a very generous community of givers that understands the important role non-profits can play. Start-up non-profits seeking to do good will find a welcoming environment provided they can clearly establish that they efficiently add value and aren’t redundant to a well-served need.
Contact Info:
- Address: The Thanks-Giving Foundation
1627 Pacific Ave.
Dallas, TX 75201 - Website: www.thanksgiving.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thanksgivingsq/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thanksgivingsquare/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/thanksgivingsq
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/thanks-giving-square-dallas
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thanksgiving-square
Image Credit:
Justin Terveen, Leonid Furmansky, Donald Mitchell
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