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TODAY'S
ISSUE
What it's like working
in top-ranked firm in country
By Rodger Naugle
Edward Jones, Lawrenceville
Special to GwinnettForum.com
(Editor's note: for the second year in a row,
the financial services firm of Edward Jones has been ranked No.
1 by Fortune Magazine in its list of the "100 Best Companies
to work for" in America." We asked Rodger Naugle, of
Lawrenceville, a limited partner in the firm, to tell about his
experiences with this top-ranked firm. -eeb)
APRIL 25, 2003 -- My experiences and relationships over the past
21 years as an Edward Jones Investment Representative have been
the most profound and exciting of my professional career.
 After
returning home from my interview in St. Louis in October 1981, I
told my wife that my interview and the information about the firm
were intriguing, and I wanted to learn more. After further research,
my positive first impression was confirmed and thus began my career
with Edward Jones in November 1981.
There were approximately 4,300 investment representatives at the
time, with only two others in Georgia: one in Augusta and another
in Statesboro. Today we have over 200 in Georgia, 8,600 in the United
States and 550 in Canada and 125 in the United Kingdom.
The past 21 years have allowed me to serve some of the finest people
in Gwinnett County, have provided me many opportunities for personal
growth and development, and have allowed me to associate with some
of the finest professionals in the industry.
There are several things that are responsible for our Number One
ranking in Fortune for a second year and for our successful growth
over the years.
First, John Bachmann, our managing partner for the past 23 years,
has done an excellent job in defining who we are and who we are
not. When we decide to do a certain thing, we are also deciding
not to do something else. By making these trade-offs, he has clearly
defined our strategies, our markets and our philosophy. For example,
Edward Jones serve only the serious, long-term investor. We don't
want to be all things to all people, so we understand that customers
who like to trade often are better served by other firms. That is
a trade-off we gladly accept.
The second reason for long term success is our heritage. Edward
D. Jones was our founder, and his son, Ted Jones had the vision
to open a network of offices across America. They believed, as we
do today, to always put the customer first and that every employee
has worth and dignity and should be treated as such. While markets
and investments have changed, the basic goals of people and how
we achieve these goals have not changed.
We expect our investment representatives to develop positive and
trusting business relationships with our clients. We want our customers
to know us and we want to know them. Our founding fathers taught
us, and we still believe, that our business is built on trust. Thus
relationships are of the utmost importance. We are not interested
in developing only telephone relationships with people. I want to
know all my clients personally and want them to know me. There should
be no surprises.
Ted Jones, who passed away in 1990, had many opportunities to sell
the firm at many times book value, and to become a very wealthy
man. Instead, he chose to give the firm away to associates, who
now own it. We have been a partnership for many years, and every
Jones employee has the desire to be an owner. Like all owners, we
desire to see the firm grow and be profitable. Today we remain a
very giving and caring company.
Thirdly, over the years, we have developed and maintained standards
of professional and ethical behavior to which we expect all to adhere.
The men and women we seek for positions in our branch offices or
at our headquarters know what's expected of them from the moment
they are hired.
After 21 years with Edward Jones, I can truly say that I enjoy
the business and my associates and clients as much, if not more,
than ever.
ELLIOTT
BRACK
FDR's
granddaughter remembers his challenge to us
By Elliott Brack
editor and publisher
GwinnettForum.com
APRIL 25, 2003 -- The resemblance is amazing. The tilt of the head,
the wide mouth smile, the way she walks, the striking angular appearance,
the blonde hair piled atop her head, and her ease with people.
She looks like her grandmother. Granted, I have never seen Eleanor
Roosevelt, but there was no doubt that this was her granddaughter
before us. About 500 people were gathered at the Little White House
at Warm Springs, Ga. on a recent sunny Saturday afternoon to mark
the beginning of a Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial Museum at this
historic site.
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the keynote speaker. She is a good speaker,
we learned, and quite an accomplished person herself.
Two of Anna Eleanor's brothers, James Jr. and Michael, were also
in attendance. Just as Anna Eleanor reminded us of her grandmother,
the two grandsons both had their own resemblance to their grandfather.
The genes run deep in this family.
The Little White House is the most visited of the Georgia Department
of Natural Resources state historic sites, greeting over 110,000
people each year. For years there has been a small museum in a house
on the grounds, but it is inadequate.
Therefore, the 17 member Franklin D. Roosevelt Warm Springs Memorial
Advisory Committee, appointed by governors, has undertaken to remedy
this with a museum and visitor's center worthy of our 32nd president.
The group has already raised $5 million toward the $6 million goal.
The event recently was the kick-off to raise $1 million in the public
part of the drive, seeking contributions from individuals.
The new Museum will be erected near the present entrance to the
site. For more information, visit www.fdr-littlewhitehouse.org.
During her brief remarks April 12th, the 58th anniversary of FDR's
death at the Little White House, Anna Eleanor recalled the memory
of her grandfather, who died before she was born:
"On April 12, 1945, he was thinking of this plan - of the
United Nations - and of his role in it - as its first leader.
"As tired as he was, his heartfelt desire - as he sat here
in the mild sunshine of a war Georgia spring - his passion was
for the United Nations which he was founding to do the work -
the hard, imperfect, but necessary work of building a peaceful
world.
"As he sat here - in his beloved cottage "The Little
White House" - he wrote the concluding sentence of a Jefferson
Day Dinner he was scheduled to give in a few days:
'The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts
of today. Let us move forward with strong and active faith.'
"These words are clarion to me today. In these days of orange
alerts and public fears for our own security and a kind of inward
looking that isolates us from 'everywhere in the world'.
"I think about his vision - of hope, of companionship, and
of peace - so nurtured by this place.
"And he challenges me, as he challenges us all, to throw
off the posture of doubt - reinstate our vision of a world at
peace - and move forward believing that each of us has a role
in its realization.
"As tired and sick as he was on April 12, 1945, he was busy
taking on the challenge of creating the United Nations.
"I will never forget that."
Well said, Anna Eleanor, about your grandfather.
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CORRECTION
Gary Menzies to perform
solo at Arts Center
Ooops. The Tuesday item about the Gary Menzies concert at the
Performing Arts Center may have left the impression that Mr.
Menzies would be performing with the Gwinnett Philharmonic Orchestra.
The concert will be a solo performance by Mr. Menzies on April
25 at 8 p.m. at the Gwinnett Performing Arts Center.
FEEDBACK
4/25: Perhaps the
governor is merely a bigot?
Editor, the Forum:
Mary Squires? Mary Squires? Maybe the Governor is just a bigot?
Or is trying to live up to his "flag" campaign promise
(which was a mistake in my opinion).
What a public display Mary Squires put on!! And she also wants
to give all ILLEGAL immigrants driver's licenses?? Why not deport
all ILLEGAL immigrants or make them legal?
-- Elmore Stuart, Norcross
4/25: Delta management
reminds guy of Eastern Airlines
Editor, the Forum:
It sounds like the senior management of Delta Airlines has
been taken over by the former senior management of Eastern Airlines.
Allan Hytowitz. Norcross
4/25: Title suggested
for Delta CEO forthcoming book
Editor, the Forum:
Watch for Leo Mullin's new book: "Keeping The Management
Team Together While Eliminating The Workforce."
-- Name withheld by request
THOUGHT OF THE DAY
Consider what is
the opposite of a profound truth
"The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement.
But the opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound
truth."
-- Danish Physicist Niels Bohr, (1885-1962).
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