The Founding Four

The four founding partners of Brown, Graham & Company, P.C., shared many common beliefs, core values and interests. These defined their partnership and resulted in a company that would serve its clients and employees with the utmost loyalty. The founding partners believed in unity and cohesiveness of common goals. Perhaps this belief, which has been instilled by the company leaders throughout the years, is a primary reason the firm has prevailed for more than fifty years. The partners worked hard, led by example, and respected their clients, their profession, and their employees. They believed in fairness, honesty, and valued their time off for family and faith. They shared a love of fishing and spent many weekends together fly fishing in Colorado. Nevertheless, they were also unique, following their own interests and hobbies, which included political aspirations, a love for Hawaii, health and physical fitness, music, and teaching. They have been described as each representing a different character- the Worker, the Gentleman, the Rainmaker and the Teacher. Former and present employees, clients and partners passionately describe the founding partners as a sincere group who made Brown, Graham & Company, P.C. a great place to work.

Bob Brown (1919 — 1984), the Worker

Bob and Howard Brown moved to Amarillo in their adolescent years because of their father’s employment. They were from a proud Scottish heritage. Bob was the younger and some say the more serious of the two Brown brothers. Former colleagues describe him as the “Worker.” He had a passion for his work and would often work long hours, far exceeding the work schedule and workload of his subordinates. During tax season when asked why he worked so long and hard his response was, “because this is what I like to do”. Although Bob did not graduate from college, he worked hard to take accounting courses by correspondence and then passed the CPA exam. He believed in punctuality and expected others to adopt the same work ethic. He also applied this same discipline to his personal routine by working out regularly during lunch at the local health club. Bob was dedicated to his clients, and many times went beyond what was expected. Once he climbed a ladder inside a grain elevator in order to take measurements for the client. His strong commitment to his clients produced a deep sense of loyalty from his clients. Bob was very involved with his church, serving as a deacon and would recruit church members as clients.

Howard Brown (1916 — 1987), the Gentleman

Howard is described as the “Gentleman” and some say he seldom murmured a derogatory remark about others. Employees described him as having a very kind and gentle spirit. Howard set up the first office in Hereford and a second practice in Amarillo apart from the corporate office that later merged with the corporate office. Like Bob, Howard did not have a degree, but managed to fulfill the CPA requirements and receive his license. Howard’s clients respected and trusted him exclusively because they were convinced that he knew their businesses well and could provide the advice and expertise they requested. He also gained that same level of respect from the employees because of his “lead by example” leadership style. Howard loved Hawaii and obtained a CPA license there. He established a client in Hawaii and desired to open an office there. Unlike many professional accountants in his era, computers intrigued Howard. He purchased a computer kit and attempted to build a small computer.

Art Glover (1916 — 1991), the Rainmaker

Art was considered the "Rainmaker" of the four. He is described as a shrewd operator, unselfish in his ways, who possessed a great deal of tact. Art graduated from the University of Texas and later received his law degree from Harvard Law School. He established a law practice, which complimented the BG&C financial services. He was very supportive of young people and believed in promoting hard working associates to partner status, while never feeling threatened by their advancement. Art stressed to the other partners the importance of conserving part of the profits for the advancement of new partners. His principles centered on training, development, and advancement of the employees. He believed in making a place for employees at all levels of the firm. Once a secretary grew tired of her daily task and requested a change in work; Art did not hesitate to assign her different work in order to challenge and retain her as a valuable employee. Art’s name is not in the company title as it appears today because upon becoming part of the faculty at West Texas State University (WT), he had to abide by their conflict of interest policy. Most of the early BG&C associates took accounting classes from him at WT and described him as their mentor who displayed a great deal of patience when explaining things. Art had finesse when working with his clients, and he especially enjoyed advising farmers and people from small communities. His concern for the farmers was part of his campaign platform for the Senate race of 1961, which he unfortunately lost. He believed in being ethical and honest and gained trust and respect from his clients who remained loyal to him throughout his career.

Wilmer Graham (1914 — 1975), the Teacher

Although all of the founding partners were considered mentors, Wilmer Graham was viewed as the "Teacher" of the group. He not only took it upon himself to teach his associates, but also taught income tax courses at West Texas State University. Wilmer was a native Texan who graduated from West Texas State and later obtained his CPA license in 1948. He was elected the first President of Brown, Graham & Company, P.C. and remained in that position until his death in 1975. Mr. Graham had a love for music. In fact, the library in the Tulia office was wired with an early surround sound system, which consisted of eight sets of speakers. Those who worked with Mr. Graham stated that you could determine his mood depending on the type of music he was playing in the library. Employees who worked for Mr. Graham said that he believed that one should work hard and play hard. He believed that giving 100% at the office was a necessity; however, work was to be left at the office and not taken home. He once reprimanded an associate for calling him on the weekend to discuss business. He instructed the employee when returning to work the following Monday, that he was not to take work home on the weekend, but spend that time with his family. This work life balance is still prevalent in BG&C culture today. When dealing with the clients, Mr. Graham made sure that the clients knew there were other people at the firm who could assist them. He adopted a philosophy that the clients were the firm’s clients, not just his clients. He involved the associates and assisted them with developing sound relationships with the clients who in turn developed trust with the firm, not just the partners. Later, this philosophy paid off because after his unexpected death, the firm retained all but one client.