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Alumni in the Press : Spring 2003
R.B. Lewis, 1920-2003, BBA ’41
R.B. Lewis, a longtime Austin resident and great friend to the McCombs School, passed away on Friday, January 24, 2003. He was born on September 30, 1920, in Waco, Texas. After graduating from Little Rock High School in Arkansas, he attended the School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, earning a BBA in 1941. A successful entrepreneur, Mr. Lewis founded and was the CEO of Austin Mortgage and Trust Company and the R.B. Lewis Insurance Agency for many years until he sold the businesses and retired in 1980.
Mr. and Mrs. Lewis have been generous contributors to education, establishing scholarship funds at St. Edward's University and UT-Austin. In fact, the Carolyn Lewis Gallagher Scholarship Fund, established in 1999, has already helped support four Texas residents in the McCombs MBA program, and will support countless other students in the years to come. These scholarships are a fitting and long-lasting tribute to the memory of R.B., and will provide Texas graduate students with opportunities to last a lifetime.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Carolyn Lewis Gallagher Scholarship Fund at the School of Business, UT-Austin, P.O. Box 7458, Austin, TX 78713-7458, the Edward Sibley Lewis Scholarship Fund at the School of Natural Sciences, UT-Austin, P.O. Box 7458, 78713- 7458, or The Lewis Family Scholarship Fund at St. Edward's University, 3001 S. Congress Ave., Austin, Texas 78704.
25 Years in Business
Stuart Miller, BBA 72, celebrates his 25th year in the vacuum
cleaner repair and sewing machine business this year. A one-man show, Alief Vacuum and Sewing Center in Houston has provided Miller the satisfaction that he found lacking in the auditing jobs he held after graduating from college.
“Still, my accounting background has been invaluable to me,” he says. “The business school also fostered entrepreneurial spirit and attention to finances and detail that have helped me run the business.”
Urged by a friend to try his hand at vacuum repair in 1977, Miller taught himself the business and has built a large and loyal customer base over the years. “What I most enjoy is having control of my life,” Miller says. “In the beginning I couldn’t wait to get up and come to work—you get that sense of immediate gratification when you work for yourself.”
Miller and his wife Lolly Friedman, JD 82, have two children, both UT alumni as well: Melanie, BS, 00 and Joshua, BA, 02.
A One Man Show
Jonathan Sprinkles, BBA 99, made his first speech in the 5th grade, but it wasn’t until he was a senior in college that he realized oration was his calling. The undergraduate programs office had asked him if he would speak at a student recruiting event hosted by Dell Computer Corporation.
“He was amazing,” remembers Katy Nelson, then admissions director for the undergraduate office. “He was hysterical and very motivational.” The “ah-ha!” moment for Sprinkles came after his speech when someone from Dell approached him and asked how much he charged. “For the first time I thought, ‘Wow, I could really do this for a living!’” he says. “I realized this was my purpose—to help people see their value and define their purpose.”
Ironically, Sprinkles ended up working for Dell right out of college, but at the same time, he was laying the groundwork for Sprinklisms, a business through which he hoped to “equip people with the resources necessary to search the inner self and effectively live out the principles of leadership, integrity, vision and excellence.” Two and a half years later, Sprinklisms became his full-time job.
“It’s more than just a business, though,” he says. “It is just as much spiritual as it is economic—it’s a way to help save our young people.” Too often, Sprinkles says, young people bow to the negative pressures surrounding them. Fear, doubt, and low self-esteem lead them to settle for second best, or worse. What Sprinkles does through his unique brand of motivational speaking is encourage young people to step out, extend themselves, and achieve their goals.
Sprinkles’ days are now filled with presentations and workshops at high schools, educational associations, college campuses, and conventions. He has also just published two books: “Why Settle? Be the Best You That You Can Be,” a guide to overcome self-limiting thoughts and habits; and “Student Success Stories,” an anthology of stories from young people who have overcome adversity.
Sprinkles says it was his experience in the BBA program at McCombs that gave him the confidence to launch Sprinklisms. “I knew if I could survive here, at one of the best business schools in the country, I could do whatever I wanted to do.”
To learn more about Jonathan and Sprinklisms, or to order his books or CDs, visit: www.sprinklisms.com.
Copernica – Recentering Your Universe
Over the past three years, the business co-founded by Joel Bush, MBA 97, and Jef Sewell has grown from taking phone orders for a single customer out of a loft apartment to providing fulfillment, inventory management, customer service, and more for 30 customers. And all of this is done from an old produce warehouse on east 6th Street in Austin. Welcome to Copernica!
Copernica provides design, e-commerce, warehousing, fulfillment, customer service/telesales, and creative services to clients that span a wide range of interests and industries—including musicians like Asleep at the Wheel and Dale Watson, filmmaker Laura Dunn, Stubb’s BBQ, the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Society, and a local high-tech products company.
Copernica’s approach enables these clients to achieve a consistent audience experience with custom packaging, logos and marketing messages on shipping labels and receipts, company-specific messaging from their call centers, and more—all while reducing the typical barriers raised by the middleman that keep the creator from his/her audience.
Bush explains Copernica simply: “We’re an amplifier looking for a cool signal to amplify without adding much noise.” He describes the start-up and entrepreneurial world in realistic terms, “It’s about doing the work with stellar people. Thankfully, we’ve got great clients who are doing some amazing things.”
For more information about Copernica, visit www.Copernica.com.
— Joelle W. Beisner
