⚾Corey Seager hits the streets; Dr. Phil in the house; A $30-million gift

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📣NEWS OF THE DAY:

HHS acquired: Hahnfeld Hoffer Stanford, an iconic, independent Fort Worth-based architecture firm, has been acquired by Grace Hebert Curtis Architects, which has a Dallas office but is headquartered in Louisiana. No deal terms were released in the announcement. Grace Hebert services include architecture, engineering, and construction. HHS was founded in 1963.

Television host and producer Dr. Phil McGraw is launching a cable TV network that will be based in the AllianceTexas area of north Fort Worth and feature McGraw appearing before a prime-time audience. "Dr. Phil Primetime" will premiere February 26.

Arlington-based homebuilder D.R. Horton had mixed fourth-quarter numbers during a tough economic period for the housing market. Click here for all the numbers and comments from Donald R. Horton, Chairman of the Board. 

J.B. Hunt Transport Services and intermodal rail provider Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway jointly rolled out an intermodal service to transport service-sensitive highway freight via rail, potentially removing millions of loads from the highway. 

Dickies Arena will be the recipient of the Visit Fort Worth Hospitality Award at its 11^th  Annual Meeting on February 15, 2024. The Hospitality Award is given to a person, company or organization that has made significant contributions to developing, marketing and delivering visitor experiences for Fort Worth’s travel, tourism and hospitality industry.

Fort Worth-based Energy Domain, a tech-enabled online marketplace to serve buy/sell/lease transactions of oil and gas properties, has engaged Palace Road Partners' valuation team for investment banking-level service for deals valued between $5MM–$100MM+. Founded in 2021 by Ryan Vinson and the 5Ms Technologies team, Energy Domain has facilitated more than 150 transactions since launching.

The TechFW Board of Directors is revamping its leadership model to CEO/COO. Executive Director Hayden Blackburn has served the past five years and will be COO. He will continue to lead all operations for entrepreneurs, investors, mentors and partners. A search has begun for "a dynamic and visionary CEO with proven experience in executive leadership, strategic planning and donor relations."

Arlington's National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation announced a $30-million gift from Kenneth C. Griffin, Founder and CEO of Citadel and Founder of Griffin Catalyst. In recognition of Griffin's generosity and commitment to sharing the stories and values of the Medal of Honor, the Museum's leadership institute will be named the National Medal of Honor Griffin Institute.

Potential vendors to the City of Fort Worth will have to register with Bonfire Interactive by early December to be a participant in bids for city work. Fort Worth partnered with Bonfire to implement an online bidding platform where notification of bid opportunities and submission of responses will be handled digitally.

A researcher at the University of Texas at Arlington is developing a tool that could help the state get a better lay of the land, so to speak, when figuring out how much it will cost to build highways across the state.

The first Tarrant County location for Chicago-based Portillo’s is open for walk-in service at 4100 Cooper St. in south Arlington, according to the Star-Telegram’s Bud Kennedy. The popular chain known for hot dogs and Italian beef sandwiches has locations also in the works for north Fort Worth and Mansfield.

Lost booking: The downtown Fort Worth Library will not be moving into 100 N. Main as previously announced. A search for a site is continuing.

D-FW ranks as #2 best metro area for women-owned businesses. The Wells Fargo Impact of Women-Owned Businesses report, set to release in late November, looked at whether women-owned businesses flourished or faltered during the pandemic. Part of the study looked at where women-owned businesses had the most economic clout from 2019 to 2023. According to data released ahead of the report, these are the best and worst metros (and states) for women entrepreneurs.

A survey of 2,800 art collectors by Art Basel and UBS revealed that private collectors allocated fewer resources to art compared to other financial assets in their wealth portfolios, dropping to 19 percent in 2023 from the 24 percent recorded in 2022. 

DAILY DIGIT: The number of 401k participants taking hardship distributions increased by 13% between the second and third quarters, according to a Bank of America analysis of its clients’ employee benefit programs.

NOTHING TO DO WITH BUSINESS: The most popular dog name in each state.

👟PEOPLE ON THE MOVE:

• Valor: Hires Hillari Rawls for accounting and Jennifer Dodgen as Senior Manager of division orders in the land department

• US Energy Development Corp.: Mike Williams joins the company as Vice President of Engineering 

• GRACE: Non-profit hires Rebecca Cox as CEO

• ONM Living: Hires Ty Robinson as President

• US Accounting Staff: Outsourced accounting/bookkeeping services launched by Debra Findlay

• Integrated Projected Solutions: Eugene Walker Jr. starts as Co-owner and CEO

✂️SNIPPETS FROM AROUND THE WEB:

• Here’s what Mark Cuban said he would do with just a phone and $500.

• The most loved and hated car brands in every country and in every state.

• How much older are you than the rest of the population in the world, and in the U.S.? Find out with this calculator.

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