🏆Big day for defense as Lockheed, Elbit and Bell get wins; Learfield-TCU, Mercedes growing.

🎵Scheduling note: 817 Biz will be off for spring break starting March 16 and will resume publishing March 23.

Not waiting another three years to renew, TCU Athletics and Learfield announced an extension and broader responsibilities to its 20-year relationship. Learfield, a media and technology company, has an on-site team — Horned Frog Sports Properties — that will focus on optimizing sponsorship and revenue generation opportunities, elevating the fan experience on and between game day and investing in authentic NIL activations for Horned Frog student-athletes in collaboration with TCU's LEAP Agency. Horned Frog Sports Properties will add personnel to its team for enhancement of NIL opportunities like those with existing brand partners Taco Bell, Cadillac, Chicken Express and JLab.

Mercedes-Benz Financial Services is expanding its U.S. headquarters along Heritage Parkway in the AllianceTexas development. More than 120 jobs will be added or relocated by this summer to the facility that handles customer service and financing. Mercedes arrived in 2007 and has had expansions several times with the latest scheduled for completion by August. This expansion puts employment over 1,000. 

Tarrant County hired attorneys amid a "legal threat" to its Ten Commandments monument installed on the county courthouse lawn. Commissioners voted, 3-2, to approve a contract with a non-profit legal group -- First Liberty Institute -- to represent them regarding claims the monument violates the First Amendment. 

Live Nation, the parent company of Ticketmaster, struck a deal with the Department of Justice that may require the concert behemoth to divest some of its venues and would change ticket prices. 

The U.S. Army awarded Fort Worth-based Elbit Systems of America a $120.5-million contract to develop Soldier Borne Mission Command, a next-generation capability that re-defines how soldiers operate, connect and dominate in complex, contested environments. The technology is built on Elbit America’s see-through-display and night vision expertise.

Lockheed Martin was awarded a $700.4 million modification that adds scope to procure long lead material, parts and components in support of F-35 production aircraft for Denmark. Additional dollars were included for similar work for F-35 Cooperative Program Partners and Foreign Military Customers. Fifty-nine percent of the work will be performed in Fort Worth.

Bell Textron succeeded in its Critical Design Review for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Speed and Runway INdepndent Technologies program. The milestone allows Bell to begin building the next-generation aircraft demonstrator, recently designated as the X-76. “This is an important milestone … to a historic first in aviation history and fulfill our mission of developing next-generation vertical-lift aircraft,” said Jason Hurst, Bell Senior Vice President-Engineering.

Marcus & Millichap brokered the sale of Overton Park Professional Center, an 18,102-square-foot medical office complex in Fort Worth. The two-building property was fully leased at the time of sale. Chris Gainey and Philip Levy of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a local private partnership. Levy also procured the buyer, a New York-based 1031 exchange investor, in conjunction with Marcus & Millichap’s Zan Colin.

Thrust Flight, an aviation training provider, opened a campus at Spinks Airport in Fort Worth. The campus will offer fast-track pilot training and hands-on aircraft maintenance programs in modern facilities. Students can earn all required certificates and ratings — including private, commercial, multi-engine, CFI and CFII — in as little as 12 months. With additional flight instructor experience, graduates can meet airline hiring minimums in roughly 18 months.

Gov. Greg Abbott has directed state health agencies and public university systems to review potential cybersecurity risks associated with certain Chinese-manufactured medical devices following federal warnings that the equipment could allow unauthorized access to patient data.

A MESSAGE FROM MEMBERSHIP MEDICINE:

A return to personal care from your physician. In today’s insurance-driven system, many primary care doctors manage more than 2,000 patients, and visits often last just 10 to 15 minutes. Membership-based medicine offers a different approach: smaller patient lists, longer appointments and direct access to the physician. Our patients speak to a real person who knows their name, spend unhurried time face to face with their doctor, and reach the practice easily by phone or email. Learn more.

Fort Worth-based TimelyCare launched TimelyPulse , a proactive engagement and directional insight solution designed to help colleges identify emerging student needs earlier and guide students to appropriate support before issues escalate. TimelyPulse is not a chatbot, survey platform, or predictive risk engine. It functions alongside existing campus programs and student support services. Luke Hejl is co-founder and CEO at TimelyCare.

Amazon launched a health AI agent on its website and app, with U.S. Prime members receiving free message-based medical consultations for more than 30 common conditions. The agentic AI solution is designed to provide health information to patients based on lab results and other medical records accessed through the Health Information Exchange with consent.

Fort Worth-based Distribution Solutions Group acquired Eastern Valve & Control Specialties, located in Paradise, Newfoundland, Canada, and a provider of supplies and services of valves, instrumentation, actuation, and ancillary product solutions throughout Atlantic Canada.

Staff at the Fort Worth Report voted, 11-1, to unionize and be part of the Media Guild of the West and The NewsGuild-CWA. The Fort Worth Report becomes Texas’ sixth unionized newsroom, joining Fort Worth Star-Telegram, The Dallas Morning News, The Texas Tribune, San Antonio Report and Austin American-Statesman.

PRIM Construction completed a dealership for Hiley Acura in west Fort Worth off Loop 820 and Camp Bowie. The 37,000-square-foot facility features a 15,000-square-foot showroom, 26 service bays and a fully automated car wash with detail bays.

Global media company Axel Springer has acquired Bisnow, which has built an engaged, global commercial real estate audience through a unified platform of news, live events and targeted B2B solutions. The company hosts more than 400 live events annually in 47 markets across the U.S., Canada, the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands.

Lake Worth ISD superintendent Mark Ramirez has resigned. The Texas Education Agency has taken over the ISD and the board approved Ramirez’s departure as it restructures programs and staffing.

Snippets:

• U.S. Dermatology Partners opened in Arlington at the Arlington Medical Plaza.

• The family of Henrietta Lacks, a black woman whose cells were taken without her consent in 1951 and used to develop vaccines and other medical treatment, has reached a settlement with Novartis.

Believe it or not: A New Jersey Girl Scout troop set up a cookie booth outside a cannabis dispensary last month, drawing the ire of senior Girl Scouts leadership.

Daily digit: 49,000 = The number of desks (employees) Amazon will cut from its office footprint as it aims to cut its average office vacancy from 31% to just under 23%, according to Bisnow. 

Significant stat: 48 million units = U.S. vinyl sales in 2025, up 9% according to Luminate's Year-End Music Report. Sales rose for the 19th straight year.

Announcements:

• Huntington Bank: Hires Chad Kolar as north Texas Market President.

• Goodwill North Central Texas: Promotes Ruben Cruz to Senior Director, Donated Goods & Retail; Amber Tamplin to Retail Director; Mike Jones to Director, S.T.A.R.S. Program; and Cody Tovar to Senior Director, Information Technology.

• Texas Wesleyan University: Promotes Fran Johnson to head football coach. He had been offensive coordinator and succeeds Brad Sherrod, who left to become the head coach at Morehead College in Atlanta. 

• North Texas Community Foundation: Honors Michael V. Bourland with its Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing his contributions and lasting impact. He is a founding shareholder of Bourland, Wall & Wenzel.

• North Texas Angel Network: Names Mike Wilkes Executive Director.

• The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel: Inducts Kelly Hart attorney Gregory Martin.

• Aquila Air Capital: Names Matthew Schneider Vice President of Origination for the Americas. 

• Ğlassbox: Hires Shawn Fontenot as Vice President of Marketing.

• KERA: Launches NTX Now with co-hosts Miranda Suarez and Ron Corning, and Executive Producer Stephen Becker.

• Herzog Transit Services: Hires Dee Leggett as Director of Business Operations. 

• Restore + Revive: Adds pediatrician Dr. Shane Rainey. 

• Best Trash: Hires Chad Perry as Vice President of north Texas. 

• Airlines for America: Hires Robert Wirick as Managing Director, International Affairs.

• Cresset: Names Susie Cranston Chief Executive Officer. 

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