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Tom Pace, CEO PaceButler & Mentor Hope Publishing “Action separates the winners from the losers,” Tom Pace, Founder – ELC Roundtable, CEO PaceButler, Mentor Hope Publishing. |
| From Inspiration To Invention |
| They say that inspiration is the mother of invention. Tom Pace, our founder, had that inspiration. Tom is a small business owner in Oklahoma City. His business has grown to become one of the premier and highly visible small businesses in Oklahoma. However, 2002 proved to be a seminal year. His business was entering into what he now calls “the desert” – his business was failing. He asked a man he trusted to be his mentor, to walk with him through the desert in an effort to reclaim his business success. After building his business back to an ever bigger success than before, he reflected back on what had happened. Reflection brought inspiration and ELC Roundtable was launched.Tom’s time in the desert taught him a valuable lesson: the cumulative experience of his mentor, and other advisors, multiplied his fortitude, vision and expertise. The mentoring he received raised his life and business IQ. Most importantly it inspired him to assemble a group of Entrepreneurs, Leaders and CEOs. They would meet regularly with the purpose of mentoring and helping each other be successful in business and life.Thus our mission statement was born: Members Helping Members Be Successful in Business and Life. Humble beginnings What started as a small group of friends turned into an organization, a mission, and a professional staff to steer the direction. There were 12 original members that would meet in the conference room at a local country club. |
Within a few months the group had over 50 members. At 50 members Tom realized he needed a professional staff if ELC Roundtable would grow to have a national presence. Tom hired Steve Walden in September 2009. Steve has been a business owner and executive for 18 years in the community. The two men have been associated for years. They started talking about how they could help each other and how their partnership could help entrepreneurs, leaders and CEOs around the country. Michelle Oden was hired as a facilitator in October 2009. The rest is history. What’s next? Currently about 80 members attend the meetings regularly. Our membership goal is to have a closed membership of 200 in Oklahoma City – four groups of 50 members per group, meeting once per week. When the membership closes in Oklahoma City, a Professional Facilitator will be hired to coordinate the local membership and the launch toward a national presence will begin. The strategic plan is to have ELC Roundtable groups in every mid to large city in the nation. Dallas will be the next city for expansion targeted for January of 2010. Other cities on the expansioin list are Austin, San Antonio, and Houston. Ultimately we would like to have 10,000 members across the US, giving you an unmatched arsenal of resources for networking, solutions and support. All of the groups will be linked by our web site and annual conferences. |
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