Seems fitting for the man steering a regional transportation company from its Springfield hub.
But his reach extends far beyond the region. The owner of J. Howard Fisk Limousines Inc. sits on the boards or committees of more than 25 community and industry organizations - efforts that in a month's time pull him to Boston for an American Association of Airport Executives' conference, San Antonio for a National Interstate Insurance Co. meeting and Jefferson City for a gathering of the Missouri Workforce Investment Board.
He begins this morning right at home, though, with a 6:30 a.m. Executive Breakfast Club meeting at Highland Springs Country Club, then tends to his 96-year-old mother before reporting to his East Trafficway office.
In as many directions as he's moving, Fisk still finds time to answer the phones when needed.
"Good morning, Howard Fisk Transportation Group. How can I help you?" he asks a mid-morning caller, who has no idea they're talking to the guy whose name adorns each vehicle in the fleet of 85.
Fisk mans a typical corner office - except that it has no walls. Five desks are strategically scattered around a receptionist's area in a wide-open 7,500-square-foot space with plenty of glass.
"I like it open like this," Fisk explains. "We all sort of edit what goes on around here."
There are no formal regular staff meetings, just the ebb and flow of drivers, servicemen and vendors popping in.
"This is not a sophisticated office," Fisk adds, while sifting through his 150 daily e-mails at his desk in the rear right corner of the vast room. "It's a pretty free-flowing operation. We just put things together as they come. It's like Cheers.
"There's Jan," he says, as his wife of 38 years next month and the company's chief financial officer takes the long walk to her desk, "and that's Maggie, the office guard dog." Magnolia, a sheltie that Fisk brought on board a few years ago to bring calm during a stressful time, trots alongside Jan before settling comfortably on the lobby floor.
"She's Bill's chief executive," Fisk says, pointing to Director of Operations Bill Baehr. "Maggie runs things around here."
The business started 32 years ago as a dream by both Fisks, then a young married couple from Lebanon studying at Missouri State University. Both liked cars, and they began searching for a marketable product in the city.
"Springfield had no limousine services," Fisk recalls. To Jan, the venture was a bit more providential. "I believe in destiny," she says. "This business was Howard's destiny, his calling."
Now, the couple's alma mater is among the company's largest customers. More than a third of Fisk Limousines' business is associated with students, including MSU campus shuttles and athletic travels. Other transportation services include special events, corporate charters and destination management for meetings and conventions.
Just before the weekly Fisk family lunch at Hickory Hills Country Club, longtime driver Bill Rentfro stops by to chat about the Springfield-Branson National Airport's midfield terminal progress. Fisk responds, shuffling through an inch-thick packet of a change order he must review before the next airport board technical committee meeting.
After whittling e-mails down to 40 and making a few phone calls - to bankers about negotiating down the interest rate on the building loan and a Kansas City manufacturer about the 15 E85 buses he has on order - Fisk shores up some last-minute travel plans to New York City. The Fisks are participating in their first collegiate "Parent's Weekend" with daughter Hillary, who is studying event management at Fordham University in Manhattan. Dad and Mom are anxious to reunite. "We dropped her off with six pieces of luggage," Jan says, as she pulls up a map of the Upper West Side campus on her iPhone. "That's her dorm."
Fisk plans to stay in New York through the week to attend an Association of Community College Trustees' meeting on behalf of the Ozarks Technical Community College Board of Trustees.
His to-do list is shrinking, but the clock is ticking. After lunch, Fisk tackles a Boy Scout project he was asked to spearhead: plan the Nov. 13 Distinguished Citizen Award dinner honoring John Rush. Fisk books a room at the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce for production of video congratulations and stories about Rush's impact on the community. He confirms participation by Charlie and Mary Beth O'Reilly, Mary Kay Meek, Jim Anderson and others.
Fisk signs two contracts and quotes some prices as he heads to the chamber for a transportation funding meeting - the last piece of business but hardly the end of his day. After the meeting, Fisk doesn't hesitate to open his checkbook for the Missouri Transportation Alliance initiative. "It's the right thing to do," he says.
The business stalwart shifts gear to socialite mode en route to a Doula Foundation of Mid-America fundraiser in south Springfield. Fisk Limousine is a sponsor, offering two coaches for the $75 per person progressive dinner, beginning at Touch.
In the upstairs private room, the Fisks join Richard and Teresa Ollis in a night of hobnobbing for a good cause. The two couples follow the crowd out the door to the next stops downtown.
"His night's just starting," says Richard Ollis.
Q&A
Q: You've served countless community and industry organizations. What is your motivating factor to committing such time out of the office?
A: My wife and I came here with barely two nickels to rub together. Springfield has been very good to us - we don't take it for granted. ... It's important to give back what you can. You pay it forward, you pay it backward - you just pay it. My father told me that.
Q: As owner of a limousine company, when was the last time you drove for a client?
A: Last year (for a client who) worked at Empire Bank. I drove her wedding, and it was our gift to her. However, (Director of Operations) Bill (Baehr) and I are not on the driving schedule. You cannot plan and operate at the same time.
Q: What is your personal favorite car?
A: I like this car (as we're riding in his red 1994 Rolls Royce Silver Spur III). There are places I don't drive it. If it's raining, I like it in the garage. I also like the Escalade. But my car is no big deal. I'm just me. It's just what I prefer.
Q: You own several cars personally. Which is the most unique?
A: Jan's 1993 Land Rover Defender, one of 500 built in Great Britain and imported to the United States. We bought it in Maine and drove it all the way home.
Q: What is the best birthday gift you've received?
A: A 1964 Land Rover. What am I going to say? We've done a lot of off-roading in that one. I remember one time, me and (my son) Barrett were out and he asked me, "Should we be doing this?" And we just kept going.
Q: You're 59 years old. What is your succession plan for Fisk Limousines?
A: I don't have an exit strategy. I'm going to be another Don Wessel. ... We've been approached more than once to sell the business. We're not interested in that. I'm afraid someone else wouldn't take care of our community as well as we do.
(My son, Barrett,) didn't want to be in this business. He wanted to make his own name (in real estate). I'd love for him to come on board ... or start a new division or start a company in Joplin or northern Arkansas. My daughter mentioned the other day that she was fascinated by what we do in business. That was unexpected. but it would be great.
Q: Who's your right-hand man?
A: Bill Baehr. I think Bill has as good of judgment as I do, if not better. Bill keeps the drivers and the vehicles where they need to be. Bill's got my back all the time.
Q: What is your top personal accomplishment?
A: (Pause) The fact that I'm happy to come to work every morning, and I have a family that I'm thrilled to go home to every evening. I'm thrilled to know that we make a difference in this community. I'm a Boy Scout. I'm not perfect, but I believe in doing the right thing. The community supports our business, which allows me to serve. I think my greatest accomplishment is my ability to serve and my willingness. Boy, that sounds corny, doesn't it? There's not a lot of fanfare for that.
Q: Do you have a personal mentor?
A: Don Wessel. Don's my best friend and a great mentor. When I met Don, my father was gone already. He died before I finished college. (Wessel) is a great role model and community servant.
Q: In what ways do you shun technology?
A: Index cards are really practical. They fit in the (sport coat) pocket. Those are great because you can make a note and take it back to the office. Plus, I'm always around people who say funny things.
Q: What does the "J" in your name stand for?
A: Joseph. It's a family name, my mother's favorite brother. ... My family calls me Joseph, and friends call me J. When I started the business - I was a big-shot with a marketing degree from MSU - we started with English cars, and we thought we'd put a twist in the company name. I knew from my marketing classes that the company would do better if the owner's name was in it. The British used initials. I was going to stick (my name) on the company and let it go with that. And then people started calling me Howard. Bob Roundtree, who's known me for 20 years, calls me Jim. I don't know where that came from. I've corrected him before, but it didn't stick. Wessel calls me J. Ho Ward.
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