Pub. 55 2014-2015 Issue 4

6 Brett Graham, Standing Tall for Texas S econd generat ion heav y dut y t ruck dea l er Bret t Graham, President of Graham International, Inc. of Sherman, reflects all of the great qualities of a Texas franchised dealer. His priorities are his family, his business, his employees, his customers and his community. Where Brett takes it a step further is his involvement in policy issues that materially affect the industry. As a former Chairman of the Board of the Texas Association of Business, which represents a variety of industries in the state, Brett Graham has been actively involved in issues that drive the future of Texas franchised dealers. This year Graham International, a fran- chised dealership for International Truck & Engine celebrated its 50th anniversary. The story of Graham International is one steeped in all things Texas…..family, hard work, risk, failure, success. It is a story that has played out many times all across our great state, with many different endings. As a 5th generation Texan and Grayson County resident Brett Graham has great pride in his family’s heritage and work ethic. Graham International was started by Jim and Nell Graham on March 15, 1965, in Sherman, Texas. Jim had worked for International Truck at the Dallas office since 1960, and became branch manager in Dallas in 1963. Ironically, his work with the management of the company to imple- ment a program in which International would help fund and set up new dealers led to him becoming the second dealer in the program. Jim and Nell opened a second location in Paris, Texas, on September 15, 1983. Jim actively ran the business until his death on July 4, 1993. At that time, Brett had recently graduated from Baylor University and was working as a commercial real estate appraiser in Dallas. It was Nell’s intent to sell the business. However, after hear- ing the news and much to Nell Graham’s surprise, the employees of Graham Inter- national approached her about bringing Brett to run the operation. “Nell had never considered that, as most of the employees had known me since I was an infant and watched me grow up” Brett said. “I had also never worked in the business, and was a greenhorn fresh out of college with very little workplace experience. She wondered how the employees, many of them long tenured, could follow the leadership of someone so much younger.” Somehow they convinced her, and after working out some details, Graham International had a new Vice President and General Manager. Brett has run the operation since that time, and although Nell remains involved in the business, she spends most of her time in Colorado. Brett’s brother, Jim T. Graham, has never been actively involved in the management of the operation but is a director. As Brett relates: I know for a fact that those were very dif- ficult days for my parents. Business was bad, the company was not making money, and my father was in terrible health. Yet despite so many cards stacked against him, he managed to keep the company going while finding a way to come up with enough money to keep my brother and me at Baylor. I can only imagine how difficult those last years were on him, and it is not lost on me that his grit and determination are what provided me this great opportunity.