Every Last Word

Dallas Innovates’ signature series capturing what leaders across North Texas are saying — in their own words — about innovation, impact, and what’s next.

[Sources: Booblgum/, Suppachok Nuthep/, istockphoto]

The Last Word: TechFW’s Hayden Blackburn On Its NASA-Tied ‘Space Alliance’ Partnership for Small Business Liftoff

by | Aug 22, 2024
“The idea is to scale this and be able to support more small businesses, get more companies involved.”

Hayden Blackburn Chief Operating Officer TechFW …on partnering with the Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program, or SATOP, via Fort Worth Report.

TechFW is playing mission control for North Texas entrepreneurs. The Fort Worth-based incubator is partnering with the Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program to offer up to 40 hours of free technical support to small businesses....

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The Last Word: Texan by Nature On Its New Conservation Impact Report, By the Numbers
by | Aug 21, 2024

“Texans are rarely all hat and no cattle.”

Taylor Kennedy Frenchi
Program Manager – Nature and Health Alliance
Texan by Nature
.…sharing the organization’s 2023 Conservation Impact Report on LinkedIn

Texan by Nature, founded by former First Lady Laura Bush in 2011, has released its 2023 Impact Report....

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The Last Word: Why Dallas’ Knox/McKinney Chuy’s Is Moving to Greenville Avenue
by | Aug 20, 2024
For 31 years, Chuy's has had an Instagram-ready location at Knox & McKinney in Dallas. That's 17 years longer than Instagram has existed—but the clock is now ticking. The Austin-based restaurant brand plans to move the location two miles east to 1520 Greenville Avenue in April 2025, according to the Dallas Morning News. Thankfully, the Elvis statue will go along for the ride. And hopefully so will the hubcap ceiling, the pet photo wall, and the countless art works and sculptures that make this spot special.
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The Last Word: Cosm’s Jeb Terry at a ‘Shared Reality’ Preview at Grandscape in The Colony
by | Aug 19, 2024
Terry welcomed an invitation-only crowd Saturday night for a preview experience of Cosm at Grandscape in The Colony. Officially opening on August 31 with a College Kickoff Weekend, the venue and its 87-foot diameter, 12K-plus LED dome will make people feel like they're magically close to the action of live sports and artistic events—from college football and NBA games to Premier League matches, UFC fights, performing arts events, and more. On Saturday night, the crowd got a taste of what "immersive shared reality" is like—and came away wowed.
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The Last Word: Texas State Fair’s Jennifer Schuder On Taking a Bite Out of the Big Tex Choice Awards

by | Aug 15, 2024
We’re about a month and a half from the start of the State Fair of Texas and people are buzzing about the Big Tex Choice Awards.  Since 2005, the contest has decided which new culinary creations will sit alongside the classics, like Fletcher’s Corny Dogs. Today, you can find Fletcher's in many places, like the grocery store and in a food truck at Klyde Warren Park. But their first appearance was at the State Fair of Texas in 1942.
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The Last Word: Dallas Airport System’s Vincent Lewis on Prepping for the 2026 World Cup
by | Aug 14, 2024
In 2026, AT&T Stadium will host nine FIFA World Cup matches, including a globally watched semi-final—more than any of the other 15 host venues in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. A stunning 3.4 million spectators attended the 2022 World Cup matches in Qatar. Now Lewis is tasked with making sure arrivals and departures go smoothly in 2026 at Dallas Love Field Airport, Dallas Executive Airport, and the Vertiport in downtown Dallas. 
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The Last Word: Sportico on the Dallas Cowboys Breaking the $10B Valuation Mark
by | Aug 13, 2024
Jerry Jones' 1989 deal to buy the Dallas Cowboys for $150 million looks smarter and smarter every year. Especially this year—because Sportico, the sports industry content platform, just released its NFL team valuations and put America's Team at the top at $10.32 billion. Cracking that 11th digit is a first for any sports franchise on the face of the earth.
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The Last Word: Quoting Mark Cuban on ‘Curiosity’ After Last Week’s Bisnow Multifamily Annual Conference
by | Aug 12, 2024
The Bisnow Multifamily Annual Conference was held last week at the Hilton Anatole Dallas. As one of the marquee speakers, Mark Cuban took part in a Greater Dallas Planning Council’s "Sports Economic Outlook" discussion with Dallas Interim City Manager Kim Tolbert.
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Rose, 4, is screened by an Orbis-trained doctor in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, following a successful surgery. [Photo: Geoff Oliver Bugbee]

The Last Word: Why Fort Worth’s Alcon Foundation Is Sponsoring Orbis’ ‘Flying Eye Hospital’ Mission to Mongolia

by | Aug 8, 2024
The Alcon Foundation has supported Orbis International for more than 40 years, providing monetary donations for the Flying Eye Hospital and its mission to prevent and treat avoidable blindness around the world. The latest mission is in Mongolia through August 22.
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The Last Word: The DEC Network’s Kendall Kennedy Previews Dallas Startup Week on FOX 4
by | Aug 7, 2024
When it comes to nurturing entrepreneurship, Dallas Startup Week casts a wide net. In a recent FOX 4 interview, The DEC Network's Kendall Kennedy highlighted the event's inclusive approach to supporting entrepreneurship and business growth in North Texas.
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The Last Word: ‘Wild DFW’ Author Amy Martin on Nocturnal Urban Wildlife in North Texas
by | Aug 6, 2024
Most North Texans have walked outside at night to spy a raccoon or possum nosing around in the dark. But you may be surprised to know how many creatures really burn the midnight oil across Dallas-Fort Worth. Alligators, bats, bobcats, the American mink, river otters, green tree frogs, and owls galore are just some of the nocturnal animals that feel right at home here.
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The Last Word: Amazon Web Services’ Valerie Singer on the AWS Jobs Tech Alliance Coming to Texas
by | Aug 5, 2024
In the Lone Star State, tech isn't just big—it's booming. With high-tech jobs growing at twice the speed of overall state job growth, Texas has an appetite for tech talent. Enter Amazon Web Services (AWS) with its Skills to Jobs Tech Alliance, a recipe for bridging the tech skills gap.
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Minuteman Press franchisee Kenny Clark [Photo: Minuteman Press]

The Last Word: Kenny Clark on Snagging a McKinney Minuteman Press Franchise for Just $32K

by | Jul 31, 2024
In 2014, Clark scouted North Texas for a Minuteman Press printing services franchise with a secret ingredient: failure. He told Entrepreneur's Liz Brody he liked the company, but opening a new franchise could set. him back more than $200K. So he found a struggling location in McKinney and got the deal of a lifetime—snapping up the franchise for just $11,000 plus a $21,000 transfer fee.
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See Inside: An Art‑Filled ‘Instagrammable’ Blowout Bar Is Coming to Deep Ellum
by | Jul 31, 2024
Dallas' Deep Ellum is famous for the 130 murals that cover walls, bridges, and columns throughout the neighborhood east of downtown. Now two of those mural artists are opening Blowouts & Company in a space where "southwest Boho meets Alison Wonderland inside of your cool grandmother‘s purse."
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The Last Word: RIP-IT Sports CEO on Designing ‘Female-Exclusive’ Athletic Gear
by | Jul 29, 2024
For Dallas-based RIP-IT Sports, designing sports gear for women isn't an afterthought after all the men's gear has been wrapped. Instead, the company says it is "100% dedicated to women athletes, offering innovative softball, volleyball, soccer, and athletic gear tailored specifically for female athletes." 
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The Last Word: Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Tennell Atkins on the UniverSoul Circus Returning to Dallas
by | Jul 26, 2024
UniverSoul Circus has returned to Dallas, bringing its international, multicultural "hip hop under the big top" to The Shops at RedBird at 3662 Camp Wisdom Road for performances through August 11. But before the fire breathers blew their first flames and the acrobats took their first leaps, the circus offered a preview at Dallas City Hall Wednesday, where Atkins other city officials, and the public got a taste of this year's "Family Reunion Tour."
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