Meet Hank Sames: A positive forward thinker

“I see education as the only answer for a better Laredo . We are going to grow and become a big city no matter what. We can be a big poor city or a big prosperous city. Education will make the difference.”

Hank Sames III

BY MARÍA EUGENIA GUERRA

I asked Hank Sames a few questions for this piece and came away with a sense of the positive standard by which he runs his business and lives his own life. I also got a very clear picture about his commitment to education and his belief that as an education changes individual lives, it can change a city. He told me he loves his hometown for its culture, for all its possibilities for change, for the expanses of wide open spaces beyond the city limits.

Besides the “how to” that was handed down from your grandfather to your father and then to you about running an automobile agency what was the accompanying work ethic?

I think the ethic was started by my great-grandfather, who was quite an entrepreneur. He had a wooden leg, left Hartford , Connecticut to go to Cuba and sell life insurance in the late 1800s. He was looking for opportunity at an early age and was willing to take a risk and work hard to be successful. Our family has always been willing to take a risk and work hard. I think that is the ethic that was handed down. Different generations have had different things to contend with. My grandfather got the business through the Depression and two world wars. My dad ran the business at a time when Laredo was a sleepy town with no growth. He moved out to our present location when there was nothing out here, and Laredo was in a rut because of the closing of Laredo Air Force Base. I have been involved during the Peso Devaluation when we thought we would lose it all and now post NAFTA when Laredo has been booming. I guess what I have been given from my family is the ability to operate in any economic environment and to change with the times.

What did it feel like to take the helm of a business that was 90 or so years in the making? How old were you at that time?

I came back to Laredo after graduating from UT in 1975. I never wanted to move back. I wanted to be a banker and live in the big city. After interviewing with several banks and getting no offers, my dad offered me a job and said that I could work for a year and go back to grad school. Once I started in the business I got hooked and never went back to school.

In 1981, the Gene ral Manager that I had been working under quit unexpectedly. I went to my dad and asked him what we were going to do. He said, “Well, I guess you are the Gene ral Manager,” I was 29 at the time. The biggest problem I had was being the “son of the owner.” No one respects the son of the owner because they do not believe you earned your job. Most of the managers were people older than me and that I had not hired. I learned that I had to work harder and know more than any one else in the dealership. The turning point came when I had to demote a manager for not doing an adequate job. He told me, “You can't do that,” and stormed into my dad's office. My dad told him that I was the GM and he would back what I had decided. After that people started to believe in me (and I started believing in myself) as the GM. I cannot think of a more miserable job than “son of the owner” if you are not up to the task. You are walking around with a target on your back.

In big round numbers or auto units, what were your sales at that point and please compare them to today's numbers.

When I started in 1975, business was just starting to rebound from the base closing. We were selling 60-80 new cars a month and only a nominal amount of used cars. By 1981, the dealership was selling 150 new units a month and business was very good. Again, we hardly sold used cars, mainly because my dad had had bad experiences with them and was not really interested. Then came the devaluation of 1982, and the bottom, which was the month of February 1983. I remember we sold 28 new cars that month. We had bought my dad's sisters out of the company in 1981 and had taken on lots of debt. We really were not sure if we were going to survive. I think a lot of businesses felt the same way, and many did not make it. We went to the employees and asked everyone, ourselves included, to take a pay cut in return for no layoffs. We did shrink the numbers of employees by attrition but we did not lay anyone off. That is the thing I am probably most proud of in my career. The employees responded by working harder and smarter and somehow we got though the crisis.

Today we are in seven locations around Laredo and sell approximately 250 new and 250 used vehicles per month. We also sell parts, accessories, labor repairs, and have a full collision center.

Which aspect of the business makes you want to expand it, make it grow?

Our goal has always been to grow with Laredo. That has really been a challenge since 1994 when NAFTA was passed and Laredo really started growing. We have had a 10-year growth spurt with the population and employment almost doubling in that time. If you want to keep up with Laredo and the town is doubling every 10 years, you have your work cut out for you.

Obviously the biggest area of expansion for us has been in used cars. In 1984, I realized that we were never going to be serious about selling used cars unless we took it off site. Our sales team was new car oriented and they were not going to change. We bought property on Calton Road, and that was our first location. It took a couple of years, but used car sales began to grow. We learned by the school of hard knocks, meaning we made every mistake you could make and lost a lot of money in the process. I know why my dad did not like the business. It is tough and you have to be on your toes to survive. The market can change on a dime, and usually goes against you. Used cars are revalued every 30 days, so if you keep one too long, they lose money. I compare it to being in the banana business. You had better sell the bananas while they are still ripe.

Heading south to the Zapata Highway at Loop 20 when you did in 1992 was a leap of faith at that time. What were you hoping for and how has that played out?

After the success of the Calton Road location, I began thinking about the poten tial in South Laredo. There was nothing out there at the time, no major grocery store, hardly any restaurants, no recreation, and no real car dealers. In 1992 I made up my mind to look for a location. There was nothing really available, so I would drive out there every Monday and have lunch at the Villa Laredo (of Tumble Inn fame). They got to know me pretty well in there and even gave me the recipe to the famous Tumble Inn barbeque sauce (I promised not to tell). After about six months the property on US 83 and Loop 20 came on the market, and I snapped it up. It was an instant success. We started on half of the property and within two years had expanded to use the whole thing. We now sell over 100 cars a month out there and have seen the area grow tremendously. I still think there is opportunity in South Laredo for movie theaters, bowling alleys, shopping venues, or other attractions. Entrepreneurs will make a lot of money if they concentrate their efforts in South Laredo. People have always assumed there is not much disposable income in South Laredo. We are proof that there are plenty of people with money to spend who do not want to drive across town to do it.

It is interesting that my great grandfather had a farm in South Laredo, Hilltop Farm. It is where United South is today. He was involved in the dairy business, but when pasteurization came into being, he decided to get out of the business. So South Laredo is a natural place for the Sames to be in business.

Are there plans for any other local or regional expansions for Sames Motor Company?

We are always looking to expand, given the right circumstances and provided we have the people to manage it. In the car business you cannot just go open a new car agency anywhere. You have to have the manufacturer's approval, even if you buy one from someone else.

We decided that Corpus was a market we wanted to be in. We started with a used car location as a way to stick our toe in the water. Because of that investment, the car dealers in Corpus knew we were interested in the market. We were offered a Ford dealership, and we closed on it in May 2005. It is on Crosstown Freeway and South Padre Island Drive. The name of the store is Sames Crow Ford. I found a partner, Bob Crow, to run it and live in Corpus. We are just getting started, but I believe it is going to be a long term success. I have worked at the same place for 30 years, so this is an exciting new challenge for me.

To what do you attribute the growth of your business – besides the growth of this region and the expansion of the business horizon. What about you has made your business grow?

I think the secret of our success has been our employees. We take care of them, and they take care of the customers. If you have disgruntled employees, they will not give very good service. We look for long term relationships with our employees; empower them to make decisions, train as much as possible, and share information about our successes and failures. In the end your employees make you or break you. We or they are not perfect. We make plenty of mistakes. But if you admit your mistakes and try to learn from them, you will be way ahead. One thing I remind everyone is that we are in a service business and that cars do break down. It is how you handle the customer after it breaks that matters, more than if it breaks or not.

What fomented your decision to become as involved in education as you are?

I think it is important to give back to the community that you live and work in. Our company and Ford have been sponsors of Salute to Education which gives scholarships to high schools seniors. I get a lot of satisfaction from these scholarships, but I also had a nagging feeling that we were not doing enough. The kids getting scholarships were going to college anyway whether we gave them a scholarship or not. My wife Elizabeth and I would talk about how to get kids who were not going to college to give it a try. We decided to target students who were smart but whose parents had not gone to college. We thought about mentoring them while they were still in high school so they would get the kind of encouragement kids get whose parents have gone to college.

With that in mind we went to talk to Dr Ray Keck at TAMIU and Candy Hein who was at UISD at the time. They were both very supportive and helped us put together the infrastructure for the program. We started the Hank and Elizabeth Sames Scholars in 2002 with 12 high school freshmen students who would be mentored during their high school years. Their mentors are college professors, and they are guaranteed a four year scholarship to TAMIU if they keep their grades up and are eligible for admission. The first group is going to college this fall. We are very excited about it. There are trials and tribulations along the way -- some students will not make it -- but I really believe that we will change the lives of many of these students for the better. They are like first generation immigrants; first generation college educated. Going forward, they will encourage, cajole, and make sure their kids to go to college. How many people will ultimately be impacted?

I see education as the only answer for a better Laredo. We are going to grow and become a big city no matter what. We can be a big poor city or a big prosperous city. Education will make the difference.

I also believe that Laredo cannot continue to rely on the federal or state government for all of its needs. If we are going to be prosperous, the community has got to be involved in finding solutions to our problems. Waiting for a handout is no way to move ahead. When individuals participate, there is more passion and commitment than when the government does it.

You could live anywhere and still expand your business in Laredo. What keeps you here?

This is home. My business is here, my family is here, and my friends are here. I love to be in the country. I love being close to Mexico and being in a bi-cultural community. Do I complain about things that are not great? Of course I do, just like everyone else. I remember a letter my grandmother wrote to the editor of the daily paper when the Sames Motor Building was razed to build City Hall. She was furious at them for dest roy ing a beautiful and well-built red brick building that probably could have been restored. At the end of the letter she wrote, “As mad as I am, I still love Laredo and would not live anywhere else.” I sort of feel the same way sometimes.

What are your hopes for this city of ours? What is the Greater Laredo Community Foundation?

I hope we become a prosperous city with a good spirit and lots of culture. I do not agree with people who say we have no culture. Go to a quinceañera or a piñata party. Go to Mass at San Agustín Church. Listen to one of the many Mariachi groups we have on both sides of the river. We have plenty of culture. I am most afraid that we could become mean spirited by the infighting at the city and the county or become despondent because of the drug gangs. We had better be thinking about what comes next after Nuevo Laredo is taken back from the drug gangs. It could be a ghost town, or some people with vision will see it for the potential it has and it could come roaring back as a tourist attraction. Sometimes good comes out of bad. Mexico City needs to take notice. I hope that this is the case in Nuevo Laredo, that they work on infrastructure and make it a nicer place to visit. A great start is the work that Laredo is doing on Bridge One. But what if it was taken further? What if we decided along with Mexico to turn the bridge into a showcase, similar to a modern airport terminal? After all, the justification of spending millions on an airport terminal is that it is the first impression people have of your city. I think the bridge is the same thing in Laredo/Nuevo Laredo. I envision an enclosed, air conditioned space with moving sidewalks all the way across. You could park your car in the Riverdrive Mall parking lot, ride an escalator up to the bridge level, and ride a moving sidewalk across. Along the way there could be vendors, restaurants, just like an airport but with a Mexican theme when you are heading south and an American theme when you are heading north. I think the American tourists would love it. I know the Mexican shoppers with their large bags would appreciate it. We would be the talk of the border, doing something no one has ever done. The model is there for anyone to see, just go to any big city airport.

The Greater Laredo Community Foundation is probably the best thing to come along in quite a while and has the potential to really impact Laredo's future. Everyone knows the good that the D.D. Hachar Foundation and the Lamar Bruni Vergara Foundation have done for this town. There are plenty of other people who would like to do something on a smaller scale but do not have the resources to do it. The Greater Laredo Community Foundation is that resource. It will provide all levels of donors the same service that a large foundation has. For instance, many people want to give money for causes but do not know how to go about it or who to give money to. The foundation will do needs assessment in the community and be able to suggest ways to give effectively. It will provide money management for donors wishing to make permanent endowments. It will be a resource for attorneys and accountants who work with clients who want to make giving a part of their estate plan or tax plan. What it will not do is compete with other charities for funds. The foundation will be a benefit to charities in Laredo as it will encourage our community to think about giving back. My wife Elizabeth and I plan to use the Foundation to manage our Mentor program. We will contribute funds to the Foundation for the program. When the funds are needed, the Foundation will make a gift to the University in our name. In other words, the foundation is a conduit between donors and charities in our community.

As a youngster did you spend a great deal of time at the business? What are your best memories of the agency downtown?

I spent summers in the business working in different departments. I used to love to get a paycheck! That was a great memory. I remember the managers would pass out the checks on Saturday afternoon at 1p.m, which was quitting time. That way everyone would show up on Saturday. The guys would go over to the B29 or Papa's Liquors and I would hang out with them; usually drink a Coke, but sometimes they would slip me a cold one!

I also remember watching the WBCA parade from the second floor of the Sames Motor Company building. We would have relatives in from out of town and it would be a big deal.

What was your first car?

My first car was a 1959 Wil lys Jeep. My dad took it in trade for $50 bucks and he figured it would be good for me to start in. I was only 14 years old and you could get a license back then. The Jeep had “three on the tree,” only went 50 mph , and no AC, but my buddies and I loved it, and we went all over the place in it. I put in a shag carpet and put the back seat in sideways so we could take it to Port Aransas and sleep four in it. Those were the days! That Jeep went everywhere.

What do you drive now?

I like to drive a Ford F150 Super Crew Truck. It has four doors, so you can use it like a car, but it has the bed and a toolbox. In Corpus I drive a Ford Escape and really like the mileage I get from that SUV.