Todd's story

Todd Browne was named President of Tom James Retail January 1st, 2011. He started his career with Tom James on August 23rd, 1990 as a sales professional.

Todd was born in December 2nd, 1964 in Indianapolis, Indiana. He attended Indiana University, but says he received greatest education from his father, Chet Browne, his mentor, Jim McEachern and by reading many excellent books. While at North Central High School, Todd met his wife, Nanci. They married in 1989 and the following year welcomed twins into their family, Joshua and Lindsay. Their youngest, Jacob, was born 16 months later.

Before joining Tom James Company, Todd gained quite a bit of experience in selling beginning at age eleven. He would go door to door to his neighbors’ homes and ask to cut their grass and clean their gutters. His first formal job was outside sales, selling solar panels to individuals while in high school. Just prior to coming to Tom James Company, he sold clothing for a men’s clothing company in Indianapolis called Jacobson’s for 2 years.

Todd has had a very successful career at Tom James. He became a sales trainer just 9 months after starting his career. One year later he achieved President’s Club. He continued growing people, sales and profits and in 1999 he became a Regional Vice President. His ability to lead a large number of people while growing exponentially in personal sales contributed to him becoming a Division President in 2007. He achieved Chairman’s Club that same year.

For the future, Todd is committed to achieving our goals of doubling Tom James Company every 5 years and building it into a 5 Billion Dollar Company by 2031.

The best is yet to come for Tom James Company.

Phil's story

Jim's story (Retired 2008)

Let me tell you a little bit about myself (Jim McEachern) because I believe you must recognize that the people you hire all have a history, and most will bring some emotional baggage with them just as I did when Spencer hired me. If you are to develop people, you must start with where they are, not where you might wish they were.

Effective leaders take people from what they are to what they can become. You cannot do this unless you recognize (1) what their current reality is and (2) what they have the potential to become. When Spencer hired me, he hired potential, not a finished product. I'll start from the beginning.

I was born on October 21, 1935 in my grandparents' farm house. My mom was 17, and my dad was 20 years old. My mom had a seventh grade education, and my dad had about a second grade education. Both parents had grown up on west Texas farms and were very immature.

We moved frequently. I know we were living near Houston, Texas in August 1937 and in El Paso, Texas in July 1939. We lived in seven or eight different places by the time I was four years old. A sister was born before I was two, and a brother was born before I was four, so my 21-year old mom and my 24-year old dad already had three children in less than four years.

I'm not sure of the reasons, but my parents were divorced about the time I was four years old. For the next ten years, my sister, brother and I lived with my paternal grandparents on their farm in west Texas. My grandparents provided us a loving and secure home, but I was resentful that our parents had left us. That resentment lasted until I was about 30.

Shortly after my 14 th birthday in 1949, my grandfather experienced a major decline in his health. My grandmother had substantial health problems too, so my sister, brother and I went to live in Abilene, Texas with my mom and an alcoholic stepfather. The situation was intolerable from my perspective, so I left. At the time, it was about five months before my 16 th birthday. From that time until I was 19, I moved seven times and went to three different schools. For a period of time, I lived with a family whose name I cannot remember and in two different boarding houses.

At age 19 I was still a high school junior, and soon I became a high school dropout. I intended to join the U.S. Army, but a Howard Payne College graduate got me to visit the school, and after passing a GED test I enrolled there. During the summers of 1955 and 1956, I sold books for Southwestern. While at the Southwestern Company sales school in 1956, I briefly met Spencer Hays. At the time I had no idea how well he would do, or that he would become a tremendous “influencer” in my life.

During my first five semesters at Howard Payne, I was “C” student with at least one “F” each semester. In the summer of 1957, I went to Missouri to sell books again, but quit after a couple of weeks. From there I went to Houston, and worked for International Harvester Company for about 14 months before being drafted into the U.S. Army.

While living in Houston, I met a very pretty girl with long dark hair. Our first date was February 14, 1958. I proposed to her on March 3, her 18 th birthday. I gave her an engagement ring on April 12, and we were married on June 28, 1958. Three weeks later, I got my draft notice, and was inducted into the Army two months after our wedding. My service time was between the Korean War and the Vietnam War. With no war going on, I was allowed to leave the Army after serving 21 months of a two year tour of duty.

While in the Army, I set a goal to finish college. During the summer of 1960, I sold books again and got to know Spencer a little better. After the summer, I went back to Howard Payne for four more semesters. Because of my good grades, I made Dean's List during each of those semesters.

Jim's worst years

After graduating in May 1962, I began my career as a public school teacher with an annual salary of $4,400. To boost my income, I also drove a school bus before and after school. It didn't take long to figure out that I'd never be able to support my family the way I wanted to, so when I was offered a new contract for the next year I told the principal that teaching wasn't for me. Little did I know I was about to experience two of the worst years of my life.

When I left teaching, I had no specific goals. Our daughter, Karen, was born in 1961 while I was at Howard Payne, and our son, Mike, was born while I was teaching. I had worked in supermarkets in high school and college, so I went to work for Buddy's Supermarkets after Arlene, the children and I moved to Ft. Worth, Texas in late 1963. I worked there until July 1964, when I got fired because of poor attitude. My self-image was at an all-time low because I was a college graduate who couldn't succeed even in a supermarket.

During the remainder of the summer of 1964, I drove a snow cone truck earning about $1.00 per hour. After Labor Day, I went to work for a Ft. Worth beauty supply business earning $1.60 per hour. I was still working there in the spring of 1965 when Spencer sent a Southwestern sales manager to see me. The sales manager reported back to Spencer that I was a “loser,” and it wouldn't be worthwhile to recruit me. Despite that report, Spencer came to Ft. Worth in April 1965 and recruited me for another summer of selling books.

At the end of the summer in 1965, Spencer arranged for me to get a job at a department store in Nashville, Tennessee selling men's furnishings. That was to be part of my training for Tom James Company. When the summer of 1966 rolled around, the Tom James Nashville location wasn't ready, so I sold books again (my eighth summer). At the end of the summer in 1966, along with Tom Ed James and Mack Isbill, I began my Tom James career.

Jim's best years

Since the latter part of 1967, I've been living my dreams, and had the privilege of seeing literally hundreds of my goals become reality. Late in 1967, I set a goal to help build Tom James Company from $165,000 in annual sales $100,000,000 in annual sales. Every year from 1967 we grew our sales, and in 1992 we achieved $100,000,000 for the first time.

During the same years, I was also achieving spiritual goals, family goals, character goals, financial goals, leadership goals, social goals, intellectual goals and giving goals.…to name a few. My sense of accomplishment was growing, and life had been fulfilling. The growth continued after 1992, more goals were achieved, and in many ways the years since 1992 have been the best for me.

Yet if someone with my background, experience and job history were to apply with Tom James today, he or she would probably be rejected. Both Tom Ed James and Mack Isbill seemed more likely to succeed than I did, but within three years they were both gone, while I've been with Tom James since September 1966. There are several reasons I believe I made it:

1. I was willing to learn from Spencer, and willing to respond to his leadership.
2. I wholeheartedly bought into Spencer's business philosophy.
3. My wife, Arlene, believed in me, and gave me unending support.
4. I set big but achievable goals.
5. I connected my Tom James career to my life's purpose.
6. I have continued to read, study and learn.
7. I have dedicated myself to doing goal-oriented work, not busy work.

I doubt that I would have made it without Spencer's belief in me or without his pro-active leadership. On the other hand, even with Spencer's great leadership I would not have made it had I not been willing to respond to Spencer's leadership. Spencer held himself 100% accountable for giving me good leadership, and asked me to be 100% accountable for my own success. Anyone who forms the right leadership habits and has the right attitudes toward people can have a highly successful leadership career in Tom James Company.

Bob's story (Retired 2011)

It was the summer of 1966 when I first met Bob Sherrer. He was selling books door-to-door for the Southwestern Company. That was Bob's third and final year to sell for Southwestern.

Bob was born near Snow, Oklahoma on August 25, 1944. He was the 4th child (second son) of Leonard and Florida Sherrer. Bob's dad was the postmaster of the local post office where he also ran a store and a small farm. Bob's values and work ethic were instilled in him at an early age. If you talk to Bob very long you realize his parents, grandparents, teachers, coaches and neighbors all contributed to the man Bob was becoming.

While growing up Bob was a conscientious student, an athlete and a leader. He played football, basketball and baseball at Antlers (Oklahoma) High School. He also was involved in the 4 H Club and the Future Farmers of American. Growing up on the farm he had his share of work to do and raised pigs for show projects.

After graduating from Antlers High School in 1962 Bob headed to Oklahoma State University where he was a busy and successful student. Bob majored in Agronomy, was active in the R.O.T.C. and had campus jobs. Beginning in the summer of 1964 Bob sold books for Southwestern Company. In 1965 and 1966 he recruited a team of fellow O.S.U. students to sell with him. He did well all three summers and had good growth each summer. He was the leader for a large group of student dealers in Indiana in 1966 when I first met him.

Bob and Ginny (Garner) had both attended Antlers High School. They both went to O.S.U. At the end of their junior year, May 21, 1965 they were married.

Bob and Ginny graduated from O.S.U. in 1966 and January of 1967. The summer of 1966 was spent in Indiana where Bob was selling books. After the summer Bob finished his final semester at OSU and in January of 1967 he began his active military duty in the United States Army at Ft. Dix, N.J., then went to Ft. McClellan, Alabama, and then to Ft. Benning, Georgia where he received his commission as an officer. Bob served as an officer. Most of his time in the U.S. Army was spent near Anchorage at Ft. Richardson, Alaska.

Bob is very proud of his family. Ginny was a school teacher until retiring in 2001. Their first son is Ben who was born in 1968 is also an O.S.U. graduate, is a practicing attorney, serves as the City Attorney for Chouteau, Oklahoma and is a member of Oklahoma State House of Representatives. Ben is married to Margo (also an OSU graduate). They have three children.

Bob and Ginny's second son was Cordell who was born June 16, 1971. Cordell passed away on September 7, 1984. Their faith in God was especially evident in the time that followed Cordell's death.

When Bob celebrated his 35th anniversary with Tom James Company, the people in our company showed the love and respect for the Sherrer's by contributing over $75,000 for endowed scholarships honoring Cordell.

Bob and Ginny live on Ginny's Mountain outside of Claremore, Oklahoma. This is a 350 acre farm. Bob enjoys his farm and his cattle.

Both Bob and Ginny are graduates of O.S.U. and are very active in the Alumni Association. Bob helped fund and did fund raising for the Southwestern Legacy Center at O.S.U.

Something You May Not Know About Bob

It may seem that success has been easy for Bob, but it has not always been easy for him. At the beginning, in Tulsa, Oklahoma Bob was proving that one can call on good prospects, and give a pretty good presentation and still not sell much. Just as Mr. Hays had given me field training I went to Tulsa to field train Bob. After selling five new clients for him in one day Bob said, "I can do that."

Later I challenged Bob to begin selling 100 units each month. He agreed to give it his best shot. After seven months of giving it his best he began to sell and exceed 100 units monthly.

Bob was the first Tom James person to do a transaction every work day for an entire year. During that year he often did several transactions in a day, sometimes only two in a day, but always at least one transaction . . . for an entire year.

Probably Bob's greatest asset was his ability to build relationships with his clients and keep them as clients.

Without the influence of Spencer Hays I probably would have focused on Bob's weaknesses, however, from the time Bob joined Tom James Company I expected Bob to excel and I let him know I believe in him.

For those who read this, I encourage you to believe you can accomplish great things just as Mr. Sherrer has!