Hood County Texas Genealogical Society
JULIAN DURANT
Durant
auto legacy has wheels
Opal and
Julian Durant started an auto wreckage yard; their sons have built a career
with cars
by
Gail Bennison
Fort Worth Business Press – March 28, 2003
Their mother, Opal,
gave the boys their names, Tom and Jerry, after the combative, cat-and-mouse
cartoon team. She sparked them, gently pitted one against the other,
encouraging them to be autonomous and creative.
Their father, the
late Julian Durant, provided a compelling prototype of the rewards derived from
hard work, business aptitude and resolve.
Jerry and Tom
Durant are a product of those parental values. Their excellence was recognized
last year when Jerry and Tom were invited to New York to receive the
prestigious Jack Smith Award (Chairman of the Board of General Motors), given
to only 50 dealers in the country for sales, service and customer satisfaction.
Jerry has passed
those traits and characteristics to his son, Brian. Today, the family legacy is
thriving with seven dealerships spread from Weatherford to Granbury and Granbury
to Grapevine. It’s a long way from the tiny wrecking yard beginnings in Granbury
51 years ago.
According to Jerry Durant,
none of the history of the humble beginnings of the Durant Automobile business
has been transcribed. It is, however, etched into the hearts of family members.
This is how Jerry
recalls the history of the Texas Durants.
The year was 1865.
The Civil War had just ended.
The feisty son of a
South Carolina judge, had to "high-tail it" out of the state to
escape punishment for the beating of a former slave and for chopping off the
tail of the man's steed. He headed for the Wild West.
The fugitive’s son,
Alfred Durant, eventually settled in Mitchell's Bend in the lower part of Hood
County on the Brazos River, where he married, sired six children, and made a
living as a poor farmer. While fishing one day on the Brazos, he fell in the
icy water and subsequently died of pneumonia, leaving his eldest son, eight
year-old Julian Vernon Durant to assume the role as breadwinner for the family
of seven. Alfred never did see the twins, who were born after his death.
These were the
depression years, the days of dandelion soup as dinner fare. It also was the
end of a carefree childhood for Julian, who, out of necessity, ended his formal
education while in the third grade. But the hard times likely prepared him for
future success, instilling a work ethic that passed through the generations of
Durants.
By 1941, Julian and
two of his brothers were serving their country overseas during WW II, all three
sending money home to secure the survival of their family.
After the war had
ended, Julian married Opal Maples. They provided for themselves and two small
sons by laboring on the construction of pipeline through Louisiana, Mississippi
and Missouri. They instilled a powerful work ethic in their sons, Tom and
Jerry, holding steadfast to their primary goal of providing stability and a
permanent home for the boys.
The meandering road
of construction life led the Durants back to Texas.
In 1951, the family
settled in the agricultural town of Granbury, where the ever-industrious Julian
founded Durant Construction Company, as well as running a small grocery
business.
That same year, in
order to make ends meet, Julian and Opal established a wrecking yard business
behind the family home. Opal managed the business’ books. By 1954, the wrecking
yard venture was successful enough for the hard-working couple to purchase
acreage on the west side of town, across the street from the drive-in movie
theater.
In that wrecking
yard, from humble beginnings, a farmer with a third-grade education founded the
Durant Automobile business.
"My dad taught
us determination, the value of family loyalty and hard work. My brother, Tom,
and I are independent of each other in a business sense, but our personal
relationship is tied to the family and the community," Jerry says.
Jerry remembers his
father’s tenacity in the expansion of his business in Granbury in 1960.
"Mr. Durham,
who owned Durham Ranch, also owned the local Chevrolet dealership on the east
side of the square behind Cunningham’s Service Station. We had the building
next door. Dad wanted to buy Durham’s business. He talked to him about it, and
Durham said he would let my dad know the next day. Dad didn’t just sit around
and wait to hear from him.
"He went to
the square, because he told me he figured if Mr. Durham really wanted to sell,
he would be hauling stuff out of there right away. As it turned out, Mr. Durham
only took his hat out of the building. My dad bought the building and
everything in it. The next week, they had closed the deal, one that the
Chevrolet office in Dallas almost messed up. My dad had already written a check
for the dealership, but, when he called the Dallas office, they said he
couldn’t buy it because he had not been approved.
"Well, my dad
just told them, ‘You’d better approve me, because I have just given all of my
money to Durham.’ Dad got the approval.
"We stayed
there until 1964, and moved it east of Granbury before the by-pass came
in."
The by-pass was
constructed the following year, dramatically cutting Durant’s business.
"We got really
lucky," Jerry says. "The Army Corps of Engineers bought Lake Granbury,
and bought our land at the same time. We moved in 1967 to the new dealership,
in its present location on Highway 377."
From the time Jerry
was 14 and Tom was 11, the wheels were set in motion to prepare for their own
vistas in the car sales business.
In addition to
attending college fulltime--Jerry at North Texas State University, and Tom at
Texas Tech -- they worked at Julian’s business, and hauled hay in their spare
time to save money to buy their dealerships.
Jerry says his dad
sent them to the General Motors school during the summer months.
"On Saturdays,
my brother and I would work in the wash rack and change tires. We learned
sales, too," Jerry says. "One of the hardest things about selling
trucks was the customers always wanted different tires. They rarely wanted the
factory tires. Our job was to switch them out and do the make-ready. We were
learning the business from the wheels up."
The hard work and
experience paid off for the Durant brothers. Julian’s plan for his boys to be
independent of him and each other became an actuality.
"In 1970, I
used my $20,000 in savings and negotiated for the lease of the building and
parts of the bankrupt Ferrill Chevrolet in Weatherford," Jerry says.
"I was only 23 years old, and one of the youngest ever to apply for a
dealership. That bank was sure glad to see my money. GM made me wait six months
for approval after I had already put all my money down with the bank. They
tried to get my dad to take it because of my age, but he told them that he had
taught me everything I knew to be able to run it myself. I got my approval and
started my first car dealership in July of that year."
Julian Durant
retired when Tom graduated from Texas Tech University, leaving a passage for
Tom to pursue his dealership interests. Tom set up a buy-out for his father’s
business and the next Durant generation had its presence.
According to Jerry, the
brothers always have been very competitive.
"Tom was
constantly trying to beat my numbers, and I was trying to beat his," Jerry
says. "My mother instigated a lot of the competition. She would tell Tom
something I did to be successful in an area, and then she would tell me
something to make me work harder to beat Tom. It worked, too. We eventually got
the nicknames of ‘Tom and Jerry’ like the cat and mouse on the cartoon show.
But Tom could never beat me from Granbury."
Tom Durant found a
way to top Jerry’s numbers in 1987, when he bought Classic Chevrolet/Geo. He
assumed a three-year lease on the old rundown store on 7th Street at $40,000 a
month. Eventually, GMC financed land that allowed Tom to move to the current
location on SH 114 in Grapevine.
Jerry says with
brotherly pride that Tom spent every penny he had to put himself in a position
to surpass Jerry's sales.
"He
immediately began beating me at Classic," Jerry said, laughing "He
started faxing his numbers to me daily, as he still does today."
Under Tom’s able
leadership, Classic Chevrolet is the No. 1 volume Chevrolet dealership in the
Fort Worth-Dallas area. He also owns Durant Autoplex and Durant Chevrolet in Granbury.
In Weatherford,
Jerry’s four dealerships last year sold 6,100 new cars and trucks and 2,200
used vehicles, at an average cost of $25,000 per vehicle. That’s $55,000,000 in
revenues.
"In the
beginning," Tom says. "it was set up for Jerry and me to work
together. I realized that I didn’t want to work for my older brother all my
life. I called my dad about working for myself. He told me I was ready. Jerry
and I have always been competitive. I wanted to make a name for myself, even
though I knew I was taking a big risk. I bought something that no one else
wanted at the time. It turned out to be a big success story. I have
always thought that I brought a little bit of the country to the city."
Tom speaks highly
of his father and his brother.
"My father
taught me how to take care of a customer," Tom says. "If you take
care of your customer, they will bring business to you. They will send the
business back. Our business was built by word of mouth.
"Jerry … I
have always looked up to him. He has set the standards for all of us."
In 1986, Jerry
expanded his business with the purchase of Buick, Pontiac, Oldsmobile and GMC
Trucks in Weatherford. Once again, GM did not make it easy. Says Jerry:
"GM did not want the same man to own two dealerships in the same
community."
In 1999, the door
was opened for the third generation of Durants to steer in the direction of the
auto sales business.
Jerry bought Durant
Toyota in Weatherford three years ago and turned the reins over to his son,
Brian, now 28.
Brian says he was
groomed for the business from the time he was a teenager.
I have worked for
my dad since I was 12 or 13 years old, either washing cars or picking up trash
on the lot," Brian says, "I have, through the years, worked in each
department, learning the business step-by-step."
Brian graduated
from Texas Christian University in 1997 with a degree in Business
Administration, majoring in management.
"After
graduation, I went straight to work for my Dad at Jerry’s Chevrolet," he
says. "I married Jeni in 1998, and we now have the greatest gift of all,
our daughter Kindel, born March 2 of this year.
"I worked for
dad for two years, until July of 1999, when we purchased the Toyota dealership
across the street from Jerry’s. From July 1, 1999, I have operated the
dealership. In the beginning, the building was not in very good shape. During
the first year, we remodeled the entire facility. Selling cars with a concrete
saw in the next office is not the easiest thing to do, especially when some of
the time there was no air conditioning. But we did our best, and the first
month we took over, we sold over 50 new Toyotas."
"Toyota would
not let Brian be the dealer because of his age," Jerry says. " I
wanted him to have the responsibility of running his own business without
working as hard as I did."
Brian sounds
determined to preserve the station of the family name. The work ethic is simply
in his genes.
Three years ago,
the Toyota dealership was selling an average of 20 cars a month. Under his
management, Durant Toyota today averages unit sales in excess of 140 a month.
Brian says the
success comes from the Durant philosophy regarding customer service and caring
for employees. "We treat our customers exactly the way we would want to be
treated if we were in their position going through the car buying
experience," Brian says. "We are not in the middle of thousands of
people; therefore we must earn the trust and loyalty of each and every
customer. Repeat customers are the key to our business success and I feel that
there is only one way to gain it–treat people right–with respect and honesty.
"With respect
to our employees, we feel the same way. Treat them with respect and honesty.
Always be there for them in any of their needs. Do all we can to help them
better themselves. After all, without them we would have nothing. If they are
not successful, no one will be."
His leadership
philosophy was molded by his father, Jerry.
Says Brian:
"He is a very good man. He cares more for other people and their well
being than that of his own. He has given his entire life, and it has paid off.
He is very successful to the car business, but has worked very hard to achieve
his success. He has the best work ethic of anyone I know. He treats all of his
employees with respect and is very fair. He would never ask someone to do
anything he has not done himself. He is just an overall outstanding person and
businessman. I have learned a lot from my Dad; it seems like there is something
new every day. I have not only learned about the car business from him, but
about life in general. It is nice to have him around and at the same location.
There is always room for improvement or a better way to do things and he is
always here to help."
Don Allen, the
general manager of the Buick, Pontiac, GMC, Nissan store has worked for Jerry
for 29 years. Jerry and Don have been friends since they were in first grade.
Says Don: "If your employees are happy, it will carry over to the
customer. Durant employees are happy. You can’t say enough about the things
Jerry has done in business and as a community leader. As an example, he was
very instrumental in building the new $50-million high school, serving on the
school board and laying the general groundwork for the project. Jerry is very
trusting, and he gives you the room to navigate. He might tell you something,
but he wants you see for yourself how to do it. He allows you to make
decisions, but if he sees the need, he will lead it as well. He leads by
example."
Roy Young, general
manager of James Wood Motors in Decatur has known the Durant family for over 17
years.
Says Young:
"The Durants are worthy competitors, representing GM well. They are good
businessmen and operators of their dealerships."
How important is
the family presence to Durant?" Says Jerry: "Car dealers have to work
a lot of hours. A dealership that is run by a caring family in the community is
good for the dealership as well as the community it serves. I have met a lot of
dealers who tried to keep their sons or daughters in one location. In many
cases, it has held those kids back, or they have pulled in opposite
directions."
Opal Durant, the
matriarch, is semi-retired and living in Granbury. Julian Vernon Durant passed
away in 1997.
"I thank God
every day that my parents let us be creative and go our own way instead of
holding us back," Jerry says. "They taught us how to work. My dad
taught us to provide for ourselves. This was his greatest gift."
~ Web Page by Virginia Hale
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