Venetian Marble was incorporated in December of 1965 by my father as the principle owner. I assumed management of the company in October 1966 and have been the responsible party ever since.

In the early days , all cultured marble was made with flat pieces and separate lavatories. Venetian Marble of Dallas, the franchiser, offered many new facets including:

Facet Number One: Integral Lavatories - This allowed us to make a vanity top with no seams around the sink or bowl.

Facet Number Two: The Backsplash was made seamless with no grout joints along the back of the countertop.

Facet Number Three: Bath Tubs - Who wouldn't want to bathe in their own private marble bathtub?

Venetian of Dallas had test results that showed the new product to be very durable. We now had a beautiful and quality product with unlimited designs and applications. But not many people knew about the product and very few seemed interested enough to pursue it. When the telephone did not ring and customers did not "break down" our door, then to the customers we went.

I purchased a Ford Eco no Van, and put a bathtub with deck and splashes, one vanity with three different lavatories, and at the back of the van, I put two vanities of lesser quality. I drove to the job sites of houses under construction. Our task: sell marble vanities with lavatories instead of "Formica" with Shuddered rims and separate lavatories. We priced our product by telling the potential customer how much more we were than their normal purchases. The product was an instant success. Note: the customers now desired the product, but the manufacturing process left much to be desired.

It was during the making of major changes in our manufacturing process, as well as equipment, that a tornado wiped out our facilities. May 11, 1970, Lubbock, Texas was hit with a most damaging tornado that caused relocation of many businesses. OUr city came together and with the help of everyone the rubble was rebuilt.

After continued growth the depression of the mid 1980s hit Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and New Mexico. Many banks failed and after much endurance, it was over. The phrase, "Success is Existence" was used quite frequently.

Business returned and grew. The business needed to add management and two sons-in-law, along with a long time employee was added. In January of 1998, a devastating fire destroyed our production area. It was during this time we received more business than in our history. Wow!! We did pull together and not only salvaged our business, but increased production 25%. It took long hours, working gin hot and cold temperatures, but it is over now and we appreciate what we have.