The Rochester I Know; 410; Mathew Augustine

I. Mean. He was born at the height of World War 2 in Louisiana when Vietnam was in full swing. He served in the Marine intelligence corps following his military obligations with the advice of his mentors he obtained a bachelor's degree from the University of southwestern Louisiana and a master's from Harvard. In 1976 he was recruited to head up a floundering company known as fight on incorporated. After a quick name change in nearly 20 years of hard work. Rex is one of the fastest growing companies in Rochester and ranked in the top 100 black owned businesses in the United States. Today Bill Piers talks with Matthew Augustine about the Rochester he knows.

Hi and welcome to the Rochester I know Matthew Augustine is our guest today. Matthew Augustine one of the successful one of the well maybe few very successful entrepreneurs in this community. Matthew Augustine great to have you here and thanks for coming by and sharing with us some of the development of elk tracks excellent local company and something about something about you. Matthew Augustine can I call you Matt. Do your friends all call you Matt. Most my friends call me. OK well who are we. We've only met a couple times but if you don't mind I'll call you. Matt Matt would you grow up. I grew up in a little town called Alexandria Louisiana which is a central part of the state. You know what was going on in Alexandria Louisiana when you grew up there. Well not an awful lot. You know it's a small Southern town farming. Well there was farming sort of on the outskirts of town. The city was not a farm town but we did have a number of

students who came in from farms. You're still a family or relatives in Louisiana. Yes my mother and sister still live and to live in Alexandria right. Go back and forth from time to time yes I do I used to get home about once a year right now. Would your dad do you know it's Andrea. Well my father was a laborer he worked for the Veterans Administration in Alexandria. Yes and I wonder because prior to that he spent a number of years in the Army prior to prior to raising you and in Alexandria. Yes he was in the army. That's correct. Which is where he met my mother while he was in the army. And you all lived in Alexandria until you came here. Well not here I lived in Alexandria until I left to go to college and never never went back. Where was it. Well Louisiana where I went to attend southwestern

through growing up in the south I used to save everybody I was born in a small town in Oklahoma called Punk a city that no one ever heard of but I never break up. I never went back either so you know what that's like. Do you went to southwestern Louisiana which is what town is that this is in Lafayette Louisiana southern southwest part and from there well from there I spent a couple years in the Marine Corps and after college. No as a matter of fact on a couple years in a Marine Corps right in the middle of my college and then I went back to finish and then went on to graduate school. You know did you enlisted you drafted at that time or and when when one of this was in the mid-60s. So that's Vietnam. Yes round town. So you were in during the Vietnam War. Very much so that if I spent a year in Vietnam. So you did your tour.

Yes I was there during the height of the war and I was leaving the country right during the Tet Offensive and it was the very people that have been at war. Gosh that's another half hour programs for me to talk about your experiences in Vietnam. But this is the Rochester I know we have to get it out somehow get you to Rochester and talk about our town here after college and after the Marines and after Vietnam what then. Well when I graduated from business school I took a job with Polaroid corporation and. Production Manager in Massachusetts Boston I was in Boston for a while and Cambridge they are very very close. And what do you do for fun. I was a production manager I was in charge of making cameras and 670 camera. Which was the first camera that the film just was exposed right in front of guys you know oh

you had to peel it back after it developed. This is the photograph that slid out come out of the front and then you watch it in a reservation with your own development of this. Yes it's very interesting that you should come to I'm sure you had no idea at the time you'd wind up in town here. That's correct. Now you went to graduate school right where was that. That was in Boston I went to the Harvard Business School the Harvard Business School and before or after Polaroid or it was before before it went all right right after I finished. You stayed right there and went to work. Now what finally got you to Rochester. Well I was recruited. The company that I'm president of NOW whose name was fight on had been around for about six seven years and had had a lot of difficulty and it appeared that the company was not going to make it financially. And the board

decided that prior to shutting the company down that they would give the entrepreneur a shot which is a little different than before it was a company that was being run by managers and not succeeding so it was had to try to bring an entrepreneur and I wish we could put that in. And you were the entrepreneur That's right. Now have you ever heard did you had you ever heard of a Rochester. Yeah well as a matter of fact I had studied the case on the fight on organization while I was at the business school there was a lot of Harvard cases that's correct you know they're famous for their case studies and as it was then it had to be a very recent case. Yes it was it was so you know recent all the problems before you got here. Yes it was a very very well-known company had been written up in the Wall Street Journal. You know business we had a lot a lot of notoriety because the company was actually formed

somewhat of a direct result of the race rights over here in Rochester. So this was a major attempt to get black company going in this is that fair. That's right that's right. And when was that and when do they say this is the company actually started in 68. This is four years after the local head of riots. There was a local social activist organization called fight here that got together with Rochester business opportunity corporation funding purposes. And as Xerox Corporation those three got together and so it's your ox it's fight in the local business right RBOC RBOC right Rochester business opportunity cooperation. And they formed this corporation and it was to be a corporation that would hire individuals within the inner city. The organization started out with the fight organization owning 51 percent of

the 49 percent of the company and the employees on the other 51 percent. The fight organization distributed all the stock market employees and. It started basically a social experiment. So who ran the company. Well there was initially I think the first president for short period of time was Mr. Florance who. Was very instrumental in getting this whole company started also the president a fight with the president to fight and then soon thereafter they hired Bill McGee who was the president and CEO he was president when I was recruited to come in and take his place. You know the philosophy or the premise of the company was to build a company in the inner city that's correct close to where there was a workforce and would it would necessarily have to be an entirely black workforce. No was necessarily an entirely black which has never been that. But it

certainly is predominately black. But to be operated by black entrepreneurs. That's correct. Well at the time that wasn't a consideration the consideration was to hire or provide jobs for people in the community. The entrepreneurship issue didn't really develop until I was recruited as an alternative to what was happening at the company prior to my coming. So what was the difference between what you brought to the company and what the company was already doing. What did you bring that they didn't have besides a Harvard MBA. Well I like to think that that bit helped. But I think the primary difference was that I came in as a significant owner of the corporation. And therefore we had what's termed the entrepreneur model as opposed to having more social model where everyone

own the company and the head of the company was basically a manager who took a lot of direction at that time from a very very active board of directors that was somewhat socially oriented as well. So when you came in you ran the company. That's correct. And because you had a stake in it and don't you want to make sure it succeeded. That's right. And it is it succeeded. And but I'm very proud to say though that we still have not changed the concept of providing jobs for black and other minority individuals in the Rochester community. At this point we have four locations all of them within the city limits that were not limited to that. But we haven't strayed a long ways from our roots at all. And you know at some point fighting became tricks. That's

right it all tricks come from and what does it mean is it a name like Kodak or cyber and. Well I. Don't know I I mean the company when I came on and I was around calling on people. And I remember I was in I think I was in Dallas TX called the company and it occurred to me that I spent a fair amount of time explaining to people what fight on that. And people were somewhat threatened by them. And I want to know fight when you KNOW that mean that your organization is militant you know that those kinds of question so I decided that we'd be better off changing the name so that we can focus on what we did. At the time we were hard electronic oriented company. We designed a lot of transformers and power supplies and things like that so for who. Well the largest customers has been Xerox but the OEM original equipment manufacturers like Xerox or

Kodak we do business with General Motors and. I recently bought you know relatively large sugar I mean your factoring supplier to highly technical equipment. Well no not anymore. We are a manufacturer but our company is highly diversified at this point. We still build a few transformers and do some populating a printed circuit boards and a few wire harnesses and things like that. But we have diversified into related services. At this point what are they. Well we sell office supplies and equipment. We do Fulfillment Services where we do a fair amount of warehousing you know for instance our company receives most of the low in copy years for Xerox Japan and we warehouse and we

receive the orders from all the retail outlets in the country seriously schmear. OfficeMax Staples companies like that. All those products actually came from from the tracks we receive the orders we put on their bar codes and we send it out to them. We manufacture office furniture. High quality wood. For energy. This is all news to me that yes I know many of these new developments. You started it that's correct already. They didn't exist with the fight on. That's right that's right. When we started the company we did primarily metal stampings transformer power supply and electro mechanical assembly. We still do that but today we do other things. You know now I diverted you. You were just about to tell me you were how you came about Al tricks you write this name. Yes so since there was so much attention and so much concern about the name I just decided to change the name and I just played around with a few

things and since we were electronic company that was the end and I suppose that the X was some Xerox influence I don't know but what the outcome of the final it will try to file x. So I came up with the idea that the name industries. Right and the concept of industries would be that we were to diversify and do a number of things. It is certainly stuck now. You came here in seventy six seventy six of the company had been underway would be eight years. That's correct eight years him and kind of floundering. That's right. Did you walk into something now you've got ownership you said well it's on my shoulders and how am I going to get what I think I'm right and you did walk in a lot I mean you know if you're coming in with a shoeshine and a smile like Willy Loman you try to sell something I mean you had to have some support here who were. Where did you find your friends. We side with the company of course but I mean was there

anyone in the community then who really encouraged you or pressure you. Well with the kind of support and help that you needed. Well you know I was very well received by the fight organization Miss Florence and there was a great Scot who was involved with a lot of Smith. So when I came to town. I think that I was looked upon as an individual who had the capabilities of making the dream a reality. And there's a lot of pride in fight on and there still is a lot of pride in rags. And so I got a lot of help from that community. I got here I continued to get help from the Xerox Corporation and Kodak. I certainly had. Friends. But by and large I think my coming in was like a new beginning.

And people thought that perhaps. The company could become a success. Under my leadership you think denuded it had to succeed and you were the person who could do it. Well that was a hope that it would succeed. This is the sentiment at the time was. If the company is going to fail we should let it fail. You know I just keep propping it up. But if it's going to succeed why don't we do the things that any company to succeed. And what do you need. You need a leader. You need a good strong plan. And then you need members of the team to help implement that plan and that's basically what I did right out of the MBA program. I guess you could say that but what about Who are your friends at Xerox and why were they so involved. Well as I mentioned Xerox has been involved from the very beginning it did Stars goes all way back to Joe Wilson Joe Wilson had an interest. He

was approached by the fight organization and Xerox had a fair number of their managers in helping organization prior to my getting there and actually the products and services that we initially manufactured. What kinds of products that a company like Xerox could use. You know Joe Wilson left us too soon with us. Oh absolutely. Community leaders would miss him desperately. Sure. What was your impression of Rochester when you first came here you came when you saw the town you were well received by your friends and fight on and in others in the community your direction Kodak What was your impression of the town so well. First of all everything is relative. You know I came from Boston and so coming to Rochester I found the town to be far far more friendly than Boston. I was well received. I had a young kid who was in

the second grade. I found that the neighborhood that I moved into was a very very friendly neighborhood and a very good place to raise a family so I found Rochester a refreshing difference from the Boston community. That's a rather cold. Tight community. So that's that's what I found when I when I came here to the big city to a relatively small town where you can get your arms around it. She was going to write when you came I'm not sure whether you got involved in the black scholars program you know right away or not but you know I read about you all the time in connection with the book Black scholars program and how successful it's been. How did it get started and where the money come from to support it. I just think you've done an amazing job with it.

Well actually the black scholars program is celebrating its 15th year now. And I've been in and Rochester for about 17 years gotten involved with it ever since but the way I got started was Bill Johnson you know I was there but who at the time was the CEO of the Urban League. He called and he had this idea about education and trying to increase the educational performance of the black students because you present it. He called me and he called I think six other. Owners of black businesses in the community and. Asked for all support and you're doing something about the education and providing an incentive to the blacks in this community to do better in school. So we got together form the committee gave money

to fund the program. So even businesses each business. Right. You gave up your own money right each of you by the time the company was making money you made it. Yes totally making money. But so it's been 15 years and has contributed to that program every year for 15 years. But I didn't just contribute money. I've also contributed a fair amount of time to that program. And of course we give positive recognition to the black students who graduate with a cumulative B average. And that. Encourages other students to do well and I know it works. I remember my younger son who is now he just completed freshman year at Duke. Remember when he was in the I don't think it was the seventh grade or so and he brought his report card home and he said if I were older

you know what I qualify for being a black scholar you know if I saw it right in my home where he had found out about it in a number of students. So much driving to become black scholars you know the black scholarship is there's a veil but what to you all black students in wooden city schools or county schools or how far or broad you go. We actually reach out to the six county area here right now. You know you mention the black scholarship program that that program started because we've been giving and coordinating scholarships for the whole 15 years. But about seven years ago. We decided to create an endowment fund for what we thought was a gap in a scholarship program for blacks. And this is we discovered I used to get calls from parents of students who had to graduate from high school done well got a whole bunch of scholarships typically for the freshman year. They went in to school did

extremely well and then we were dropping out found that they couldn't couldn't go back for dropping out after their first as there are some stress some students are driving out of their freshman year and purely economic reasons. So that's why we got this idea of creating an endowment fund that's strictly for upper class students in college who have done well and who have exhausted all of their other resources. And that's when the Urban League black scholars and Alma will step in and close that gap. We raised a million dollars for that program. How did you do that. Well once again we did something similar to what we did with the initial black scholar. Program we. Got together a whole bunch of black business owners and black professionals and we invited them to come to dinner. Matter of fact we're told it was for the Black Scholar program. Charge them $500 each to dinner.

And at the dinner we asked them to contribute to this fund we're told we had a vision of raising a million but already had coverage and already contributed to this is that the House of Al Martin and when Martin saw it was not a huge grill Martin who was Xerox at Xerox right we'll get what you mean by spends Iraq's. We did this at his home and that evening we received a pledge from the blacks who were at that dinner an additional one hundred thirteen thousand dollars. So we were well on our way. Right from the first meeting and it wasn't until we raise the first two hundred thousand that we decided to then go to the community at large. And from the community at large you raised what another eight hundred thousand dollars. That's correct. Matthew Augustine It's a remarkable story and it's a remarkable program now you've been the president of the what the black scholar.

Well no that doesn't have a president as to what I or I chair the black scholar endowment scholarship committee right. And there is a planning committee that plans all of the activities of the black scholars that prevents any families of students who might be interest in the program which could always call you a bell trick so that's right and get directed. That's right. Is that is that a how to go about their students looking for scholarships or they are want to find out anything about the program. We also have an early recognition program where any student from the freshman through their journey year that's showing promise to become a black scholar. We give them recognition once a year for their achievements to encourage them to continue. Matthew Augustine you have a remarkable record in the brief time you've been here for 17 years can be considered brief. Where does el tracks go from here what's the future of Bellatrix. Are you getting on the so-called information highway that

everybody's talking about. Well I'm not certain that we're going to get on the information highway we say in a plan to use it for strategic advantage. But what we have just recently done is establish a vision statement for a company and what we're saying is that by the year 2000 we want to make a major leap in talking about providing employment in the community for a number of years. And you know employment has been around a hundred fifty. Or sixty employees. We say about a year 2000 we want to employ at least a thousand employees. So we're going to be rooting for you for the thousand that we have to go now. OK Matthew Augustine president of Bellatrix been marvelous chatting with you this half hour has gone to too rapidly as usual. I'm Bill Piers this is the Rochester I know Matthew Augustine president of El tracks successful company. But our guest

today. See you next time. Bye. I would say.