By Ken Carter
President & CEO Focus Communications
A call you never, ever want to get. The call you dread. The call that informs you of a sick family member or friend. As one advances in age you realize the loss of family, close friends and colleagues is inevitable.
I received such a call in early April when my close friend and former business partner, Jim Washington, passed away in Atlanta.
Jim and I went to Southern University, and I counted his older, late brother, Frank, also a dear friend.
Jim was my former business partner. We founded Focus Communications as a public relations and marketing firm in 1980 and acquired the Dallas Weekly in 1985. He was a gifted orator, strategist, visionary and community man. We shared many moments together. We often reminisced about the birth and growth of his kids, business formation, acquisition, and separation, overcoming the death of his mother and brother as well as his health challenges.
The journey started with meeting and working at a radio station in Little Rock, Arkansas, moving to Dallas and both working for the national and Dallas offices respectively of the American Heart Association. He worked for Dallas Ballet and then we started our business in the second bedroom of his apartment; with a post office box and an answering service.
We grew to have an office in the West End downtown area. Jim cared deeply about community representation and involvement, serving on the boards of the Dallas Chamber, Dallas Together Forum, and the Dallas Arboretum, among others.
Finding purpose and fulfilling that purpose became his passion. After commuting between Dallas and Atlanta he moved there to join his wife, Janis and the continued treatment of his illness was part of the plan. He had found someone who shared his dreams and passions. She is also a news- paper owner and real estate professional.
Jim’s legacy now rests with his children and the many friends who knew, loved, and respected him. Rest in peace, my dear friend.
