Jim AustinJames N. Austin, Jr.
Biographical Information
Austin Company Commercial Real Estate Company
James N. Austin, Jr., is the broker and owner of Austin Company Commercial Real Estate, established by “Jim” in 1981. The Austin Company has served the Fort Worth-Dallas metro area with commercial real estate and property management services for over twenty-nine (29) years. Austin also served on the Texas Real Estate Commission, as a Commissioner for eight (8) years. He is a 1976 graduate of Howard University, Washington, D.C., receiving his BA in Business.
As a realtor, his community service rendered him national recognition from the National Association of Realtors® as a recipient of the coveted Realtor® Magazine’s Good Neighbor Award in 2003. The Good Neighbor Awards recognize REALTORS® who’ve made an extraordinary commitment to improving the quality of life in their communities through volunteer efforts. (www.austincompany.com)
Jim Austin Online.com
One of Jim’s strengths is his ability to network with people. His involvements include networking with business associates, social and fraternal friends and non-profit boards. Through this experience, he found that although he interfaced with diverse people with diverse interest, there were a great number of common interests and goals. Thus, the beginnings of JimAustinOnline.com.
Jim Austin Online (JAO) has proved to be a resounding success. Originated in the fall of 2008 with 200 friends signing up to receive the e-newsletter, JAO now has a community of over 15,000 members. In conjunction with the weekly newsletter, JAO offers benefits that are exclusively found on JAO website or e-newsletter such as monthly Networking Business Luncheons with high profile individuals as host such as gubernatorial candidates and other relevant business and political figures. JAO also offers tickets to various theatrical, music and sporting events held at event venues such as Nokia Theatre and the Dallas Cowboys Stadium.
JAO recently re-launched an updated website with additional content. Each month, JAO will feature stories in 5 categories; Entertainment, Business, Dining, Community and Sports. JAO has a new, easier-to-read and navigate format. JAO has new promotions, games and giveaways designed to keep readers interested and retuning to JAO everyday! (www.jimaustinonline.com)
Community Service
James “Jim” N. Austin, Jr., has shown that he is committed to community service by sharing his time and resources to help others. In 1991 he co-founded the Renaissance Cultural Center, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization in Fort Worth, Texas. The mission of the center is to provide cultural and educational programs that promote pride, encourage cultural diversity and promote higher education in youth. He has taken the lead in raising funds for the center’s scholarship program that awards scholarships to Tarrant County high school seniors annually. This program began in June of 1995. A cumulative total of $389,500 in scholarships has been awarded to 236 Tarrant County students over the past fourteen (14) years, because of Jim’s dedication to the center’s scholarship program. The scholarships are presented each year in June at Renaissance Cultural Center’s annual Dr. Marion J. Brooks Living Legend Award and Scholarship Banquet.
He and his wife, Gloria Reed Austin, who also serves as the museum’s executive director, founded the National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum (formerly National Cowboys of Color Museum and Hall of Fame) in February 2001. The museum highlights the relatively unknown history of the contributions of minorities to the settling of the Western United States.
Board Member and Civic Affiliations
Mr. Austin serves on various boards throughout the city and country such as Harris Methodist Health Foundation, Tarrant County 9-1-1, Tarrant County Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Committee, and the American Paint Horse Foundation. He is a tenured member of the Downtown Fort Worth International Rotary Club, Citizens Crime Commission, and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. Some of the awards and recognition he has received are Quest for Success - Dallas Morning News; YMCA, Fort Worth, Texas; Texas Association of Real Estate Brokers, Inc.; Greater Fort Worth Area Negro Business & Professional Women’s Club; Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. - Metroplex Black Image Award; and the National Realtors Association Good Neighbor Award. Past board affiliations include Harris Methodist Fort Worth Hospital, Boys & Girls Club, Big Brothers & Big Sisters, Tarrant County 9-1-1 and North Texas Public Broadcasting, Inc., to name a few.