I will never forget the day - I was eleven years old doing my math homework at the kitchen table when my Father came home from work. My dad was my hero - he never missed a ball game, played catch with me often, and always provided for our family. As he walked by he put his briefcase down and gave me a hug when I noticed a magazine sticking out with a man dressed up in a suit. I asked, "Dad, what does this man do and why is he on the cover of this magazine?" Dad responded, "Well son, this man was named the Entrepreneur of the Year by INC Magazine." "What does that mean Dad," I asked. He responded, "He worked very hard and built a successful business by changing a lot of lives." I remembered pondering that thought for a few moments as he interacted with the rest of the family when I interrupted and said, "Dad, before I am 30 me and you are going to be on that cover like that man." The thought turned into my dreams and today I often laugh about it. It's not about being on the cover of INC Magazine, it is about turning my dreams into a reality.

I grew up in Weatherford, Texas in a family of Healthcare Professionals - My Dad was a clinical respiratory therapist and healthcare entrepreneur and my Mom was a nurse. I truly learned from an early age how to treat people with respect and dignity in all walks of life. I had the opportunity to grow up and be involved in multiple family businesses that ranged from Home Health Care, DME Services, and Assisted Livings. As I grew older the dream of being in business with my family grew stronger and stronger every day.

In 1998 our family experienced a tragedy with the sudden death of my older brother Matt. This crippled our family, but through the love and grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, our family slowly began to heal. In 2001, Dad transitioned from owning his own business and started working for VITAS HME Solutions, a subdivision of VITAS. This was a turning point when our family was introduced to the beauty of the hospice industry. During Dad's transition I too was making a transition from High School to College. I was moving to Lubbock, TX to attend Texas Tech University. During holidays and summer vacations I helped the local VITAS HME branch out by cleaning equipment and shadowing drivers; I was captivated by hospice and blown away by how little time it took interacting with a patient to become life changing.

As I entered my final semester in college I was still searching and praying on what my future was going to entail. I enrolled in a class called, "Managing a Family Entrepreneurial Business." The semester project was to write and present a business plan by the end of the semester. This sparked the dream I once had when I was just a boy, but as I called my Dad in exhilaration he didn't seem as excited. He said, "Son that is very exciting and I will support you always, but I am extremely happy at VITAS - I don't have to worry about cash flow or pay roll. VITAS treats me wonderful and I don't think I could leave." I began to think and research multiple facets of healthcare and my heart kept leaning to hospice. I thought, "What do other hospice companies do for their medical equipment needs?" I called hospice companies from around the country and found there was not an equipment company truly meeting the needs of hospice companies and their patients. I began to write the business plan and National HME, Inc. was born on March 22, 2006. On weekends Dad would help me with the pro-forma financials and market projections and before you knew the business plan was complete. I presented to my class my plan and moved home to Weatherford to hopefully turn my dreams into a reality.

I searched for investors for a few months when a match was found in a long time family friend and business mentor of my Dads - J. Stanly Poynor. Mr. Stan played an instrumental role in our beginning and I will forever be grateful for his investment and sacrifice to ensure the success of National HME.

August 2006 I began marketing to the hospice community in Dallas/Fort Worth and quickly began serving our first patient September 27, 2006. A dream that started as a light in a little boy's eye, has turned into a reality and dream come true for a Father and his Son. In the beginning I ran the business, drove trucks, cleaned equipment, marketed, and was on call 24/7/365. My girlfriend at the time and now my beautiful wife Kristina was a true champion when we would have to leave the movie theatre to make a STAT delivery on a Saturday night date. I put my heart, sweat, and many prayers into National HME. I think I learned more about business and life in the first 6 months out of college than I did in the 4 years I was in school. I began to build trust and loyalty from hospice customers in the DFW area and we started to see some pretty good growth. In February 2008, my Dad finally came on board as our President & CEO. We were truly a family ran business now and my dreams continued to come true!

Our Family at National HME started to grow and to expand across the state of Texas in 2009 and into multiple states in 2010. With 200+ Teammates across the United States, our business family is committed to excellence. It truly warms my heart as my dreams have turned into a reality and to see the lives this company has touched. National HME and my dreams are worthless without my Father in Heaven. We commit every day to His Glory and pray we always do the right things for our patients, teammates, customers, and vendors. It is such a blessing to come to work on a daily basis and know we are making a difference in thousands of lives.

Helping people, changing lives on a daily basis, and making a difference is our calling in life and I will do it until the day I take my last breath here on this earth. This story is a work in progress as we continue to pave the way hospice companies utilize their medical equipment vendor across America.

Until Next Time this story is to be continued!