Wainkerr99
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Here is a bit of good news I received:
BTC Breaking News: Farouk Shami Announces He’s Running for the Big "CHI-z" of Texas---Governor of Texas!
Farouk Shami has announced he is running as a Democratic nominee for the Governor of Texas. This news is exciting for our industry, and empowering for the residents of Texas, considering his recent effort to bring thousands of jobs to the state by opening the CHI USA factory.
We’ve been harboring this secret for quite some time here at BTC Headquarters and we’re thrilled to finally share it with all our members!
Congrats Farouk. We wish you the best of luck!
Here's the latest article from the Houston Chronicle:
Hair-care king wants a new job: governor
By KEN HOFFMAN Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
Sept. 16, 2009, 5:14PM
He is educated. He is sharp and energetic. He runs a billion-dollar business in North Houston, and he employs thousands of Texans. His products are top of the line, “Made in the U.S.A.,” and he exports them to 106 countries.
Now he is poised to announce that he is a candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor.
Is Texas ready, are YOU ready, for a governor named Farouk Shami — who was born in the Palestinian city of Ramallah on the West Bank and speaks with an accent different from ours?
Last week, he gave me a tour of his expansive Farouk Systems manufacturing complex in North Houston. He makes BioSilk and SunGlitz brand hair and beauty products, Chi hairdryers and curlers, and is expanding into small kitchen appliances.
Business is booming. He is expanding, buying more buildings to make more products. Parts and ingredients that he currently buys from China he is looking to make in Texas. For example, he has been buying imported olive oil for his products. So he recently planted 10,000 olive trees in Uvalde.
We sat in his office — the chair behind his desk is a throne, no kidding — and talked about his vision for Texas and his plan as governor to run the state like a business.
But first, this is 2009, and it's a difficult world. I asked him, what religion are you?
Shami said, “I am an American.”
I said, “Yes, but this question will come up, more than once, when you travel the state and ask Texans for their vote.”
He continued, “Obviously it will come up. I believe in all religions. My oldest brother is a Catholic. His mother is Catholic. That's my stepmother. My mother is Muslim. I was born a Muslim. I was raised by a Quaker. My mother's stepbrothers are Jewish. My grandfather married a Jewish woman. I am a good mix.”
I asked him, “Do you think Texas is ready for a governor with your background?”
He said, “If you mean as a successful businessman who has created thousands of jobs here in Texas? Then, yes, I think Texas is ready. Absolutely. I am running for governor. I am not running for a religious position.”
There's his answer.
Shami came to the United States in 1965. He arrived in Maryland and enrolled in the University of Arkansas, where he studied cosmetology. He worked as a waiter to pay his tuition. Then he came to Houston and started his business with one beauty parlor on the north side.
“I came with nothing to Texas,” he said. “I started with nothing and built a billion-dollar business. I've hired thousands of people, and I'm ready to hire thousands and thousands more. I am blessed to be a U.S. citizen and blessed to be a Texan. This state gave me the greatest opportunity. I want to pay back by leading Texas. With privilege comes responsibility.”
Shami, 66, and his wife live in The Woodlands. He has four children and nine grandchildren.
“I am about jobs, jobs, jobs,” he said. “We must find a job for every unemployed person who wants to work. I am capable of doing that. The current government in Austin doesn't know how to do this. The state is being run by politicians with old ideas and old promises. I understand how business works. The most important thing we need to do is find jobs for people.
“In business you have to make money. A family makes a certain amount of money, and that's what they spend. It's the same with business. If you overspend, you go out of business. Our current governor overspends.”
And Shami wants to put him out of business.
I asked, specifically, what would you do to create more jobs?
“We have the longest border of any state with Mexico. Instead of spending money to build walls, we should build factories. We have the people for the jobs this would create. We need to populate the border. That would stop drugs coming across. Our border would be more secure with factories and businesses there. We do not want criminals coming into this country.”
For more information please visit www.farouk.com
These seems like some good breaks for Texans. Well, I wish him the best.
BTC Breaking News: Farouk Shami Announces He’s Running for the Big "CHI-z" of Texas---Governor of Texas!
Farouk Shami has announced he is running as a Democratic nominee for the Governor of Texas. This news is exciting for our industry, and empowering for the residents of Texas, considering his recent effort to bring thousands of jobs to the state by opening the CHI USA factory.
We’ve been harboring this secret for quite some time here at BTC Headquarters and we’re thrilled to finally share it with all our members!
Congrats Farouk. We wish you the best of luck!
Here's the latest article from the Houston Chronicle:
Hair-care king wants a new job: governor
By KEN HOFFMAN Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
Sept. 16, 2009, 5:14PM
He is educated. He is sharp and energetic. He runs a billion-dollar business in North Houston, and he employs thousands of Texans. His products are top of the line, “Made in the U.S.A.,” and he exports them to 106 countries.
Now he is poised to announce that he is a candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor.
Is Texas ready, are YOU ready, for a governor named Farouk Shami — who was born in the Palestinian city of Ramallah on the West Bank and speaks with an accent different from ours?
Last week, he gave me a tour of his expansive Farouk Systems manufacturing complex in North Houston. He makes BioSilk and SunGlitz brand hair and beauty products, Chi hairdryers and curlers, and is expanding into small kitchen appliances.
Business is booming. He is expanding, buying more buildings to make more products. Parts and ingredients that he currently buys from China he is looking to make in Texas. For example, he has been buying imported olive oil for his products. So he recently planted 10,000 olive trees in Uvalde.
We sat in his office — the chair behind his desk is a throne, no kidding — and talked about his vision for Texas and his plan as governor to run the state like a business.
But first, this is 2009, and it's a difficult world. I asked him, what religion are you?
Shami said, “I am an American.”
I said, “Yes, but this question will come up, more than once, when you travel the state and ask Texans for their vote.”
He continued, “Obviously it will come up. I believe in all religions. My oldest brother is a Catholic. His mother is Catholic. That's my stepmother. My mother is Muslim. I was born a Muslim. I was raised by a Quaker. My mother's stepbrothers are Jewish. My grandfather married a Jewish woman. I am a good mix.”
I asked him, “Do you think Texas is ready for a governor with your background?”
He said, “If you mean as a successful businessman who has created thousands of jobs here in Texas? Then, yes, I think Texas is ready. Absolutely. I am running for governor. I am not running for a religious position.”
There's his answer.
Shami came to the United States in 1965. He arrived in Maryland and enrolled in the University of Arkansas, where he studied cosmetology. He worked as a waiter to pay his tuition. Then he came to Houston and started his business with one beauty parlor on the north side.
“I came with nothing to Texas,” he said. “I started with nothing and built a billion-dollar business. I've hired thousands of people, and I'm ready to hire thousands and thousands more. I am blessed to be a U.S. citizen and blessed to be a Texan. This state gave me the greatest opportunity. I want to pay back by leading Texas. With privilege comes responsibility.”
Shami, 66, and his wife live in The Woodlands. He has four children and nine grandchildren.
“I am about jobs, jobs, jobs,” he said. “We must find a job for every unemployed person who wants to work. I am capable of doing that. The current government in Austin doesn't know how to do this. The state is being run by politicians with old ideas and old promises. I understand how business works. The most important thing we need to do is find jobs for people.
“In business you have to make money. A family makes a certain amount of money, and that's what they spend. It's the same with business. If you overspend, you go out of business. Our current governor overspends.”
And Shami wants to put him out of business.
I asked, specifically, what would you do to create more jobs?
“We have the longest border of any state with Mexico. Instead of spending money to build walls, we should build factories. We have the people for the jobs this would create. We need to populate the border. That would stop drugs coming across. Our border would be more secure with factories and businesses there. We do not want criminals coming into this country.”
For more information please visit www.farouk.com
These seems like some good breaks for Texans. Well, I wish him the best.
