Alan L. Van Velkinburgh

My Life History

I am often asked where I am from (probably due to my unique and very different accent) and I always tell them:  I was born in Virginia (Portsmouth), Raised in Illinois (Zion) and grew up in Texas (El Paso).  Three quite different parts of the country with three completely different influences and impacts on my life. 

My family consisted of my Mother, Father, and brothers Jay (oldest), Lance (middle) and me.  Yes, I am the baby of the family and am sure it shows.

Arriving in El Paso, Texas in March of 1962 at the age of 12 was a real eye opener.  Of course, I expected to see cowboys, horses, Indians, and the Old West.  In 1962 El Paso was a vibrant, growing town whose economy was based on Fort Bliss and Biggs Airbase and trade and commerce with Juarez, Mexico. 

I became active in sports in the Summer of 1962 and quickly made friends, many who are still alive and still incredibly good friends.  Attended Irvin High School and graduated in May 1968.  While at Irvin I was active in sports and social activities.  I served on the Irvin High School Student Council for four years. 

After graduation I attempted college at the University of Texas at El Paso and dropped out after one semester.  I quickly found work in retail January 1969.  A little history is in order:  My first retail sales job was in high school in 1966 and I was fortunate to work for a small family owned retailer, Given Brothers.  They had several locations with three main departments; Ladies Ready to Wear, Shoes and Menswear, which is the department where I worked. 

Given Brothers was owned by the Given family, a Jewish family.  El Paso had and still has an exceptionally large middle eastern population consisting of many people from Israel, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan.  The supervisor of the Men’s Department was Moyian (Mike) Sayegh, from Syria and salesman Hassam (Sam) Issam, from Lebanon.  Obviously, times and relations were better back then so I guess it proves that “busy hands are happy hands”.  My explanation is that we were all so busy working that we did not have time to blow each other up during lunch!  I learned a lot about sales from Mike and Sam as well as the Given family.

Back to 1969.  I resumed my studies at UTEP and took a job with Stein’s Stores for Men and within six months was promoted to Manager of their Northgate Mall location.   I was only 19 and graduated in August 1972. 

During college I worked full-time and spent my last two years of college working with Rayburn’s, a Men’s Clothing Chain in El Paso.  What an experience!  Rayburn’s was owned by Don Garcy, Max Schecter, and Irving Schecter—all Jewish.  Great merchandisers and outstanding businessmen.  However, it was kind of like working with the Marx Brothers as the three of them were unique, funny, different, however extremely focused on results. 

There were two other men who worked at Rayburn’s who had a significant impact on me.  Ed Quinn, who was immensely proud of his Irish heritage and Randy Starks, a black retired Army Master Sargent.  All five of these men really helped build the foundation for my career in sales.  Understand that I consider myself a salesman.  Yes, I may have had many titles and responsibilities throughout my professional career, but I have always been a salesman; and immensely proud of it!

Upon graduation from UTEP, I was at a loss for what I really wanted to do.  I thought I wanted to stay in retail.  I thought I wanted to get married.  However, I knew that I wanted to do something more.  And if not something more, then something different.

I decided in late 1972 to do something I had always wanted to do; play music and be in a band.  So, I exited my retail career and worked several jobs to save enough money to buy several stringed musical instruments and learned how to play them.  Then………I would get with a band and see where that took me.

I was either lucky, gifted, or talented because after about one year, I was able to start a band which became phenomenally successful.  That band let to several more bands and in early 1976 I joined The Yellow Rose Band from Odessa, Texas. 

The YRB was then recruited by an agent in Honolulu, Hawaii and in August of 1976 the band headed to Hawaii. 

Prior to joining YRB I met and married Susan.  We met in the Summer of 1974 (I was playing with a band and we met at the club where the band was performing) and we married in June 1976, just two months prior to YRB heading to Hawaii.

YRB was extraordinarily successful in Hawaii for the next two years.  The band performed with many national recording acts including Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, Elvin Bishop and several others.

I left the band in early 1978 and decided to stay in Honolulu.  I worked with several companies and in April 1979 I joined Motorola Communications and Electronics, Inc. 

My first position with Motorola was as an RCR (Radio Communications Representative) and I sold dispatch two-way radio communications equipment to commercial businesses on the island of Oahu. 

I was promoted to Zone Sales Manager and in October 1983 was promoted to Regional Sales Manager and moved to Motorola’s Regional Area Office in Dallas, Texas.  I was responsible for a 16-member sales team selling dispatch two-way radio systems to businesses in North Texas/Southern Oklahoma. 

My managerial career with Motorola was a rather rocky one and as it turned out, management was not my calling.  After several demotions I was appointed National Rental Manager.  This was a new position as Motorola did not have a rental department; we relied on independent businesses to supply Motorola radios to rent to businesses.  My Rental Department was a kind of “Skunk Works” and it was my responsibility to take an idea and turn it into a multi-million-dollar business.  Which is just what I did. 

I had so much fun starting Motorola’s National Rental Program and within two years, the program grew from $5,000/month to $500,000/month. 

During all my changes and new responsibilities with Motorola I made the decision to get my MBA and attended the University of North Texas (UNT) in Spring 1987.  I graduated in August 1989.

After graduation I was recruited by McCaw Paging and left Motorola in October 1989 and moved to Houston.

Things did not work out with McCaw Paging and in February 1990 I left McCaw and started Houston 2-Way Radio. 

Little did I know that I possessed entrepreneur traits and over the next 20+ years, Houston 2-Way Radio matured into an extraordinarily successful Motorola Radio Dealer.  In March of 2010 we were acquired by Total Safety and in April 2012 I resigned.

I have always had a burning desire to write a book about entrepreneurship and recognize and honor all those who shaped and mentored me and hopefully, educate and inspire entrepreneurs of every age from every corner of the world.

Now the real work begins!