By Rick Mauch
Elliot Goldman is the very definition of a Renaissance man.”I have two things that have helped me become successful in life and in business,” he said. “Always be asking or answering the question: ‘How can I make myself valuable?’ and when you run into a problem or difficult situation, use the 12-word mantra made famous by Arthur Ashe: ‘Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.’”
Greatest Gift Catalog Ever
Goldman is widely known as the guy who created that “non-profit holiday gift guide.”
During the 2006 holiday season, Goldman was looking at the plethora of shopping catalogs when he got a unique idea.
“I looked at my wife and said, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if there was a holiday shopping book where people could look for charitable projects and ways to make a positive impact?’”
Her response, “Why don’t you create one?”
This wouldn’t be anything like the other companies he had in development, but rather a non-profit gift to the community. The catalog spotlights a host of non-profit charities throughout north Texas with readers able to go to tggce.org and click on the organization(s) they wish to make a gift, be it during the holidays or year-round.
Time in Washington
Goldman grew up in Fort Worth, graduated from Southwest High School and attended the University of Texas at Austin, pausing his studies in 1992 after a couple of years to serve as a White House intern. He later returned to Texas to work on state Treasurer Kay Bailey Hutchison’s U.S. Senate campaign, joining her afterward on Capitol Hill.
“Washington was a magical place back then, defined by civility and true statesmanship,” he said. “I feel immensely fortunate to have learned so much from so many inspiring leaders and to still call many of them close friends.”
Goldman made it a point to meet, connect and build relationships with as many people as possible, regardless of party affiliation.
In late 1994, Goldman returned to Texas and completed his degree in Austin. He and his wife, Heather, then moved to Fort Worth, calling it a great town for building national businesses and raising a family.
Among Goldman’s collection is a flag that was an art therapy project by Zachary Bulgart for his post-traumatic stress disorder. The flag is made from the uniforms of Marine Recon soldiers Brian Jacklin and Michael Mendoza, both recipients of the Navy Cross. Photo by Devan Peplow
GL2 Partners and Liberty Bags
GL2 is the parent entity for Goldman’s business ventures.
“We partner most of the time with other individuals or companies when building out a new company,” he said. “As an entrepreneur, one of the greatest privileges is choosing who you build with. That’s really the heart of entrepreneurship, building great things together.”
Goldman noted the partners work together financially and operationally.
“We don’t seek outside capital,” he said.
Today, the main business is Liberty Bags, one of the largest importers of non-disposable, printable bags.
“We import bags that people put logos on. We do not do the printing,” Goldman explained. “We are the supplier of the bags that a screen printer would print on for our customers.
“The company is much broader than bags and includes towels, blankets and aprons, but our original product line was bags. I always say it is easy to make a cheap bag, and it is easy to make a nice bag, but it is incredibly difficult to make a nice bag inexpensively.”
Another of Goldman’s current ventures is Lily Pad Properties, a real estate holding company with a mix of office and single family.
Previous companies include:
G3 Industries: The company bought and sold a variety of items from collectibles to antiques, and brokered new goods.
Pinpoint Marketing: Distributor of classic and traditional promotional products.
North Texas Baseball Card Exchange: A baseball card shop he opened in Hulen Mall when he was 13.
Local politics
In 2010, Goldman moved to Westover Hills. He was elected to the city council in 2012 and remains there as the mayor pro tem.
“The council during that time was comprised of two investment/finance people, two lawyers and two entrepreneurs,” he said. “This combination has allowed the council to consistently make great decisions, and it has been so much fun to be part of the process.
“One of the accomplishments I’m most proud of is how we have financed city infrastructure. Today, we’ve been able to put in 30 to 50 years of infrastructure and pay it off in 15 years with an average cost of debt probably around 2.5%.”
Military uniform collection
Goldman decided around 1977 the preservation of historic American clothing, especially American military uniforms, was worthwhile.
“The only reason we get to do what we do is because of what they do,” he said.
He found very few collectors of 20th century clothing, and almost nothing post-World War II. “Because I was one of the first to start collecting, I was able to get some incredible pieces,” he said.
1999 brought eBay. He could let great pieces come to him. And after 9/11, many small museums found themselves under financial pressure.
“I and three other people went around the country to these museums and bought up whatever we could that was worthwhile,” he said.
Much of the collection today is on loan to the National Leadership Foundation, a non-profit he started. It runs and operates the Leader, Heroes and Legends Archive and Museum in Fort Worth.
The museum is unique in that just 100 people per year are allowed to visit. Combat veterans are free and everyone else must make a charitable donation in The Greatest Gift Catalog Ever or to an approved veterans organization.
Medal of Honor monument
One day while in Veterans Park off Camp Bowie Boulevard in Fort Worth, Goldman noticed there wasn’t a tribute to MOH recipients killed in action. He called former Fort Worth council member Dennis Shingleton and said he wanted to raise funds for a memorial.
“I thought it was important to remember Major Horace S. Carswell Jr., Corporal Charles F. Pendleton, and Specialist Robert D. Law,” Goldman said.
The monument became a reality in 2014.
His love of historical figures, particularly military, is featured in books he has co-authored, including:
Leaders, Legends and Heroes of the 20th Century, authored in conjunction with the National Veterans of Foreign Wars and the National Leadership Foundation.
American Architects of Victory: A Look at World War II Leaders, Heroes, and Legends, authored in conjunction with the National Leadership Foundation.
He also co-authored a book about life and business titled It’s Who You Know with Bret Saxon.
Famous events and people
Among his many collections are 20th century newspapers focusing on the top 100 events of that era. They feature the first report from the local newspaper, or a relevant paper, such as man landing on the moon from Houston, or the Challenger explosion from Cape Canaveral.
For all World War II related articles, it is Stars and Stripes.
The collection starts in Buffalo in 1901 with the assassination of President William McKinley
“While there are some that I will never be able to acquire—like Kitty Hawk for the Wright brother’s flight —there are over 60 collectibles from the list I was able to gather,” he said. “The much more interesting part of the story is how much fun I had hosting dinner parties with different groups of friends to pick the 100 most important events.”
Also, while in Washington, Goldman picked up a book by George Sanders, an autograph collector. In the front was a picture of Sanders with Martin Luther King. There were also pictures of him with James Dean, Groucho Marx, Ty Cobb and even Jimmy Hoffa.
“I thought how cool would it be to learn history from the people who made it,” Goldman said. “So, starting in 1992, I decided I would reach out to everyone I could who I found interesting.”
Since then, he has met more than 600 historically significant people and visited with them, sometimes for just one question, other times for a three-hour visit.
“The smartest person I ever met was Justice Antonin Scalia,” he said. “And the nicest and most unassuming was filmmaker Stephen Spielberg. And my favorite of all time might have been Ronald Reagan.”
