The Brazos River Authority's Central Office has a new name.
The building in Waco was christened the Lt. Gen. Phillip J. Ford Central Office on Monday, July 31, 2023.
The renaming is in honor of the longtime former chief executive officer and general manager of the Brazos River Authority, who served from 2001 to 2018. Ford died in 2021 at age 77.
The BRA Board of Directors, members of Ford's family, and BRA staff gathered for the naming celebration, sharing memories and thoughts.
“There are about 325,000 individuals enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, and only 47 of them became a three-star lieutenant general. One of those was Phil Ford,” said General Manager/CEO David Collinsworth.
Ford was the seventh general manager of the BRA since its establishment by the Texas Legislature in 1929.
He was a powerful mentor who, after more than 30 years in the Air Force, dedicated his life to making Texas a better place to live, said Collinsworth, who worked under Ford's direction for 17 years and succeeded him in the top role.
“Phil, as a general manager and CEO, came at a time when this organization was doing good things but really needed leadership and really needed change,” Collinsworth said. “When he retired, his fingerprints were on a lot of really significant things, development, progress in the history of the BRA.”
A Fort Worth native, Ford developed his leadership skills during a 35-year career with the Air Force. He rose to prominence as a top official at several air bases, then became deputy commander of the U.S. Strategic Command. Ford held a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Management and a master’s degree in Counseling and Human Development. He attended the National War College in Washington, DC, and programs for senior executives at Harvard University.
As general manager, he was responsible for more than 275 employees in multiple locations throughout the Brazos River basin, which stretches from the Texas-New Mexico border all the way down to the Gulf. Under the direction of the 21-member Board of Directors, Ford oversaw the management of the BRA's water supply, water and wastewater treatment plants, water quality initiatives, reservoirs, and dams. He served on numerous boards, including the Brazos Region G State Water Planning Committee and as president of the Texas Water Conservation Association.
During his tenure, Ford oversaw multiple important projects at the BRA, including the construction of the Williamson County Regional Raw Water Line, the divestiture of Possum Kingdom Lake property, the decommissioning of the Morris Sheppard Dam hydropower project, the System Operations Permit and the Water Management Plan.
“We’re honoring Phil Ford because he spent over 35 years in the United States Air Force, then he spent over 17 years here serving the people of Texas,” Collinsworth said. “He was a great American, he served, and that was his passion,” Collinsworth said. “He was very successful, an outstanding leader, and an outstanding man.”
Also under his leadership, Ford directed the construction of the Central Office building in 2001-2002. The 40,000-square-foot space served as the third headquarters for the BRA. The organization was housed in temporary facilities in Temple's Kyle Hotel from 1929 - 1940 and Mineral Wells' Baker Hotel until 1960. In 1960, the Authority relocated to Waco, moving into permanent offices at 4400 Cobbs Drive and moving next door in 2002 with the completion of the new building The facility hosts more than 70 offices, a central file library, an environmental laboratory, a boardroom, and multiple meeting facilities.
And now the newly renamed Lt. Gen. Phillip J. Ford Central Office Facilities are about to expand.
Since 1994, the BRA's environmental services department has monitored water quality and collected aquatic insects and fish to determine stream health. The BRA works alongside multiple other agencies to prevent the duplication of resources and to maximize efforts. With the growth of work, the current lab now has insufficient space. A new 10,880-square-foot lab – with room for future growth – is in the works. The building, which will be built on the Central Office grounds, will feature enclosed storage for boats, covered storage for trucks, a climate-controlled workshop, and a sediment analysis laboratory.
Above all else, Ford’s legacy is the BRA’s culture.
“Work ethic is you. You go to work every day, and your work ethic dictates how you get your job done. Our culture is how we see our role, and we play as a team. The football coach in him, and the general in him, molded this organization and changed our culture. And, when he walked out that door, I remember his last words that he said to us. He got on the microphone, and he said, ‘Elvis has left the building,’” Collinsworth said. “It was Phil’s culture, the change in our culture, that created a recipe for success. It positioned the BRA to be successful well before we understood all of this growth was coming and all of the challenges we were going to have.”