Applying Principles of Service

"I implemented the principles I learned at DBU, we got into exporting, and we grew up to 500 employees." - Bradley Boles, DBU Alumni

At the age of 24, halfway through his MBA at Dallas Baptist University, Bradley Boles took over as president of his family's business, Wilco Fab & Machinery. Within four years, Wilco was named the second-fastest growing private manufacturing company in the state of Oklahoma and 59th in the United States.

"I got out of my comfort zone a lot at DBU, and that really helped me run the company, from being the president of the company to growing it to another level, to becoming the mayor"

"When I was at DBU during grad school, I took classes like International Finance, International Law, International Marketing, different classes that gave me a lot of ideas. I started to realize what if I applied a lot of these principles I'm learning in class to our business? So we got into exporting, and we grew all the way up to 500 employees," making his company the largest regional employer.

Brad exemplifies the DBU ethos, as he says, "I got out of my comfort zone a lot at DBU, and that really helped me run the company, from being the president of the company to growing it to another level, to becoming the mayor" of Marlow Oklahoma. Brad is committed to giving back through business, civic organizations, government, and church.

He attributes the success he's seen at Wilco to the training in servant leadership at DBU. "It's like a family relationship among my co-workers," he said. "No one's more important than another person. I run and manage a company based on Christian principles," he noted. "We're a Christian-oriented company."