Harvey Boot Camp Extends Vital Recovery Info

Published on November 13, 2017

Jim McIngvale owns Gallery Furniture

When Bauer College launched its Financial Literacy program in 2010, no one could have foreseen the acute need for advice from experts in law, taxation, real estate and other fields that surfaced after Hurricane Harvey hit the Houston area.

But just as everyday Houstonians launched countless boat rescues and created impromptu emergency shelters when presented with overwhelming needs in the wake of flooding, Bauer’s Financial Literacy program saw the need to provide a lifeline to anyone struggling from ongoing flood fallout a few months after the catastrophic event.

On Saturday, Harvey Financial Recovery Boot Camp assembled experts available for one on one consultations. Along with concrete practical advice, the event offered inspiring words from one of Houston’s best-known heroes, Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, owner of Gallery Furniture.

McIngvale opened his Gallery Furniture store to hundreds of displaced Houstonians in the midst of Harvey. He later fielded questions from numerous news media outlets asking how or why he did so.

McIngvale told listeners assembled for the Recovery Boot Camp, “How could I not?”

The businessman’s talk focused on resilience in the face of great challenges. He said a photo of Winston Churchill in his office reminds him daily to “Never give up.”

McIngvale’s own advice to listeners reiterated that sentiment.

  • “If not for my struggles I would not know my strengths.”
  • “A setback is just a setup for a comeback.”
  • “You’ve got to be persistent. They will knock you down, but you have to get back up.”