When the North Texas Commission opened its doors in 1971, it was to facilitate the opening of DFW Airport as well as the marketing efforts of the region.
Enter Harve Chapman, an executive vice president with ad agency Tracy Locke. Harve was tasked with developing a brand for the region.
The story, as Harve told it, was that while brainstorming and doodling on paper, he wrote the word "metropolitan" and beneath it he penned a question to himself, "Why is this so complex?" The "metro" and "plex" lined up on the page and, as they say, the rest is history.
The NTC filed the copyright for Metroplex in 1972, launching a brand not just for the region for the numerous businesses anchoring themselves to the region.
Ten years ago, we honored Harve Chapman as one of our top 40 superheroes of the region for coining that term on our behalf. Sadly, Harve passed away this summer. His pride of branding our region stayed with him through the remainder of his days, so much so that his family called him "Mr. Metroplex."
And, that's exactly how we'll remember him.