Justin Hewlett, mayor of Cleburne, and I sat at his kitchen table to discuss how he gets things done.

“Most important, I think, is when an opportunity comes up — to take that step,” he said.

Hewlett, a 1977 Cleburne High School graduate, is the oldest of three children of Jack and Elizabeth Hewlett of Cleburne.

I asked his mother if leadership skills surfaced when Justin was a child. She paused and recalled.

“His Cooke Elementary School first grade teacher, Alline Gray, told me that she watched Justin on the playground as he called all his classmates over to him, lined them up in a straight line, divided them into two teams and explained to them how to play something,” she said.

The intriguing part was that his classmates did what he said — without thinking he was bossy. The teacher said she had never seen a first-grader do that before.

“Justin always had fun — a lot of it at my expense, it seemed,” said his sister, Rashell Smyer. “When I was a little girl, he found out that I absolutely hated for people to point at me. Of course, he delighted in doing that. Didn’t matter where it was, he would find a way to point his finger at me and laugh — across the dinner table; across the room at holidays; even during my wedding. He does it to this day.”

His younger brother, Cmdr. Ben Hewlett, U.S. Navy, lives in Virginia Beach, Va., with his family. When Hewlett ran for mayor, Ben put one of his brother’s yard signs in the side window of his F-18 as he flew over Iraq.

Justin’s childhood was carefree on Grand Street, growing up.

“Steve Kleiber and I collected baseball cards,” Hewlett said. “We’d hear that certain ones were at Joe Ed Persons and at Meadows Grocery and we’d run in our houses, grab our quarters and head out. It was great, being independent but knowing I had to be home by a certain time.”

He longed for a mini bike and asked his father for one.

“My dad said if I wanted one I could pay for it. He took me to see Jim Woodard at the bank and I got a loan, payable $28 a month. I bought it at Hudson Honda on South Main.

“My dad was in the automobile business. Back then he had his Chrysler-Plymouth dealership on South Main. I swept the floor and scrubbed the bathrooms on Saturdays and made $30 a month.”

He longed to play football.

“In junior high I was still tiny. The best I could make was second or third string. But I was very determined. Playing against guys that were 60 or 70 pounds bigger than I was paid off.

“By the time we reached high school some of them couldn’t make their grades and had to drop out. I finally started as a sophomore on the junior varsity. I moved up to the varsity when I was a junior. I enjoyed my coaches — Doug Johnson, Larry Kelm, Frank Hyde and Pete Hobby.”

His dream game, he said, would’ve been to play in the mud or snow — and both were available his senior year. A broken knee cap made him watch those games instead.

Justin was good in math and science, and wanted to become a veterinarian. His father had attended Texas A&M University, and the family took him to some home football games and on a tour of the veterinarian school.

He smiled.

“Then I met Sydney Beasley at CHS when I was a senior and she was a junior. I decided I would attend Tarleton so that I could come home on the weekends.”

He and Sydney married in 1978, after she graduated from high school, and they moved to College Station.

“Justin was doing very well in all his science classes with his major,” she said. “To keep that up, however, he had to stay focused on school in the evenings, on weekends — with no time for us to spend together. He got down and thought about quitting.”

“I went to see my dad, looking for work. He made it clear I wasn’t going to work for him,” Hewlett said. “I changed my major to accounting, took classes year-round and was able to graduate in four years in 1981.”

Hewlett was promptly recruited and hired by, Arthur Anderson. His father asked him to consider talking to friends who were establishing a new bank in Cleburne before he took his new job.

“I wanted to take a job in a big city, but as a favor to my dad I went to see Jimmy Campbell, planning to talk to him for about 15 minutes,” he said. “Almost four hours later I left his office with an agreement to work for him.”



Computers and banking

Cleburne and its people were a perfect fit. Hewlett helped First State Bank of Cleburne set up its data processing system. He started Hewlett Computers Services Inc. in 1987 to provide data processing and check processing services to community banks. He built the company up to processing for 19 banks with more than 40 employees. He sold the company to Jack Henry & Associates in 1998.

He established Henway Systems in 1989 to provide software development and consulting services to community banks and financial institutions.

“David Wade of Waco and I have had a partnership all these years,” he said. “If my bankers told me that their software wouldn’t print certain reports, I could see what they needed. David would design it and I marketed it. He furnished support after it was installed. At software users meetings often attended by 300 bank representatives, we continue to meet needs today.”

He explained that bank program conversions across the nation once required hectic all-night work schedules.

“Now we can transmit the bank conversions back and forth on the Internet. Technology has truly changed our lives,” he said.

Hewlett Office Systems LLC was begun in Keene in 2005 to provide sales, service and supplies to small businesses for their copier, printer, fax, computer and networking needs.



Politics and family

Hewlett said when he first became interested in running for mayor he knew he was “totally green.”

“But I knew if I took the time to study and learn, to ask questions and take advice, use common sense and trust people that I could get the best out of others.”

Public service is not new to the Cleburne native.

He served six years on the Cleburne ISD school board (the last term as president) and was on the board of directors of the Cleburne Chamber of Commerce. For the city, he has served on the Parks and Recreation Board and the Airport Board and is the past president of the United Way board of directors. He also serves on the Hill College Technology Committee.

Sydney Hewlett is a law partner with Shannon Gracey Ratliff and Miller in Fort Worth. She graduated from Baylor School of Law after they had four children.

“Justin was working hard and was focused on making a living rather than being engaged in raising the kids before then,” she said. “All that changed.

“I left for law school every morning at 6:30. The children were in four different schools and our oldest couldn’t drive yet. So, Justin had his work cut out for him in the mornings. I was home by 4:30, and I would take over for Charlotte the babysitter, do soccer practice, homework and dinner. Then Justin handled baths and putting them to bed while I studied from 9 p.m. until midnight.”

She said story time was a favorite even for the older children because Justin used voices for all the characters — “Hank the Cowdog” books were their favorites.

“Our marriage has been a partnership since day one,” she said. “Justin is so unique — he has friendships that have lasted all through the years. When the girls started getting older they repeatedly asked me about how I found their dad and talked about all the ways he was so different from most men. They always felt safe and loved.”

The couple’s vacations are adventures. On their 30th wedding anniversary, they enjoyed an African safari and this summer they hiked in the mountains of Peru.

They have four grown children, Ryan and her husband, Carl Newman, and their daughter, Sophie Kate, of Houston; Dax and his wife, Cierra, are stationed in Colorado Springs, Colo.; Tyler of Dallas; and Zachary is in boot camp at Fort Benning, Ga. His wife is Paige.

Justin recently announced his candidacy for U.S. Congress District 25.

He wasn’t in the military like his sons, he said, so he wants to serve his country through leadership in government.

“I enjoy learning new things and taking on new problems,” he said. “I truly believe God has put me in a position to serve others at this time in my life.”

There’s an opportunity — and he’s taking the step.



Larue Barnes may be reached at laruebarnes@yahoo.com.