Shlachter & Co.: LaDainian Tomlinson foundation moving to Fort Worth

San Diego Chargers all-pro running back LaDainian Tomlinson, former Texas Christian University standout, has moved the headquarters of his Touching Lives Foundation to the Burk Burnett Building in downtown Fort Worth from San Diego.

The offices are on the building’s sixth floor, 500 Main St. in Sundance Square.

Tomlinson grew up in Rosebud, east of Temple, and attended high school in Waco. His mother lives in Fort Worth, and he reportedly spends much of the off-season here.

Foundation representatives could not be reached for comment Wednesday. In a statement, the foundation’s executive director, Shannon Brazzell, said: "We hope to engage the Fort Worth community with our endeavors to make the lives of children better in the community."

Tomlinson’s foundation is involved in activities designed to promote education, social and cultural awareness as well as self-esteem to enhance the lives of less fortunate families. The programs include Camp LT football camps, the LT School is Cool Scholarship, 21 Club and the LT Celebrity Golf Tournament. The foundation is considering hosting a celebrity softball tournament in Fort Worth in April.

Lining up at Kincaid’s

Lines started forming more than a hour before Kincaid’s was scheduled to open last Saturday at 11 a.m. for its $2 hamburger, chips and soda special — at 1960s prices to thank customers for rallying in support during the Camp Bowie institution’s ultimately successful battle with its landlord to remain at its longtime location.

In all, owner Ron Gentry and 41 employees — up from the usual nine — served 4,103 half-pounders, all identically charred medium-well. That’s 512 an hour, or 8.5 per minute.

And 130 more were given away free to older fans stuck in a line that snaked up and down the store, then up and down the street. Eight moonlighting police officers really didn’t have to maintain order among the gaggle of mainly families and others seeking to experience a bit of Fort Worth history and a cheap lunch.

"The line never dissipated," marveled Gentry, whose father began grilling his trademark burgers at what was originally Kincaid’s corner grocery and later acquired the business, but not the nondescript, although now hallowed, cinder-block building. "We thought it would ease up at 2 or 3 in the afternoon. We were literally busy every minute."

When the kitchen was down to 37 patties on the grill, Gentry counted out 37 people at 6:40 p.m., 40 minutes longer than scheduled.

Miracle or coincidence, everyone left in line got served.

Money for job training

Tarrant County College Corporate Services won a $1.7 million Texas Workforce Commission grant to train more than 1,500 employees in new or "upgraded" jobs at several major local aerospace and manufacturing employers.

The employers include Ball Corp., Bell Helicopter Textron, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, R& B Electronics, Teletouch/Progressive Concepts, Trinity Forge and Triumph Fabrications. The number of workers involved range from nine at Ball Corp. to 699 at Lockheed.

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