NOTE: Throughout the month of July, BrownwoodNews.com is publishing stories daily on 40 standout citizens under the age of 40 making a positive impact and contribution within the Brown County community.
Bart Johnson Jr.’s prolific football career included scoring a touchdown in the Rose Bowl for the TCU Horned Frogs and being a member of the roster of the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals. After returning to his hometown in 2010, Johnson, now 34, has started a business with his brother Blake.
The Johnson brothers started CBJ Financial Partners early in 2021 after Bart originally returned to Brownwood as a member of the Law Officers of Jason M. Johnson.
“I was being a litigator and all-around attorney and Blake and his partner had split up amicably,” Johnson said. “I had been helping them out on the legal side of things, and Blake just said let’s start our own company. We did that in January 2021, that’s when it really took off. My brother has a finance background, I have the legal background with estate planning and things like that. We offer help for families and companies for strategic tax planning. It’s really three-fold – wealth growth, wealth preservation and wealth transfer.”
Johnson is thankful for the business venture as it has brought him even closer with his brother.
“It was really a Godsend because Blake lived in Fort Worth, I lived in Brownwood and we didn’t talk all the time,” Johnson said. “Being able to work with him and have a partner you can trust is really awesome. I loved what I was doing with Jason and leaving him was very amicable. I just felt God was calling me to work with my brother and move into a different area of the law.”
Johnson spoke further regarding what has to offer.
“Just like my old job, I get to help people every day,” Johnson said. “That’s how Blake and I are different from a lot of individuals and companies in our industry. We sit down with families, companies, whoever the client is and listen to what they already have set up, what their problems are, what they’re worried about with not only them but their children and grandchildren. We get to listen to all their goals, concerns and wishes and we get to formulate a strategy to bring to them to essentially get that job done.”
CBJ Financial Partners has opened its doors to clients throughout the state with plans on additional expansion in the future.
“Blake and I travel quite a bit, we’re not in just one town,” Johnson said. “I call Brownwood our West Texas office. We do work in the Permian Basin, in San Angelo, we have clients in Houston, Austin, Fort Worth, Dallas. The long-term goal would be to hire new people, work on strategic partnerships with banks across Texas to head up their wealth management arms, and essentially grow this thing to where we’re not located in just one spot or helping people in just one spot. Anybody who needs the help we can provide, we want to help them whether it be in Texas or beyond, across the nation.”
Regarding the most rewarding aspect of CBJ Financial Partners, Johnson said, “I love it because I’m a people person. I love to be in front of people, I love to help people. We tried out all these other different industries to find happiness and do what we needed to do, and God brought us back together and here we are. We work with my dad some too, we bring him in on a few cases. It’s all in the family and really neat to work with family. We get to help people and families and companies and employees and employers. It is very rewarding and where I need to be. This a job where I can be my own boss, make my own hours and help people for a long, long time.”
Johnson also serves as the General Counsel for the Brown County Water Improvement District, is heavily involved with the ABC Club and Gordon Wood Hall of Champions Board and is an active member of the First United Methodist Church.
“Every day I want to use all the talents God has given me throughout my life,” Johnson said. “He blessed me with a platform of playing in the NFL and doing these things to have the knowledge, passion and experience to be able to give back to the kids through Brownwood athletics.”
Johnson and his wife Kelcey have three children – twin 4-year-old boys Hank and Mills and 1-year-old daughter May.
“Any free time I’m usually taking our boys out to our ranch and teaching them wildlife management and fishing,” Johnson said. “My wife Kelcey has been a huge supporter of me in my career and my life. Her parents live in Brownwood, my parents are in Brownwood, my grandparents are 90 years old and still in Brownwood. We have lot of family in town, and it takes a village.
“Kelcey and I love Brownwood. We’ll always be here; we love raising our kids here. We love Brownwood schools, we love our church, we love our friends, we love everything about it.”