Diane Stow Ayres
Diane Stow Ayres Portrait
It seems you can’t throw a stone in Fort Worth without hitting a friend of Diane Stow Ayres. Sure, she’s a mom, a wife, a cook, a former account executive of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the current associate publisher of Fort Worth Magazine and a relentless worker and advocate for numerous Fort Worth charities — whose count is impossible to nail down. Yet, Diane is best known as a friend. A friend of those in need, a friend of her fellow employees, a friend of charity board members and a friend of, well, just about everybody.
Diane was fresh off being named the Star-Telegram’s Salesperson of the Year before being recruited by Mark Hulme and Hal Brown as Fort Worth Magazine’s first employee in 1998. She made the jump when the Star-Telegram was a behemoth, and Fort Worth Magazine was simply a concept on paper, with much fewer advertising opportunities compared to what is available today. “Back in the late ’90s, you could shoot a shotgun down Main Street after 5:30 p.m. and not hit anybody,” Hal Brown, publisher and owner of Fort Worth Magazine, says.
Before going into the workforce, she was what some would call a “country club mom.” A great mother to her four young children — Sara, Emily, Ryan and Robbie — she spent her time doing the four Cs: carpool, country club, cooking and charities. Very active in the Junior League, she took on the massive role of chairing Mayfest in 1990.
In the early ’90s after a divorce, she opened a catering business out of her home. She would stay up all night cooking, take the kids to school the following morning, manage a catering event that afternoon, pick the kids up from school, clean up after the catering event and start again that night.
Wishing for a normal schedule, her next job was as an assistant to the CEO of a local business, where her official title was Director of Fun. Needing to make more money, she made the move to advertising, where her friendly disposition made sales a natural fit.
“Diane is a relationship person,” Hal says. “You have salespeople that sell strictly by the numbers, and you have others who sell by relationships. When Diane meets with a potential client to sell them advertising, because of her strong belief in the product and because she is someone they like and trust, signing the contract becomes just a formality.”
After arriving at the newly christened Fort Worth Magazine, the publication began receiving requests for sponsoring charity events, and Diane stepped up to bolster
those connections. Over 20 years, she built relationships and became heavily involved with local charities. The magazine wouldn’t just sponsor nonprofit events by running ads for them, but Diane would also volunteer sitting on countless boards and committees over the years. Diane’s dedication to these organizations went above and beyond.
For the magazine, Diane was still very much a salesperson, but she was also the person the publication depended on to strengthen relationships with charities and ensure the magazine was living up to one of its six core values, which is philanthropy.
In December of 2005, Diane was diagnosed with Stage 3 multiple myeloma, which affects a patient’s bone marrow involving a type of blood cell known as a plasma cell. While there are treatments for this form of cancer, at this time there is not a cure.
After her diagnosis, Diane received alternative treatment at The International Bio Care Hospital in Mexico, followed by a bone marrow transplant in the U.S. in 2017.
Over the following 12 years, Diane has received ongoing oncology care from The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders and from UT Southwestern, which included radiation, chemotherapy, biological therapies and corticosteroids, to name a few. She has also been involved in three clinical trials.
The median survival rate for this form of cancer is less than three years. As of today, with a purpose clearly driving her from one day to the next, Diane has survived 4 1/2 times the median, or 13 years.
Through all of it, she came to work (and attended charity board and committee meetings) with a smile on her face and was more concerned with how others were doing than herself. She’s continued to live life as if not inflicted with a terminal disease, even marrying Bill Ayres in 2013, eight years after her diagnosis. Bill, fully aware of Diane’s condition, proposed to her and has been by her side, and at every charity event, since.
Just coming off her most recent chemo and radiation treatment, Diane is currently at home recovering, but her office is still here at the magazine awaiting her next comeback.
The definition of a hero is someone who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements or noble qualities.
“By definition,” Hal says, “Diane Stow is my hero.
Stories from our staff:
Many years ago, probably 2005, the magazine used to take off-site, destination trips to discuss editorial and advertising for the upcoming year. We went to San Antonio, and one evening after all-day meetings, we all decided that we wanted to go to a club called Howl at the Moon. When we arrived, the line was completely around the building. There was no way that any of us were going to wait in that long line. Diane and I made a bet with Hal Brown, partner, and Mark Hulme, founding publisher, that we could get us all in and skip that long line. They didn’t think we could do it and took the bet. Diane and I proceeded to the front of the line, used our best sales approach to talk our way into this club, no line, no wait, and they took us straight up to the bar for drinks. We were given the VIP treatment. We were even able to get Hal and Mark up on stage where they put on Village People hats and sang “Macho Man.” To this day, it still remains a secret how we made it all happen.
-Gina Wigginton, Advertising Account Supervisor
I was here for only a few weeks when we had our company retreat in downtown. I barely knew anyone and had only spoken to Diane briefly. She was always so sweet — but I didn’t know how sweet until she realized I saw her put about six cookies from the lunch table into her purse. She told me she liked to take them home for her husband or grandchildren. It was a hoot watching that tiny lady loading up cookies into her Louis bag!
-Erin Buck, Account Executive
Diane graciously welcomed me into the Fort Worth Magazine family 2 1/2 years ago when I relocated to Texas. I quickly learned that everyone knows Diane. With her fun spirit and charming personality, I instantly liked her and knew we would become friends. She is an important colleague I relied on to introduce me to the community and my new role as director of marketing and events. With her stylish flair and unwavering commitment to the success of our local philanthropic community, I nicknamed her “Lady Di” after the Princess of Wales. There are far too many stories about our special event escapades to share here. All I will say is that I would go to battle with her any day.
-Natasha Friemark, Director of Marketing and Events
