INSIDERS

Marshall J. Doke

The Lawyer

The word “diplomat” comes to mind when Marshall J. Doke’s name is mentioned. He has that enviable ability to see past a confusing situation to the heart of the matter. His talent comes from years of experience and an inherent understanding of people and their strengths and frailties. Doke, 50, is the managing partner of Rain Harrell Emery Young Doke, one of the most well-established law firms in the South. He’s an expert in international and business law. For 25 years, he has served the Dallas community and has made significant contributions by helping the city become aware of its role in the international community.

Doke was recently named chairman of the new International Committee created by Mayor Starke Taylor. He also serves as president of the Dallas Theater Center and counsel for procurement for DART. Last spring, the Dallas Lawyers’ Wives’ Club awarded Doke the Justinian Award for his outstanding community service as a practicing member of the Dallas Bar Association. Last year, he was named International Trader of the Year by the World Trade Association of Dallas/Fort Worth.

For seven years, Doke served as liaison between the Dallas Chamber of Commerce and the Dallas Consular Corp. On several occasions, Doke recalls, he was embarrassed to see the city’s deficiencies in extending even the simple courtesies to representatives of foreign governments. Serving soft drinks in paper cups at receptions for dignitaries was just about more than he could bear.

As a result, he established the Mayor’s International Ball and the Dallas International Educational Trust to help raise money to finance the city’s protocol duties.

As for his role at the Dallas Theater Center, Doke says there have been many problems this year because the theater is trying to do many new things with its focus on regional theater under the artistic direction of Adrian Hall.

“It’s been a hell of a year for Dallas audiences,” Doke says. “A certain percentage of them just haven’t been downtown in 10 years, and by God, they aren’t going to go. People complain about the Arts District theater. Those people will change as the Arts District thrives and improves. People won’t be able to stay away.”

Hall, Doke says, wants to attract people who really enjoy theater-not a Pablumlike audience that looks for comfort and convenience.

Doke’s work with DART has taken up most of his time during the past few months. His law firm will help establish guidelines for the companies that will bid on the public contract work that DART needs to complete its mass transit system. Doke worked with the American Bar Association for 10 years to help establish a model procurement code and model ordinance code for state and local government. “I’m using the product of that work and adapting it for the system for DART,” he says. He estimates that the code will save DART and the taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars over the life of the transit system’s development.

Doke’s efforts at improving the quality of life in Dallas are more vigorous than ever. He says his role as a lawyer extends to the entire community -not just to a particular client.

Diane Ragsdale

The Councilwoman



As one of the newest and youngest members of the Dallas City Council, Diane Rags-dale is learning step by step the power of her new position. It’s often painful for Council observers to watch her take brash steps, make embarrassing mistakes, retreat, regroup and begin again. But it’s also refreshing to see someone so unaffected by the system.

She’s not one to mince words when it comes to issues that she thinks the city has ignored for too long, such as South Dallas developments that appear to mysteriously eat away at already low housing stock or promises of jobs and community development funds that are never realized or that come too late to do much good.

She and her older sister, Charlotte Ragsdale, joined the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Youth Council when they were 11 and 13. (Charlotte acted as Diane’s campaign manager during the District 3 election in April.)

The new councilwoman, who is also a registered nurse, more recently was involved in community work as a member of the Dallas City Plan Commission and as president of Common Ground, a non-profit organization that tries to improve housing in low-income areas.

Ragsdale, 31, says that filling an elected position was never her goal. But when her friend and mentor, Elsie Faye Heg-gins, resigned the District 3 position to run unsuccessfully for county commissioner, Ragsdale says it was a matter of “the harvest being plentiful and laborers being few.

“I’ve always felt a civic and moral responsibility to pass on the baton of justice. It was that initial exposure that ingrained it in us. It’s very much a part of our lives. It’s like taking a bath every morning. You’re supposed to be involved in the movement.” She laughs at her own comparison.

The toughest issues to deal with, she says, are voter apathy and racism. She understands the apathy: “They [her constituents] don’t see the vote as a workable part of the system.” But she will never understand the racism.

It’s racism, she says, that causes most confrontations in Dallas. But it’s unfair, she says, to think that the blacks and other residents of South Dallas are the most radical. “Some of the most radical people in this city are in East Dallas. They stand firm on some of the issues, or they negotiate for things they want. When there is an issue on which I think my position is proper and correct, I’ll stand firm, and to hell with everybody else.”

Raymond Schonbak

The TV Station Manager



It’s not hard to spot Raymond Schonbak in a crowd. He’s the one with the intense blue eyes that flash with pride. He’s the one who’s listening intently to his associates and then confidently giving them directions.

There’s a reason for his excitement. As vice president and general manager of KRLD-TV (Channel 33), the newest independent TV station in Dallas, he has the slightly sedentary network affiliates looking over their shoulders and wondering what to expect from the new kid on the block.

They don’t have to guess at Schonbak’s goals. He’ll plainly tell anyone that he’s counting on KRLD-TV to make a noticeable dent in Dallas’ broadcasting market. And he’s going to do that by attracting a hefty share of the audience with a top-notch newsroom, strong station programming and some first-run series.

Schonbak, 41, has worked in broadcasting for 15 years. In 1983, he moved to Dallas from Cincinnati’s WXIX-TV to start KRLD-TV, a new affiliate of Metromedia Inc., which owns 17 TV and radio stations in seven of the nation’s top 10 markets. He and the station’s management caused a stir in early July when they hired Channel 4 news anchorman Quin Mathews to anchor their own fledgling news show that debuted at the end of that month.

“I do think the competitors are going to know we are here, and I think, initially, they’re going to play ’wait and see.’ I think we’re going to catch them if they wait too long,” Shonbak says. But Shonbak denies that KRLD-TV will bully its way into Dallas’ highly competitive market.

“Broadcasting is in a transition,” he says. “And independent broadcasters-more than anyone else in the world-are in that transition. We have been living in the past and have not been accepted as a true entity. We have been looked upon as a service-not as a creator. Networks have been looked upon as creative entities.

“What’s happening now is diversification with cable, satellite, VCRs and MTVs. All of that is giving people options, and independents have had to make the decision to become standouts in their own communities. Metromedia has spared no expense with equipment. They want to hire the highest-quality people. We want people to say, ’Wow! There’s something different.’”