L.A. will be back. Again.
One year ago this week, I attended the USC-Michigan basketball game in Los Angeles. It was an exciting game, with the visiting Wolverines outlasting my Trojans in the end. After the game, we happened upon Laker general manager Rob Pelinka. Two days later in Dallas, Pelinka would have coffee with his Dallas Maverick counterpart, Nico Harrison. It was at that coffee meeting at which Harrison would first suggest the idea of the Mavericks trading superstar Luka Doncic to the Lakers.
It has been a tough year for the Mavericks in my adopted hometown of Dallas since The Worst Trade in Sports History.
More importantly, despite being on the right side of a trade so one-sided that the coffee meeting that led to it has become infamous in its own right, it has been a tough year for my actual hometown of Los Angeles.
One year ago today, a single arsonist’s cowardly act led to a historic tragedy. By the time the 14 fires were contained on January 31, Los Angeles was left to cope with staggering loss: 440 people killed, more than 18,000 homes and structures destroyed, more than 57,000 acres burned.
Several friends lost either their childhood home or their current one. Others were among the more than 200,000 forced to evacuate their homes. I’ve talked with many of them. I’ve also talked with many who were among the lucky ones – but still had to deal with smoke in the air, with commutes that were already long and became longer, with a general sense of heartbreak.
Is the heartbreak too much to bear?
Absolutely not.
With the exception of New York, no town I can think of is as resilient as Los Angeles. In my lifetime alone, the city has endured two major riots: the Watts Riots of ’65 and the L.A. Riots of ‘92. Which were followed by the Northridge earthquake of ’94. Which was followed by the O.J. Simpson saga of ’94 and ‘95. The outcome of which was altered by the Rodney King incident of ’91. Clear as yet another mudslide on PCH? L.A. was a punching bag at that point, with a combination of Muhammad Ali, George Foreman and Joe Frazier dishing the punishment out.
Every time, people said the city wouldn’t recover.
Every time, it did.
If California were its own country, it would be the world’s fifth-largest economy. The Golden State owes much of this prowess to Southern California, whose economy is driven by very un-Hollywood-y sectors ranging from health care to real estate to manufacturing. Hollywood? It is L.A.’s front door to the world, to be sure. But the house is far more than Hollywood, and anyone who thinks otherwise does not fundamentally understand the nation’s second biggest metropolis.
The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) reported last month that the region added 22,000 jobs in 2025, outside of 2020 the lowest since the Great Recession. I say that’s not bad in a year during which the city was either on fire or recovering from one. Or 14. SCAG forecasts continued local job growth in 2026. And guess what happens soon after that: The Olympics arrive. The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics are projected to bring in between $13-$17 billion to the region, according to SCAG’s 2025 Southern California Economic Report, also released just last month.
Why did the International Olympic Committee choose to come back to the City of Angels for a third time? Because it knows three things. One, people will always want to live in Los Angeles. Two, people will always want to visit Los Angeles. And three, there is just an enduring aura to Los Angeles that no fire or riot or earthquake or trial or police beating can snuff out.
The talent. The talent.
When we were beginning to build out our Clients First Marketing & Communications partner network, we knew we needed people in Southern California. The region is too big, with too much potential business to ignore for a young agency with big hopes and dreams. And it is – and always will be – filled with world-class talent. Some of these folks are featured on our new web site. If you are a company based in Southern California wondering how a Dallas-based company can serve you with local boots on the ground, know that I would put these local folks up against anyone. And that I am on the next plane whenever you need it.
I will be back in Southern California in the coming weeks. To participate in a client event. To see my Trojans try again. And to spread the word about all that Clients First can do to spread the word for companies of all shapes and sizes.
L.A. will be back. Again.
I can’t wait to get home.
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