Meet Alex Johnson, a longtime Plano resident, Plano West Rotary Club president, and CEO and senior housing advisor for his company, Laurex Advisors. Alex has lived in Plano for 24 years, and has brought up two daughters here. His passions lie in service, education and communing with his fellow Planoites.
Alex, what is your role with Plano West Rotary Club?
I joined Rotary in 2003 and transferred to Plano West Rotary Club (PWRC) in October 2018. My role includes serving as president and treasurer. I will transition out of the treasurer role after I train our new bookkeeper and develop better financial procedures.
What do you most enjoy about the club?
What I enjoy most are the people. Our members range from 18 to 85 with a median age of 55. The club has over one-third women with 42% diversity. We sponsor two high school clubs and a young adult service club. Gathering a massive group of servant leaders to make Plano a better place is exciting. I’m proud that our Rotary Club recently received recognition from U.S. Congressman Van Taylor for being a “Hometown Hero.”
How does Rotary impact Plano?
Rotary is a global network of 1.2 million neighbors, friends, leaders and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and create lasting change across the globe, in our communities and in ourselves. Rotary impacts Plano multiple ways. We have six Plano Rotary clubs with over 200 Rotarians.
PWRC serves the homeless and those in transitional living. We support education, leadership opportunities and homes for the youth. Our club grows local economies and provides fresh opportunities for areas such as Douglass Community. We offer resources for the elderly.
How has the pandemic changed PWRC’s work?
Our 40-year-old club meets online every Tuesday at noon. Pre-COVID, we met at Greek Isles restaurant. We haven’t met face-to-face since early March.
The pandemic hasn’t crushed our club, though. We reinvented ourselves, embraced the new environment and adapted. We changed everything to be COVID-safe and asked friends and family to serve with us. We’ve had more than 174 volunteers serve 344 hours and donate goods valued at $66,920 over the last two months.
How are you involved with Interact Clubs?
Interact Clubs bring together young people ages 12-18 to develop leadership skills while discovering the power of “Service Above Self.” My role with Interact started several years ago when my oldest daughter, Julie, joined a club in middle school. I became the club’s Rotarian Advisor to guide and support the students. My role later increased with responsibility to support 50+ Interact Clubs in North Texas.
Tell me a little bit about your family.
My family includes my wife, Laura, and daughters, Julie and Jessica. My wife and I have been together for 24 years and married for 22. Julie’s a senior at Plano West Senior High School. Jessica’s an eighth grader at Rice Middle School. I take care of my mother, too. She lives in a Frisco nursing home 10 minutes from my house.
Laura and I value date nights of movies, wine/beer walks and strolls around the neighborhood. Our family enjoys traveling, and vacationed in Mexico over a dozen times. I have a thing for presidential libraries, and we’ve toured eight of them. My family has attended Grace Plano Church for 22 years.
What’s your day job?
I am CEO and senior housing advisor of Laurex Advisors. I started the company in 2002 as a commercial real estate advisory firm. In 2012 we evolved to help owners of Texas nursing homes find the right buyer for the right price. Because of COVID, I buy medical office buildings in North Texas for investors.
What do you love about living here?
The massive turnout for our service projects is what I love. [Our city is] prosperous, and we use it to make Plano a better place. We have one of the best school districts in the nation. The quality of the education is unmatched. I purchased a second house in Plano so my kids can graduate from this great school district.
For fun our family enjoys the multitude of Plano parks. We cycle, walk and jog at them. We also enjoy the Plano Balloon Festival, Rotary Flags of Honor, Independence Day and Christmas Day Parades. The list continues. Plano is the best city in America.
