If you look up the Cowan family in Dublin, you’ll find a lot of history there. In the mid-1900s, Rich Wade Cowan owned Cowan Machine Shop, supplying the town with tools and machinery in the 1950s-70s. His son John Cowan was successful in the dairy business and very involved in town life.
“I have a lot of big shoes to fill,” says John’s son, Dublin graduate Neal Cowan. “And someday I hope my son will wear my second hand, worn out, thrift store boots with pride.”
After a 25-year career working in multifamily apartment supply sales, Cowan has continued his family legacy of success and is enjoying being a father himself.
Cowan graduated from Dublin High School in 1992, and moved to Arlington, Texas, where his family had moved when Cowan was a junior (Cowan spent his senior year living with his grandmother Clemmie Landes).
In Arlington, Cowan worked for his brother Scott’s father-in-law’s landscaping service cutting lawns in the area. After a year of mowing, Cowan decided to go back to school at Tarleton.
He started in 1994 studying general business, but ultimately decided college wasn’t the right path for him. “I wasn’t there for the right purpose,” Cowan said. “I wasn’t applying myself, and wasn’t going to waste my parents money.”
Cowan moved back to Arlington and took a job at Minyards grocery store in the meat market. Cowan had worked at David’s in Dublin, so he was familiar with grocery store jobs. “Everyone should work at a grocery store for a little while just to see how it is, and how people treat you when you work there,” he said. “I think everyone should experience that. You’ll be a lot nicer to people, because you’ll see the real colors of the world.”
Cowan started out at Minyards at the entry level, and within two and a half years he worked his way up to the position of journeyman meat cutter. “I got to where they trusted me to run the meat market on the weekends,” he said.
Which was great, except that Cowan was 23 and wanted to spend time with his friends on the weekends. He began looking for other jobs, and found one that he thought would try his hand working at Martin Sprocket and Gear as a machinist running the CNC lathe. The business made components for many everyday machines such as lawnmowers, and more specialized applications such as paper mills.
Cowan enjoyed working with the tools, which he had learned about from his family as a child, but he did not like working the graveyard shift, so he eventually left after two years and spent a while hopping from job to job.
One of his friends from Tarleton had a job in maintenance supply sales, and she encouraged Cowan to apply. He did, and ended up finding his career.
He started his new job in 1998, at a company called Century Maintenance Supply, working in sales. Over the years he’s worked his way up to be a project support representative, handling and coordinating projects for apartment complexes. “These are big jobs,” He said. “Not just fixing a broken window. It’s house flipping, except on a scale of like 180 units.”
Twenty-five years after he took at job at Century Maintenance Supply, Cowan still in the same industry, although he now works for Lowes, which acquired the original company. Cowan covers a large territory stretching from Tarrant County all the way to West Texas.
A typical job consists of balancing supply delivery with construction schedules, and making sure the team Cowan is working with has everything they need to complete the job, when they need it.
“My favorite part of the job, without a doubt, is the friendships and the connections I’ve made in 25 years,” Cowan said. “I don’t have customers, I have friendships. I’ve gotten to meet thousands of different personalities over the years. And I know that if I see them tomorrow, we can pick right up where we left off.”
Cowan has no plan to leave his career at Lowes. “I enjoy helping people, and I find great satisfaction and knowing that I’ve done a good job and delivered on what I said I could do,” he said.
When he’s not working, Cowan enjoys spending time with his family. “My number one hobby is being a father,” he said. “It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Cowan has an 11-year-old son, John Cowan, and a 21-year-old stepson, Hunter Lindell. Cowan currently co-parents his son John with his former wife. “He’s a great kid,” Cowan said. “He’s super smart. We both have the same hobbies. We’re into golf, fishing and music.”
Cowan is a recording artist on the side, and his music is available under his name on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube and other streaming services. He writes Americana and country music, and is coming out with his first Christian song soon.
Faith is important to Cowan, and he attends and volunteers at Brock Methodist Church.
One of Cowan’s proudest accomplishments is quitting drinking. “I’m celebrating four years and two months,” he said. “Sobriety is really important to me.”
Cowan currently lives with his father John Cowan in Brock. His mother, Sue Cowan, passed away peacefully on Dec. 16, 2021 after a long battle with dementia and Alzheimers.
Cowan’s advice to Dublin graduates is to not wait to pursue their goals. “Live your dream early, don’t wait until it is too late,” he said. “If you want to do something, start doing it yesterday.”
Editor’s Note: This column chronicles what Dublin graduates have done since high school. If you have any suggestions for other grads, email publisher@dublincitizen.com.