This is the man who founded Walmart and regarded as maybe America’s most successful business entrepreneur. And, he came to my office one day. How’d that happen?
The link is my assistant, Jan Prenger. Jan, you see, was Sam’s executive assistant when the Prenger family lived in Bentonville, Ark. Jan’s husband, Mike, was a banker there. When they moved back home to Missouri, Jan needed a job and I needed an assistant. So there you go.
One day soon after we’d moved into our new building Jan told me that “Mr. Sam” was coming to Jefferson City that day and asked me if I’d like to meet him? WOW! That would be a bigger deal for me than if the President of the US were coming. Mr. Walton flew his own plane into little Jefferson City airport; Jan picked him up; they went to a quick lunch at a local diner; then out to our place. I was SO excited.
Walton was born in Oklahoma but really grew up in Missouri: high school at Columbia Hickman, and then the University of Missouri, where he was an athlete and a scholar and a member of Beta Theta Pi. I’d recommend you read one of the many biographies about this man. He was in town to visit the new Supercenter that had just opened. After our meeting he was going by to visit. He said he would just walk around unannounced looking it over. But just in case they didn’t eventually recognize him, he had a Walmart baseball cap and an employee badge that simply said “Sam”.
One story of that day which says tons about this conservative guy: On the way out I proudly showed off our new building, particularly the classy conference room. He inquired if I’d gotten value returned for what I’d invested in expensive wall covering and furniture. ”Of course not,” I responded. And he wisely retorted: ”then you paid too much.”
Mr Sam died in 1992. Call or e-mail Jan if you want to hear more about this man of legend.
–clyde
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