Episode 261

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Published on:

31st Jan 2024

Legacy & Leadership: Gary George on Pioneering the Poultry Industry in Arkansas

This week on the Be Epic podcast we continue the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame series with Gary George, chairman of George's Inc. and an inductee of the 2024 Arkansas Business Hall of Fame. During the episode Brent and Gary delve into the history and evolution of George’s Inc., a family-owned poultry business with roots dating back to the 1920s. Gary shares the story of the company's humble beginnings as George's Produce, its expansion into the fully integrated poultry enterprise known for serving a wide range of customers, including fast food chains, grocery stores, and institutional distributors across the United States. Reflecting on the cyclical nature of the poultry industry and its challenges, Gary discusses how he spearheaded the company's significant growth in the 1980s, following his graduation from Walton College in 1972. The conversation also touches on the values of community support, the importance of family in the business, with Gary detailing his close relationship with his father and the seamless transition of leadership to his own sons, emphasizing the company's commitment to longevity and innovation in the industry.

Transcript
Gary George:

And I think that that's part of not only personal

Gary George:

fulfillment, but the business responsibility to, to help your

Gary George:

community that you're in also.

Brent Williams:

Welcome to the Be Epic Podcast brought to you

Brent Williams:

by the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of

Brent Williams:

Arkansas. I'm your host, Brent Williams. Together, we'll

Brent Williams:

explore the dynamic landscape of business, and uncover the

Brent Williams:

strategies, insights, and stories that drive business

Brent Williams:

today.

Brent Williams:

Well, today, I have with me Gary George. Gary is the chairman of

Brent Williams:

George's, Inc. and he is a member of the class of the 2024

Brent Williams:

Arkansas Business Hall of Fame. So first, Gary, let me say

Brent Williams:

congratulations.

Gary George:

Well, thank you very much. I, when you came up

Gary George:

and told me I was going to be inducted, as you know, I got

Gary George:

very emotional because my dad being in that that's first thing

Gary George:

that came to my mind, but I'm humbled and very honored.

Brent Williams:

Well certainly and I would add deserving to

Brent Williams:

that. But it is fantastic that you know, there's a yet another

Brent Williams:

father son combination in the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame.

Brent Williams:

And I want to get to part of his story as well. And I'm sure

Brent Williams:

we'll cover that in you know, in learn a little bit more about

Brent Williams:

the business. So for those that might not know George's, just

Brent Williams:

tell us a little bit, I guess, what do you all do? And then

Brent Williams:

let's kind of jump into like, how did the company form and

Brent Williams:

evolve?

Gary George:

Well, I think we're, we're, the family's

Gary George:

mainly known for the poultry business. Started in the 20s.

Gary George:

But it at that point in time, it was not the poultry, it was just

Gary George:

my grandfather just making a living. And he might have had

Gary George:

turkeys, he might have had poultry, and it grew from there.

Gary George:

But we're involved in land development and, and some other

Gary George:

things. But we're mainly known for the poultry business.

Brent Williams:

And so he founded the business and

Gary George:

He founded it, it was actually called George's

Gary George:

Produce,

Brent Williams:

Okay.

Gary George:

And that was in the 20s. And, and again, in in the

Gary George:

Depression did anything he he sold. He had fruits and

Gary George:

vegetables back that far back in Springdale. They meet on

Gary George:

Saturdays downtown, and he would be down there doing that. And

Gary George:

then it was in the early 40s. started hauling live chickens.

Brent Williams:

Okay

Gary George:

Up to St. Louis and Kansas City, a lot of others did

Gary George:

that around here. And that was the start of really what you

Gary George:

call the poultry business around here.

Brent Williams:

Okay.

Gary George:

And so did that. And he had two sons, my dad and

Gary George:

my uncle. And when I, when I got old enough, in the 60s, my, my

Gary George:

grandfather was out, dealing with peach orchards buying land

Gary George:

and cattle, and that was his, that's what he liked. And my

Brent Williams:

Farmer at heart

Gary George:

A farmer at heart, and my uncle and my dad, were

Gary George:

running the business. And my uncle died in 1969. And so my

Gary George:

dad took over the business, and then I graduated from Walton

Gary George:

College in 1972. And that's what I wanted to do.

Brent Williams:

And been in the business ever since then?

Gary George:

Been in the business ever since.

Brent Williams:

What, you know, it may be kind of going in on

Brent Williams:

the poultry side of of your family's operation, you know,

Brent Williams:

kind of what is your focus within the poultry, you know,

Brent Williams:

industry and, you know, who are the customers you serve?

Gary George:

Well, we we serve various customers, I guess you

Gary George:

could classify fast food people. We go to many grocery stores, we

Gary George:

go to many institutional distributors that go to

Gary George:

restaurants. The only thing we really we don't do is fully

Gary George:

cooked.

Brent Williams:

Okay.

Gary George:

And so we have a wide array of products other

Gary George:

than fully cooked and we actually go all across the

Gary George:

United States from the East Coast to the West Coast.

Brent Williams:

And I think you describe the company describes

Brent Williams:

itself as fully integrated and may be kind of kind of double

Brent Williams:

clicking in on what does that mean?

Gary George:

Fully integrated is is where you you have your, your

Gary George:

breeder hens, what you'd have pullets, who turned into breeder

Gary George:

hens, who lay the eggs to, to hatch and go to the farm and you

Gary George:

feed them you have all those steps, back when the poultry

Gary George:

industry started, somebody might be selling to feed some feed to

Gary George:

the people that were going to raise the chickens, but

Gary George:

basically fully integrated is you're, you're doing it from the

Gary George:

day old chick, or before really with your breeder hens, all the

Gary George:

way to the customer.

Brent Williams:

And poultry can be can be a tough business,

Brent Williams:

right? I mean, in terms of it goes through big cycles, you

Brent Williams:

know, I assume that kind of go along with different, you know,

Brent Williams:

ag commodity prices, etc.

Gary George:

You hit it on the head.

Brent Williams:

Yeah.

Gary George:

It's it's, it's, it's known for that. A lot of

Gary George:

that because of grain prices. A lot of that is when things are

Gary George:

good. Everybody wants to expand and put more out. But it's

Gary George:

always been cyclical it when I started in the business. It was

Gary George:

cyclical, but not the dramatic nature that it is now.

Brent Williams:

Yeah

Gary George:

It really is. You know, you used to say a quarter

Gary George:

of cent a pound. And now you might say three or four cents a

Gary George:

pound.

Brent Williams:

Yeah.

Gary George:

And on that amount of pounds. It it. It's big.

Brent Williams:

It's a big swing.

Gary George:

Yes. Yes.

Brent Williams:

So you really at least when I was reading some

Brent Williams:

about the company's history, so your grandfather founded it in

Brent Williams:

your father ran it, you know, and then you really got you

Brent Williams:

graduated in 1972. And but really kind of really started

Brent Williams:

shepherding the company's growth that sounded like in the 80s,

Brent Williams:

and really started to expand, is that a fair representation of

Brent Williams:

its history?

Gary George:

Well, my grandfather, as I said, he, by

Gary George:

the time I was old enough, he was he loved cattle and land and

Gary George:

all of that, and my uncle and dad ran it together.

Brent Williams:

Okay.

Gary George:

Until 69, when my uncle died, and then my, my dad

Gary George:

ran it. I came in 72. And, you know, we weren't big enough

Gary George:

there wasn't, well, here's a mentorship or something, I would

Gary George:

just, I would just do different things. Kind of located in the

Gary George:

sales department, because that's where you, you know, all the

Gary George:

screw ups that may happen previously. But, you know, they

Gary George:

would call me out and go to meetings and listen in and my

Gary George:

dad surprised me, my me at the age of on my birthday at 30. He

Gary George:

made me president

Brent Williams:

Okay.

Gary George:

And it was just a relationship that we've, we've

Gary George:

had, and I can't figure out today why he did it. But he did

Gary George:

it. And when I when he, he just, he said, I'm here, but but you

Gary George:

take and he would come in every day he came in, when when he

Gary George:

wasn't out of town or when he you know, he didn't come when he

Gary George:

wasn't feeling good. But he came in until he passed away. Just

Gary George:

just to be there. And it was just kind of a special

Gary George:

relationship.

Brent Williams:

I'm sure it was leading that company at such a

Brent Williams:

young age. I'm sure it was pretty comforting, though, that

Brent Williams:

he was still around.

Gary George:

That he there. Absolutely. It was. It was I

Gary George:

think it was 85 or 86. We had one plant at the time. And we

Gary George:

decided to build another plant in Castle, Missouri. And between

Gary George:

that and the hatchery and the feedmill. And we also build a

Gary George:

new office. I think I added up one time we committed in those

Gary George:

two or three years as much money as the company had spent totally

Gary George:

in capital expenditures. And I always remember my dad never

Gary George:

questioned me. And it's it's amazing that that I can never

Gary George:

remember that he ever questioned that. I guess he thought it was

Gary George:

good. But my my thought was there you know, family

Gary George:

businesses usually sell. We've got one plant. We needed to grow

Gary George:

to show the people that that we were here to stay.

Brent Williams:

Yeah.

Gary George:

And I think it worked out.

Brent Williams:

Well here to stay certainly so right you're

Brent Williams:

now your boys, your sons are co-CEOs. You serve as chairman,

Brent Williams:

they're running the business, I assume on a day-to-day and it

Brent Williams:

sounds like what your dad did for you. Sounds a little bit to

Brent Williams:

me like what you've done for your sons.

Gary George:

Yeah, I tried to follow that.

Brent Williams:

Yeah.

Gary George:

And made them co-Presidents when they were 30.

Brent Williams:

Yeah.

Gary George:

For their birthday

Brent Williams:

Yeah.

Gary George:

And I guess we're we're kind of going against all

Gary George:

business rules, you know, or metrics that they're fourth

Gary George:

generation.

Brent Williams:

Yeah.

Gary George:

And I don't know what I can't remember what what

Gary George:

companies are to make it fourth generation but I know it's

Gary George:

pretty small. And, and they, I made them co because they, they

Gary George:

have different personalities, they have different strengths.

Gary George:

But they, they complement each other. And they look at things

Gary George:

different. But as I've seen, since they've been running it,

Gary George:

they may look at it different in the beginning but they're going

Gary George:

to come together, in the end when the final decisions made.

Gary George:

And I'll have to say probably I'm not as good about staying

Gary George:

out of things as my dad was and they tell me that.

Brent Williams:

Yeah

Gary George:

But no we it's been wonderful. It's just wonderful

Gary George:

to be be with them and see how it's going.

Brent Williams:

So there's a couple of things that stand out

Brent Williams:

to me in that story. The first you mentioned that, you know,

Brent Williams:

four generations leading a business, I think is pretty

Brent Williams:

rare, first of all. Secondly, you know, it's not easy for co

Brent Williams:

CEOs to work. So there has to be something culturally in the

Brent Williams:

business that's built into its DNA that enables that. I don't

Brent Williams:

know, as I asked you that anything like you think like,

Brent Williams:

what's what's allowed for the continuity, you know, and the

Brent Williams:

ability for the business to persist throughout generations.

Brent Williams:

And now for your sons to function, you know, in a in a,

Brent Williams:

in a structure that's not easy to function in?

Brent Williams:

Well, they're twins.

Brent Williams:

Yeah

Gary George:

I don't think I mentioned that. But they're

Gary George:

twins. I'm sure they got in fights, at some point as

Gary George:

brothers.

Brent Williams:

Yeah.

Gary George:

But I don't really remember it. They got along

Gary George:

there. As I said, their personalities are different.

Brent Williams:

Yeah

Gary George:

But as they were growing up, I watched how they

Gary George:

meshed. And And again, they, they're different, even though

Gary George:

they lived in, grew up in the same house and slept in the same

Gary George:

bedroom. They're different personalities. And I just

Gary George:

thought it would be a good combination. As far as any

Gary George:

family business, it, the whole family has to have the same

Gary George:

goal.

Brent Williams:

Yeah.

Gary George:

And, and that's to be successful. I mean, they've

Gary George:

got two sisters. And they're not in the business. But, but they

Gary George:

know that they're working for them, too. And, you know, it's,

Gary George:

we've just, I guess a little bit is luck. But it's, it's just

Gary George:

gone over these generations that that we're all working for the

Gary George:

same goal.

Brent Williams:

Well, you know, you mentioned this earlier on

Brent Williams:

briefly. I wish everyone listening could have been in the

Brent Williams:

room when I got to tell you that you were gonna be a part of the

Brent Williams:

Arkansas Business Hall of Fame.

Gary George:

Don't make me get emotional again.

Brent Williams:

Well, but you know, one thing that I, you

Brent Williams:

know, when you talked for a few minutes after that, you not only

Brent Williams:

talked about your family, you talked about there's a lot of

Brent Williams:

other people, you know, that you felt like were involved in the

Brent Williams:

success of the company and you. You know who are some of those

Brent Williams:

people that really have been influential during the last, you

Brent Williams:

know, several decades of, of your leadership and of the

Brent Williams:

company?

Gary George:

Well, I think when you all surprised me and, and it

Gary George:

was really pulled off well.

Brent Williams:

Your sons helped with that by the way.

Gary George:

They, they knew I'd show up if they said a certain

Gary George:

guy was coming, flying in to see me and, and I showed up and when

Gary George:

I walked in and saw that, I was shocked. But I mentioned there

Gary George:

about Monty Henderson, you did and I hired him in the early

Gary George:

90s. And, and he had been running actually a much larger

Gary George:

company. And part of it was I knew if something happened to

Gary George:

me, we needed somebody in place. And so I hired him and it it was

Gary George:

I say a lot of times it's the second best decision I've ever

Gary George:

made. In my life after after marrying the wife.

Brent Williams:

Yeah.

Gary George:

And, and so he came in and he said, Gary, is there

Gary George:

going to be plenty for both of us to do? And I said, I can't

Gary George:

get to things that we need to do. We've got other things that,

Gary George:

that I can't get to. After about six months, it was around

Gary George:

Christmas time, I'll never forget. He said, when are we

Gary George:

going to hire somebody else to help us? He was very influential

Gary George:

in the success of the company. Another long term employee that

Gary George:

was there over 50 years. And he he did everything there was to

Gary George:

do in the company, and his name was Otto Yak. I actually grew up

Gary George:

with his son, we were friends, but Otto was there and he just

Gary George:

was calm and everything he did and very deliberate. And he

Gary George:

would have to have a lot of praise for the success for being

Gary George:

there that long. And, and he helped mentored me, he really

Gary George:

did. And fortunately, my boys got to see my dad, in kind of,

Gary George:

in some roles, how he handled things. They got to see how Otto

Gary George:

handled things. They got to see how Mani handled things. And

Gary George:

they got to see how I handled things. So they had a, they had

Gary George:

a little group there that they can learn from, and I think they

Gary George:

took more from everybody else and steered away I am. But those

Gary George:

people really stand out. We've had a lot of great, true loyal

Gary George:

people, but I'll go down if I started naming them it was it

Gary George:

would be, it would be hard, but those are the ones that that

Gary George:

really made a difference. Because of where they were.

Brent Williams:

Well, and I think that someone else that was

Brent Williams:

in the room was Mrs. Johnelle Hunt. I think there's been a

Brent Williams:

strong family relationship there for a long time.

Gary George:

Well, when when the Hunt's started business,

Gary George:

probably a lot of people don't know that they were gonna haul

Gary George:

rice hulls for litter for the chicken business. And we were

Gary George:

one of their first customers and, and did some investing in

Gary George:

it. And my dad went on the board. And and that has just

Gary George:

added started a very, very long and close relationship. And yes,

Gary George:

I mean, we're very close. We're very close, and had been one of

Gary George:

the things. It's kind of different. But my dad and I

Gary George:

would go to lunch, anytime we're in town, and we try to schedule

Gary George:

meetings around whatever. And I actually when I was in college,

Gary George:

I would drive up and go to lunch with my dad, he would he would

Gary George:

eat about two o'clock. It's just he and I and and that progressed

Gary George:

with other people. But JB and Johnelle and my dad and I, I

Gary George:

would say there was a period of three or four years we we might

Gary George:

eat lunch twice together, and just have fun. Talk about a

Gary George:

little business, but mainly just talk and laugh. And that was

Gary George:

that was our break in the day.

Brent Williams:

Yeah

Gary George:

You know. And I still do that with a group of

Gary George:

people today.

Brent Williams:

Yeah. What a what what is special

Brent Williams:

relationship? Yes. Well, you know, and I know, You've been

Brent Williams:

pretty instrumental in or at least those are my words. Those

Brent Williams:

are not yours, but pretty instrumental, particularly in

Brent Williams:

your community within Springdale, in Northwest

Brent Williams:

Arkansas. Tell me you've been philanthropic, you know, to this

Brent Williams:

community. Just tell us a little bit of maybe a little bit about

Brent Williams:

what the community means to you, what Springdale means to you why

Brent Williams:

it's important that your company is is there.

Gary George:

Well, obviously that's where we started. And I

Gary George:

grew up there. I tried to remember actually, I tried to

Gary George:

look it up and couldn't find real quickly, what the

Gary George:

population was when I was graduating from high school, but

Gary George:

I think it was around 15,000 You know, you just back back in the

Gary George:

60s. It's hard for people to imagine that didn't grow up in

Gary George:

Northwest Arkansas what it was here, but it was close. I mean,

Gary George:

it was a close community as I think most all of them were

Gary George:

around here till they they got real big and when it's that

Gary George:

size, you kind of know everybody and, and I just, I've always

Gary George:

kind of wanted to, to do a few things for the community and in

Gary George:

certain things, and we don't do it for everything. We just pick

Gary George:

what we want to do. And I think that that's part of not only

Gary George:

personal fulfillment, but the business responsibility to, to

Gary George:

help your community that you're in also.

Brent Williams:

Yeah, absolutely. Well, you know, I

Brent Williams:

wonder, as you look back over, over your career, you know, and

Brent Williams:

you just think about, you know, you and I just walked by a group

Brent Williams:

of students in the Walton College, as we were walking over

Brent Williams:

here, as you kind of think back to what you've learned

Brent Williams:

throughout your careers leading, leading this company, anything

Brent Williams:

stand out, you're like, Oh, I'd give this piece of advice to a

Brent Williams:

young person starting starting their career?

Gary George:

Well, I'll tell you a story. And I don't know if

Gary George:

this is the direct answer to your question, but maybe it's

Gary George:

getting there a little bit. When my sons were in seniors in high

Gary George:

school, I said have you guys decided what you want to do in

Gary George:

life? And they both said, well, what are you going to do sell

Gary George:

the company? And I said, no, but you haven't decided where you're

Gary George:

going to school. And I'm just wondering, I thought you were

Gary George:

going to the university. But I think it's time we sat down.

Gary George:

They said, well, we're going to university. And I said, well, I

Gary George:

was going to say that's the thing to do if you're going to

Gary George:

want to be in the business here in Arkansas, because I have met

Gary George:

so many people when I was a student, and it has paid off for

Gary George:

me to know people all around the state of Arkansas that I went to

Gary George:

school with. And it surprised them, they thought where where's

Gary George:

dad going with this? But they did and they they have developed

Gary George:

those same relationships and in throughout Arkansas, that I was

Gary George:

fortunate to do too. And I would give that same advice to my

Gary George:

great my grandsons if they do the same thing.

Brent Williams:

Yeah. Such great advice. I think that can be

Brent Williams:

overlooked. You know, at this age, if you're, you know, if

Brent Williams:

you're a business student in college, or even if you're a

Brent Williams:

young professional, just how important relationships are.

Gary George:

Relationships. Yes, absolutely. Absolutely.

Brent Williams:

You know, well, you you mentioned, Arkansas. So

Brent Williams:

I guess I have to ask you, what's it mean to you to be in

Brent Williams:

the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame with you know, there's a

Brent Williams:

lot of amazing people, you know, over over the history of the

Brent Williams:

Arkansas Business Hall of Fame. That's, that's, that's a part of

Brent Williams:

it, you know, and to be part of that, I think 100 or so people

Brent Williams:

is pretty special.

Gary George:

Well, it's real special. It's real special. The,

Gary George:

some of the people that are on there, that I don't I mean, I'll

Gary George:

start saying names, I'll leave off people but I went to school

Gary George:

with Reynie Rutledge, I went to school with Stanley Reed. I went

Gary George:

to school with Curt Bradbury. And, and there are others that I

Gary George:

knew I mean, that it it's just very special. And I got to know,

Gary George:

the Tommy May, I got to know Bill Clark as a trustee of the

Gary George:

University Board and Lewis Eppley and people like that. And

Gary George:

when I went on the University Board, I thought why I'm on here

Gary George:

these are these guys are, are so much smarter and know how to

Gary George:

handle things, but it to be included with with those people

Gary George:

and then people have a generation that's older that

Gary George:

everybody would look up to, JB and Johnelle, Sam Walton, Bill

Gary George:

Dillard, Don Tyson.

Brent Williams:

Yeah.

Gary George:

It's just kind of a it's just kind of amazing that

Gary George:

yeah, it's very, very special. Very special.

Brent Williams:

It is special. You know, I think that Arkansas

Brent Williams:

has a tremendous business history. I mean, when you think

Brent Williams:

about all of those names in a in a pretty small state, it's truly

Brent Williams:

amazing.

Gary George:

It is it really is national companies, worldwide

Gary George:

companies it it really is, and I guess a lot of that's why we got

Gary George:

all the growth going on up here, too.

Brent Williams:

I think that's right. I think the best days of

Brent Williams:

Arkansas are no doubt ahead. And I think a lot of that is due to

Brent Williams:

the amazing enterprises that have been built here.

Gary George:

Absolutely.

Brent Williams:

Well, Gary, I'll just conclude by once again

Brent Williams:

saying congratulations for being part of the 2024 class, the

Brent Williams:

Arkansas Business Hall of Fame. We're so proud of you, of your

Brent Williams:

family, of your business, that you're going to be a part of

Brent Williams:

this and it's going to be it's going to be a pretty fun and

Brent Williams:

special night on February the 16th.

Gary George:

Well, I appreciate it and looking forward to it.

Gary George:

And I appreciate that you you having me here. And I look

Gary George:

forward to the 16th.

Brent Williams:

Me too. Thanks.

Gary George:

Thank you.

Brent Williams:

On behalf of the Walton College thank you for

Brent Williams:

joining us for this captivating conversation. To stay connected

Brent Williams:

and never miss an episode, simply search for Be Epic on

Brent Williams:

your preferred podcast service.

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About the Podcast

Be EPIC Podcast
Welcome to the Be Epic Podcast featuring Brent Williams, interim dean of the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas. In each episode, you will hear from guests that will inspire you to be epic. As experts in their field, they will emphasize strategy, leadership, and entrepreneurship. This programming will highlight innovation and cutting-edge information that will leave you wanting more. Be sure to connect with Brent Williams on LinkedIn to join the conversation, access show notes and discover fantastic bonus content.