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.

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

fulfillment, but the business responsibility to, to help your

community that you're in also.

Welcome to the Be Epic Podcast brought to you

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

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

explore the dynamic landscape of business, and uncover the

strategies, insights, and stories that drive business

today.

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

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

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

congratulations.

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

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

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

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

Well certainly and I would add deserving to

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

father son combination in the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame.

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

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

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

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

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

evolve?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And so he founded the business and

He founded it, it was actually called George's

Produce,

Okay.

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

Depression did anything he he sold. He had fruits and

vegetables back that far back in Springdale. They meet on

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

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

Okay

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

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

call the poultry business around here.

Okay.

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

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

grandfather was out, dealing with peach orchards buying land

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

Farmer at heart

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

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

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

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

And been in the business ever since then?

Been in the business ever since.

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

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

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

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

Well, we we serve various customers, I guess you

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

go to many institutional distributors that go to

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

cooked.

Okay.

And so we have a wide array of products other

than fully cooked and we actually go all across the

United States from the East Coast to the West Coast.

And I think you describe the company describes

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

clicking in on what does that mean?

Fully integrated is is where you you have your, your

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

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

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

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

the people that were going to raise the chickens, but

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

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

way to the customer.

And poultry can be can be a tough business,

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

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

ag commodity prices, etc.

You hit it on the head.

Yeah.

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

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

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

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

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

Yeah

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

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

pound.

Yeah.

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

It's a big swing.

Yes. Yes.

So you really at least when I was reading some

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

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

graduated in 1972. And but really kind of really started

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

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

its history?

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

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

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

Okay.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

made me president

Okay.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

relationship.

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

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

he was still around.

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

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

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

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

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

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

in capital expenditures. And I always remember my dad never

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

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

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

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

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

Yeah.

And I think it worked out.

Well here to stay certainly so right you're

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

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

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

me like what you've done for your sons.

Yeah, I tried to follow that.

Yeah.

And made them co-Presidents when they were 30.

Yeah.

For their birthday

Yeah.

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

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

generation.

Yeah.

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

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

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

have different personalities, they have different strengths.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yeah

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

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

So there's a couple of things that stand out

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

four generations leading a business, I think is pretty

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

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

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

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

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

ability for the business to persist throughout generations.

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

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

Well, they're twins.

Yeah

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

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

brothers.

Yeah.

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

there. As I said, their personalities are different.

Yeah

But as they were growing up, I watched how they

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

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

bedroom. They're different personalities. And I just

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

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

goal.

Yeah.

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

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

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

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

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

same goal.

Well, you know, you mentioned this earlier on

briefly. I wish everyone listening could have been in the

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

Arkansas Business Hall of Fame.

Don't make me get emotional again.

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

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

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

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

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

people that really have been influential during the last, you

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

company?

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

was really pulled off well.

Your sons helped with that by the way.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

made. In my life after after marrying the wife.

Yeah.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

really made a difference. Because of where they were.

Well, and I think that someone else that was

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

strong family relationship there for a long time.

Well, when when the Hunt's started business,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

that was our break in the day.

Yeah

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

people today.

Yeah. What a what what is special

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

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

are not yours, but pretty instrumental, particularly in

your community within Springdale, in Northwest

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

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

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

it's important that your company is is there.

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

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

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

population was when I was graduating from high school, but

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

personal fulfillment, but the business responsibility to, to

help your community that you're in also.

Yeah, absolutely. Well, you know, I

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

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

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

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

throughout your careers leading, leading this company, anything

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

young person starting starting their career?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

those same relationships and in throughout Arkansas, that I was

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

great my grandsons if they do the same thing.

Yeah. Such great advice. I think that can be

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

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

young professional, just how important relationships are.

Relationships. Yes, absolutely. Absolutely.

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

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

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

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

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

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

is pretty special.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

University Board and Lewis Eppley and people like that. And

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

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

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

and then people have a generation that's older that

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

Dillard, Don Tyson.

Yeah.

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

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

It is special. You know, I think that Arkansas

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

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

amazing.

It is it really is national companies, worldwide

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

all the growth going on up here, too.

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

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

the amazing enterprises that have been built here.

Absolutely.

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

saying congratulations for being part of the 2024 class, the

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

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

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

special night on February the 16th.

Well, I appreciate it and looking forward to it.

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

forward to the 16th.

Me too. Thanks.

Thank you.

On behalf of the Walton College thank you for

joining us for this captivating conversation. To stay connected

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