2019 Junior Achievement Hall of Fame: Laureate Rick Morrison.

AuthorAnderson, Tasha
PositionMORRISON - Interview

Rick Morrison entered the world of business at the tender age of five, when he went door to door charging a 5 cent "delivery fee" for free-sample bottles of Tang. "I learned about revenue sharing, because my mom took all my money," Morrison laughs. From that point on business was an integral part of his life, from selling subscriptions to The Oregonian as a boy to being the sole owner of the Morrison Auto Group before selling the company to Kendall Auto Group in 2013. His youth taught him: "If I wanted something I had to go to work and get it, and I learned to never give up."

Alaska Business: What was your family life and upbringing like?

Rick Morrison: My dad was a very hardworking guy. He was a grocery store manager and worked up through the ranks. I was in eighth grade when dad had a major stroke and never went back to work. Mom had to go to work, so basically from the time that I was in eighth grade all the way through high school, I kind of had to raise myself.

When dad had a stroke, it took him two years to walk again. He lived for another nine years and died at forty-five years old. He never quit, and he never gave up, and it taught me if you want something, decide what you want, set your goals, and go after it. And, more importantly, help those around you because if you help those around you, you get to what you want faster.

AB: Can you talk a little about ethics in business?

Morrison: I bought a building and remodeled it. and the remodel cost was going to be about $3.5 million. I shook hands with the contractor. We signed the contract two weeks before the project was done. So we literally did a $3.5 million project on a handshake.

I'm a real believer that your word is your bond... Sometimes you may say you're going to do something and it costs you. Well, that's the cost of being straight up. I have had multiple occasions where I could have taken advantage of the situation, but I always chose the high road... can walk any place in this town and hold my head high because I have never intentionally cheated anybody. I remember an old gentleman saying: in this business you can shear a sheep every year, but you can only skin him once. And it took me a little while to understand exactly what he was saying, but it's basically take care of people and they'll provide for you for a long time. But if you screw them, you're done.

AB: What is the most important message you have to share with today's youth?

Morrison: First, you've got to have...

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