It?s All in the Family at George?s

Gary George has been called a quiet leader in the community, but his actions have been loud and clear.

A member of the board at First National Bank of Springdale, George is also a chairman of the Springdale Water Commission and a member of the University of Arkansas board of trustees. He is credited with playing a large role in the talks leading to the expansion of Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

A third-generation leader at George’s, where he is CEO, he has hardly sat on his laurels being the grandson of founder C.L. George and son of former George’s CEO Gene George.

“You meet a lot of third-generation idiots running companies,” said one Springdale businessman. “Gary is not one of them. He is real smart.”

Gary has a very close relationship with his father and his children, including twin sons Carl and Charles. Through the International Business Management Apprenticeship Program at Springdale High School, the twins work part-time at George’s after school and also worked last summer in various areas throughout George’s operations.

“We can compete very well in our industry running a family business and see no reason to go public or sell,” said Gary George.

George said the bottom line to running a private company is not unlike running a publicly traded one.

“What really matters most if taking care of your employees, growers and customers” he said.

“You have to prepare for generations to come if you want to keep the business in the family, through estate planning and such. We think we’ve been pretty good at that.”

George is not alone in being a third-generation leader of a Northwest Arkansas poultry firm. In fact, poultry industry leader Tyson Foods Inc. is led by president and CEO John Tyson, son of Don Tyson and grandson of founder John Tyson.