Who is Sam White, Jr.? If you've ever been to a “Growing O” show or been involved with Oliver as a dealer, you're sure to have encountered Sam White at one time or another. And if you did meet him, you most certainly couldn't forget him.

I recently had the honor of spending time with Sam and his adorable wife, Stephanie, in their North Carolina home. What a wonderful couple! Through the next few issues I will share some of the stories that Sam had to tell about his 30+ year career with Oliver. For now I'd like to introduce all of you Sam White, Jr. - President of Oliver.

Sam White, Jr., is the son of a Chicago banker, Sam White, Sr. Sam, Sr. served on the board of directors of Hart-Parr and was instrumental in the merger of the Hart-Parr and Oliver in 1929. Upon Sam Jr.’s graduation from his Evanston, IL high school, he attended Harvard University and also worked as a trainee at the South Bend Oliver plant, beginning in 1939 in the purchasing department. On the weekends he would take the electric train back to Evanston to see his sweetheart, Stephanie. When the weekend was over he road back to South Bend with a group of investors and bankers. Undoubtedly Sam learned quite a bit riding around with those gentlemen. By working in the purchasing department, he learned who all the suppliers for the company were.

After graduating from Harvard with a Masters in Business, Sam was called to Washington to serve as an assistant for the vice-admiral of the Navy and served in Pearl Harbor. Even with a war going on, Sam took a weekend off to get married to his high-school sweetheart.

When the war was over, Sam returned to Oliver and held several different positions before being promoted to the Chicago headquarters to fill sales and administrative posts. He became a market research specialist and was later assigned as an assistant to the president and western manager.

In 1952 Sam White, Jr. formed the dealer advisory council. This “thinking outside of the box” idea was used to channel advise to the upper management as to what was and wasn't working with the customer. It also alerted management to problems with equipment in the field. Dealers were appointed to this council by territory managers and represented their territory for a maximum of two years. Sam felt that this limit would keep new faces and fresh ideas on the board. When Sam told other farm equipment companies about this new concept during a Farm Equipment Institute meeting, a certain “other green” company said that there was no way they were going to let their dealers tell them how to build equipment. But Sam said “You can't afford not to.”

In 1956 he returned to Chicago as the vice-president of the industrial division. However, Sam will quickly tell you that his heart wasn't in the industrial line. Before long he became the President of Oliver's export subsidiary, Oliver International, S.A. He served in that capacity until 1960 when White Motors stepped in and bought the Oliver Corporation.

Check out Oliver Heritage Issue # 8 to read more about Sam White and other Oliver Stories!