Recharger Magazine

GRC Industry Mourn Loss of Willis Daggs

• By Tricia Judge
• Mar 01, 2002

Willis Daggs, founder of Chatsworth, Calif-based GRC (General Ribbon Corp.), passed away on Jan. 22, 2002.  He died from complications arising from a bout with pneumonia.  He was one month shy of his 98th birthday.
A devout Christian and dedicated family man, Willis leaves behind a family much larger than his two children (including son Robert, GRC’s chairman), six grandchildren, and 10 great grandchildren.  According to GRC Marketing Manager (and grandson) Jim Daggs, “GRC truly is a family and my grandfather was the loving patriarch.  His compassion and kindness endeared him to all the employees.  My family and I are not the only ones losing a loved one.”
From humble beginnings in 1946, Willis built an organization committed to outstanding quality and exceptional service.  “You can only grow a business by hammering on quality and service,” he told me when I visited to profile GRC in 1998.  He shared his history in the imaging supplies industry, and it is rich and long. 
In 1928, Calvin Coolidge was president and Lindbergh had yet to fly across the Atlantic. That’s when Willis Daggs became a partner in Rochester Ribbon and Carbon. His company sold imaging supplies as they were in those days, typewriter ribbons and carbon papers.
In 1946, Willis was ready to move beyond Rochester. “It was the end of the war and we’d endured two horrible winters,” he said. “California looked like a good opportunity.”
Before he left for his new home, though, Willis had to sell his business. One serious prospect was IBM. “Their offer was great, but because Tom Watson, Sr., was out of the country, they told me I would have to wait a year for a check,” he said. “I had the kids out of school, the truck packed and a new house waiting. I didn’t have a year.” The company was sold to an entrepreneur whose financing was a little shaky, leaving Willis Daggs under-financed.
Willis took some machinery and headed west. Unfortunately, he could no longer service his favorite East Coast accounts. “United Parcel Service was only a California delivery service then,” he said. “Orders could be filled in a day, but took weeks to deliver.”
Willis dug in his heels and pounded the California pavement. As the company grew, he worked even harder. “I remember one time when he came home from work, showered, returned to the office, and then returned the following morning and evening and repeated the routine,” Bob Daggs recalls. “He went 36 hours without sleep.”
Finally, in 1955, Willis Daggs brought on his first employee, Lucy Hoyle, with whom he stayed in touch and who still referred to him as “Bossman.” In 1959, he hired his first sales representative. The first commission he earned on sales was 63 cents.
As the business grew, Willis continued to place a premium on the relationships he built with every employee. “He went through that plant every morning to say hello to every worker,” Bob Daggs said. “Everyone knew when he was out of town because they didn’t get their morning greeting.”
GRC’s Pam Mask recalled that this practice became personal to her one day when Willis dropped by to see her, but she was not in her office.  He made a point to stop by later and let her know that he had wanted to give her his usual morning greeting, and was sorry he had missed her.  “I was impressed that he could keep track like that.  After all, by then we had more than 100 employees.”
Willis Daggs visited former employees and maintained friendships built on GRC’s growth right until the end of his life. Moreover, he managed the company with a sense of professionalism and style. At age 95, Willis Daggs still visited the plant in corporate attire. “My father always wore a tie. He gardened in a tie. He probably fished with a tie on,” said Bob Daggs.
At a memorial service held Feb. 9, Daggs’ family members and friends told many endearing stories about Willis Daggs.  He remained spry, flirtatious and maintained great humor throughout the later years of his life.  Mask told a story he shared with her while he was living in a care facility. “He told me that the women were all after him, because he still had car keys, could drive and didn’t shuffle his feet like the other men there.” 
Jim Daggs recalled the many great legacies that his grandfather left him, like the following:

• Don’t count your days, but make your days count.
• Live your life so as to be missed.
• Ethics and integrity in business dealings are never shackles.  They set you free.
• Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are the best lunch you can eat if that is what your grandchildren are eating.

     Bob Daggs credited his father for starting the family tradition of eating dessert first and told tales of his father’s prowess in diffusing difficult situations.  But he rendered a packed room silent and solemn when he said to his father “You are my hero.”

This article originally appeared in the March 2002 issue of Recharger.