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supply
products and that the AWA, now the
IBOA International,
would serve as the voice of the Distributor network to promote the
interests and protect the rights of the Distributors.
A Voice for Distributors
Fred Hansen's
widow, Crown Direct Bernice Hansen, recalls Jay and Rich asking what
they would like to see in the new corporation. "We told them we
wanted a voice for Distributors in the field and Distributorships we
could pass on to our heirs," Bernice says.
Crown Direct Jody Dutt is the son of Jere and of Eileen,
who have passed away. Jody says, "In those days (leading up to 1959)
the rules had been changing almost monthly. The AWA was founded to
protect what people like my dad and mom had built."
Ron Victor and
Jody Victor, both Crown Directs, are the
sons of Joe Victor, who also recently passed away, and Helyne. Says
Ron, "My dad felt the most important thing is
the idea of partnership. To have a bridge of
communication and stay focused on the roots of
why this business started."
Jody points out, "Every Distributor has a chance to be
heard. The ADA listens intently to everyone, from the smallest to
the largest Distributor, the newest to the oldest."
Key to the Opportunity
To this day, the
voice of the Distributor is a vital component of the business
opportunity.
"My father sold the
Association more than anything," says Jody
Dutt. "He'd talk about the rights, the independence you were
guaranteed—that you could build something you owned and pass it on
to your kids."
Crown Ambassadors Frank and Rita Delisle, already highly
successful Distributors, soon joined the original group. "The
Association is what really got us to
believe. And we could tell people we recruited it was truly their
business," Rita says.
A Business for Generations
That original
concept of inheritable Distributorships was prophetic of the family
nature of the business. All of the pioneers mentioned previously
have children and grandchildren in the business.
Phyllis Chesebro, daughter of Walter Bass, the first AWA
Board president, now heads the family business, the first to span
four generations.
Great-grandmother Bernice Hansen has three daughters and
sons-in-law in her business.
Jody Victor's son Steve became the
first third-generation Direct. The Delisles' son Dennis also serves
on the Board. The Delisles have grandsons in the business, and
Rita's mother, who lived to be 90, joined the business while in her
70s
The Rock on which the Future Is Built
Like the other
founders, Jere Dutt insisted there was no limit to what the AWA and
The Corporation could accomplish. Jody Dutt remembers his father
saying "that we would grow around the world because what we're
selling is not just a product or a company. We're showing people how
to be independent."
Copyright
1998. Source: October 1998 Amagram® magazine. Reprinted with
permission
(Amagram® was the monthly publication for IBOs.
Effective 9/1/99, Amagram® was replaced by Achieve™.)
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