Jerry Hodge had an opportunity and the vision it took to recognize it’s potential but he didn’t have the credit or the money to seize upon it.
So he talked his mother into co-signing the note. That was the beginning of an adventure that brought opportunities to many others in his community and beyond, bringing him fame and fortune.
Now he is writing a book about his life’s adventures. One of my favorite stories he related over a beer some years ago was how he ended up buying his first ranch. He named it the “High Card Ranch” which gives you a clue as to how he ended up with it.
Maxor began in 1926 as a single pharmacy in Amarillo, with offices in the Fisk Building — which now is the Courtyard By Marriott at the Historic Fisk downtown. The company’s name comes from founders Howard Guy Maxfield and Samuel Orr.
Jerry Hodge graduated from pharmacy school and returned to his hometown to start his career as a retail pharmacist. He got a job downtown at Maxor, a small retail pharmacy.
When he had an opportunity to buy Maxor, he didn’t have the money nor the credit so he talked his mother into co-signing a note for $21,000. He was the company’s single owner and sole employee when he bought the company in 1966.
As I understand it he was going broke fast. So he made “sales calls” on all the local doctors asking for help in keeping a small time Amarillo business in business by writing their scripts though his pharmacy.
The rest is history. And you can read about it in his upcoming autobiography to be released soon.
After more than five decades of diligent hustling, relentless persevering and taking a few uncalculated risks, Jerry Hodge had it all.
His pharmacy business had grown from a single storefront in Amarillo, Texas to a national brand worth nearly three hundred million dollars.
He’d been the city commissioner and mayor for a town he loved dearly.
He had a great reputation, even after being embarrassed by Oprah Winfrey on national television.
After two unsuccessful marriages, he’d found Margaret, the one true love of his life. And he owned enough Panhandle ranch land to ride his horse from sun-up ‘til sun-down without seeing another soul. Life was good.
But when a damning diagnosis left Jerry counting his days and saying his pre-emptive goodbyes, he began evaluating his life through a whole new lens.
This book offers a look back at the lessons Jerry learned in life and business – the choices he made, the people who taught him about the meaning of integrity, his proudest achievements and the regrets that will never le
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