Page 466 - Peterson 85 Years and Going Strong
P. 466

  Top left, clockwise: Erin & her crew in the backyard (L-R) Cooper, Erin, McKenna, Peyton in 2019; Duane Jr.’s family (L-R) Joanna with Kellan, Hadley, Reagan, and Duane Jr. in 2019; Gen 5.0 in a skidsteer in 2019
STEWARDSHIP
At a meeting in June 2019, Duane Jr. addressed a crowd of fifty Cat reps who call on the six West Coast dealers. “As the fourth generation, Duane does not see himself as the owner of the business,” says Kirk Miller, Seattle district manager, who called the meeting. “He doesn’t see it as his busi- ness. He views himself as the steward of Peterson for the time he’s in the seat. That really impressed me. The last slide of his presentation that day showed his and Erin’s kids sitting around a pool. ‘This is the next generation,’ he said. ‘My role is to be the steward of this business until one of them takes over.’ In my mind,” says Miller, “that’s indic- ative of the type of values Duane and Sue instilled in Junior and Erin.”
Passing a healthy, vibrant business into the hands of the next generation is the ultimate trust. “I didn’t know my great-grandfather from a profes- sional standpoint, so for me, it’s about the lega- cy he left. I appreciate and respect it very much. I want to honor and live up to that. Erin would say the same thing. It’s our job to keep the company going. Each leader was what the business needed
at the time. Grampie built the business. Poppa kept it going and made sure that there was a third generation; and my dad really took it and built this very successful business. Erin and I can already see that our focus isn’t going to be so much about huge growth—although if opportunities come, we’ll take advantage of them. But the big growth was in my dad’s years. Our goal is about making the company healthy, successful and sustainable for the long-term. That’s our focus.”
Having a family business is a huge responsibil- ity to live up to. And when that business grows
   464 | PETERSON: 85 YEARS AND GOING STRONG
 



























































































   464   465   466   467   468