I'll never forget meeting Henry Morris in 2012, MEAT+POULTRYs first Operations Executive of the Year recipient. We met at Smithfield Foods' 12th floor office with a million-dollar view of Chicago's Michigan Avenue. The night before my morning flight to Chicago, I visited with my mother and she was unusually interested to hear about the man I was going to interview. She smiled and listened carefully. I told her how opportunities to meet some of the world's most interesting and successful people has always been one of the best perks of my job. These were opportunities I would have never known if she and my dad hadn't encouraged and supported my pursuit of a college degree and a career as a newspaper reporter and later, a magazine editor. During that next day's trip, I couldn't help but think how the words and actions of most people's parents profoundly influence their children's professional lives and how they develop into friends, spouses, parents and contributors to society. It was one of the first topics I brought up with Henry Morris in discussing his career path. His eyes twinkled as he told me his dad "believed in hard work and accountability." Morris spoke fondly of his father, who worked in a zinc and copper refinery for much of his adult life. "He was driven," he said.
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