Farewell To A Friend
ATA & Bestway Express Chairman, Mac McCormick was one of a kind.
Deborah Whistler
Editor
A cloud of sadness hung over the opening of American Trucking Associations' annual management conference and exhibition in Dallas last month. Just the day before, we learned that incoming ATA Chairman Mac McCormick had died in a small plane accident.
CJ "Mac" McCormick III: Successful trucking executive, truck dealer, industry activist, athlete, sailor, motorcyclist, environmentalist – and potential legislator – was gone.
For many of us, it was inconceivable. He was an accomplished pilot, with that rare quality of invincibility about him. When word came that his plane was missing, good friend Don Orr said he expected Mac to come tromping out of a cornfield. We weren't that lucky.
Mac was approaching Lawrenceville/Vincennes (Ind.) International Airport in rough weather Thursday night, Oct. 26, when his plane disappeared. He was found in the wreckage next day, in a field a few miles from the airstrip.
It most likely wasn't bad weather that caused the crash. His dad, Jim (CJ McCormick, II), says that after discussions with flight controllers, accident investigators and a farmer who heard the plane go down, it appears Mac suffered a fatal heart attack before the crash.
During his 55 years with us (his birthday was just the week before his passing), he amassed a huge list of achievements in business. Most have already been covered in the daily and weekly media, so I'd like to focus here on other facets of Mac's life. And quite a life it was.
An incredible athlete, he led his high school team to the Indiana state basketball championships (just like the movie Hoosiers, only they didn't win). He won a scholarship to the University of Tennessee for both basketball and golf. He was told he had pro potential in the latter sport.
Many people came across this particular gift unexpectedly. Mac was a bit – how should I put this? – unconventional. He'd stride onto the golf course in a T-shirt, jeans and work boots with no socks – looking like anything but a golfer. Then he'd proceed to outplay everyone.
His unconventionality carried over. He was an avid motorcyclist and often went on extended bike trips with other trucker/bikers. Mac preferred to travel light and would bungee cord his gear to the back of the seat. Saddlebags ruined the ride, you see.
Although an avid pilot, probably his favorite pastime was boating. The photo on this page was taken on his SeaRay a few years ago. He asked that his ashes be scattered over the Atlantic Ocean and over his second home in Silverton, Colo.
Mac appreciated nature and was always pointing out spots of beauty where he might settle down someday and open a hometown bar. Silverton was high on his list, as was his hometown of Vincennes. He said the pale pink Indiana sky at dusk is the most beautiful light in the world.
He had just been named Business Leader of the Year by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. His family – including his father, a past chairman of ATA – were already in Dallas for the celebration of his installation as ATA chairman when they heard the news.
More than 2,000 people paid their respects to Mac at services at the church and University of Vincennes, where he served on the board of trustees. Among those eulogizing him were Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and ATA President Bill Graves, who is former governor of Kansas.
Mac was an exceptional man whose presence and spirit could light up a room, and whose clear thinking not only impressed others, but taught them new ways of doing things. If he wasn't an icon yet, he was well on his way to being one.
Unique is a word journalists are taught never to use. But in the case of Mac McCormick, it applies. He was truly one of a kind. And we lost him far too soon.
E-mail Deb Whistler at dwhistler@truckinginfo.com
