Exhibit Hall Sighting: Don Chilcutt
Oh wow. Can it get any better? I was hanging around in the DMA exhibit hall this morning when Don Chilcutt, founder of Chilcutt Direct, father of Matt and Scott and grandfather of Kris, happened by.
That made my day. It had been years since I saw the man from Oklahoma who threw the best parties in the business.
Not that Don’s soirees were the biggest or wildest. They just happened to be the most fun.
You might run into J. Peterman, Tom Curry from Gander Mountain or any number of outdoor product catalogers. But the main attraction was always Don himself.
“What are you laughing at?” he said to retainer Jim Zuckermandel in Printer’s Row in Chicago one night. “You have 50 million inserts to sell by Monday.”
Then there was the party at the Chinese restaurant in San Francisco. After 12 courses (and much liquid refreshment), a team of waiters brought out what Chilcutt called the “coup de grass:” A massive albino catfish.
Curry, Chilcutt’s largest client, said, “Oh, s**t.
Tired of flying small planes into snowstorms to visit his clients, Chilcutt started traveling in a bus—the broker bus. It had Internet connectivity. He and his crew drove it all around the country.
They were great times, and now the third generation is in the business: Matt’s son Kris. He serves as an account executive.
As for Don, he and his wife Charlotte live in Phoenix.
It was great seeing him.
Related Topics: Direct Hit, General
