1929 to 2009: John Garner, RIP
August 24, 2009 It isn’t often that one prepares a tribute for one’s competitor, but such is the case mourning the death this spring of John Garner, former President of Cotton Outlook, and one of the keenest minds in the cotton business.
When Meister Media took over the Cotton Trade Journal annual edition and the monthly Cotton Grower in 1965, the then editor, Seton Ross, maintained global contacts through a strenuous two-month trip around the world, from the mills of Japan to the cotton fields of the Nile Delta. To relieve the strain on Seton, and with a love for travel in my blood, I took the trip in 1966, and my very good fortune was to make a first stop in Liverpool and meet John Garner.
It was in 1966 that John brought forth the “Cotton Outlook Index,” which very quickly became the only and best way to measure world cotton prices. I remember that John took me under his wing, provided office space and made appointments for me with leading Liverpool merchants and brokers. He was demonstrating his wide view and the need for more visibility and transparency in the world cotton community. John also believed in joining forces to grow, and he was willing to back that up with his time and effort. Besides, John was optimistic ― he believed a rising tide raised all boats.
We became good friends, and Liverpool was always on our agenda when traveling the cotton circuit. Being an ardent golfer, I kept after John to arrange a game at Royal Liverpool, also called Hoy Lake, where the American golfer, the immortal Bobby Jones, won the second leg with the British Open in 1930. One year, John arranged for me to play there with a leading cotton merchant. It was one of the highlights of my golf career. Although John maintained he was a credible golfer, we never played in Liverpool, but finally I got him out on my home course in Willoughby. Ohio, I remember John sank a number of impossible putts, and stood by with a beautific smile on his face while I failed on shorter ones.
He had my admiration for his skill and talent as an editor and writer. He could always find the right meaning in complicated events, and he wrote in simple words to express elegant thoughts. There was none his equal.
Although we were an ocean apart, we saw eye to eye on a lot of basic philosophy of business and family and life. It is one of the disappointments of my business career that we never followed through on our joint feeling to bring our companies closer together.
John made a great success of Cotton Outlook, expanding the business by growing the readership, opening up a Memphis branch, and showing a sure hand when moving into new and untested technology. His peers and customers recognized his clear thinking when they made him President of the Liverpool Cotton Association, now the International Cotton Association.
Many around the world are mourning his passing, because he brought style and grace and a high degree of integrity into all that he did. There have been and there are now great leaders in the turbulent business of cotton, and John Garner must go down in history in that select company.
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