In my last post, I talked about my travels in the late 1970s to Mexico and Venezuela. This post picks up where that one left off.
One of the most pleasant business trips I ever took was in 1980, when I traveled to New Zealand and Australia. Our company operated manufacturing facilities in both countries, and they were actively exploring new product lines. Vickers New Zealand had taken an interest in our power take-off (PTO) product line and reached out.
Sid Leivers, the manufacturing manager at Vickers New Zealand, contacted our general manager, Roy Golze, to ask if I could visit their plant to discuss producing PTOs locally. I had spoken with Sid many times before and had even sold him PTOs for resale. He and I had a good working relationship, so I was glad to get the invitation.
Roy Golze was a bit of an odd character. He told Sid I could make the trip, but only if Vickers New Zealand covered all travel costs. After some internal discussion, Sid and his team agreed. A round-trip ticket on Air New Zealand was purchased, and I began preparing for the journey.
Because of the long flight from Los Angeles to Auckland, refueling stops were required. We landed in Honolulu on the way there and in Papeete, Tahiti on the way back. I can now technically say I’ve been to both Hawaii and Tahiti—though I never left the airport at either location!
Sid met me at the Auckland airport and informed me I’d be staying at his home with him and his wife, Norma. What a memorable experience that turned out to be. Staying with them allowed me to get a feel for everyday life in New Zealand and to know them on a personal level. I can’t say enough about the kindness and hospitality that Sid, his family, and his staff extended to me.
The two weeks in New Zealand flew by. When it came time to leave, I had a short flight to Melbourne, Australia, where I visited the Vickers plant there. Though my stay in Australia was brief—just a couple of days—I was treated just as warmly as I had been in New Zealand.
On September 28, 1980, I boarded a flight from Sydney to Auckland, then prepared to head back to Los Angeles. That’s when the first hiccup of the trip hit: the ground crew for Air New Zealand had gone on strike. As a result, there was no food or drink service at all—not even a glass of water—on the leg to Papeete. Knowing this made the already long flight feel even longer. That wasn't my last bad experience with Air New Zealand; I’ve sworn off flying with them ever since.
Fortunately, the final stretch from Tahiti to Los Angeles was uneventful. I connected to Tulsa, and before long, I was sleeping soundly in my own bed.
By 1982, things had changed at the company. Roy Golze had been dismissed, and Jerry Rice—my longtime mentor—returned to Tulsa to take over as general manager. Within a year of his return, I was promoted to marketing and sales manager. The new role came with significantly more travel, both within the U.S. and overseas.
During that period, I found myself making frequent trips to Canada and across Europe—part of a chapter that deserves its own post.
