Jerry Schollmeyer was inducted into the STI/SPFA Hall of Fame in 2024. We recently had an opportunity to talk with Jerry about his career at Morrison Bros., his legacy in the industry, and the history of water volleyball at STI/SPFA.
STI/SPFA: How did you get started in the industry?
Jerry Schollmeyer: I took a job at the end of my high school career and through college, working for a small oil company, and we had a bulk plant and delivered fuel to farms and businesses and residents, and did work in the shop. I went on to teach welding, metal fabricating, and I had a foundry at the high school level.
When the school system started to push away from the trades, so to speak, I lost my job. That was my official beginning to this industry, with a little experience before that.
STI/SPFA: What is the proudest moment of your career?
Schollmeyer: At various times throughout my career, I was responsible for sales, marketing, and customer service. As we grew, we split those departments up. Being a part of a leadership role, to look back and see Don Montgomery is now managing sales, Kelly Mulligan is managing marketing, and Stacey Wise is managing customer service, and I played a little bit of a role in helping them become successful.
STI/SPFA: What do you think your legacy will be?
Schollmeyer: I think the people that know me best will remember me for somebody that was always there, always showed up, lots of hours, worked hard, dedicated, and had a good time.
STI/SPFA: You will forever be associated with water volleyball at STI/SPFA. Tell us how the event got started.
Schollemeyer: I’m not a very good golfer, at least one that should be spending $180 for a round of golf. So at one point, a group of us were relaxing around the pool, and I grabbed a water volleyball, and we tossed it around and we had a really good time and we even have a picture of that group.
It became more popular and maybe because we had a little cocktail hour along with that, I’m not sure. It reached the point where the association said, “Hey, you’ve got 20 or 30 people involved in this. Let’s put it on the program,” and we became official. We went neck to neck with golf. And our tagline was, “everybody is a winner in water volleyball,” so there was fun.
