Out of the Middle

photo by Kirsten Shaw

FALL 2018 | DIVIDENDS

Out of the Middle

By Carolanne Roberts

If the College of Business’ 2018 Alumni Fellow, Tom Hixon, had his druthers, he would duck out of the limelight and let others bask in the glow. Hardly the sort to boast, he is content with who he is and where his journey has led. When he agreed to share his story, Dividends jumped at the opportunity.

Tom and Miriam Hixon with MSU President Dr. Mark Keenum at a reception honoring the 2018 Alumni Fellows.

photo by Logan Kirkland

We start in the 1960s, a time of psychedelic music, the Vietnam conflict and youthful introspection. Hixon, a young man from Charleston, MS, arrived in Starkville to figure out his own future in the midst of it all. A good student, he ruled out his original plan for medical school and signed up for general business studies – changing the direction of his life.

“A business degree is absolutely the best thing because you have so much versatility,” he says, reflecting on a 50-year career that is still thriving. “I earned a BS in accounting in 1967 and could go on and on about how valuable that’s been to me. What I’ve doneprofessionally through the years very much results from having a good business background, and that is exactly what I got at State.

“For instance, I had [W.A. “Bill”] Simmons, [R.S.] Wofford, [Joseph] Curry and [Will Hoyt, Jr.] Owen for accounting classes – and all these professors also worked for CPA firms and other businesses. They had real life experiences to share with us, and what they taught really stuck with me. I can’t say enough about the quality of the professors and the accounting education you get at Mississippi State.”

Now, when Hixon returns to campus to meet with business students to share and to listen, he applauds his choice of major, drawing a laugh as he remembers, “I had engineers up on a pedestal. They were the big gorillas in college, and just about everybody who went to State had a slide rule on his belt. But then I learned something important.”

He learned that “important something” during summers in Los Angeles, when he did accounting work for North American Aviation, part of the robust U.S. space program.

He shares, “Out in the real world, business majors were managing a lot of professionals, including the engineers. Engineers were working for the business guys who knew business skills, accounting and management.”

As a first job after college, Hixon found himself working as CFO at the Pentagon Annex in the Washington, DC, area. In the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, the MSU grad was responsible for nearby military commissaries, retail, restaurants and even golf courses. Within his domain were Andrews Air Force base, Walter Reed Medical Center, Fort Lee, Fort Meade and other area bases.

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“I got about 10 years’ experience in three,” he says. “We moved at 100 miles an hour. It was so fast-paced.”

With a return to Mississippi in 1970, Hixon joined Valley Food Service for seven years, then moved to Forestry Suppliers, which he calls a “neat little company where we sold instruments and supplies to foresters, geologists and engineers.” At both jobs, he served as CFO until Forestry Suppliers’ founder saw something more in the young man he mentored.

“He chose to take a businessman – me, the CFO – and make me President,” recalls Hixon. “He wanted someone with business education and experience to run the company.”

This new beginning was fresh and promising.

Hixon, fourth from left, and other colleges' Alumni Fellows greet the crowd at the MSU-Texas A&M game.

photo by Logan Kirkland

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MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY | COLLEGE OF BUSINESS

“We were told back then, ‘It’s not tough to get to the top. It’s getting out of the group in the middle that’s hard,’” he says. “This is when I got out of the middle. I liked it. The forestry industry was, of course, different than food service or the Washington, DC, job, but I quickly found that the principles of business pretty much crossed over to any business you get in. It’s the same tool box with different products. The common denominator in my career has always been distribution – different products, yes, but always distribution.”

Life at the top of the ladder was successful, with Hixon directing far-flung distribution centers from his Jackson-area base. Then he made yet another good move. This time the product was medical supplies, and the company was Gulf South Medical Supply.

Once he narrowed and focused Gulf South’s diverse business model, Hixon explains, “We grew fast for the next 10 years, averaging 45 percent growth compounded annually. Not only did we have above average growth, we had above average profitability.”

In 1994, the company went public, which provided resources for further expansion. By 2000, the run rate climbed to $400 million.

A major lesson learned from Hixon’s story is this: Nothing stays static. Later in 2000, after his 10 years at the helm, Gulf South Medical Supply merged with another large company, and his life changed. Non-compete contracts scattered Hixon’s valuable and devoted managerial staff.

Yet nobody in that close-knit group was ready to say a final good-bye. In fact, they reunited in 2001 with Tom Hixon as owner and Chairman of the Board of the newly-created First Choice Medical Supply.

DIVIDENDS | FALL 2018

FALL 2018 | DIVIDENDS

“We started this one from scratch and took a lot of pride in that – it’s not easy,” he says. “This time, I let them manage it instead of me. Over the next 17 years, they earned more than 75 percent of the company,” Hixon explains.

This past year, the company sold to McKesson, a business with about $200 billion in annual revenue.

Noteworthy is the fact that both Hixon sons, now entrepreneurs, worked in the business from their teenage years forward. The very proud father reports that Tommy Hixon, Jr., a 1993 MSU marketing graduate, went on to become President of First Choice. Son Shane’s career achievements include owning and operating an optical supply company.

MSU students hear and heed these stories and more when Hixon comes to campus. He re-engaged with his alma mater about 10 years ago, lured first by athletics and then by giving opportunities. First, he donated funds to build the golf practice facility; Hixon himself is a golfer. A gift to the College of Business followed, as the proud alumnus became acquainted with and excited about the Center for Entrepreneurship & Outreach.

“It was like a lightning bolt hit me,” he muses. “When I went through college, you graduated, interviewed for a job and retired there after years of working for someone else. I’m absolutely thrilled that Mississippi State has a venue where students can hear and see the options of being in business for yourself – and can test out those options while in school.”

Hixon’s interest in students’ futures is rooted in his own MSU past. He cherishes his important faculty mentors from the “Greatest Generation.”

“They had an unbelievable influence on my life,” he states. “I had a chance to work for two or three who were as tough as they could be. But they knew how to teach and made a profound effect on my career.”

Today, totally invested in MSU, Hixon is the one making impressions. He now serves on the boards of the MSU Foundation and the Bulldog Club.

Around Jackson, you’ll find him at his desk daily, working real estate and other deals. He is often on the golf course or at his farm with his team of cutting horses. He is also devoutly religious, a member of Covenant Presbyterian Church. His priority in life, Hixon says, is family.

“I love my family,” he states. “I give so much credit to my wife Miriam for encouraging me at every turn.”

Together they share the two sons and five grandchildren.

It is little wonder that this accomplished and giving man doesn’t seek the spotlight. He is too busy giving, doing, achieving and envisioning the next step.

“I’m not slowing down,” he says with characteristic energy. “I’m having fun. I think business can be healthy for you. I like to stay active in my businesses – so I’ll keep doing it.”

And that, of course, is the best news of all.

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