Marriott

Introduction

Marriott's core value's, including the belief the people are number one, a commitment to continuous improvement and overcoming adversity, and dedication to hard work and having fun while doing it provide a foundation of stability and character. " The true test of a leader is the kind of company he turns out ". (Kathi Ann Brown)    
History

John Willard Marriott was born at Marriott Settlement, Utah, on September 17, 1900, the second of eight children of Hyrum Willard Marriott and Ellen Morris Marriott.
As a youngster, J. Willard -"Bill" - pitched in to raise sugar beets and sheep on the family's small farmstead. He quickly learned to rely on his own judgment and initiative. "My father gave me the responsibility of a man," said Marriott many years later. "He would tell me what he wanted done, but never said much about how to do it. It was up to me to find out for myself."

At age 13, Marriott went into business for himself, enlisting his younger siblings to help raise lettuce on a few fallow acres on the farm. The harvest at summer's end brought $2,000, which Marriott immediately presented to his father. The next year, Hyrum entrusted his eldest son with the sale of a herd of 3,000 sheep, sending the boy and his woolly charges without escort by rail to San Francisco.
As much as Bill loved the open spaces and grandeur of the Rockies, he dreamed of a life beyond the family farm. Without an education, however, his prospects were limited. After completing a two-year mission for the Mormon Church in New England, Marriott returned to Utah in 1921 to pursue a college degree, graduating first from Weber Junior College and then the University of Utah. Tuition money came from assorted jobs, including a regular summer stint selling woolen underwear to lumberjacks in the Pacific Northwest.

While finishing up at the university, Marriott formulated plans for starting a business of his own, thousands of miles away, in the nation's capital. Bill had... [continues]

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