Jim Craig, a former president and CEO of Better Business Bureau of Southwest Missouri, died Oct. 19. He was 89.
Craig led the local chapter for some 35 years before retiring in 2005.
“He will be greatly missed but leaves behind a lifetime of knowledge and compassion,” said Judy Mills, current BBB president and CEO, in a news release.
The nonprofit BBB works on behalf of consumers and business to provide information about businesses in order to develop an ethical marketplace.
When the local chapter celebrated its 75th anniversary, officials honored Craig with BBB’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
During his tenure, the Springfield-based chapter grew to 700 members from roughly 30. The organization’s bank reserves also grew – to $140,000 from $60 – with Craig at the helm.
Before beginning his BBB stint, Craig owned The Credit Bureau of Springfield, developing reports on consumers for banks and businesses, according to Springfield Business Journal archives. He also became known as a public speaker, giving motivational speeches – and “silly stories” as he told SBJ in a 2008 article. According to Craig’s
obituary, he became known as “The Good Humor Man” and spoke to audiences as far as Alaska and Hawaii and to such corporations as Phillips Petroleum, 3M and Southwestern Bell.
During his decades with the local BBB, Craig reportedly took only health benefits and reimbursement for travel expenses. “How many people would work for expenses, and not take a salary?” Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce President Jim Anderson asked during a 2008 interview about the BBB. “I dare say, very, very few.”
Craig hired Mills in 1990 to work the bureau’s phones, and she has credited him with mentoring her to handle the day-to-day operations and for working with the BBB board.
Craig, a 1943 graduate of Missouri State University - then known as Missouri State Teachers College - served stints as president of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce and the Ozarks Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He also was a member of the Springfield Lions Club, Shrine Club and the Springfield-Greene County Park Board. Craig was selected as the Springfield Jaycees’ Outstanding Young Man of the Year in 1954.
Craig is survived by his wife of 70 years, Ruth, their two children, five grandchildren and their wives, as well as nine great-grandchildren.[[In-content Ad]]
