Content of Character: CRMS Shapes Path of Johnny Richardson ’70

Johnny came to CRMS in 1969 from segregated Mississippi and found a community that was open to helping him discover who he was and what he was made of. At the height of segregation, the Vietnam War, protests, hippies, and Black Panthers, Johnny was ready to do something different at CRMS.

What started out as A Better Chance scholarship for a summer session in Carbondale turned into a life-changing senior year for Johnny. He found faculty like Gene Hebert, Rolleen Stricker, and Steve Shanzer were really open and up for being challenged in good ways. A heated dialogue with a teacher wouldn’t send him to the principal’s office like it would in Mississippi. He says, “I could express my opinion freely at CRMS.”

“One of the things I admired about the culture of CRMS was that it was so inclusive even at that time. It wasn’t a scenario where the clothes you wore mattered. Everything was really about the ‘content of your character,’ to quote Martin Luther King, Jr.” That inclusivity helped Johnny grow and flourish as a young man. “CRMS was formative in my development as an adult, giving me the confidence, fierceness, and passion to face life’s challenges.”

Johnny attended Ripon College in Wisconsin to be a social worker. Later he shifted to economics and after graduating got hired by Miller Brewing Company in Milwaukee. When they transferred him to Chicago he started working as a merchandising rep hanging beer signs in stores. Moving his way up in the company, he eventually became the Regional Marketing Manager. 

The beverage industry was very competitive in Chicago. Miller was a distant third in the market. Johnny helped create a concept called “the Look of a Leader.” The idea was that the company would do the things leaders do before they became the leader. He said they worked to translate that from the top of the organization all the way down to the cases of beer on the truck.

In the role of Marketing Manager, Johnny implemented “the Look of a Leader” concept. He and his team worked to secure major sponsorship contracts with professional sports teams, including the Chicago Bulls, Chicago White Sox, and the Chicago Bears, and music venues – World Music Theater, Popular Creek, and the Park West, and large special events like “Taste of Chicago,” “Fiesta Del Sol,” and the “Chicago Blues Festival.” In addition, he was instrumental in the development of the Miller Lite Comedy Search which featured hosts such as Redd Foxx and Damon Wayans. This program launched the careers for comedians like Bernie Mac and Cedric the Entertainer.

During the 1990s, the Chicago Bulls went to the playoffs for the first time in a decade, and Michael Jordan was hot. Johnny and his team worked hard to capture the excitement. They negotiated a 10-year major sponsorship package with the Chicago Bulls, White Sox, and Black Hawks that included in-stadium signage, television & radio advertising rights, and the usage of the teams’ logos at retail stores. His favorite promotion was “Win Em Cold” that promoted winning Bulls tickets by buying Miller beer. He laughs because “People thought the [winning] tickets were actually in the case of beer! They would open up the cases looking for tickets inside. That wasn’t our intention, but it definitely created some talk value.” And during that 10-year period Miller moved into the #1 position in the Chicago market.

Johnny worked for Miller for 23 years after which he moved into marketing and sales with CBS radio. There he “flipped the script” and went out to gain advertisers and assist them in marketing their businesses.

Over the last 16 years, Johnny has managed his own company that creates promotional items for a portfolio of clients. That flexibility has given him lots of opportunities to contribute to CRMS as a trustee.

“I like the idea of paying it forward and like the idea of connecting CRMS to the next Johnny who might benefit from the experience here. The [HS]2 summer program speaks to me because that’s where I came from,” Johnny says. He notes that the school is much more stable than it was in his day. The deep relationships and programs haven’t changed. 

“In many ways, the CRMS experience left an indelible imprint on me. Hikes up Mt. Sopris & Red Bluff, fall and spring trips, rock picking, and the long-lasting mentoring from faculty are priceless and impactful memories. As a young African American man from rural Mississippi, attending CRMS in the turbulent late 60s and early 70s was life-changing.” In summary, Johnny describes CRMS as the “synergistic confluence of education, work ethic, and community.”