2012 FATHER OF THE YEAR HONOREE
BizHONORS
John Rafferty
Family Traditions Priority
John Rafferty likes to think of Stewart Title & Trust as one big family. When rodeo vacation comes and many of his 78 employees have nowhere for their kids to go, Rafferty hosts Camp Rodeo. Employees bring children to work and Stewart’s marketing department treats them to Old Tucson, Reid Park Zoo, skating and miniature golf. “We really are a family,” said Rafferty, president of Stewart Title & Trust of Tucson and a 2012 Father’s Day Council Tucson Father of the Year. Family has always been a priority. Rafferty made sure he was at his children’s sporting events, and weekends were reserved for camping and church with the family. “I always made room for the sports – the football games, the wrestling matches,” Rafferty recalled. “My daughter was a bat girl at University of Arizona baseball games and was on the pom line.” This grandfather of seven gathers the family together at Christmas, spring break and throughout the year. Son Steven, 49, lives with his family in New Jersey. Daughter Kelly Hughes, 46, and her family live in Scottsdale. “If I had any advice it would be this – kids grow up www.BizTucson.com
very quickly. Set traditions with them now and keep them,” Rafferty said. Rafferty was born in New Jersey and spent four years in the Marines. He moved the family to Arizona in 1962 to control asthma and bronchitis in his oldest son Michael, who died in an accident in 1984. The family lived in Silverbell, with Rafferty working as an accountant for ASARCO and attending night classes at UA. He became controller at Stewart in 1974, and has remained with the company since. In 1981, he moved to Phoenix to serve as CEO. In 2004, Rafferty was asked by Stewart’s board of directors to return to Tucson, which he did. Since returning, he has increased market share from 3 to 23 percent and built the staff by 41 employees. This year, the company experienced its best first quarter revenues in 51 years. Rafferty is pleased to raise funds for type 1 diabetes research as a Father of the Year. “It’s a horrific disease that can cripple children,” Rafferty said. “I am very hopeful for a cure.”
Photo: www.balfourwalker.com
By Gabrielle Fimbres
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Kids grow up very quickly. Set traditions with them now and keep them.
John Rafferty
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President Stewart Title & Trust of Tucson
Family Son Steven, daughter Kelly and son Michael, who died in 1984; grandchildren John, Matthew, Kevin, Brandon, Kelsey, Connor and Lily Involvement Peppi’s House at Tucson Medical Center, Habitat for Humanity, Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona, Hearth Foundation
Biz Summer 2012
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