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Chuck Hendrix
Chuck Hendrix on the left
SENIOR MANAGER| TOYOTA
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Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Chuck Hendrix’s (Wearing the black baseball cap in the bottom left photo) initial plan after high school was to earn a technical degree to become a travel agent. “I have always been fascinated with the airlines and travel so I thought it was a great option for me to learn the industry and maybe go places I had only dreamed of,” said Hendrix. However, he began to reconsider the choice when his best friend came home for Christmas from the community college he was attending in California. “It wasn’t until [he] showed me a championship ring he had earned that changed my mind and really made me rethink the many advantages I could obtain by having a college degree.”
Hendrix decided to attend the same community college where his friend was going. But, because of his football skills,Hendrix gained the attention of Dirk Koetter, ISU’s head football coach at the time. Koetter was able to secure a football scholarship forHendrix and his career at ISU began. During his first tour, Hendrix said he fell in love with the mini-dome and “meeting the business school personnel [helped me to] envision myself attending ISU. Additionally, Pocatello appeared to be a nice and accepting town and I would fit in nicely.”Hendrix graduated from ISU with a bachelor’s degree in business management and moved back to Ohio where he began a job at Honda working in their purchasing department.
After seven years, Hendrix was recruited by Toyota in Kentucky which he almost didn’t accept because the timing wasn’t right for him as a single parent. But after they made an offer that was too good to refuse, Hendrix accepted the job and has been employed by Toyota for the last 23 years. He currently works as the senior manager of Supplier Diversity for all of Toyota’s North American operations. “Without my degree, I don’t think I would be as successful,” said Hendrix. “Learning diversity and how to adapt to change have been extremely beneficial to my career and my personal life.”
