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Louis A. Pritchett Papers

 Collection
Identifier: MC 2307

Scope and Content Note

The collection consists of materials pertaining to the personal life, business career, and writings of businessman Lou Pritchett.

Personal materials primarily relate to his high school and college years in Memphis, Tennessee; his long-term involvement with the Boy Scouts of America; his service in the United States Army; his high school and college-era performances in minstrel and variety shows; personal correspondence; Pritchett and Burnett(e) family history; and materials pertaining to his wife, Barbara.

The bulk of the professional materials pertain to his more than three-decades-long career with Procter & Gamble, including correspondence, photographs, speeches, memos, and press clippings. These materials also include correspondence from Wal-Mart founder and CEO Sam Walton to Pritchett, as well as photographs of Sam and Helen Walton with Lou and Barbara Pritchett.

Also included in the collection are publications by Pritchett and related correspondence and promotional materials, particularly regarding his 1995 book on business strategy, Stop Paddling and Start Rocking the Boat.

Dates

  • 1896-2016

Creator

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Access Information

Please call (479) 575-8444 or email specoll@uark.edu at least two weeks in advance of your arrival to ensure availability of the materials.

Born-digital files (Digital Folders 1-2) may be accessed on-site on reading room computers.

Use Information

Use Restrictions Apply: Redacted copies of two items have been created for user access; originals are restricted until the death of the donor in order to protect personally identifying information.

No Interlibrary Loan.

Standard Federal Copyright Laws Apply (U.S. Title 17).

Biographical Note

Louis (Lou) Alexander Pritchett is a business speaker, former executive of Procter & Gamble, and author of Stop Paddling and Start Rocking the Boat.

Pritchett was born November 5, 1931, in Memphis, Tennesee to Joseph and Thelma Pritchett. He attended South Side High School in Memphis, and then earned his Bachelor of Science from Memphis State University in 1953. In 1954, he married Barbara Jean Burnette.

Pritchett began working for Procter & Gamble September 8, 1953 as a sales representative, moving up to unit manager; district manager; Southern Sales Division Manager; Sales Manager, Industrial Products; National Sales Manager of the Paper Products Division; and, in 1981, General Manager for Procter & Gamble Philippine Manufacturing Co. While in the Philippines, he served on the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines' Board of Directors from 1982-1983, and as President of the Soap and Detergent Association of the Philippines. In 1984, he moved back to the United States to take a position as General Manager, before in 1985 being promoted to Vice President of Sales. It was in this last position that he met Sam Walton, founder and CEO of Wal-Mart, and developed the partnership between Procter & Gamble and Wal-Mart.

After retiring from Procter & Gamble in 1989, Pritchett ran his own consulting firm, Pritchett Enterprises, and presented to conferences and organizations on management and sales techniques. Pritchett is the author of two books, Stop Paddling and Start Rocking the Boat (1995) and What the Internet Can't Teach You: Ageless Information for the Information Age (2011). He and his wife Barbara live in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

Extent

3.25 Linear Feet (4 boxes and 2 oversize folders)

0.607 Megabytes (41 digital files)

Arrangement of the Papers

Materials are arranged into three series by topic:

  1. Series 1. Personal Papers
  2. Series 2. Professional Papers
  3. Series 3. Writings

Within each series, materials are further arranged by topic or by format.

Web captures are stored as WARC files and are viewable on the collection's Archive-It page.

Acquisition Information

The Louis A. Pritchett Papers were donated to the Special Collections Department by Louis A. Pritchett of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, on August 2, 2018. Additional materials were received from Pritchett on October 1, 2018.

Additional materials (Box 4 and OV Folders 1-2) were donated by Pritchett in September 2020. Additional materials (Box 4, Folders 12-13) were donated by Pritchett in March 2021.

Related Materials

Records relating to the Louis A. Pritchett Papers include:

Nelson N. Lichtenstein Wal-Mart Research Materials MC 1871

Records relating to Procter & Gamble may be found in the Procter & Gamble Company Corporate Archives and Heritage Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Processing Information

Processed by Katrina Windon; completed in August 2018. Additional materials incorporated by Katrina Windon in November 2018, September 2020, and April 2021.

Creator

Source

Title
Louis A. Pritchett Papers
Status
Completed
Author
Katrina Windon
Date
August 2018
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid is written in English.

Revision Statements

  • November 2018.: Additional materials incorporated by Katrina Windon in November 2018.
  • September 2020: Additional materials (Box 4 and OV Folders 1-2) incorporated by Katrina Windon in September 2020.

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Department Repository

Contact:
University of Arkansas Libraries
365 N. McIlroy Avenue
Fayetteville AR 72701 United States
(479) 575-8444