Harcourt G. "Harky" Runnings

Harcourt G. "Harky" RUNNINGS The founder and former chairman of Red Dot Corp. whose generosity and respect for his employees brought family spirit to the workplace long before it was fashionable, died March 23 in Shelton, Wash., at 92. A Memorial Service will be held at 1 p.m. on Friday, April 1, at Red Dot's Headquarters in Tukwila at 745 Andover Park E. Runnings founded Red Dot in 1965 from his shop at West Seattle Radiator Service, a neighborhood landmark on 37th Ave. S.W. and Fauntleroy Way, after the popularity of the truck heaters he made as a sideline outpaced his ability to produce them. Today, Red Dot is a leader in the design and production of heating and air conditioning systems and replacement parts for heavy trucks, buses, agricultural vehicles, military trucks, and construction equipment. It has more than 480 employees at its Tukwila headquarters and facilities in Memphis, Tenn., and Ipswich, England. Runnings' ingenuity and skill as an industrial designer brought numerous innovations to the mobile HVAC field. Yet the welfare of his employees was his number-one concern. "A lot of employers talk about 'family' atmosphere at their companies, but with Harky it was genuine," said Randy Gardiner, Red Dot's president and Runnings' grandson. "He loved every person who worked for him. Some of the unique benefits we have here today are rooted in his feelings of responsibility for his employees' well-being." He paid employees time-and-a-half for vacation days because Runnings wanted them to enjoy time off without having to go in debt or sacrifice important things in their lives. In the early 1970s, Red Dot went to a four-day workweek so employees would have Fridays for personal business, a radical idea at the time. In 2000, Runnings sold 100 percent of Red Dot's ownership to its employees, fulfilling a promise he made when he founded the business. "The best decisions for a company are made by people who want to carry the business forward for themselves," he said at the time. At Christmas that year, he and his wife gave Red Dot employees gifts totaling $2.2 million for their loyalty and support over the years. "Harky believed there should be a greater reward for work than a paycheck," said Gardiner. "He wanted his employees to feel important and valued, like family." His priorities were instilled in a tenuous early family life. Runnings was born in 1912 in Porcupine, Ont., the third of six children. He spent his first years on homesteads in rural Manitoba, but the family was separated in 1919 after his mother died of appendicitis. Runnings' father dispatched the children to live with relatives, putting them on a train with written instructions pinned to their coats as to their final destinations. Runnings stayed with an aunt and uncle on a farm in Saskatchewan. He slept in the attic and spent his days carrying buckets of feed and water to the pigs and chickens. At 14, he was reunited with his father and two oldest sisters in West Seattle, where he attended school for the first time at Lafayette Elementary. In 1932, Runnings married Ruby Crutcher and, wanting to improve his prospects during the Depression, enrolled in trade school to be a machinist. His talents earned him a job at Boeing, where he worked seven days a week and saved money to buy a gas station and grocery store on S.W. Avalon Way and S.W. Hinds St. "My mother would work all day at the store and gas station while my father was at Boeing. Then he would come home and work on cars at night," said his daughter, Gloria Runnings, a West Seattle art entrepreneur. "In 1947 he quit Boeing and bought another gas station with a partner. They operated Runnings & Spadoni Service Station until my father bought out Spadoni." Runnings specialized in radiator repair because the nearest competing shop was in White Center, several miles away. With an emphasis on quality service, the business thrived. In the late 1950s Runnings began a sideline, designing radiators and heaters for mail trucks operating in the harsh cold of the Alaska-Canadian Highway. By the early 1960s cooling and heating trucks was his principle line of work. In 1965, with his business expanding, Runnings' marriage of 33 years ended in divorce. In 1966 he married Mary Hawley and balanced his hard-work ethic with life outside the factory. With Mary, Runnings shared his love of flying. As a young man he had built a glider airplane in his basement because he wanted to learn how to fly; later in life he took lessons and kept a Cessna 210P, a sporty single-engine plane, at Boeing Field. He and Mary would frequently fly to family property on Hood Canal, delighting in the 11-minute hop from Boeing Field to Kitsap Airport. He spent his time there tinkering, swimming and sailing; true to form, the boat was a speedy 18-foot Hobie Cat. Runnings relished the water; he made it a goal to swim in Puget Sound every day for a full year, running alongside the streetcar on Alki Ave. in his swimsuit and then diving into the Sound. He supported the Sea Scouts of West Seattle and was one of the key builders of the organization's 40-foot sailing vessel, the SSS Yankee Clipper. Runnings believed the group built character, teamwork, and a sense of adventure and service. He never had reservations about hiring former Sea Scouts. Gloria Runnings recalls his soaring spirit. "When I was a girl, I remember my mother at the wheel of the car, zooming down a runway at Boeing Field. I was looking out the rectangle of the rear window at my dad at the end of a line in his homemade glider. I remember the 'tug-tug-tug' of the glider behind the car as we pulled him along and then everything going smooth and silent as he rose up into the air. He'd drop the tether and we'd sit and watch for an hour while he'd fly around. He loved the adventure of being in the air. After so many years of hard work, it was his one indulgence." Runnings was active at Red Dot until age 85, when the effects of Alzheimer's disease began to limit his abilities. "I come from a family of hardworking, dedicated, ethical people," said Runnings' daughter, Carolyn Olsen, a bookstore owner in Shelton, Wash. "I hope that in his heart and head, Dad was aware of the flowering of the seed that he planted so long ago. He would be so proud." Harky Runnings is survived by his loving family, daughters Gloria Runnings, of Seattle, and Carolyn Olsen, of Shelton, Wash.; step-daughter Diana Griffith of Kettle Falls, Wash., and step-son Ken Derrick of Texas; his two sisters, Phillis Larken of Seattle and Jean Billet of Canada; 14 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren, and two great-great grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his first wife, Ruby (Crutcher Morris) in 2001, and his second wife, Mary (Hawley), also in 2001, as well as his sisters Elizabeth Litchfield and Ethel Olson, and his brother John Runnings. A Memorial Service will be held at 1 p.m. on Friday, April 1, at Red Dot's Headquarters in Tukwila at 745 Andover Park E., 98188-7657. Flowers may be sent to the company. Memorial donations may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, 12721 30th Ave. N.E., Seattle, WA 98125; 206-363-5500. He lived life long and well and he will be truly missed.