Recently, the Utah business community tragically lost two visionaries. Both executive leaders greatly impacted their companies, industries and communities.
Two unrelated July 2024 accidents claimed the lives of Lifetime Products’ Richard Hendrickson and HHI’s Cliff Hokanson. In the aftermath, colleagues, family members and friends came together to share what these leaders meant to them.
Richard Hendrickson: Work hard, play hard
Former Lifetime Products CEO and president Richard Hendrickson shared similar sensibilities. Hendrickson died in a July 6 car accident in Ogden Canyon. The tragedy also claimed the life of one of his daughters, Sally. His surviving wife and two of their other children were injured in the accident.
On July 17, the company announced that BJ Haacke had taken the reins as its new president. Haacke has big shoes to fill, according to Vince Rhoton, Lifetime’s EVP. Hendrickson was a longtime colleague and friend and someone Rhoton held in high esteem.
“We’ve worked together since 1988,” Rhoton says. “I’ve been with the company since 1984. We met during the first few weeks that he started here. He was famously hired as a welder, and his talent was recognized very quickly. He was sent to the R&D shop to build new product designs.”
The rest is history, as they say. The two men forged bonds that extended outside of work. Rhoton recalls their first outing together: a motorcycle ride in the sand dunes in Jericho. Another time, their adventures took them on snowmobiles. Reflecting on these times, Rhoton concludes that Hendrickson lived his life out loud.
“When I think back on it, it’s really hard to distinguish between the playing and the working,” he says. “Because I think we did that all in one big motion every day.”
Rhoton says Hendrickson was talented and bright, surrounding himself with people who also brought those qualities to life. There was also no denying his mechanical aptitude.
“He had a genius-level mechanical mind,” Rhoton says. “He could see what was going on inside the machines. He had a freakish level of awareness of how mechanical things should work.”
Rhoton described Hendrickson as a high-energy person who was kind, patient and considerate in equal measure. He had a natural way of connecting with employees in all areas of the business. He took the time to listen and get to know them.
“When he talked about having everybody in the company be part of a team and contribute their ideas and energy to what we’re doing, it really resonated,” Rhoton says. “It wasn’t just talk. It wasn’t just a ‘rah-rah’ speech. They knew that he connected with them and that he was thinking about their problems. And that was really, really unique.”
Integrity in every detail
A natural problem-solver, Rhoton says Hendrickson seemed unfazed by the “tough assignment” of taking over the company from the founder in 1988. He estimates Lifetime Products — a leading blow molding manufacturer of premium-quality recreation and utility products headquartered in Clearfield, Utah — was bringing in close to $200 million in revenue at the time. Under Hendrickson’s leadership, the company quadrupled that number, and he did it with great intention and commitment to ethics.
“[With Hendrickson leading us], we expanded in every direction around the world,” Rhoton says. “I think we sold to 188 different countries last year. It’s a complex global enterprise, and he has done that while keeping us really low debt … growing at the right pace and being prepared for bad years. He’s done all that in a really remarkable way.”
With global expansion comes both opportunities and threats. According to Rhoton, Hendrickson effortlessly navigated these transitions with a fierce commitment to integrity. In his experience, some manufacturing companies with overseas operations will cut corners in areas like quality and safety. Hendrickson stood firm in his ethics and values, which has paid off in the company’s global reputation.
“One thing that I have really learned to appreciate [about Hendrickson] is that you don’t ever cross that line,” he says. “You know who you are and what’s expected. As soon as you cross that line and get a little bit dirty, then you lose that [footing]. And we have never lost that.”
Cliff Hokanson: Putting in the work
The passing of Cliff Hokanson, HHI’s former EVP, left a huge void at the Ogden-based construction and manufacturing company and in his family. Ashkeya Howes, his executive assistant and bereaved daughter, weighed in on his many roles. In her estimation, Cliff’s impact went far beyond Ogden and left a lasting legacy on his industry and the international aid community. He was known for his work ethic.
According to Howes, Cliff’s value of hard work was instilled in him from a young age as he watched his father, Don Hokanson, transition from physics to construction. He saw his dad’s example of putting in an honest day’s work in both career fields. After earning a civil engineering degree from Utah State University, Cliff never forgot the importance of hands-on labor.
When he joined the company in 1996, that commitment to work ethic propelled Cliff through the ranks at HHI. He started as a superintendent and eventually became EVP on the construction side. Along the way, he gained valuable insights and experiences that contributed to his leadership style.
“One of the biggest projects, and one of the ones he was most proud of, was the Salt Lake Public Library,” Howes reflects. “We were subcontractors. Cliff would work day in and day out. He would work the longest hours, and he tried to learn from everybody in their specialty. He realized early on [the value] of recognizing who’s the smartest man in the room and [their strengths]. Highlighting that is how you’re successful in life.”
A leader others could count on
Cliff and his wife Regina purchased the company from Don in 2011. According to Howes, the company grew by leaps and bounds under their tenure. At the time of the acquisition, HHI had about 40 people on the payroll. When he died, the organization employed more than 200.
“There were a lot of things Cliff saw that he wanted to change [in terms of] the structure of the company,” Howes says. “They tried to start moving in that direction. Then, with Regina’s guidance and support, the husband-wife team was able to lead HHI to [where we are] right now.”
Howes attributes this growth partly to Cliff’s commitment to training and “giving back to the next generation.” For example, he was deeply engaged with HHI’s recruiting process. He’d make college visits to recruit talent. In the process, he’d act as an unofficial mentor, encouraging students to choose the correct career path, even if it wasn’t a role with HHI.
Cliff was equally devoted to HHI’s workplace culture. Howes says he approached employee relations with great care. Each colleague represented more than just a person on the payroll.
“It wasn’t just the employee; it was the family,” she says. “He was very focused on [the idea that] we don’t just provide for our employees. We provide for their entire family, and he felt that responsibility. He would work late nights and early mornings and jump in whenever it was needed.”
In other words, Cliff was committed to growth. His leadership was instrumental in growing HHI’s manufacturing division. Howes says her father was proud of his professional contributions to public projects such as the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and the Bountiful Regional Center.
Cliff’s passion extended beyond business. Howes will remember him as a man who was deeply devoted to giving back to the community. He used his skills and resources to help those in need, especially after natural disasters. In 2022, he championed the creation of the MTUs (mobile triage units) to support disaster relief efforts, even personally donating these units to hospitals in Haiti.
“We have testimonies from doctors at the University of Miami,” she recalls. “When we had put the first one there, they said it was even better than their hospital. [That speaks to the] grade of efficiency. It had HEPA filtration and directional airflow. Cliff knew what he was talking about with biocontainment, … one of the things he specialized in. He put all of that knowledge into this product. It was $5 million worth of donated assets by the end, but he didn’t care because it was going to help someone else. That was what was most important to him.”
Howes says this is just one example of many that illustrate his kind-hearted nature. Cliff was also a dedicated member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He loved serving in his congregation and sharing his beliefs through his actions.
Ultimately, if you could distill Cliff’s essence into a few lines, Howes is confident it would be: “Believe in yourself. Focus on yourself. Then, once you’ve taken care of yourself, focus on how you can support others.”