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May 28, 2023
The first time I met Marian Sullivan, she was more interested in making me a pecan pie than in providing me with any details for a story I wanted to report about her life in business.
The fact that I was sitting in her kitchen was not something I took lightly. Marian sold the business she built into a national leader in the wholesale gift and home decor industry. I know it’s a great story of under-the-radar domestic success, led by one of the few women of her era to remain CEO in Sioux Falls.
I know she is an attention seeker too.
But I leaned on some mutual friends to encourage her to at least strike up a conversation, and even though she meant to eat a good piece of that pie, I hoped to hang around long enough to convince her to let me tell her story. .
That was over ten years ago – and even now, I can hear her screaming from the heavens at the thought of giving her another title.
Not only did Maria allow me to interview her, but she became a friend, introducing me to three generations of her family, and I’m lucky enough to share her art with me on a regular basis for nearly 10 years. So it seems entirely appropriate to honor her this Memorial Day weekend — she passed away on May 24 at the age of 94 — both for the remarkable legacy of the business she created, but also for the model life of faith and generosity she led.
It’s one of those stories you’ll want to share with any entrepreneur or business leader at any stage of growth or success, because it generally leads to a lot of good.
Marian’s husband, Bill Sr., who started his business selling many products, comes home one day and tells her that he wants to go into business himself, importing products from Europe. This was in the late 1960s, so they both wrote to factories asking for catalogs and ordered product samples to find out what they were selling.
They started with a small amount of money and a second mortgage on their home.
“He sold everyone he called,” he told me when we first met Maria. “He said, ‘If I didn’t, I knew I couldn’t come in the second round.'”
While raising five children, she did all the accounting and office work, first of all managing the goods in the estate.
It led to Sullivan’s Importing Company, now Sullivan’s, which became nationally known for its giftware, perennials and home decor.
In 1987, Bill Sr. died of cancer and Maria – then 59 – had a decision to make. She told me she could sell the business, but she felt in many ways it was just getting started.
So she raised him instead. The Sullivans had never done business in Asia, but Marian pioneered Christmas merchandise from Hong Kong to Taipei and Bangkok, growing the company to showrooms in Atlanta, Dallas, Las Vegas and Minneapolis. More than 10,000 retailers carry products from Sullivan’s.
“When Marian traveled overseas in Asia, she was one of the most respected people there, which is incredible for women,” longtime marketing manager Elaine Delstra said in 2014.
“Her level of integrity was high. She had a wealth of knowledge not only in production but in the entire business. They loved her as a person and as a business, and they still do today. As our traveling party passes by, they still ask about Mrs. Sullivan.
The business was sold nine years ago to allow for growth. I remember Marian telling me that when considering business offers, she chose the buyer she thought was best for her employees. At that time, a group of 67 people served for more than 750 years.
“I wanted to make sure they would be a good employer. I wanted to make sure my employees would be safe,” she said.
In the year In 2021, Marian will – rightly – be inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame.
“Marian is extraordinarily genuine — and generous,” Sioux Falls University President Brett Bradfield said at the time.
“Marian is the perfect example of servant leadership, the kindness of others always guiding her generosity. She is known by all who know her, but she constantly downplays her role as a humanitarian.
Look no further than this example: Carter Domagalski, who meets Maria as a server at the Sioux Falls Country Club, tries to figure out his next steps in life.
Through many conversations, Marian felt called to help the young man and eventually pay for a USF education — including an advance payment for graduate school if he chose to attend.
“When the Lord shakes me like that, I like to listen,” she says in this issue.
After knowing her for almost ten years, nothing surprises me about this.
Lunch with Marian always began with grace, and her prayers were generally for me – for support in my work and thanks for my friendship.
I have no doubt that unselfishness is propagated in a way that few are fully aware of, not even among the most successful in business on a level of generosity.
In the meantime, I asked her once if a woman in Sioux Falls knows how unusual it is to run a global business, especially when she’s done it. It took her a second to respond as it seemed she never really thought about it.
“Well, I don’t think that really matters,” she said. What matters is the way you treat people.
She then fast-forwarded to the 90s and asked me about current business news.
If you read this meaningful tribute to Marian, you will learn more about her remarkable life and find details on her memorial service.
If I could ask her to reflect on her life again, I think she would say what she told me the first day we met.
“I give the success to the Lord,” she said. “God brought the right people and supported me. I give glory to the Lord, and in the last years, that is one of the reasons that kept me going. To give the best part”
There is a difference between speaking your faith and living your faith, between success and seriousness. I am grateful to have a friend who models both beautifully.
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