Last weekend was Cornell’s annual trustee weekend, during which the board of trustees and lots of VIP alumni return to campus to learn about what’s going on and to make decisions about the University’s future. One of those trustees was trustee emeritus H. Fisk Johnson, current chairman and CEO of S.C. Johnson (”a family company”), and notably one of two people in Cornell’s history to receive five degrees from the University. That’s some serious loyalty to your alma mater.
While Fisk was in town, he gave a talk on global consumption trends and screened a film produced by his family and his company about ten years ago. While I wanted to attend both events, a class got in the way of his consumption talk, so I made it a point to attend the film screening. The movie, Carnaúba: A Son’s Memoir dealt with Fisk’s father, Samuel C. Johnson, who decided in the 1990s to retrace his father’s footsteps; Herbert F. Johnson, Sam’s father and Fisk’s grandfather, had taken a trip to Brazil in 1935 in search of a sustainable source of Carnaúba wax, which was the main ingredient in the company’s wax products. The Carnaúba Palm was found in the northern parts of Brazil, and during his trip down there, Herbert Johnson set up research and production facilities along with schools for local populations in Recife.
I was immediately drawn to the film after reading the two-line description in a Daily Sun ad earlier in the week; here was a movie that dealt with so many of my interests: aviation, travel, Brazil, agriculture, Cornell, and the list went on. Entering Bailey Hall, I noticed that very few (maybe five at most) students had shown up for this screening. I was surrounded by Cornell administrators, trustees, and VIP alumni, and I was expecting something along the lines of a glorified, lengthened advertisement for S.C. Johnson. Sure, it definitely painted the company in a positive light, but the underlying theme of the importance of connections between parents and their children, paralleled by beautiful cinematography and an incredible story of adventure, all combined to produce a surprisingly striking production that left many in the audience teary-eyed by the time the lights came back on.
I had the opportunity to speak briefly with Fisk following the screening and I took the opportunity to explain how I could connect with the film on so many different levels; my experiences and observations in the Amazonian state of Pará played a significant role in my decision to study International Agriculture & Rural Development at Cornell. Fisk gave me a copy of the DVD to share with my friends and family, and I plan on doing just that; my rave reviews have generated some interest among those I know, and not just those who are fascinated by things like reconstructing a Sikorsky floatplane from the 1930s and flying it to Brazil.
If you ever come across the film or have the opportunity to view it, I highly recommend it. It’s a great story of family, adventure, discovery, and legacy.