David A. Thompson

David Thompson, the oldest of three children, was born in Syracuse, New York, in 1948. His father, who had contracted polio as a child, worked as a clerk at Niagara Mohawk Power Company. 'My dad was in his forties when he married my mother,' says David. 'His side of the family was older, and by the time I was 12, I'd attended 16 funerals.' Unfortunately, three years later when David was a sophomore in high school, his father also died.

Emotionally the death of David's father was devastating, but it also had an adverse effect on the family's finances. David's mother had never worked before. She found a secretarial position, but the family struggled to make ends meet. David and his siblings all went to work to help with household expenses. In the wintertime, David used a tractor his grandmother had given him to plow driveways. In the summer, he grew sweet corn on a vacant lot next to the church his family regularly attended. Eventually he got a better paying job as a car mechanic at a local gas station. 'I loved working on cars,' says David. 'I had a reputation around school that I could pretty much fix anything. When I was 17, General Motors had a contest where they bugged cars and the entrants had to find the bugs and repair them. I came in second in the whole state.'

Although David's skills as a mechanic were excellent, he knew he did not want to do that for a living. He had been only an average student in high school, but he felt he needed to attempt a college education. Parsons College, a private school in Iowa, was the only school that accepted his application.

'In college, I grew and matured,' says David. 'In fact, I think the social growth was as valuable to me as my academic education. I had come from a solidly blue-collar neighborhood, and in college I was exposed to all the possibilities and opportunities a bigger world could offer. My fraternity brother was a relative of the John Deere tractor family, and my first airplane ride was on the Deere plane. I'd never been around wealth before and seeing it up close made me realize that I wanted a bigger life. I just wasn't sure how I was going to make that happen.'

David worked nights and weekends as a truck driver while attending college full time. To get home to Syracuse for winter and spring breaks, he hitchhiked. 'It was 900 miles, and I hitchhiked it round-trip 15 times,' he says. 'I had a Samsonite suitcase, and on one side I had written in large letters: New York and on the other side it said: Iowa. Depending on which way I was going, I'd set down the suitcase and wait for a ride.'

In 1971, David was drafted into the Army and served one and a half tours in Vietnam. 'I was lucky in Vietnam,' says David. 'I was assigned as a criminal investigator. I really enjoyed what I was doing and even thought about going into law enforcement after I ended my tour of duty.' But upon his honorable discharge, David changed his mind and went to work for Market Transport, a trucking company owned by Peter Stott (who became a Horatio Alger Member in 2014). David admired Stott's energy and ambition, but he knew he wanted to be his own boss. After only nine months, he had saved enough money to buy two trucks, which was the start of his business.

'It didn't take me long to learn that I liked the trucking business, but wanted to be on the support side,' says David. 'I sold my trucks and had a pretty good time doing that, so I helped sell off equipment for another trucking company. I not only earned good money in that venture but I also really enjoyed making the deals. It was 1976 by then, and I approached Mr. Jubitz, who owned a big truck stop in Portland, Oregon. He offered me a loan to start a business selling used trucks. He gave me $19,000 without any collateral'all in $100 bills'and I paid him back in ten months with interest.'

This was the beginning of the Thompson Equipment Company. David set up shop in an old building next to the Portland truck stop. Some nights, he camped out upstairs rather than drive across town to his apartment. In 1978, Mr. Jubitz sold David two acres for his growing dealership. All went well until the economic downturn in 1981. David says, 'That was a very difficult time. Interest rates skyrocketed, and no one was buying anything. I got way behind in my dealership mortgage payments as well as my house mortgage and all my credit cards were canceled. In 1983, I took a chance and bought a fleet of repossessed trucks. Within two weeks, I sold those trucks and made enough money to get myself caught up'I was back in business!'

Today David is joined in his business by his three sons, David O., 31, Chris, 29, and William, 27. This proud, family-owned business, now known as TEC Equipment, Inc., is the largest full-service truck and trailer dealership in the Western U.S. and among the top four truck dealers in the nation, serving more than 40 million people in 31 locations. TEC Equipment is also the only dealer to have been awarded the National Truck Dealer of the Year award twice.

David is often asked to address university students about his success in business. 'The size and scope of my business today reveals that I've had some good wins,' he says, 'but I make sure I include in my comments the stories of my losses and failures over the years, as well. I've stepped in a lot of holes, where the water was deep and cold, but each has delivered indelible lessons. It's the failures that have taught me the most. I learned not to fear failure because those setbacks taught me how to adapt, and they served to re-enforce my determination.'

David also believes that in business it is especially important to have integrity and live ethically, as your reputation is one thing that no one can take away. 'I think I drove my young sons crazy, when each night at the dinner table I would ask them to tell me something they did that day that showed integrity, ethics, or character. Well, they may have thought I was crazy, but all three of my sons now continuously display those characteristics, on a daily basis, of which I am very proud.'

When David was 51, Mr. Jubitz, the man who gave him his first business loan, died. David attended the funeral, which was held in the university rotunda. 'The building was standing room only,' says David. 'People began offering their eulogies, and I was amazed by how many times it was mentioned that Mr. Jubitz was a giver. He gave and he gave and he gave. I sat there and thought, he did that for me too'it's time for me to start giving back.'

Healthcare and education are the two areas in which Ann and David Thompson focus their philanthropy. One project they find especially rewarding is the annual full-ride scholarships they give to two underprivileged students each year at Oregon State University, where all three of their sons attended. In addition to having 100 percent of their room, board, tuition, and books paid for, the scholarship recipients are also offered summer jobs at TEC and in their senior year receive a fully paid opportunity to study abroad. 'It's been very gratifying to see the difference this makes in these young people's lives, but really these scholarships are making a generational difference. When these young people have families of their own, they will make sure their children go to college'and on and on it goes.'

Young people often ask David for his advice about today's work environment. His counsel to them is to work harder than their peers. 'I've seen it happen so many times with my employees,' he says. 'Those who work the hardest shine the brightest and quickly get noticed for broader opportunities.'

When David was named as a 2020 Horatio Alger Award recipient, he says he felt honored to be included alongside Members he has long admired. 'The Members are bootstrap people,' he says. 'They are self-starters, like I was. They understand hard work and failures. I think that is a bond we all share. The Association's mission to help the young people who need it the most with their higher education is right in line with my philosophy about how we can make a long-lasting difference that benefits all of us.'