By Dani Douglass

George A. “Red” Morris, BBA ‘63, considers himself a “late bloomer in life,” barely squeaking by to graduate from high school in Long Island, New York. When he arrived in Hawai‘i in January 1961, Morris had already attended junior college at Dean Junior College in Franklin, Massachusetts; served in the U.S. Coast Guard as an active duty member for six months and was completing his commitment of seven and a half years in the Coast Guard Reserve (which was a unique offering at the time); and didn’t want to follow his good friend, Ted Sung, to Boston University for the simple fact that he disliked cold winters and hated snow.

Morris described himself as someone who was not college material but for some reason, the admission director at Dean Junior College gave him a chance. Since he was a basketball player and had played for Dean, he honed his athletic skills and secured a scholarship through Alvin Saake, the basketball coach at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.

“I want today’s students to have the same kind of support that was so graciously given to me when I embarked on my journey at the University of Hawai‘i after arriving in the islands,” Morris said. “It’s never too late to change course and I believe so many students who may not be on the college path deserve that chance.”

His scholarship was for $17.50 a month and free books and tuition. Morris had to find a place to live and after one failed attempt in a place in Kaimuki, he found a room thanks to Col. Ed Green, who was the head of student loans. Morris lived there for the next two years in exchange for yard work. Although he struggled in certain areas of his studies, namely business statistics, in which he received his only “D” at UH, he studied hard and graduated in December 1962.

Although he had a tough time with the academic rigor, the area he excelled in was networking, which would ultimately lead to his business success beyond graduation. “UH was all about the people,” he said. Two of those people came into his life during the College of Business Administration’s (Shidler College’s former name) Business Week celebration.

“I went to the ‘meet your businessman’ event in December 1962, only the second year of Business Night, at the Ala Moana Banquet Hall and there were about 60 to 100 people there,” Morris reflected.

That evening became a pivotal moment in his collegiate journey and made a big impact on his success as one of the state’s first independent contract lobbyists. He met Peter Meagher, who also knew his brother-in-law, and his roommate, Ollie Thurman, a Chamber of Commerce of Honolulu staffer. Morris says the two men were instrumental in connecting him with opportunities when he began his career.

It wasn’t only Meagher and Thurman that Morris would cross paths with again later in life after initially meeting them while at Shidler College. Years later, Morris reconnected with Professor Emeritus of Financial Economics and Asian Business K.K. Seo, who founded the Asian Field Study program, when he hired Seo to work with him on a study. Morris also connected with former Shidler College Dean Dave Bess while he was serving as the chairman of the state’s Real Estate Commission from 1979-1987 and the commission funded a chair at the college. 

Prior to this, Morris met college namesake, Jay H. Shidler, BBA ’68, when he was executive vice president of the Honolulu Board of Realtors and the Hawaii Association of Realtors. At this time, Shidler was working for a real estate appraisal firm. Bess’ father-in-law printed The Oahu Street & Condo Mapbook and a condo guide that Shidler initially created. They eventually transferred the guide to an online product that is now owned by the Neighbor Island Multiple Listing Service.

Morris went on to have a thriving and accomplished career in Hawai‘i’s political scene, which started with long days at the ‘Iolani Palace, the state capitol until 1969. The after parties were held at O’Toole’s Irish Pub in downtown Honolulu where he nurtured his connections and started lobbying for many significant individuals, companies and important issues of the time.

Following the founding of his lobbying business in 1975, Morris enjoyed more than five decades of representing some of the country’s biggest corporations on Hawai‘i’s political stage, including AT&T, Lilly, WalMart and Phillip Morris. In 2003, he and business partner John Radcliffe, founded Capitol Consultants of Hawaii, LLP, which would become one of the state’s leading business and political firms.

The Next Chapter

Now in retirement, Morris still enjoys talking story about his career, his time at UH and his early years. He relishes in showing visitors countless memorabilia that adorn the Kaneohe home he and his wife, Gail, live in. There’s the black and white UH basketball team photo; a group photo that includes himself with Gov. John Burns while he was the executive vice president of the State Association and Honolulu Board of Realtors; a framed UH aloha shirt signed by guests at his 60^th birthday party, including the late Senator Daniel Inouye; and the cover of “The Hawaii Realtor” magazine featuring him in his early 30s. And of course, the koa wood frame holding his diploma from the University of Hawai‘i, an accomplishment he could had never dreamed of during his early years.

These milestones in his life are a big part of the reason that Morris decided it was time to give back. He started his charitable giving to higher education in 2020 when he established “The G. A. “Red” Morris Ohana ’59 Scholarship” at Dean College in honor of his 60th reunion year. This scholarship aims to support “late bloomers” who may not have initially seemed destined for college but have shown academic growth since enrolling.

Earlier this year, Morris established a $100,000 endowment for students pursuing their education at Shidler College. Student scholarships will be generated from this fund, with support for “late bloomers” who have shown academic improvement since high school.

The scholarship was given in the memory of Hannibal Tavares, an executive with the Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association and former Mayor of Maui; Douglas Sodetani, president of Maui Reality; and Radcliffe, former associate of the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly and his partner at Capitol Consultants of Hawaii, LLP.

“I want today’s students to have the same kind of support that was so graciously given to me when I embarked on my journey at the University of Hawai‘i after arriving in the islands,” Morris said. “It’s never too late to change course and I believe so many students who may not be on the college path deserve that chance.”