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A Letter to Ray Anderson's Family: From Mark Achbar, Director of The Corporation
By Sandy HaksiTo the family of Ray Anderson and employees of Interface, I offer my sincere condolences on the loss of a person so special to each of us.
I first read about Ray in a newspaper article around 2000, and was amazed there could be a billion-dollar-business helmed by a man with such a capacity for honest — and public — self-reflection and self-criticism.
I met Ray in the course of making the feature documentary The Corporation. His was one of the last interviews conducted for the film, and what a stroke of luck that was. Ray became the film’s star.
Ray was so gracious and generous with his time. Although he told his story hundreds of times a year, he somehow managed to keep it fresh every time, as if telling it for the first time. As a result of our one interview, literally millions of people around the world were introduced to Ray’s attainable vision of sustainability.
Ray kindly showed up at the film’s US premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. When the lights came on and he came to the front of the theatre to take questions, he received a standing ovation.
“The carpet guy” left an indelible impression on a huge and still-growing audience, so many of whom specifically mention him in reviews and when discussing the film. Ray’s sections of The Corporation now form part of a curriculum designed for MBA students; one of the film’s greatest accomplishments was infiltrating business schools.
At a benefit screening of The Corporation in Boston, the food and drink servers all wore the same t-shirt, which bore a quote from the film, “One day people like me are going to end up in jail” — Ray Anderson”. I quickly traded a Corporation t-shirt for one of those.
The course Ray set for Interface is brilliant and exemplary, and with the perseverance of people he has touched, will continue to be an inspiration for generations to come.
Mark Achbar
Tag(s): The Corporation Film, Reform the corporation
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