Inception
Nutrilite: 1950
Amway: 1959
Qualifications
Double Diamond 1970
Triple Diamond 1974
Crown 1975
Success Story
Sponsored by Emerald Walter Bass, Fred Hansen and his wife Bernice began working with Rich DeVos and Jay Van Andel in the Nutrilite business in 1950 under the direction of Emerald Walter Bass. To establish the American Way Association (AWA), which ultimately became Amway, Fred Hansen collaborated with several business leaders, including DeVos and Van Andel, Jere Dutt, Joe Victor, Walter Bass, and Eleanor Tietsma, in 1958.
Fred played an important part in the formation of the Independent Business Owners Association International, which exists today under the name of the Independent Business Owners Association of America. Fred died in 1968 after a long illness.
Fred Hansen is a member of the IBOAI Presidents Cabinet[2]. After Fred died of a heart attack in 1968, Bernice Hansen took over the family diamond company. Around this time, her daughter Susan and Skip Ross met at a conference in California, where they became fast friends. Skip and Susan Ross are currently in charge of the Hansen company.
It was in 1970 that she achieved Double Diamond status, followed by Triple Diamond status in 1974, and then Crown status the following year.
Rich DeVos introduced my husband and me to the Nutrilite business in 1950, when we were still in our early 20s. I've believed from the outset that if Rich and Jay Van Andel could achieve it, then we could accomplish the same feat. As Bernice explained, "That was the beginning of a global business. Bernice came from an accounting background and her husband, a barber, had previously started a business that had failed. They launched into the Nutrilite business in earnest, and their efforts were quickly rewarded." "It became very clear to us that building the business was the best investment of their time that people could make." “Having financial options and personal freedom is a dream come true for me,” Bernice expresses. “I am quite satisfied with this business. Bernice Hansen passed away on September 27, 2012[3] after a long battle with cancer. She was one of the early distributors who helped Amway founders Rich DeVos and Jay Van Andel grow their basement business into one of the world's largest direct sales companies. According to the statement, "her lifetime accomplishments are absolutely awe-inspiring." “We are appreciative for the cooperation we've had with her over the years, and we recognise the countless lives she has impacted. It was in her late 30s when she met then-23-year-old Rich DeVos, who came to her Ohio home to lead a Nutrilite meeting. She will be mourned by Amway distributors all over the world, staff here in Ada, and the DeVos and Van Andel families." Bernice met Rich when she was in her late 30s. “I was like, ‘Wait, what?' Do we really want to hear from this young youngster on how to establish a business and generate money? In an interview with an Amway publication that was released two years ago, she explained her position. “Not in a million years! 'However, he was quite competent. And, of course, the youngster in question was Rich DeVos. According to her obituary, she grew up on a farm in Coopersville where she developed a love for people, horses, and cats. “When we first started out, we only had one product and one piece of literature, which Jay (Van Andel) wrote and mimeographed himself, so at that time, it only cost $1 to get into the business.” Bernice Hansen is remembered as "always having a grin on her face and words of encouragement for everyone she met." Two of Bernice's three daughters, Karen DeBlaay and Susan Ross, have carried on the Hansen legacy as Independent Business Owners, respectively.
“If there was one thing I learnt from my mother, it was to always be a source of encouragement for others,” Ross stated in the Amway advertisement. “She has a unique ability to bring out the best in people, and she was always willing to go the extra mile to assist those who worked tirelessly to see their enterprises succeed.” Her business success prepared the door for her philanthropy, which she began in 2008. Over the years, Hansen has made contributions to a number of institutions, including the Helen DeVos Children's Hospital, the Van Andel Institute, and Cornerstone University. We at Cornerstone University are appreciative for the role Bernice Hansen has played in the promotion of our mission, said Cornerstone President Joseph Stowell.
Bernice Hansen is a professor of English at Cornerstone University. “This is especially true in terms of her philanthropy, which contributed to the realisation of the Bernice Hansen Athletic Center. The building is important in both student life and athletic competition because of its strategic location. Hansen's second husband, Ralph Gilbert, died before her. She is survived by her three daughters, Marianne (Wayne) Briggs of Gambier, Ohio, Susan (Skip) Ross of Sarasota, Fla., and Karen (Jerry) DeBlaay of Ada; three step-daughters, Joanne, Susan, and Kathy; and 19 grandchildren, step-grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Hansen's legacy will always be remembered on campus.
For more information on the Hansen downline, which is believed to be the largest in Amway, visit the JaRi article on the company.
Related Links
- IBOAI - Fred Hansen
References
North American Amagram, August 1975
IBOAI Presidents Cabinet - Fred Hansen
Farewell to an Amway Pioneer. Bernice Hansen, 101yrs
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