2008 Outstanding Directors

ARCA decided to refuel its slow-running retail business by launching a new brand, ApplianceSmart Factory Outlets, in 1998. Rather than used appliances, it would sell manufacturers’ discontinued and distressed merchandise. Cameron says that ARCA leaned heavily on Carlson to launch the business, which now has 17 stores in Minnesota, Ohio, Georgia, and Texas. ARCA, with more than $100 million in annual revenues, draws about $72 million from ApplianceSmart.

Through all the changes, Cameron says that Carlson has consistently emphasized honesty toward shareholders. “We’ve been public since 1991, and we’ve never had an issue—not with the Securities and Exchange Commission, no lawsuits, no shareholder complaints . . . . The way you get in trouble is sticking your head in the sand. Duane simply doesn’t allow that to happen.”

Carlson, 73, has worked as an independent business consultant since 1997 and once served on a dozen boards concurrently. “You could say I’ve become a professional board member,” he chuckles. ARCA is his only public-company post.

“I’ve been very impressed with the way the management, particularly Jack Cameron, has operated and turned the company around,” Carlson says. “As long as I can be a part of that, I’ll be a part of it.”

It looks like Carlson’s guidance could be needed for another big transition. New federal programs for appliance recycling mean that that side of ARCA’s business is picking up again, Cameron says.