Norman McClelland

Inducted in 2010

Mar 1

Phoenix - Maricopa County

Inducted in 2010

Norman McClelland, former chairman and CEO of Shamrock Foods Company, is a patriotic American. Still, like many of us who have ties to the Emerald Isle, he is proud of his Irish ancestry. He has written four books on his family history and worked to establish an Irish library where people of Irish descent can learn more about their heritage. His leadership at Shamrock Foods was instrumental in its growth and success, and his commitment to his Irish roots is evident in his efforts to preserve and share Irish history.

Norman's father, William Thomas McClelland, came to the U.S. in 1912 from his native Ireland, having lost his parents four years earlier. At 18, he was the oldest of three siblings, each of whom went to stay with a different family. Despite these hardships, agriculture had been a way of life for the McClellands, and it is no surprise that when he joined an uncle in Tucson, he went to work in that field, first at Triple C Ranch north of the city and later as a milker and delivery driver for Peterson Dairy. Their resilience in the face of such adversity is truly admirable.

The senior McClelland loved his adopted country and set out to be the best citizen he could be. He joined the Army and served in World War I, which earned him the right to citizenship. In 1920, Winifred "Winnie" Parker made the long trek from her home in County Down to the United States with her brother. She and William were married that same year. "They met when he returned to the old home country from his service in World War I," Norman said.

With some money, William bought a piece of property northwest of Tucson, where he and Winnie started the New Modern Dairy. They sold the business because they decided to move to California but, within six months, took the dairy back when the buyer could not make the payments. Their commitment to their business was unwavering, and they restarted the operation in 1922 under the Shamrock. Their dedication to their business is truly inspiring.

"The story is, he brought 20 cows and a Model-T truck, and that's how he got started," Norman said. "I'll tell you from living in the family that how he started was he just put his head down, and he worked from the time he got to this country, and his wife was right there with him. When they started, and he was working for the other dairies, they had horse-drawn delivery wagons. I think we still have one in our museum. By the time 1922 came along, they had a Model-T truck."

Norman said the reason for Shamrock's success was his father's love for his adopted country and his determination not only to be successful but also to be a good citizen. "Joining the service allowed him to become a citizen, and then, of course, when he and his wife married, she became a citizen also."

When Shamrock Dairy started, approximately 25 dairies were distributing milk in Tucson. "That was before the requirement of processing milk and pasteurizing it," Norman said. "When that ordinance came along, people suddenly had another investment to make." The pasteurization ordinance significantly changed the industry, requiring dairies to invest in new equipment and processes. They had to decide whether to make that investment or leave the business. "The story is that my dad and another guy flipped a coin. Dad lost it, and he had to buy the pasteurizer. I don't know whether that's true, but that's how they started." This decision marked a turning point for Shamrock Foods and the dairy industry, and their resilience and adaptability in the face of change set them apart.

In the 1930s, as a young boy, Norman remembers when the dairy bought their first automated bottle washer. They already had a computerized filler but upgraded the bottle washer. "My Dad came home one day, and his face...he'd almost cut off part of his nose. He'd been starting up the bottle washer, and one of the bottles got caught, kind of exploded, came out, and cut him," he remembers. "That didn't bother him. We stitched it up, and off we went."

In 1940, the company added to the processing plant. This was a significant step forward, marking the moment when they truly got started. They put in pasteurizing equipment and a laboratory to test all their products from their own farm and others, and they started making cottage cheese and other products. Their adaptability and innovation were key to their success, and their forward-thinking approach is truly impressive.
During World War II, Norman served in the military, [providing valuable service in a specific role or campaign]. He had promised himself that he would not join his father's company. Still, when he returned and graduated from the University of Arizona with dual degrees in agriculture and business administration, he recanted that decision. "I'll tell you, it worked out well. My Dad was one of the easiest guys to work for." His father expected his managerial employees to have a plan and to implement it.

In the early 1950s, a couple of years after Norman joined the company, the decision was made to move into the Phoenix market. "By the time we'd been up here and opened the milk plant for about two or three years, we had about fifty distributors here, just as we did in Tucson. And then came the time of the Seven-Eleven, C Stores, and Circle K, and the whole market changed. They became the neighborhood delivery route system for dairy products, so we had to adjust. We started with wholesale routes, then expanded our business throughout Arizona. Fortunately, were able to make the change and the move. Over time, we've evolved into different organizations.

By the early 1960s, Shamrock had about a 40 percent market in Phoenix. "Obviously, we're not going to have a much bigger market share than that." Companies like Safeway and Kroegers had their milk plants. "We looked around and decided we needed to find out what we wanted to do for the future. We had a lot of bright people and good managers. We visited with a man at a seminar and we decided we are a refrigerated transport company. "Everything was growing in Arizona and across the United States. We went into the institutional food business and leased a plant from Arizona Cold Storage and then built our plant, but before we did that, we bought a company called Arizona Frozen Food from Bob Hopper. "It was a new phase of the business. They were learning as they expanded. We built our warehouse at the present location on the property on Encanto west of the dairy. From there, the food division grew. We also were associated with the Frosty Acres Association, the Vine Group, and a company in Colorado called Inland Foods. The owner didn't have a means of passing on the business in his own family, so he wanted to join us. We went into the Colorado market, and we've been in that market for over 30 years."

Arizona and Colorado became the two dominant markets in the company's institutional food business. "We were successful and had the number one position in that market as well as this market now. Then, we built a warehouse in Albuquerque.”

"We're still milking cows. It's either because we like milking cows or because we don't know how not to milk cows," he laughed. "One of the two. We've had several locations, starting in Tucson. We had two dairies there and one in Chandler over the years." Eventually, the dairies were consolidated. Several years ago, they built a farm at Maricopa. "That's a lovely facility. They're very efficient, although they're making them better all the time, just like everything else in farming and ranching." The new facility is set up to produce both organic and non-organic products. In addition, Shamrock has moved its headquarters from Tucson to Phoenix.

The McClellands are concerned about children knowing where their food comes from. They want them to understand that there is more to putting milk on the table than opening a refrigerator door at the supermarket. The company has had dairy farm tours in Tucson for twenty years and has continued the practice at the farm in Maricopa, where they also have a museum that is open to the public.

Over the years, Shamrock has become the largest family-owned and operated dairy in the Southwest and the number one milk processor and distributor in the region. Their contributions to the community are legion. They donate over 80,000 pounds of food a month to local food banks and work with between 80 and 100 non-profit organizations.

Norman McClelland continued to be actively involved with the farm and the dairy processing side of the company until his death. He and his wife Barbara have two children and seven grandchildren. Their son William “Kent” McClelland, is now the firm's president and runs the day-to-day operation, while daughter Kathe handles the cattle records and is involved with the farm.