James Senders

Class of 2002

Born April 7, 1915, in Portland, OR, Jim attended Lincoln High School and earned a BA in Economics and Social Studies from Stanford University. He served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy and has two daughters.

After a stint as a salesman in the late ë30s, Jim joined his brother Bill as a partner in Lang-Senders & Co. in 1938. He worked in various capacities there until his retirement in 1997. At the time of his induction, he continued to serve the industry as a consultant to Kahler-Senders Group Inc.

Jim stresses integrity toward customers and principals as the biggest factor in his success. His most memorable career moment was persuading a potato chip manufacturer to box 40,000 pounds of wrapped candy for a client’s Christmas gift to his customers.

Taking stock of his 60 years in the candy business, Jim says: “There are many fewer wholesale customers, more chain outlets and fewer independent retailers. The supermarkets are, for the most part, either owned or affiliated with a wholesale grocer, so not many sales to them are available to independents.”