Everyone who encountered Joe Higgins experienced his high energy. That energy left him Saturday, when the B.A.S.S. vice president of sales succumbed to cancer at his home in Jupiter, Fla. He was 67.
B.A.S.S. CEO Bruce Akin said Higgins was known for “his contagious personality, always positive attitude, creativity and work ethic. He was loved by all he came into contact with, within and without our company and industry. He will be missed.”
Higgins was among the first hires when B.A.S.S. was purchased from ESPN in 2010. Don Logan and the group of owners sought a dynamic leader to head up the sales force.
“When Jim Copeland, Jerry McKinnis and I bought B.A.S.S. from ESPN, our top priority was to beef up our sales and marketing leadership,” Logan said. “A couple of my industry friends, whom I respected, called me and told me Joe Higgins would be great in those roles.”
Logan knew within 30 minutes of meeting Higgins that he was the man, and a second meeting with McKinnis and Copeland required only 15 minutes to confirm.
“Joe Higgins’ relationships with all the industry players, his tireless energy, and his positive attitude had an immediate impact on B.A.S.S.’s sucess. He was the perfect choice, and a true friend,” Logan said.
Logan witnessed Higgins in action on their first trip to ICAST, the industry-wide show of all the tackle manufacturers. As the story goes Higgins slowed their journey across the floor stopping to say hello to everyone he knew, but Higgins’ side was that Logan slowed things by checking out all the new products.
“Everybody knew Joe and they stopped a lot,” Akin said. “Don just wanted to stop and look at all the new lures, and Joe said he was the holdup getting through. There’s probably truth to both sides.”
Creating meaningful relationships was what Higgins did in his nearly four decades in the industry. He worked in sales at Field & Stream and the World Fishing Network and was publisher of Western Outdoors Publications before founding Florida Fishing Weekly.
Higgins made a positive impact on everyone he met, with his vigorous handshake, big smile, booming voice and sincere kindness. Higgins, an Irish Catholic, grew up in Chicago, attending all-boys Fenwick High before studying at Saint Mary’s University in Minnesota. The avid golfer played hockey through college and was a huge fan of his Chicago Blackhawks as well as the Cubs.
John Mazurkiewicz with Catalyst Marketing, who handles PR and advertising work at Shimano out of South Bend, Ind., worked with Higgins but also shared a personal connection, being another “ethnic Catholic” from the region. He and Higgins would take in a round of golf at Notre Dame, go out to eat and just visit.
“Anytime he’d do a Midwest swing, I was always one of his stops,” Mazurkiewicz said. “We’d talk business, we’d talk family, personal problems, frustrations — be able to vent, make each other feel better and always have a laugh.
“What I always tell people about Joe, business was always there, but it was never the No. 1 priority. It was the relationships he built beyond business. He was sincerely concerned about the companies he was working with, their success, and it wasn’t always about getting more business for B.A.S.S.”
It was that personal touch that impressed most people, including his bosses at B.A.S.S. Higgins worked closely with endemic sponsors like Mercury, Bass Pro Shops, Johnson Outdoors and Yamaha. Akin said his relationships helped bolster B.A.S.S.
“Joe was the quintessential sales guy,” Akin said. “He had a creative mind and a real good marketing mind. He didn’t like being stuck behind the desk managing people or processes. He liked to be out selling.
“Joe had this saying with customers, ‘We’re only limited by our imaginations … and your budget.’ He was a funny guy and very positive person. He had a few other sayings, ‘They’re not coming to see us. We’re going to see them.’ And, ‘The phone is not ringing, them calling us. We have to reach out to them.’
“He was largely responsible for the increase in sales we’ve had in the past few years, bringing back people like Shimano, people he had worked with before. He had great relationships with the Rapalas, Daiwas — everbody in the industry, small and large.”
Deborah Smart, the Southeast sales director at B.A.S.S., worked closely with Higgins, often hearing his nightly calls to his family, wife Tammy and twins Aiden and Madison.
“He was just awesome,” she said. “He was extremely intelligent, very creative and I would say boundless energy. He was just a lot of fun to be around. He was a super salesman.
“On a personal note, what I really liked about Joe, when we were traveling together, he would always call home and talk to Tammy and tell the kids a bedtime story. I heard the most amazing bedtime stories. He would make them up on the spot. They were so good, I liked them, too.”
Smart said he genuinely cared about the clients’ welfare and would work creatively to give them the best packages for their company. His greatest asset was that he cared for the other person, who had oftentimes become a lifelong friend.
“Joe had friendships. It wasn’t just a business relationship with people,” Smart said. “That happens in this industry a lot, particularly with Joe, and I think because of the genuine liking of him, and also, the real sincerity about him. He wasn’t just selling them something. He was helping them and trying to do the best he could for them. That went a long way with Joe.
“And he was just funny. He had a great sense of humor and he laughed a lot. He was fun. Who didn’t like Joe? And how could you not? He was a great guy, and I’ll miss him a lot.”
Higgins touched so many in the industry, said Chris Megan, who serves as Chairman of the Board of the American Sportfishing Association. Higgins mentored him years ago and was there when Megan’s daughter went through illness.
“Joe was always there with encouragement even when he was dealing with his own surgeries and that’s just who he was,” Megan said. “I will never forget Joe and I will miss walking the floor at ICAST with him when we couldn’t get 10 feet without someone stopping Joe to say hello and kid him about his golf game, the Cubs or just business in general.
‘I am convinced Joe knew everyone in this industry and, more importantly, he remembered everyone because he had a way of making a connection. Joe will never be remembered as a great fishermen, but he had as much influence on this sport as any of the great anglers of our time. All of us in this great sport will miss Joe Higgins!”
Mazurkiewicz said Higgins informed him after ICAST in July that his cancer returned, and he was broken up when he left church Sunday and learned he had died.
“Last Sunday was a tough day for me and many in the biz who knew Joe well,” he said.
He said he saw Higgins’ energy levels had taken a downturn on their last trip together to the ASA Summit in October.
“I was so surprised he made the decision to go up there,” Mazurkiewicz said. “There were a lot of upper level folks in the industry there, and I guess in his mind it was a great opportunity for him to say hello and goodbye to everybody on the same trip. That’s sort of how it turned out.”
There will be a Celebration of Life gathering for Higgins in his native Chicago, and Mazurkiewicz said Higgins’ life is sure something to honor.
“A funeral is not something to be sad and sorrowful about, it’s to celebrate their life,” he said. “It’s the one chance where everybody in the family gets to be together, besides weddings. You don’t go to one and be sad. It will be true celebration of his life. I’m thinking in typical Irish fashion, we may have to have a drink or two. There are going to be some tears being shed, that’s what they do, but there are going to be a lot of toasts for Joe’s life.”
Memorial information:
A Celebration of Joe’s Life will be held December 7, 2019 at 10:30 a.m. at Oak Park Country Club 2001 North Thatcher Ave., River Grove, IL 60171
In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made for his children, Aidan and Madison.