Before Jack Taylor founded Enterprise Rent-A-Car in his hometown of St. Louis, he flew a Hellcat fighter plane in World War II. Andy Taylor, Jack Taylor’s son and Enterprise Holdings executive chairman, joined Tuesday's St. Louis on the Air to discuss his father’s life and legacy and the documentary “Jack Taylor: The Enterprise.”
“We’re not very good at waving our own flag. … The World War II Foundation approached us,” Andy Taylor said, in reference to how the documentary got made.
Andy Taylor also shared details about his own journey of discovering what his father accomplished during the war. He credited Navy training for developing Jack Taylor’s gifts and equipping him with skills key to starting Enterprise Rent-A-Car in a single car dealership. Andy Taylor also stressed the positive traits Jack Taylor gained from his war experience as a whole, including work-together values that have kept Enterprise Holdings grounded in St. Louis even as it has expanded to 80,000 employees in the U.S. and around the world.
“My father was fourth- or fifth-generation St. Louisan. His parents lived here. He started his family here,” Andy Taylor said. “One reason why my family has been so supportive of St. Louis is the fact that St. Louis accepted Jack Taylor's new business so readily. And we're very grateful for that.”
To hear more about Jack Taylor’s exploits, Andy Taylor’s memories and Enterprise Holdings’ commitments to making St. Louis its best, listen to Andy Taylor’s conversation with guest host Jeremy Goodwin on St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or by clicking the play button below.
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What: “Jack Taylor: The Enterprise” documentary
When: Through November
Where: Streaming via PBS Video app and at ninepbs.org
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Avery Rogers is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr. Send questions and comments about this story to talk@stlpr.org.
