Ogden Business Leader to Speak at WSU Commencement
OGDEN, Utah – Crystal Call Maggelet, CEO of FJ Management Inc., will speak at Weber State University’s 155th commencement on Aug. 29 at 8 p.m. in Stewart Stadium. Maggelet will also receive an honorary degree.
Crystal Call Maggelet is a second generation CEO of FJ Management Inc., a diversified family business headquartered in Ogden, Utah, that includes wholly owned subsidiaries Maverik convenience store chain and Big West Oil petroleum refinery. FJ Management also has a minority stake in Pilot Flying J, a chain of truck stops in the United States and Canada. Other family businesses include TAB Bank and the Crystal Inn hotel chain. In addition to her role as chair of the FJ Management Board, she is the director and audit committee chair of the Pilot Flying J Board of Managers.
In 1960, with his sights set on becoming a leader in owning and operating travel plazas along interstate highways, Maggelet’s father, Jay Call, started a business with one small leased station in Willard, Utah. By 1968, Call had incorporated as Flying J Inc., with four independent gasoline outlets. Over the next 10 years, he rapidly expanded his discount chain by adding 50 stations, primarily along the Pacific Coast and in Idaho.
Maggelet served on her father’s board of directors at age 18. At 22, after graduating from Pepperdine University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, Maggelet worked for Flying J as a buyer and seller of liquid petroleum gas. She later earned an MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration and worked as a national salesperson for a small credit card company in Connecticut.
After returning to Utah, Maggelet and her husband, Chuck Maggelet, started the Crystal Inn which grew into a regional chain of 14 hotels. She eventually put her business career on hold to raise her four children until her father's untimely death in a 2003 airplane accident and a series of events led to Flying J’s bankruptcy. With the fates of thousands of employees resting heavily on her shoulders, Maggelet was able to restructure, pay back every creditor, save jobs and ultimately save the company. She also preserved her father’s name and integrity. At the 2018 Entrepreneur of the Year Awards Gala, Maggelet received a special Lifetime Achievement award in recognition of her accomplishments.
Maggelet is currently one of 18 people appointed by the governor to serve on the Utah Board of Higher Education. She also serves on the Liv Communities Board, Intermountain Healthcare Board and the Zions Bank Advisory Board.
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