Summerfield Johnston III, a.k.a. Skeeter Johnston, (1954-2007) was an American businessman and polo player.Skeeter Johnson, Polo Player, Dies
''

The Blood-Horse ''BloodHorse'' is a multimedia news organization covering Thoroughbred racing and breeding that started with a newsletter first published in 1916 as a monthly bulletin put out by the Thoroughbred Horse Association.

'', April 6, 2007Memorial Service Set Tuesday For Cleveland's Skeeter Johnston
''

The Chattanoogan ''The Chattanoogan'' and its website Chattanoogan.com is an online media outlet that concentrates on news from Chattanooga, Tennessee. It is published by John Wilson, previously a staff writer for the ''Chattanooga Free Press The ''Chattanooga ...

'', April 7, 2007Flying H Polo Club biography
/ref>Sharon Robb, Stephanie Horvat
Polo's Skeeter Johnston dies from injuries at 53
''

Sun-Sentinel The ''Sun Sentinel'' (also known as the ''South Florida Sun Sentinel'', known until 2008 as the ''Sun-Sentinel'', and stylized on its masthead as ''SunSentinel'') is the main daily newspaper of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as well as surrounding Br ...

'', April 7, 2007Herbert Spencer
Polo world stunned by death of American player
, ''

Horse & Hound ''Horse & Hound'' is the oldest equestrian weekly magazine of the United Kingdom. Its first edition was published in 1884. The magazine contains horse industry news, reports from equestrian events, veterinary advice about caring for horses, and h ...

'', 12 April 2007Gwen Rizzo
A Tribute to Summerfield K Johnston III
''

Polo Players' Edition Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small har ...

''Benjamin Butler
A Passion for Polo: The Johnston Family Legacy
''CitysScope''

Early life

Skeeter Johnson was born in

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

, on January 8, 1954. He attended Bright School grammar school and

Baylor School Baylor School, commonly called Baylor, is a private, coeducational college-preparatory school in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Founded in 1893, the school currently sits atop a 690-acre campus and enrolls students in grades 6-12, including boarding stu ...

in Chattanooga. He graduated from

Eckerd College Eckerd College is a private liberal arts college in St. Petersburg, Florida. Founded in 1958, part of the campus is waterfront and beach on Boca Ciega Bay. Because of its location, Eckerd is considered a "beach school" and has its own student ...

St Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

. His great-grandfather was James F. Johnston, the founder of the Coca-Cola Bottling Company, the first Coca-Cola franchiser. His father, Summerfield Johnston, Jr., served as the former Chairman and CEO of the

Coca-Cola Enterprises Coca-Cola Enterprises was a marketer, producer, and distributor of Coca-Cola products. It was formerly the anchor bottler for Western Europe and most of North America. Coca-Cola Enterprises' products included Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, ...

. He had three sisters, Katherine Johnston Tudor, Lavinia Johnston, Gillian Johnston and one brother, Robert Johnston.

Career

He joined his family's Coca-Coca Bottling Company and served as President of its food and restaurant division and of its

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n subsidiary, WinPac Ltd. He was then President of the Coca-Cola Bottling Company Northwest in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

and of Coca-Cola Bottling Company of

Cleveland, Tennessee Cleveland is the county seat of and largest city in Bradley County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 47,356 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Cleveland metropolitan area, Tennessee (consisting of Bradley and neigh ...

. In the aftermath of the 1991 merger of the Johnston Coca-Cola Bottling Group with Coca-Cola Enterprises, he served as Vice President of Human Resources, Senior Vice President and President of the Eastern North American Group, responsible for bottling operations in the eastern United States, and Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy and Business Development Officer. He retired from Coca-Cola Enterprises in February 2004, and served on its board of directors from 2004 to 2007. He sat on the Boards of Directors of the

Krystal Krystal may refer to: People * Krystal Ann Simpson (born 1982), American poet, fashion blogger, DJ, reality television personality, and musician * Krystal Ball (born 1981), American political commentator * Krystal Barter, Australian activi ...

restaurant chain A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate the retail and dining markets and many service categories, in many pa ...

, MetalTek International, a specialty metal casting company,

SunTrust Bank SunTrust Banks, Inc. was an American bank holding company with SunTrust Bank as its largest subsidiary and assets of US$199 billion as of March 31, 2018. The bank's most direct corporate parent was established in 1891 in Atlanta, where it was ...

of Chattanooga, N. A., Southern Screens Entertainment, a real estate and multi-screen cinema house company in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, and e-Skye Solutions, a distributor of channel management software. He sat on the Board of Trustees of the

Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, or CCSF is a non-profit organization that works on behalf and at the direction of the Coca-Cola system (including The Coca-Cola Company, the world's largest producer of non-alcoholic beverages, and its many subsid ...

Polo

He played polo for thirty-five years. He was a governor-at-large of the

United States Polo Association The United States Polo Association (USPA) is the national governing body for the sport of polo in the United States. Introduction Established in 1890, by David Grubbs the USPA provides resources to over 4,500 individual members and 250 polo club ...

. He was a co-founder of the

North American Polo League North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

in 2005. He was a principal partner of the Flying H Polo Club in

Big Horn, Wyoming Big Horn is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Sheridan County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 198 at the 2000 census and 490 at the 2010 census. Geography Big Horn is on the eastern slope of the Big H ...

. He was a patron and a player of the Skeeterville team. He was Captain of the teams that won the $100,000 Gold Cup, a 26-goal tournament, in 1988; the Cartier International Open, in 1982; the USPA Heritage Cup twice; and the 2003 Hall of Fame Cup. His teams were three times runner up in the United States Open Polo Tournament.

Personal life

He was married to Leslie Buttram Johnston, and they had a daughter, Louisa. They lived in

Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from several nearby cities including West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach by the Intracoas ...

and

Death

He died of an injury involving a horse while preparing for the 2007 Stanford U.S. Open championships at the

Palm Beach International Polo Club The National Polo Center (NPC), formerly the International Polo Club Palm Beach (IPC), located in Wellington, Florida, is one of the largest polo clubs in the world. The club includes several natural grass polo fields, two of which are part of ...

on April 5, 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Summerfield, III 1954 births 2007 deaths Businesspeople from Chattanooga, Tennessee Eckerd College alumni 20th-century American businesspeople Coca-Cola people American polo players People from Palm Beach, Florida People from Big Horn, Wyoming