When Rick Garrett left Centralia High School, he had three sports under his belt and a wide-open future ahead of him. But looking back now, from his base in Austin, Texas—where he co-owns nine airport food and beverage locations, helps run a barbershop, and supports his wife’s staffing business—it’s clear that Rick didn’t just chase opportunity. He tackled it.

A 1995 graduate of Centralia High School, Rick was a standout athlete from an athletic family. His cousin, Dicky Garrett, played in the NBA for the Lakers. Another cousin, David Patrick, was an Olympic track athlete. “Basketball was just in me through and through,” Rick said. But football ended up choosing him. He accepted a football scholarship to Illinois State University, walked onto the basketball team, and eventually focused full-time on the gridiron.

“I started as a redshirt freshman in football,” Rick said. “In basketball, I was coming off the bench—but at 6’3”, I was the second shortest guy on the team.” The writing was on the wall, and the field was calling.

Rick earned his undergraduate degree in four years and spent his fifth in graduate school while finishing his athletic eligibility. After college, he signed with the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent, appearing in four preseason games and spending time on multiple practice squads. But when pro football reached its finish line, Rick didn’t hesitate to pivot.

He transitioned into corporate life, landing at Aon and later AIG, working in group health, corporate sales, and even in specialized insurance like international travel and kidnapping and ransom protection. But when the 2008 financial collapse hit AIG hard, Rick took a leap of faith—he and his wife bought out her family’s staffing and recruiting business. That entrepreneurial spark ignited a chain of ventures that hasn’t slowed since.

By the time he moved to Austin, Rick had shifted focus again. A chance encounter through nonprofit work introduced him to the idea of airport concession partnerships. Alongside his cousin Dana Garrett, he bid on federal contracts and now oversees operations in Austin’s airport, including a Starbucks and several locally branded restaurants. “Most of them are local names,” Rick said. “We license the brands, but we run the show.”

It hasn’t stopped there. He expanded into Denver with four retail stores and recently opened a barber shop and convenience store in Austin—outside the airport this time.

But ask Rick what really drives him these days, and the answer is simple: his 11-year-old son, Major. “He plays up in 11U baseball,” Rick said proudly. “Throws 67, wears a size 13.5, and just turned 11. He’s on a ranked team, plays basketball and football, too.”

Rick coaches 7-on-7 football, and though he lets others coach his son in basketball and baseball, he’s purposeful about how he supports him. “He’s got to fail sometimes. That’s where the hunger comes from,” Rick said. “Early this season, he struggled with curveballs. He came to me and said, ‘Let’s work on it.’ So we did. And he figured it out.”

That process—of creating moments of challenge and growth—is part of Rick’s philosophy on raising a child in affluence. “If Major grew up the way I did, I failed him as a father,” he said. “But he also won’t have those same calluses, so I’ve got to manufacture adversity in ways that build character.”

Though Rick’s household was led by a single mother, it was surrounded by a powerful village—the Garrett family. “I had examples everywhere. Aunts, cousins, my sister. We weren’t rich, but we had standards. My grandmother was president of the NAACP. My grandfather was a deacon. There were expectations.”

That foundation shaped Rick. Centralia shaped Rick. “I was in advanced math. I took typing to be around girls—but it’s helped me every day since. Ms. Klein’s communication class helped me go from shy to sales pro.”

And it’s that blend of grounded roots and ambitious reach that defines Rick’s story today. “You’ve got to find what you’re good at and grow it,” he said. “And if you’re not good at something, you’ve got to outwork it.”

From CHS gym popcorn memories to airport boardrooms and baseball diamonds, Rick Garrett is still outworking it—and making Centralia proud every step of the way.