Changes

Oreck was born to Abraham R. and Sheba Polansky Oreck in Duluth, [[Minnesota]], a small, red-headed boy who constantly got into fights with older children; this scrappiness was the very trait that allowed him to succeed. He dropped out of his freshman year at the Duluth campus of the [[University of Minnesota]] in order to join what was then the [[United States Army|Army Air Corps]] and served in the [[Pacific Ocean]] as a B-29 navigator. He had a lifelong love of aviation and collected historically important aircraft. His wartime experience reinforced a deep sense of patriotism shown in part by his emphasis on American-made products.<ref name=obit/>

Oreck was born to Abraham R. and Sheba Polansky Oreck in Duluth, [[Minnesota]], a small, red-headed boy who constantly got into fights with older children; this scrappiness was the very trait that allowed him to succeed. He dropped out of his freshman year at the Duluth campus of the [[University of Minnesota]] in order to join what was then the [[United States Army|Army Air Corps]] and served in the [[Pacific Ocean]] as a B-29 navigator. He had a lifelong love of aviation and collected historically important aircraft. His wartime experience reinforced a deep sense of patriotism shown in part by his emphasis on American-made products.<ref name=obit/>

His true passion was in sales and marketing and understood what captured the attention of customers. After the war, he moved to [[New York City]] and learned his industrial skills at Bruno, [[New York]], then the exclusive distributor for RCA [[television]] and Whirlpool appliances for New York, [[New Jersey]], and [[Connecticut]]. He subsequently was named the chief executive officer of the Louisiana and [[Mississippi]] RCA distributorship, in which position, he established several national marketing strategies for RCA. In 1963, he founded the Oreck Corporation, He was initially the exclusive national distributor for Whirlpool-branded vacuum cleaners. Prior to the rise of [[Mike Lindell]] of the MyPillow Company, another Minnesota-based company, Oreck was the pioneer of direct mail and marketing for vacuum cleaners. The conventional thinking was that vacuums were a product that would only sell off the showroom floor. Yet a smart and compelling marketing story allowed Oreck's direct mail approach to flourish. Just as he defied convention with his direct marketing techniques, he also believed that he could sell a vacuum cleaner that was radically different. At that time consumers had been trained to believe that a good vacuum cleaner had to be heavy. But Oreck thought that a great vacuum could be powerful and durable yet also light-weight. He produced not just a revolutionary product but ground-breaking marketing and customer service programs. By the time the company was sold in 2003, the 8-pound Oreck vacuum had become the premier high performance floor care product. <ref name=obit/>

His true passion was in sales and marketing and understood what captured the attention of customers. After the war, he moved to [[New York City]] and learned his industrial skills at Bruno, [[New York]], then the exclusive distributor for RCA [[television]] and Whirlpool appliances for New York, [[New Jersey]], and [[Connecticut]]. He subsequently was named the chief executive officer of the Louisiana and [[Mississippi]] RCA distributorship, in which position, he established several national marketing strategies for RCA. In 1963, he founded the Oreck Corporation, He was initially the exclusive national distributor for Whirlpool-branded vacuum cleaners. Prior to the rise of [[Mike Lindell]] of the MyPillow Company, another Minnesota-based firm, Oreck was the pioneer of direct mail and marketing for vacuum cleaners. The conventional thinking was that vacuums were a product that would only sell off the showroom floor. Yet a smart and compelling marketing story allowed Oreck's direct mail approach to flourish. Just as he defied convention with his direct marketing techniques, he also believed that he could sell a vacuum cleaner that was radically different. At that time consumers had been trained to believe that a good vacuum cleaner had to be heavy. But Oreck thought that a great vacuum could be powerful and durable yet also light-weight. He produced not just a revolutionary product but ground-breaking marketing and customer service programs. By the time the company was sold in 2003, the 8-pound Oreck vacuum had become the premier high performance floor care product. <ref name=obit/>

In his later years, he was a lecturer at many leading universities espousing the importance of  entrepreneurship and premium branding. He was also dedicated to the educaation of the younger generation about the U.S. role in [[World War II]] and was a benefactor of the National World War II Museum in New Orleans.<ref name=obit/>

In his later years, he was a lecturer at many leading universities espousing the importance of  entrepreneurship and premium branding. He was also dedicated to the educaation of the younger generation about the U.S. role in [[World War II]] and was a benefactor of the National World War II Museum in New Orleans.<ref name=obit/>