Humanity is much like a whole: the more you take away from a person the bigger they become. Greatness is always in terms of giving, not getting.
He was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 1932, and was adopted shortly thereafter. His family moved often and, at age 12, he got his first job, in a Knoxville, Tennessee restaurant. At age 15, he was working as a busboy in a Fort Wayne, Indiana restaurant when his family decided to move again. Instead, he dropped out of high school to work full-time at the restaurant. After serving in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, he went to work for Kentucky Fried Chicken in Columbus, Ohio, but later quit in order to pursue his dream of owning a hamburger restaurant. In 1969, the dream became reality when high school dropout Dave Thomas opened his first Wendy’s Restaurant, named after his young daughter. Under his leadership, Wendy’s grew to become the nation’s third-largest fast-food chain specializing in burgers. At the time of his death in 2002, the number of Wendy’s Restaurants had grown to more than 6,000. Dave Thomas was a highly successful businessman, and a generous one as well. As a child, he spent several summers with his grandmother, who instilled in him the importance of always giving something back. During his career, he donated millions of dollars to various causes, including children’s homes, hospitals and various charitable organizations. He lived the giving back lessons of his grandmother, saying: “Giving back doesn’t simply mean giving money to charities. It also leans giving your time or sharing your special skills.” Adoption causes were always close to his heart and, in 1992, he launched the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, which continues to place thousands of children with adoptive parents. His generous spirit lives on, a glowing example of these words of 19TH century poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Lives of great men all remind us, We can make our lives sublime. And departing, leave behind us, Footprints in the sands of time.
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AuthorMusings from Gammon Irons. To desire and strive to be of some service to the world, to aim at doing something which shall really increase the happiness and welfare and virtue of mankind - this is a choice which is possible for us all; and surely a good haven to sail. Archives
February 2020
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