Chick-fil-A Founder Speaker at Donate Life South Carolina Clergy Appreciation Luncheon

Written by Bob Dill

Oct 17, 2007 at 12:00 AM

Chick-fil-A Cowz Welcome Truett Cathy to Greenville Tillman Chesney, age 18 months, with his parents Jason and Jody Chesney, is a heart transplant recipient. They were introduced by Melissa Blevins, Executive Director of Donate Life South Carolina. Twenty-one Charter High School students donned Chick-fil-A cow suits last Friday, to honor the arrival of Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy to Greenville. All of the students held signs that collectively spelled out the message: “Welcome to Greenville.” Mr. Cathy, who built a $2.3 billion business on a boneless chicken sandwich and a lot of hard work, integrity and people oriented skills, was the keynote speaker for the First Annual SC Clergy Appreciation Luncheon held at the Carolina First Center, Friday, October 12, 2007. Nearly 400 people attended the event. Cathy shared how he built a very successful family business based on biblical principles, hard work and humility. “The purpose of the luncheon was to honor the great work our ministers do in communities all across South Carolina,” said Donate Life South Carolina Executive Director, Melissa Blevins. “It was exciting to have the chance to say thank you, as well as to ask ministers all across South Carolina to help spread our message that organ and tissue donation saves lives!” she added. Growing up during the Great Depression, Cathy, currently quite spry at age 88, started his first business by buying a six-pack of coke for 25 cents and selling the individual bottles for a nickel, making five cents profit. He delivered newspapers and eventually started a fast-food restaurant in a “384-square-foot cubbyhole” in Atlanta’s Greenbriar Mall. He began his venture with boneless chicken breasts in 1961 and remembered how his mother pressure cooked chicken at the boarding house she ran. Chick-fil-A currently has 1,300 restaurants in 38 states with annual sales of $2.3 million, second only to KFC. The restaurants are all owned and operated by Cathy and his employees with an employee turnover of 3.5 percent per year. “The best business decision I ever made was closing on Sundays,” Truett Cathy says. “Number one, it honors God. Second, it attracts a caliber of people who appreciate having Sunday off.” In addition to hearing Cathy’s inspiring testimony, clergy participated in an educational mini seminar that included a panel of professionals speaking to the issues of grief, trauma and crisis intervention, while illustrating the important role clergy play in the organ donation process. Dr. Bradley Price, an enthusiastic pastor from Charlotte, North Carolina, shared his personal story that involved receipt of a 30-year-old donated heart a decade ago. During lunch, host agency Donate Life South Carolina, presented important information about the need for more organ and tissue donation in the state and enlisted minister’s help in spreading the word on November 11th, Donor Sabbath Sunday, to their congregations. Clergy were asked to distribute bulletin inserts on Donor Sabbath Sunday that ask people to learn more about organ and tissue donation, consider becoming a donor, and telling their family of their decision. The mission of Donate Life South Carolina is to promote organ and tissue donation for transplantation and provide patient assistance for South Carolina Transplant recipients. The vision of Donate Life South Carolina is that an organ or tissue will be available for every South Carolinian in need of a transplant.