From the Editor - Spring 2013
Inspired
With most issues we could toss a coin to decide, because the articles all interest me, but in the Spring Issue, I am adamant about that choice.
What makes this issue so special? For me, it is the chance to talk with some of the most prominent and influential people in the business community—those selected to join the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame.
The accomplishments and contributions of these individuals never cease to amaze me. When I sit across the desk from them, I admit, I get a little awestruck. This year is no exception. I spoke with a former NFL football player who went on to be a successful business owner and the impetus for incredible change in our community. I talked with a soft-spoken IT guru who helped create an accounting empire. I learned about a political activist who just happened to be the largest Holiday Inn franchisee in the nation. And I met a woman who turned a 115-year-old magazine into the largest trade publication in the floral industry.
While these individuals come from diverse backgrounds and have achieved success in different ways, I found common threads that explain their accomplishments:
They work harder than everyone around them.
They don’t take NO for an answer.
They surround themselves with experts and brilliant minds.
They look beyond their own little world to see the big picture.
On first glance, these hall-of-famers may seem larger than life, but they are actually quite down to earth. And that is why I love writing this piece. My thoughts go from “I could never do what they do” to “they aren’t so different from me, maybe I could do that.”
