OCR Text |
Show "Number One Wall Street" t X :' U'V ' '- - short time he opened 600 new KFC stores and his were always the most profitable because he believed in serving people. A young owner of one of those early KFC stores was Dave Thomas. He took the concept of sudden service from the fried chicken business to the hamburger industry and started Wendy's. The wealthy, young executive chose to make Pleasant Grove their home. His wife had deep roots in Pleasant Grove. Her ancestor was John Brown, who was one of the first to see the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. He was a bishop in Pleasant Grove for 29 years and mayor of Pleasant Grove for 20 years. He also served in the Territorial Legislature for almost 20 years, championing better schools and women's suffrage. He died in Pleasant Grove the year Utah became a slate in 1896. More important than the millions of dollars they made were the values they believed in. Family was everything to them. Their belief in a living God who cared for all people was foundational to the way they reached out to help others in need, including adopting an African American child. the familiar photo of him that I had seen so often when I visited his home. The man in the casket was just a shadow of the young energetic man captured in the portrait on the program. In today's modern world it is easy to forget those who were pioneers. When Colonel Sanders first started to market his famous chicken, a person had to call in the order and wait 45 minutes for the chicken to be cooked before it could be picked up. The Colonel and others saw potential in a young man who was born in Provo, Utah on a cold winter day during the early days of the Great Depression. They needed money to expand, big money. A meeting was arranged for three executives from KFC to meet top people from the investment world in New York City. The address was Number One Wall Street. The KFC executives needed millions to expand the franchise. The presentation was made in the large, plush board room. It was customary in such meetings to have a toast. This young executive was a Mormon and the toast was an alcoholic beverage. His colleagues begged him not to offend the investors and just drink the alcohol. No one would know and they desperately needed the loan to expand. One by one the waiter went around the table until he got to this young executive. All the others ordered the standard alcoholic drink. This young executive ordered tomato juice. He colleagues thought he had ruined the deal. Much to the surprise of all, these investors announced that they had done their homework. They knew this young executive was a Mormon and they knew that Mormons did not drink alcohol. They announced that if this young man had the courage to stick to his convictions, they had full confidence the loan would be paid back and the venture would succeed. They wrote a check for millions and the rest is history. This young man was made Executive Vice President of Acquisitions. He introduced the concept of sudden service to KFC. Instead of waiting 45 minutes, you would wait no more than one minute or the meal was free. In a relatively The man who could have retired at 35 saw work as a blessing. He was intensely driven to take on one more challenge, one more venture, or try one more new idea. Every time you have some KFC or eat at Wendy's, you can thank Kent and Polly Prestwich and remember the importance of service and that day on Number One Wall Street when a young man had the courage to stand as a witness of the God he believed in, even if it cost millions. by Mark Bezzant On the night of June 21 the phone rang. The voice on the other end was that of a young woman calling to let me know that her grandfather had passed away and his funeral was the next day in the same chapel where they held her grandmother's funeral. I felt a sense of loss and sadness that I had not known of the grandmother's passing. I rearranged my schedule so I could attend the funeral services celebrating the life of this man. As I entered the chapel area I picked up a program and saw |