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Famed businessman Truett Cathy passes away

Paige Sheffield
Staff Writer

Truett Cathy, founder of the fast-food chain Chick-fil-A, passed away on Monday, September 7, 2014 after living 93 long and successful years. Many knew Cathy simply as the man who started Chick-fil-A. But who was Truett Cathy as a man, a friend and a mentor? What did he leave behind beyond the “original chicken sandwich?”

Shorter University character education professor and close friend of the late Cathy, Rick Johnson, provided some insights into who Cathy was and how he impacted many lives.

Johnson met Cathy and his family when Cathy’s children attended a Ridgecrest summer camp that Johnson directed when the children were young. Johnson said,“I met them and built a relationship…without having any knowledge of Chick-Fil-A.”

Mr. Rick Johnson and Truett Cathy shared a strong friendship. Cathy (bottom) even attended Johnson’s sons football games with the Tampa Bay Buccanneers.
Mr. Rick Johnson and Truett Cathy shared a strong friendship. Cathy (bottom) even attended Johnson’s sons football games with the Tampa Bay Buccanneers.

Cathy began sending kids from his Sunday school classes to the summer camps Johnson directed and began hosting Johnson “in his home, his church and other places, feeding guests Chick-Fil-A sandwiches and allowing me to show my camp slides and share info about the camps to all those who attended,” Johnson said.

This contact fostered a life-long friendship between Johnson and Cathy, and “when the opportunity came for Truett to open the Winshape Foundation on the campus at Berry College in 1984, and the College Scholarship Program was established, he wanted to open some boys and girls camps similar to the ones his children had experienced at Ridgecrest and offered me the chance in 1985 to come and start them for him,” Johnson said.

But it appears as though Cathy’s leadership and influence reached beyond his personal friendships. Junior psychology major at Berry College, Emily-Katherine Dalton is a Winshape scholarship student who experiences the generosity that Cathy and Johnson showed through the creation of the Winshape program.

Dalton said, “I would have never heard of Berry College if it weren’t for my position at Chick-fil-A, and I most likely wouldn’t have attended Berry if it weren’t for the Winshape College Program.”

Dalton actually had the privilege of meeting Cathy and working for him at a Chick-fil-A restaurant for three years in Spartanburg, SC, and the impression he made on her life as an employer and mentor will be one she cherishes for a very long time.

“My life is forever marked by his impact,” Dalton said, adding that she “will always support Chick-fil-A because it will always feel like a little piece of home. There is no better company to be a part of.”

Joel Norman, a junior music major at Shorter, also experienced this “little piece of home” in Chick-fil-A and agreed with Dalton’s opinion that the restaurant outshines similar chains, saying “there’s something about it that makes it always feel like the right choice.”

Norman has worked at numerous Chick-fil-A restaurants, including the Rome Dwarf House and believes eating at Chick-fil-A should be a unique and valuable experience. “I have never been into a Chick-fil-A that made me feel uncomfortable in any way, and when I work, I do my best to make sure others feel the same way,” he said.

Norman never received the opportunity to meet Truett Cathy, but through his experiences working and eating at Chick-fil-A he was able to recognize and respect the values that Mr. Cathy infused into his business. “I admire his persistence more than anything,” Norman added.

One particular value that Cathy claimed to uphold throughout his life as a businessman was integrity. Johnson recalled that, “when asked what he thought about what was needed to instill ethics and curb corruption in the corporate world, he replied, ‘we don’t need more polices about corporate ethics—instead, we need more CEOs with integrity.’”

Johnson was reminded again at Cathy’s funeral service at Jonesboro Baptist Church that not only was Cathy a successful businessman, but he was also a loving husband, father, friend and follower of Christ.

“His humility enhanced his ability to communicate and his spirit of service was a testament to his obedience to the Lord,” Johnson said. Johnson also emphasized that “you could know Truett for nearly 50 years as I have, or you could know him for an hour, and you would know as much about him as I do. He was always the same regardless of where he was or what the circumstances were at the time.”

In his opinion, this characteristic shows how much love Mr. Cathy had for serving others and it shows that God used Truett Cathy and Chick-fil-A as a conduit to show His love to His children. “It’s crazy to think of just how many people his one life touched,” said Dalton. “I attended a simulcast of his funeral and they showed just how full Jonesboro Baptist Church was, reaching around 4,000 people.”

Many claim that Truett Cathy’s life was used in an ordinary way to accomplish extraordinary plans that God has for all of us. Cathy also expressed the love of Christ by serving others through restaurants and scholarship programs, and by taking care of those who do not have the means to take care of themselves. In James 1:27 Christians are called “to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” Cathy seemed to take this command seriously and took care of orphans in foster homes that he established and supported and strove to uphold biblical truths. He was largely held to be a man of generosity, integrity and love, and these attributes will likely leave an imprint on the lives of every friend, stranger and customer with whom Mr. Cathy came in contact.