Seventh-annual Napoleon Hill Day
at UVa-Wise Oct. 25

S. Truett Cathy, the founder and chairman of Chick-fil-A, Inc., will deliver the keynote address during the seventh-annual Napoleon Hill Day at The University of Virginia’s College at Wise on Monday, Oct. 25.

The event is part of the College’s annual commemoration of the birthday of Napoleon Hill, the Wise County native and author of Think and Grow Rich and other early self-help books. First published in 1937, Think and Grow Rich has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide and continues to appear on the list of top business books. Hill’s works are licensed for publication in a host of other counties including China, Japan, South Korea, Nigeria, Thailand, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Croatia, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

Cathy’s lecture, which is free and open to the public, begins at 1:30 p.m. in the Chapel of All Faiths. In his 2002 book, Eat Mor Chikin: Inspire More People, Cathy asserts that reading Hill’s book, Think and Grow Rich, helped him on the path to success. “As I read Mr. Hill’s book, I realized I could do anything if I wanted it badly enough,” Cathy wrote. “His words motivated me and showed me that I live in a do-it-yourself world.”

Born in Eaton, Ga., in 1921, the sixth of seventh children, Cathy helped his mother run a boarding house and at the same time delivered newspapers and operated his own business selling soft drinks to help make ends meet. He served in the Army during World War II.

Cathy began his successful restaurant business in Atlanta in 1946, opening a small diner with his brother. In 1967 Cathy founded and opened the first Chick-fil-A restaurant in an Atlanta shopping center. Today, Chick-fil-A is the second-largest quick-service chicken restaurant chain in the United States based on annual sales. Currently, there are more than 1,150 restaurants in 37 states and Washington D.C. The company has posted 36 consecutive years of annual sales increases.

According to his company biography, Cathy is a “devoutly religious man who built his life and business based on hard work, humanity and biblical principles.” All of Chick-fil-A's restaurants operate with a "closed-on-Sunday" policy. Cathy has taught a Sunday school class for 13-year-old boys for nearly 50 years.

Community service is a major tenet of Cathy’s business philosophy. Cathy’s WinShape Centre Foundation, founded in 1984, annually awards 20 to 30 students wishing to attend Berry College with $24,000 scholarships that are jointly funded by the Rome, Ga. institution. In addition, through its Leadership Scholarship Program, the Chick-fil-A chain has given more than $18 million in $1,000 scholarships to Chick-fil-A restaurant employees since 1973.

As part of the WinShape Homes program, a long-term care program for foster children, 14 foster care homes have been started in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Brazil. These homes, each accommodating up to 12 children with two full-time foster parents, provide long-term care for foster children with a positive family environment. Another program, Camp WinShape, established in 1985, enables boys and girls to attend two-week summer camps at Berry College. More than 1,600 campers from throughout the country attend Camp WinShape sessions annually.

Cathy has received countless awards over the years including: Norman Vincent and Ruth Stafford Peale Humanitarian Award (2003); Catalyst Lifetime Achievement Award from Injoy/John Maxwell (2003); Georgia Sports Hall of Fame – Chairman’s Award (2003); the Ernst & Young- Entrepreneur of the Year – Lifetime Achievement Award (2000) and Horatio Alger Award – Horatio Alger Association, Washington, D.C. (1989)

He is the author of the just-released It’s Better to Build Boys Than Mend Men and three earlier books - It’s Easier to Succeed Than to Fail (1989), Eat Mor Chikin: Inspire More People (2002), and The Generosity Factor (co-author, 2002).

First published more than 75 years ago, Hill’s writings are still must-reads for business professionals. His volumes have influence many successful individuals including Mary Kay Ash, Wally “Famous” Amos, Bruce Jenner, Paul Harvey and Senator Jennings Randolph. Hill was born in poverty in a one-room cabin on the Pound River on Oct. 26, 1883. From these humble beginnings, the Wise County native became an advisor to presidents and a best-selling author. During the early 20th century, Hill interviewed the nation’s most successful business leaders, including Andrew Carnegie and Henry Ford. From those interviews, Hill compiled his eight-volume set The Law of Success, a collection of the philosophy of individual achievement.

In his most famous book, Think and Grow Rich, Hill introduced the concept “whatever the mind can conceive and believe the mind can achieve.” As an advisor to President Franklin Roosevelt, Hill provided the president with the famous phrase from his inauguration speech, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” Some of Hill’s most famous books include Think and Grow Rich and Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude, which he co-authored with W. Clement Stone in 1960.

During Napoleon Hill Day 2002, the Foundation presented the College with a $250,000 gift to establish an endowed professorship in business at UVa-Wise. The Foundation also supports the Napoleon Hill Scholars program, in which select business students learn about Hill’s philosophy and also travel to area high schools to speak with students.

For more information, contact the Office of College Relations at 276-328-0130.