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Tom Monaghan: Life By the Golden Rule

(Courtesy of Tom Monaghan)

When Tom Monaghan was 4 years old, his dad passed away. His mother couldn’t handle raising two little boys by herself, so she dropped them off at the orphanage, and set out to try to rebuild her life. Tom and his brother spent their formative years with the Polish nuns at the orphanage. It was there, Tom learned about the faith that would one day become the driving force in his life.

Tom speaks fondly about the nuns at the orphanage, and about developing a work ethic while working on what were then called the “foster farms,” which were working farms staffed by children in the foster care system. There is not a scintilla of self-pity in telling the story of his childhood. He admits that he grieved the loss of his father, and that he missed his mother terribly, but he is grateful for what he learned throughout his childhood.

(Courtesy of Tom Monaghan)

Tom and his brother, Jim, were reunited with their mother after several years, but it didn’t last long before Tom was sent to a detention facility. His aunt took custody of Tom and moved him out of the detention home so that he could finish high school. Not long after graduating, Tom joined the Marines.

The Marines taught Tom a sense of discipline, personal responsibility, and leadership that, combined with his faith and work ethic, established a solid foundation for his future. To this day, Tom does push-ups and sit-ups, just as he did throughout his time in the Marines.

He feels so strongly about the benefit of service in the military that he has always said he wouldn’t give a single penny of his money to his sons unless they first served time in the Marines. With a smile, he quickly adds that he was never tested on that declaration because he and his wife have four daughters—and no sons.

Tom was ambitious. After his honorable discharge from the Marines, he knew that he wanted to be in business. He invested all the money he had saved while in the military with a guy who turned out to be a swindler. Tom was cheated out of every dime.

He loved beautiful architecture and wanted to go to college to be an architect. He started school but didn’t have money for books. So, he wanted to find a job to earn some money so that he could go back to school the following semester. Any job would do.

His brother, Jim, had heard about a guy who wanted to sell his pizza restaurant, so Tom and Jim put $500 down, got a loan for $900, and bought DomiNick’s Pizza. They worked hard to build their clientele by offering “fast free delivery,” but it wasn’t long before the brothers decided to part ways. Jim was a postal worker who was trying to do both jobs. Less than a year after buying the business, Jim gave his ownership to Tom in exchange for the VW Beetle they were using to make deliveries. Tom was left with a bicycle—imagine that in the Michigan winters—and the pizza place, which he renamed Domino’s Pizza, Inc. When he couldn’t pay to rent a room, he slept under the pizza table.

The work ethic Tom had learned at the foster farms, and the discipline he developed while in the Marines, led him to 100-hour weeks of literally working on his feet. Tom had a rule that he would never sit down while on the job. The same rule applied to his employees in the early days.

Tom says that he demanded a lot of himself and of his employees, but no one resented it. They had a camaraderie that led to Tom being the best man in the weddings of those guys who worked alongside him. And theirs weren’t the only weddings in those early days. Tom met his wife, Marjorie, while making a pizza delivery.

Tom instinctively knew that delivering pizzas in a college town was a winning strategy. So, he dropped sandwiches from the menu, and focused solely on making the best pizza and delivering it quickly. He simplified the process of making quality pizza, perfected it, and then taught others how to do it. It’s been rumored that his fastest time at making a pizza was clocked at 11 seconds. He also pioneered the creation of the corrugated box, which kept the pizzas hotter throughout delivery.

After creating the strategy of a simplified menu in a college town, a tried-and-true training system, and boxes that maintained product quality, Tom worked to open other locations. Within seven years of purchasing that first pizzeria, Tom opened the first franchise. One year later, he opened the first store outside his home state of Michigan. He was off and running!

In 1983, Tom opened the first stores outside the United States—in Canada and Australia. By 1985, Tom was opening an average of three new U.S. stores every day. He had a total of 2,841 locations, making Domino’s the fastest growing pizza company in the United States. That same year, he also opened stores in England and Japan. In 1988, he expanded to Colombia. By 1989, Domino’s hit the milestone of opening its 5,000th store. One year later, the 1,000th franchise agreement was signed.

By 1996, Domino’s Pizza posted record annual sales of $2.8 billion. In 1997, Tom opened seven stores in one day on five continents simultaneously, making a total of 1,500 stores outside the United States. By the time Tom announced his retirement in 1998, he had over 6,000 stores, creating employment for over 30,000 people. Not bad for a guy who was just trying to earn enough money to buy books to study to be an architect.

Throughout his years in business, Tom acquired helicopters, jets, a collection of unique cars, the largest collection of Frank Lloyd Wright houses, and the Detroit Tigers baseball team that he had revered as a little boy. In addition, he built Domino’s Farms, which was a labor of love that incorporated Tom’s love of farming, inspired by his time at the foster farms, with his appreciation of the Prairie School architectural style of Frank Lloyd Wright. This became the corporate headquarters of Domino’s Pizza, complete with a chapel and petting zoo, beautiful landscaping, and other remarkable amenities. Domino’s Farms remains a Michigan landmark.

Throughout his 38 years in business, Tom’s primary mission was to treat others by the Golden Rule, which is the principle of treating others as one wants to be treated. This Rule is based on the words of Jesus, recorded in the Bible in Matthew 7:12: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Tom emphasized to everyone within his influence that treating others fairly had to be the guiding principle for success in business.

(Courtesy of Tom Monaghan)

The seeds of faith that were planted by the nuns at the orphanage all those years before continued to grow throughout Tom’s life. Therefore, it’s no surprise that retirement for Tom Monaghan didn’t mean a life of leisure. This Marine embarked on a second half of life that became even more significant than his first.

When asked what he wanted to do with the rest of his life, Tom said, “Life is short, death is certain, and eternity is forever. I want to go to heaven, and the most important thing I can do with ‘God’s money’ is help other people get to heaven, too.” He continued, “I came into the world penniless, and as a Catholic Christian, I know that I cannot take any of it with me, so it has long been my desire to use the material resources that I have been blessed with to help others in the most meaningful ways possible.” He went on to say, “I would not be living out my faith if I did not use the abundant resources God has given me to help others.” And he has made great strides toward that goal.

Tom sold his ownership of Domino’s Pizza, his collection of cars, houses, aircraft, and his beloved baseball team, and turned his attention to establishing organizations that would advance his mission of helping people to go to heaven. His post-retirement projects are big and far-reaching. Among them are the Ave Maria Foundation, which focuses on Catholic education, media, community projects, and charities. One of the projects he funded was the publication of the worldwide Catechism of the Catholic Church.

He founded the Thomas More Law Center, a nonprofit law firm dedicated to the restoration and defense of the religious freedom of Christians, family values, and the sanctity of human life. The law firm calls itself the “Christian response to the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union).”

He created Legatus, which means “ambassador,” to educate and support CEOs, company presidents, managing partners, and business owners in being ambassadors for Christ in the marketplace. Nearly 30 years later, over 5,000 members and their spouses, across 95 chapters throughout the United States and Canada, are committed to running their businesses, and their lives, according to the principles of Christianity.

To create “the most Catholic of all Catholic universities,” Tom established Ave Maria University, which is the only college campus in America with a program of study and service that honors the Nobel Peace Prize winner, Saint Teresa of Calcutta. At a time when the world is rife with violence and riven with division, the goal of the Mother Teresa Project is to produce graduates of Ave Maria University who will spread her compassion and teachings to a new generation of Americans, and in the process, spread peace in the same manner as she did—one person at a time. Tom also founded the Ave Maria School of Law, and built the surrounding town of Ave Maria, Florida. With a nod to his beloved Marines, the athletes of AMU are called the Gyrenes, a term of endearment for the U.S. Marines.

He jokingly says, with typical Tom Monaghan humility, that he’s the chancellor of a university that he probably wouldn’t qualify to attend.

Q&A

What advice would you give to young people?

Live by the 3 S’s—Survive, Save, and Serve. I recommend going into the military to serve your country. Save all your money. After that, get a job and work hard.

Is there a book that has influenced you?

In addition to the Bible, I read “In Search of Excellence” and “The One Minute Manager.”

Rhonda Sciortino (www.Rhonda.org) is the author of “Acts of Kindness,” “Kindness Quotient,” and “Love Is Action,” among many other books. She hopes to nudge people toward Love.

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Entrepreneurs Features Giving Back Kindness in Action

‘Don’t Forget the Poor’

Children play outside their house in Colonia de Carton in Piedras Negras, Mexico, on July 8, 2021. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Sky Cross is a nonprofit, strictly volunteer-led charity organization that operates along the Texas–Mexico border. Its mission is to provide food, clothing, medicine, and first-aid supplies to impoverished children, families, and orphanages. The organization works closely with missionaries of various denominations who offer education to the poor, primarily in Mexico, in substandard villages called colonias, which lack basic living conditions such as running water, sewers, and electricity.

The organization was founded in 1995 by retired U.S. Air Force Col. Terry Bliquez and his wife, Kathy. David Young serves as the current president, having been a board member and mission pilot since 1998. Before that, Young worked for the Civil Air Patrol (part of the U.S. Air Force), another nonprofit organization, which performs search-and-rescue missions.

When Bliquez first discussed Sky Cross’s mission with Young, it sparked a keen interest. Young would often accompany Bliquez on aid missions to the U.S.–Mexico border to deliver clothing, medicine, and nonperishable food to the needy. Together, they flew multiple times to migrant centers and orphanages, such as those in Nuevo Progreso, Mexico, and Matamoros, which is across the river from Brownsville, Texas.

Young said Sky Cross used to dispense secondhand clothing as well, but those deliveries have slowed down exponentially due to the pandemic. The organization has, however, distributed about 15,000 masks and more than 600 gallons of hand sanitizer across the migrant communities it serves.

The Importance of Helping the Needy

David Young, president of Sky Cross, unloads boxes of masks from his aircraft in Eagle Pass, Texas, on July 8, 2021. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

“The primary purpose of Sky Cross is to help provide food for the needy people, the poor on the other side of the border—they’re very, very poor. Many of them come up to the border hoping to be able to come across, and they end up being in the colonias on the border, such as the one in Matamoros,” Young said.

Years ago, people in colonias such as Matamoros would dig holes in the ground, scavenge coverings for the holes, and live in the burrows. Young remembers “being over there one time and looking at what they had on a grill that they were cooking outside—it was fish heads that they had scrounged for,” he said. “I was amazed that people could even survive with that type of food.”

Sky Cross delivers nonperishable food in the form of beans, rice, cornflour, noodles, and more. “I feel like God has placed in my heart a love for the poor and for their plight,” Young said, after being asked why the mission at Sky Cross resonated with him so deeply. “It’s such a blessing to me personally to go out and be amongst these people and, with my resources, be able to help them live a better life.”

Young said that when he was growing up, his parents instilled in him a deep desire to dedicate time and effort to helping those in need. “My dad was a homebuilder, and he would donate his time to work around the church. He had me help paint the back end of a church building one time—it demanded stacking scaffolding because it was so tall. He and I donated our time and efforts to that when I was just a 14- or 15-year-old boy. My father enjoyed giving himself to the community, and that carried over to me.”

Making a Difference in the Lives of the Poor

Children play outside their home in Colonia de Carton in Piedras Negras, Mexico, on July 8, 2021. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Through donations, Sky Cross also helped the Matamoros colonia develop to a point when residents could build a school. To support efforts like this, the Mexican government will provide water and electricity once a school is built, in turn helping the colonia become a sustainable community.

Many children in poverty-stricken communities such as Matamoros suffer from malnutrition. According to Young, children’s hair will often show signs of this. “Normally it would be black, but they would have red streaks in their hair, which was showing that they were not getting good nutrition. With time, those red streaks went away,” he said. “It’s a blessing to be able to do that and witness that as time goes on.” For Young, results like these are important, highlighting the difference Sky Cross makes in the lives of needy children.

Young said that his time at the organization is completely voluntary. Nobody who works there is a paid staff member, and 100 percent of the donations go straight to helping the poor. Young’s personal assets, including airplanes, fuel, and other equipment, are also put to charitable use for the organization, transporting volunteers to the border.

Aside from filling his role as president at Sky Cross, Young serves as a board member for a school in northwestern Peru that has 200 students. Together with his wife and family, he also helps more than a dozen children at any given time along the Texas–Mexico border. The Youngs provide money each month to keep those children in school rather than out scavenging the dangerous fields in search of food and money.

“We sent a couple on to the university; one of them became a dentist and came back. They are now practicing within one of the colonias there in Mexico,” Young said.

Sky Cross helps upwards of 30,000 people each year. It has supported six orphanages and helped build clinics in several Mexican colonias along the Texas border, providing quick access to medical care for families in need. “We’ve built a school in Nuevo Progreso where they would train the women to sew and work on computers. We have seen the results of that, to where the people will get out of the cycle of poverty and actually begin to have the skills to go out and earn a living,” Young said.

Physically Poor but Spiritually Rich

Through his time volunteering for Sky Cross, Young has learned many important life lessons—especially about how the needy can find happiness in the midst of their poverty. “The children are especially amazing to me. They can take a simple ball and have fun with that and laugh and enjoy life because they don’t want anything else. And what spoke to me is that some of the things we take for granted in our own society are more precious to them,” Young said.

“What I have learned in doing what I do is that the poor will find joy, and have more faith in their poverty than a lot of people that have all the things they would want in life. We in America need to understand that even the poorest of us are probably richer than 95 percent of the world. We place too much emphasis on the material things in life and not enough on the spiritual.”

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Features Giving Back

‘Let Us Do Good’

Stephen Siller was a firefighter who rushed to the Twin Towers on September 11. (Courtesy of Tunnel to Towers Foundation)

On August 1, Frank Siller started walking. His route meticulously mapped out and with a couple thousand followers in his wake, the 68-year-old Staten Island resident laced up his sneakers (one of many pairs he packed for the 42-day jaunt) and set out on a 525-mile, six-state personal pilgrimage to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. His ultimate goal? To follow in the footsteps of the fallen.

“This isn’t only to honor my brother,” Siller said, referring to Stephen Siller, a member of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY), who raced into the World Trade Center after the first plane hit 20 years ago and never returned from the rubble. “I’m doing this to honor all of the 2,977 souls we lost on that day. On this 20th anniversary, I felt we needed something meaningful that would bring us back to the unity that we all felt in those moments and months after the towers fell,” Siller said in a recent interview.

Launching his quiet trek in front of the Pentagon, Siller set off from Washington, D.C., and traveled through Maryland and West Virginia, before paying his respects at the National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, located just two miles from where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed. He then journeyed through New Jersey, before he would complete his trip in New York City on the morning of September 11.

Frank Siller training to do his 525-mile walk to commemorate the 20th anniversary of September 11. (Courtesy of Tunnel to Towers Foundation)

“This is more than a walk; it’s a spiritual journey,” Siller relayed about a month before he left on his journey. “With every step I take, I’ll be thinking of my brother, and I know he’ll be with me. This journey very much aligns with our foundation’s motto: ‘While we have time, let us do good,’ taken from a Franciscan prayer. Our organization has accomplished a lot over these past two decades, but we have only scratched the surface. There is still so much good to be done.”

Helping Others

Siller is being humble. He serves as CEO of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, a New York City-based organization for honoring the country’s military and first responders who continue to make the supreme sacrifice. His organization, which he founded with his siblings immediately after his brother’s death, has committed over $250 million to the families of military heroes and first responders over the past two decades.

In the wake of 9/11, Stephen Siller’s story became well-known: After finishing a night tour with Brooklyn’s Squad 1, he left the firehouse and was headed to a golf course to meet his brothers. When he got word over his scanner of a plane hitting the North Tower of the World Trade Center, he called his wife, Sally, and asked her to tell his brothers he would be late.

Siller returned to Squad 1, picked up his gear, and drove his truck to the entrance of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel. That main city artery had already been closed for security purposes, but Siller was determined to carry out his duty. So he strapped 60 pounds of gear to his back and raced on foot through the tunnel to get to the burning towers. His remains were never recovered.

Today, the foundation delivers more than 450 mortgage-free homes to gold-star families (those whose loved ones died while serving in the line of duty of military service) and catastrophically injured military veterans. Frank Siller has pledged to continue this charity in perpetuity—all in his brother’s name. This walk—and the goodwill that goes with it—is simply the culmination of two decades of philanthropy.

Officially established as a nonprofit in December 2001 by Stephen Siller’s widow and six siblings, the grassroots group started small, with the initial intention of helping children. Siller’s family would meet and toss ideas around for a golf outing, gala, or a 5-kilometer run that would raise funds for a local family in need. When a family friend suggested that the group host a road race that would symbolize the firefighter’s final heroic journey, Siller nearly collapsed with emotion.

“What my brother did on 9/11 was incredible,” Siller said. “I don’t know who else could have made such a sacrifice. Our marquee event—which essentially launched this foundation—was designed to commemorate his very last steps.”

In Stephen’s Name

The Tunnel to Towers race that bears his name, now in its 20th year, recreates Siller’s final run. More than 40,000 participants come out yearly to retrace his steps. Firefighters stand at attention and line the tunnel in Class A uniform, each one holding an American flag and a banner photo of one of the 343 FDNY members who died that day. For Frank Siller, it’s the most emotionally charged day of the year.

“When I watch the tens of thousands of participants gathering at the tunnel, see the West Point cadets running in cadence, it gets me every time,” Siller said. “More than 7,000 soldiers have died in the line of duty since 9/11 [in post-9/11 military operations]. This run is for them. This honors the sacrifice they all made.”

Tunnel to Towers has been recognized as a four-star organization by Charity Navigator, the nation’s largest and most utilized evaluator of charities, for practicing sound fiscal management, organizational efficiency, and program integrity. Keeping fundraising and administrative costs at a minimum, with only a small percentage of funds allocated to overhead expenses, the foundation’s Program Expense Ratio on average is 93 percent, meaning 93 cents out of every dollar goes directly to its programs and services. As chairman and CEO, Frank Siller is an uncompensated volunteer.

“We have been blessed with so many volunteers and so many generous donors,” Siller said. “People support our charity because our efforts are tangible—you can actually see where your money is going and who it is helping.”

Navy officer Austin Reese with his family, who benefited from the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. (Courtesy of Tunnel to Towers Foundation)

The Siller family certainly identifies with the importance of such charity: Both Siller parents died at a young age, leaving 8-year-old Stephen orphaned and in the care of his six older siblings.

“It wasn’t always an easy road but Stephen grew up to be an extraordinary individual and dedicated firefighter,” Siller said. “More than most, he knew that time was precious and accomplished much in his 34 years. He had everything to live for: a great wife, five wonderful children, a devoted extended family, and friends. Stephen’s life and heroic death serve as a reminder to us all to live life to the fullest and to spend our time here on earth doing good—this is his legacy.”

More to Go

Tunnel to Towers has greatly expanded since its inception, growing to include a range of humanitarian projects. Together with the help of benefactors like Home Depot and General Motors, the organization custom-builds specially adapted mortgage-free smart homes that help injured veterans and first responders reclaim their day-to-day independence.

Army sergeant Christy Gardner is an injured veteran who benefited from the foundation. (Courtesy of Tunnel to Towers Foundation)

The foundation also pays off the mortgages for families of law enforcement officers and firefighters who were killed in the line of duty. It provides the same benefit for military widows and children.

This year, the organization also hosted a Never Forget Concert. It continues to fund Towers of Light displays at the Pentagon and Flight 93 National Memorial held on every 9/11 anniversary. The group also pledged to pay off the mortgages of first responders who have died from 9/11-related illnesses and left behind young children.

Siller is now working to broaden the foundation’s reach: He’s asking Americans to donate $11 a month in hopes of funding homes for every military member and first responder who dies or is catastrophically injured in the line of duty. His ultimate goal? To reach 1 million monthly donors.

“I truly believe that God puts us on a certain path in life,” Siller concluded. “This is my path, and I don’t take it lightly. It’s our job to help as many families as we possibly can. I do this for my brother and for all of the men and women who died on 9/11—and all of our military who have made the supreme sacrifice since that day. We are good Americans taking care of the greatest Americans of all.”

Jessica Jones-Gorman launched her career in journalism at a New York City daily newspaper more than 20 years ago. She has worked a general news beat, covered fashion, and written countless features about people who inspire and lead.

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Features

Not All Elks Have Antlers

The BPOE or “The Elks,” began in 1867 as the “Jolly Corks,” a group of actors and entertainers bent on having fun while at the same time avoiding a New York Excise Tax on alcohol. The group got their name for the clever, “ sleight of hand” trick performed with corks, which was used on the uninitiated to separate them from their drinking money. As inauspicious as their beginnings may have been, The Elks has grown into an organization of some million members, with nearly 2,000 Lodges. The organization is known to have given billions of dollars for disaster relief, disabled children, charitable causes, and veterans organizations.

Happy veterans and children share a moment and a special “catch” at the latest Elks-Veterans event in Hemet, Calif. (Courtesy of The Elks)

In 1917, with the world at war, then-“Grand Exalted Ruler (the head of all Elkdom), Edward Rightor appointed a committee to study what The Elks could do for the war effort. Past Grand Exalted Ruler, John K. Tenor recommended, “That the Elks give first consideration to the sick and wounded (American soldiers) on the battlefields of France and equip base hospitals for their care: that the Order create a fund for war relief work.” That recommendation was the genesis of the country’s first VA Hospitals.

The Elks are still helping veterans while also aiding many other sectors of society. Current Elks programs include:

  • “The hoop shoot” which helps develop what The Elks calls “gritty kids.” This program is a free-throw program for youth ages 8-13. Next year marks the 50th anniversary of The Elks program’s national Hoop Shoot. On April 30, 2022, 72 national finalists will step up to the line at the Wintrust Arena, a new state-of-the-art, 10,000-seat facility in downtown Chicago. The arena is home to the WNBA’s Chicago Sky and DePaul University’s Blue Demons. The 2022 finalists will step up to the same line as some of basketball’s greatest players.
  • Scholarships: The Elks has awarded almost One-and-a-half million dollars in “Legacy Scholarships” for the year 2021 alone.
  • Community Investments: Through the years, The Elks has awarded millions of dollars in “Beacon Grants,” “Gratitude Grants” and “Spotlight Grants.”
  • Drug Abuse Awareness: Through the “Kids Zone,” The Elks utilize a dedicated army of volunteers who freely give their time and talent and who are committed to eliminating the use and abuse of illegal drugs. As it says in the online “Kids Zone, “… the Elks believe that in order to ensure a bright future for our country, it is essential that our children be raised in a drug-free environment.”
  • Veterans Services: For more than a century, The Elks have pledged “So long as there are veterans, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks will never forget them.” The Elks National Veterans Service Commission takes that pledge one step further by promising services to our nation’s veterans and military members, with a special focus on service to those in need.

Thousands of Elks volunteers generously give their time, energy and resources to serve veterans and military members each day, to ensure that pledge is not an idle one. The Elks provide direct services to veterans nationally at more than 33 facilities each month, helping veterans rehabilitate and thrive through adaptive sports programs and therapy kits. The “Welcome Home” initiative is reaching out to some of the nation’s most vulnerable veterans: those who are experiencing homelessness.

A case in point of the commitment of The Elks to our nation’s veterans is the small but significant fishing trip that took place in the town of Hemet, California on a recent beautiful Saturday morning.

Support shown by the Oceanside Senior Anglers. (Courtesy of The Elks)
Young Tervor Lynds showing of “The catch of the day,” at the Elks-Veterans fishing expedition. (Courtesy of The Elks)

Hemet Elks Veterans Chairman Jim Winget, who devised the event, noted that it was an unqualified success. “The Elks always ban together to help honor our veterans and this event was no exception. The Hemet Elks paid $3900 for the boat itself, while the Yucaipa Lodge paid an additional $400 for food and the Southeast District, of which Hemet and Yucaipa are a part, added an additional $400 for food. More than 60 fish were caught and the veterans and their families had a wonderful time.”

Just some of the happy anglers at a recent Elks event. (Courtesy of The Elks)

Navy Veteran Derrick Davis was very pleased by the turnout. “We were all very appreciative of the gesture by The Elks. There was a lot of fun. The highlight for me was losing a bet to Trevor, an army officer’s son. We bet a lollipop that I would catch more fish than he would. I gladly lost and had to pay up.” Trevor was busy with his reward and couldn’t be reached for comment, but his father, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Lynds said, “The event was a wonderful outing. It was nicely done and definitely appreciated. These MWRs as we call them-Moral and Welfare Recreation, help our soldiers and what we in the army call COMRELs-Community Relations. It was a success all around and especially for my son Trevor who caught the biggest fish and now has family bragging rights. We really want to thank Jim Winget.”

The group plans to give Winget an award for a job well done.

L to R Derrick Davis, Navy; Jim WInget, Elks, Hemet-Calif.; Veterans Chairman and Randall Rivera, veteran and reservist. (Courtesy of The Elks)

Randall Rivera, veteran and reservist with the 358 Civil Affairs Brigade echoed the groups feelings. “Everything worked out so well… everything went so smoothly. The crew on the boat was very supportive. Jim Winget, Veterans Chairman of the Elks could not have been more helpful.  Every one of us in my unit was very grateful to have been a part of it. Anytime you get a chance to honor veterans, service members, that’s a good thing. This was a wonderful opportunity to show our soldiers how much we appreciate them. It gives the soldiers a chance to take themselves out of their every day work environment, relax and have some fun, and that’s very important to us veterans because it’s a career filled with so much pressure. It worked out perfectly because this Saturday was our scheduled “Family day“ for the year, and there couldn’t have been a better family day than this.”

For those who would like to support the Elks and their work, you can contact The Elks at their site www.elks.org, their national number (773) 755-4700 or their Veterans Crisis Line at 800 273-8255.

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Features Giving Back

Locker Room Contest Leads Texas CEO to Help Michigan High School Students

(Courtesy of Hollman Helps)

When Travis Hollman launched the Locker Room Contest, inviting students to send videos of their outdated locker rooms, he had planned to gift the winning school only with new lockers. But when he saw the video tour of Beecher High School in Flint, Michigan, he was motivated to do much more.

“They had no plumbing, no doors on the bathroom stalls, no place to study, no recreation room, and no internet access,” Hollman said in an interview. “The school is so nice now. We’ve got heating, plumbing, doors on the bathroom stalls, and we’re finishing the rec room floor and putting in basketball nets.”

Hollman is the founder and CEO of Hollman in Irving, Texas, the leading manufacturer of team sports, fitness workspace, and custom lockers. Together with his colleague Daniel Gilbert, co-founder of Quicken Loans and owner of the National Basketball Association’s Cleveland Cavaliers, he spent $1.5 million on renovating the Flint, Michigan, school.

(Courtesy of Hollman Helps)

“I’ve always been pretty good about giving back, and when you meet these kids, you just get more motivated,” Hollman said. “If Beecher High School had been a public building, it would have been condemned, but because it was a school, it stayed open.”

Up until the 1960s, Flint, Michigan, had been one of the wealthiest cities in America, but the end of the industrial era and the automotive boom ended in urban decay, urban flight, and water contamination. “Flint has one of the highest crime rates because they’ve got no police funding,” Hollman said. “Property valuations have come down so much.”

“There is supposedly this racial divide in America, and Beecher High School is 100 percent African American,” Hollman said. “I wanted to prove to those kids that there is no divide. It’s the media making that up. We still love everybody. We saw on the video that the school was in bad shape. There was no heating, and the showers didn’t work. What mattered was that they were students at a school in need.”

(Courtesy of Hollman Helps)

The Locker Room Contest is part of Hollman’s Higher Education and Learning Program (HELP), which is a division of the Hollman Family Foundation.

Although COVID-19 made it a challenge to travel to the school and oversee progress, Hollman said he’s proud that the commitment was maintained. “The cost of wood increased, and the price of gasoline has almost doubled,” he said. “All that stuff impacts our business, and it also impacts our giving. If it costs 20 percent more to build in raw materials and it costs 30 percent to 40 percent more to ship the product, it gives us less that we can do.”

Hollman sits on the executive boards of a domestic violence charity as well as Big Brothers Big Sisters, and his wife, Stephanie Hollman, is the star of the Bravo TV reality episodic “The Real Housewives of Dallas.”

“My wife and I decided we had to help,” Hollman said. “We just want the students to have a little bit better life and to keep those kids off the street.” Because of the renovations, Hollman said the school has become a favorite place for Beecher students, who are staying at school until 10 o’clock at night. “If just one doesn’t die from a gunshot wound because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, then it’s a win.”

(Courtesy of Hollman Helps)

Juliette Fairley is a graduate of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Born in Chateauroux, France, and raised outside of Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, Juliette is a well-adjusted military brat who now lives in Manhattan. She has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, TheStreet, Time magazine, the Chicago City Wire, the Austin-American Statesman, and many other publications across the country.

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Features Giving Back

30 Day Fund Small Business Assistance Continues Despite COVID’s End

Pete Snyder with Tina Miller. (Courtesy of Pete Snyder)

When Virginia-based tech entrepreneur and angel investor Pete Snyder realized COVID-19 had created an economic crisis for small businesses, his wife Burson Snyder and he began calling friends in the philanthropic community to raise funds.

“Small businesses are the backbone of our country,” said Snyder, who serves as CEO of Disruptor Capital. A former candidate for the governorship of Virginia, Snyder founded the 30 Day Fund in April 2020 as a 501(3)c to distribute forgivable loans to small businesses.

One entrepreneur who benefitted from the 30 Day Fund is Tina Miller, who owns Walkabout Outfitter, a local outdoor supply store in six locations across Virginia. “In our case, we were decimated, just decimated,” Miller told NBC News. “It was also important that somebody cared about our small business.”

The Walkabout Outfitter is among the more than 2,500 small businesses that the 30 Day Fund has assisted. “Trying to keep up with the need was a constant challenge, but thanks to the good hearts of people all across the country, we were able to raise significant funds to bolster small businesses and help them survive another day,” said 30 Day Fund board member Generra Peck.

The Snyders called it the 30 Day Fund because they thought 30 days would be the life of the fund, but more than a year has passed since the pandemic emerged and businesses are just beginning to return to normal operating policies. “Businesses have had to endure more than a year of closures and restrictions, decreased sales, staff reductions, and uncertainty after uncertainty, but The 30 Day Fund is still focused on helping small businesses in the short term and has plans to continue its tradition of entrepreneurs ‘paying it forward’ to help those in need,” Peck told the Epoch Times.

As previously reported, paying it forward implies businesses that receive funds will, in the future, reinvest money back into the fund, which will then be allocated to another needy small business owner. “We are overwhelmed with the number of people who want to help,” Snyder told Virginia Business Daily.

Pete Snyder (Pete Snyder/Facebook)

The Snyders financed the 30 Day Fund with an initial $100,000 in capital. “It has raised more than $45 million through all of its efforts in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Georgia, New Jersey, and Arkansas,” Peck said in an interview. The fund provides up to $3,000 to selected small businesses that apply for financing. Beneficiaries are chosen based on a three-minute video and a one-page written application, and once selected, the business owner receives the money within three days.

“We don’t have time for red-tape,” Snyder said in a statement online. “We don’t have time for delays. The VA 30 Day Fund is designed to be quick and easy. … We will provide small business owners with both funding and hope so they can keep their employees on payroll and keep working to lift our communities through this crisis.”

30 Day Fund partners include United Way, the Kimsey Foundation, and Maltese Capital. Virginia State Senator Mark Obenshain (R-Rockingham) and his wife Suzanne are on the fund’s advisory board.

“The 30 Day Fund has assisted other leaders to replicate its model with efforts in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Arkansas, Mississippi, and New Jersey,” Peck said. For example, in December 2020, Dave Portnoy, founder of media company Barstool Sports, created The Barstool Fund – an affiliate of the 30 Day Fund.

“There’s no right or wrong reason why we’re choosing one business versus the other,” Portnoy said of The Barstool Fund. “They speak to us for whatever reason. I wish we could help them all. We’re going to help as many as we humanly can and try to keep these small businesses alive. So, that’s the plan. Is it perfect? Probably not, but it’s better than nothing.”

Portnoy has stayed true to his word, raising nearly $40 million for 391 small businesses through The Barstool Fund. Businesses that have received financial assistance through The Barstool Fund include Iconic Fitness in Escondido, California, The Donut Experiment in St. Charles, Missouri, Flame Nightclub in Duluth, Minnesota, and Social House of Soulard in St. Louis, Missouri.

Roughly 43 percent of Americans have been inoculated against COVID-19, and most states have rescinded government-mandated shutdown orders. And while those changes are helping businesses return to normal operating procedures, Peck said many are still reeling from a year of hardship and uncertainty. Others are struggling with a worker shortage in states where employees can earn more collecting unemployment benefits with additional federal pandemic assistance than reporting to a job, according to media reports.

“While the challenges these businesses face today are not the same ones they faced in the beginning of the pandemic, many are still struggling to fully recover, and the 30 Day Fund continues to be here to help,” Peck said.

In January, the Snyders announced they were stepping down from the day-to-day operations of the fund. Since then, former Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Jim Cheng has assumed a senior leadership position.

“Even though we’ve been at this for nearly a year, we are just getting started,” Cheng said in a statement online. “The ‘pay it forward’ movement the Snyders started is catching fire all around the nation and will be helping thousands and thousands more struggling small businesses in the weeks and months to come. I look forward to ensuring the continued success of the Virginia 30 Day Fund.”

Jim Cheng (30 Day Fund/Facebook)

Juliette Fairley is a graduate of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Born in Chateauroux, France, and raised outside of Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, Juliette is a well-adjusted military brat who now lives in Manhattan. She has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, TheStreet, Time magazine, the Chicago City Wire, the Austin-American Statesman, and many other publications across the country.

Categories
Entrepreneurs Features

Turning Shutdowns Into Opportunity

Angela and Moe,longtime friends and co-founders of Sparrow Box.
Angela and Moe,longtime friends and co-founders of Sparrow Box. (Courtesy of Sparrow Box)

From the first hello, you can tell that Angela and Moe are go-getters ready to make things happen. Angela Knight and Maureen (Moe) Stone are both moms from Jupiter, Florida, who share a passion for their work and love for America. The friends have known each other and worked together for 15 years, first as partners in a successful charity, and then in event planning.

In March of 2020, not long after the onset in the states of COVID-19, Angela and Moe stepped out of quarantine, leaving their husbands at home, and drove to Liberty University to pick up Angela’s daughter’s belongings. Her daughter had come home for Spring Break, but was then not allowed to return to school. The ladies thought it would surely be a fun get-away road trip, but on the road they were shocked and devastated by the many, many failed businesses they saw along the way. ““The small southern towns seemed eerie with involuntary abandonment. It felt like a black and white episode of the Twilight Zone. Products were still on display inside the dark shops and upcoming sales and event signs of things that would not happen still littered the window,” said Angela. Moe added, “All these small businesses closed for so long, how will they ever come back from this?” They recognized that these weren’t just closed businesses, this scene was the destruction of the livelihood of hard-working Americans. For the next ten hours, they drove home brainstorming how they could do their small part to help their American community.

“We talked about what we wanted: to help others stay connected, feel loved and appreciated and fight the division that is plaguing our country. We talked about how to help these small businesses get going again once everything opened back up,” Angela said. Inspired by the diligent and joyful little sparrow, Angela and Moe chose Sparrow Box Company as the name of their endeavor to showcase hardworking American artisans and businesses. They’re businesses like Grey Ghost, a charming bakery in Charleston, South Carolina, where the friends had the opportunity to tour the bakery and hear from the founder the story of their journey of growth; and Willa’s Cookies, a mom-and-pop team; and Forest and Hyde, run by an entreprenurial young husband who had just bought a leather company to combine with his own.

Angela and Moe had previously worked at a nonprofit, Pink Purse, whose mission was to connect women with various causes, and in their seven years of work there were able to help 70 charities, organizations, and families. Taking their years of experience in marketing, communications, event planning, and design, the two friends sprinted out of the gate and are taking the gifting world by storm, connecting with a community of American vendors to create gifts that bring joy and beauty. It is important to them that they deal only with American-made products and that they are helping small businesses during these somewhat trying times.