Colonel Sanders: Creator of the Chicken Recipe Everybody Loves

Colonel Sanders, aka Harland Sanders, is the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Sanders waited for the time he reached his forties before he placed his skills in cooking into commercial use.

Sanders was born in Henryville, Indiana on September 9, 1890. He showed interest in cooking at a young age and has mastered several local delicacies to the delight of his family.

Sanders finished his law degree at Southern University in Indiana through correspondence. He was a recipient of some financial help from local official which enabled him to finish law. He practiced law at Little Rock, Arkansas from 1915 into the 1920s. However, his career in law ended abruptly when he had a physical confrontation with his client in court. He decided to transfer to Corbin, Kentucky.

He opened a service station in Corbin. He had constant interaction with customers while serving them meals as they stop at his station to gas up. He did not have a formal restaurant so he served the meals through tables in the station’s foyer. This gave Sanders a bright idea: to serve his customers with meals that are easy to carry and they could take.

Sanders offered good tasting food, especially his chicken. He became popular so he had to transfer to a bigger place which can accommodate up to 142 people. As the chef of his own restaurant, he perfected his best-selling friend chicken. He grew even more popular that then Kentucky Governor Ruby Laffoon named him Kentucky Colonel.

Sanders enjoyed his popularity for more than two decades. However, Sanders became broke in 1956. A government road project bypassed his store which led to a plummeting price. He lived through support from the Social Security. He went from restaurant to another to sell his recipe. By 1960, Sanders owned over 400 “franchises.” Finally in 1964, Sanders sold his brand and functioned as spokesperson for Kentucky Fried Chicken until his retirement.

Daniel Appleton and the Rise of Printed Encyclopedias

Daniel Appleton is an American publisher who published American Cyclopaedia which, for 50 years since its publication, became the biggest and most widely read work of its kind ever printed in the US.

Appleton was born on December 10, 1785 in Boston, Massachusetts. He owned a dry goods store which eventually also engaged in importing books. Soon he focused on importing and selling books which led Appleton to abandon his dry goods business.

Appleton’s first published book was released in 1831. By 1841, his work began to diversify when he started selling children’s books. In 1845, Appleton began exporting books to Latin American despite the absence of contacts. His courage paid off because his Latin American business endured and was profitable. He began offering travel literatures in 1847.

Appleton established his own company in New York which was known as D. Appleton & Co. This publishing house was responsible for releasing the American Cyclopaedia and other forms of literature.

Appleton died on March 27, 1849 in New York City.

Dr. Sagun Tuli Blazes Trails for Women in the Medical Field

The Harvard Medical University system’s first and only board certified spine surgeon of the female persuasion, Sagun Tuli refused to recognize any obstacles based on gender as she pursued her medical education and career. A native of Chandigarh, India, she treats patients at the Center for Advanced Brain and Spine Surgery at MetroWest Medical Center in Natick, Massachusetts. Previously, Dr. Sagun Tuli acted as an attending physician in neurosurgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Faulkner Hospital, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, all in Boston.

Naturally curious, as many entrepreneurial sorts are, Dr. Tuli has conducted considerable funded and unfunded research in such areas as spinal metastasis, back-pain review, and children experiencing low-grade brain tumors. Recognized for her expertise, she has accepted numerous invitations regionally, nationally, and internationally to deliver seminars and presentations. The skilled neurosurgeon taught a national spine-cadaver course in Philadelphia and served as a panelist several times for the International Spinal Cord Society Annual Scientific Meeting in India. As a speaker, she has addressed the World Federation of Neurological Societies in Algeria and in Kenya, discussing spinal-column tumors and cervical-spine trauma.

Dr. Tuli earned her medical degree at the University of Toronto and a master’s degree in epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. She completed a residency in neurosurgery at the former institution and a fellowship in spine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. A fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, Dr. Sagun Tuli has garnered several honors for her accomplishments, including an International Federation for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus award and an accolade from the American Medical Association’s Women Physicians Congress recognizing her contributions as a physician mentor. The acknowledgement could have mentioned “role model” as well, as the doctor has chosen a path young women are sure to admire and emulate.

J. K. Rowling: The Brains Behind the Popular Series Harry Potter

J. K. Rowling is the author and creator of the popular series Harry Potter. The series has seven published books. Rowling rose to popularity when a movie series was also produced based on her novels.

Joanne K. Rowling was born in Gloucestershire, England on July 31, 1965. Rowling earned her Bachelors in French and Classic from the University of Exeter. Her first employment was with Amnesty International where she worked as a researcher and bilingual secretary.

In 1990, the idea of creating Harry Potter came to her while she was in Manchester waiting for a train to London. When she reached London, she started writing. She moved to Edinburgh, Scotland after she and her husband for one and a half years divorced. She was unemployed and relied heavily on state support for her living. During this time, she did most of Harry Potter series.

The first book in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, was finished in 1995. Bryony Evans of the Christopher Little Literary Agents became her agent for the book. The book was submitted to twelve publishers, and all twelve rejected to publish the book. A small publisher named Bloomsbury accepted to publish the book one year after the first attempt.

The book was first sold in the US in 1998 with the title “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”. The US version was published through Scholastic because Bloomsbury did not have an office in the US.

The rights for the filming of the book were acquired in 1998. The first movie in the series was released in 2001. All the seven books in the Harry Potter series were eventually filmed.

The books gave Rowling her fortunes to become one of the richest writers in the world. Rowling has been active in many charitable events. Her most favorite philanthropic activities included those that focus on single-parent families, children and researches on multiple sclerosis.

Linda Alvarado: Symbol of Woman Power

Linda Alvarado is an entrepreneur who has pioneered a number of fronts. She was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1952. She created a construction company in 1976 from a $2,500 loan she acquired from her parents. She named her Colorado-based construction company Alvarado Construction. This company was one of the three contractors who built the stadium of Denver Broncos. It is also responsible for constructing the Colorado Convention Center and the Denver International Airport.

1991 was a historical year for Alvarado when she acquired the rights over the Colorado Rockies to become the first Hispanic major baseball franchise owner. She is also a corporate director for the US West Communications, Pitney Bowes, and Pepsi Bottling Group.

Alvarado also received a number of accolades, including the Frontrunner Award from Sara Lee Corporation, Woman of the Year award from Revlon Business, and Business Woman of Year award from the US-Hispanic Chambers of Commerce. She was also appointed by then President William Clinton to the Advisory Commission of Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans.

Thomas Boone Pickens: Advocate of Renewable and Alternative Energy

T. Boone Pickens was popular because he founded the hedge fund BP Capital Management (BP stands for Boone Pickens) and his advocacy for the US to be independent from foreign oil by promoting renewable and alternative sources of power. Forbes magazine named him as one of the richest Americans.

Thomas Boone Pickens was born in Holdenville, Oklahoma on May 22, 1928. He was a successful entrepreneur as a young boy when he expanded the route of his paper deliveries from 28 to 156.

The Pickens family moved to Amarillo, Texas in the late 30s. There, he finished his degree in geology in 1951 at Oklahoma A&M, now Oklahoma State University. He worked with Philips Petroleum until 1954, when he started venturing in oil explorations. Pickens founded the Mesa Petroleum in 1956.

Mesa grew in leaps and bounds. Eventually, Mesa purchased Hugoton Production Company, which was 30 times larger than Mesa at that time. The growth of Mesa was spectacular, making it one of the biggest independent oil firms in the world by 1981. Pickens had several acquisitions after Hugoton, which included Philips Petroleum, Gulf Oil and Diamond Shamrock. While it is true that Pickens did not succeed in all his takeovers, yet he earned the reputation of ruthlessly attempting to acquire new businesses.

                                                                          

Pickens established BP Capital management in 1989 when he transferred Mesa to Dallas. BP Capital Management has two hedge funds, Capital Equity and Capital Commodity which deals with natural gas and oil. Pickens’ stakes at BP has given him a whopping $2.7 billion in returns in 2007.

Pickens founded the Pickens Fuel Corporation in 1997 to promote cleaner fuel alternative for cars using natural gas. The company was the result of his extensive researches on the oil industry. According to his research, the world’s supply of oil is declining and that investments for alternative fuel should begin. Pickens changed his company’s name to Clean Energy in2001.

Pickens also planned the world’s biggest wind farm. This wind farm is capable of producing four gigawatts of electricity. He also introduced a proposal to promote other sources of energy such as solar, wind and natural gas as a way to reinvent the resources of US energy. The plan is also a great way to provide employment in the areas known as Great Plains.

Dickson Poon: The Asian Link

Dickson Poon is one of the toughest businessmen in Hong Kong. He had one of the most unconventional moves in business. When the Asian market faced economic recession in the late 1990s, Poon bought back the foreign assets of his publicly traded company Dickson Concepts for HK$1.53 billion. The move reverted the control of the group to him and his family.

Some skeptics said it would be better if the minority shares of Dickson Concepts were sold to other private individuals rather than let the controlling interest take over it. However, Poon’s idea proved to be brilliant as he got 52% of Dickson Concepts in May 1999.

Poon became popular with many business enthusiasts in Asia. Hong Kong’s prominent investment consultant Marc Faber praised Poon and described him as an unusual entrepreneur. “Poon doesn’t buy things just for the prestige of owning them; they always make sense,” Faber said.

Poon maintains his low profile. He is a natty dresser but he knows his customers and stores are the final arbiters of what fashion really means.

Perry Mandera’s Three Decades of Entrepreneurial VIsion and Leadership

With more than three decades of experience, Perry Mandera is an established leader in the transportation industry. In 1980, at the age of 23, he established his first entrepreneurial venture and four years later he accepted a position as Republican Committeeman for Chicago’s 26th Ward. Throughout his four-year term, he held distinction as the youngest individual ever to serve as a Committeeman.

Mr. Mandera established his current Northlake, Illinois, firm The Custom Companies, Inc. in 1986. The innovative transportation provider offered "first of its kind" integrated solutions encompassing truckload and less-than-truckload shipping, local and dedicated contract cartage, and airfreight forwarding services to (and from) domestic and international locations. To this day, The Custom Companies continues to fulfill its core mission of delivering goods on-schedule and in perfect condition. In particular, the firm maintains exceptional customer/vendor relationships through a customer service center that provides accurate shipment tracking and pickup scheduling services, as well as real-time access to documentation and rate quotes.

The expansion of Perry Mandera’s firm from two trucks to a dedicated fleet in its early years led to his selection as the Italian American Executives of Transportation’s "Executive of the Year" in 1991. Five years later, he was elected to the Illinois Transportation Association’s (ITA) Board of Directors. In 2000 he was notably named one of the ITAs "Top 100 American Transportation Executives of the Millennium."

Mr. Mandera’s involvement as a Chicago community leader has extended to numerous charitable commitments over the decades. His firm notably provided supplies to victims in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, transporting more than 40 truckloads to affected areas of Louisiana and Mississippi. Perry Mandera additionally played an instrumental role in establishing the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization Custom Cares Charities, which focuses on children’s causes.