S. Truett Cathy is founder and chairman of Chick-fil-A, Inc. Cathy started the business in 1946, when he and his brother, Ben, opened an Atlanta diner known as The Dwarf Grill (later renamed The Dwarf House). Over the years, that restaurant prospered and led Cathy to further the success of his business. In 1967, Cathy founded and opened the first Chick-fil-A restaurant in Atlanta’s Greenbriar 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 1,250 restaurants in 37 states and Washington D.C. Remarkably, Cathy has led Chick-fil-A on an unparalleled record of 38 consecutive years of annual sales increases.

Cathy’s approach is largely driven by personal satisfaction and a sense of obligation to the community and its young people. His WinShape Centre® Foundation, founded in 1984, grew from his desire to “shape winners” by helping young people succeed in life through scholarships and other youth-support programs. The foundation annually awards 20 to 30 students wishing to attend Berry College with scholarships up to $32,000 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 $20 million dollars in $1,000 scholarships to
Chick-fil-A restaurant employees since 1973.

As part of his WinShape Homes® program – a long-term care program for foster children – 14 foster care homes have been started in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Brazil that are operated by Cathy and the WinShape Foundation. These homes, accommodating up to 12 children with two full-time foster parents, provide long-term care for foster children with a positive family environment.

Another core component distinguishing WinShape programs is WinShape® Camps. It was founded in 1985 as a series of two-week summer camps at Berry College to help boys and girls build self-esteem through physical and spiritual activities. Nearly 1,800 campers from throughout the country attend WinShape® Camps sessions annually.

In 2003, Truett helped his son and daughter-in-law, Bubba and Cindy, celebrate the opening of WinShape™ Retreat, a high-end retreat and conference facility also located on the Mountain Campus of Berry College. The multi-use facility hosts marriage-enrichment retreats along with business and church-related conferences, and in summer months, houses the girls attending WinShape® Camps.

In 1996, Chick-fil-A announced a multi-year title sponsorship agreement with the Peach Bowl – becoming the Bowl’s first-ever title sponsor. For the ninth-straight year, a sellout crowd watched the 2005 Chick-fil-A Peach® Bowl, which took place on December 30, 2005, in Atlanta’s Georgia Dome. The sold-out game continues to lead in charitable donations, including WinShape Homes®, scholarships and other charities. Presently, Chick-fil-A holds the sixth-longest continuous title sponsorship among the 28 current bowls, and this year, Chick-fil-A reinforced their sponsorship commitment. Atlanta’s college football bowl game will change its name to the Chick-fil-A Bowl® beginning n 2006.

Cathy is a devoutly religious man who built his life and business based on hard work, humanity and biblical principles. Based on these principles, all of Chick-fil-A’s restaurants operate with a “closed-on-Sunday” policy — without exception. When not managing his company, Cathy donates his time to community efforts and teaches a Sunday school class to 13-year-old boys, as he has done for nearly 50 years..

Cathy has received countless awards over the years including: Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Poultry & Food Distributors Association (2005); Norman Vincent & 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 also the author of Eat Mor Chikin: Inspire More People (Looking Glass Books, 2002), It’s Easier to Succeed Than to Fail (Thomas Nelson Publishing, 1989), and It’s Better to Build Boys Than Mend Men (Looking Glass Books, 2004), and he is co-author of The Generosity Factor with Ken Blanchard (Zondervan Publishing, 2002).

Most recently, Cathy celebrated 60 years in the restaurant industry with friends, family and business associates at the original Chick-fil-A Dwarf House restaurant in the Atlanta suburb of Hapeville, Ga., where his restaurant career began. The event commemorated his 60-year legacy that is as much about values as business success. In honor of his 60-year accomplishment, Georgia Governor Sonny Purdue proclaimed Tuesday, May 23, 2006 “Truett Cathy Day” throughout the state.

In addition to presiding over one of the most successful restaurant chains in America, Cathy is a dedicated husband, father and grandfather. His two sons, Dan and Don (”Bubba”), have both followed their father in learning the business from the ground up.

Dan became president of Chick-fil-A in June 2001 and Bubba is senior vice president of Chick-fil-A, Inc., and president of the Chick-fil-A Dwarf House division. His daughter, Trudy, is the youngest of the three children. She and her husband, John, have returned to the United States from Brazil where they served as missionaries. Cathy and his wife Jeannette have 12 grandchildren and more than 150 “foster grandchildren.”

In 2001 Teaff was also awarded for his on-field success as a coach as he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Teaff’s willingness to address controversial issues affecting the game has resulted in increased respect and a higher profile for the Association.
He has become an eloquent spokesman in college football’s on-going campaign to challenge the interpretation of guidelines used to enforce Title IX that are having negative repercussions on football and other men’s sports.  Earlier this year, he was named the vice-chair of an NCAA committee studying gambling problems on college campuses. He also played a vital role in the NCAA’s study of current recruiting rules.

One of Teaff’s first actions after being named executive director was to tackle the on-going battles over scholarship reductions and the elimination of spring practice. The AFCA has been successful on both fronts.  Scholarship levels have remained the same at the Division I-A, I-AA and Division II levels, and after a year-long study, the AFCA presented a new spring practice model that has been implemented by the NCAA.

One of Teaff’s recent projects involved the creation of the American Football Coaches Foundation, which assists in funding programs designed to improve the game and profession at all levels.

In 2000, the NCAA approved a new football recruiting calendar that was devised by the AFCA. The new calendar was created by a committee of AFCA-member head coaches and assistant coaches. The calendar went into effect in 2001.

In 1998, the AFCA began a scholarship program that donated a total of $165,000 to the schools of the winners of the AFCA National Coach of the Year Award, AFCA Assistant Coach of the Year Award, the AFCA Coaches’ Trophy and NCAA and NAIA football playoff champions.  With the elimination of the preseason Pigskin Classic (which funded the scholarships), this program has come under the scope of the American Football Coaches Foundation in the form of a grant program that rewards assistant coaches at the championship and Coach of the Year schools.

In 1999, the AFCA joined with the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics to contribute to NACDA’s John McLendon Minority Postgraduate Scholarship Award. The AFCA is contributing $100,000 over five years to the program, which awards one scholarship each year to a minority student who intends to pursue a career in athletics administration.

Teaff played an important role in a successful attempt by college coaches and administrators to eliminate a rash of fighting incidents and to enforce rules that banned showboating and taunting and other unsportsmanlike acts.  The change proved so successful that the NFL adopted the part of the taunting rule that prohibits players from removing their helmets on the field.

After several incidents involving unscrupulous sports agents made headlines, Teaff organized a sports agent “summit” at the 1996 AFCA Convention. The summit clarified issues and developed practical solutions in regard to the issue.

Teaff knows the importance of creating platforms to display the game.  In 1997, the AFCA joined with the NCAA, the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics and the Collegiate Commissioners Association to form NCAA Football.  This nationwide program was developed to improve, preserve and promote the game of football for those who play the game, those who coach the game and for those who support the game.

The AFCA debuted a Division III Coaches’ Poll in 1999 and the Division II Coaches Poll in 2000. The weekly Top 25 rankings are featured in USA Today during the season.

In 1996, “Inside College Football,” hosted by Teaff, debuted on the Fox Sports Network.  The three and one-half hours of programming highlighted the college game and the profession under the banner of the AFCA.  That program was the forerunner of “NCAA Football: The Slant,” which aired on Fox Sports Net.

In 1997, the AFCA introduced its Assistant Coach of the Year Award, which is presented each year to one deserving assistant coach in each NCAA division and the NAIA.  The winners are selected based on criteria that includes off-the-field community service activities as well as on-the-field performance.

In 1998, Baylor renamed its football and track facilities the Grant Teaff Athletic Complex.  Also, Baylor put the finishing touches on the Grant Teaff Plaza in 2002, including an eight-foot tall statue honoring the Bears’ long-time head coach.  The Plaza is located at the base of the press box at Floyd Casey Stadium.

In 1993, as he was moving into his present position, Teaff received awards from five different organizations: the Baylor University Athletics Hall of Honor; the Blue-Gray All-Star Football Classic Hall of Fame; the Gen. Robert R. Neyland Memorial Award; the Football Writers Association of America Achievement Award; and the Morris Frank “Touchdowner of the Year” Award.

Teaff was named the Southwest Conference Coach of the Year six times and earned AFCA National Coach of the Year national honors in 1974 when he produced “the Miracle on the Brazos.”  That year, he took Baylor to its first SWC title in 50 years and its first appearance in the Cotton Bowl.

Teaff-coached Baylor teams appeared in eight bowls.  Among his most impressive teams are Baylor’s two SWC champions, the 1974 (8-4) and 1980 (10-2) Cotton Bowl teams. His 1985 and ’86 teams had identical 9-3 records and won the Liberty Bowl and the Bluebonnet Bowl, against LSU and Colorado, respectively.

Teaff has done more than tutor his players well, he has seen 11 of his former assistant coaches go on to head coaching positions at the college level.  Teaff coached in 12 all-star games while at Baylor: East-West Shrine (3); Blue-Gray (3); Hula Bowl (4); AFCA Coaches’ All-America Game (1) and Japan Bowl (1).

Teaff began his coaching career in 1956 as an assistant at Lubbock (Tex.) High School.  He moved to McMurry as an assistant football coach and head track coach in 1957 and became head football coach in 1960, while continuing to coach track.  He later made career moves that led to Baylor.

Raised in the West Texas town of Snyder, Teaff graduated from Snyder High School in 1951. After two years at San Angelo (Tex.) Junior College, he earned his undergraduate degree in physical education at McMurry in 1956 and one year later earned his M.S. in Administrative Education. He received a Doctor of Humanities degree from McMurry in 1975.  A team captain at all levels, Teaff lettered every year he was at San Angelo and McMurry. He was an All-Texas Conference linebacker at McMurry.

Teaff and his wife, Donell, a former Texas Tech cheerleader, have three daughters, Tammy Bookbinder, Layne Pittman and Tracy Teaff, all Baylor graduates; and four grandchildren, Joshua and Jessica Bookbinder, Jake Grant and Elijah John Pittman.

Teaff has a reputation as one of the finest motivational speakers in the country and serves as a leadership consultant to school systems, universities and corporations.

Teaff has written four books: I Believe, Winning, Seasons of Glory and Coaching in the Classroom.

Sherwood has three campuses covering 130-plus acres—the main church campus, the lower school campus and the upper school campus. The church is currently developing an 82-acre sports complex using Upward sports to reach the community.  Sherwood operates a 24/7 cable channel.  Path to Truth, their weekly service, is currently seen in over ninety markets around the nation on FAITH TV, many FamilyNet stations in the southeast, and by webcast on sherwoodbaptist.net.

Michael has been interviewed by Leadership Journal and has appeared on The Fox News Channel, CNN Headline News, The Glenn Beck Show, Janet Parshall’s America, American Family Radio, The 700 Club, Richard Land Live! and Citizen Link.  Sherwood’s media and movie ministry, Sherwood Pictures, has been featured on The Drudge Report, Baptist Press, AP radio, American Family Radio, Focus on the Family, Good Morning America, Agape Press, Christianity Today, CNS News, National Public Radio, The Laura Ingraham Show, The Michael Reagan Show, The Conservative Voice and The LA Times.

Michael is the author of several books, including: I Left My Mind in Mississippi…But I Still Have My Ministry, I May Be Wrong…But I Doubt It and Reflections on the Gospels by Vance Havner (editor).  His newest book, Prepare for Rain, is the story of how a church positions itself spiritually and creatively to impact their world.

He is the editor of www.2ProphetU.com, a resource website for pastors developed with Warren Wiersbe, as well as the official Vance Havner website, www.VanceHavner.com. He served as Executive Producer of Flywheel, Facing the Giants and Sherwood Pictures’ latest film, Fireproof, set for release in the fall of 2008.

He was elected in 2007 to serve as President of the 2008 Southern Baptist Convention Pastors Conference to be held in Indianapolis.  He has served the Southern Baptist Convention as an IMB trustee, president of the Georgia Baptist Convention Preaching Conference and vice president of the Georgia Baptist Convention, as well as numerous committees.  He is the recipient of The Martin Luther King Award, The MLK Unity Award and a Georgia Senate Resolution in recognition of his work in the community and in racial reconciliation.

Michael is the founder of ReFRESH, a conference on revival and awakening and a co-founder (with Warren Wiersbe) of Bridge Builders, a conference for pastors.  He has been a coach for John Maxwell’s equipping ministry and has preached in churches, conferences and revivals in sixteen states.

Michael and his wife, Terri, have been married since 1974 and have two grown daughters, Erin and Hayley.

Mark DeMoss is the author of The Little Red Book of Wisdom. In his book, DeMoss shares insights for living wisely gathered from experience, history, and the Bible.  He calls Proverbs, “The greatest textbook of all time on the subject of wisdom,” and says he has read a chapter a day, every single day for half of his life.  Cumulatively, DeMoss has read Proverbs entirely  more than 250 times.  He says the book provides reminders of timeless truths and principles for almost every aspect of life.  Many of the 23 short chapters in The Little Red Book of Wisdom challenge conventional wisdom and will provoke people of all ages to think differently about life, death, wealth, and the pursuit of the American Dream.

Mark and his wife April live in Atlanta, Georgia, with their three teenagers.  His father, the late Arthur S. DeMoss, was a successful businessman, having pioneered direct response marketing of life insurance through the National Liberty Corporation which he founded.

Mark has spent his life around wise people and has worked closely with some of the most prominent religious leaders of the past several decades.

Mart Green’s chain of Christian stores, Mardel, has 32 stores in six states and is headquartered in Oklahoma City.  It is part of the Hobby Lobby group of companies.

Mart Green wouldn’t be your first choice to be the driving force behind a movie, much less two of them.  After all, until just a few years ago, the 42-year-old had never even been in a theater!  Green grew up in a conservative Christian home where movies were shunned, though his parents could’ve bought the local theater—or a whole chain of them, for that matter.  But in 2007, Every Tribe Entertainment released two films: “Beyond the Gates of Splendor,” a 2002 documentary, and “End of the Spear,” an 2005 adventure drama, both about the 1956 killing of five missionaries in Ecuador.  Interestingly, both stories are told from the perspective of the Waodani, the Ecuadorian tribe that killed the missionaries, only later to hear the good news of God’s Word and to see many of its members come to Christ.

As far as Mart Green was concerned, there was no better way to tell the world that “This Book Is Alive.”  Green’s passion is to teach all people, in all cultures, about the powerful love of Christ

In his tenure at the helm of the Tigers’ program, the department has prospered athletically, academically and financially.

Under Jacobs’ leadership,  Auburn Athletics has made major strides that have benefitted Auburn student-athletes, coaches and fans.  The department has focused on five strategic goals under his leadership: Winning, graduating student-athletes, managing the department’s fiscal affairs, complying with SEC and NCAA rules and providing a professional game day experience.

Jacobs gained strong business expertise as the Senior Associate Athletics Director for Tigers Unlimited prior to his appointment as Director of Athletics and has initiated several successful business ventures for the Athletics Department.  Under Jacobs’ leadership, Auburn has also moved forward with numerous facility projects designed to benefit Tiger athletic programs and their fans.  Two years ago, Auburn fans enjoyed a new $2.9 million high definition (HD) video display scoreboard in the south end zone.  The first of its kind in the Southeastern Conference, the HD display measures approximately 30 feet high by 74 feet wide.

Jacobs was named Auburn’s 14th Director of Athletics on Dec. 22, 2004, after working in almost every area of the Auburn Athletics Department for the previous 20 years.

It was the final step for Jacobs in a career that had allowed him to gain a wide range of experience in collegiate athletics, from the perspective of a student-athlete, to the position of Senior Associate Athletics Director for Tigers Unlimited, Auburn’s fund-raising arm.

Jacobs grew up just 20 miles from Auburn in LaFayette.  Later, after moving to Jacksonville, Fla., where he attended high school, he returned to Auburn for college.  After walking on the Auburn football team, he earned two letters as an offensive tackle in 1982 and 1983.  As a senior, he started for the SEC Championship Tigers that finished the season ranked third nationally.  Not long after his career ended against Michigan in the 1984 Sugar Bowl, Jacobs started the journey that led him to being named Director of Athletics.

After one season as a coach at Lee-Scott Academy in Auburn, Jacobs returned to his alma mater as the Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach.  After serving two seasons as a graduate assistant football coach, Jacobs was named Conditioning Coach, a position he held for three years.  In 1991, he became an Assistant Athletics Director. Three years later, he was promoted to Associate Athletics Director for Operations, overseeing a variety of support functions in the Athletics Department.

Jacobs earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees in business administration from Auburn in 1985 and 1988, respectively.

He is married to the former Angie Sapp of Dublin, Ga.  The couple have three daughters, Haley, Meagan and Jayne.

He received his B.A. from Biola University, an M.Div. from Talbot Theological Seminary, a Th.M. from Fuller Theological Seminary, and an M.A. and a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.  He is a licensed clinical psychologist and a Clinical Member and Approved Supervisor of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT).  He has earned the Certified Family Life Educator (C.F.L.E.) diploma by The National Council on Family Relations.

Dr. Oliver has over 30 years experience in individual, premarital, marital and family counseling and for the past 20 years he has had an extensive nationwide teaching ministry with groups like Promise Keepers and The American Association of Christian Counselors. In addition to his clinical experience, Dr. Oliver has over ten years experience serving on the staff of churches in California, Nebraska and Colorado.

Dr. Oliver has authored or co-authored over 20 books including two books with his late wife, Carrie – Mad About Us: Moving from Anger to Intimacy With Your Spouse published by Bethany House and Raising Sons…and Loving It! published by Zondervan.  He is also the author of over 150 articles in national magazines and journals, is a regular contributing columnist for HomeLife magazine.

Dr. Oliver travels both nationally and internationally providing seminars and workshops on a variety of topics including marriage enrichment, parenting, brief therapy, and emotional intelligence.  He resides in Siloam Springs, Arkansas.

Mankin remembers falling in through the hatch, watching as debris crashed around him, flames flared and the hatch closed above.  Emergency equipment in the vehicle apparently malfunctioned. Fire control devices didn’t go off and a rear ramp wouldn’t open.  Amid the chaos, Mankin found his way out. The 23-year-old rolled and rolled in the sand, stopping several times to see if he was still on fire.  When he couldn’t roll anymore, his fellow Marines came to his rescue.  He heard someone yell, “Put him out, put him out.”

They tell him the “airbirds” were there within seven minutes of the explosion. Mankin remembers being put on a cot and having to be moved several times as fire from the burning vehicle continued to set off ammunition. He could speak only in a whisper because of damage to his lungs. His legs weren’t hurt and he tried to get up, but those treating him wouldn’t let him.

Six Marines died and 18 were injured in that explosion.

Mankin’s upper body took the blow for him, burning his face, arms and hands and damaging his lungs.

A boy who has always set goals and timelines for those goals, Mankin isn’t stressed or disconcerted when asked about his plans for the future. Instead, his face is full of obvious wonder as he talks about the fact that he can walk.  Despite a future of as-yet-uncounted surgeries to rebuild his nose, mouth and ears and to repair damage to his hands and arms, Mankin talks of his amazement that he didn’t suffer any broken bones or lose a leg that could affect that future.

“From the start, I knew I’d get better,” he said. “I always knew that it was a part of God’s plan. God’s been very faithful to me even though I don’t deserve it.”

That faith was there from the start, his father, Steve Mankin, said.  He was at his son’s bedside in Texas as often as possible and has obviously never been more proud of him. His son’s courage and faith are things that Steve Mankin can’t speak of without tears welling in his eyes.

Aaron Mankin met Diana Kavanek, a fellow Marine, when he was her artillery trainer in Twenty-Nine Palms, Calif., the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center.  Kavanek of Virginia wasn’t the most outstanding of the recruits, but she stood out for Mankin.  It may have been the fact that she “dropped everything” she handled that caught his attention, he said.

The day she first saw him in the Texas hospital, Mankin said he could see her discomfort.  He wrapped his arm around the bottom half of his face so she could see only his eyes.  She realized that he, the man she truely loved, was still there behind the burns.  They talked frankly about her feelings and his future.  Later during that visit, he proposed and she said yes.

Not only is Mankin committed to Diana, he also understands a deep commitment to his country that lets him say “in a heartbeat” he would go back.  Mankin plans to ask the military medical review board to allow him to return to duty after his recovery, although he knows that if he returns, it will likely be a different type of position.  If that doesn’t work out, he wants to finish his education and become a teacher.

Diana and Aaron now have a beautiful daughter, Madeline.

In 1962, the J. B. Hunt Company, a rice hull packaging company, opened its doors in Stuttgart, Arkansas.  Mrs. Hunt worked part-time to help her husband get started in the business.  As the company grew, she found herself working more and more – helping with correspondence, financial statements and doing bookkeeping.  Before long she was working full time.  In 1969 the couple co-founded and built J.B. Hunt Transport from the ground up, and its success is a tribute to the Hunt’s entrepreneurial spirit and hard work.  J.B. Hunt Transport is one of the largest transportation logistics providers in North America and is the largest truckload, dry-van carrier in the United States.  Among Mrs. Hunt’s jobs was the position of credit manager, which she held until 1986 and the board position of Corporate Secretary which she held until 2008.  At her retirement from the Board of Directors of the company in 2008, Johnelle was recognized as being an active and important partner contributing to the company’s development and success.

She currently holds a seat on The Harvey and Bernice Jones Eye Institute Advisory Board.  She is a member of the Advisory Council for the Ozark Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.  Mrs. Hunt is the founding chairman of the United Way Alexis de Tocqueville Society for Washington County.  In May of 2000, she accepted the position of Campaign Treasurer for the University of Arkansas’ Leadership Team entitled Campaign for the 21st Century, a major fundraising drive that raised over one billion dollars.  Following the Campaign for the 21st Century, an Advisory Board was formed which Mrs. Hunt now serves on the Executive Committee.  In 2003 she accepted the invitation to serve on the Board of Directors for The Beau Foundation benefiting prenatal care in Northwest Arkansas.

In 1990, she and Mr. Hunt were chosen as the Arkansas Easter Seal Arkansans of the Year, the first couple to receive this award.  In 1992 she was one of four women to receive the Worthen Professional Women of Distinction Award and has been included in “The Top 100 Women” list for Arkansas from 1994-1998.  In 1996 the March of Dimes honored the Hunts as Citizens of the Year.  In 2001 she and Mr. Hunt were inducted into the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame.

Since the passing of her husband in December of 2006, Mrs. Hunt has taken a very active roll in projects developed and managed by The Pinnacle Group.  The Pinnacle Group is an office and retail development partnership founded by Mr. Hunt in 2001.  The group is primarily responsible for the conception and development of the more than 600 acre project in western Rogers known as Pinnacle Hills.  Mrs. Hunt is also actively involved with many other ongoing projects and companies started by Mr. Hunt including The Central Group, Northwest Arkansas Quarries, Haskell (Oklahoma) Sand and Gravel, Central Mortar and Grout (Muskogee, Oklahoma), J.B. Hunt Gas and Oil Drilling and a new rock quarry project in Honduras, Central America.

Johnelle and J. B. were married over 54 years and have two children, Jane Hunt Hardin and Bryan Hunt, as well as seven grandchildren.