First Annual National Hospitality Prayer Breakfast 2006 S. Truett Cathy

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.

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.

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.

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."