Honorees will join more than 200 laureates already inducted since event’s inception in 1975
 
Colorado Springs, Colo. – Young people interested in starting their own businesses and looking for successful role models need look no further than the list of 2007 inductees into the JA Worldwide (Junior Achievement) U.S. Business Hall of Fame. This year’s roster of honorees represents businesses as varied as pizza franchises and the banking industry. Recognized for their business excellence, courageous thinking and actions, vision and innovation, inspiring leadership, and philanthropy, the 2007 U.S. Business Hall of Fame laureates are:
·         ·         Harold Boeschenstein (1896-1972), Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation. Boeschenstein led Owens-Corning from its inception in the 1930’s, and after leaving the company briefly during World War II, he returned to lead the company full time until his retirement in 1967. Today, Owens-Corning has annual sales in excess of $6 billion.
 
·         ·         Earl Graves Sr., Founder, Chairman, and Publisher, Black Enterprise Magazine. Graves has arguably done more to change the landscape of the African American business community than anyone in the United States. In the late 1960s, when African Americans were starting to enter corporate America, Graves decided to start a newsletter, which quickly grew into Black Enterprise Magazine. Today, Black Enterprise is a multimedia company boasting annual sales of nearly $60 million.
 
·         ·         Hugh McColl Jr., Retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Bank of America. McColl built a tiny Tar Heel bank into the nation’s largest consumer financial institution, through a series of mergers and acquisitions that transformed NCNB into Bank of America, which operated in 22 states and 38 foreign countries when he stepped down in 2001. 
 
·         ·         John Schnatter, Founder and Executive Chairman, Papa John’s International, Inc.  Schnatter founded Papa John’s in 1984 when he began delivering pizzas from his father’s tavern. Since then, the company has grown to nearly 3,000 restaurants in 50 states and 26 countries, and has been rated number one in customer satisfaction for seven consecutive years.
 
·         ·         Ted Turner, Chairman, Turner Enterprises, Inc. Media icon Turner has built an unrivaled portfolio of entertainment and cable television news brands, originated the “superstation” concept, and since founding the Turner Foundation in 1990, has donated in excess of $1 billion to support initiatives such as children’s health, the environment, and reducing the threat from nuclear weapons. For more information, visit www.tedturner.com.
 
 
The 2007 U.S. Business Hall of Fame event will be held at the Westin Charlotte in Charlotte, N.C., on April 26, 2007. The Laureate induction gala will cap a day-long slate of events including an awards luncheon at which Junior Achievement classroom volunteers will be honored, and a black-tie reception and dinner. The event is being sponsored by Bank of America, Duke Energy, and Wachovia. In addition to being honored at the event, laureates are represented in a permanent exhibit at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.
David S. Chernow, president and chief executive officer of JA Worldwide, noted, “This year’s U.S. Business Hall of Fame laureates represent the business world at its best. JA Worldwide is proud to honor their accomplishments, and provide our young people with strong examples of entrepreneurship. JA Worldwide programs help prepare young people to be successful entrepreneurs like our laureates, by showing them through hands-on learning what businesses need to be successful—knowing your customer and product, filling a need, being creative, and believing in yourself.”
Tomorrow’s entrepreneurs will compete in a much different environment than those of today. According to a 2007 study released by the Institute for the Future, the landscape of entrepreneurship will soon change dramatically. The next generations of entrepreneurs will be much more diverse than their predecessors and will have a more profound effect on both the U.S. and global economies. In addition, there will be a substantial increase in the number of personal businesses (run by one person with no employees), and an increasing demand for entrepreneurship education.
For more information about the U.S. Business Hall of Fame, visit www.ja.org.
Photos and bios of the 2007 U.S. Business Hall of Fame are available upon request.
About JA Worldwide™ (Junior Achievement)
JA Worldwide is the world’s largest organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. Through a dedicated volunteer network, JA Worldwide provides in-school and after-school programs for students in grades K-12. JA Worldwide offers educational programs that focus on seven key content areas: business, citizenship, economics, entrepreneurship, ethics/character, financial literacy, and career development. Today, 140 individual area operations reach approximately four million students in the United States, with more than 3.5 million students served by operations in 100 countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.ja.org.