Leadership Proves to be Healthy and Contagious as Chick-fil-A confirms a record-setting day on “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day”

Every Sunday morning most of America wakes up and goes to Church, Truett Cathy understood this; allow me to share a wonderful success story with you. Samuel Truett Cathy  is the founder of Chick-fil-A based in suburban Atlanta, Georgia. Truett Cathy was born in Eatonton, Georgia in 1921. He attended Boys High School, now Grady High School, in Atlanta, Ga. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Cathy began the chain in the Atlanta suburb of Hapeville, Georgia, in 1946 with a restaurant called the Dwarf Grill, named for its small size.

It was there that he, along with his brother and partner, Ben, created the chicken sandwich that later became the signature menu item for Chick-fil-A. The original restaurant, since renamed Dwarf House, is still in operation, and the company operates other Dwarf House locations in the metro Atlanta area. He married Jeanette and had three children: Trudy, Bubba and Dan.

Cathy is a member of the First Baptist Church in Jonesboro, Georgia, and also has taught Sunday School there for more than 50 years. He has testified that the Bible is his guide-book for life. As an extension of his convictions, all of the company's locations, whether company-owned or franchised, are closed on Sundays a rare policy within the food-service industry to allow its employees to attend church and spend time with their families.

This is a policy that began when Cathy was working six days a week, multiple shifts. He decided to close on Sundays to relax and recharge, as well as to honor God. The policy remains intact today as the restaurants are closed on Sunday. He is also a philanthropist, having given to numerous charitable causes, many with evangelical ties. Cathy is closely involved with the sponsorship of the college football bowl game now known as the Chick-fil-A Bowl, but from 1997-2005 known as the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, and prior to that simply as the Peach Bowl. On October 28, 2006, Cathy received the last vehicle off the assembly line of the automaker Ford's Atlanta plant, in recognition of a 60-year relationship between Cathy and the Ford plant.

The plant, located near Cathy's original Dwarf Grill (now Dwarf House), opened its doors one year after the restaurant opened, and Truett regularly served during all three shifts at the plant. Cathy has extensively donated to Berry College in Rome, Georgia, building the WinShape program there and awarding numerous scholarships each year. Cathy has written five books: the autobiography Eat Mor Chikin: Inspire More People, a motivational book entitled It's Easier to Succeed Than to Fail, the parenting book It's Better to Build Boys Than Mend Men, an explanation of his business success in How Did You Do It, Truett?, and a final book on the significance of money in today's society titled Wealth, Is It Worth It?.

He also contributed to the anthology Conversations on Success and co-wrote with Ken Blanchard Generosity Factor: Discover the Joy of Giving Your Time, Talent, and Treasure. There is a portion of Jonesboro Road and McDonough Road in Henry County, Ga., and Clayton County, Ga., named in his honor. Cathy has said that the motivational book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill was one of the greatest foundations for inspiration growing up. In April 2008, Cathy opened a new restaurant concept called "Upscale Pizza" with one location in Fayetteville, Ga. The menu features pizza, hot dogs, sandwiches and milkshakes. Cathy has said there are no plans to turn this one-shot store into another chain.

Cathy has dedicated his time and resources to many philanthropic causes, focusing on those related to the welfare of needy children. In 1984, Cathy established the WinShape Foundation, named for its mission to shape winners. WinShape Foundation consists of WinShape Homes, WinShape RetreatSM, WinShape MarriageSM, WinShape Camps, WinShape, College Program, WinShape Wilderness and WinShape International. In 2010, the foundation provided roughly $18 million to fund the development of foster homes and summer camp.

Past donations from the WinShape Foundation include the funding of several college scholarships and marriage counseling programs.The foundation has awarded nearly 820 students of Berry College with scholarships of up to $32,000. WinShape has also donated an estimated $5 million to anti-gay groups since 2003. Approximately $2 million was given in 2009 and almost the same amount in 2010.In 2008, Cathy's WinShape foundation became the winner of the result of its contributions to society. The prize was created to further ideals such as personal responsibility, resourcefulness, volunteerism, scholarship, individual freedom, faith in God, and helping people who help themselves.

It honors living philanthropists who have shown exemplary leadership through their charitable giving, highlights the power of philanthropy to achieve positive change, and seeks to inspire others to support charities that achieve genuine results. Additionally, Cathy has dedicated his time and resources towards welcoming homeless children into his home and has taught in Sunday school sessions. He has fostered children for over 30 years, and has since taken in nearly 200 foster children through WinShape Homes. WinShape Homes is a long-term foster care program that includes 11 foster homes throughout Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee.

Mr. Cathy also has a Leadership Scholarship program for Chick-fil-A restaurant employees, which has awarded more than $23 million in $1,000 scholarships in the past 35 years. In recognition of his philanthropic efforts through WinShape, Cathy received the Children's Champion Award for Family and Community from the charitable organization Children's Hunger Fund in 2011. Cathy has received numerous honors, including membership in Omicron Delta Kappa (OΔK), the National Leadership Honor Society. He received OΔK's highest award, the Laurel Crowned Circle Award in 2009. He also received the Norman Vincent and Ruth Stafford Peale Humanitarian Award, the Horatio Alger Award, the William E. Simon Prize for Philanthropic Leadership, and the Boy Scouts of America Silver Buffalo Award. Cathy was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 2003.

He is a member of Pi Kappa Alpha and Delta Sigma Pi Fraternities.  In 2007, Forbes magazine ranked Cathy as the 380th richest man in America and the 799th richest man in the world, with an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion.  President George W. Bush bestowed the President's Call to Service Award on Cathy in 2008.  Cathy was inducted into the Indiana Wesleyan University Society of World Changers on April 3, 2011. In addition to being inducted into the Society, the university also conferred upon Cathy an honorary doctorate of business. In May 2012, Cathy received an honorary doctorate along with presidential candidate Mitt Romney at the Liberty University's spring commencement ceremony.

In his remarks, Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee at the time, said, "The Romney campaign comes to a sudden stop when we spot a Chick-fil-A. Your chicken sandwiches were our comfort food through the primary season, and heaven knows there were days that we needed a lot of comfort." Romney congratulated Cathy on his "well-deserved honor today". Chick-fil-A are proven leaders not only in there community, but in the nation as well. We can see the results of there leadership over the last month when they came under attack by the Liberals and the Queers. However we are learning that Truett Cathys Son and Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy is not the only business tycoon who refuses to hide his faith under a bushel top executives from some of America’s biggest companies are born-again Christians who talk about their beliefs more often than their balance sheets.

Some Major corporations like Tyson Foods, Interstate Batteries and Hobby Lobby were either founded or are now led by outspoken and deeply religious bosses have jumped on board of the highly published Chick-fil-A run a way freak train. While some of the companies distinguish between their corporate identities and their leaders’ faith, others embrace it. It's actually kind of funny to me, the Liberals and the Queers have attacked Christian America and their plan has back fired into a media frenzy that has sparked record sales for the Atlanta Based food chain. If I owned a business I would want to jump on board of these billions of dollars of free advertising Nation wide as well.

I mean Wow Wee, what a mighty God we serve. Chick-fil- A had a record day, Dan Cathy called Pastor Rick Warren and shared with him that Chick-fil-A had the biggest day ever in sales and that they have ran out of Chicken and are closing nation wide two hours early. So thanks to the Liberals and the Queers, Chick-fil-A will be laughing all the way to the bank. Now the other Christian organizations are coming out of their closets and taking there stand for Christ as well. Amazing, a humble man who runs a fast food chicken restaurant chain answers a question to a Christian reporter of the cuff, and his answer goes viral and gets national attention, that sparks vicious attacks to boycott, and even try to close down the restaurant, by doing a queer kissing parade on the doorsteps of the business, and God steps in and they have their biggest day with record sales since the inception of their establishment. I mean wow, who knew?

Norm Miller, chairman of Interstate Batteries, discusses his faith and salvation at length on the company’s website, even inviting people to write him for advice on prayer. Tyson Foods, the Arkansas food processing giant, offers chaplains to counsel its employees on life issues like deaths or family emergencies. In-N-Out Burger, the popular California-based hamburger chain, prints “John 3:16” on the bottom of its cups. Hobby Lobby, the Oklahoma City-based arts and crafts store chain, cites its commitment to “honoring the Lord” on its website and closes its 500-plus nationwide locations on Sundays, as does Chick-fil-A.

“We believe that it is by God's grace and provision that Hobby Lobby has endured,” its website reads. “He has been faithful in the past, we trust Him for our future.” Cathy sparked a national controversy last month when he told the Baptist Press that he was “guilty as charged” for supporting the “biblical definition of a family,” leading to widespread criticism from gay rights groups and the mayors of at least three large U.S. cities Chicago, San Francisco and Boston who said the chain was no longer welcome there.

“It can come across as anti-something rather than pro-something. It’s very important to do it positively and inclusively.” Jonah Bloom, chief strategy officer for Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal & Partners. Another well-known company, furniture maker Herman Miller which was founded by Christian evangelical D.J. De Pree in 1905 said despite its founders’ religious background, the firm is not a “religious company,” a spokesman told FoxNews.com. “Although the founding family were deeply devout Christians, at no point in the company’s history was their religious faith part of the ethos,” spokesman Ron Reeves said. “The company’s ethos is based on values rather than religion.” Requests for comment from Interstate Batteries on what role religion plays in its company were not returned Wednesday, but a “personal testimony” page on its website clearly spells out the beliefs held by its chairman.

“Norm Miller is also a believer in God’s power to change lives, because it was that power that turned his own life around after years of drinking as hard as he worked,” the website reads. “That was the beginning of many changes in his personal and professional life. At the same time, there were some things about Norm Miller that stayed the same. His creative energy never flagged, and his willingness to dream up and try new ideas remained his hallmark.” One marketing expert said blurring the line between a company’s image and its top boss’s religious beliefs can be bad for business.

Jonah Bloom, former editor of Ad Age and chief strategy officer for Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal & Partners in New York, told FoxNews.com that while having a “purpose” such as a social or environmental cause can be a very good thing for a business, evoking religion can backfire. “It can come across as anti-something rather than pro-something,” Bloom said. “It’s very important to do it positively and inclusively.” With regards to Cathy’s statement on same-sex marriage, Bloom said it appeared to have been a “bad business decision” and not the kind of “purpose” he would have advocated. But other business leaders, including Hobby Lobby CEO and founder David Green, say being outspoken about their religious beliefs is non-negotiable. In 2011, the Green family whose fortune was estimated by Forbes magazine at about $2.5 billion purchased 30,000 rare biblical texts and artifacts that now make up one of the largest private collections of its kind in the world. “We believe the Bible has a positive influence and I think that all people should see what it has to say,” President Steve Green said. “We encourage people to make their choice and follow its principals like we do and strive to do.”

It is during adversity when one can really make a big difference. But making a difference is not always about being a big hero. Sometimes it is simply about leaving the bathroom a little cleaner going out, than when you came in. In my second book; “Just do the Little things” I explain that it’s the little things in life that mean so much, if we can not be trusted with the little things such as cleaning the bathroom, doing the dishes, and making the bed, then how can we be trusted with the big things in life? Meaning making a difference starts small, and gets bigger. Mr. Dan Cathy did just that by making a simple statement about “Same Sex Marriage” All he said was that He did not support it and the Liberals and the Queers tried to crucify him and his company.

Leadership all starts with a good positive character trait that you hold down deep in your soul, and drives you to just do the right thing, and not lie, cheat and steal. Many people believe that they don’t have what it takes to make a difference to the world. They believe only people like Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and the likes, are capable of making a difference. The truth is, every one of us is put in this world to contribute and make a difference to the world in our own unique way. It doesn’t need to be anything out of the world. It just needs to be something you do with the intention of ‘doing good’ ~ Donnie Bolena