At age 52, when most people look toward retirement, Ray Kroc began McDonald’s, a big company that has remained the # 1 restaurant chain in the world for about half a century. Via his McDonald’s franchises, it is believed that he probably made multimillionaires of more people in a shorter time than any other person in modern history. In 1974, he purchased the San Diego Padres baseball franchise. He was, and his estate continues to be, a major philanthropist via the Kroc Foundation and the Ronald McDonald Children’s Fund.

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She sits quietly now. She says only what she needs or wants to say. She often confesses, in fragmentary frustration, “too difficult now”; too difficult to adjust her position on the chair, too difficult to apply lotion, too difficult to carry on a lengthy conversation. Still, the message of her soul is clear. I am a fortunate witness to her message. I have known Monessa Tinsley-Crabb for two years now.

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Winning Restaurant: You don’t have to go to Beijing to get Chinese Gold. You can find it at Chan’s Chinese Restaurant in Salem Oregon. Without question, this place offers the best tasting Chinese food I have ever eaten. All the food is organic, no chemicals are used, and the recipes are unique to the owners, Ech-Keu Guov (the husband) and Ying-Ying Ma (the wife).

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Literature: When I first started writing about the process of winning, I thought about the lion as the ultimate symbol of the winner. After all, he wasn’t the biggest (i.e. the elephant), he wasn’t the smartest (i.e. the chimpanzee), but he was the undisputed King of the Jungle. How come? Since I couldn’t find a lion to talk to, I settled for my cat, Zorba. After all, like the lion, his cousin, he had royal attitude.

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Evans’ gift as a creative entrepreneur has enabled her to take a piece of leftover material, paper, fur, feathers, etc., and turn them into spectacular designs that have been featured in the newspapers and on television. She tells us that this is the talent she developed from rummaging through trash and turning it into treasures during her formative years. Several of her creations have been on exhibit at the Annual North Carolina State Fair. Her famous Newspaper Gown was displayed in London England during the Millennium Celebration.

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Oscar Pistorius currently holds world records in the 100m, 200m and 400m for running in the Paralympics, an accomplishment that has made him Johannesburg’s most recognized public figure. With the utilization of two J-shaped carbon fibre prosthetic blades called Cheetahs (The Cheetah Flex Foot), this bilateral amputee transformed himself into not only the world’s fastest Para-athlete, but also one of the world’s fastest men.

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Phil also makes sure to give back to the community. “Our basic philosophy is to contribute toward health, fire, police and kids,” he says. “We just did a scholarship worth $7,500 via a drawing in a Corvallis High School business class. We had a lot of fun with that.” Giving back to the community is just an extension of Phil’s focus on customer service, and Giving Back is the key to his success.

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In October 2004, when her family situation turned abusive, a Texas court placed then 17-year old Justine in a residential treatment facility. Justine and her younger brother, adopted near birth by a career military officer and his wife, were home schooled in standard curriculum as well as Bible stories by their adoptive mother. This strict upbringing and social isolation during their primary and middle school years set the stage for a difficult adolescent period for Justine.

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Carolyn Chambers is an Oregon native and graduate of the University of Oregon. She is currently the Chairman and CEO of the Oregon based company, Chambers Communications Corporation, a business that she built from the ground up. The corporation currently consists of three television broadcast stations, a television, movie, and video production company, an internet cable system, and an internet service provider.

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As mid-morning approaches in Cottage Grove, there is a distinct smoky smell starting to waft around Main Street. It is the glorious smell of the smoker in the empty lot next to Big Stuff BBQ, where almost everything on the menu is prepared. The only barbeque establishment in quaint Cottage Grove, Big Stuff has been impressing locals since 2004 with their classic menu of barbeque favorites.

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