Page 143 - Everything I Know About Business I Learned

Lead by Example

restrooms, phones, and color televisions to take disadvantaged
children and senior citizens on outings. The foundation also sup-
ported research into diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and arthritis as
well as raised awareness about alcohol abuse. But that wasn’t all.
The foundation also supported cultural institutions, hospitals, uni-
versities, and even prison rehabilitative programs.
Recipients were put on Ray’s “birthday list.” “When I added
it all up, my birthday gift list totaled seven and a half million
dollars. I’ll tell you, it felt mighty good to be able to announce
that kind of present!” Ray wrote in Grinding It Out.
Following Ray’s lead, the company itself continued the tra-
dition of giving back, sponsoring high school bands in the
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the McDonald’s All-Ameri-
can Games that features all-star basketball athletes, and the
Ronald McDonald House Charities. Ray had wanted all fran-
chisees to give back to the communities in which they lived, and
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demonstrated that by his giving, which helped to proliferate the
tradition ever since.
The momentum permeated corporate as well. Fred Turner
encouraged me to get out and involved in other activities within
the New York area when I was regional vice president. We were
never represented by previous management on any associations
or boards within the market. I asked one of the leading opera-
tors to help me find out who was running the New York Urban
League. I had watched McDonald’s nationally in its involvement
with this group, and following the company’s lead, was drawn
by their motto of “equal opportunity.” Who could not support
that concept? I thought that personified what McDonald’s was
to both operators and staff—the company provided opportuni-
ties regardless of race, gender, or age, and you had to run with
it. I understood that everyone doesn’t start on an equal playing
field either. I went ahead and went through the interview pro-
cess and became a board member shortly thereafter. Being new