Kemmons Wilson*

Born in 1913, in Osceola, Arkansas, Kemmons Wilson was nine months old when his father died. Wilson and his mother later returned to her hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. At the age of six, Wilson began selling the Saturday Evening Post. As a youth, he dropped out of school to sack groceries, jerk sodas, and deliver newspapers to support his mother. At 17, he owned and operated a popcorn machine at a movie theater, but the theater owner bought him out when Wilson became too successful.

In 1933, Wilson ventured into construction, building his first house for his mother for $1,700, plus $1,000 for the land. He later borrowed against that house to start a jukebox distribution business. Wilson re-entered the theater business as owner and operator of several movie theaters.

In 1951, his wife convinced him to take their five children on a trip to Washington, D.C. The accommodations they found were overpriced and unattractive, plus they were charged for each child. Taking room measurements along the way, Wilson was determined to build a "better mousetrap."

In 1952, he opened the first Holiday Inn, named after a popular Bing Crosby movie. His mother, who managed his business affairs while Wilson fought in World War II, decorated the motel's 120 rooms. By the end of 1964, Wilson had opened more than 500 Holiday Inns, and within 20 years, he and his partner, real estate developer Wallace Johnson, were overseeing the largest hotel-motel operation in the world.

Wilson retired as chairman in 1979. During the 1980s, he developed both Wilson World Hotel & Suites and Wilson Inns & Suites, primarily in the southeastern United States.

Wilson, who said his Horatio Alger Award was "one of the best awards I've ever received," established the Kemmons Wilson School of Hotel and Restaurant Management at the University of Memphis.

In advising youth, Wilson said, "Don't be afraid to fail. I've made more mistakes than anyone else, which is why I'm so successful."