Sam Walton

Sam Walton (http://images.businessweek.com/mz/04/32/0432_12innova.jpg)

Sam Walton was born in 1918 in a small town in Oklahoma. Mr. Walton, his parents, and his younger brother James, lived on a farm near Kingfisher, Oklahoma until 1923. In 1923 James, Mr. Walton's younger brother's father decided they weren't making enough money to raise a family on just living off of the farm so the Walton family moved to Missouri where James' dad became a Farm Loan Appraiser. In the eighth grade, Mr. Walton was the state of Missouri's youngest Eagle Scout.

Mr. Walton went to Hickman High School in Columbia. In high school Mr. Walton participated in many extra-curricular activities, basketball and football being some of them. Mr. Walton was President of the student body his senior year and was voted "Most Versatile Boy" in his senior class. Mr. Walton not only excelled in school, he also helped with family chores on the farm and had a job delivering newspapers.

Mr. Walton went on to the University of Missouri. There he majored in Economics. While attending the university he would wait tables for meals, be a life-guard for the school pool, and deliver papers. Not only did Mr. Walton work and study while in college he also was an officer for the ROTC, an officer for his fraternity, a member of the student government, he was also President of the Sunday school class he was in. He graduated college in 1940.

Mr. Walton's first job as a college graduate was at a JC Penny's store in Des Moines, Iowa. He earned a whopping $75.00 a month! He worked at JC Penny's for two years; he then resigned and waited to go into the military for World War II. While waiting to be inducted into the military Mr. Walton worked at a factory that was near Tulsa Oklahoma. In April of 1942 Mr. Walton met a lady named Helen Robson there. She was also a very smart lady, graduating valedictorian of her class and graduating from the University of Oklahoma at Norman with a business degree. In February of 1943 Mr. Walton and Ms. Robson became man and wife. The new couple's first son was born in 1944 which they named Samuel, then John was born in 1946, James in 1948 and Alice in 1949.

Mr. Walton served in the US Army intelligence corps. There he supervised prisoner of war camps and the security of aircraft plants. When Mr. Walton was discharged he was deemed Captain. It was at this time that he decided he wanted to own his own department store. Mr. Walton saved $5,000 from when he was in the military and borrowed $20,000 from his father-in-law. In the fall of 1945 Mr. Walton bought his first store.

Mr. Walton's first store was a variety store that led in sales and in profits in the six state areas. They say it was because of the low prices, wide variety of materials for sale, and because the shelves were always stocked. In 1950 Mr. Walton bought another store, which he called Walton 5 & 10. This store was in Bentonville, Arkansas. When Mr. Walton sold his other store in 1951, he packed up and moved his family and himself to Bentonville, Arkansas. Mr. Walton was involved in many activities within the town of Bentonville. He was president of the Rotary club, was on the hospital board, and also started up a little league baseball team. After Walton 5 & 10 started to boom Mr. Walton decided to build another store about 20 miles south of Bentonville. He knew he wouldn't be able to run both stores at once, so he decided he needed a manager. Mr. Walton was always trying to improve his stores, to make the customers happier.

Mr. Walton opened more and more stores. He was now receiving help opening his stores from his brother, brother-in-law and father-in-law. In 1954 he opened a store in the suburbs of Kansas City. Mr. Walton then decided he wanted bigger and better stores. The bigger stores he was now to have had a different name. They were called, Walton's Family Center. By 1962 Mr. Walton and his brother Bud had sixteen different stores within Arkansas, Missouri, and Kansas.

The first Wal-Mart opened in 1962. Wal-Marts are said to be so successful because they still follow what Mr. Walton had wanted and had in all of his stores: people greeters, a hometown identity, gives away a college scholarship to a graduating high school senior every year, donates to charity, and keeps the prices low.

I chose Mr. Walton as my hero because he was a young farm boy from a small town, kind of like myself. Whatever he put his mind to, he did it. He wasn't handed anything. He had to earn whatever he got. Mr. Walton grew up during the depression times, he came from a family that didn't have much money and Mr. Walton had to work very hard just to help out the family. Not only did he help out his family he also did very well in his extra-curricular activities and academics as well. It would have been so easy for Mr. Walton to give up and quit so many times during his life, however he kept pushing for what he wanted. He eventually got it, not because he was lucky but because he didn't give up. I hope to be like Mr. Walton, not because he became a wealthy man but because of his virtues. He fought for what he wanted and when it seemed as if the world was looking down on him, he kept pushing himself until he excelled. He didn't settle for an okay job, he wanted an excellent job and that's what he got.

"We're all working together; that's the secret. And we'll lower the cost of living for everyone, not just in America, but we'll give the world an opportunity to see what it's like to save and have a better lifestyle, a better life for all. We're proud of what we've accomplished ; we've just begun." (The Wal-Mart Story)