ATLANTA — Chick-fil-A founder and philanthropist S. Truett Cathy has been awarded the President's Call to Service Award in a ceremony at the White House in Washington, D.C. The award is presented to those who have dedicated more than 4,000 hours of volunteer service over a lifetime.
Cathy received his award in the Oval Office after a brief meeting with President Bush and Jay Hein, deputy assistant to the president and director of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. The occasion marked the first time that a President's Volunteer Service Award has been presented to a recipient in the Oval Office.
Cathy spent 62 years in the restaurant industry and recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Chick-fil-A chain he started in 1967. For nearly half a century, he has taught Sunday school and in 1984 he founded the WinShape Foundation, dedicated to shaping individuals to be winners through the nurturing and encouragement of young people.
The 6,900 hours logged between his Sunday school class, speaking engagements and WinShape were more than enough to merit the President's Call to Service Award.
