Frank Lane, Jr

I was graduated from the University of Georgia in 1966. I changed my major from math and physics. I have a Journalism degree with a major in advertising, and that is where I have made my career.

I started at General Electric in Roanoke, Va, and Schenectady, New York. I got married Sept of 1966. My first child, Josh was born in Schenectady. I did kind of well at GE and at 23, was the youngest person to ever win a General Manager's award. I was recruited out of GE into Procter & Gamble brand management in Cincinnati where I worked on White Cloud toilet paper, Puffs facial tissue, and developed the brand introduced as Posh Puffs. I spent one P&G winter in Detroit on sales training. My daughter Jessica was born in Cincinnati.

I was then recruited by SC Johnson Wax in Racine, WI, and kept getting lucky. I ran Favor furniture polish, then Rain Barrel fabric softener. I developed and introduced Shout laundry spray. The first year volume objective on Shout was $15 Million. Today it is a world wide brand of over $1 Billion. I also ran all the Glade businesses there before I left. SC Johnson tried to buy Neutrogena. The deal did not go through, but Neutrogena hired me as head of marketing and sales, and we moved to California.

Six months later, the Board named me President of Neutrogena at 34 years old. We build the stock price of the company 800% in three years and I left to become a brand consultant and new products entrepreneur.

I moved my office from LA to Atlanta in 1985, but continued to work as a consultant to companies around the World. I was a key member of the team that introduced Epson to the USA, and created and introduced Windows at Microsoft.

As an entrepreneur, I created and introduced Bullfrog Amphibious Formula sun block, built it into the number one brand in Southern California and sold it to Chattem Products in 1985. I founded Mr Ching chinese restaurants which Pepsi bought. I also founded 11 other companies, some of which succeeded and some of which failed. In other words, I made a lot of money, then lost it all, then made it again and lost it again. Unfortunately the losses exceeded the gains. I have been rich and poor and can honestly say that neither is better than the other. Just a way of keeping score.

I wrote a book in 2007 called Killer Brands. It is still a 5-star book on Amazon. If anyone in the class brings their copy to the reunion, I will autograph it.

Two years ago, a client company in the Orlando area, in Internet technology gave me a chance to join as Chief Marketing Officer with ownership in the company and I did it. We recently introduced myList, a rapidly growing app on Facebook. Some of you may have seen it. So I currently live in Celebration, Florida, during the week, and rent a renovated trolley barn in the Grant Park area of Atlanta that I visit during weekends when I can.

Both of my grown children work with me, Joshua in Orlando for the company there, and Jessica, my daughter, for Angel Wings professional bereavement care, another company I started in NE Georgia.

Today, I have two 30 year objectives; 1) to have Angel Wings operating in every state regardless of whether anyone in my family is still involved (We are expanding into Oklahoma and Florida now), and 2) to establish the World's premier marketing school, delivered on-line as distance learning.

Have also written several other books awaiting publication, Killer Brand Entrepreneur, God's Plan for World Peace, and Killer Digital Marketing which is under development now. Have also started first novel, A Congregation of Plovers.

In 2006, I had the opportunity to interview billionaires around the World for American Express Private Bank. I was fortunate to work in Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil, Hong Kong, Singapore, Phuket, Bangkok, Philippines, Morocco, India, Sweden, Latvia, Czech Republic, France, Italy and other countries. Had some fun also. Have included photos below.

I survived cancer 21 years ago, a heart attack 10 years ago, and a stroke 3 years ago. My wife and I divorced right after the stroke after almost 43 years of marriage. She wanted to slow down and retire. I wanted to speed up and get more done. We no longer fit.

To get my balance back after the stroke, I started learning tango. My tango partner, Peggy Nunn who graduated from Murphy High will be with me at the reunion. Her birthday is the day after Christmas so we go somewhere. We spent Christmas in Paris in 2010, and last year in Bruges, Belgium. We are thinking Rome and Positano this year.

I have become a mountain man despite the fact that I live in Florida now. When I can, I will move to Jackson, Wyoming at the foot of the Tetons. And write and teach from there until I no longer can.

The first two things that come to mind are A) how smitten I was with Mrs. Davidson, secretly of course, and B) the only thing that I remember specifically from a course at Southwest is Mr. Bales' Axioms of History, specifically the Hate List, numbers two and three countries aligning to challenge number one, and then Man's Inhumanity to Man.

I have never run into the term, Axioms of History at any other point in my life so I am now wondering if this term was unique to Mr. Bales. I recalled them when I was writing my book, God's Plan for World Peace and talking about why countries keep starting wars.

I remember my first date of course, a Valentine's formal with Susan Gillon when she was new to Cascade Heights maybe in the 8th grade, and dating Charlene, my first serious girlfriend in the 9th grade. One of them was from the Sylvan area, but I am no longer sure which.

I remember a lot about music of course, band experiences and chorus experiences. I remember Brook Byers, a smart 8th grader in the Science club when I was President and a young trombonist who kind of took to me. Now Brook is one of richest venture capitalists on Sand Lake Rd, in Palo Alto, California.

A few years ago, Connie Bradley called me out of the blue when I was cleaning out my garage. She was moving to assisted living and had found two choral arrangements that I had done from David Carr Glover piano pieces I played as a child. She said we in the chorus had performed them at State and won something. I had no memory of the arrangements at all, but it was nice to hear from her.

I have had nice contact with Bruce McEver as an adult and am sorry that he is not coming to the reunion.

My memories from high school times are dominated by Scouts, Troop 13 with Smitty Smith and Troop 272 (I think) with Boo's dad and Len Middlebrooks, and by the teams that I coached at West Manor elementary school. I saw John Burger and Robert Belloir, both of whom played for me, and were executives with SCAD a few years ago in Savannah.

I also remember every hayride, and whom I took to each, I think.

I saw a tee shirt the other day on a man in a mall. It describes our lives. "At my age, I have heard it all, seen it all, and done it all. I just don't remember it all."