Blaine Sweatt

Like a lot of 17 year old guys back in 1965 I had only a vague idea what I really wanted to do . . . be a boat bum/engineer/car builder/lawyer/iron worker . . .

After a couple of years in the Army (Vietnam) the importance of a good job became a lot clearer. Became an electrical engineer at Kennedy Space Center in Florida during the late Apollo moon missions and played sand-lot softball with some of the early astronauts.

Went back to graduate school and eventually joined General Mills and over the next 35 years became president of their New Business Division which led to creating a bunch of restaurant businesses . . . Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze, Smokey Bones, China Coast, Seasons 52 and other odds and ends. Today those businesses generate over $4 billion in sales a year. Turned out to be a good career with extraordinary mentors along the way.

Loved the team spirit at all the football and basketball games. Really appreciated how the teachers would take time to help figure out the tough questions from Trigonometry to Shakespeare.

I have been one of the luckiest guys to have ever gone to Meadowdale. There were certainly some dead ends along the way, but I married an absolutely terrific girl named Rebecca (Becky) Houston from Battle Creek, MI and we've now been together over 45 years. No kids, but a huge extended family with 35 brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews and more coming every year.

It turned out the restaurant business was great training for being retired! I was fortunate to be able to stop working full time in my 50's and we've continued to travel all over the world, often with great friends. Thanks to our restaurant experience we can usually find a nice place to eat no matter what part of the world we happen to be in!

Pretty much everything! But better to leave those things unsaid.

Most of the time I feel about 50, (but some days 80 seems like the number.) I'll be 77 in 2024 and still active in real estate and community philanthropy.

Get a good education, work really hard for a company that shares your values. Don't be afraid to take career risks and remember you'll regret the things you didn't do a lot more than the things you did do. And, be sure your spouse shares your same objectives.

Of course, it really helps to be lucky too!

Over the past 18 years we've done a lot of travel, greatly enjoyed our families and had a ton of fun with our friends. Boats and personal airplanes were a lot of fun as well until I hit age 70 and it seemed like a better idea to let someone else be the pilot.

I've also been active with my university and occasionally taught a few classes in management and entrepreneurship. A couple of those have led to small business startups with the students who "had the itch" to do something different.