Page 3 - Florida Sentinel 6-20-17

Features
From Rags To Riches: Speaker At 100 Black Men Juneteenth Luncheon Tells Of Turning Others’ Negatives To A Positive For Yourself
Trainer Wants Seniors To Have Shuffleboard In Black Community
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
George Tinsley, Sr., was born in Louisville, Ky., to a mother who left him with a babysitter, who raised him in a small shack with no utilities.
Today, he heads a family business that operates dozens of restaurants throughout the country, including conces- sions at airports in Tampa, Orlando and Miami.
On Friday, Tinsley shared his journey from an aban- doned child, who grew up poor, to a successful entre- preneur as President and CEO of Tinsley Family Con- cessions with attendees at the 100 Black Men of Tampa’s 5th Annual Juneteenth Luncheon.
Tinsley said he credits two things with helping him overcome the many bumps and bruises he’s faced in his life: focus and hard work.
Both were critical in help- ing him shrug off a teacher’s advice that he drop out of school in the fifth grade, he said.
Instead of quitting school, Tinsley said he studied harder and improved his grades. He graduated high school and attended college on a scholarship to Kentucky Wesleyan University.
“She motivated me,” he said. “That was a negative that gave me motivation to move on.”
Tinsley enjoyed a storied college career that included being a member of the school’s 1966, 1968, and 1969 championship basketball teams, being named a two- time All-American, and serv- ing as an alternate on the 1968 U. S. Olympic team.
That streak of success would continue after college when Tinsley was selected in the sixth round of the 1969 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls and in the 1969 ABA Draft by the Oakland Oaks of the American Basketball As-
George Tinsley, president and CEO of Tinsley Family Concessions. (Photo credit: 100 Black Men of Tampa Bay).
sociation and played profes- sionally for three teams be- fore staking his claims in business with his wife, Seretha.
Tinsley was a year into running his first KFC fran- chise when the restaurant caught fire and burned to the ground.
Tinsely was devastated, but almost instantly came up with a plan.
“As I stood there, I saw the traffic backed up and I saw lunch trucks,” he said. “I got this idea that since my cus- tomers couldn’t come to me, I’d go to them.”
He acquired a food truck and began selling chicken from it. Soon, Tinsley was generating $1,500 a day from the mobile eatery.
It took a year before Tins- ley could reopen his fran- chise, but he and Seretha used that time to fine-tune their business plan and oper- ation.
When the store reopened, it posted $2 million in annual sales compared to $1 million, Tinsley said.
The worst thing you could do when faced with an obsta- cle is to easily accept your fate, he said.
“You’ve got to be strong and work hard,” he said. “Things will turn around.”
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Three years ago, Steve Scott was at the Barksdale Community Center. At the time, he didn’t know how to play shuffleboard. However, someone at the center taught him the fundamentals and he became an enthusiast.
Not only does Scott play the game himself, he trains others how to play and spon- sors tournaments once a month. But he has encoun- tered a problem.
The group currently meets at Ragan Park, 1200 E. Lake Avenue, three times per week. They use a portable shuffleboard that he pur- chased. Scott said they need a permanent shuffleboard and that there isn’t one in East Tampa.
“The only permanent one is at Barksdale Community Center at MacFarlane Park.
Steve Scott teaches the art of shuffleboard at three commu- nity centers. But he wants a permanent shuffleboard in the Black community. (Photo courtesy of Ms. Bardine Hicks).
We are hoping that the City will build us one in East Tampa.”
He further stated that they also have a problem during the summer because the chil- dren are out of school and at- tend the center.
Scott said he trains seniors at Williams Park and Fair Oaks on Thursdays, and at Spring Hill on Mondays. He said all of those facilities have portable shuffleboards as well.
Each month, he sponsors shuffleboard tournaments. The first and second place winners each win a gift card. “I’m looking for sponsors to help with the gift cards as well. I’m doing everything single-handedly.”
Scott held the first tour- nament in February and has hosted a tournament each month since that time.
Anyone wishing to learn more about shuffleboard matches or other senior ac- tivities at Ragan Park can call (813) 242-5316.
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