Charles | Wake County 100

Narrative, Continued:

Mr. McKinney has lived in Wake County for most of his life. He came here for a job, not thinking that he would stay, but he loved Wake County, and opened his advertising agency here. He loves the diversity of Wake County. He also enjoys being able to participate in many cultural activities here. He also likes to visit museums and get books from the library. He is concerned about the lack of vision for Wake County. He is also concerned about leadership, but Charles's biggest concern is schools. He thinks that more money needs to go to our schools and teachers. He thinks that there should be better school opportunities for kids all over Wake County. He has learned to value education, and encourages kids to take what opportunities they are presented with. He says that, “I would have never got where I wanted to go without education.” He would like people to learn the value of education, just like he did.

Written by: Sayre

Charles
Gender: Male
Age: >65
Race: White
Nativity: Born in NC
Educational Attainment:
Bachelor’s Degree
Occupation:Retired Advertising Executive
Travel Time to Work: NA
Internet Access in Home: Yes
Religion: Christian
City: Raleigh

Narrative:

Who would have thought that someday a person in a poor situation like the one Charles was born into could achieve such success? Charles is living proof that no matter where you come from, you can achieve greatness in life. Charles was born in a very small town in NC, with a population of only about fifty people. He had a large family, with six siblings. He was the second youngest child in the family. They had bad schooling and very bad health care, and because of this his brother died when they were both still kids. His mother was overwhelmed with sadness at his brother’s death, and so to help her out, his twenty-year-old sister decided to adopt one of her siblings. She wanted to take Charles with her when she moved into the city with her new husband, so that her mom would have less kids to have to take care of. He was only fourteen at the time, but his sister had presented him with the opportunity that would change his life. True to her word, she adopted him and raised him like a son. He went to school and worked very hard under her care. He became more and more educated, and eventually ended with a degree in business. Charles moved to Wake County for a job in advertising. When he was about thirty he started his own advertising agency. It was an incredible thing that he was actually able to do this, considering the fact that Charles was from such a small town where education was not so important as it is here. He had many assignments, but the one that made his agency very successful was advertising Piedmont airlines. From there, the agency grew until he was employing over one hundred and fifty people. He became a millionaire. He started a family when he was about thirty-five. He and his wife had three kids. Charles and his wife weren’t getting along well, so they were divorced. He remarried to another woman and they currently live together in Raleigh. Charles sold the agency to other people working for him when he was sixty-nine. He says that some people have started to call him a legend because of his success story. He feels proud, and would like people to know that he got where he was going without crawling over other people's backs. He is an honest, decent, and fair-minded person, and will continue to do great things as long as he lives.

The Doon School