Debrilla M. Ratchford for Al Copeland Humanitarian of the Year

October 14, 2009

(Guest Post by Matthew Ladner)

Debrilla M. Ratchford, an airline stewardess, received U.S. Patent #4, 094, 391
for her invention of a suitcase with wheels and transporting hook in 1978.

Ratchford must surely stand as the most underrated inventor of the late 20th Century.

Some JPGB readers must be old enough to remember the bad old days when going to the airport meant lugging around a heavy bag. I remember a trip I made to England in the early 1990s, and my suitcase was just killing me. I happened across a store in London that sold a primitive add on device merely to emulate a modern suitcase with wheels and a telescoping handle (with elastic bands to bind the case).

I happily shelled out whatever it took to buy that contraption. My life as a tourist instantly improved. Mind you, it was terrible compared to a modern bag, but it beat the living daylights out of suffering as a human pack animal.

Strangely enough, America had sent a man to the Moon before inventing a decent roller bag. I’m all for guys jumping around in low gravity and planting flags, but to me, the roller bag is much more important advance in human civilization.

I can scarcely imagine modern business travel without the carry-on roller bag. Hop on the plane, stow your bag, land and hit the ground running. For you strange people still checking bags, **ahem**, catch a clue. You’ll be suprised how much you can stuff into a carry-on with a suiter for hanging clothes.

Sometimes it is the little improvements that make a big difference in life. Companies guided by the invisible hand of the market popularized and improved upon the Ratchford design, and now I don’t have to sit around bored out of my mind waiting for luggage. Better yet, luggage can now be renamed “rollage.”

If someone can name a Nobel Peace Prize winner that has had a more beneficial impact on my life than Debrilla Ratchford, I’d love to hear who and how. I’m sure there are some wonderful people on that list but amidst all those grandees, they will have had to have done something very special for me to appreciate them more than Ratchford.

I’m talking about something on the order of inventing Tex-Mex or College Football to even get in the neighborhood.

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Posted by matthewladner

Nominees for the Al Copeland Humanitarian of the Year Award — Steve Henson

October 13, 2009

 

We here at JPGB are proud to announce nominees for the Al Copeland Humanitarian of the Year Award.  The award is meant to honor a person who has made a significant contribution to improving the human condition. 

The criteria of the Al Copeland Humanitarian of the Year Award can be summarized by quoting our original blog post in which we sang the praises of Al Copeland and all that he did for humanity:

“Al Copeland  may not have done the most to benefit humanity, but he certainly did more than many people who receive such awards.  Chicago gave Bill Ayers their Citizen of the Year award in 1997.  And the Nobel Peace Prize has too often gone to a motley crew including unrepentant terrorist, Yassir Arafat, and fictional autobiography writer, Rigoberta Menchu.   Local humanitarian awards tend to go to hack politicians or community activists.  From all these award recipients you might think that a humanitarian was someone who stopped throwing bombs… or who you hoped would picket, tax, regulate, or imprison someone else.

Al Copeland never threatened to bomb, picket, tax, regulate, or imprison anyone.  By that standard alone he would be much more of a humanitarian.  But Al Copeland did even more — he gave us spicy chicken.”

With that introduction, I would like to present the following nominee for the Al Copeland Humanitarian of the Year Award — Steve Henson, the inventor of ranch dressing.

Brian Kisida has submitted this nomination with the following support:

Like the man who the Al Copeland Humanitarian of the Year Award is named after, this year’s first nominee has also benefited humanity by stimulating our taste-buds.

The first nominee for 2009 is: The creator of ranch dressing, Steve Henson!  

Steve and Gayle Henson opened the horseback-riding tourist attraction Hidden Valley Ranch in Santa Barbara, California in 1954.  One of the things guests at the ranch enjoyed was a special salad dressing Steve developed, and soon visitors were being sent home with to-go bottles of the tasty goodness we have all come to love.  After starting a side business for the sole purpose of manufacturing his invention, Steve sold the recipe to Clorox for $8 million in 1972.  At this time Hidden Valley Ranch was nothing more than a packet of seasoning that consumers had to mix with mayonnaise and buttermilk.

It wasn’t until the 1980’s that a non-refrigerated formula hit grocery store shelves in bottle form, and by 1987 the emergence of Cool Ranch Doritos signaled just how far Steve’s recipe had come.  In 1992, ranch overtook Italian and remains the nation’s top-selling salad dressing.

Today, ranch dressing is not only the most popular salad dressing, its pervasiveness as an all around condiment is nearly unmatched.  It’s splendid as a dip for fresh vegetables, fried vegetables, French-fries, and chicken-wings.  And it’s not uncommon for ranch to add some zing to baked potatoes, hamburgers, and even pizza.  In fact, I dare you to think of something that isn’t better with ranch.

Thank you Steve Henson, for the gift you have given to all of humanity. 

(edited for clarity)

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Posted by Jay P. Greene

More Humanitarian of the Year Awards

October 9, 2009

 
At first I thought it was a joke, but no… the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Barack Obama.  He can now join unrepentant terrorist, Yassir Arafat, and fictional autobiography writer, Rigoberta Menchu,  in having received that honor.
 
Regardless of what one thinks about President Obama’s strategy for producing greater world peace, I think all can agree that it is a strategy that has yet to produce meaningful results.  It seems quite strange that the Nobel Peace Prize has gone to someone who hopes to produce peace without having achieved much of anything in the way of actual peace. 
 
There’s been no change in the situation with regard to Israel and the Palestinians.  There’s been no (positive) change with respect to Iran’s nuclear ambitions (and there have been some considerable negative developments). The situations in Iraq and Afghanistan have deteriorated significantly over the last year.  Other than a bunch of speeches, what good has actually been accomplished?
 
I just have to repeat that Al Copeland, the founder of Popeye’s Chicken, is more worthy of this kind of prize.  At least he actually did something to improve the human condition — like give us spicy chicken.

18 Comments | Al Copeland Humanitarian Award, politics | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Jay P. Greene

Al Copeland: Humanitarian of the Year

December 15, 2008

Al Copeland  may not have done the most to benefit humanity, but he certainly did more than many people who receive such awards.  Chicago gave Bill Ayers their Citizen of the Year award in 1997.  And the Nobel Peace Prize has too often gone to a motley crew including unrepentant terrorist, Yassir Arafat, and fictional autobiography writer, Rigoberta Menchu.   Local humanitarian awards tend to go to hack politicians or community activists.  From all these award recipients you might think that a humanitarian was someone who stopped throwing bombs (sort of like the pleasure of stopping to hit yourself in the head) or who you hoped would picket, tax, regulate, or imprison someone else.

Al Copeland never threatened to bomb, picket, tax, regulate, or imprison anyone.  By that standard alone he would be much more of a humanitarian.  But Al Copeland did even more — he gave us spicy chicken.  You see, Al Copeland was the founder of the Popeyes Chicken chain.  Copeland was a humanitarian because he developed a product that people really wanted and voluntarily paid for.  The Dr. John jingle says it best — “Love that chicken from Popeyes!”

By developing a product that people enjoyed, Copeland was able to build a chain of restaurants that served millions of customers while employing tens of thousands over his career.  Making products that people want and giving people opportunities for employment isn’t just a good strategy for making a profit, it’s also a morally desirable activity.

I’ve intentionally selected the founder of something as mundane as a spicy chicken restaurant chain to make this point.  The entrepreneur doesn’t just benefit himself.  He or she also benefits humanity.  Making new and better things improves the human condition.  Even spicy chicken makes life better.

It’s true that the entrepreneur also benefits from making something new or better, but that in no way diminishes from his or her contribution to humanity.  Life is not a zero-sum game in which one person’s improvement necessarily comes at the expense of someone else.  When the entrepreneur succeeds, customers enjoy a good product, employees enjoy their wages, and the entrepreneur enjoys a profit.  The invention of something new or better allows everyone to win.  

Al Copeland  didn’t always win.  When his company acquired Church’s Chicken, they bit off more than they could handle and had to enter bankruptcy.  But bankruptcy doesn’t mean that you put assets in a big pile and blow them up.  Popeye’s restructured and continues to operate, so we continue to enjoy the legacy of Al Copeland’s creation.

Al Copeland enjoyed his legacy as well.  He spent his fortune on a fleet of racing boats and cars.  He decorated his Louisiana mansion with such an elaborate Christmas display that it attracted thousands of visitors as well as a lawsuit from neighbors.  Undeterred by the failure of his first two marriages, Copeland married a third time in a lavish ceremony complete with a fireworks display.  The man lived large.

The fact that he sometimes failed in business, failed in his personal relationships, and often spent his money on frivolous pleasures still does not prevent him from being more of a humanitarian than many who receive such awards.  No matter how he failed or wasted, he still developed something that improved people’s lives.

And let’s remember that the more typical recipients of humanitarian awards are not completely selfless.  Even if they don’t have money squirreled away in Swiss bank accounts like Yassir Arafat, or ego-gratifying constant attention like Bill Ayers, they usually receive some sort of compensation for their actions.  Being rewarded in no way diminishes their accomplishments any more than it does the entrepreneur.  The only question is whether they really do things that help humanity — even with something as mundane as spicy chicken.

Al Copeland passed away this year from a rare form of cancer.  As flawed as he was (and aren’t we all) he was a great humanitarian.

7 Comments | Al Copeland Humanitarian Award, economics, tributes | Permalink
Posted by Jay P. Greene

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