The Coca-Cola Company is proud to partner with the Black McDonald's Operators Association in this remarkable endeavor. We realize, as do the members of this organization, that education prepares you to answer when opportunity knocks. I am privileged to work for a company that understands the value of education. The Coca-Cola Company believes that an investment in education is an investment in our future, with unlimited dividends. For every student we help to educate, we enhance the future of a family, a community and the entire nation. Our commitment to education is part of a long-standing tradition of service in communities where we operate. It is evidenced in the contribution of more than $100 million to education initiatives, realized through partnerships like the one we share with The Black McDonald's Operators Association. The Wheels of Dreams offers you a major step towards personal empowerment and business ownership. The training you receive here will serve as a powerful foundation for your entrepreneurial endeavors. I grew up with the powerful influence of parents who believed in me. Through their words and their deeds, they taught me: "It's okay to be afraid from time to time. But to live a life of true personal freedom, one has to be fearless." Throughout my career, first as a teacher, then as head
of a children's advocacy organization, later as Executive Assistant
to Atlanta's first African American mayor and, now as a corporate executive,
I've learned the wisdom of those words. Your goals for the future should always include reaching out to help some other young person whose path is unclear. And that, my young friends, is how you define success. Ingrid Sanders Jones |