By Jack Houvouras
HQ 91 | FALL 2015
On the cover this quarter is Brad D. Smith, the president and CEO of Silicon Valley software giant Intuit – the maker of Quicken, QuickBooks and TurboTax. Born in Huntington and raised in nearby Kenova, Smith runs a corporation with 8,000 employees worldwide and annual sales of $4.5 billion. While the story of his ascent to the upper echelons of Silicon Valley is inspiring, it is by no means a rarity in our region. Over the years, we have featured an array of former Huntington area residents who have gone on to find great success in their chosen field.
Mark McVey graced the cover of HQ in 1991 after finding fame on Broadway for his renowned role as Jean Valjean in Les Miserables. Since then, the gifted singer and actor has starred in Broadway productions around the world and has performed at Carnegie Hall.
Carter G. Woodson was the lead story from an issue in 1993. The former student and later principal at Huntington’s Douglass High School went on to become the second African-American to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard University. Woodson later founded “Negro History Week,” which we now celebrate each February as “Black History Month.” Today, he is universally recognized as the “Father of Black History.”
Soupy Sales hammed it up on a cover in 1995. The popular comedian and entertainer grew up in the West End of Huntington before earning his degree from Marshall University. A pioneer of morning television and widely regarded by his peers as comedy royalty, Soupy Sales is the most famous person to ever hail from Huntington.
Verna Gibson has been featured in HQ on two occasions, first in 1991 and again in 2006. Educated at Marshall, she got her start in the retail business at The Smart Shop in downtown Huntington before becoming the first female CEO of a Fortune 500 company – The Limited Stores.
Chuck Yeager, the man who broke the sound barrier, was the subject of a cover story in 1998. After rising from humble beginnings in nearby Hamlin, West Virginia, he became a combat flying ace in WWII, a renowned military test pilot and the commandant of the U.S. Air Force’s Astronaut School – the precursor of NASA. Today he is considered by many to be the greatest pilot of all time.
These are just some of the accomplished individuals from our region that HQ has profiled in the last 26 years. So, why am I taking this trip down memory lane? Because these stories need to be told year after year as a reminder that success is often born out of humble roots. None of the people mentioned here grew up in a major metropolitan area. None attended a prestigious private boarding school. None had the inside track to a promising career.
For whatever reasons, I believe the people of our region sometimes possess an inferiority complex. Whether it’s the fact that they live in Appalachia or were raised in small towns that most of the country has never heard of, they somehow feel disadvantaged. Ironically enough, many of the successful people we have interviewed over the years cite their upbringing in the Huntington area as the foundation for their achievements. As Brad Smith explains in this edition, “I have always remembered West Virginia because it taught me the most important lessons. Growing up in Kenova taught me integrity. It taught me humility. And it taught me teamwork.”
The formula for success isn’t always about what school you attended, your GPA or whom you know. More often than not success is born out of hard work, determination, attitude and the ability to be a team player. It is about being honest and authentic. And finally, as most great leaders will attest, it is about passion. Those who truly love what they do, like Brad Smith, will always rise to the top.
