Harlow Fullwood

Former Baltimore City Police Officer, KFC Entrepreneur, and PhilanthropistHarlow Fullwood, Jr. died of diabetes complications on Saturday, January 13, 2007 , at Woodbridge Valley Manor Care in Catonsville , Maryland . He was 65. His death occurred on the same day of the Fullwood Foundation’s 19th Annual Benefit & Recognition Breakfast, one of the region’s most popular charity events, which attracted a gathering of more than 2,000.Mr. Fullwood was born on January 26, 1941 in Weaverville, North Carolina, which is 8 miles from Asheville, North Carolina where he grew-up. His mother, Louise Hamilton-Fullwood, was a domestic worker and his father, Harlow Fullwood, Sr., was a porter for Trailways Bus Company. Mr. Fullwood was raised primarily by his grandmother, Annie Conley Fullwood-Floyd, and they resided in Asheville where he excelled academically and athletically; he graduated from Stephens-Lee High School in 1959, ranking 10th in his class of 178 and won a full football scholarship to Virginia Union University. The National Football League (NFL) Baltimore Colts and the Buffalo Bills drafted Mr. Fullwood in 1963; he enjoyed a brief NFL career with the Colts. His next professional endeavor involved joining the Baltimore Police Department where he achieved 2nd Place Ranking at the Baltimore Police Academy. He served as an officer for 23 years during which he became the most decorated law enforcement officer in the State of Maryland in terms of community service. Mr. Fullwood was honored by the Baltimore Sun as “1979 Policeman of the Year” and received the Police Departments “Distinguished Service Award.” As a determined scholar, Mr. Fullwood graduated with highest honors in 1974 from Baltimore City Community College with an Associate degree in Urban Sociology, and he earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology from Virginia Union University (VUU) where he was also a College All-American football player; he was inducted in 1990 into the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Hall of Fame. The range of his higher education honors includes a Doctor of Humane Letters Degree from Virginia Union University; an Honorary Doctor of Humanities Degree from the Tennessee School of Religion; an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters Degree from Coppin State University; and, an Honorary Doctorate Degree from McDanie l College. In 2003, Morgan State University named Fullwood an Honorary Alumnus. After a successful career as a decorated law enforcement officer, and recognition as one of the nation’s highest achieving police recruiters, Mr. Fullwood quit his job with the Baltimore City Police Department, when he was just 1 ½ years from full retirement. He and his wife, Elnora, decided to pursue becoming KFC franchise holders. In 1984, the Fullwoods were inspired to apply for a KFC franchise by Reverend Jesse L. Jackson’s Rainbow – Operation Push Coalition, the progressive organization that fought for social change and whose mission was to prom ote economic opportunity and justice. The Fullwoods understood the mission of Operation Push to help African-Americans become entrepreneurs; create jobs and economic empowerment for others; and to provide educational access for others. With the help from Operation PUSH, they submitted an extensive application for a KFC franchise ownership. The result was successful, and they advanced to own and operate six of the most successful KFC franchises in the United States. As President of Fullwood Foods, Inc., Harlow Fullwood, Jr., established himself as one of the most successful KFC franchise owners in the United States. He began by finishing 2nd in ranking at the KFC National Training Center at Louisville, Kentucky. In 1988, Mr. Fullwood received the KFC State Sales Award, thereby becoming the first African-American franchise holder in the history of KFC-USA to lead a whole state (Maryland) in gross sales. The Baltimore Sun honored Fullwood for several years as one of the 50 leading Black business entrepreneurs in the State of Maryland.Never content as a successful entrepreneur, Fullwood endeavored to form a charitable foundation. In 1984, he established the Fullwood Foundation, a non-profit IRS 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation and a Registered Maryland Charitable Organization. The Foundation raises funds to support numerous educational initiatives designed to provide youth with college scholarships. With its familiar theme, “Caring and Sharing,” The Fullwood Annual Recognition and Benefit Breakfast, held each January, has become the largest, most spectacular fund-raising event of its kind in the State of Maryland. A key tradition of the Fullwood Breakfast has involved the public honoring of individuals whose humanitarian deeds substantially improve the quality of life of the citizens of t he State of Maryland. Through the years, Harlow Fullwood, Jr. gained recognition as one of the nation’s most generous and innovative philanthropists. Through his Foundation, Mr. Fullwood generated and awarded more than $6 million in college scholarships to support more than 1,000 students; more than 750 Fullwood Scholars have graduated from college. Additionally, the Fullwood Foundation has awarded several hundred thousand dollars to more than 100 non-profit organizations including Associated Black Charities, Special Olympics of Maryland, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, Rotary International, United Negro College Fund, Aunt Hattie’s Place, The Baltimore Academy of Excellence, United Way of Central Maryland, The Links, People Encouraging People, Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Maryland, and the American Lung Association, to name a few. Mr. Fullwood has provided significant support to many higher education institutions including Coppin State College, Morgan State University, Virginia Union University, and Baltimore City Community College, his alma mater, where he established its first endowment.Fullwood was a charter member of the Baltimore Chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Men, and a life member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. He was inducted into the Maryland Senior Citizens Hall of Fame and received its prestigious 2001 GERI Award for humanitarianism. In recognition of his various careers as a Baltimore Police Officer, KFC entrepreneur, and philanthropist, Great Black in Wax Museum has included a wax figure in his likeness as part of its permanent, nationally acclaimed, exhibit collection. Some of Mr. Fullwood’s more than 500 awards for excellence in business and community service include the 1998 Outstanding Volunteer Fund Raiser Award by the Baltimore Chapter of the National Society of Fund Raising Executives, becoming the first Afric an-American to be so honored; the Baltimore City Community College 1998 Life-time Business Achievement Award; the Governor's Recognition Award to Fullwood Foods, Inc. by the Maryland Department of Economic Development as one of five leading Small Minority Businesses in Maryland; Entrepreneur of the Year by Baltimore Magazine; 1995 Entrepreneur of the Year by the Baltimore Business Journal; VUU Alumni Association Alumnus of the Year; Big Brothers / Big Sisters of Central Maryland Distinguished Service Award; National Blue Chip Enterprise Award from Nation’s Business magazine; the Alpha Phi Omega Fraternity Leadership Award; the Henry G. Parks Business Award; Phi Delta Kappa Excellence In Education Award; Morgan State University’s Howard L. Cornish Drum Major Award, 2001; Anheuser-Busch Companies Outstanding Achievement Award; Institute for American Business Community Service Award; name d a Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary International Foundation; was presented with the Jimmy Swartz Medallion Award by the late Governor of Maryland J. Millard Tawes; the 2001 CITE Odyssey Scholarship Award by the Consortium of Information & Telecommunications Executives; and the 2001 Excellence for Minority Acheivement “Vanguard Award” by the Maryland Department of Education. Fullwood, Jr. provided a unique profile of dedication, integrity, charitable giving, and human kindness, and he has left a rich legacy of business and community-wide achievements. His autobiography, “Love Lifted Me – A Life’s Journey” published in 2001, is a compelling story of his humble beginnings and how he attained success through the love he received from his grandmother, teachers, coaches, his wife Elnora Bassett Fullwood, and many others.Mr. Fullwood is survived by his devoted wife Elnora Bassett Fullwood; a daughter Paquita Fullwood-Stokes, a son, Harlow Fullwood III; a son-in-law, Robert Stokes, a brother Everett Fullwood; two sisters, Joan Johnson, Joyce Hatcher, three grandchildren; Robert Harwill Stokes, Harlow Fullwood IV and Kennedi Fullwood; brothers-and sister-in-law, nieces, nephews, Goddaughter Karen Berkeley, Godson Aaron Moore and a host of family and friends too numerous to mention.

Tributes

Harlow Fullwood

January 26, 1941 - January 13, 2007