Our Tradition & Philosophy
Once there was a quarter…
In 1956, Burt and Millie Wright built a mini golf course in their backyard among the onion fields of suburban Chicago. They called it Golden Acres. Thanks to the pigs, chickens, and donkey that roamed the course, people just called it Wright’s Barnyard.
At Grandma Millie’s funeral, I watched a stranger take a chain from around his neck and put it in her casket. An old quarter hung from it. He told me that he was practicing in the batting cages before his first Little League game. He was nervous. Grandma Millie gave him a quarter. She told him it was lucky. He hit a home run. For decades he kept that quarter.
That quarter was worth $0.25. The same as any other. She made it priceless.
Running any business is about creating value. Our industry is special. The value we create is joy. Our entire industry is built on it, literally one quarter at a time.
In a family business, you never forget that your brand is your reputation. And that reputation is built on people’s actual experiences. Not just in the moments when you’re there, but also in the moments when you’re not.