O. Wayne Rollins

Orville Wayne Rollins (1912–1991) is the co-founder, with his younger brother John W. Rollins, of Rollins Inc., the US's largest pest control conglomerate.

O. Wayne Rollins
Born
Orville Wayne Rollins

1912
Ringgold, Georgia, US
Died1991
NationalityAmerican
OccupationBusinessman
Known forFounder of Rollins Inc.
Spouse(s)Grace Crum Rollins
ChildrenGary Rollins
Randall Rollins
RelativesJohn W. Rollins (brother)

Early life

Rollins was born in Ringgold, Georgia, in 1912, the son of John William Rollins and Claudia Nance Rollins,[1] a farmer father and a schoolteacher mother.[2]

Career

Rollins worked for Standard-Coosa-Thatcher, a textile mill in Chattanooga, Tennessee, for 15 years, then for the Hercules Power Company as a TNT supervisor.[2]

He returned to Ringgold in 1945, and with his wife and younger brother began to rebuild a mineral springs resort. He then started a radio station to provide cheaper advertising for his brother's Virginia automobile dealership. Rollins Broadcasting was formed in 1948, and grew to control ten radio and four television stations.[2]

In 1964, with company annual revenues of $9 million, he borrowed $60 million in the first leveraged buyout in the US to buy Orkin from its family owners, and move into the pest control business.[2]

In 1982, Rollins received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.[3] In 1986, he received a Horatio Alger Award for his "rags-to-riches" life story.[2]

Personal life

He was married to Grace Crum Rollins. She was born on 22 September 1910 and died on 8 August 2009, aged 98.[4][5]

He had two sons, Gary Rollins and Randall Rollins.[6]

References
  1. Drury L. Pifer (2001). Hanging the Moon: The Rollins Rise to Riches. University of Delaware Press. p. 65. ISBN 978-0-87413-744-6. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  2. "O. Wayne Rollins". Orkin. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  3. "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement.
  4. "Emory Magazine: Winter 2010: Grace Crum Rollins, University and public health benefactor". emory.edu. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  5. "Grace Rollins Obituary - Atlanta, GA | Atlanta Journal-Constitution". legacy.com. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  6. O'Connor, Clare (29 September 2014). "Inside An $8 Billion Family Feud: Who Poisoned The Orkin Fortune?". Forbes. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
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