Anniversary of grand opening of first store

978-0-7660-2692-6

On this day in 1962, in Rogers, Arkansas, Sam Walton opened the first Wal-Mart. Within 20 years, that first store was the first of 551 in 15 states. He had started working at a J. C. Penney store, and became friends with the Butler brothers who owned the chain of stores that went by the Ben Franklin name. He worked for them for a while before wanting to open his own store.

Now open in 15 countries, under 55 different names, and 8,500 stores, Walmart has become a brand-name, known for its reasonable merchandise prices.

A biography of Sam Walton was written by Sally Lee and is part of Enslow's People to Know Today series. Written for the middle school market, this book is a great read for entrepreneurial students.

Birthday of Sam Walton

Sam Walton Business Genius of Wal-Mart
Author: Sally Lee
State Affiliation of Author: TX
State Affiliation of Title: AR, MO, OK
ISBN-13: 978-0-7660-2692-6

ISBN-10: 0-7660-2692-2
Publication Year: 2007
Interest Level: Grades 6-up
Page Count: 112

Sam Walton was the founder of the tremendously successful retail chain, Wal-Mart. In addition to his business accomplishments, Walton supported various charitable causes, including those of his church, the Presbyterian Church. The Sam and Helen R. Walton Award was created in 1991 when the Waltons made a gift of six million dollars which included an endowment in the amount of three million dollars to provide annual awards to new church developments that are working in creative ways to share the Christian faith in local communities.