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A RESOLUTION designating the city of Scottsville as the "Birthplace of Dollar 1
General." 2
WHEREAS, the Dollar General Corporation’s founders, James Luther "J.L." 3
Turner and his son, Cal Turner, were residents of Scottsville, Kentucky; and 4
WHEREAS, J.L. Turner’s father tragically passed away in a wrestling accident in 5
1902 when J.L. was only 11 years old; and 6
WHEREAS, J.L. Turner was forced to quit school and work on the family’s farm in 7
order to provide for his mother and siblings; and 8
WHEREAS, the insecurity suffered by J.L. Turner at such a young age led to him 9
developing the tenacity and drive to become a careful listener and quick learner, paying 10
attention to the evolving world around him; and 11
WHEREAS, after two failed attempts at owning and operating his own retail store, 12
J.L. Turner became a travelling goods salesman for a Nashville wholesale grocer, settling 13
with his family in Scottsville, Kentucky, ten years later; and 14
WHEREAS, during the Great Depression, J.L. Turner and his young son, Cal Sr., 15
travelled to bankrupt grocery stores, equipping the pair with valuable expertise and 16
knowledge; and 17
WHEREAS, in October 1939, J.L. Turner and Cal Sr. opened their wholesale 18
business, J.L. Turner and Son, with an initial investment of $5,000 each. Over time it 19
became a success, with annual sales above $2 million by the early 1950s; and 20
WHEREAS, J.L. Turner and Cal Sr., knowing that hard-working citizens had to 21
prioritize their needs in tough economic times, created a successful business model 22
starting with the idea that no item in the store would cost more than a dollar; and 23
WHEREAS, in June of 1955, Turner’s Department Store in Springfield, Kentucky, 24
was converted into the first Dollar General store, and the company began to rapidly 25
expand across southern Kentucky; and 26
WHEREAS, J.L. Turner passed away in 1964 after a full and successful life, and 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 23 RS BR 1772
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the company that he cofounded went public four years later as the Dollar General 1
Corporation, posting annual sales of more than $40 million and net income in excess of 2
$1.5 million; and 3
WHEREAS, Cal Sr.’s son, Cal Jr., joined the company in 1965 and became 4
president in 1977, leading the Dollar General Corporation until his retirement in 2002, 5
growing to more than 6,000 stores and $6 billion in annual sales under his leadership; and 6
WHEREAS, Scottsville remained the beating heart of the company as it grew, with 7
the Turner family inviting out-of-state investors to tour the headquarters and dine at local 8
restaurants; and 9
WHEREAS, country music star Dolly Parton paid a visit to Scottsville in honor of 10
Dollar General’s 40th anniversary, saying that she had been a long-time customer; and 11
WHEREAS, Scottsville hosted the Camp Dollar General corporate retreat in the 12
1980s, which sought to build camaraderie and improve Dollar General’s management 13
culture, and saw Cal Sr. visit every session; and 14
WHEREAS, in 1989, as a celebration of 50 years of success, Cal Sr. stepped down 15
as chairman of the Dollar General Corporation and retired to his beloved home in 16
Scottsville; and 17
WHEREAS, as a salute to J.L. Turner, who overcame his lack of education to found 18
Dollar General, the company vigorously embraced a program of encouraging basic 19
education by distributing informative pamphlets and return cards to assist shoppers in 20
finding out how to take a high-school equivalency test and improve their reading ability, 21
and even contacted appropriate agencies on behalf of inquiring customers; and 22
WHEREAS, tens of thousands of customers benefited from this program, and Cal 23
Jr. traveled to Washington, D.C., to accept the Presidential Award for Private Sector 24
Initiatives from President Ronald Reagan for the program; and 25
WHEREAS, Laura Katherine Goad Turner, wife of Cal Sr., began quietly gifting 26
the quarterly stock dividends she received to the Allen County school system in the 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 23 RS BR 1772
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1980s, working to establish collegiate scholarships for Allen County students; and 1
WHEREAS, Laura Katherine passed away in July of 1988 and, in 1989, Cal, Sr. 2
established the Laura Goad Turner Charitable Foundation in her memory, with the 3
mission to, "promote individual and community empowerment in order to help meet the 4
needs and better the quality of life of the citizens of Southern Kentucky with an emphasis 5
on Scottsville and Allen County, Kentucky"; and 6
WHEREAS, since its establishment in 1989, the Laura Goad Turner Charitable 7
Foundation has gifted grants to 77 organizations, endowed scholarships with Western 8
Kentucky University for thousands of first-generation college attendees, and gifted over 9
$34 million back to the community; and 10
WHEREAS, as of 2022, Dollar General stores operate in 47 states and generate 11
$56.3 billion in annual sales. According to Forbes, there is a Dollar General store within 12
5 miles of 75 percent of the United States population; and 13
WHEREAS, today, Dollar General stores are the fastest growing food retailers in 14
the United States. In 2022, Dollar General opened 1,100 retail locations and plan to open 15
another 1,050 locations in 2023; and 16
WHEREAS, the Dollar General Corporation was born, raised, and cared for in 17
Scottsville, Kentucky, and would not have grown into the tremendous success that it is 18
today without the tenacity, hard work, and love of both the Turner family and the 19
residents of Scottsville and Allen County; 20
NOW, THEREFORE, 21
Be it resolved by the Senate of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of 22
Kentucky: 23
Section 1. The Senate hereby designates the city of Scottsville as the 24
"Birthplace of Dollar General." 25
Section 2. The Clerk of the Senate is directed to transmit a copy of this 26
Resolution to Senator Max Wise for presentation. 27