Colonel Harland Sanders is the very definition of “good ol’ Kentucky ingenuity”. Once upon a time Colonel Harland Sanders was at rock bottom (he didn’t actually reach his wide spread fortune with KFC until he was around 60), a sixth grade dropout who was constantly switching jobs, from a farm hand, to a army-mule tender, or a locomotive fireman, railroad worker, insurance salesman, a ferryboat entrepreneur, a tire salesman, a political candidate (at which he failed), and finally a gas station operator, a motel operator and a restaurateur (as listed in Sanders own biography, “my life as I know it has been ‘finger lickin’ good”). whilst the rest of the world was hustling and bustling in the “rat race” he looked and found a way to take advantage of their consistent running around. He noticed that thru all of their running, they had no time no time to fix a good family dinner. it was then that he started selling chicken out of his restaurant in his gas station and coined it “Sunday Dinner, Seven Days a Week.” The first restaurant to offer a full “family” dinner that you could buy already prepared. This worked very well until the interstate was completed, draining all the life (and customers) out of Corbin Kentucky. but being the insightful man he was, Colonel Harland Sanders started to make his true fortune with only a social security check and a secret recipe. Harland Sanders also took advantage of something that few have ever had, his title as a Colonel to market his chicken.
Sanders became a master at marketing, he used his title as a Colonel to give meaning to his chicken. (This is why even today when you hear the term “Kentucky Colonel”, Harland Sanders is the first name that pops to mind.) In fact, Colonel Sanders was so good at marketing most people forget what a Kentucky Colonel actually is. According to Kycolonels.org being granted the title of a Kentucky Colonel is a very prestigious award that can only be issued by the governor of Kentucky or the secretary of state. The tradition of recognizing a person as a Kentucky colonel began in 1813 during the second term of Governor Isaac Shelby, originally they were distinguished fighters and generals that served as the governors private guard. Today Colonels are Kentucky’s ambassadors of goodwill and fellowship around the world, and this title has been awarded to only a few people, some others you might know according to KY Colonels.org are Muhammad Ali, Tiger Woods, Elvis Presley, Jeff Foxworthy, Bob Barker. But even among these famous celebrities, none put the name of a Kentucky Colonel on the map quite like Harlan Sanders. With every restaurant he prospected to join the franchise, he would prepare the “colonel’s” famous recipe fried chicken. This gave a name and authority to his product. The title of being a Kentucky Colonel combined with his age gave people the impression of wisdom and authority gave him a charisma and persona that people could not help but respect. And he was respected so much that even after he sold the reigns of KFC over they still kept him to lead the way in marketing and growth. KFC became a way of life to Harland Sanders, his white suit and signature goatee and mustache became every day apparel with the Colonel, and before long a 1976 independent survey ranked him as the 2nd most recognized celebrity in the world!
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