O. Wayne Rollins: Difference between revisions

| birth_place = [[Ringgold, Georgia|Ringgold]], Georgia, US

| alma materoccupation = Businessman

| occupationknown for = Founder of [[Rollins Inc.]]

| parents = John William Rollins<br> Claudia Nace Rollins

| children = [[Gary Rollins]]<br /> [[Randall Rollins]]

'''Orville Wayne Rollins''' (1912 - 19911912–1991) is the co-founder, with his younger brother [[John W. Rollins]], of [[Rollins Inc.]], the US's largest pest control conglomerate.

Orville Wayne Rollins was born in [[Ringgold, Georgia|Ringgold]], Georgia, in 1912, the son of John William Rollins and Claudia NaceNance Rollins,<ref name="Pifer2001">{{cite book|author=Drury L. Pifer|title=Hanging the Moon: The Rollins Rise to Riches|url=httphttps://books.google.com/books?id=TqG8sh3yNiIC&pg=PA64|accessdate=27 August 2015|year=2001|publisher=University of Delaware Press|isbn=978-0-87413-744-6|page=65}}</ref> a farmer father and a schoolteacher mother.<ref name=Orkin>{{cite web|title=O. Wayne Rollins|url=http://www.orkin.net/executive-profiles/wayne|website=Orkin|accessdate=27 August 2015}}</ref> He graduated from [[Ringgold High School (Georgia)|Ringgold High School]] in 1930.<ref>https://worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Biography/O-Wayne-Rollins-Biography-Kirk-1997.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref>

Rollins worked for at Standard-Coosa-Thatcher, a textile mill in Chattanooga, Tennessee, for 15 years, then for the Hercules Power Company as a TNT supervisor.<ref name=Orkin />

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’sbrother's Virginia automobile dealership. Rollins Broadcasting was formed in 1948, and grew to control ten radio and four televsiontelevision stations.<ref name=Orkin />

In 1964, with company annual revenues of $9 &nbsp;million, he borrowed $60 &nbsp;million in the first [[leveraged buyout]] in the US to buy [[Orkin]] from its family owners, and move into the [[pest control]] business.<ref name=Orkin />

In 1982, Rollins received the Golden Plate Award of the [[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]].<ref>{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]|url=https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#business}}</ref> In 1986, he received a [[Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans|Horatio Alger Award]] for his "rags-to-riches" life story.<ref name=Orkin />

He was married to Grace Crum Rollins. She was born on 22September Spetember20, 20101910, and died on 8 August 20108, 2009, aged 98.<ref name="emory">{{cite web|url=http://www.emory.edu/EMORY_MAGAZINE/2010/winter/tribute.html|publisher=emory.edu|title=Emory Magazine: Winter 2010: Grace Crum Rollins, University and public health benefactor|accessdate=10 September 2016}}</ref><ref name="legacy">{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/atlanta/obituary.aspx?n=grace-crum-rollins&pid=131179627|publisher=legacy.com|title=Grace Rollins Obituary - Atlanta, GA &#124; Atlanta Journal-Constitution|accessdate=10 September 2016}}</ref>

He had two sons, [[Gary Rollins]] and [[Randall Rollins]].<ref name=Forbes_20150929>{{cite news|last1=O'Connor|first1=Clare|title=Inside An $8 Billion Family Feud: Who Poisoned The Orkin Fortune?|url=httphttps://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2014/09/29/inside-the-3-billion-feud-tearing-georgias-rollins-family-apart/|accessdate=27 August 2015|work=Forbes|date=29 September 2014}}</ref>