Rita Soronen (Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption President and CEO) and Denny would get together from time to time to update each other on the foundation, and Wendy’s activities. Wendy’s had thousands of restaurants across America that would serve as touchpoints for adoption messages. Delivering these messages enabled the franchisee to show support for Dave’s cause and could lead to greater support.

Dave’s commitment to adoption was deepening as he heard more stories about young children mired in the bureaucracy of foster care. He fervently believed if a child is abused, neglected, or abandoned by their birth parents, that child should be removed and placed in foster care until they can safely return home, or the courts terminate parental rights. And once a legal termination of parental rights occurs and the child is freed for adoption, the child welfare system should remove all barriers and find loving parents and a permanent home.

The 17-year-old Dave Thomas who joined the Army was a far cry from the 21-year-old man who returned to Ft. Wayne in 1953. Dave’s vocation for the restaurant business was mightily reinforced by the Cook and Baker’s School, the soldier mess hall, and the NCO Club. Dave learned everything about ordering food for thousands of soldiers, taking inventory, arranging work schedules for employees, improving the system to serve soldiers three meals daily, listening to his customers (soldiers) to vary the food selections, and managing a big budget to keep his bosses happy.

While in the Army, Dave’s restaurant knowledge got him into the Cook and Baker’s School. There he gained important experience that would help him achieve his boyhood dream. From organizing the various products needed to cook multiple menu items to running a grill through busy lunch and dinner hours, and mixing ingredients to make cakes and pies for thousands of hungry soldiers, Dave was earning a “M.B.A.” in restaurant management through on-the-job training.

Tens of millions of Americans knew Dave Thomas as the star of Wendy’s TV commercials from the late 1980’s to 2002. As the founder of Wendy’s Restaurants, and “Wendy’s Dad,” he came into our homes with messages about Wendy’s quality food made fresh. He was a “Made in America” success who showed us how nice guys can finish first. 

But the story of his youth was unlike the public figure we knew so well….