MCDONALD’S: Toledo Franchise Owner Leaves an Inspiring Legacy
February 25, 2009 by Sean Kelly
Filed under Business
I never met James Cobham, Jr., or even heard of him until today. I imagine you didn’t, either. 
Too bad for us.
According to his obituary in the Toledo Blade, James Cobham, Jr., 65, was a successful McDonald’s franchise owner who died this past Sunday. I found it striking that Cobham’s family and friends did not focus on his financial success or his accomplishments as one of the early black McDonald’s franchise owners. Instead, they recounted James Cobham’s passion for enriching the lives of those who worked for him:
“He always treated people with dignity,” said his wife, Barbara, the firm’s bookkeeper. “That love was like a bond, and [employees] were willing to do their very best.”
He inspired loyalty because he was loyal to employees, said Glenn E. Johnson, who was 15 in 1976 when he went to work at a restaurant Mr. Cobham managed in St. Louis. When Mr. Cobham bought a Toledo McDonald’s franchise in 1984, Mr. Johnson came too as an assistant manager.
Mr. Cobham’s protege became a manager and eventually owned five McDonald’s in Toledo.
“He inspired you. He allowed me to operate his business as if it was my own, which allowed me the opportunity to have the experience,” Mr. Johnson said. “He had a real sense of wanting to help people and seeing people prosper.”
Mr. Cobham had that sense from a young age. He told The Blade in 1991 that all he could do growing up black in segregated Savannah, Ga., was deliver newspapers and cut yards.
“I always hoped for the day where I would be able to give jobs to people,” Mr. Cobham said then.
The eldest of seven, he went to Knoxville College and received a bachelor’s degree from the District of Columbia Teachers College. His first McDonald’s job, part time, was in Washington. He climbed the managerial ladder in Chicago and St. Louis.
Mr. Cobham of West Toledo was a former treasurer of the National Black McDonald’s Operators Association. He was on the boards of Toledo area charitable and community organizations, including as a founding board member of the Toledo Urban Federal Credit Union and the then-Northwest Ohio Black Chamber of Commerce.
In 1993, the City League Hall of Fame inducted him as a distinguished citizen. In 1995, the Business Owners and Professionals Club of Toledo honored him for being the largest Toledo employer of inner-city youth.
Some business owners see their mission as flipping burgers or creating profit & loss statements; others, like James Cobham, Jr., recognize that they’ve got the opportunity – and responsibility – to change the world.
My condolences to his widow, Barbara, who mourns the loss of her husband and her 38-year old son in the same month. At least she knows that her husband’s memory and spirit lives on in the hundreds, if not thousands, of lives that he touched.
James Cobham, Jr. clearly shared Martin Luther King’s streetsweeper philosophy, and elevated franchise ownership to its full potential.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.
The legacy of a good man and a good human being who excelled in franchising is a reminder that good franchisors don’t have to churn and turn to survive, and that good franchisors take care of their good franchisees, and good franchisees take care of their employees.
Maybe the golden arches that have attracted both franchisees and customers alike operate on the premise of the golden rule. and this is why McDonald’s remains an ICON in the QSR sector, and why Mr. Cobham, Jr. was a respected ICON is his community.
Carol:
Must you get the word “churn” into every comment you post. You have made your point clearly (even though it is from someone that does not even own a franchise of her own)
=) Rita
Yes, Rits! I am trying to get the word out on “churning” and although it may be true that I never owned a franchise of my own, I am the wife and mother of two who did invest in an unviable franchise that failed that was sold as an “unprecedented” opportunity for success.
See my comments at http://w.w.w.unhappyfranchise.com/2009/02/carolcross/
Just read on Franchise Fool, Les Stewart, that McDonalds in Australia is under fire for raising the price of menu items disproportionately higher in the poorer areas.
This is not a new corporate practice because corporations have been doing this for years. I remember when my Uncle, who was a big executive in a food chain, came under fire because the Chicago Tribune revealed that the Chain was charging more for grocery necessities in the poorer areas of the city.
Apparently, corporations do try to profit from their knowledge that the poorer areas are underserved to begin with and the poor have fewer options
to shop. Pretty disgusting!
I’m happy that I said “Maybe” in my first comment because now I see that the Golden Arches have nothing to do with the golden rule.
Carol, you can sure go on. However as my Ma used to say sometimes you need to fight fire with fire. Please answwer back to my message as I have an awful lot I would love to talk to you about. If I could e-mail you personally I would love that. Don’t really get this internet stuff. But I know that you know me. I have a husband and kids as well. Stress, worry and heartache are our bedfellows and darned if the good stuff is gone out the window. Would love to get some of those good times back. Just me for now
Sure Nell! If you would like to E-mail me, Sean Kelly has my Email address and He has my permission to give my Email address to you.
I can’t really help you with any of your troubles but it does help to talk and share and try to understand what has happened. Hopefully, all the conversation on the Internet will make a difference and there will be change that will prevent a lot of unnecessary pain and suffering for franchisees and their families.