George Shinn
| George Shinn | |
|---|---|
| Born |
May 11, 1941 Kannapolis, North Carolina |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | former owner of the Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets |
George Shinn (born May 11, 1941) is the former owner of the Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets as well the Charlotte Knights and Gastonia Rangers minor league baseball teams along with the Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks of the World League of American Football. He purchased the Hornets for $32.5 million in 1987. In 1997, he lost his bid for a potential National Hockey League (NHL) expansion franchise to be called the Hampton Roads Rhinos.
Shinn was born in Kannapolis, North Carolina and was a poor student growing up, graduating last in his high school class of 293 from A. L. Brown High School. He went on to Evans Business College in Concord, North Carolina.
Shinn worked in a textile mill, a car wash and as a school janitor. Upon graduating from Evans, he raised money and bought the school and other small colleges that offered 18-24 month programs, consolidating them all under the umbrella company Rutledge Education Systems. He sold the schools and bought the basketball team with the proceeds.
The George Shinn Foundation was founded in 1973. Its mission was to provide need-based scholarships for deserving students. In 2011, George and his wife, Denise, moved the family and the foundation to Nashville. Today, Foundation funds are used to educate others on the importance of early testing and diagnosis of prostate cancer (Shinn is a prostate cancer survivor). Other Foundation initiatives include the establishment and support program for students at Fruitland Baptist Bible Institute in Hendersonville, North Carolina, which prepares students for ministry and assisting with an ongoing school/orphanage/church project in the Port-au-Prince suburb of Tabarre, Haiti. In 2012, the George Shinn Foundation was able to provide funding to complete a multi-story medical clinic, which will provide medical care to the community surrounding the Amer-Haitian Bon Zami House of Hope. Hoops for Homes was created by the Shinn Foundation directly following Hurricane Katrina to rebuild homes in the New Orleans community. The project impacted funding and repairs for more than 65 homes. George Shinn has most recently partnered with Nashville non-profit, Room In the Inn, and donated more than 60 pairs of shoes during the 2012 holiday season. Room In the Inn is a ministry serving the homeless.
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