Boating Epihany

“When I was 17 I had a life-changing experience. My mentor was Jim Pihos, who eventually owned 42 McDonald’s restaurants including No. 7 in Chicago. We took his 57-foot yacht up Lake Michigan to Sheboygan and met Ray Kroc with his 165-foot Burger yacht. They went out, leaving me and the first mate as the only ones left. We went out and rounded up as many girls as we could—which was many—and took them back for a big party. At one point I went up to the bridge and sat there overlooking Ray Kroc’s boat. I thought, ‘This is what I want out of life, to become a successful entrepreneur. And I did.’” –Gary McHugh, who today has 100 employees in a landscaping business serving greater Milwaukee, as told while sailing the York River