Impact of the Keys Group Co.

During the thirty years of The Keys Group Company’s operation, over 150,000 youth have been employed; giving many their first jobs.

“Keys’ entrepreneurial savvy is internationally recognized. When African National Congress leader, Nelson Mandela and the Bophuthatswana National Development Corporation asked an Atlanta business consultant to identify a black entrepreneur who could offer good advice to the people in South Africa as they started independent self-owned businesses, he chose Keys. Keys spent two weeks in South Africa as part of the Entrepreneur Training Convention. “I was glad that I could make a difference.”

Reflecting on the success of The Keys Group Company, there has been an undercurrent of “making a difference.” Keys has demonstrated the knack for recognizing and filling natural voids in the marketplace, all the while, lifting others as he climbed. He has been instrumental in helping other minority business owners get their start.

Today, The Keys Group Company includes eleven (11)Kentucky Fried Chicken Restaurants in Southwest Georgia; Keys News & Gift Shop, the largest minority owned airport concession in the country, located in the Orlando International Airport; WJIZ 96.3 FM and. WJYZ 960 AM radio stations in Albany, Georgia; Ramsey & Ramsey Hair Styling Salon in Detroit, Michigan; the Black Business Directory and Resource Guide of Southwest Georgia; and All Pro Ostrich Ranch.

“Keys’ relentless drive and ambition burn as strongly today as ever. When asked what his plans are for the coming millennium, he says, “I want to get involved in more businesses. I’m heavily involved in All Pro Ostrich Ranch. I plan to do more in Orlando .”

Says Keys of his success: “When you can create and multiply yourself in the community and you can make a difference, that’s community involvement and at the same time, community power.

In 1996, The Keys Group companies contributed over $40 million to the economies of Georgia , Florida and Michigan .