George Shinn

George Shinn (born May 11, 1941) is an American businessman. He is the former owner of the Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets, as well as 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. Early life and education Shinn was born in Kannapolis, North Carolina and attended A. L. Brown High School. Career Shinn worked in a textile mill, a car wash, and as a school janitor. He later attended Evans Business College in Concord, North Carolina while working with real estate and car dealerships. Upon graduating, he raised enough money to buy Evans 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 is to provide need-based scholarships for deserving students. In 2011, George and his wife, Denise, moved the family and the foundation to Nashville, Tennessee. Foundation funds are also 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 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 provided funding and repairs for more than 65 homes. George Shinn 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. Most recently and as a continuation of his service to his faith, Shiin purchased the Cornerstone Bookstore in Boone, NC.