<div>John Wade is the founder of the AES (Attitude Equals Success) Restaurant Group. Back in 2004, he purchased four Arby’s locations in the area. Now, he owns 187 restaurants in 16 states. To celebrate 20 years of success, he is giving back to schools in Tippecanoe County where it all began."When I started the company, and I started it here in Lafayette,” Wade said. “So I figured, what better way to celebrate our anniversary than to give $80,000 away to four local high schools."McCutcheon, Jeff, Harrison and West Lafayette Junior/Senior High School each received $20,000 to use as they see fit. John says he can't wait to see how each school uses the money."Whether it's to help teachers who need things for their classroom, whether it's to help students with clubs and school activities. It's kind of exciting to hear how they're going to use the money," Wade said.Principal Gloria Grigsby was there to accept the check on behalf of McCutcheon High School. She is extremely appreciative of this generous donation."We're all really grateful to be recognized as educators and to, you know, really give our students something that they truly deserve and need is is really something that we we can't say thank you enough for," Principal Grigsby said.Principal Grigsby says McCutcheon hasn't decided how they plan to spend the money just yet, but she knows it will make a huge difference."It will make a big difference with a lot of our student programming, being able to offer students opportunities to participate in field trips or have those little extras, as well as make sure that our staff feels like they've been taken care of and appreciated too," she said.AES Restaurant Group is one of the largest franchisees in the Arby’s System. The restaurant group is able to give back to the communities it serves through the AES Foundation.</div>

Mountain View, CA

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Hometown Hero: John Wade

John Wade is the founder of the AES (Attitude Equals Success) Restaurant Group. Back in 2004, he purchased four Arby’s locations in the area. Now, he owns 187 restaurants in 16 states. To celebrate 20 years of success, he is giving back to schools in Tippecanoe County where it all began.