Horatio
Alger
 Tom
Cundy, a 1955 Florida State graduate in industrial psychology, worked his way
through FSU as a busboy and dishwasher, but he also had time to lead the tennis
team to its best season ever, 15-2 in 1953.
It
was a pattern of his childhood - working at least two jobs,
helping his family and competing successfully at school and
career - and it's been a pattern of his life ever since.
As
a result, Cundy was recognized this year with the Horatio Alger Award, which
goes to "Americans who serve as role models... (and) made significant
contributions to improving their communities and the nation."
Cundy
grew up in Bellevue, Ky., where he helped his mother by selling
magazines and working other jobs. "At the end of each
day, my mother and I pooled our earnings," he remembers.
At
age 10, he began to play tennis and learned the sport from a high school
teacher. After he won the high school state championship, Cundy was offered
college scholarships from several schools, and he accepted Florida State's offer. Once
graduated, he served as an officer in the Marine Corps and then became an
insurance salesman. Proving himself very successful, Cundy started his own
agency in Fort Lauderdale, backed by Provident Life and Accident. Over
the next 40 years, Thomas C. Cundy Associates became the largest privately held
employee benefit consulting firm in the nation. He
and his wife, Janie, have four children and six grandchildren, and Cundy says
"I am extremely proud of all of them - all my children are
successful." Cundy
has helped students throughout Kentucky and has also supported a Holocaust
Studies Program at Florida State.
Publication date:
September 2000
Copyright
© Florida State Times 2000
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