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Charles J. August (January 28, 1919 – November 3, 2009) was an American businessman who founded Monro Muffler Brake.
Charles J. August (January 28, 1919 – November 3, 2009) was an American businessman who founded Monro Muffler Brake.
Biography
August's career in automotive maintenance and repair began as a Midas Mufflerfranchisee
Franchising is based on a marketing concept which can be adopted by an organization as a strategy for business expansion. Where implemented, a franchisor licenses some or all of its know-how, procedures, intellectual property, use of its busines ...
in 1957 in Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...
. In 1966, he discontinued his affiliation
Affiliation or affiliate may refer to:
* Affiliate (commerce), a legal form of entity relationship used in Business Law
* Affiliation (family law), a legal form of family relationship
* Affiliate marketing
* Affiliate network or affiliation platf ...
with Midas. August launched a new company, Monro Muffler, the same year with two business partner
A business partner is a commercial entity with which another commercial entity has some form of alliance. This relationship may be a contractual, exclusive bond in which both entities commit not to ally with third parties. Alternatively, it may be ...
s, his brother, Burton S. August, and Sheldon Lane. The company was named for Monroe County, New York
Monroe County is a county in the U.S. state of New York, located along Lake Ontario's southern shore. As of 2022, the population was 752,035, according to Census Bureau estimates. Its county seat and largest city is Rochester. The county is ...
, except August dropped the "e" in the name. The company later added brake service several years later and was renamed Monro Muffler Brake, Incorporated.
In 1977, Monro Muffler had twenty stores in New York. By the mid-1980s, August's Monro Mufflers had expanded to 59 stores, which sales of $21 million per year. Most of these stores were located in upstate New York
Upstate New York is a geographic region of New York (state), New York that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area of downstate New York. Upstate includes the middle and upper Hudson Valley, ...
.
August sold his controlling interest
A controlling interest is an ownership interest in a corporation with enough voting stock shares to prevail in any stockholders' motion. A majority of voting shares (over 50%) is always a controlling interest. When a party holds less than the maj ...
in Monro Mufflers in 1984 to an investment group headed by Donald Glickman and Peter J. Solomon. The company later had its initial public offering in 1991. August remained as a member of the Monro Muffler board of directors during the 1990s, when the company rapidly expanded. He resigned and retired from the board in 2002.
August actively supported the Boy Scouts
Boy Scouts or Boy Scout may refer to:
* Members, sections or organisations in the Scouting Movement
** Scout (Scouting), a boy or a girl participating in the worldwide Scouting movement
** Scouting America, formerly known as Boy Scouts of America ...
during his life. He was a member of the Otetiana Council Boy Scouts of America for more than 60 years, and served as the council's president. He was rewarded the Silver Antelope Award and the Silver Beaver
The Silver Beaver Award is the council-level distinguished service award of Scouting America. Recipients of the award are registered adult leaders who have made an impact on the lives of youth through service given to the council.
Those deemed ...
citation for his involvement with the Boy Scouts.
He donated more than $1 million to the United Way
United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit organization, nonprofit fundraising affiliates. Prior to 2015, United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public. Individual Un ...
of Greater Rochester over a period of 10 years. The United Way awarded August with the Tocqueville Award in 1992.
August was named to the Rochester Business Hall of Fame in 2003. He was a member of the Nathaniel Rochester Society at Rochester Institute of Technology
The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a private university, private research university in Henrietta, New York, a suburb of Rochester, New York, Rochester. It was founded in 1829. It is one of only two institute of technology, institut ...
. August was also a founder of the Temple Sinai in Brighton and a member of the board of directors of the Jewish Home Foundation.
August originally resided in Brighton, Monroe County, New York
Brighton is a town and census-designated place in Monroe County, New York, United States. The population was 37,137 at the 2020 census.
History
The town of Brighton, located on the southeastern border of the city of Rochester, is located on th ...
, with his family for many years before moving to nearby Pittsford, New York
Pittsford is an incorporated town in Monroe County, New York. A suburb of Rochester, its population was 30,617 at the time of the 2020 census. Formerly part of the town of Northfield, Pittsford was settled in 1789 and incorporated in 1796. T ...
.
August died on November 3, 2009, at the age of 90. He was survived by his wife, Jean August and three grown children. His memorial service was held at the Temple Sinai in Brighton, New York.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:August, Charles 1919 births 2009 deaths Businesspeople from New York (state) People from Brighton, Monroe County, New York People from Pittsford, New York 20th-century American businesspeople