FAMILY MAN

Family is the most important team for George Tinsley Sr. Marrying his college sweetheart, the former Seretha Summers in 1972, Tinsley set out to have the family life he was deprived of. He and wife Seretha have been married for over 38 years and the union produced their two (2) adult children, Penni and George, II.

Believing that the family that works together stays together, the Tinsley’s have always included Penni and George in their business operation. The Tinsley’s business pursuits have created a legacy company, PenGeo, Inc., named for Penni and George II. George is proud of creating PenGeo, Inc. as his legacy contribution to securing Penni and George, II’s financial future.

Both Tinsley and his wife, Seretha, are business-minded visionaries. In 1984, the couple, after excelling in the Colonel’s training program, opened their first KFC restaurant in Auburndale, Fla.

Early on, Penni and George II, through their involvement in the restaurant, learned the value of hard work and ethics, and developed an appreciation for entrepreneurship. “They worked as much as they could in the business,” Tinsley said about their early involvement with KFC. “It gave us the opportunity to have them understand business operations as well as the importance of giving back to your community.”

Currently, Tinsley’s business interests represent Tampa Bay’s third largest black-owned enterprise and are one of the fastest growing independent restaurant conglomerates in the nation. Penni and George II are now part of the Tinsley family business with important roles of responsibility.

Now considered an extended family business, Tinsley boasts 22 godchildren, of which three play significant roles in the Tinsley businesses.

George and Seretha continue to diversify and develop Tinsley family businesses with a never-ending commitment to their adopted adage: “A Tradition of Corporate Excellence and Community Service.”