Businessman. He was the founder and patriarch of Foster Farms poultry and dairy company. In 1939, Foster was a city editor at the Modesto Bee when he and his wife, Verda, made a down payment on a repossessed 80-acre farm near Modesto, California, using $1,000 borrowed on a life insurance policy. They began raising turkeys and expanded to chickens and dairy cattle in the 1940s. Over the years, the couple’s business experienced phenomenal growth and to date, Foster Farms is the largest privately owned dairy and poultry business in California. It remains a family-owned business which continues the tradition and vision of producing premium quality products. The company provides distribution via eight additional facilities located throughout the state, employs approximately 650 people and averages $300 million in annual sales. (bio by: John “J-Cat” Griffith)