Supporter of entrepreneurship: Frank H. Kenan, Kenan Transport Co.

• Author: Eldridge, Lisa
• Position: Entrepreneur of the Year

The greatest lesson in life is to fail, but if you're going to fail, do it early," Frank Kenan once said. He knows from experience. As a Pure Oil Co. commission agent fresh out of UNC in 1935, he was going nowhere but in the hole. He dug himself out and went on to build a string of successful businesses, including Kenan Transport Co., Kenan Oil Co. and Tops Petroleum Co. For the past 25 years, Kenan has devoted his time to steering young entrepreneurs toward success.

His crowning achievement is the Frank Hawkins...