Henry “Hank” James Thomas

Emeritus

Henry “Hank” James Thomas is President of Victoria Hospitality Properties which owns and operates Marriott Hotel franchises, and vice president of Hayon and Hayon II, which own and operate McDonald’s franchises. He is a member of the Black McDonald’s Operator Association (BMOA) – where members own and operate more than 117 McDonald’s restaurants.

Thomas was one of five prominent African Americans recognized at the 2011 Essence Festival as part of McDonald’s 365Black Awards hosted by the Tom Joyner show.

He is also a veteran Civil Rights foot soldier with 22 arrests and a Vietnam War Purple Heart recipient. In 2006 he received the distinguished “Buffalo Soldier” Award from his college alma mater, and in 2009, Thomas was elected to the Board of Trustees of Morehouse School of Medicine and Talladega College.

Now serving on The Center’s board, he also previously served on the boards of the Apex Museum, the Butler Street YMCA, Atlanta’s Boys and Girls Club, and the Atlanta Youth Academy. He’s also a former Vice-Chair of the Piney Woods Country Life School (one of two remaining African American boarding schools in the United States) in Jackson, MS.

He is a life member of the NAACP, an active fundraiser for the UNCF, and a retired member of the 100 Black Men of DeKalb County. He and his wife Yvonne are proud parents of two and grandparents of four.