2004 HALL OF FAME George Stephenson -- Savior to His Company

"It looked like the smart thing to do, and it gave me the opportunity to phase out while the time was right," Stephenson explains. "Unfortunately, the company I sold it to was a 'Johnny-Come-Lately' in the roll-up concept that tried to do too much too soon and ended up with financial problems."

The problems persisted to the point that Master Graphics filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2000. Stephenson, now on a contract basis with the establishment that bore his name, was concerned about the future of the print shop he had painstakingly grown from the ground up. Thus, in late 2000, he put together a plan to buy back the company's assets.