Army Vet Opens 7-Eleven After Winning Free Store Competition
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A 15-year U.S. Army veteran and his new wife are proud owners of a new business in Miami-Dade. The 7-Eleven Corporation gave the couple a store Wednesday after the army captain won a contest.
Capt. Bob Kemna and his wife, Lily, are the new owners of a 7-Eleven store and filling station at 12720 SW 200 Street. Bob applied for the company's "Operation: Take Command," a contest to help military vets be successful after service.
"I went through it as a learning experience to see how far I could go," Captain Kemna said.
The army captain went all the way, winning the newly-built, fully-stocked, already-busy store on Quail Roost Drive.
"Very tiring. It's a great, challenging experience. I'm learning a lot," the captain told CBS4 Reporter Donna Rapado. "I'm learning how to transition all the skills I learned in the military to civilian life, especially when you talk about being adaptable and being able to change."
Capt. Kemna says he tried his hand at owning and running a business in the past, learning many lessons along the way. So, becoming a franchisee now was perfect.
The 33-year-old captain grew up on a farm in Iowa. He served 15 years in the Army, 10 of them active. He married his wife, whom he met while stationed in South Florida, last January. That's when he told Rapado he decided two things: He wanted to be successful and he wanted to work with his wife. He found the military-friendly contest shortly after.
"We were trying to find a way to be together," Lily Kemna explained. "We'd just got married and he was stationed in North Carolina and I was working here. He came across this huge opportunity. It was really a life-changing experience. "
"They've given me a jump start," added Captain Kemna. "So hopefully I'll be able to get into multiple stores in the near future."
