Simeus Foods RECIPE FOR SUCCESS   http://www.simeusfoods.com

Dumas M. Siméus (shown here with his father in Haiti) was born in the small village of Pont-Sondé in the Artibonite Valley of Haiti. As an 8-year old child, he stood on the docks and wistfully watched the tall ships bound for France and the United States disappear into the horizon. "I wanted to go where they were going," he said. "I created a vision of being in one of those countries one day, of going to school, of becoming an entrepreneur."

Dumas, the oldest of 12 children of illiterate chicken and tomato farmers, had few prospects in a country characterized by poverty. But through determination, hard work, the encouragement of his parents and the help of others, he achieved that dream. Now he has another dream. He dreams of a Haiti where children have enough to eat, people have jobs, where health care, clean water and the basic necessities of life are available.
Through the Siméus Foundation, he is taking steps towards improving the quality of life in Haiti.

Dumas M. Simeus always wanted to be his own boss, but he took a long and circuitous route to get there. Today the Haiti-born entrepreneur owns and operates Simeus Foods International, one of the largest processors of frozen foods for restaurants and institutional customers. With 2002 sales estimated at $175 million and major clients such as Church's, Hardees, and TGIFriday's, the Mansfield, Texas, company is a highly visible player in its niche.

Simeus says that his desire to be involved in the food business goes back to his childhood when he saw the ships carry food back and forth from Haiti. "I wanted to go away with them," he recalls. He did. He operated the Latin American operations for Beatrice International. Then in 1992, Simeus left Beatrice to seek his own operation to run.