By Marcus E. Howard
Marietta Daily Journal Staff Writer
COBB GALLERIA - Comedian and Georgia native Jeff Foxworthy has been performing comedy routines for 25 years. Most recently, he has hosted the hit game show on Fox, "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" But, his success wasn't probable in the beginning.
On Friday, Foxworthy told an audience at the sixth-annual Atlanta Small Business Forum at the Cobb Galleria that he fixed computers for five years at IBM before getting his first break and then quitting his job.
"I can still see my mother sitting at the kitchen table saying, 'What is wrong with you; are you on drugs? We can get you help,'" he recalled. "Five years later, I was on Johnny Carson and the same mother said to me, 'You know, you wasted all those years at IBM.'"
The 50-year-old comedian grew up just south of Atlanta in Hapeville and has used his working-class roots to propel him to fame. He has since starred in his a sitcom, Blue Collar TV, appeared in movies, written books, sold millions of comedy DVDs and performed comedy routines across the country.
His trademark, "You might be a redneck," routine has earned him a loyal following. Foxworthy gave the group of small-business owners at the forum a special edition of the routine.
"If your business requires a lookout, you might have a redneck business. If your company went out of business because the ladder broke, you might have a redneck business," he told the laughing audience. "If the first thing you do when you get to work in the morning is check the rat traps, you may have a redneck business."
The forum was established in 2003 to bring small-business owners and mid-sized business professionals together and provide them with financial information and economic forecasts.
Economists Roger Tutterow, a professor at Mercer University's Stetson School of Business, and Donald Sabbarese, director of Kennesaw State University's Econometric Center, presented their take on the country's financial condition.
The economists mentioned that the country has lost more jobs in manufacturing and construction than any other sectors. They also said that home mortgage rates have begun to return to their historic relationships with treasury bonds, after the government intervened in Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac.
Their less-than-thrilling comments about economics gave Foxworthy ample ammunition.
"I've been doing standup comedy for 25 years, and I was sitting there thinking, 'I don't know if I have ever followed anything more difficult than that in my life. Why didn't you just kill kittens why you were up here?" Foxworthy joked.
"I did not understand one word they said after 'Hi, I'm Roger and hi, and I'm Don,' Foxworthy continued. "Actually, I did pick up on a little bit. What I was sitting there thinking was, 'I don't think we're going to be able to go to Gatlinburg (Tennessee) this winter."
mhoward@mdjonline.com
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