Robert L. Johnson was born on March 3, 1948, in Canton, Ohio, to the union of Boyce, Sr. and Bessie (Gardner) Johnson. He was the eldest of their five sons.  Bob accepted Jesus Christ into his life at an early age.  He loved singing in the children's choir, serving on the junior usher board, and participating in  Sunday school. Bob not only loved the Lord as a child, but he was also a successful young entrepreneur.  Bob learned the value of supply and demand at the age of five. That's when he began selling blackberries in his neighborhood.  Even at five, Bob understood the value of the proper packaging and presentation of products. He knew the nicer his berries looked, the more his customers would pay for them. The success of his berry business led him to venture into offering other paid services in the neighborhood during his childhood. Bob attended McKinley Sr. High School where he was an athlete and held a leadership role in numerous extracurricular activities. Bob had enough credits to graduate from high school in three years. However, he loved McKinley football so much that he waited to take just one class so he could return to school his senior year to play football. In a game during his junior season, an opponent stepped on his calf driving the spikes into Bob's leg. He was rushed to the hospital after developing gangrene. The doctors told his mother that the condition was life threatening and that his only chance of survival was to cut off his leg. As Bob lay in the hospital unconscious for a week, his vitals began to improve, and after a yearlong      recovery process the doctors called him a living miracle. Even then, he was a fighter and refused to give up. It was his never give up, against all odds attitude that would define his life. During his senior year of high school, Bob focused the majority of his attention on being the president of Junior Achievement. Out of this, his love of business blossomed. Bob received a full academic scholarship to college after graduating from McKinley Sr. High School in 1966 with high honors. Instead of going directly to university, he elected to take a year off and work at the Timken Company. While at Timken, he was drafted into the United States Army. Bob was honorably discharged from the army in 1974, after serving his country for six years. He received the Army of Occupation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, M16 Expert Marksman Qualification Badge, and M14 Sharpshooter      Qualification Badge. While in the army, Bob was stationed in Bad Kreuznach, Germany. During his time there, Bob advanced his base from the worst to the top ranked base in Germany by completing near perfect audits. Being a perfectionist, he asked the auditor what were the requirements for a perfect score. According to the      auditor, a perfect score wasn't attainable on his watch.