Blockbuster continues to search for and implement new ways to remain competitive in its rapidly changing and extremely competitive environment. Eighteen percent of its 5,000+ domestic locations are franchise owned and operated, with the rest being run by the company.

Lou Dobbs, a hard-hitting news program, regularly runs stories on military heroes. This evening’s program (Sunday, November 25) featured Iraq veteran Robbie Doughty and the unusual way he got involved with his own Little Caesars Pizza franchise, located in Paducah, Kentucky.

By way of background, Little Caesars was founded in 1959 by Michael and Marian Ilitch, who are still active in the business. Michael is a former Marine who also owns the Detroit Tigers and the Red Wings. A talented baseball player in his younger days, he was assigned to the Marine baseball team in Hawaii during the Korean War.

The Lou Dobbs video isn’t available at this time, but here is the transcript, which I typed up directly from the program:

CNN: Help for Heroes

Christine Romans (newscaster): One American business is saying “Thanks!” to our military veterans in its own way. Kitty Pilgrim talked with one of those veterans and the president of the company that helped him.