A Mill Village Story Presented by Gerald Bruce Andrews
The Chattahoochee Valley Historical Society is happy to announce that Mr. Gerald Bruce Andrews will be the speaker at the October General Membership Meeting on Sunday, October 27, 2019, 3:00 EST in the Lanier Room, The Chambers County Bradshaw Library, Valley, Alabama. Mr. Andrews will review his recent book which is descriptive of growing up in the mill villages and working in the mills of the Chattahoochee Valley. His book is biographical and his story’s setting is the village with its mill and the many working people of good character in that past era.
The publisher, New South Books, describes: “A Mill Village Story is the record of one man’s upbringing in a place and time that is quickly vanishing. A quintessentially American small town, West Point, Georgia is a place defined by its local industry—a world-class textile mill run by the WestPoint-Pepperell Corporation—and adherence to traditional Southern values of congeniality, manners, and friendliness. Everyone author Gerald Andrews knew or even just rubbed shoulders with worked at the mill, and it was Andrews’ experiences there that would take him from relative poverty to the corporate boardroom. A Mill Village Story is an account of Andrews’ early years, his rapid rise to leadership in various textile firms, and the special character of the village that shaped him.
How does a young man go from night watchman to corporate sales in a matter of years? A Mill Village Story offers some explanation. Creativity and kindness set him on the right path, those characteristics nurtured in him by family members and the mill community. Gerald Andrews also quickly gained a reputation as a problem-solver—even at the lowest position at the mill—and for recognizing the importance of every employee, no matter their rank. This compassion for his employees contributed to his success. In A Mill Village Story, a lifetime of wisdom comes to file, with Andrews peppering his tale with the homegrown philosophies he developed from the unique social relationships he enjoyed growing up. Add to the mix personal encounters with Southern characters like country psychic Mayhayley Lancaster and A Mill Village Story becomes a memorable time capsule that serves as a portrait of a uniquely American place.
Gerald Andrews grew up in a small Southern mill village. He attended Auburn University and Harvard Business School, and has received over eighty honors and awards in praise of his creative brand of leadership. He has served as Corporate Executive Vice President of West Point Stevens, Inc. in New York; President and CEO of Johnston Industries; CEO and Chairman of Accelegrow Technologies; and Executive-in- Residence at Auburn University. A Mill Village Story is his first book.”
Members of the general public and members of the Chattahoochee Valley Historical Society are invited to attend the presentation by Mr. Andrews in the Lanier Room, Bradshaw Library, Valley, Alabama, Sunday, October 27, 2019, at 3:00 EDT.