Alumni of the Year, the Human Achievement
This article describes Marvin Slaughter and George Taylor recipients of alumni awards in 1979. This and other articles may be found in the University Archives.
Citation for this article is: "Alumni of the Year; the Human Achievement," ECU Report, Volume XI, No. 1, Spring 1979.
Alumni Day 1979 might be remembered by some for its succulent luncheon at the Greenville Golf and Country Club, or the purple and gold corsages, or the class reunions, followed by cocktails in the evening. But despite all the trimmings, Alumni Day is about people -- special people.And the centerpiece of that Saturday's agenda was the presentation of the "Alumni of the Year" awards to two of these special people. This year's recognition went to Mr. E. Marvin Slaughter, Jr., President and Treasurer of Southern Tile Distributors, Inc. who makes his home in Virginia Beach. The recognized "Young Alumnus" of 1979 was Representative Ron Taylor of North Carolina's House of Representatives, serving the 19th House Distrcit fo Bladen, Columbus and Sampson Counties.
Born in Dunn, North Carolina, a small town below Raleigh, Marvin graduated from high school in 1943 and entered the United States Navy for a tour of duty lasting until 1946.First as a seaman and then as a signalman on an oil tanker assigned to waters of the Pacific Theatre, Marvin "fell in love with the sea," a love which has sustained itself in his twenty-five-year-old passion for boating and fishing.
Surprisingly, he almost missed coming to East Carolina.After having been accepted by Campbell College, in closer proximity to his hometown, Marvin and several other veterans "decided to go take a look at East Carolina Teachers College. "The "look" apparently was impressive: he changed his mind and enrolled for that fall term in 1946.It was there, during his junior year, that he met his future wife, Shirley Byrd, then a freshman from Mamers, North Carolina -- a town only sixteen miles away from Marvin's hometown of Dunn.
What was ECU's campus like after the War? Marvin remembers that it was a campus of only 800 students with only 40 to 50 men on campus in 1945. "Then there was an influx of males, 19 or more in age," inaugurating what Marvin calls a "new era" for the school.The entire tenor of the campus became "serious," especially among the male veterans studying on the G.I. Bill.Yet not serious enough to prevent the students from enjoying themselves. Marvin himself participated in a singing quartet for the "Veterans Follies" and did several plays for the "Teachers Playhouse."
Taking a B.S. Degree in History, minoring in English, Marvin entered the North Carolina Public Schools, teaching at Boone Trail from 1950-51 and at Angier from 1951-52. Although he enjoyed teaching, Marvin found himself laying floor tile on the side to earn extra money.This part-time interest in floor covering gave way to a more permanent interest.With the help of his brother William, already involved in distribution of floor tile and other products. Marvin became a tile salesman, traveling the state of North Carolina.
After a year of this, both brothers decided to open a wholesale distribution business of their own.As a distributor with only two employees, the company began in Norfolk and was incorporated in 1955, with all assets and liabilities of the partnership taken over by Marvin. Now Southern Tile boasts a new home office and warehouse located in Norfolk's Industrial Park, not to mention the Richmond branch office, begun in 1959, and moved into its present quarters in 1966.
Marvin's gradual immersion into his tile distribution business allowed him the opportunity to travel -- second only to boating as one of his personal interests. While sponsoring "dealer-incentive trips" to many countries with which his company trades, Marvin often journeys ahead of his troupe, taking personal responsibility for the many details involved in reservations, transportation, and the like. So far, his company has offered excursions ranging all over the European continent -- with Switzerland being Marvin's personal favorite.
Integral in the formation of a Tidewater Chapter of East Carolina University's Alumni Association, he was President of that organization for two years. Now, as the 1979 Alumnus of the Year, Marvin says he feels "quite humble and undeserving" of the award.Yet, his services as a member of the Board of Directors for the Alumni Associaiton, as well as his other unselfish contributions of his time, wisdom, and talent make him a most deserving and appreciated recipient.
Equally deserving is this year's Young Alumnus, Ron Taylor, a bright, energetic and promising face in today's state politics. Born to Miller and Lucille Taylor of Bladen County in 1952, parents whom Ron explains "have worked hard all their lives and know the value of hard work," Ron has spent his life between the dual demands of the family business (manufacturing farm equipment) and his love of politics.
Ron became active in the Democratic Party at a relatively early age. The first 18 year old registered to vote in Bladen County, Taylor immediately sought and received a position as Vice-Chairman to the Bladen County Democratic Party.Meanwhile, Taylor's appetite for the complimentary spheres of business and public service were being augmented by his education at East Carolina University.Entering in 1970, he combined an interest in Business Administration with an internship with the North Carolina Department of Corrections, where he did legislative research and began to "get the feel for politics." At the same time, Taylor, prior to going to ECU, and after returning home, continued to carry out his responsibilities to the family-owned business as a sales-manager.
What prompted his early interest in politics and sustained it? "The hateful belief," he explained, "that everyone is a number plugged into a system." Against this idea of the deracinated, de-humanized individual, Taylor's attitude and faith in the individual, his belief that "we can do more with less government," are the cornerstones of what he describes as his "positive" approach to state government.
With Ron's obvious sympathies with the tobacco interests in his district, one might expect him to balk at the idea of seeing Carter re-elected in 1980. But, no, despite Califano's unpopularity, Taylor predicts and hopes for a Carter victory in 1980, praising him as one of America's most outstanding politicians who faces this century's most complex and demanding problems. Certainly, with his intense enthusiasm for politics and the Democratic Party of North Carolina, Ron Taylor sees himself active in assuring Carter another term.
In Ron Taylor's infectious energy and Marvin Slaughter's calm strength, East Carolina University's Alumni Association has found and awarded two very special people from its many alumni. For their contributions, their support and unfailing encouragement of the goals of East Carolina University, for their experience and the talent brought to bear on that experience, no award or title can ever hope to equal or fulfill.Yet both men again remind us of what makes a university great and successful -- not the degrees earned, nor the positions secured because of those degrees, but the richness and largeness of the men and women who receive them.These riches Midas cannot touch nor the government tax; they are the unexpendable wealth of the human desire to achieve.This, beyond all other estimations, is what 1979's Alumni of the Year represent.
