海角社区

Success, Rewritten

Thomas E. Persons Sr. served as the first president of student government for Brunswick College, now known as the 海角社区. Although he had the distinction of being president, he admits he wasn鈥檛 a strong academic student during his time at Brunswick College. Despite that, he credits his experiences there with shaping his future. Being challenged by his professors and supported by friends gave him a great start to a long, successful, and enriching career.

Persons attended Brunswick College from 1965 into part of 1966 before leaving. Before making his mark as the institution鈥檚 first student government president鈥攏ow referred to as the Student Government Association鈥攈e had long been interested in student government organizations. While at Jane Macon Middle School, and later Glynn Academy, he participated in student council and played football. His football days ended after an injury during a championship game, but his passion for student government followed him to Brunswick College.

Persons said it felt like the right time to run for president. Describing himself as outgoing and friendly, he decided to take a chance. He recently found one of his campaign posters, designed by Betty Oliver, a local artist and native of St. Simons Island.

鈥淭he campaign poster that hung up said, 鈥榁ote for Tommy if you want things to change.鈥� I didn鈥檛 know what we were going to change鈥攚e were a brand-new college,鈥� Persons said with a laugh.

Along with his campaign poster, Persons also found his old Brunswick College notebook with the crest on the cover, and inside was his student I.D. card. He plans to donate his items to the College鈥檚 archives.

He and his friends, Helen Whittle and Jonathan McDonald, won their elections, and Persons became the College鈥檚 first student government president.

Under his leadership, they held meetings and hosted a variety of events鈥攖he highlight being the Christmas formal, with the theme 鈥淭wilight Under the Stars.鈥� Students Brenda Ward and Billy Shoemaker were crowned Christmas queen and escort.

Persons said the most important contribution he made as president was helping to write the student government constitution. He and Whittle asked fellow student, Larry Woolley, to assist in drafting the document and establishing rules for the student body.

 鈥淭here was no doubt that I could make some things happen,鈥� Persons said. 鈥淚 just was not a good student. Having that difficulty probably set up my life, because I knew I would have to do something.鈥�

An Unexpected Opportunity

During the summer, Persons worked as a lifeguard on Jekyll Island, but while school was in session, he worked at a men鈥檚 retail store. One day, a young man dove up in a brand-new Oldsmobile 442. That encounter changed his life.

鈥淗e looked like he stepped out of Gentleman鈥檚 Quarterly, and I said, 鈥楳y gosh man! What do you do? I see it鈥檚 an out of town tag. Are you from Atlanta?鈥� He said, 鈥榊es. I鈥檓 with the Yellow Pages. I鈥檓 in sales and marketing with the Yellow Pages for Southern Bell.鈥� We talked for a while, and I think I ended up selling him two suits. I called him a couple of days later and asked him to tell me about his job,鈥� Persons said.

Persons faced a decision鈥攅ither stay in college or pursue a new job opportunity. Going to college was important to him. His mother dropped out of school to take care of her brother during the Depression, and his father went to serve during World War II. Although he had cousins who attended college, he was the first in his immediate family to do so. Still, he knew he would face academic challenges if he stayed.

One of his favorite English professors, Mary Hart Gash, offered him advice: 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 need to go to med school,鈥� she told him, referring to his original plan. 鈥淵ou need to be talking to people and meeting people.鈥�

Ultimately, Persons chose to pursue the job opportunity. He took a test and landed a job with Southern Bell, selling ads in the Yellow Pages.

鈥淚 sat down and had a long talk with myself. I said, 鈥榊ou鈥檝e got to get yourself going here buddy. You鈥檙e a young man鈥攜ou got a lot of life ahead of you,鈥欌�� Persons said.

That one encounter while working in retail launched a storied career in communications and technology. Persons held various roles at Southern Bell and later AT&T, earning recognition as one of their leading executives. In 1990, he became general manager of AT&T鈥檚 South Atlantic Area, which included Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. He retired from AT&T after 30 years.

In 1996, he joined Affinity Technology Group Inc., a high-tech company in the banking and financial industry, as executive vice president. He also served as a founding member of the board of directors, and helped take the company public. Later, he started his own business, Prism Communications LLC, where he served as CEO.

In 1998, the South Carolina Legislature tasked Persons with forming the South Carolina Technology Alliance, which helped develop and promote the state鈥檚 technology sector. He led the alliance for 10 years.

His career also included working alongside lawmakers; serving as chairman of the board of Touchstone Bancshares Inc., an Atlanta-based commercial bank; serving on the board of the Columbia Museum of Art; being appointed to the Commission on the Future of South Carolina; representing the Business and Education Partnership for Excellence in Education for South Carolina; and publishing听The Terabyte, a technology newsletter.

Although retired, Persons continues to find ways to give back to his community. He is now the chairman of the South Carolina American Revolution Trust that works to preserve and promote the history of South Carolina鈥檚 role in the American Revolution.

While he hasn鈥檛 earned a traditional bachelor鈥檚 degree, Persons has pursued various educational opportunities throughout his career. He participated in fellowship programs, completed the AT&T Key Executive Management Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology鈥檚 Cambridge Institute, took courses at the University of Georgia and Mercer University, and graduated from Emory University鈥檚 Graduate School of Business Administration鈥檚 Executive Management Program.

Memories of Brunswick College

Persons remembers his time at Brunswick College fondly.

鈥淲hen Ms. Gash retired, I sent her a really nice letter with a lot of grammar errors and run-on sentences. I wrote, 鈥業 just wanted to let you know how well I鈥檓 doing and that I鈥檝e been successful. Your mentoring got me going in the right direction.鈥� She sent it back with all these red marks,鈥� Persons laughed.

Helen Gillespie Hood was another of Persons鈥� favorite English professors, but the instructor he said he learned the most from was history professor, Joe Frank Decker. Persons recalled being called into Decker鈥檚 office a few days before Thanksgiving and confronted about plagiarizing an assignment.

鈥淗e said, 鈥楤ecause you are president of student government and you鈥檙e head of the disciplinary committee, there鈥檚 no way you can try yourself. I want you to take these three books home over Thanksgiving, read them, and we鈥檙e going to have an oral book report when we get back on Monday,鈥欌�� Persons said. 鈥淪o, I read those books, made copious notes, and got back to him on Monday. He asked, 鈥楧id you read those books?鈥� I said, 鈥榊es, sir. Let me show you.鈥� He said, ‘No, you did what you were supposed to do. You鈥檙e excused. You鈥檙e going to get a C- in the class.鈥� I thought that was funniest thing, but he had a real impact.鈥�

Persons also talked about Dr. K.J. McCaleb, dean of student affairs and the student government advisor, describing him as 鈥渁 great mentor.鈥�

鈥淗e was the person I went to after I got my lecture from Dr. Decker, and he was very encouraging,鈥� he said.

In addition to serving in student government, Persons was a member of the Brunswick College Mixed Bowling League. He admitted he wasn鈥檛 the best bowler, but he always had fun with the group.

Other friends he mentioned from his Brunswick College days included Jimmy Klyce, Al Kersey, Sara Andrews, Danny Silva, and Marsha Moore.

Communicate and Listen

Always being a positive person, Persons developed what he calls 鈥淧ositive Mental Attitudes,鈥� or PMA. It means that if you have the right positive attitude, you can do anything. It鈥檚 a mindset he has instilled in his children and shared with employees throughout his career.

Persons鈥� advice to SGA members and other student leaders is to communicate and listen鈥攅specially to listen more than you speak鈥攁nd to embrace PMA.

鈥淏e gracious to those people that bring you up. You have to treat people the way you want to be treated. I try to do that with a tremendous amount of respect,鈥� Persons said. 鈥淭reat people with respect and the proper attitude, and do all you can while you鈥檙e there. You鈥檒l look back over your life and ask, 鈥榃hat have I accomplished? What have I really done that makes a difference?鈥� Everything is based on relationships, networking and treating people right.鈥�

He also encourages student leaders to think outside the box and challenge themselves.

鈥淕et out of your comfort zone and do some things you wouldn鈥檛 normally do. If you have the right PMA, you鈥檒l get it done,鈥� Persons said.

Persons has been married to Cathy Carmichael Persons for 57 years. They have three children and six grandchildren. These days, Persons spends his time with family and working in the community.

He attributes his life accomplishments to his experiences at Brunswick College, the strong relationships he鈥檚 built, and a healthy dose of PMA.