Winter Commencement 2017 Program

COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER

Bobby F. Griffin

People are inspired – not by people who have only experienced success – but by people who have known failure and succeeded in spite of it. Bobby F. Griffin was born and raised in Bristol, Virginia where he was considered “least likely to succeed” and what was worse, he believed it. At age 17 he dropped out of school and had only finished the ninth grade. He joined the Army, went to Korea and was wounded. He returned home to an economy that had no need for a high school dropout. If our past is a predictor of our future, his was not promising. Albert Schweitzer’s father once told his son, “It isn’t what happens to the man that counts. It’s what the man does about what happens that matters most.” Bobby Griffin was determined not to let what happened to him shape his future. He took command of his life. He showed the kind of courage and character necessary to realize his dreams. That man who was “least likely to succeed” and whose future looked so dark and uncertain has started several businesses from scratch and built them into multi-million dollar companies. He is a successful businessman, president of several companies and serves on the board of several colleges and universities. In 1979 he was selected as Personality of the South ; in 1985 he received an honorary doctor’s degree, Doctor of Humane Letters , from Emmanuel Baptist Seminary in Shelby, North Carolina, in 1990 he was selected for Who’s Who in Leading American Executives and in May 2004 he received another honorary doctor’s degree, Doctor of Administration , from Cumberland College in Williamsburg, Kentucky. He is married to the former Frieda Bass and they have two sons and four grandchildren.