Success, Rewritten

Thomas E. Persons Sr. served as the first president of student government for Brunswick College, now known as the College of Coastal Georgia. Although he had the distinction of being president, he admits he wasn’t 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’s first student government president—now referred to as the Student Government Association—he 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.

“The campaign poster that hung up said, ‘Vote for Tommy if you want things to change.’ I didn’t know what we were going to change—we were a brand-new college,” 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’s archives.

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

Under his leadership, they held meetings and hosted a variety of events—the highlight being the Christmas formal, with the theme “Twilight Under the Stars.” 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.

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

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’s retail store. One day, a young man dove up in a brand-new Oldsmobile 442. That encounter changed his life.

“He looked like he stepped out of Gentleman’s Quarterly, and I said, ‘My gosh man! What do you do? I see it’s an out of town tag. Are you from Atlanta?’ He said, ‘Yes. I’m with the Yellow Pages. I’m in sales and marketing with the Yellow Pages for Southern Bell.’ 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,” Persons said.

Persons faced a decision—either 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: “You don’t need to go to med school,” she told him, referring to his original plan. “You need to be talking to people and meeting people.”

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.

“I sat down and had a long talk with myself. I said, ‘You’ve got to get yourself going here buddy. You’re a young man—you got a lot of life ahead of you,’” 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’s 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’s 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 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’s role in the American Revolution.

While he hasn’t earned a traditional bachelor’s 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’s Cambridge Institute, took courses at the University of Georgia and Mercer University, and graduated from Emory University’s Graduate School of Business Administration’s Executive Management Program.

Memories of Brunswick College

Persons remembers his time at Brunswick College fondly.

“When Ms. Gash retired, I sent her a really nice letter with a lot of grammar errors and run-on sentences. I wrote, ‘I just wanted to let you know how well I’m doing and that I’ve been successful. Your mentoring got me going in the right direction.’ She sent it back with all these red marks,” Persons laughed.

Helen Gillespie Hood was another of Persons’ 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’s office a few days before Thanksgiving and confronted about plagiarizing an assignment.

“He said, ‘Because you are president of student government and you’re head of the disciplinary committee, there’s no way you can try yourself. I want you to take these three books home over Thanksgiving, read them, and we’re going to have an oral book report when we get back on Monday,’” Persons said. “So, I read those books, made copious notes, and got back to him on Monday. He asked, ‘Did you read those books?’ I said, ‘Yes, sir. Let me show you.’ He said, ‘No, you did what you were supposed to do. You’re excused. You’re going to get a C- in the class.’ I thought that was funniest thing, but he had a real impact.”

Persons also talked about Dr. K.J. McCaleb, dean of student affairs and the student government advisor, describing him as “a great mentor.”

“He was the person I went to after I got my lecture from Dr. Decker, and he was very encouraging,” he said.

In addition to serving in student government, Persons was a member of the Brunswick College Mixed Bowling League. He admitted he wasn’t 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 “Positive Mental Attitudes,” or PMA. It means that if you have the right positive attitude, you can do anything. It’s a mindset he has instilled in his children and shared with employees throughout his career.

Persons’ advice to SGA members and other student leaders is to communicate and listen—especially to listen more than you speak—and to embrace PMA.

“Be 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,” Persons said. “Treat people with respect and the proper attitude, and do all you can while you’re there. You’ll look back over your life and ask, ‘What have I accomplished? What have I really done that makes a difference?’ Everything is based on relationships, networking and treating people right.”

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

“Get out of your comfort zone and do some things you wouldn’t normally do. If you have the right PMA, you’ll get it done,” 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’s built, and a healthy dose of PMA.