The five AHS Outstanding Graduates honored with a luncheon at city hall yesterday agreed to a person that growing up and attending school in Andalusia was special.
“I would say that I wouldn’t trade growing up in Andalusia for anything,” Richard Anthony said. “I had a great childhood and teenage experience. ”
Anthony, who retired as CEO of Synovous Financial Corp., said the lessons he learned about communities growing up here served him well in his career.
“One thing I learned early on in banking, is that if you instill in people who work in your organization the idea that their work has meaning beyond producing profits for the shareholders, whereby lives of others are impacted positively, you have a better team,” he said. “The experience I had in living in Andalusia and learning the true meaning of community made me understand that.”
Suzanne Fornaro, a member of the class of 1965 who had a career in journalism and public relations, said she has been blessed with lifelong friends.
“I loved growing up in Andalusia,” she said. “I don’t think you could beat it. It’s a great place. Friends, teachers, schools, your church, your community – All of those people helped my parents provide the knowledge and experience for a solid foundation for my life. I always felt like could do whatever I wanted to do.”
A tireless advocate of AHS and the Class of ’48 Foundation, which she helped found, Suan Riley Salter said she is so proud of her class for having established the foundation which provides scholarships to AHS students.
Shelby Searcy graduated from AHS in 1947 and returned as an educator and coach. He later worked in two other school systems.
“Andalusia is different from all those systems,” he said. “It is a system that is built around the community. And that is very, very important. When they want to do something here in this town, they get it done by just asking for volunteers.”
“I had good parents, I had good grandparents, and good teachers, right here in this building,” he said. “I had good coaches, mentors and a... READ MORE>