Four business leaders will be inducted into the Catawba College Business Hall of Fame Nov. 8 in the Peeler Crystal Lounge in the Robertson College-Community Center.
They are Claude S. Abernethy Jr. of Conover, C.A. “Junie” Michael of Mooresville, the late Clifford A. Peeler of Salisbury and Tom E. Smith of Salisbury.
They will comprise the second class of business leaders to be honored by the Ralph W. Ketner School of Business, which sponsors the event along with the school’s Business Advisory Board.
A 6 p.m. reception will be followed by dinner and the awards ceremony at 6:45 p.m. Joey Popp, chair of the Business Advisory Board, will emcee.
Abernethy, a native of Catawba County, is an honors graduate of Davidson College and the Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration. He is a veteran of the U. S. Army, a retired vice president of Interstate/Johnson Lane and an active member of Corinth United Church of Christ in Hickory. He has received numerous awards from Catawba, including an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree and the Adrian L. Shuford Jr. Award for Distinguished Service. He has been a member of the college’s Board of Trustees for 48 years.
Michael, a native of Lexington, graduated from Catawba in 1970. He is president/CEO of Parkway Ford and has received the TIME magazine Quality Dealer Award. He has been a Catawba trustee since 1997, previously was a member of the Board of Visitors and recently chaired the successful $35 million endowment campaign. He has received the Adrian L. Shuford Jr. Award for Distinguished Service to Catawba and Catawba’s Distinguished Alumnus Award.
Peeler was a trustee and trustee emeritus at Catawba for 62 years. A native of Rowan County, he graduated from the University of North Carolina and Columbia University. He was president, board chairman and treasurer of Carolina Beverage Corp., which bottles Cheerwine, for nearly 70 years. His Catawba honors include an honorary doctorate of humanities, the Adrian L. Shuford Jr. Award for Distinguished Service and a Life of Exemplary Service Award. He was a member of the Salisbury Civitan Club for 75 years and also served as mayor of Salisbury.
Smith, a native of China Grove, graduated from Catawba in 1964 and is the former president/CEO of Food Lion. He just completed 10 years as chairman of the Catawba College Board of Trustees and remains a member of the board. His Catawba awards include the Distinguished Alumnus Award, honorary doctor of laws degree, Adrian L. Shuford Jr. Award for Distinguished Service and a Life of Exemplary Service Award. Other awards include the Martin Luther King Humanitarian Award, Bronze and Silver CEO of the Year, North Carolina Grocer of the Year and Civic Commitment Award from the National Council on Aging. He is also a former member of the U.S. Army Reserve.
Tickets are $45 per person, $80 per couple. For tickets or more details, call Cecilia Stach at 704-637-4405.
Those inducted at last year’s inaugural event were Ralph W. Ketner, Lynne Scott Safrit, Claude Hampton Jr., Thomas S. Carroll, the late Adrian L. Shuford Jr., the late J. W. Aberneth Jr. and the late Millard Wilson.