Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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From the President G.T. Williams Like most textile companies, we are feeling the pressure of an uncertain economy. Our operating results for the year have not met our expectations, and it is very important for us to con tinue to work together to improve qual ity and productivity. We are currently focusing our atten tion on many traditional programs which mean so much to each of us. A major activity underway is our involve ment in the United Way. The United Way is important to the area where many of our plants are located and it needs your support to make its work meaningful. I urge you to help in anyway you can. I would also like to encourage you to consider the educational opportunities available to those in the workplace. Adult education, literacy, technical schools and area colleges offer unlimited chances for all of us to im prove our skills and education. I appreciate the support each of you give our blood drive in our plants. This month our Lydia Plant employees responded well to our appeal for blood. This program supplies unlimited blood replacement for eligible employees and their families. Today, many of us are concerned about the tensions that exist in the cur rent Iraq-Kuwait situation. We support our military personnel, their families and our leaders who are directly in volved in this crisis. Many of us may be affected by these global tensions as family and friends are called to participate. We are continuing to respond to your suggestions in connection with our T- Shirt program in June. You have indi cated your sincere interest in improv ing both safety and quality by the remarks and suggestions you have made. We appreciate your loyalty and support. r t G. T. Williams Chambers On The Road Again On the road again. No, not Charles Kuralt but Clinton’s Joe L. Chambers, Sr. Chambers, a Plant No. 2 Spinning Technician, enjoys a well rounded lifestyle as he spends time between his Clinton farm and place in the mountains. A long service employee, Joe likes to recall his accomplishments since join ing the Company over twenty years ago. He recalls with a keen sense of pride the days when he was working with Haskins Lumber Company, and left them to pursue a career in textiles. “I’m not ashamed to say that I was struggling when I got a job at Clinton. With the help of the good Lord, sound judgment, and hard work, my family has done all right.” During his off hours, Chambers en joys raising beef cattle and “enough vegetables to feed my family.” “Clinton Mills is a place that an employee can get ahead if he wants to. The opportunity is here for most peo ple who want to have a chance,” he ex plained, as he showed the ClothMaker editor the features of his 25’ leisure craft motor home used for regular visits to his homestead between Black Mountain and Marion, North Carolina. “The motor home, which provides Joe Chambers self contained living quarters as well as transportation, is a prized possession for Joe and wife Viola, Lydia Spinning. Since he rents his home in the moun tains, he reserved a “hookup” to ac comodate his motor home on weekend visits. We stay in the motor home on visits to North Carolina and find it par ticularly enjoyable when we go to family reunions. “Nothing beats having your own private place to stay,” he noted with a sense of pride. Chambers has attracted much atten tion over the years with his ownership of Harley Davidson motorcycles with side car commonly referred to as his three wheeled Cadillac. We can improve quality by working together to make a quality product which we can sell profitably at a competitive price. James Blevins, Geneva Spooling Cato Recognized For Preventing Foot Injury George Cato, center, Lydia Main tenance, was recently recognized by the Company for preventing a serious foot injury by wearing safety shoes. Cato stated that a long metal rod fell across his foot with no resulting injury. The 20 pound, 5 foot rod fell from a work bench onto Cato's foot. Employees who prevent a serious foot injury earn membership into the Scarab Club, an organization dedicated to foot safety. Each member inducted into the Scarab Club receives a Club certificate and a Bradley Pen/Pencil Set. The Club and the awards are sponsored by Lehigh Safety Shoe Company, Clinton's sup plier of safety footwear. Left to right are Co-ordinator of Health and Safety Sonny King, Cato, and Lydia Plant Engineer Mike Kinard. Mike, along with Assistant Plant Engineer Rick Page and Brian Shealy have prevented serious foot injuries by wearing safety shoes. They are also members of the Scarab Club. Joe Chambers with his grandchildren. Industry Works On Major Concerns The US. textile industry is more than ever aware of many major issues fac ing our world today. One includes ex panding its community and citizenship goals by working toward “zero waste.” (Zero waste is to radically lessen dependence on landfills.) In order to meet this goal, the textile industry must increase its use of pro ducts that can be recycled, including investing in ways to recycle waste and packing materials. Each of us must also ask our families and people in our communities to become more en vironmentally sensitive. The US. textile industry should also urge local school systems and state and local governments to improve educa tion programs, including student and teacher performance. Because we have not paid much at tention to what was happening outside, because we incorrectly assumed that the manufacturers manufacture and the educators educate, we as a nation and as an industry have an education crisis. The fact is, the only products we accept unconditionally are the pro ducts of our educational system. A number of textile companies, in cluding Clinton Mills, offers education renewal programs to employees to help them upgrade reading and math skills. (See INDUSTRY, page 3) - ■-* V V . > V J -£: ■. •; % r; % page 2 - Cloth Maker