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GED Gives Second Chance For Diploma
Amco News
July 1987
There were many reasons
for dropping out of school
then and just as many
reasons now for resuming
studies to get a high school
diploma.
And more than 20
Adams-Millis employees
currently are taking advan
tage of an opportunity to
reach for and get their high
school diploma.
Sometimes it was econ
omics. Other times the
thought of marriage was
more appealing than com
pleting high school. And
there were other reasons.
Those reasons don’t seem
as important now, a family
later for some.
“I always wanted to get my
diploma, ” said Betty Ashley
of Plant 7. “Adams-Millis is
giving me the opportunity to
do that and I’m going to do
it.”
For Nancy Myers earning a
high school diploma will
help to advance her career.
“A better education always
helps,” she said while taking
a break from studies.
Nellie Gragg is achieving
two objectives as she works
toward a high school dip
loma.
“My teenagers said I didn’t
know what school was like,”
she said. “Now I can show
them I do.”
Making the decision to re
turn to the classroom after a
number of years usually is a
tough decision because of
the responsibilities that ac
company rearing a family
and working.
“After the first step it’s not
hard,” said Margaret Burgin.
“Just coming in here the first
time is the tough part.”
The current GED class be
gan March 17 and Burgin
said it has been fun. “But
we’ve learned too,” she ad
ded.
Students study more than
the three “Rs.” Social
studies, English, math, read
ing and science are each
covered in the classes.
The program is being
offered through Guilford
Technical Community Col
lege. Jim Bridges, GTCC di
rector of literacy education,
said about 300 persons earn
their high school diploma
through the school’s GED
program.
“Technology today dic
tates better education,” he
said. “We think of it as ‘re
tooling’ minds as well as ma
chines.
Bridges said GED classes
are offered anywhere there
is enough interest shown to
make a class economically
feasible. Usually, the mini
mum number of students is
Continue on Page 5
Fitness Makes Good Sense
Mike Ryan
Running Replaces Bad Habit
It was seven years ago on July 28 that Mike
Ryan decided to quit smoking and lose
weight. Since then he has covered a lot of
ground—running.
At that time he weighed 210 pounds and
chain-smoked three packs of cigarettes a
day. Today he weighs 162 pounds, doesn’t
smoke and says, “I have never felt better.”
Ryan, Adams-Millis Senior Vice President
of Administration and Human Resources, is
among a growing number of people comm
itted to wellness. That’s the buzzword.
People are walking, jogging, swimming and
doing many other activities to maintain good
health.
Several other Adams-
Millis executives also have
joined in personal wellness
efforts. Chairman J.H. Millis
Sr. is quitting smoking and is
an active tennis player.
President Robert Bundy
also is attempting to break
the smoking habit. J.H. Millis
Jr., Senior Vice President of
Marketing, has quit smoking
runs regularly. Neel
Harrison, Senior Vice
President of Finance, and
Jon Wallner, Senior Vice
President of Manufacturing,
also have quit smoking.
“I am firmly convinced
that smoking will kill you,”
Ryan said while taking a
break from a noon-time run
recently. “If we could get
people to stop smoking we
would save more lives than
finding a cure for cancer or
heart disease.”
Ryan said he used running
to replace a bad habit (smok
ing). “Running now is a habit
Instructor Deborah Lloyd, left, assists Dianne Mitchell,
Julia Bridges.
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Lunchtime W alk
Participants in the recent walking program keep a brisk pace during a
lunchtime walk. The program, including two 30-minute sessions a week
for a month, was conducted to generate interest in walking for fltness.
a