THE MILL WHISTLE
Vol. 33
Eden, N. C., June 9, 1975
No. 22
Fieldcrest Introduces Fall '75
Merchandise At Sales Meeting
jjiP Arthur L. Jackson, senior vice president, presents
awards to Bunyan Lee Thompson, company’s newest 50-
year employee.
! L Thompson Is Honored
For 50 Years Of Service
iLee Thompson of the
Bedspread Mill, a new 50-year
employee, was honored by the
management of Fieldcrest Mills,
Inc., at a luncheon at Meadow
Greens Country Club Friday,
jis May 23.
|i He was presented the
uii Fieldcrest diamond-and-gold 50-
,j[j year pin, a gift and a letter from
Is President William C. Battle
j] extending the company’s
^ji^appreciation for Mr.
[J Thompson’s long and faithful
service.
The presentations were made
by Arthur L. Jackson, senior
vice president-manufacturing,
who also read a telegram from
Mr. Battle expressing his
regrets at having to be out of
town and unable to attend the
meeting.
Mr. Jackson told of his
association with several
(Continued on Page Three)
The Fieldcrest Marketing
Division introduced its new Fall
merchandise and selling plans at
a sales meeting held in New
York City May 15-16-17.
All areas of the company were
represented and the meeting
was organized both to present
the forceful new programs and
to encourage an exchange of
ideas among all in attendance.
The first day was spent in
platform presentations dealing
with the merchandise
introductions and with- the roles
of Sales, Merchandising, Manu
facturing and Research and
Development in the
achievement of divisional goals.
Speakers were D. M. Tracy,
president of the Fieldcrest
Marketing Division, 0. G.
Grubbs, H. M. Bergen, and J. P.
Robertson, vice presidents and
directors of sales, mer
chandising, and advertising
respectively, A. L. Jackson,
senior vice president of manu
facturing, and Dr. L. H. Hance,
vice president of research and
engineering.
W. C. Battle, president and
chief executive officer of
Fieldcrest Mills, Inc., addressed
the group on Friday evening. His
VACATION
rjK
iusFieldcrest Mills, Inc. has
announced that its plants
generally will close for
vacation at the end of the
second shift Friday, June
27, and will resume
operations Sunday evening,
July 6, at 11 p.m.
i.Jf there are any
exceptions to this schedule,
the employees affected will
be notified by their mill
, management.
Vacation pay will be
issued on the regular pay
day of the week beginning
June 23. Paychecks for the
iiE ending June 29 will be
ioPg issued in the regular
manner on Monday, July 7.
The Credit Union Office at
Eden will close at 5 p.m.
Friday, June 27, and will
reopen Monday, July 7, at 8
a m. Credit Union offices at
other locations will close
Wednesday, June 25, at 5
p m. and reopen July 7 at 8
a.m.
is)
'Symbol Of Excellence' To
Be Awarded At Fieldale
Employees of the Fieldale
Towel Mill have won recognition
for outstanding performance in
manufacturing superior
products for Sears, Roebuck and
Co. during the past year.
Towel Mill officials have been
notified that the plant won the
Sears “Symbol of Excellence’’
and are making plans for special
presentation ceremonies to be
held within the next few weeks.
Employees will be notified of
the dates and details of the
recognition ceremonies.
The coveted award is based
primarily on the general
excellence of merchandise
produced by Fieldcrest Mills,
Inc. for Sears during the past
year. It also recognizes the
general excellence of the
Fieldale Towel Mill’s
performance in such matters as
shipping goods on schedule and
initiative in developing new and
improved merchandise.
The award to the Towel Mill is
one of the 470 Sears is presenting
this year to suppliers judged
most outstanding among its
12,000 merchandising sources.
speech dealt with the problems
of the economy, the special
challenges facing Fieldcrest,
and the corporate activities
already under way to strengthen
both the short and long term
prospects of the company.
The Saturday and Sunday
meetings involved group
sessions arranged around
product, sales and advertising
areas. These sessions provided a
lively exchange of ideas and
questions on all phases of
marketing, sales, and manufac
turing.
Immediately following the
;sales meeting, the May Market
Week began. The new “Nation of
Nations” Collection, created
from designs in the Smithsonian
Institution, as well as Woodsy
Owl, an attractive new juvenile
collection, and the new Royal
Velvet color palette were
(Continued On Page Six)
Fieldcrest’s Bedspread
Operation received the award
for four consecutive years, 1967-
1970. The award this year is the
(Continued on Page Eight)
CU Members To
Receive Dividend
Members of the Fieldcrest
Mills Credit Union will receive
another 7 percent per annum
dividend, figured on their
average monthly balances and
credited to each member’s share
account as of June 30, 1975.
The dividend was authorized
by the Credit Union’s board of
directors at their regular
monthly meeting Thursday,
May 29.
Members who need money
before June 30 could be better off
if they obtained a short-term
loan instead of withdrawing
their savings. If savings are
withdrawn before June 30, the
dividends that have been
accruing since January 1 will be
lost.
Praises Free Enterprise
Praise for the American free enterprise sys
tem which makes possible educational advan
tages and other opportunities was contained in a
letter written by a recipient of a campus scholar
ship given by Fieldcrest Mills.
The author of the letter is Fred S. Reynolds,
Jr., a junior at Clemson University majoring
in electrical engineering. He received one of
the two $1,000 scholarships given by Fieldcrest
Mills each year at Clemson, Georgia Tech and
North Carolina State University.
Mr. Reynolds’ letter, addressed to E. R. Ellis,
then manager of executive employment, who
notified Mr. Reynolds of the scholarship, follows
below:
Dear Mr. Ellis;
1 have just received your letter of 14 May and 1
wanted to take this opportunity to thank you and all of
the others at Fieldcrest Mills for making this scholar
ship possible.
I am a Navy veteran and during my time in service
I spent almost seven continuous years overseas in
various parts of Asia and Europe; therefore, I can say
with some confidence that no other country in the
world provides the opportunity that our country does
in allowing a poor boy like me to get an education.
1 thank God for the American free enterprise sys
tem and people in private businesses like Fieldcrest
Mills that provide scholarships which help to make
our system of higher education work.
For some of us, college isn’t fun and games but
deadly serious business which entails a lot of hard
work. I leave our house for Clemson prior to 8 o’clock
each morning and in most instances I don’t arrive
home until 11 o’clock at night. My wife and son can
only count on my being at home on Saturday night and
Sunday morning when the libraries and the labs are
closed at Clemson.
The money from the scholarship will be used to
make life a little easier for us and will mean a les
sening in the sacrifices we have been making. It will
help the educational process continue but, in all
honesty, the money is not the big reward. The scholar
ship has renewed my faith in the old American belief
that hard work, sacrifice and perseverance pay off.
This recognition has meant a great deal to my
family. We now know beyond a doubt that our sacri
fices are going to ensure a better future for us. It is
mainly for this reason that I want to thank you and
the others at Fieldcrest Mills for this honor. You
can be certain that I will not abuse the trust all of you
have placed in me.
Again thank you, not just from myself but also from
my wife and son.
Fred S. Reynolds, Jr.