PONTE VEDRA, FL Richard P. Strawhorn, Director, Risk Management for Mohawk Industries in Calhoun,
GA, was today elected President of The Textile Education Foundation, Inc. (TEF) at the 59th Annual
Meeting of the Foundation in Ponte Vedra, FL.Strawhorn succeeds J. Tom Watters, Jr., the Chairman
of the Board of Syntec Industries in Rome, as President. Lee S. Bryan, General Manager of Finishing
for Mount Vernon Mills, Inc. in Trion was elected Vice President, and John Cahill, Vice President
of Human Resources for Ten Cate Nicolon, USA in Pendergrass, GA was elected Treasurer.Strawhorn was
born and raised in Abbeville County, South Carolina and graduated from Furman University in
Greenville and subsequently from The Financial Management Program of Stanford University in Palo
Alto, California.He began his career as an Accounts Payable Clerk for the Rocky River Plant of
Bigelow Sanford and went on to become a member of the senior management teams at Bigelow,
Fieldcrest Cannon and the Residential Division of Mohawk Industries. Extremely active in the
community and with his church, Strawhorn serves on the Executive Committee of the Gordon Chamber of
Commerce and is a past Chairman of that organization. He is also a member of the Administrative
Council of the Calhoun United Methodist Church where he has served for several years as Chairman of
the Finance Committee. He is a member of the Board of the North Georgia Chapter of the Institute of
Management Accountants and the Coosa Valley Technical College and serves on the Financial Officers
Council of the Carpet and Rug Institute. He also serves on the Board of GTMA – The Association of
Georgias Textile, Carpet and Consumer Products Manufacturers.Bryan is a member of a family which
has provided distinguished leadership to the industry, to GTMA and to TEF for decades. A native of
Jefferson, he began his career in the industry in 1980 as a manufacturing trainee with Burlington
Industries following his graduation from Purdue University with a degree in Industrial Engineering.
He joined his family-owned Jefferson Mills in 1984 as Finishing Plant Manager and was subsequently
named Vice President of Manufacturing. Jefferson Mills was sold to Texfi Industries in 1991, and
Bryan remained with the company as its Plant Manager until he joined Mount Vernon Mills in
1993.Bryan has been very active in his community having served as President of Armuchee Education
Foundation and the Jefferson Rotary Club, and past board member of the Summerville/Trion Rotary
Club and First Methodist Church of Rome. He currently serves on the External Advisory Board of the
Georgia Tech School of Textile and Fiber Engineering and as a mentor to a current textile student.
In addition, he serves on the Executive Committee of TEF and the Board of GTMA. Cahill is a
graduate of Kings College in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, where he lettered in both football and
golf. His professional career has included stints at Sears RoebuckandCompany and Borden, prior to
joining Ten Cate Nicolon USA in 1990. He has been involved with the Human Resources Committee of
GTMA for several years and currently serves as its Chairman. He is a avid golfer and budding
author, now working on his first book.Three textile executives were elected by the Foundations
membership to serve three-year terms on the board of directors: Hank Millsaps, Vice President of
Human Resources, CollinsandAikman Floorcoverings, Dalton; Larry Porter, General Manager of Greige
Fabrics, Mount Vernon Mills, Alto; and Denise Statham, Director of Marketing, Southern Mills, Inc.,
Union City.In addition, the Foundation elected Harry Batty, Chief Executive Officer of Sylvania
Yarn Systems, Sylvania and Jimmy L. Prater, Group Director, Natural Yarn and Carpet Manufacturing
of Shaw Industries, Dalton to fill unexpired terms on the Board.The Foundation also re-elected Roy
Bowen as Executive Vice President and Suzanne Wilkes as Secretary.Over 175 industry executives,
their spouses and those who supply and support the industry attended the Annual Meeting of TEF,
which was held in conjunction with the 102nd Annual Meeting of GTMA at the Sawgrass Marriott, Ponte
Vedra, Florida.Established in 1943 to help meet the industrys demand for textile engineers, TEF has
expended several million dollars, primarily for assistance to the School of Textile and Fiber
Engineering at Georgia Tech in Atlanta and at the Apparel/Textile Engineering Technology Department
at Southern Polytechnic State University in Marietta. Included have been funds for student
scholarships and recruitment, the Executive-in-Residence, textile machinery and laboratory
equipment, field trips to textile plants and promotion of textile career opportunities.
