I regret not thanking him in my lifetime (and his), so I hope he knows this now! Professor George A. Shealey, head of the Art department at Queens College, Charlotte, N.C., which I attended for 4 years, and received an Art degree, taught me so much, even beyond the classroom.

In 4 years, I had many art teachers, but I learned the most from him. It was my senior year, and I thought that I knew it all, but he gave me many Fs, (for an Art major, a disaster) which only challenged me to try harder. An F became a D upon reworking, the D upped to a C, the C to a B, and finally to an A on an assignment, making me feel as though I had won the Nobel prize! My work improved drastically, and I remember in my head exactly what that first A looked like, and from then on, I “got it “and continued to improve. He was a large man, not a Southerner, but from Chicago, and earned a degree from the Art institute of Chicago. He even served in WW2, in London, designing posters for the war effort. For many years he worked at Grey Advertising in New York, quite successfully. At retirement age, he decided to slow down, and moved to Charlotte, to teach Art at a girl’s college, where I met him. He met a lovely psychology professor there, they married, and Mr. Shealey and Dr. Joyce Shealey were excellent, and sought- after professors.

He was my mentor, and really tried to help me. Upon learning that I planned to move to NYC, after graduation, with 2 classmates, he said “I want to help you, and this letter of introduction may do just that”. So, he gave me a handwritten letter on official college stationery instructing his colleagues at Grey advertising to help me find a job.

I did move to New York City in 1970 and began a job search, it was a disaster, no results, and I was going broke. I remember feeling so despondent, hopeless, carrying around my huge 3x4 foot portfolio of original artwork, even close to tears, when the bus doors closed on it, and I could not even get on and off the buses.  After almost 2 months of this, with no success at all, I was desperate, when I remembered that letter! I pulled it out of my suitcase, a little crumpled, and decided to try it, worth a shot? Grey advertising was founded in 1917, and in 1970 some of their clients were Kellogg’s, Coca-Cola, Kraft Foods, Ford, Procter& Gamble, Volkswagen, etc.

So, one day I took the bus to the nearest stop near the 50-story skyscraper which housed Grey advertising.  When I arrived on the 37TH floor, almost dizzy from the height, as I had never been higher than 4 floors, the entire floor was Grey advertising. An all-glass wall opened to reveal a lofty spacious office with high ceilings, original artwork, large window views of the city, and a large central desk, controlled by a very stern looking woman. As I nervously walked toward her desk, I noticed a modern sofa on the left side, and on it was a quintet of Japanese business men in dark suits, holding briefcases, perched on the edge of the sofa, as if they were about to rise, because they had an international appointment. (In the 1970s some of the Japanese businesses coming to America were … Sony, Honda, Toshiba, Nokia, Panasonic, etc.) That was the moment when I walked in. She gave them a “just a moment look” and then coldly asked me “and who are you? “I awkwardly stated my name and “I have a Letter” … “what kind of letter”? I handed it to her, she opened it, studied it, then marched into the ‘inner sanctum’ of the head honcho. I waited, looked at the Japanese men, they looked at this young interloper. We nodded to each other, quietly. Then immediately, the woman flew out and addressed the important guys “excuse me gentlemen, something has come up, you will have to wait a few minutes.” Then she addressed me “Mr. Grey will see you now” and coldly ushered me into his office; remember, I did NOT have an appointment, and I preempted important international clients.  Grey Global Group now has 432 offices in 96 countries, so it’s a BIG deal!

Mr. Grey himself kindly reviewed all of my artwork, and in clearcut directives, told me exactly what I needed to do to get a job, how to make ads for myself, my skills.  Grey spent one solid hour counseling me, as a FAVOR to Mr. Shealey, while making the VIPs from Japan wait. I left his office filled with hope, and within 2 weeks, using his advice, I landed my first job, with a very prestigious company. From then on, it was all uphill, making a lifetime career of ART!  

Thank you, Mr. Shealey for everything you taught me! I never got to thank you. He passed while I lived in Greece, but when I went back to college for our 40th reunion, his widow, Dr. Joyce Shealey, purchased a piece of my artwork from the alumni art show, in which I had a large collection. I was able to thank her, and to thank him posthumously!  So….  Don’t hesitate!  Thank people today!!!!!!!!

Carol Veliotis is a local columnist for The Covington News. She can be reached at carol.veliotis@gmail.com.