Griffin Speaks
RON E. MAYS
In 1988 I had the honor of escorting Mrs. Earl G. Graves Sr. into a wedding
ceremony where I served as a groomsman. Mrs. Graves'' husband, the Chairman,
Editor & Publisher of Black Enterprise Magazine followed closely behind.
Mr. Graves was one of the bride's father's best friends. Comedian Bill
Cosby was the bride's Godfather.
What I did not know at the time that I met Earl Graves was that I would live to see the day that he would feature one of my friends in his magazine. I was totally surprised when I read his November 2002 issue. On page 106 was an article that featured Montgomery, Alabama's Ron E. Mays, owner of Montgomery Jet Center. Black and White folk have been talking every since the article appeared. One day he was just regular struggling Ron and it seemed as though the next day he was multi-millionaire Ron E. Mays.
Ron was the topic of discussion in most barbershops. Did you see the article about Ron Mays? You could tell that some people were green with envy! I was extremely proud of Ron. Here's the story:
I knew Ron Mays before he was selected as the recipient of Black Enterprise Magazine's 2002 Emerging Company of the year award; I knew Ron Mays before he became the owner of an airline that grosses between $4.4 million to $7 million dollars in revenue each year; I knew Ron Mays before his company had seven aircrafts and fifteen full-time employees; I knew Ron Mays before he began flying such celebrities as Steve Francis, Jason Kidd, Rev. Juanita Bynum, Tom Joyner, Dr. Ira Hilliard and Rev. Jesse Jackson; I knew Ron Mays before Bank Presidents competed for his business; I knew Ron Mays before he married his beautiful wife, the true secret behind his success; I knew Ron Mays before he became the wealthy entrepreneur that he is today. What fascinates me is that he is as humble today as he was at the beginning.
I met Ron in 1987 when he invited me to have lunch with him and his good friend Charlie Graddick. Ron knows all of the movers and shakers in Montgomery. In fact he is mentioned in Attorney Juliann McPhillip's autobiography.
When I met Ron and Charlie Graddick for lunch at Martha's I had no idea how much controversy it would cause. Before I could return to my office it seemed that all of the important political folks knew that I had met with Charlie. Someone even said that they overheard me tell Charlie Graddick: "JUST BE GOOD TO ME!" Of course that was a lie. My conversation with Charlie Graddick contained no such statement. I think I told him to "just be good". I don't know where they got the "to me". I realized after that lunch that Ron had friends across the board. Perhaps this is how Ron left almost so many folks behind and joined ranks with: Donald Watkins, Greg Calhoun, Attorney Tyrone Means, Rep. Alvin Holmes, Dr. Joe L. Reed, W.L. Williams, Rep. John Knight, Atty.Troy Massey and several other black millionaires in the city of Montgomery.
Lawrence Otis Graham authored a book about America's Black Upper Class titled: Our Kind of People. I will probably one day write a book about the Black Millionaires in the city of Montgomery. It is a well-kept secret! In the words of one of my northern houseguest: "Black folks doing good in Montgomery, Alabama!
Many northerners think we are all running around barefoot with a pig under each arm. Well many of us are running around with a piggy bank under each arm headed straight to the bank! That's how I see it!
Greg Griffin is a freelance writer. You can read his previous articles by visiting his web page at www.greggriffin.com
Greg Griffin is a freelance writer. He can be contacted at www.greggriffin.com
