This year, Amos R. McMullian will be inducted into the A.S.B. Baking Hall of Fame. Nearly a dozen industry leaders supported his nomination that detailed the impact the former chief executive of Flowers Foods had on the company and baking industry.
Because his accomplishments are well known, Jeanni Frye, his office manager for nearly 20 years, decided to share a more personal side of his career.
“To say Amos McMullian is a man of great character is an understatement,” she wrote. “I have firsthand knowledge of his day-to-day interactions and relationships in and outside the office.”
She described his “kind, giving nature and the great respect of leadership in the company and the community. My favorite personal testimony of his character (and there are many) that stands out so simply, yet so profoundly is that Amos McMullian treats the staff that cleans his office with the same kindness and respect as he does his peers.”
She observed that Winston Churchill, who Mr. McMullian admires greatly, once said: “Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones.”
Ms. Frey further described Mr. McMullian as “a man of courage with the strength that it took to lead this company 56 years through hard times and good times and leave his unquestionable standard of character and his legacy of success for this industry.
And she aptly concluded, “Anyone that has ever known him would say he epitomizes the characteristics for which this award was created.”
Yes, a person’s character along with the value they place in their work — and in others — is often the difference between those who accomplish a lot and those true leaders who leave a legacy behind them.