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no law degree, because of one night of bad weather.
Although he must have felt devastated, Rollins had been brought
up on the rags-to-riches stories of Horatio Alger and the faith of
the Methodist Church. He strove that much harder, eventually
building a business empire of legendary entrepreneurialism and
far-reaching philanthropy. Rollins, the brainy country boy who
never attended college, ultimately invested millions in higher
education, a tradition that continues today with his descendants
through the O. Wayne Rollins Foundation.
“When I came to Young Harris College in 2007, it didn’t
take long to understand the strong influence of the O. Wayne
Rollins Family on our campus, said YHC President Cathy Cox.
“YHC would look—and feel—dramatically different without
their contributions. If you take a stroll around campus, you will
quickly see the evidence of more than four decades of support and
leadership, and for that, we are very grateful.”
It is a testament to YHC’s transcendent appeal, as well as an
object lesson in the power of a dream deferred, that this key
benefactor for the College never took a single course here.
After that early setback, Rollins sold dairy products door-todoor
and shoveled gravel for the county roads. He began dating
a woman he met at a church revival, an independent redhead
named Grace Crum of Howardsville. After an occasionally
tempestuous courtship, they married on Easter Sunday of 1931, in
Young Harris—in a ceremony conducted by Wayne’s uncle, Frank
Rollins, who was a ministerial student at the College.
“Now that was a happy marriage to emulate,” said their
granddaughter, Pam Rollins, who currently chairs YHC’s Board of
Trustees Development Committee as well as the College’s Investing
Above: Wayne and Grace Rollins through the years
Below: Wayne and Grace Rollins with their children and
grandchildren at their 50th wedding anniversary party
in 1981.
Capital Campaign
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