A Gift Cut From A Different Cloth

When he was 14 years old, Duke Kimbrell (’49) started to work at Parkdale Mills in his hometown of Gastonia. “Without any money, any stock, or kin folk, I did whatever I was asked to do: sweeping floors, changing flats on carts, whatever they wanted me to do,” he recalls.

Upon returning from World War II, Kimbrell continued to prove that the fruits of hard work can be numerous. After earning his College of Textiles degree from NC State, Kimbrell went back to Parkdale Mills “so I could get a job.” By 1961, the industrious young man became the CEO of the company that launched his career.

Today, as the proud owner of the world’s top manufacturer of spun yarn, Kimbrell has guided Parkdale Mills through the precarious global textile market helping North Carolina remain not only first in non-wovens production, but also the fourth-largest apparel manufacturing state.

The Gift of Education
Still, Kimbrell is no stranger to the realities of the U.S. textile market. In Gaston County alone, nearly 100 mills have closed as manufacturing abroad continues to thrive. Knowing this, Kimbrell is committed to giving back to mill town families and communities. Specifically, he is giving back through the power of education — with the $3 million endowed Duke Kimbrell Scholarship Fund.

The full scholarships are awarded to students from towns where Parkdale Mills has plants — such as Kings Mountain, Lexington, Sanford and Gastonia. One such student is Courtney Anne Bolin, a textiles technology major, who notes, “Receiving the Kimbrell Scholarship has meant making life for my parents a little bit easier, and it has helped give me a motive to work very hard in my classes.” She adds, “My grandmother retired from Parkdale Mills, so I know it made her proud that I received the scholarship.”

Likewise, Kimbrell Scholar Morgan Meredith, a fashion and textile management major, says “The Kimbrell Scholarship has enabled me to focus more on my studies, because I did not have to stress about getting a job to help pay for my college bills. The biggest benefit of receiving the Kimbrell Scholarship has been the financial assistance that it provided to my family and me.”

Kimbrell did not limit the scholarship to College of Textiles students, however, because he feels strongly that “It’s more important that students get an education”— even if they are not planning to pursue a career in textiles. And although Kimbrell “would like to see the students return to the community,” doing so is not a requirement of the scholarship. He adds, though, that, “if they have a job, I think they will.” Just as Kimbrell himself did in 1949.