Montgomery native who established awards to honor students was 87.
Initiated band's first appearance on national TV at Jet's game at Shea Stadium.
An important Alabama State University alumnus who was recognized for doing much to honor and recognize student's progress is gone.
George H. Andrews, a Montgomery native, who established and funded his alma mater’s Student of the Year Award (that bears his name) and who got the band its very first appearance on national television, died in New York on Friday, June 2. He was 87 years old.
A memorial service for Andrews is being planned for July on the ASU campus.
Andrews earned the Bachelor of Science degree from ASU in 1951 and in the succeeding years, he became an exemplary alumnus who gave selflessly of his finances and time in support of ASU students.
Andrews attended ASU his entire educational life; first being enrolled in it’s kindergarten before graduating from ASU Laboratory High School in 1947. After enrolling in then - Alabama State College - Andrews became a student leader, serving as drum major, president of his freshman and sophomore classes and president of the Dramatics Guild. He also was voted Student of the Year and Senior of the Year.
After graduating from ASU, Andrews entered the U.S. Air Force, but still maintained his commitment to ASU.
In 1967, Andrews helped to initiate the first appearance of the Mighty Marching Hornets Band on national television. The band performed on Dec. 10, at a New York Jets football game at Shea Stadium. The performance led to many more national appearances for the band.
Andrews also had been a leader in the National Alumni Association (NAA), serving as vice president and as a member of the Executive Board. He founded the New York Metropolitan chapter of the NAA and, in 1998, was named President Emeritus by the members of the chapter. Andrews recruited more than 100 students to ASU and to other Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
During a 2012 interview, Andrews said that while he had received numerous civic awards, he most cherished those given to him by his alma mater, including being named Alumnus of the Year (1973, 1974) and receiving the Dr. Emory O. Jackson Memorial Award and the Harper Councill Trenholm Memorial Award. In addition, the University’s highest student honor’s award bears his name.
In Andrews’s words: “I have always been a part of ASU. It’s in my blood.”
Posted By: Reginald Culpepper
Monday, June 5th 2017 at 6:21PM
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