Fall 2007
C. Felix Harvey: coming full circle
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| C. Felix Harvey |
What could a roadside produce market and a multi-faceted business conglomerate have in common?
Everything.
In fact, one forms the foundation for the other. The Falling Creek Produce Market stands just outside the headquarters of Harvey Enterprises & Affiliates in Kinston, N.C., where C. Felix Harvey has nurtured the growth of both for nearly 60 years. A privately held, family-owned conglomerate, Harvey Enterprises & Affiliates holds interests ranging from farming and agricultural production supplies to real estate, financial institutions and insurance. It is the oldest company on the North Carolina 100 ranking of private companies and one of the state’s largest continuously operating family businesses.
The produce market is symbolic of the Harvey family’s agricultural roots and represents the start of Felix Harvey’s journey to leadership of both his family and his business.
A farmer at heart by his own description, Harvey led his family’s local business through what he described as an agricultural revolution. He learned at a very young age that to be successful, one must be committed and work hard. He wasted no time. When Harvey was seven years old, he would load his little red wagon with vegetables from his grandmother’s garden and take them to the local store and sell them to earn his own money.
Molded by the Great Depression, encouraged by his mother and grandmother and driven by a determination he defined as inherent, Harvey pursued numerous endeavors to help him become more independent financially and help his family at the same time: a desire that matured right along with him.
From necessity, Harvey matured quickly. He lost his grandfather and his father within two years of each other during the depths of the Great Depression, and it was then that he set a course that would take him to national and international leadership. Harvey said the key to guiding his company through tumultuous times lay in the ability to stay at the forefront of sweeping changes, to take the risks that come with change and take advantage of new frontiers.
“[That’s how] I progressed from head of our original local family business to chairman of an international corporation and director on five NYSE company boards,” he said. Now, back at the produce market where he spent many happy hours selling vegetables and teaching his grandsons the value of selling good products along with good customer service, he has come full circle. “What goes around comes around,” he said. “I’m most at home here, talking with my customers, friends and neighbors.”
There’s nothing like coming back to a special place, and Harvey has come back to his alma mater, along with his family, to challenge the UNC community to take advantage of new frontiers as well. The Harvey family has established the C. Felix Harvey Award to Advance Institutional Priorities with a $2 million gift to the University. The gift acknowledges Carolina’s significance to the Harveys and the important role UNC has played for generations of the Harvey family.
Members from five generations of Harveys have earned UNC degrees:Felix and Margaret Blount Harvey’s daughters Leigh Harvey McNairy and Sunny Harvey Burrows; sons-in-law John McNairy and Lee Burrows; and several grandchildren. Felix Harvey graduated in 1943 with a degree in commerce. He joined the Navy midshipman school and then served on a PT boat in the southwest Pacific theater during World War II.
“I am extremely fortunate to be able to express my gratitude in this meaningful and lasting way,” Harvey said. “Personally, UNC expanded my horizons at a very influential time. By broadening my perspective, Carolina taught me that there are many possibilities and opportunities in life. It is our collective hope that this gift will do the same for future generations of students.”
Unlike most scholarly awards at Carolina, the Harvey Award is not directed to a specific area but will support a variety of institutional initiatives, among them undergraduate education, community engagement, research and economic development in the areas of medicine, business, science, the humanities, law and the environment. Recipients will be chosen by a five-member selection committee—including two Harvey family members—that will evaluate project proposals submitted by members of the campus community. Initial proposals will be sought in spring 2009 with the first Harvey Award(s) given that fall. Award funds can be distributed to one or more selected projects, although the committee is not bound to make an award if no proposals meet the selection criteria.
Chancellor James Moeser praised Harvey’s innovative vision in acknowledging the gift: “As he did during his student days, Felix has brought his pioneering spirit to Carolina in establishing the Harvey Award,” Moeser said. “Throughout his life, he has steadfastly pursued opportunities and built a framework for success that inspires and encourages each of us to reach higher. We are grateful to Felix and the Harvey family for the tremendous opportunities this endowment makes possible.”
Harvey is a community advocate as well as a businessman. He is a lifetime member and supporter of the Salvation Army and served on the City of Kinston Board of Education for 10 years, two as chairman. He founded and headed the Kinston Industrial Development Corporation and was instrumental in the formation of the North Carolina Global TransPark, the effort to create an air-cargo manufacturing park to help boost eastern North Carolina’s economy. Harvey has chaired the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce and has received numerous achievement and citizenship awards for his efforts, including induction into the North Carolina Business Hall of Fame in 2001. In 1995, Harvey Enterprises earned the North Carolina Family Business of the Year Award from NC Business Magazine.
Harvey has served UNC as a trustee, as a member of the Bicentennial Campaign Steering Committee and as president of the Educational Foundation and the UNC Business Foundation. He also helped raise private funding for the construction of Carroll Hall. For his service, Harvey earned the General Alumni Association’s Distinguished Service Medal in 1995.
Today at the age of 87, Harvey still keeps his finger on the pulse of his family’s business, and he still sells a few homegrown vegetables at Falling Creek Produce Market. Customers can also get a firm handshake and a tip of his straw hat—on the house.
By Hope Baptiste
