Sandlin a Shaw Mover and Shaker

Dalton, GA, October 28--Scott Sandlin would probably have been a veterinarian but for one minor detail – science, according to the Chattanooga Times/Free Press. "I wanted to be a vet -- until I got into organic chemistry" at the University of Tennessee, he said. "At that point, I found a direct route to the business school." That turned out to be a good career move for the Chattanooga native. He's been with Shaw Industries Inc. for 18 years and is now the company's vice president for marketing. "I've always had a deep love for animals and people," he said, "so I bought a dog and got in the people business." The Dalton, Ga.-based carpet maker is better for that, according to Julius Shaw, an executive vice president at his family's company. "I've watched him develop from a college kid to one of the best managers at Shaw Industries," Mr. Shaw said of Mr. Sandlin. "He finds a way to get the job done, whatever the obstacles, and is one of the most positive people I've ever met. "He has something that can't be taught -- charisma," Mr. Shaw said. "People want to work with Scott Sandlin." Mr. Shaw said Mr. Sandlin started out handling the company's Knoxville-area sales territory. It was there, Mr. Shaw said, where the young redhead got the nickname that's stood the test of time. "His first district manager was a guy named Jerry Springfield," Mr. Shaw said. "The first time we went to lunch, Jerry looked at Scott and said, 'You look like Opie,'" actor Ron Howard's character on "The Andy Griffith Show." The nickname stuck, but Mr. Sandlin didn't. Mr. Shaw said Mr. Sandlin "did wonders" with that territory and was promoted in short order to Atlanta, then to the company's Dalton headquarters. Mr. Sandlin said the moves up weren't, and shouldn't have been, easy. "I stepped up out of my comfort zone every time, but that's part of progressing in any company," he said. "There are things I do every day that I'm uncomfortable with -- can I step in and manage this group of people? Excite them? Can I get that order with a major corporation that we're going to have 25 competitors for? "Are there hard days? You'd better believe it. But I tell people I don't have to set an alarm clock because this is such an energizing place to be," he said. Mr. Sandlin said that when he gets to burn some of that energy away from the office, he does so outdoors. "Anything I can do outside," he said, "from going up to Watts Bar lake all the way to golf. And I don't mind going to a UT football game every now and then. "But I travel so much with the job, the main thing I like to do is be with my family," he said.

Related Topics:Shaw Industries Group, Inc.

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