That’s a heck of a quote to put on a sign dedicating your building to your father. Sloan Y. Bashinsky Sr. had that on the plaque dedication for Leo in the Bashinsky Fieldhouse at Samford.
Both men had served on the board of trustees at Samford. Leo died in 1974, but in his lifetime he was a solid, steady, no nonsense businessman. He was president of this and that, had worked in cotton, asphalt and food. He was on the board for a church and a hospital and was president of his country club and on the board of Liberty National Life Insurance. He has two buildings named in his honor on campus, both for his roles and because of the love of his son, Sloan Sr., who was one of the university’s most dedicated donors.
Sloan flew out of Guam in World War II and then returned home and was established by his dad. He took over Magic City Foods in 1956. Leo had bought it for $1 million and would sell it to his son. Sloan converted that into the Golden Flake powerhouse which is today traded on the NASDAQ and has revenues around $135 million these days. He served on boards left and right, often taking on the same or similar roles his father had before him, and was never one to blow his own trumpet about the good works he did throughout the region. When he died in 2005 many of his friends happily picked up the slack and pointed out his donations here and service there.
Life sublime, indeed.
