Supporting of Our Veterans

A Conversation with Bruce Gill of the Virginia & Robert Gill Foundation

EDGE STAFF: Let us start by commending you for honoring Veterans in the way that your family has done for many years and for entrusting the EDGE as a vehicle for making sure that we continue to serve them in your parents honor. Can you share your reason for establishing the Virginia and Robert Gill Charitable Trust?

BRUCE GILL: We created the Virginia & Robert Gill Foundation in 2014 three years after Mom's death and 1 year before Dad passed. He was at the stage of wanting to “settle his affairs” while he “still had his marbles” (his phrasing). My interest was building an ongoing legacy, however modest, to their struggles and successes. There

were no grandchildren, so their story would be forgotten after I died. They both were children of The Depression and were desperately poor growing up ... and were able to “turn their lives around” by taking advantage of every available opportunity they could. I suggested to him that a large portion of their estate should go toward the continuation of charitable support he and Mom had maintained through the years.

There were always two overarching themes to their giving and their outlook, in addition to the usual community organizations (like United Way, Salvation Army) and the church. Those additional efforts

SPRING 2020 | ENBIZ MAGAZINE benefited Veterans and active duty service members. I remember Dad telling stories about how, when he went on business trips, he would find the USO stations (at large airports) and buy everyone a round of lunch or dinner (and/or beers, depending on the time of day). And Mom & Dad ALWAYS believed and preached that getting the most and best education was the best thing someone could do for themselves. Whenever they were asked for “life advice” by younger people, they invariably urged (a) go to college, or (b) enlist (and then use the GI benefits to go to college later). My brother and I were imprinted with that message very early ... I got

degrees from UNC and Duke, my brother enlisted in the Air Force and used his GI benefits to go to Texas Tech, gaining a double major in math & engineering.

EDGE STAFF: So your dad’s life really changed when he enlisted. How did his military service impact the creation of the foundation you now lead?

BRUCE GILL: My dad had what many people might think, at first impression, was a strange view of World War II ... he always said it was the best thing to ever happen (he always had a strange sense of humor). By that, he meant that if it weren't for the war, he was certain that he was going to spend the rest of his life working on the docks at Jacksonville, FL. He was, by his own admission, a terrible student

When he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and trained as a navigator on the B-17, he saw a path to a non-dock working future.

who couldn’t even graduate with his class. He had to get his last few credits in summer school (ALL summer, not just one or two classes) after his class graduated. When he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and trained as a navigator on the B-17, he saw a path to a non-dock working future. Within a couple of months after his discharge, he was sitting in classes at Georgia Tech (What!? Bobby Gill in college!?) And immediately after graduating, he was recruited by George A. Hormel & Company (now Hormel Foods), where he worked for his entire 35-year career. So instead of ending up on the docks in Jacksonville, he ended up on the Board of Directors at a Fortune 500 company. And he'd swear that it was all thanks to World War II [and Mom, of course, for spurring him on when he got complacent.