Watters ('97) delivers keynote for Career Day
By Maddie Chastain - Faculty
Darlington's Career Day featured a keynote address by J.T. Watters ('97), founder of Manassas Polymers and Patriot Mills, last week in Morris Chapel. All students in grades 9-12 participated in the special event.
A Darlington student beginning in kindergarten, Watters embraced all that the school had to offer. He competed on the varsity basketball and track and field teams, served as Student Council President his senior year, and was a member of the National Honor Society and Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
"If life is a board game, and you have to go 50 squares to get to the end and be successful, just by going to Darlington you’re starting on square three," Watters shared with students. "Embrace this culture and environment and take advantage of this opportunity."
After graduation, Watters attended the University of Georgia, where he graduated from the Terry College of Business with a degree in finance. The summer before his senior year, he founded Manassas Polymers, selling manufacturing companies' plastic waste. But it was far from his first entrepreneurial venture. From a very young age, he engaged in business ventures ranging from selling his old toys to neighbors to renting out his parents' collection of VHS tapes to friends.
"My passion has always been entrepreneurship," Watters said. "I've always been fascinated by stories of business people who started a business in their garage and grew to employ thousands of people, change people's lives and made themselves and their investors rich ... Money gives you options. It doesn't guarantee happiness, but it gives you options."
Later in life, Watters went on to found Patriot Mills, an independent carpet and flooring manufacturer and distributor in Adairsville, Ga. Across his two companies, Manassas Polymers and Patriot Mills, Watters has around 80 employees.
To close out his talk, Watters shared "Coach Watters' Three Rules to Live By" with students. First, inspired by a quote from American businessman Warren Buffett, Watters reminded students that they only get one body and one mind, encouraging them to take care of themselves. Second, he encouraged students to be compassionate toward others.
"If you’re compassionate towards others, it will help you and it will help them," said Watters. "To quote Warren Buffett again, 'Kindness is costless but also priceless. Keep in mind that the cleaning lady is as much a human being as the chairman of the board.'"
Finally, Watters encouraged students to set high goals and work hard to achieve them, giving them the charge, "If it's meant to be, it's up to me." He noted from his own experiences that with this attitude and a few lucky breaks, anyone can go far.
In addition to his entrepreneurial ventures, Watters sits on the boards of Synovus Bank and the Chieftains Museum, and is a member of the Young President’s Organization. He previously served on the boards of the the Coosa Country Club, of which he served as president in 2017, and the Rome Area History Museum.
Watters is married to Megan Watters ('97, LD '23) and is the father of Jay ('27) and Whit ('28). He is the self-proclaimed founder of the Wolverines basketball dynasty, the rec-league basketball team that he coached for his sons and their friends in elementary school.
Darlington's Career Day sessions, led by 30 additional alumni, covered a broad range of interests. Career fields represented range from business, medicine and law to entertainment, consulting, research, and more.
Alumni speakers included Trip Booker III (’96, LD ’19), Ben Bagley (’00, LD ’20), Cole Miller (’12), Leah Mayo (’11, LD ’22), Doug Whatley (’02), Bob Ledbetter III (’16, LD ’26), Scott Poley (’03), Kim Parnell (’98, LD ’23), Ben Pate (’07, LD ’22), Will Edwards (’07, LD ’20), Zena (Hanner) Buckley (’99), Kate Vinyard (’96, LD ’15), Stu Minshew (’00), Barton Lowrey (’05, LD ’14), Jean Early (’76, LD ’14), Emily Hendrickson (’06, LD ’25), Janie Hortman (’03, LD ’13), Lindsay Evans Willis (’12, LD ’25), David Huguenel (’03, LD ’23), Amanda Tadajewski (’03), Bess Graham (’09, LD ’17), Dusty Large (’02, LD ’14), Elliott Echols (’08, LD ’25), Frank Stegall (’02, LD ’22), Beth Wellesley (’00, LD ’26), Jennifer Peacock (’07), Chuck Boyles (’80), Vic Hixon (’92, LD ’24), Matt Duckworth (’10) and Trip Barnes (’02).
Career Day is sponsored biannually by Darlington School's Alumni Council.
