George M. Holmes: A 'People' Person

Sports brought George M. Holmes to Boone. A commitment to public service has kept him in the region ever since.

The Mount Airy native was playing professional "D" league baseball when he learned about Appalachian State Teachers College from a teammate who recommended the school.

Holmes attended Appalachian from 1950-54 and received a football scholarship for the 1950-51 and 1951-52 seasons. He taught at West Yadkin High School and coached football, basketball, and baseball from 1954-56. He joined the W.N. Ireland Insurance Agency in 1956 and later became its president and co-owner.

The Hamptonville resident represents Alexander, Wilkes and Yadkin counties as a member of the N.C. House of Representatives 41st District.

Friends say that early on Holmes had the skills necessary to be a successful politician. He is a "people" person and a hard worker, according to friend and classmate Bryan Houck of Gastonia, former Appalachian board of trustees member and retired Bell South executive.

"George was always a good leader, popular and had wisdom and good judgment," Houck said. "He is highly respected by both parties and has as many Democrats for friends as Republicans," Houck said. "He also is a good student of history and government."

Holmes' years on the appropriations committee allowed him to have a great voice in determining the state's budget, Houck said.

"George has been a steady, loyal supporter of his alma mater," said Chancellor Francis T. Borkowski. "He has done a great deal for his alma mater. Through his very clear support for equity funding, Appalachian and four other universities in the state received their fair share of the education budget. We benefit annually from the increased dollars that the change in the state's funding formula brought to campus."

Holmes was instrumental in the university's efforts to keep its doctoral program in higher education when consultants recommended dropping the program, Borkowski said. "School superintendents and principals lobbied and worked for Appalachian to maintain this program, but George's leadership role in the House had a tremendous influence in our ability to maintain the doctoral program, which is a very critical program for this portion of the state."

Borkowski called Holmes "the catalyst" in securing funding for the convocation center.

"He has been a staunch advocate for Appalachian, and we have obviously made progress with the role he has played in the Legislature," Borkowski said. "There isn't much subtlety on his part about his advocacy for the university. He's very open in saying that Appalachian for years did not have the kind of legislative support it needed."

Holmes was first elected to state office in 1975. He has since served as a state representative continuously since 1979. He was minority party whip from 1981-82 and minority party joint caucus leader from 1983-84. He was senior co-chair of the House Appropriations Committee from 1995-96 and 1997-98, and served on the governor's budget advisory commission for 12 years, including two years as chairman.

He currently is a member of the Appropriations, Insurance, Judiciary III, Public Utilities, Technology, Transportation and the Children, Youth and Families committees, and serves on the Select Committee on the Tobacco Settlement, the Appropriations Subcommittee on Education and the Appropriations Subcommittee on Information Technology.

In 1995 the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research ranked Holmes fourth in overall effectiveness in the House of Representatives. He was recognized by Wilkes County and the Town of Wilkesboro in 1997 for obtaining $4 million in state funds to remove and clean a hazardous waste site.

He received Appalachian's Distinguished Alumni Award in 1995, and in 1996 received the N.C. Senior Tarheel Legislative Award for Exemplary Leadership. Other honors include the Long Leaf Pine Award in 1992, the Yadkin Chamber of Commerce Public Service Award in 1993, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Exemplary Service awards in 1995 and the National Federation of Independent Business Guardian of Small Business in 1997-98 and 1999-2000.