The man who rolls up his sleeves seldom loses his shirt. – Thomas Cowan
The Museum of Appalachia, founded by the late John Rice Irwin and now one of the region’s important non-profit organizations, has recognized some of the local “heroes” who have made giant contributions to the culture of this area. Beloved Senator Howard Baker of Huntsville was the first to be recognized, followed by Four-Star General Carl Stiner, chief of the U.S. Special Operations Command until his retirement in 1993. University of Tennessee President Emeritus Joe Johnson, who spent his entire professional career in higher education as a Volunteer, was honored as a Hero prior to his passing. The humble, unassuming WBIR TV trailblazer and Friends of the Smokies President Emeritus Jim Hart has been so honored. Last year, famous Roots author Alex Haley, who had made East Tennessee his home before his untimely death, became the latest recipient of the honor. Celebrities serving as emcees of the annual events have included Senator Lamar Alexander, Hallerin Hilton Hill of local radio and television fame, and sportscaster Bob Kesling, the longtime Voice of the Vols.
A few years back Autry 0. V. “Pete” DeBusk authored an autobiography primarily for his children and his grandchildren. The title? The Rabbit’s Got the Gun, an occasionally used metaphor from our Appalachian culture to indicate that “the tables have turned”- that the underdog has come out on top – or those who began at a disadvantage through sheer perseverance have gained the upper hand.
On February 28th, the Museum will honor a genuine “rabbit” —Pete DeBusk—who in his business life created the largest privately owned medical supply company in the world and, afterward, in his “retirement” has used his business acumen to transition his once tiny college alma mater, Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, into one of the most vibrant private universities in the southeast. So, how did he come from modest beginnings in a small community called Rose Hill in Lee County, Virginia, located only a “stone’s throw” from the historically poor areas of Kentucky and Tennessee to such heights? Here is his story.
An only child of hard-working parents just scraping by, he was named after Gene Autry, a 1930s, 40s, and sos singing cowboy of western movie fame, and a family friend who had no idea what the A or the O stood for. Autry 0. V.’s teenaged uncles, dissatisfied with such a “high-falutin” moniker, decided that “Pete” was a far better fit. The nickname stuck.
Times were hard during World War II for a country still reeling from the Great Depression. Pete’s father, partially disabled, was able to operate heavy equipment in the coal mining industry but the family had to move from town to town for him to get work. By the time Pete graduated from high school, he had attended 13 different schools. While in Boonville, Indiana, a state where basketball was king, this fiery young man developed his skills on the hardwood to such an extent that he was dismayed to be required by his parents to move back to Rose Hill. Despite acquiring a few bad personal habits in his senior year back home, Pete starred for his team and earned an athletic scholarship to Union College in Kentucky. When he learned, however, that his new school did not offer courses that would prepare him for a career as a veterinarian, he transferred to LMU—a better fit academically. By working in the coal mines in the summer, he earned a degree in 1965. Deciding against a career as a vet, preferring instead to try to help people, he first got a job in sales with a pharmaceutical company in Cincinnati. He quickly learned to make friends with the nurses who ran the doctors’ offices and soon became the top salesman in the organization. His boss there took a new job in the medical supply business and hired Pete to develop the sales program. When that company sold, Pete was on his own. Having spent years learning what doctors and nurses needed for their patients, Pete’s innovative skills took charge.
There were all kinds of issues with plaster casts for the knees and ankles in those years. So, with scissors, glue, vinyl, Velcro, and the material Rubatex Corporation manufactured for the popular and comfortable Hush Puppy shoes, Pete handmade a rough facsimile of what became known as the fiberglass boot, a product that changed the medical world in the treatment of injuries to lower extremities. From this first patent in 1973 his business has grown from Pete DeBusk and Associates, to STAT Medical, and finally DeRoyal Industries as it exists today, now in the hands of his talented son, Brian. Adopting the theme of “quality first,” a tenet the late Dr. Edward Demming brought into prominence, Pete sought and received help along the way from distinguished associates like Chuck Holland and Steve Ward.
Innovation did not stop with the boot. Pete devised creative means to improve the treatment of broken clavicles, arms, and wrists and developed a state-of-the-art cervical collar. In his book, Pete concedes that not all of DeRoyal’s inventions have worked out. His colleagues, however, credit him for knowing when to shut down a project and when to persist. Today, DeRoyal boasts some 1,800 employees with locations in Estonia, Costa Rica, and Guatemala in addition to its locations in Knox and Claiborne counties.
For the last 25 years in his role as LMU’s Board Chair, Pete, working every day, has led a renaissance in the fortunes of his beloved alma mater. Chartered in 1897 and located only 17 miles from his place of birth and nestled in the foothills outside the Cumberland Gap National Park, the school had operated for 100 years as primarily a liberal arts school. Things had to change. Once with only 1,000 students and barely able to open its doors, LMU has grown to well over 5,000 students with the DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine in Harrogate leading the way. “We bet the farm on that project,” Pete says, “and we now get over 10,000 applications for our 600 spots.” Schools of business, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and even arts and sciences have master’s programs. Nursing has become a specialty with locations in Knoxville and in Tampa, in Jacksonville, and more on in the planning stages. The vet school, closing in on a 10th birthday, is in southwest Virginia. The Physicians’ Assistant program is cutting edge. In Knoxville, there is a second medical school off Pellissippi Parkway, the Duncan School of Law is in the downtown, and the new dental school has opened at the former Saint Mary’s Hospital site.
At 82, Pete’s not yet finished as his remarkably supportive wife Cindi, a businesswoman and philanthropist in her own right, and his pal, full-time LMU contractor Dexter Honeycutt, can attest. “I would like to get a little more done before I leave this life,” Pete said recently.
“I have always thought about the people living in the poverty-stricken areas of Appalachia that you can feed them and keep them alive, but the only way you can really help is to offer them an education.”
Indeed, the “rabbit” — the underdog– has become a top dog. A hero to the people of Southern Appalachia.
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