When you are trying to define the classic Southern gentleman, you don’t need to get a dictionary. ou just need to meet Gerald H. Quinn.

He combines the characteristics of selfless service, courtesy and optimism with devotion to God, family, country, and community. The result is a role model for leadership.

One of the most important organizations in Gerald’s life recently awarded him one of its highest honors. North Carolina Baptist Hospital named him an honorary lifetime member of the Board of Trustees. He’s the second person in the 87-year history of the hospital to be so recognized.

“It’s the biggest honor of my life,” Quinn says. No one deserves it more than Gerald, says Donny Lambeth, president of Baptist Hospital. Gerald served on the board of trustees of the Hospital for 39 years. During that time, he was board chairman on three occasions and chaired numerous committees.

“Gerald is a leader with a unique style that draws people to him,” said Lambeth. “When Gerald talks, people listen.”

He has a wit which enables him to make his points without offending people, added Lambeth. “He knows how to interact with people.” Gerald has made significant contributions to the development of the hospital, using his business knowledge to strengthen the hospital’s financial condition. “Gerald challenged us to develop the controls and systems to maintain the financial performance and was disciplined in a business sense requiring us to set aside sufficient funds for technology and growth.”

Today, Baptist Hospital has 872 beds in Winston-Salem and has been ranked as one of America’s Best Hospitals since 1993. The hospital is part of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, a highly-respected academic medical center.

“When Gerald came on the Board, we were basically a community hospital with fewer than 300 beds,” recalls Lambeth. “We were going through financial challenges, and Gerald used his business knowledge and people skills to reposition the hospital for the success we enjoy now.”

Gerald jokes that he has worn out a car making trips from Warsaw to Winston-Salem. “I’ve made at least six trips a year for 39 years, and it is a 400-mile trip,” he says.

That’s about 98,000 miles. “It’s been a gratifying growth experience,” he says modestly. “There is no other way that I could have had the opportunities that have come my way.

“Baptist Hospital is an extension of the Baptist church in this state, and for me, it is part of my church life in Warsaw,” he added.

Gerald was nominated for the Board through the Warsaw Baptist Church, where he has served in numerous capacities, including chairman of the Board of Deacons. Born in Beulaville, Gerald attended Campbell College and graduated from Atlantic Christian College, now Barton College.

He began working for the family business, Quinn Wholesale when he was 16. His father moved the business to Warsaw to be closer to the railroad. Gerald joined the business full time in l960. Quinn Wholesale grew rapidly as a distributor to grocery stores in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. Gerald and his two brothers ran the business. “Each of us had a different area of interest within the company, and we never had a cross word.”

After selling the business in l987, Gerald and his brothers continue to operate their business interests from their farm.

He credits much of the success to Rita, his wife of 51 years. They have two children and three grandchildren. “Rita and I are a team,” he said. Rita traveled with Gerald to meetings in Winston-Salem and became part of the hospital family. In addition to Baptist Hospital, Gerald has a strong interest in the welfare of his community, where he served as Chairman of the Duplin County Board of Commissioners and President of the Business and Industry Group of Eastern North Carolina. The Jaycees are another area of interest. He was Vice President of the North Carolina Jaycees. He also has served on the Board of Trustees of his alma mater, Barton College.

Today, he looks back on 39 years of service with Baptist Hospital with emotion. “It’s been a wonderful experience,” he says. “While we share in accomplishments of a humanitarian organization, we are confident that we followed our Christian heritage by dproviding a faith-based healing ministry that has gloried our Lord.”