Andy Welborn (’85) Life lessons and loyal leadership
A third-generation automobile dealer, Andy Welborn (’85) has been in the family business for over 30 years. He moved to Rome, Ga., from South Carolina as a third-grader when his father acquired the local Chevrolet dealership. A couple of years later, the elder Welborn also purchased the Toyota dealership and the business, now known as Riverside Auto Group, continues to thrive with Andy serving as president. Welborn credits his company’s success to his father, John, and the people who serve their customers every day. He credits much of his personal success to Darlington, where the relationships formed and family-like atmosphere have forever bonded Welborn and his family to the school. “Most of us go to college, at least traditionally, for four years,” he said. “And yet at Darlington, we stayed together in Lower School, Middle School, and Upper School, and that’s a long time. We fought and played and cared about each other so much that it became a family. I have friends that live across the country that I still talk to once or twice a month, but we text each other every day. We even have a group text that should probably never see the light of day, but that just shows how close we still are.” The connections Welborn made at Darlington were clearly strong, but none have been stronger than his marriage to his wife of 27 years, the former Christa Lowe (’84). The couple ran in the same circles at Darlington, but it wasn’t until five-and-a-half years after Welborn graduated that they started dating. “I think that people think we have an arranged marriage or something since our folks were both in the automobile business,” he said, “but I just think that the good Lord definitely has a plan.”
Fall 2021
After Darlington, Welborn had opportunities to play soccer at a few small colleges, but after hurting his shoulder the last game of his senior year and requiring surgery, he decided to attend the University of Mississippi. “I had a brief stint at Ole Miss and was very successful socially,” he laughed. “Academically, I was not quite hitting the marks. When my dad saw my grades, he decided that I need to come home and maybe work a bit and try to get myself back on track.” Welborn attended school part time while working for the family business. “Eventually, I just wound up working full time,” he said. “The next thing I knew, I was buying a house. Then I had a family to raise and I was working six days a week. My dad told me during that time that if I didn’t go back [to college] then, that I never would. I was a bit hard-headed and time moved on.” He and Christa have four children — Griffin, Grace (’15), Sam (’20), and Molly (’22) — and when Grace chose to attend Auburn University, Welborn decided it was time for him to go back to school as well. The pair graduated from Auburn in 2020 and even crossed the graduation stage together. “It was a great feeling to complete my degree,” Welborn said. “I didn’t really have to do it, but it’s kind
of a promise I made to my dad. Unfortunately, he passed away while I was working on it, but I know he knows. More than anything, I wanted my kids to know that it was important to gain the discipline to do it while they were young and get a good start with that balance in their life.” Through the years, Welborn has been devoted to Darlington as a parent and currently serves on the Board of Trustees, a role that he sees as a way to ensure Darlington’s continued success. This year, he will lead the board’s Advancement Committee, which focuses on the external relations of the school, specifically development and enrollment management. “The memories and all the relationships and bonds I’ve made at Darlington School are forever etched in my mind and are the happiest of days for me,” Welborn said. “That is why I serve on the Board, to make sure that those same things happen for the kids and families that are coming through now and in the years to come. “The Board is not the power broker of the school,” he continued. “The parents, students, faculty and staff are. We’re just there to figure out what makes Darlington better by listening, and our job is to keep working to make Darlington one of the best preparatory schools in the country.”
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