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“Be Friendly to Everyone, Whether They Purchase Your Brand of Equipment or Not!”
Al ab ama Tu rf Tim es > >> Spring 2021
M
ickey Pitts was born on Christmas Day in 1948, in Red Level, Alabama. Raised on a farm near Andalusia, Mickey had two sisters and no brothers, allowing him to claim the title of ‘favorite son.’ He often helped with farm chores, instilling a love of agriculture and a skill set that would inspire his later career. Mickey graduated from Red Level High School and attended just one year of junior college before being drafted by the military. He decided then to enlist in the Air Force for four years, hoping to avoid deployment to Vietnam. Nevertheless, he deployed to Vietnam in January of 1970, serving 13 months overseas. Mickey was a crew chief on fighter jets and was under fire many times, but fortunately, made it home intact. When his active military career ended, Mickey joined the Alabama National Guard and served with them for many years. Upon his return to the United States, Mickey met his future wife, Jenny. They married in 1971 and have two daughters, Amy and Ashley. Mickey’s career in the turf industry started when he left the Air Force and decided to return to his roots. He started working with Don Cotton at Turf Pride in the 1980’s. Mickey found that his childhood on a farm made him a good fit for turf sales. He worked at Neary after Turf Pride, then settled at Tieco in 1993. After working at Tieco for almost a decade, Mickey moved to Beard Equipment in 2001. Soon afterwards the World Trade Center was destroyed in a terrorist attack. Mickey, still in the Alabama National Guard, expected to be called into service in the Middle East, but fortunately, he remained stateside and retired from the National Guard in 2010. CONTINUED ON PAGE 26
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