By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City, Tenn.–One doesn’t necessarily need to leave Union City and Obion County to prosper.
Kelley Powers is living proof.
Powers, co-founder of Final Flight Outfitters, world champion goose caller, farmer, and successful businessman, will be the guest speaker at the 38th annual Union City High School Academic Top 10 banquet next Monday night.
The Top 10 students from each of the four classes at UCHS – based on grade point averages – will be recognized at the banquet, which is set for 6:30 p.m. in the high school gymnasium. The event is not open to the public.
Twenty-five area businesses and individuals are sponsors of the banquet.
Powers, a 1997 UCHS graduate, will tell his personal story and offer encouragement in his address to students and their guests.
“Kelley was an easy choice for us because of his and his family’s commitment and core values to give back to the community that helped make them what they are,” UC Director of Schools Wes Kennedy said. “They’ve built a successful business that has reached all across the United States, and they’ve continued to make their homes here. They’ve been gracious with their time and resources, and we’re proud of them as graduates of Union City Schools.”
The youngest of the Powers brothers trio, which includes Jon Ed and Tripp, 45-year-old Kelley has thrived in the local environment personally and professionally.
“Union City and Obion County have had an enormous number of philanthropists and donors who’ve graciously given back, and I grew up seeing that,” Kelley said. “This is such a giving community, and it has rubbed off on my family. We truly believe the more you give to your community, the more it gives back to you.
“Certainly, we’ve had opportunities to relocate. But Union City and Obion County have been my home, and I hope when it comes time to put me to rest, they’ll do it here.”
Powers, who burst onto the national landscape with the first of his goose-calling championships, used the networking and relationships he built with that feat to help Final Flight evolve from a storage trailer to a sprawling 25,000-square-foot outdoor store that features gear and hunting supplies and has traditional and catalog business throughout the United States.
“Your name is your brand, and winning that first major calling championship was good for our resume,” Kelley said of FFO, which was established in 1998 and is housed in the old Midway Grocery Store. My brothers and I have meshed our individual talents and, through hard work, have made our business into what it is.”
Powers said he’ll ask students to reflect on their school years and remember the teachers and administrators who were instrumental in their journeys and success. He insisted he’d also talk specifically about work ethic and networking and mix in his philosophies on dealing with failure.
“There’s a natural tendency when you experience failure to come up with an excuse,” he claimed. “I’ve learned to look at failure as an opportunity. A lot of great accomplishments come after your biggest defeats.
“Academic success combined with an incredible work ethic can open a lot of doors.”
Humbled by Kennedy’s invitation to speak at Monday’s banquet, Powers chuckled when noting he was not a member of his class’s Top 10 at UCHS, but that he wife, Mallory – a fourth-grade teacher at UC Elementary School – was in her junior year.
“I laughed when I told my parents that I was approached about speaking at the event. I told them: ‘I never made the Top 10 banquet in school,’” he said.
“But I have now.”