Member Profile  By James M. Godwin, Jr.

 June 21, 2006

Byron K. "Ron" Satterfield

Byron Kirk Satterfield — what a fabulous moniker for our personal garbage man! Makes you almost expect an invitation to high tea. Lest we forget, Byron really is Rotary’s official ruling gradu grabber, and a fine job he and his henchmen do.

Before going further, we need to discuss the name of the one we know as “Ron.” Our subject appeared in this world somewhere in the state of New York. As with so many NY families, the Satterfields migrated to Coal River, West Virginia. Unfortunately, Byron’s hillbilly schoolmates couldn’t pronounce his highfalutin name. Consequently, his teacher worked out a pronounceable compromise using the last three letters of the name and he became “Ronnie.”  Isn’t that sweet?

Ronnie graduated from Marsh Fork high school then enrolled at WVU. He took Morganhole by storm and finally departed State U. with a degree in “Scroogery” (may translate as Business Administration) and as “Ron.”

The garbage guy spent ten years in the National Guard and rose to the rank of captain. He decided he needed to be a civilian, so he left the guard. He had a job lined up, but had three or four months of unemployment to deal with before his new work started. He went to Bluefield’s First National Bank and asked Ernest Otey for a temporary position. The “Big O” said, “No,” to temporary, but offered a career opportunity instead. Thus began Ron’s 42 year stint with the cannon factory. When he retired from 500 Federal Street he held the office of Executive Vice President and Senior Trust Officer. Not bad progress for little Ronnie from Coal River.

Back in 1970 Ron purchased a Dairy Queen franchise from his dad. He is now a full time purveyor of hot dogs and Tums. Fortunately, the real manager of the two DQ outlets here in Bluefield is Ron’s smart and good looking wife, Gail. She seems to be able to keep both Ron and the DQs in line.

Do you like antique cars? Ron does. Currently he has about nine ancient cars and trucks. He says his prize is a 1956 Desoto convertible that he bought from Jack McClaugherty’s daughter (Bill Coleman’s wife). He is also very excited about a 1957 Chrysler 300 convertible which he plans to restore. Believe it or not, Ron does a lot of his own restoration work. If you need a flat fixed, just give the Gradu Grabber a call.

This Rotarian works with several important foundations in our area. He is a board member of the Shott Foundation, the Bowen Foundation, Bluefield State College Foundation, Concord University Foundation, and the West Virginia Golf Foundation. He is also president of the Pace Family Scholarship Foundation.

Both of Ron’s boys are super golfers. Todd is the golf coach at Furman University while Kirk is the resident pro at Deep Dale Golf Club. Ron does a great deal of work for the sport. He is a member of the executive committee of the State Golf Association, is a qualified official for the US Golf Association, and works with younger golfers as well.

Rotary is fortunate to claim Ron as a member. He has done lots of things for us during his membership and is slated to be our president in the near future. His work with our Adopt-A-Highway commitment has not been easy, but he and a few stalwarts have maintained our section of route 19. Ron and his garbage crew should be thanked for a job well done.

Ron we love you. You’re a genuine good guy. A bit moth eaten, but that’s not to be counted against you.