James R. Copland, III of Burlington, N.C., will receive the Frank S. Holt, Jr. Business Leadership Award during a luncheon at 11:45 a.m., Tuesday, Nov. 28 in the Woods Center, located at Rhodes Stadium on the Elon campus.
The award was established by Elon’s Martha and Spencer Love School of Business to recognize a local citizen whose contributions to business and the community reflect the same progressive, visionary leadership exemplified by the award’s namesake. The late Frank S. Holt, Jr. was president of Holt Manufacturing Co., and an active civic leader.
As chairman of the board of Copland Fabrics and Copland Industries, Copland has used visionary leadership, passion and keen business acumen to position the family-owned textile company as a global leader in the fabric industry.
Copland has been associated with the company, co-founded by his grandfather, since 1962. Copland assumed leadership of Copland Fabrics and Copland Industries with the retirement of his father in 1986, serving as president and treasurer until 2003. He currently serves as chairman of the board.
Under Copland’s leadership, Copland Fabrics has expanded into pocketing, commercial finishing, furniture decking, table rounds, lamp shades, tablecloths, ironing board covers, and 100 percent cottons prepared for print for men’s and women’s apparel. The company is also a national leader in fabrics for the hotel and motel hospitality sector as well as athletic tape supplies.
He is dedicated to his employees, whom he considers his company’s greatest asset. Copland has been a pivotal figure in the fight to keep textile jobs in the United States. He has been an influential member and director of the National Council of Textile Organizations and served with the former American Textile Manufacturers Institute. He served as director of Northwestern Bank in North Wilkesboro, N.C., from 1977 to 1984 and is one of the founders of First South Bank and MidCarolina Bank, where he currently serves as chairman.
Copland is committed to being a community servant, serving as former director and president of the Alamance County YMCA and playing an integral role in the organization’s downtown Burlington expansion. He was instrumental in the construction of Twin Lakes Center, where he served as vice president and has been a member of the board and executive committee since its inception. He co-chaired the fundraising campaign for the Frank S. Holt, Jr. Boys and Girls Club facility, and worked on numerous United Way campaigns. He has also served as vice president of the executive council of the Cherokee Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
Copland graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of North Carolina in 1962, where he was a Morehead Scholar and earned a degree in business administration. He served on UNC’s Board of Visitors from 1992 to 1996 and together with his family endowed the James R. Copland, Jr. Scholarship at UNC in honor of his father. The scholarship assists students from Alamance County. Copland is a lifelong member of Macedonia Lutheran Church, where he serves as capital treasurer, and received the 1994 Alamance County Boy Scouts’ “Man of the Year” award.
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