playbill vip

         Audrey Morgan and Bobbie Bailey shared lives deeply intertwined through business partnership, civic engagement and a philanthropic resolve to extend to others the many blessings they received. But first and foremost, they were sisters cut from the same cloth – from perseverance, determination and compassion woven in their earliest years by their family’s struggle to survive the Great Depression. They went to work early in their teenage years with business minded Audrey (left in portrait) selling shoes and hats and the mechanically inclined Bobbie (right) starting work for a remanufacturer of refrigeration compressors. Before long, Bobbie started her own compressor business, Our Way Inc. As business boomed, the sisters joined forces, with Audrey serving as executive vice president and Audrey’s husband, Jack, as vice president of engineering and quality control. For a half-century, the sisters worked as a team, growing their company to global-industry leadership status before selling to Carrier Corp. The personalities of the two sisters were quite different. Bobbie was a charismatic, larger-than-life figure with diverse interests. She was the ultimate producer and carried these skills over to the music industry, producing the Georgia Music Hall of Fame Awards show for more than 30 years. She enjoyed sports and sponsored a ladies fast-pitch softball team, which won several national championships. She also helped launch and engineer successful expeditions to locate and recover a fleet of World War II aircraft buried deep within the glaciers of Greenland. Audrey was the business manager, planner and organizer who kept the financials and business on track and running smoothly. In addition to her career, she was a tireless volunteer for numerous charities. With her husband, Audrey raised sons Jack Jr. and Robert and started a family foundation aimed at breaking the cycle of poverty for disadvantaged children. Despite busy personal and professional lives, the sisters made it “a habit to give back,” always finding time to volunteer for – and support each other in – causes that sparked their individual and shared passions. They became trustees and benefactors for numerous regional and national health care, education and arts organizations. As a result of this longstanding generosity, their names grace numerous important buildings and facilities across Northwest Georgia, including Audrey B. Morgan Hall at Berry College. Audrey also was the founding donor for Berry’s heralded Gate of Opportunity Scholarship Program. Audrey and Bobbie will long be remembered for their accomplishments, compassion and “can-do” spirit. With the naming of this theatre, we honor the heart of their partnership – lives celebrated and cherished as sisters.