Hartley and Mary Peavey encouraged the nearly 2,400 spring graduates of their shared alma mater to live with passion and give back during separate commencement addresses on April 29 and 30.
Hartley Peavey, founder and CEO of Peavey Electronics Corporation.
"Success is not about money, it’s feeling good about what you do," said Hartley Peavey, founder and CEO of Peavey Electronics Corporation, to Mississippi State University’s class of 2011 graduates.
“The truth about entrepreneurs is that we have to approach every day with enthusiasm, a willingness to learn from mistakes and the desire to innovate, and trust that those traits will guide us to success. My only advice to you is never quit.”
Hartley founded Peavey Electronics Corporation after graduating from Mississippi State in 1965.
“Peavey is successful because we all have great passion for what we do,” said Mary Peavey, president of Peavey Electronics Corporation. “It is self defeating to live without passion for your work. I encourage all of you, if you can’t find the job you want right away — and in this economy, you may not — consider taking another job in the same industry.
"When you do get that job,” she added, “I hope that you will give back by donating your time and leadership through mentoring young people.”
Peavey, a board member of the national Afterschool Alliance, stressed the importance of education, leadership, and afterschool programs in the lives of the nation’s youth. “More than 15 million kids today go home to an empty house, and those hours between 3 and 6 p.m. are crucial.”
