WEST PLAINS, Mo. – Local entrepreneur and inventor Kennoth G. Gammill received an honorary Associate of Applied Science degree Saturday, May 14, during Missouri State University-West Plains’ commencement ceremony at the West Plains Civic Center arena.
This is the first year an honorary degree has been bestowed by the university. It is designed to recognize extraordinary individuals who have given a substantial part of their lives to serving others and/or who have distinguished themselves, university officials said. It also is designed to establish a public association between Missouri State-West Plains and such exceptional men and women, thereby providing testimony to the values and quality of two-year institutions, officials added.
“Ken Gammill has demonstrated everything we teach in our programs to become successful in business,” Missouri State-West Plains Chancellor Drew Bennett said. “He is a role model for the qualities of responsible citizenship that we expect our graduates to exhibit. I can think of no finer recipient for the inaugural award of the honorary associate degree from Missouri State University-West Plains.”
Gammill was born in Myrtle, Miss., in 1928, the fifth of six children. He attended high school until his senior year when the family moved to Manila, Ark., where he completed his education. Early in his career, he worked for the Singer Sewing Machine Co., serving in various sales positions at such locations as Blytheville and West Helena, Ark., and Nashville and Union City, Tenn. He finally received his own Singer dealership in 1965 at West Plains.
In 1980, Gammill revolutionized the quilting world when he founded Gammill Quilting Co. in West Plains and invented the first long-armed quilting machine, believing there was an easier, more efficient and more decorative way to machine quilt. Instead of moving the fabric through the machine, Gammill’s invention moved the machine over the fabric, changing the quilting industry forever.
The invention also changed Gammill’s life, propelling him to celebrity status in quilting industry circles. His daughter, Shawna Gammill Matthews, recalls a plane trip her father took during which a group of quilters on their way to an event noticed him and asked for his autograph. He also has received several quilting industry awards and was the subject of a feature article in a trade magazine in 1970.
Gammill went on to patent the parts for his invention and was the first to incorporate computerization in the industry’s quilting designs. Although there have been others who have tried to replicate his processes, none have achieved the status of the “Gammill,” Matthews said. After 20 years of inventing, developing and introducing the machine, Gammill sold his business at age 74. Today, the company he founded is the world’s leading manufacturer of professional hand- and computer-guided, long-arm quilting systems, and it remains headquartered in West Plains.
Gammill also found time to make a lasting impact on his community, as well. He is an active volunteer at West Vue Nursing Home, a faithful member of First Baptist Church in West Plains, has served on the Missouri State-West Plains development board, and has established a scholarship for nursing students at the university.
In the nomination letter for the award, Gammill was praised for his “unstoppable work ethic” and for taking a great idea and impacting the quilting industry “in a definite and positive way forever and worldwide. Mr. Gammill is not only a successful businessman and entrepreneur, but he is a philanthropist through his community work, his church work and the value he places on helping students receive an education that he was never able to pursue. Awarding Mr. Gammill an honorary associate’s degree from Missouri State University-West Plains recognizes his achievements and his remarkable endeavors, and provides a role model to our students.”
At their April 1 meeting in West Plains, members of the Missouri State University Board of Governors approved an honorary associate degree policy for the campus that outlines the criteria for selection and stipulates final approval by the board. Gammill’s degree was approved by the board Friday, May 13, during its regular meeting in Springfield.
LOCAL ENTREPRENEUR and inventor Kennoth G. Gammill, right, received an honorary Associate of Applied Science degree Saturday, May 14, during Missouri State University-West Plains’ commencement ceremony at the West Plains Civic Center arena. He received his degree from Missouri State-West Plains Chancellor Drew Bennett. (Missouri State-West Plains)