NACS Remembers George Helow, 1977 NACS President

Helow, who became NACS president when the association launched its first full-fledged expo at the NACS Show, was 90 years old and the founder and sole owner of Zippy Mart Inc.

January 19, 2012

ALEXANDRIA, VA - George A. Helow, who served as 1977 NACS president, died on January 17 at the age of 90.

Helow was born in Gardner, Massachusetts on July 8, 1921. He was a graduate of Andrew Jackson High School and the University of South Carolina, where he served as student body president and was a member and president of Kappa Sigma Fraternity. He later served in the United States Navy from 1940-1944.

He was the founder and sole owner of Zippy Mart Inc., which eventually grew to over 350 locations in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama. Helow??s tenure as NACS president came at a time when the association was transitioning and growing its annual meeting. He became president at the 1976 annual meeting in Atlanta, the first meeting with a full-fledged expo and the first meeting to draw more than 2,000 attendees. His president??s address a year later was considered one of the best ever delivered at a NACS closing banquet. As NACS entered its 16th year, George??s speech, "Sweet Little Sixteen," compared the maturation of the industry to that of a person, which was a prescient look at the industry??s future.

Helow later told NACS: "I began to realize that we had some issues that were probably paralleled to what an average child or girl or person would have at that age. It was a beautiful age; however it??s an age when people are now looking to be more responsible than they have been. And then I thought, isn??t that something similar to what we??re going through? The first 10 to15 years we??ve gone helter skelter to open stores like there??s no stop to it, and all of a sudden we??ve reached a point where we??re reaching maturity in many markets??That was an ideal time to, in retrospect, begin to (look at) our internal operations."

He continued: "I know when I was president, we had 2,000 people at our Annual Meeting and we thought we were breaking all the boundaries. Now when I hear 20,000 people attending a convention, and with our various shows that we have, it??s unbelievable that it has grown in that period of time."

Helow was active in a number of organizations, having served as president of the Lebanese Club of Jacksonville and as a member of the Meninak Club. He was an organizer and director of the Baymeadows Bank and a director of the Ocean State Bank, served on the Board of Directors and as president of Catholic Charities, on several committees for the Diocese of St. Augustine, and as a 4th degree member of the Knights of Columbus.

Helow is survived by his loving wife of 54 years, Margaret Ossi; son Joseph; daughters Mary Pritchard, Anne Darling, Diane Parker, Katherine Gilligan and Theresa Ryan; 47 grandchildren; 1 great-grandson, and many nieces, nephews, and extended family members. The family will receive friends on Friday, January 20 at 6:00 pm at Holy Family Catholic Church, 9800 Baymeadows Road, Jacksonville, FL. A Rosary and Vigil service will begin at 7:00 pm. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, January 21 at 9:30 am at Holy Family Catholic Church in Jacksonville. Interment will follow at Oaklawn Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Catholic Charities, 134 East Church Street, Jacksonville, FL 32202 or the Diocese of St. Augustine, 11625 Old St. Augustine Road, Jacksonville, FL 32258. Arrangements are being handled by Corey-Kerlin Funeral Home, 940 Cesery Blvd., Jacksonville, FL (corey-kerlin.com).

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