Stein awards Order of the Long Leaf Pine to boat builder
Gov. Josh Stein visited the area on Tuesday to honor a local entrepreneur who has been recognized for both his business acumen and his philanthropy. Eddie Smith, the owner of Grady-White Boats, was recognized during a ceremony at the company’s Greenville plant, where he received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine. “One of the benefits of being governor is that I get to recognize some of the very best people in North Carolina,” Stein said before a crowd of about 125 employees and guests. “Eddie Smith was responsible for taking a struggling business and turning it into what we see here today. Grady-White is part of what has made North Carolina the best state in the Southeast for manufacturing.” But Stein added that it isn’t just Smith’s commercial savvy that earned him the award. “What’s remarkable about Eddie is not just how he built this company, but how he decided to leave it,” Stein said. In July, Smith announced plans to place the company into a perpetual purpose trust, which protects it from takeover by outside buyers and supports the interests of the company’s 336 employees. Smith was understated in his remarks. He credited employees with doing the hard
