Rushing Hall dedicated

Ora Nelson New Residence is now officially named Rushing Hall after Lewis and Sue Rushing of Hoover, who donated $1.5 million to their alma mater. A ribbon-cutting was held Saturday. Lewis and Sue Rushing graduated from Troy State University in 1965 with bachelor’s degrees in business and education, respectively. “I fell in love with the architecture of Troy,” Lewis Rushing said. “I appreciate great architecture, and they got it here. “Dr. Hawkins says there’s the master plan created by somebody else, but that man (Hawkins) is the driving force. He’s got a staff that believes in him, and they do exactly what he wants done. And that’s what attracted me to Troy.” Lewis Rushing attributes his successes in life and business to his passion and striving for improvement. “We just thought that (contributing) was the right thing to do, because long after we’re gone — my wife and I — Troy will be here,” he said. “Troy is going to use that money with the leadership they have to put it towards a good cause: to help students.” “I think it’s a feeling of being able to give back so that (students) can appreciate a nice place to live and enjoy their time here at Troy,” Sue Rushing said. “It’s just a feeling of ‘much is given and much is expected.’” Lewis Rushing owns a real estate business, and Sue Rushing was a teacher. The Rushings credit their successes in their careers to the importance of family. Their children and grandchildren also joined them at the ribbon-cutting. “I was working a full-time job, and my wife was teaching too, and we were working on this (building apartments and their business) on the weekends,” Lewis Rushing said. “But we never quit. “Our family started, and our goals changed, got a little loftier and a little loftier. And things worked out really well for us, we’ve been very fortunate. My family’s in the business with me now.” When asked if he had any advice for those at Troy, Lewis Rushing encouraged students to “go for it.” “You don’t know where you’ll end up, but don’t turn anything down,” Lewis Rushing said. “Get all the experience you can, and like I said before: just glean from people. “Regardless of what you think of them, everyone has a certain good quality or something they can do well. You just need to see how they do it.”