ABOUT GEORGE

The summarization of George Tinsley Sr.’s road to success could be likened to that of a rags-to-riches story. His is a life story of faith, tenacity, education and a white-hot desire to succeed. George’s unyielding determination and strong work ethic are the true gifts that catapulted him to a lifetime of multiple careers, professional achievements, business success and meaningful contributions to improving the lives of others.

Born George William Penebaker (1946), Tinsley grew up in Smoketown, an inner-city neighborhood one mile southeast of downtown Louisville, Ky. Smoketown has been a historically black neighborhood since the Civil War and is the only neighborhood in the city that has had such a continuous presence.

While Tinsley’s mother worked, he was cared for by an elderly woman, Willie Tinsley, who he described as “a neighborhood babysitter of sorts. “She babysat for many black women who worked,” Tinsley said about Willie Tinsley. “And there were mothers who never came back for their children. She then kept the children and raised them as her own.” Tinsley and his sister through adoption, Mary Johnson, were raised by Willie Tinsley.

At the time when my mother left me, Tinsley said, Willie Tinsley was about 65 years old. “During the ‘30s, she and her husband had been businesspeople in the Louisville area, but because of the depression, they lost everything.

“She had one leg and walked on a crutch. After her husband passed away, she moved around Louisville and Harrods Creek, but finally settled in Smoketown, an area in which she could afford to live.” One day, Tinley said, after spending the day with Willie Tinsley, his mother did not return. He was 7 months old at the time. Tinsley described his home with Willie Tinsley as “a one-room place; a kitchenette, no bigger than 8’ × 10’.

“The owner or landlord rented to people who were considered transients. So with all of our worldly belongings, the two of us lived in that room from the time I was about 7 years old, until I turned 13. She then became ill and we moved in with her son so he could keep an eye on her. She never really recovered from her illness. That’s when I lost her and began living with her son.”
Willie Tinsley was a strong believer in her religious faith, Tinsley said. Unable to read or write, she received a $65-per-month social security check. “I was entrusted with going to the grocery store and paying our revolving bill. We lived off of that, food stamps and lunch tickets purchased at the school for my meals.” Tinsley said that he does not want to forget his religious faith, and that his mother always “pushed me out to be involved in Sunday school and church as much as I could be, given my meager clothing.” Tinsley attended Green Street Baptist Church, which he said, “was not far from where we lived. That had a big part in my upbringing as well.”

After Willie Tinsley died, Tinsley was taken in by her son, Clarence Tinsley, and his wife, Olivia. At that time, Tinsley’s self-esteem and confidence level had not reached its apex. He said that he was an average student because “I really didn’t apply myself. I had nowhere to do homework and was not motivated. No one wanted to see my report card.” Tinsley added that he could not remember a time when anyone questioned him about a C, or D. “But it was not cool to be an A student or to be at the top,” he said. “You were a square; picked on. So early on I was probably considered more of a clown. I wanted to be a part of the mix.”

That behavior, he said, gave him more of an offensive than a defensive attitude. He was in junior high school at the time and that was the beginning of developing his athletic skills. “I didn’t have an extensive wardrobe and was outgrowing what I did have. Being involved in athletics gave me the confidence to want to achieve more. It was not only acceptable, but rewarding to be successful.”

From more of a survival standpoint, Tinsley said, he learned how to deal with “all kinds of people across the board. It kind of helped me with being able to take care of myself.” That is when he discovered his God-given talent: he was a people person and aware of his surroundings.

Both Tinsley’s academic and sport’s abilities began to move to a higher level. He was not only motivated to better his grades, but to develop entrepreneurial skills. Clarence Tinsley, who Tinsley at the time considered his brother, worked for a local pie factory and would bring home pies and other deserts. “I would turn them around and sell them for extra money to take care of some of my needs at that time,” said Tinsley. “It gave me a sense of balance.”

Both Tinsley’s athletic skills and height began to open doors for relationships within his neighborhood and his school. He was playing basketball, football and running track on several teams. Teachers and coaches began to take a great interest in Tinsley from the standpoint of his athleticism. “They knew a little bit about my circumstances,” he said.

Tinsley’s reputation for having a big smile and great personality opened doors in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s. “A number of individuals helped me out,” he said. An average student and above average athlete, Tinsley, who graduated high school in 1965, received a number of basketball and track scholarship offers. He accepted a basketball scholarship to Kentucky Wesleyan College, a small NCAA division II school in Owensboro, Kentucky. In those days, he said, it was tough for African Americans and other minority students to get into a division I school, “especially in the South, unless you were exceptionally good. Most of the schools had quotas and would only take two African-American scholarship students.” At that time, former high school coach Guy Strong, along with some of his friends, was at Wesleyan. “This made me really comfortable,” he said.

That first year, Wesleyan won the national basketball championship. “We had a very successful basketball program where we won three national championships in four years and a third-place finish during my sophomore year.”

This feat still stands as a standard during any four-year period for student athletes in NCAA Division II playing careers. “When you win a national championship as a freshman, and you are a starter, you have some nice things happen to you,” he said. “The pictures in the paper, the parades, speaking engagements; you suddenly feel a lot better about yourself. The whole self-esteem picture changed.”

Tinsley’s participation in college athletics did offer rewards. He had the opportunity, with his team, to experience traveling throughout Europe and Africa to act as ambassadors; and to teach basketball and interact with state departments in other areas. “That was my first experience in traveling outside of the country,” he said.

It was during his four-year period at Wesleyan that Tinsley began to excel in academics and increase his involvement in the school. He began to work harder, to try harder.

“I joined the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity and made the dean’s list. I started to date my future wife, Seretha.”

All of those things, he said, “made me want to be more and more successful, both academically and from a college community standpoint.” It also molded his character; brought him to the reality that he had to make some personal changes. “My name change in particular,” he said. “I had to face my personal situation and become formally adopted into the Tinsley family. At the same time, I had to face the idea that I did have another family out there.”

At age 27, Tinsley found his mother, father and 17 brothers and sisters. “Graduating from college [1969]; being drafted into the ABA; marrying Seretha and finding my family were key defining points in my life during those early years.”
These, Tinsley said, “are defining moments that shaped my life.”

George maintained a “respectful relationship” with both of his parents until they passed away. Tinsley still takes great pride in the fact that he maintains relationships with all of his brothers and sisters on both sides of his family, including his adopted sister, Mary Johnson. “She was my rock as a youngster growing up,” Tinsley said about Johnson.
After being joined in marriage, George and Seretha lived in Louisville throughout most of their early careers. The couple alternated moving to different cities as each other’s careers advanced. George would get a promotion and later Seretha would do the same, and they would again relocate. George’s career path included professional basketball, teaching, coaching, stints in corporate America and entrepreneurship. His career has carried him from Louisville to Miami and back to Louisville; then to Atlanta, Jacksonville, and finally to Winter Haven, Fla., where he and his family currently reside and the family’s business interests are based.

The Tinsley’s have two adult children, George II and Penni, who both have active roles in the family businesses.

Given George’s background and life’s journey, it is clear that he has made the most of his talent and opportunities. More importantly, he has not forgotten his humble beginnings as he has used his success, talent and time to help others.