More detail on this person: Harold Clayton
(Van) Van Meter August 24, 1936- August 10, 2005
BUENA VISTA, GA? Harold Clayton (Van) Van
Meter of Buena Vista, GA. and Hillton Head Island,
South Carolina, died on August 10, 2005 at his
home in Buena Vista after a long illness. Van was
born on August 24, 1936 in Columbus, GA, the son
of Edmund Baker and Johnnie Martin Van Meter.
He graduated from Columbus High School in 1954
and from North Georgia College in Dahlonega, GA.
He was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the
United States Army on June 6, 1958 and retired as
Colonel, October 31, 1981. Key positions included
tours in Vietnam, Commander, 2nd Battalion, 1st
Infantry Training Brigade, 9th Infantry Division
(Ft. Lewis, WA), Commander, 1st Infantry Training
Brigade, Ft. Benning, GA., Director of Training
Developments, Infantry School; Director of
Leadership Department, Infantry School, Ft.
Benning, GA. Awards and decorations included:
Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, Legion
of Merit (3 Oak Leaf Clusters), Distinguished
Flying Cross (2 Oak Leaf Clusters), Purple Heart
(Oak Leaf Cluster), Combat Infantry Badge, Master
Parachutists Badge, and Ranger Tab. During his
military career, he completed his Masters and
Doctorate Degrees from Pacific Lutheran University
in Tacoma, WA. Upon retirement from the military,
he founded the Cardinal Management Company, a
consulting firm representing many national and
international defense contractors. He was a past
member of the Downtown Columbus Rotary Club,
member of the first Leadership Columbus, Director
of Boy Scouts of America, President of Fort
Benning Chapter of Association of the United
States Army and then served at 3rd Region
President, AUSA, President of the US Army Ranger
Association. He is a member of the Country Club of
Columbus, Sea Pines Country Club and South
Beach Racquet Club of Hilton Head, SC. During the
course of his life his most faithful service was
to his Lord. He served as a Deacon, Finance
Committee Chairman, Sunday School teacher,
Columbia Baptist Church, Falls Church, VA, and as
a Deacon in the First Baptist Church since moving
to Buena Vista in 1988. He was active in sports
throughout his high school and college years, his
main loving being the game of basketball. But it
was his love for the game of tennis that he was
most noted for in the years that followed. His
passion for the game was evidenced in the many
years that he spent both coaching and playing the
game. In 1992, he was a member of the Seniors 3.5
USTA National Championship team and in 1997, he
coached the Buena Vista, GA Mens 3.0 USTA
National Championship Team. He was a member of
the Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) for twenty
years and was a Certified Tennis Professional. In
1998, he received the Jim Verdick International
Coach of the Year Award. He is survived by his
wife, Julia Herring; his daughter, Dana Pigford
(Steve) of Fayetteville, GA.; his daughter, Connie
Wilkes (Mark) of Columbus, GA.; his son, Clay Van
Meter (Kristy) of Senoi, GA.; his sister, Judy
Parris (Chuck) of Huntersville, NC.; his nine
grandchildren; his sister-in-law, Burgin Benson
(Sims) and four nieces and nephews. Funeral
services will be Friday, August 12 at 3 p.m. at
the First Baptist Church, Buena Vista, GA with
burial following in the Buena Vista Cemetery. The
family will receive friends at the First Baptist
Church and Pastorium on Thursday, August 11,
2005 from 6 until 8 p.m. according to Tante
Funeral Home in Buena Vista. In lieu of flowers,
donations may be made to First Baptist Church of
Buena Vista, GA., P.O. Box 84, Buena Vista, GA
or the Georgia Baptist Children's Home, P.O. Box
329, Palmetto, GA. 30268.
Published in the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer,
Columbus, Georgia on 8/11/2005.
Please let me tell you why I'm going to a funeral
today. It's for a Buena Vista man I spent only
parts of two days with 13 years ago. I haven't
seen him since then --- but he gave me a motto I
recite every day: "Make it a good day."
That's how Harold Clayton Van Meter, also known
as Hal or just Van, ended his answering machine
greeting when I called him during my first year at
the Ledger-Enquirer. My assignment: Write about
this tennis coach who gives free lessons on his
backyard court made out of some weird material
resembling a shower mat. I also made sure to ask
him why he says, "Make it a good day," instead of
"Have a good day," like most folks. He said his
version reminds us that we have a lot more control
of our lives than we often realize. Turns out,
Van taught people more than tennis. He was a
mighty man with a soft touch. He was commanding
but not overbearing --- a look-you-in-the-eye,
firm-handshake, remembers-your-name kind of guy.
He oozed life.
No wonder this 1954 Columbus High grad retired as
a colonel in 1981 after 23 decorated years in the
U.S. Army. No wonder the defense contract
consulting firm he founded, Cardinal Management
Co., was internationally renowned, and phone calls
sometimes caused him to zoom to the airport. No
wonder gobs of groups gave him prominent
positions, such as president of the U.S. Army
Ranger Association, Boy Scouts of America board
member and Leadership Columbus inaugural class
participant. No wonder he played on a senior
United States National Tennis Association
championship team and coached another one to a
USTA title. No wonder the four-year scholarship
Harvard awarded one of his prodigies was for
academics.
And no wonder I gasped when I saw his obituary in
Thursday's L-E. Van died Wednesday at his Buena
Vista home after a long illness. He was 68.
My mind gushed, connecting the dots: I didn't
know he was ill. It's smart to read obits. A few
days ago, for some reason, I thought about him.
Despite our fleeting meeting, I know I'll remember
him forever, because I learned enough to wish I
knew him more, and I feel blessed to have known
him at all. Now, I'm sure glad I shared those
feelings with him in December, the last time we
talked, when he called to say hey and give me a
story idea.
Wednesday, my wife e-mailed me the transcript of
a guest commentary she heard Monday on National
Public Radio. It was one of those "This I Believe"
testimonials. It was from Deidre Sullivan of
Syracuse, N.Y. She told the lesson her father
taught her: "Always go to the funeral."
For her, that means doing "those things that
represent only inconvenience to me, but the world
to the other guy. You know, the painfully
under-attended birthday party. The hospital visit
during happy hour. . . . In my humdrum life, the
daily battle hasn't been good versus evil. It's
hardly so epic. Most days, my real battle is doing
good versus doing nothing."
Van's funeral is 3 p.m. today in First Baptist
Church of Buena Vista, where he was a deacon.
That's prime time for a newspaper journalist, so
it would be inconvenient for me to go.
All of which is why I'm going.
From: The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, Columbus,
Georgia. August 12, 2005.
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Metre
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