PAUL M. GRIST

Paul Grist was born in Marietta, Georgia, in 1898. In 1919, he was named physical director at the YMCA in Selma, Alabama. He was a driving force in the development of the Blue Ridge Leaders School. Grist was promoted to general secretary in Selma in 1934 and remained there until he retired in 1964. He served as the director of the YMCA and USO/YMCA Club in Selma during World War II. A loyal member of the Selma Rotary Club, Grist served as president and was a member of several committees at the local and international level, including the Rotary International Community Service Committee, the Rotary International Council on Legislation, and the Rotary International Youth Activity Committee.

Grist influenced many young men throughout his career in Selma. Shearen D. Elebash of Camp McGee stated, “I can think of no greater honor than being one of the ‘Grist Boys.'” Grist founded two camps: Camp McGee and Camp Grist. He also had opportunities to make a difference in the lives of children through his role as dean of the YMCA Blue Ridge Physical Leaders School. The group of boys with whom he worked looked upon him as a strong leader and role model. He helped each of them define their own values and grow up to be successful men. J. Edmund Welch, author of Paul Malone Grist, D.H.: A Personal Remembrance, said of Grist, “He created a legion, not an army as did Napoleon, but a legion of boys. He was fiercely loyal to ‘his boys’ and they in turn were fiercely loyal to him.” Now the annual Selma “boy of the year” award is named the “Paul Grist Trophy.”

Grist’s work with the YMCA reinforced his Christian values. He was a member of the Church Street United Methodist Church in Selma, Alabama, and a teacher of a men’s bible class. Grist was extremely devoted to God; to the people for whom he worked, he would often say “God’s first, the other fellow’s second, and I’m third.” This later became the motto for Camp Grist.

Grist was awarded an honorary degree, Doctor of Humanities, from the University of Alabama in 1964. He received two notable honors in 1973: the Valley Creek State Park was renamed the Paul M. Grist State Park and he was inducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor. In 1975, he was named a Paul Harris Fellow from Rotary International in Selma, Alabama. Upon Grist’s death in 1983, Paul “Bear” Bryant said, “Paul Grist was one of the finest gentlemen I have ever known. He was a great man. He did a lot of work for young people for as long as I can remember and he had a lot of class.” Countless young men throughout Grist’s career were admonished: “Don’t wait to be a great man, be a great boy.” Paul Grist leaves an enduring legacy of Christian faith and commitment to the YMCA movement.