by Steve Barba, Executive Director of University Relations

Jon Gilbert Fox photo.

Paul J. Holloway is a rugged man, with a handshake that grabs attention. He has a big confident voice and speaks in distinct sentences that display his enthusiasm for life and his uncomplicated way of getting to the heart of the matter. He’s typically attired in suit and tie, but it is not hard to imagine him in work clothes, getting his hands dirty. Although just as straightforward and self-assured as her husband, Anna Grace Holloway speaks softly and in a contemplative tone. She is insightful and direct in her comments and creative in the way she exerts her influence.

For his 50th birthday, Anna Grace gave Paul the Holloway Business Competition, a program that awards grants to inventive applicants who seek to start a business or produce a new product. This gift enables Paul to give financial support each year to people who are, as he is, industrious, aspiring, and entrepreneurial. It is a gift that keeps on giving, and it is typical of Anna Grace’s innate wisdom and reflects her love for and understanding of Paul.

The Road to Success

The couple met when they were students at Temple University in Philadelphia. Anna Grace, who grew up in the coal mining area of western Maryland, wanted to trade the isolated, rural community in which she was raised for an urban environment. Paul grew up in Philadelphia, in an inner city row house that was 18 feet wide. His mother worked in a school cafeteria, and his father worked in the lab of an oil refinery. Paul was the first in his family to go to college.

In their first six years of marriage, Anna Grace and Paul lived in seven different homes. During that time, Paul worked for General Motors. In 1963, they moved to Massachusetts, but they were not happy there initially. “We really didn’t like New England when we first came here,” Paul said. Eventually, the couple found a place that felt more like home, but Paul’s employer wanted to reassign him to New York City. That’s when he decided to go into business for himself.

“We had no money,” recalled Paul. “We sold our house and our furniture and bought an automobile dealership in Exeter, NH, with a $6,000 deposit.” The business sold 90 new and used Buicks and Pontiacs a year. In his first year, Paul sold 650 cars, launching a business that today boasts revenues of $170 million and employs more than 200 people at five dealerships.

Paul is especially proud that so many of his employees have been there for years. “We don’t believe in turnover. We believe in bringing people along,” he said.

Setting the Bar High

In many respects, the Holloways have applied that philosophy to their philanthropic endeavors, demonstrating an enduring commitment to public service and bettering their community for everyone. Paul currently chairs the Community College System of New Hampshire Board of Trustees and has also chaired the University System of New Hampshire (USNH) board. In fact, after first being appointed to USNH’s board, and to better prepare himself to be a productive trustee, Paul enrolled in two educational management courses at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). He has volunteered his time and energy to dozens of organizations and, for this work, has received a variety of impressive awards, including an honorary doctorate from UNH.

Anna Grace has been equally committed to community service. With the help of several friends, she created the Striped Bass Tournament, which, through its own foundation, has provided $1.25 million in grants to New Hampshire seacoast communities. “She came up with this idea of a fishing tournament and, of course, she doesn’t fish,” said Paul. “But kids like to fish. So what could be better than having kids raising money for kids?”

Together, Anna Grace and Paul are known throughout the Granite State for their records of community service and for their generosity. Today, the focus of their attention and their principal interest is education. They believe New Hampshire’s educational institutions of higher learning are among the state’s most precious resources, and they support this belief with consistency and determination.

The Holloways recently donated funding that enabled the creation of the 268-seat, state-of-the-art lecture hall in the Boyd Science Center at PSU. The Holloway Auditorium has been named in their honor, but the real pleasure for the couple is in publicly demonstrating their unqualified support of Plymouth State University. “Students from PSU have a great work ethic,” said Paul, adding that Plymouth State students are well trained, eager to prove themselves, and know how to work. He laments that too many university business-school graduates expect to start their first job as senior executives, whereas PSU graduates have a different, “can do” attitude. “We’ll take a graduate of Plymouth State any day,” he said.

Anna Grace and Paul Holloway set a high standard, but they lived according to their principles long before they had the means to make substantial contributions in support of their beliefs. The couple hope their examples of civic engagement and philanthropy will inspire others. They also hope more people in New Hampshire will look carefully at the quality of higher education in the state and conclude what so many others from outside our borders know: “We have great schools in New Hampshire that do a great job and that are the envy of many other states.”