I’m at a loss. Words are not coming easily. My dear friend, Andrew L. “Andy” Galloway passed away after a brief illness, April 1. His journey to the end was short but complicated. In less than a months’ time he would be admitted to three hospitals, the last one, Pine Pointe Hospice.

The term “Renaissance Man” is probably overused in society today, but there are exceptions. Andy Galloway, 78, was one of those exceptions. To most people Andy was a noted hospital executive at the Medical Center of Central Georgia, but that’s not where his story started or ended. It began on Nov. 9, 1947, in Jacksonville, Florida. In 1952 his family relocated to Syracuse, New York, where he graduated from Central Tech High School in 1965, then on to Syracuse University. Andy met Patricia Gill, a fellow freshman from Brooklyn, N.Y., and a lasting bond was formed that would last 56 years.

After an interruption by the U.S. Air Force in 1967, where as a Staff Sergeant, his service included South Korea, Andy and Pat were married on Aug. 30, 1969. When he discharged in 1973, he continued his education at Syracuse and graduated with honors majoring in Economics. He didn’t stop there. He entered Cornell University in Ithaca, New York and graduated with a Master of Business Administration with a concentration on Hospital Administration. Andy’s first job after graduation was with Hospital Affiliates in Nashville, Tenn, and later a facility in New Jersey. Moving back to Nashville, he was the CEO at the George W. Hubbard Hospital of Meharry Medical College for Hospital Corporation of America. Andy moved his family, now to include two daughters, Shanda and Andria, to Macon in 1981 when he took the position of Senior

Corporate Executive responsible for development and planning with Macon-based Charter Medical Corporation. His final
move was to Central Georgia Health Systems (the Medical Center of Central Georgia) as Senior Vice President.

Andy didn’t sit on his laurels. He used his influence as a member of the Medical Center’s Executive Management team to help underrepresented segments of the community. During his tenure, the Medical Center was the county’s largest employer and Galloway helped change the mix of employees at every level, from management to clinical staff and other personnel. He was the conscience of the Medical Center.

Outside of the hospital, Galloway’s influence was brought to bear on the political scene as a member of the Committee for Political Awareness, better known as the “Cotton Avenue Mafia,” founded by the late Bibb County Commissioner Albert Billingslea. Those seeking political office had to appear before the Mafia and answer tough questions and required to meet expectations if the Mafia decided to back a candidate with guidance, strategy and money.

Galloway was a member of Bethal CME, Beta Chi Boulé of Sigma Pi Phi Incorporated, a post graduate fraternity, whose membership included Carter Woodson, Benjamin Mays and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Andy was a member of the 100 Black Men of Middle Georgia, and the Homosophians, a black civic organization. He also served on the Community Service Board of River Edge Behavioral Health.

Andy was a big guy, always ready to help and provide guidance from the board room to the street corner.

One of his responsibilities at the Medical Center was lobbying for the state’s health systems at the Georgia General Assembly. His great smile and infinite knowledge of health care issues made him the go-to authority for lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

While Billingslea was the Godfather of the Mafia, gathering black and white political, business and social leadership, Andy was the consigliere (counselor), and long after his retirement, he maintained that position, using his innate intellect to guide the next generation of Macon’s leaders. I am blessed to have had him in my life.