First Methodist\u2019s church league adult basketball team, recalls former center Stephen Laton, was composed of young professional men like himself\u2013until the teenagers signed up. The boys were hard-working, outgoing competitors. But their most striking feature, according to Laton, a 1970 graduate of North Carolina State University\u2019s Wilson College of Textiles, was \u201cthey were almost impossible to tell apart\u2014same body type, same haircut, slim, trim, good-looking boys. If I wanted to call one out on the court, I knew better than to say \u2018Charles\u2019 or \u2018Thomas.\u2019 I\u2019d point and call, \u2018Poston.\u2019 Whichever one happened to look, I\u2019d talk to him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n Charles (left) and Thomas Poston have fond memories of NC State, pictured here Little did the Poston boys realize at the time, but their people-oriented, small-town involvement with church, school and community built their confidence and set them on the path to successful careers in the textile industry, ultimately preparing them for their latest role, as philanthropists.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Recently, the twins, who turned 60 in May, established the Charles and Thomas Poston Endowed Scholarship Fund at the Wilson College in order to ensure that talented students of modest means would have the chance to study at their alma mater. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor me, it\u2019s about paying it forward,\u201d says Thomas Poston, the younger twin by 45 minutes. And, he adds, \u201cI\u2019m bullish on the textile industry.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n The idea of an endowment arose during a casual conversation with North Carolina Textile Foundation Executive Director Michael Ward at a trade show in 2018. Thomas Poston recalls Ward as being \u201cfriendly, outgoing and polished. He was not pushy at all. He said, \u2018Here\u2019s an opportunity to work with the university.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n After some serious huddling, the brothers decided to take the plunge. Relishing their new role as philanthropists, the brothers now steer friends and others to contribute to the endowment whenever a giving occasion arises. What\u2019s more, Thomas and Debbie Poston, whose son Michael graduated from the Wilson College in 2010, recently decided to leave a bequest in their will to further build the endowment.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs leaders, Charles and Thomas have a remarkable ability to connect with others,\u201d says Ward. \u201cTheir support of student success at the Wilson College will impact lives for generations.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n No doubt, the brothers\u2019 character and values can be traced to their high-minded, education-oriented parents. Their father, the late Fred Poston, was principal of the elementary school where their mother, Janice Poston, taught second grade. \u201cMom was always visiting sick people, writing letters, doing nice things for others,\u201d recalls Thomas Poston.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n The family had to scrimp and save to make ends meet, feeding and clothing the boys and their older sister, Jan. \u201cOur parents were from the Depression era,\u201d says Charles Poston. \u201cThey never spent money, never had a new car or house.\u201d The boys had to work for their pocket money, once even doing yard work for Siler City\u2019s most famous resident, the reclusive Frances Bavier (who played Aunt Bee on <\/span>The Andy Griffith Show<\/span><\/i>). \u201cShe wrote us a check for $25,\u201d says Charles Poston, remembering that as a sizable sum.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Poston twins\u2019 service ethic deepened when they arrived at the Wilson College as freshmen in 1978. Naturally, the brothers roomed together, taking up residence on the first floor of Lee Hall, where they stayed for four years. Within days, they were mingling with upperclassmen, professors and maintenance staff, and knocking themselves out to help girls move into their dorm rooms.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe textile school was a tight-knit family inside a family,\u201d recalls Charles Poston.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n After his first semester, aware of their parents\u2019 financial struggle paying for college, Thomas Poston approached Bill Smith, then head of student affairs. He asked if any jobs or scholarship money were available. A week later, Thomas Poston had his answer. On his behalf, Smith had approached an executive at the Hadley-Peoples Manufacturing Company in Siler City, who agreed to pay Thomas Poston\u2019s tuition, room and books for the next <\/span>seven<\/span><\/i> semesters, provided he maintain a 2.0 GPA. Every semester, Thomas Poston recalls, a little money was left over, which he promptly \u201cturned over to Dad to help with the bills.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Smith\u2019s work in securing that scholarship was something neither brother ever forgot. It also reinforced another important lesson: <\/span>people<\/span><\/i> open doors.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Charles Poston, for example, recalls getting his first job out of college at JP Stevens in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. The interview consisted of just one question: \u201cDoes Aunt Bee <\/span>really<\/span><\/i> live in Siler City?\u201d Then the hiring manager said, \u201cI\u2019ve known you and your brother for four years. We\u2019re looking for someone who feels comfortable talking to the plant manager, the executives and the person sweeping the floor. You fit that bill.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n In that same vein, upon graduation, Thomas Poston accepted a job as a high school recruiter for the Wilson College, working for Smith and his associate, Lennie Barton. He stayed for two years before joining the private sector.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Almost 40 years later, the brothers remain active in the industry. While they may have reached their professional pinnacles, they\u2019re in no hurry to throw in the towel. Charles Poston, who lives in Jamestown, North Carolina with his wife Kathy, who also attended NC State, is market manager-textiles for Kluber Lubrication<\/a> while Thomas Poston, who\u2019s based in Hendersonville, North Carolina, serves as senior key account executive for the Surface Modification Technologies Division of Daikin America<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Even now, their education remains at the forefront. In his sales job for Daikin, which produces repellent for textile fabrics, Thomas Poston estimates that 75 percent of the people he works with are Wilson College grads, ranging in age from their 20s to their 70s. When he\u2019s calling on a new prospect, his first move is to check out the NC State alumni directory. For example, he remembers having difficulty connecting with Southern Mills in Union City, Georgia. When he finally reached the company\u2019s Michael Laton on the phone, it didn\u2019t take long to realize they\u2019d both studied at the Wilson College, both hailed from Siler City and that his former mentor, Stephen Laton, was none other than Michael Laton\u2019s father. Thomas Poston recalls laughingly warning the younger Laton: \u201c\u2018If you don\u2019t call me back, I\u2019m going to call your daddy.\u2019\u201d The gambit worked.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n No doubt, the Poston twins have cut a memorable swath across the textile industry from the get-go, doing everything\u2014if not quite in lockstep\u2014then very much in sync.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe talk every day,\u201d says Charles Poston. \u201cOften a couple of times a day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Are there <\/span>any<\/span><\/i> differences between the textile twins?<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, Thomas Poston ponders: \u201cI\u2019m left-handed, and he\u2019s right-handed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Anything else? There\u2019s always hair, he adds.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI part mine on the side now, and he parts his in the middle.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s a Mayberry detail. But with a difference like that, Stephen Laton should finally be able to tell them apart!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Contribute to the Charles and Thomas Poston Endowed Scholarship Fund<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"raw":"\n\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n By Wanda Urbanska<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the mid-1970s, Charles and Thomas Poston were highly regarded tennis and football players for Jordan-Matthews High School in their hometown of Siler City, North Carolina, bringing home 2-A conference championships in tennis and most valuable player awards in football. Never ones to rest on their laurels, though, the 5\u20197\u201d identical twin brothers decided to try their hand at <\/span>basketball<\/span><\/i>. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n First Methodist\u2019s church league adult basketball team, recalls former center Stephen Laton, was composed of young professional men like himself\u2013until the teenagers signed up. The boys were hard-working, outgoing competitors. But their most striking feature, according to Laton, a 1970 graduate of North Carolina State University\u2019s Wilson College of Textiles, was \u201cthey were almost impossible to tell apart\u2014same body type, same haircut, slim, trim, good-looking boys. If I wanted to call one out on the court, I knew better than to say \u2018Charles\u2019 or \u2018Thomas.\u2019 I\u2019d point and call, \u2018Poston.\u2019 Whichever one happened to look, I\u2019d talk to him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Charles (left) and Thomas Poston have fond memories of NC State, pictured here Little did the Poston boys realize at the time, but their people-oriented, small-town involvement with church, school and community built their confidence and set them on the path to successful careers in the textile industry, ultimately preparing them for their latest role, as philanthropists.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Recently, the twins, who turned 60 in May, established the Charles and Thomas Poston Endowed Scholarship Fund at the Wilson College in order to ensure that talented students of modest means would have the chance to study at their alma mater. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor me, it\u2019s about paying it forward,\u201d says Thomas Poston, the younger twin by 45 minutes. And, he adds, \u201cI\u2019m bullish on the textile industry.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n The idea of an endowment arose during a casual conversation with North Carolina Textile Foundation Executive Director Michael Ward at a trade show in 2018. Thomas Poston recalls Ward as being \u201cfriendly, outgoing and polished. He was not pushy at all. He said, \u2018Here\u2019s an opportunity to work with the university.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n After some serious huddling, the brothers decided to take the plunge. Relishing their new role as philanthropists, the brothers now steer friends and others to contribute to the endowment whenever a giving occasion arises. What\u2019s more, Thomas and Debbie Poston, whose son Michael graduated from the Wilson College in 2010, recently decided to leave a bequest in their will to further build the endowment.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs leaders, Charles and Thomas have a remarkable ability to connect with others,\u201d says Ward. \u201cTheir support of student success at the Wilson College will impact lives for generations.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n No doubt, the brothers\u2019 character and values can be traced to their high-minded, education-oriented parents. Their father, the late Fred Poston, was principal of the elementary school where their mother, Janice Poston, taught second grade. \u201cMom was always visiting sick people, writing letters, doing nice things for others,\u201d recalls Thomas Poston.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n The family had to scrimp and save to make ends meet, feeding and clothing the boys and their older sister, Jan. \u201cOur parents were from the Depression era,\u201d says Charles Poston. \u201cThey never spent money, never had a new car or house.\u201d The boys had to work for their pocket money, once even doing yard work for Siler City\u2019s most famous resident, the reclusive Frances Bavier (who played Aunt Bee on <\/span>The Andy Griffith Show<\/span><\/i>). \u201cShe wrote us a check for $25,\u201d says Charles Poston, remembering that as a sizable sum.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Poston twins\u2019 service ethic deepened when they arrived at the Wilson College as freshmen in 1978. Naturally, the brothers roomed together, taking up residence on the first floor of Lee Hall, where they stayed for four years. Within days, they were mingling with upperclassmen, professors and maintenance staff, and knocking themselves out to help girls move into their dorm rooms.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe textile school was a tight-knit family inside a family,\u201d recalls Charles Poston.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n After his first semester, aware of their parents\u2019 financial struggle paying for college, Thomas Poston approached Bill Smith, then head of student affairs. He asked if any jobs or scholarship money were available. A week later, Thomas Poston had his answer. On his behalf, Smith had approached an executive at the Hadley-Peoples Manufacturing Company in Siler City, who agreed to pay Thomas Poston\u2019s tuition, room and books for the next <\/span>seven<\/span><\/i> semesters, provided he maintain a 2.0 GPA. Every semester, Thomas Poston recalls, a little money was left over, which he promptly \u201cturned over to Dad to help with the bills.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Smith\u2019s work in securing that scholarship was something neither brother ever forgot. It also reinforced another important lesson: <\/span>people<\/span><\/i> open doors.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Charles Poston, for example, recalls getting his first job out of college at JP Stevens in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. The interview consisted of just one question: \u201cDoes Aunt Bee <\/span>really<\/span><\/i> live in Siler City?\u201d Then the hiring manager said, \u201cI\u2019ve known you and your brother for four years. We\u2019re looking for someone who feels comfortable talking to the plant manager, the executives and the person sweeping the floor. You fit that bill.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n In that same vein, upon graduation, Thomas Poston accepted a job as a high school recruiter for the Wilson College, working for Smith and his associate, Lennie Barton. He stayed for two years before joining the private sector.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Almost 40 years later, the brothers remain active in the industry. While they may have reached their professional pinnacles, they\u2019re in no hurry to throw in the towel. Charles Poston, who lives in Jamestown, North Carolina with his wife Kathy, who also attended NC State, is market manager-textiles for Kluber Lubrication<\/a> while Thomas Poston, who\u2019s based in Hendersonville, North Carolina, serves as senior key account executive for the Surface Modification Technologies Division of Daikin America<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Even now, their education remains at the forefront. In his sales job for Daikin, which produces repellent for textile fabrics, Thomas Poston estimates that 75 percent of the people he works with are Wilson College grads, ranging in age from their 20s to their 70s. When he\u2019s calling on a new prospect, his first move is to check out the NC State alumni directory. For example, he remembers having difficulty connecting with Southern Mills in Union City, Georgia. When he finally reached the company\u2019s Michael Laton on the phone, it didn\u2019t take long to realize they\u2019d both studied at the Wilson College, both hailed from Siler City and that his former mentor, Stephen Laton, was none other than Michael Laton\u2019s father. Thomas Poston recalls laughingly warning the younger Laton: \u201c\u2018If you don\u2019t call me back, I\u2019m going to call your daddy.\u2019\u201d The gambit worked.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Charles](\"https:\/\/tex-cloud-cdn.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/textiles-ncsu\/20231108101236\/poston-brothers-college-1982.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
with a friend’s mom in front of Lee Hall during the West Campus Jam in 1982.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
with a friend's mom in front of Lee Hall during the West Campus Jam in 1982.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n