Bowl-winning Quarterback Helped Launch Roll Call Howard Ector called himself blessed. "One of the great blessings of my life has been my friends," he said. "I know a lot of people, and I have a lot of friends." W. Howard Ector, IM 40, of Austell, Ga., who proved himself to be one of Georgia Tech's most loyal friends, died July 24. He was a lifelong leader, from his days as a Georgia Tech football hero to his days as a devoted alumnus. At Tech, Mr. Ector was an all-conference quarterback during his junior and senior years. In 1939, he led Tech to the Southeastern Conference Championship and a Orange Bowl victory over Missouri. Mr. Ector also played basketball and baseball at Tech, was senior class president and was a member of ANAK, Omicron Delta Kappa and the student council. A World War II veteran, Mr. Ector became the first executive secretary of the Georgia Tech Foundation in 1947 and helped launch the first Roll Call campaign. "We started out on the basis of trying to get Georgia Tech people to contribute $1 for every year they had been out of school," Ector recalled in 1995. During a six-month period in 1951, Mr. Ector served as Alumni Association executive director. In 1952, he became business manager of the Athletic Association. In 1959, he began a 23-year career with Trust Co. Bank. In 1990, Mr. Ector served as chairman for the Class of 1940's 50th reunion. In 1994, his classmates created the W. Howard Ector Outstanding Classroom Teacher Award. In 1995, Mr. Ector was presented the George C. Griffin Community Service Award in recognition of a lifetime of civic and community involvement. In 1998, he was awarded the Joseph Mayo Pettit Alumni Distinguished Service Award. Mr. Ector was a past president of the Georgia Tech Alumni Association, past member of the Tech Athletic Board, former chairman of the job-placement committee for Tech athletes and a member of the Tech Athletics Hall of Fame.
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