Scott A. Tilley shares something in common with the 150 disabled children playing baseball this spring in High Point's Miracle League. “The first thing you notice about Scott is the big smile on his face,” says Don Scarborough, vice president of community relations at High Point University. Tilley sees that same happiness in the kids in the High Point Miracle League, which he was instrumental in getting up and running.
In July 2008, Tilley travelled to Montreal for the Kiwanis International Convention, where he heard a presentation by a group of disabled kids from the Miracle League, a national organization that raises funds so that kids with disabilities can play baseball in an organized sports team. “It touched me,” he says of the experience. Tilley brought the idea back to the eight-county Triad region of North Carolina, where an estimated 15,000 disabled children live. He got together with community leaders, pitched the idea, and co-chaired the effort that raised over $500,000 to build a baseball facility specifically designed for these kids.
In June 2009, the High Point Miracle League park opened, just a few months after his father and business partner W. Allen Tilley died of leukemia. His father had been a huge Chicago Cubs fan, so Tilley's firm sponsors the Miracle League Cubs twice a year, which involves a $1,000 donation. Tilley also frequently acts as a Miracle League “Buddy,” assisting the kids in hitting, running, pitching and throwing.
Tilley's father, with whom he worked for over 20 years, was also the inspiration behind a $250,000 gift he and his wife Shelby made to High Point University at the end of last year. The donation went toward building the W. Allen & Nancy Tilley Trading Room, a facility that provides faculty and students with the opportunity to analyze financial and economic data. The facility includes a three-walled ticker tape as well as 26 trading stations, which use the same software as Merrill Lynch.
He currently serves on the boards of the Family Service of the Piedmont, High Point Community Against Violence, and Hospice of the Piedmont. He also chairs the investment committee of the High Point Community Foundation, a $55 million pool of funds used for the betterment of the community.
“Scott is all about how you can be significant — not just successful, but significant,” says Paul Lessard, president of the High Point Community Foundation.
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Firm: Merrill Lynch
City: High Point, N.C.
Age: 44
Years as a rep: 23
Years with current firm: 10
Production: $1 million
AUM: $160 million
Product mix: Stocks 12%; insurance 5%; bonds 11%; managed accounts 73%
Specialty: Portfolio management, high-net-worth families and small institutions
Designations, licenses: CFA, CSNA (Certified Special Needs Advisor), ROP; Series 3, 7, 63, 65, 10
