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Kim Gresh named
2020 Woman of Distinction
BY DAMON POIRIER
The Cobb Executive Women presented its
2020 Woman of Distinction Award to Kim
Gresh, president of S.A. White Oil Company,
at the Cobb Chamber’s July Marquee Monday
event.
The Woman of Distinction Award,
formerly known as the Glass Ceiling Award,
has been given annually since 1991 to an
individual who has demonstrated exceptional
leadership through her professional
endeavors, community involvement and
social responsibility, thereby supporting and
advancing her community and respective field.
“We’re thrilled to honor Kim with the Woman
of Distinction Award,” said Sharon Mason,
Cobb Chamber president & CEO. “She gives
selflessly to her community and industry,
putting others first and ensuring no woman is
left behind in the workplace. Kim represents
the best of what Cobb County has to offer.”
As president of S.A. White Oil Company,
fuel supplier for the greater Atlanta area and
Georgia’s first supplier of biodiesel, Gresh
has made a name for herself in a maledominated
industry. She was the first female
board member for both the Georgia Oilmen’s
Association and Conoco Phillips National
Marketer Council.
Also dedicated to serving outside the
workplace, Gresh is a tireless community
servant who has made a tremendous impact
on the community.
She is actively involved with and serves on
the Board of Directors for the Earl & Rachel
Smith Strand Theatre, liveSAFE Resources,
Cobb Community Foundation, Gateway
Marietta CID, Sweetwater Mission, Boy Scouts
of America Atlanta Area Council and the
Wellstar Foundation Board of Trustees. She has
received numerous awards and recognitions,
Kim Gresh
including Cobb Citizen of the Year, Marietta
Citizen of the Year, YWCA’s Woman of the
Year, Rotarian of the Year, Siegel Institute’s
Phenomenal Woman of the Year and Marietta
School’s Alumnus of the Year.
Marietta man survived
the sinking of the USS
Indianapolis in 1945
BY RONA SIMMONS AND DON MILNE
Seventy-five years ago, just minutes past
midnight on July 30, two torpedoes launched
from the Imperial Japanese submarine I-58
near the Philippines, sped through the dark
waters of the Pacific and struck the USS
Indianapolis.
In a story well known to Navy veterans and
WWII historians and popularized by the 1975
thriller “Jaws,” the ship sank in 12 minutes.
Of her 1,195-man crew, 900 made it into the
44 COBB LIFE | FEBRUARY 2020