Paula Lawton Bevington oral history interview, October 20, 2006

Item — othertype: Oral History

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Interviewed by Amanda Brown-Pellerin. Paula Lawton Bevington begins by talking about her early family life, which was spent in Ohio, Connecticut, and Minnesota. She attended St. Mary’s College at Notre Dame, Indiana. She then did graduate work at Middlebury College in Vermont, before being awarded a law degree from Yale Law School. Bevington discusses her first job working for the law firm of Sutherland, Asbill, and Brennan. She talks about going to Venezuela on a Fulbright Scholarship during a period of intense social unrest. She used her time there to travel extensively in South America. She speaks about returning to Atlanta and meeting her future husband Milton Bevington, who had three sons from a previous marriage. She was heavily involved in volunteer work, and she talks at length about some of the many organizations she has worked with, particularly the Junior League. She and Milton founded the energy company, Servidyne, and she discusses their many years running that firm. After they sold the company, she started working as a professional fundraiser, first for the museum, Scitrek, and later for the Marcus Institute. Bevington addresses her views of feminism as a feminist, and she speaks about the origins of her personal beliefs. She then talks about how organizations which she has been involved with shaped her worldview and outlook. Bevington discusses various dynamics of working within organizations, such as dissent, conflict, and the problem of succession. She ends the interview by speaking about the importance of men developing feminist viewpoints, and the necessity of partnership within marriage.

Dates

Creation: October 20, 2006

Creator

Bevington, Paula Lawton (Interviewee, Person)

Restriction on Access

Oral history available for research.

Biographical Note

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Paula Lawton Bevington was the eldest of three children. She attended an all girl’s high school, and went on to attend St. Mary’s College and Yale Law School. After completing her law degree, she relocated to Atlanta, where her father had established the Georgia International Life insurance company. She took a job at the firm of Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan, then applied for a Fulbright Scholarship, as well as a placement in the Peace Corps. Bevington attained the Peace Corps position and began working in Washington D.C., but not long after also received the Fulbright Scholarship, which relocated her to Venezuela. Her time in Venezuela was cut short when she contracted Hepatitis A, but once she had recovered, she continued to travel by embarking on a solo trip around the world. Upon her return to the United States, she met and married Milton Bevington, and the couple moved to Wisconsin, where, for several years, she focused on their eight children. They eventually returned to Atlanta, and in 1974 Milton started Servidyne, an energy engineering company. In 1980, Bevington joined the project, and the business flourished. The year after Servidyne became a subsidiary of Abrams Industries (2001), Bevington left the company, and in 2003, she began working as the vice president of Development for SciTrek.

Bevington has also been actively involved with a number of organizations, including the Atlanta Legal Aid Society, Atlanta’s Junior League, the American Red Cross, Emory’s Friends of Music, the Georgia Human Relations Commission, the Georgia Council for International Visitors, the National Conference of Christians and Jews, UNICEF-Atlanta, the Yale Club of Georgia, and the Rotary Club of Atlanta. She was also a board member of the World Trade Center Atlanta, the Society of International Business Fellows, and Georgia Chamber of Commerce. She has received many awards, including Saint Mary’s College Distinguished Alumna Award, the YWCA Academy of Women Achievers, the Martin Luther King Jr. Center Community Award, the Claven Award, the Atlanta Legal Aid Society’s Outstanding Service Award, the Roz Cohen Community Action Award, and the NCCJ Brotherhood/Sisterhood Award. Bevington is an alumni of Leadership Atlanta.