Gerald Pitts

Gerald Y. Pitts is the only South Carolina member of ALP, the Association of Lincoln Presenters. ALP is a national organization of approximately 166 members whose purpose is to further knowledge and appreciation of the 16th president of the United States. Lincoln was a boyhood hero of Mr. Pitts (along with Joe DiMaggio, Roy Rogers, and Mark Twain). When Mr. Pitts read about ALP in 2007, he realized that he, like Lincoln, was 6’4″ tall, wore a size 14 N shoe, and had four sons, so he became a Lincoln presenter.

Gerald Pitts has appeared in schools, libraries, civic meetings, conventions, and other venues throughout South Carolina, from Walhalla to Charleston. He was also featured in the two-hour PBS documentary, Looking for Lincoln that aired on February 11, 2009. “The Peggy Denny Show” devoted a 30-minute interview to Lincoln on Chanel 16 in Greenville on May 24, 2010.

Mr. Pitts spent 30 years in the Army on active duty and in the reserve and was awarded The Soldiers Medal in the name of President Reagan in 1985. He graduated from Presbyterian College on a National Merit Scholarship and holds graduate degrees in microbiology and counseling psychology. He taught every science course in the curriculum from grades 7 through 12 during 12 years at Cambridge Academy.

He is married to Jymmie Nell, owner of the Bootery, and they have six grandchildren. Even though they were married on a Friday the 13th, they celebrated their 46th anniversary in December 2009. Jymmie sometimes appears as Mary Todd Lincoln at evening programs.