By Thomas Sellers Jr.
Clarence Roland was a business pioneer in the Millington area.
His son Eric keeps the 55-year legacy of Roland Tires going strong today with hometown, friendly car service. And quite a few people in the area are familiar with Eric’s big brother Terry.
Maybe the best known Roland, Terry has served Millington and Shelby County government and currently is the executive director of the Millington Area of Chamber of Commerce.
Now the next generation of Rolands is making a name for himself. The Class of 2021 Valedictorian at Tipton-Rosemark Academy is Noah Roland. The son of Eric and Kristie Roland has created a reputation as a strong student/athlete with stellar baseball play for the Rebels and a 4.0 grade point average.
But one of the things Noah is most proud of is his 34 on the ACT.
“It feels like a lot of hard work paid off,” Roland said of finishing No. 1. “I went through four years of high school, I tried really hard. I studied and I would say a lot of hours were put in my GPA and my ACT.
“There was a time period my ACT wasn’t catching up,” he recalled. “I had to spend a good amount of time just taking practice test outside of the classroom, not just the ACT Prep. This was a nightly thing.”
With a mission to get a higher ACT score, Roland wanted better scholarship opportunities.
“I took it once a year my junior and senior year at this school,” he recalled. “I also took it once my freshman and sophomore years. My first score was a 26. Sophomore year I jumped up to 30 and then I just kept getting 30 and 30 and 30. That’s when I tried the new direction.
“I was striving for a 33-plus,” Roland continued. “Then the 34 happened and I was shocked.”
Now the Brighton resident is heading off to Rhodes College in Memphis for academics and baseball. Balancing test prep, regular classes and athletics was a challenge for Noah but he relied on the lessons he witnessed from his dad on a daily basis.
“He definitely likes to take care of things as soon as it happens,” Noah said of his dad. “He doesn’t wait around to get things done. If something happens it needs to be done then as soon as possible. I learned not to wait around about my work or procrastinate with my school work. I learned a lot from him.”
When the go-get-it approach was still overwhelming, Noah said his mother was the calming presence in his life.
“She’s definitely kept me grounded,” he noted. “Whether or not I did good, she knows I tried my best. She’ll tell me I’m doing fine. She keeps me sane through all the stress. She’s keep me in the right mind because some of these things can get stressful. I don’t get a good grade, she’s there to make things all right.”
Noah said time on the diamond was a chance to relax and play a game with his friends. Now as his time with Rebel Baseball comes to an end and he took the stage May 15 in the Millington First Baptist Church as the valedictorian, his peers know him as Noah Roland.
But the Roland time has a strong presence wherever Noah goes in the area and he is proud of the living legacy.
“The name is not known around people I know, younger people or my friends,” he acknowledged. “Around older people or teachers, a lot of them know my uncle and they get an impression about me there.
“Definitely know a lot of people who know my uncle Terry,” Noah concluded. “The first thing they ask when they hear the name Roland, ‘Do you know Terry Roland?’”
