‘Take an Interest’: UVA Wise Alumna Serves in Region and Beyond

UVA Wise alumna Aleta Childress ‘98 from Clintwood, Virginia spends her days taking an interest in others. A principle that she has adopted that reminds her to pay attention to everyone around her, whether it is in her role as a mother, friend, supervisor or servant. A principle that she teaches in her current position as Director of Customer Support at one of the leading drivers of economic development in Southwest Virginia, Crutchfield Corporation in Norton. A principle all made possible, she says, because of the way the UVA Wise took an interest in her. 

Both Childress and her husband, Brett Childress ’97 felt the College at Wise was the perfect place to get their education. Here, she majored in accounting and joined several honor societies, such as Omicron Delta Kappa and Phi Beta Lambda, where she held a variety of positions. Childress was also inducted into the Darden Society for her academic prowess. However, her biggest takeaway from her time at the College was the lifelong relationships she was able to form with faculty. 

“One of the things I loved most about UVA Wise was the ability to connect one-on-one with faculty. That is something I still talk about with others to this day,” said Childress, as she excitedly pointed out that she was sitting under a UVA Wise banner. 

Childress highlighted several members of the UVA Wise community for playing integral roles in developing her education, including former UVA Wise Chancellor Jay Lemons; Betty Humphreys, former associate professor of business; Gary Stratton, former associate professor of economics; Dana Kilgore, associate professor emeritus of accounting; Teena Fast, instructor in accounting; and Francis Frey, associate professor of business administration.  

“Each of my professors genuinely took an interest in me and my education, and that’s the kind of thing you remember for the rest of your life,” said Childress. 

After graduating from the College, Childress had planned to move away and pursue a postgraduate degree that would eventually lead to teaching accounting. However, life got in the way, and she decided to stay local. The same year Childress graduated from the College happened to be the same year Bill Crutchfield, former UVA Board of Visitors and UVA Wise College Board member, brought his business to Wise County. In 1998 Crutchfield, an online and catalog retailer of premium consumer electronics, opened their satellite call center in Norton.

While Childress had purchased from Crutchfield before, she had never considered it as a career option. Still, she decided to take a job in sales at the Norton Crutchfield location. Upon accepting the position, she told them she would more than likely only be there a year. And 26 years later, she has never left the company. 

Childress tried her hand at a few different roles within the company, which eventually led her to the position of Director of Customer Support over the entire company, where she has worked for the last several years. 

“One might question how accounting ties into customer service and support. My education at UVA Wise has helped me greatly in that I am able to tie in numbers to my overall customer service experience,” said Childress. “I have found it to be a selling point for me, because it’s rare to have those two aspects under your belt in the field. I firmly believe my degree has helped me be successful every single day in my role.”

Outside of work Childress has found herself taking the time to help others. In the middle of June, Childress traveled to Honduras with First Free Will Baptist Church through Extra Mile Missions, a non-profit organization dedicated to going the extra mile to care for and provide assistance to children and families living in some of the most impoverished communities on earth.

Through this organization she is able to sponsor children with a monthly donation to help them attend school, have food and other necessities. There, she was able to meet with the kids she sponsored, serve in their village, and spend time working in a local orphanage. This year made her second time traveling to Honduras, where she was surprised to find out that the children in the village remembered her and her son from the previous year. 

“I was truly touched by those children and their families,” said Childress. “It was a wonderful opportunity to serve. What you come back with is a whole lot more than you could ever give.”

When asked what drives her purpose both in and outside of work, Childress took a thoughtful pause. 

“There is a leading principle of mine called taking an interest in others. By that I mean truly paying attention to people, no matter the role I am in. Pay attention to what they need and what you have to give to help them meet that need,” said Childress. “That has helped me a lot from a customer service perspective, as well as in life in general. I wouldn’t be where I am today if UVA Wise hadn’t taken an interest in me.”