As a founder of the Order of the White Jacket, Macon was a believer in passing opportunities forward, helping those who help themselves and working in food service as an example of menial labor to achieve a higher purpose.
Macon entered William & Mary in 1923. In a day when financial aid was not plentiful, he worked in the dining hall and the library to help pay his way. After two years at the College, he could no longer afford tuition and returned to his home in Richmond, Virginia, where he lived and worked for two years until he had saved enough to return to the College in 1927. Macon graduated in 1929 with a degree in business administration.
Macon’s college career involved many activities and leadership roles, including as a member of ODK leadership fraternity and Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, serving as business manager of both the Flat Hat college newspaper and the Indian Handbook, serving as treasurer of the College YMCA, competing on the varsity track and cross country teams, and participating in the Phoenix Literary Society and the Cotillion Club.
Following his William & Mary days, Macon owned and operated a business in Richmond until the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack, after which he sold his business to become a U.S. Navy gunnery officer. He rose to the rank of lieutenant commander, becoming a harbor master in Norfolk before the end of World War II. Later, he and his family resided in the Roanoke area, where he worked with the Pitney Bowes Corporation and in specialty advertising.
Macon remained active in alumni affairs throughout the rest of his life, joining the Roanoke Alumni Chapter and serving as class reporter from 1962 to 1987.
Macon’s affinity to the College continued through his family’s attendance. His son, Mac Sammons Jr. ’68, daughter, Mary Sammons Rordam ’73, P ’10, P ’11, and grandsons, Landon Rordam ’10 and Gardner Rordam J.D. ’11, attended William & Mary. As an expression of his love for his alma mater, his son Mac and his daughter-in-law, Candace A. Sammons, established the Macon C. Sammons Sr. Order of the White Jacket Scholarship Endowment (4279).