Former UGA football player gives back to the community

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In recent years, the Lumpkin Street School in Hawkinsville, Georgia, one of 500 Georgia equalization schools built for African-American students during segregation, has fallen into disrepair. The town’s Deacons and Stewards Association wants to turn the space into a community center and museum, and a former Georgia football player is helping to make that happen.

Charles Johnson (M ’08), through the Charles Johnson Foundation (CJF), has issued a $25,000 challenge grant to renovate the school. The challenge, which states that CFJ will donate $25,000 to match the $25,000 that the Deacons and Stewards Association raises, has been instrumental in gaining donations for the project from other organizations.

Charles Johnson teaches a basketball clinic in his hometown of Hawkinsville, Georgia, during the Charles Johnson Foundation’s annual Community Weekend.

This isn’t the first time Charles Johnson has helped out his hometown. The captain for the Carolina Panthers has donated funds to support Parent Cafes for single mothers, sponsored women to attend the Pulaski Tomorrowprogram, donated to other middle Georgia foundations, and has provided scholarships to Pulaski County students during his organization’s annual Community Weekend in Hawkinsville.

For more information about the Lumpkin Street School project and how you can help, please email Greg Brown.

Thank you for helping preserve the history of Georgia, Charles! The UGA Alumni Association is proud of your accomplishments on and off the field.

Introducing Executive Director Meredith Gurley Johnson (BSFCS ’00)

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The UGA Alumni Association is excited to announce that former Interim Executive Director Meredith Gurley Johnson (BSFCS ’00) has been named executive director effective December 1.

In this role, she oversees all alumni engagement activities and services, including student programs, young alumni outreach, regional programs, special events and collaborative projects on campus.

“In her capacity as interim executive director, Meredith has shown the leadership, vision, creativity, spirit and energy necessary to take the university to the next level in our efforts to closely engage our alumni and parents alike,” said Kelly Kerner, vice president for development and alumni relations. “After conducting a national search, it was clear that Meredith is the right leader for this time in our history.”

In 2001, Johnson joined the UGA Alumni Association as its first Atlanta programs coordinator based out of the new Atlanta Alumni Center in Buckhead. In 2006, she was named director of the Atlanta Alumni Center and managed the facility, Atlanta-area programming and special projects relating to alumni in Metro Atlanta. Seven years later, Johnson became associate director of alumni relations, the position she held prior to being named interim executive director.

Prior to joining the UGA Alumni Association, Johnson served as coordinator of annual giving and alumni relations for the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.

Since joining the UGA Alumni Association, she has helped launched various signature programs, including Bulldog 100 and UGA Days. In 2014, Meredith was awarded the Georgia Education Advancement Council’s Award for Excellence in Alumni Relations for her work at UGA.

“It is an honor to be selected as executive director of alumni relations for the University of Georgia. As a graduate of UGA, I have never been more proud of the hard work put forth by the administrators, faculty and students that make this place so special,” said Johnson. “I am thankful for the alumni and friends who support this university, and look forward to energizing my peers and the UGA community as we advance the institution together.”

The UGA Alumni Association looks forward to Johnson’s continued leadership!

Click here to read the official press release. 

UGA Alumni Association announces sixth annual Bulldog 100 list

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The University of Georgia Alumni Association has released the 2015 Bulldog 100. This annual program recognizes the fastest-growing businesses owned or operated by UGA alumni. More than 450 nominations were submitted for the 2015 list.

The 2015 Bulldog 100 includes businesses of all sizes and from industries such as landscape design, marketing and orthodontics. Several areas of the country are represented, including companies from as far north as Chicago and as far west as Texas. Of the 100 businesses, 88 are located within the state of Georgia. The Atlanta office of Warren Averett CPAs and Advisors verified the information submitted by each company and ranked the businesses based on a compounded annual growth rate during a three-year period.

The public, including UGA alumni and friends, is invited to celebrate the Bulldog 100 honorees at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis on Feb. 7. The evening will begin with a reception, followed by dinner and the awards ceremony.

The awards ceremony will feature a keynote address by Hala Moddelmog, the first female president and CEO of the Atlanta Metro Chamber. Moddelmog graduated from UGA in 1981 with a Master of Arts from the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Prior to joining the Atlanta Metro Chamber, Moddelmog was president of Arby’s Restaurant Group, Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Church’s Chicken.

Following her remarks, members of the Student Alumni Council will lead the highlight of the evening-the release of the final rankings and countdown of the 2015 Bulldog 100.

“Each year, the caliber of the Bulldog 100 businesses illustrates the important role that UGA graduates play in their communities’ economic growth,” said Meredith Gurley Johnson, UGA’s executive director of alumni relations. “On campus, important work is being done to prepare students to become leading entrepreneurs. During the annual Bulldog 100 Celebration, I am proud to see the results of that rigorous academic environment.”

To review the alphabetical list of honorees and to learn more about the Bulldog 100, including sponsorship opportunities, see www.alumni.uga.edu/b100.

In remembrance of Carl E. Sanders (JD ’48)

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Former Georgia Governor and former UGA Alumni Association President Carl E. Sanders died Sunday. He was 89 years old.

In 1942, Sanders (JD ’48) enrolled at UGA on a football scholarship. He left for a short time to fight in World War II, flying a bomber he named “Georgia Peach.” He later returned to UGA and played quarterback for the 1945 football team that won the Oil Bowl. His time at UGA launched a relationship with the state’s flagship institution of higher education that would span more than 70 years.

Sanders was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1954, served three terms in the Georgia Senate and was elected governor in 1962. Known as “Georgia’s Education Governor,” Sanders oversaw investments in education and training programs, as well as public universities that totaled in the billions. UGA was one of the main recipients of these investments, resulting in a dozen new buildings and a faculty that doubled in size.

Governor Sanders was a staunch supporter of UGA’s School of Law. He was instrumental in gaining state funding to expand the law school building that included space for a law library. After leaving office, he personally donated $1 million to the law school to establish an endowed professorship.

He has been president of the Law School Association, served on the school’s Board of Visitors, and headed the fundraising campaign to build Dean Rusk Hall. He donated his gubernatorial papers, photographs and other memorabilia to the library. He also served as a trustee of the University of Georgia Foundation and was president of the UGA Alumni Association Board of Directors from 1969 to 1970.

The UGA Alumni Association is saddened to hear of the passing of former Governor Sanders. Our thoughts are with his family and other loved ones.