Georgia Trend
Honoring Hank Aaron and Ted Turner. Two larger-than-life Georgians who have made indelible marks on their state and their professions are the newest Georgia Trustees.
The Georgia Historical Society and the Office of the Governor will add the names of baseball legend Hank Aaron and business leader and philanthropist Ted Turner to the roster of Georgia Trustees at the Historical Society’s Birthday Bash and Awards Gala in Savannah on Saturday, Feb. 13. The designation is the highest honor Georgia bestows on an individual.
The trustees were chartered in 1732 by England’s King George II and charged with establishing the new Georgia colony. “Not only were they creating a colony,” says historical society president Dr. Todd W. Groce of the original trustees and their work, “but it was really a philanthropic venture, bringing people from England who were down on their luck and giving them a chance at a new life. It had a military aspect, because it was creating a buffer between English South Carolina and Spanish Florida, but at the core of this was philanthropy.”
The trustees were disbanded in 1752, but re-established in 2009 to honor contemporary citizens. The original principle, Non Sibi Sed Aliis or Not for Self but for Others, continues to guide the selection of new trustees, Groce says. “The people selected are not only people who have achieved great things in their fields, but there needs to be some commitment to service.”
This year’s trustees, Aaron and Turner, are eminently well qualified. “Their accomplishments in their fields are absolutely extraordinary – they are some of the best known Georgians around the world,” says Groce. “There’s nobody bigger, but then there’s that commitment . . . using the prestige of their accomplishments to make the world a better place.”
Home Depot co-founder and philanthropist Bernie Marcus and the late Marguerite Neel Williams, a founding trustee of The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation who was honored posthumously, were the first modern-era trustees, inducted last year.
The awards ceremony is part of the two-week-long Georgia Days celebration in Savannah that will highlight the career and achievements of Georgia native Jackie Robinson, who became the first African American on a major league baseball roster when he debuted in 1947 with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
The Georgia Historical Society was founded in 1839 in Savannah, where it is still headquartered. Groce describes the society as “a research and educational institution, created to tell the story of Georgia and also its larger role within American history,” with the goal of creating an educated citizenry.
