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Georgia Historical Society adds New Board Members, Presents Various Awards, and Hosts Garden Party at its 171st Annual Meeting

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Savannah, GA – April 23, 2010.  Felker W. Ward, Jr. and Thomas M. Holder of Atlanta along with Savannah resident Archie H. Davis were elected members of the Board of Curators of the Georgia Historical Society during the institution’s 171st Annual Meeting in Savannah on April 15, 2010.

Felker Ward is President of Ward & Associates Inc., and the Chief Executive Officer of Pinnacle Investment Advisors Inc.  He is also a Director of AGL Resources Inc., Smith Garden Products Inc., Shoney's, Inc., and the Atlanta Life Insurance Company. He serves as Member of the Board of Advisors of Atlanta Falcons Football Club and is a Trustee of Georgia Research Alliance Inc., and Trustee Emeritus of Emory University. He was the first African American to serve as president of the Rotary Club of Atlanta.
Tommy Holder is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Holder Construction Company. Established in 1960, Holder is a national commercial construction services firm with experience in over 25 states and annual revenues over $1 billion.  He serves on the boards of the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Foundation, Woodruff Arts Center, Kennesaw State University and the Construction Industry Roundtable.

Archie Davis spent a successful career at Citizens and Southern National Bank in Atlanta and Savannah.  He then became founding director of The Savannah Bank and The Savannah Bancorp in 1989.  As a business and community leader he has been actively involved with numerous worthy institutions including the Savannah Technical College Foundation, Atlanta Downtown Development Authority, Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce, Candler Hospital and the St. Joseph's/Candler Health System, the Georgia Trust, the Atlanta Historical Society, the Mighty Eighth Air Force Heritage Museum and Foundation.

Reelected for a second term were Bill Jones III of Sea Island, chairman; Robert L. Brown, Jr. of Decatur, vice chairman; John C. Helmken II of Savannah, Treasurer; and Shell H. Knox of Augusta, Secretary.

Awards presented at the meeting:
The John Macpherson Berrien Award recognizes a lifetime of achievement in and service to Georgia history.  This year the award went to philanthropists Don and Kaye Kole of Savannah for vision, leadership, and generosity in guiding the growth of history, archival, and genealogical organizations in Savannah and throughout the state


The Sarah Nichols Pinckney Volunteer of the Year Award recognizes individuals and groups who have selflessly contributed their time and resources to advance the mission of the Georgia Historical Society, and is presented this year to historian Buddy Sullivan for countless hours of service, collaboration, and scholarship toward the continued growth of GHS.

Awards announced at the meeting:
The Malcolm Bell, Jr. and Muriel Barrow Bell Award, established in 1992, is given for the best book in Georgia history published in the previous year and named in honor of Malcolm Bell, Jr., and Muriel Barrow Bell in recognition of their contributions to the recording of Georgia’s history.  This year’s winner was Dr. Edwin Arnold of Appalachian State University for his book, What Virtue There is in Fire:  Cultural Memory and the Lynching of Sam Hose published by the University of Georgia Press.

The E. Merton Coulter Award is given for the best article in the Georgia Historical Quarterly in the previous year.  The Coulter Award was established in 1973 in honor of E. Merton Coulter, editor of the Quarterly for fifty years.  This year the award went to Dr. Glenn McNair of Kenyon College in Ohio for his article, “Slave Women, Capital Crime, and Criminal Justice in Georgia,” which appeared in the Summer 2009 issue of the Georgia Historical Quarterly.

The Lilla Hawes Award recognizes the best book in Georgia county or local history published in the previous year.  This award was established in 1993 and honors Lilla Hawes, the Society’s Director from 1948 to 1976.  This year’s recipient was William J. Morton of Atlanta for his book, The Story of Georgia’s Boundaries:  A Meeting of History and Geography.  

Roger K. Warlick Local History Achievement Awards recognize outstanding achievement in the field of local history by Affiliate Chapters of the Georgia Historical Society and are named in honor of Roger Warlick, president of the Society from 1990 to 1994.  This year, the award for Exhibits went to the Legacy Museum on Main and the Troup County Historical Society for their exhibit Home Life on the Eve of the Civil War.  Historic Augusta, Inc. was named GHS Affiliate of the Year for continuing excellence in the preservation and promotion of Georgia and American history, and for ongoing support of GHS programming across the state.

The day’s events culminated in a well attended Garden Party hosted in the Victorian home of Pamela and David Young, located on Savannah’s historic Forsyth Park.  For images from the event please click here.