FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Georgia Historical Society President and CEO Named to 100 Most Influential Georgians for Third Consecutive Year
Savannah, Ga., January 7, 2014- Dr. W. Todd Groce, President and CEO of the Georgia Historical Society, has been named by Georgia Trend Magazine as one of the 100 most influential Georgians. This is the third consecutive year that Dr. Groce has made the annual listing of the state’s most powerful and influential citizens who affect the lives and livelihoods of all Georgians.
"Todd has brought the Georgia Historical Society to a new level. His efforts s for the Civil War 150 and his future plans for the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights movement are fantastic,” said Neely Young, Editor in Chief and Publisher of Georgia Trend. "He deserves to be honored as one of our 100.”
Dr. Groce came to the Georgia Historical Society in 1994 as Executive Director and was named the institution’s 43rd President in April 2006. Under his leadership the institution’s operating budget has increased from less than $200,000 to nearly $2.5 million, its endowment has grown from $1 million to over $7 million, and its membership has tripled from 2,000 to 6,000, including nearly 200 local historical organizations in 80 counties.
The Georgia Historical Society’s unprecedented growth and expansion will continue in 2014 with celebration of the 175th Anniversary of their charter by the Georgia General Assembly in 1839 and the opening of the Jepson House Education Center.
The annual selections of the 100 Most Influential Georgians are made through a year-round process by the editorial staff at Georgia Trend and are announced each January. The full excerpt of Dr. Groce’s profile in Georgia Trend can be found below.
Todd Groce
President and CEO
Georgia Historical Society
Savannah
Age: 52
“The Virginia-born Groce has spent 25 years as an educator and administrator who has raised $50 million for educational programming, capital projects and endowment. He guides the oldest continuously operated historical society (founded in 1839) in the South, responsible for collecting, examining and teaching Georgia history. Under his leadership, the Georgia Trustee program has been revived,” Georgia Trend Magazine, January 2014.
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Georgia Historical Society (GHS) is the premier independent statewide institution responsible for collecting, examining and teaching Georgia history. GHS houses the oldest and most distinguished collection of materials related exclusively to Georgia history in the nation.