Georgia
gaapostille.Com

Officials at Georgia Highlands College were busy Thursday.

On the same day that President Randy Pierce announced his retirement, he also helped dedicate Heritage Hall in honor of the late Judge James D. Maddox and celebrate the completion of the college’s first-ever Legacy Campaign.

The building on Third Avenue at Glenn Milner Boulevard — which houses the nursing and dental hygiene programs — was renamed Maddox Heritage Hall in honor of the man Pierce referred to as the forefather of the college. A new sign already hangs on the front of the building and a plaque was unveiled during the evening ceremony.

“He is the person we know had the vision and the motivation to bring a two-year college to Floyd County in the 1960s,” said Pierce of Maddox, whose family once owned the property where the building now sits. “It’s very appropriate and fitting that we name the building for him.”

The family was represented at the event by Frank Maddox and Rebecca Maddox, who is also the interim director of the nursing program. Both said the decision to name the building after their father was considerable tribute.

“He would be so humbled, yet proud, because this is an enduring legacy,” Frank Maddox said.

Following the dedication ceremony, GHC’s Chief Advancement Officer John Southwood officially announced that Georgia Highlands had surpassed the $5 million Legacy Campaign goal, raising a total of $5.68 million. The first campaign of its kind for the college, the money is being used for the nursing program, the Student Success Center and has already funded 30 new scholarships.

“Did it take a while? Yes, but it was well worth the effort,” said Southwood.

He praised the faculty, staff and volunteers who helped Highlands reach the goal, and thanked Rome’s medical providers in particular, as those businesses generated more than $2 million of the overall total.

Tags:  officials same honor campaign celebrate completion retirement announced