Leadership Georgia announces 2023 award recipients
Jun. 15—ATLANTA- The Leadership Georgia Board of Trustees is pleased to announce the recipients of the organization's most prestigious awards. The organization will honor seven Georgians who exemplify the principles of Leadership Georgia and whose impact through leadership and stewardship has helped shape communities and the state.
"Each year the Leadership Georgia Board of Trustees takes great pride in selecting exceptional Georgians whose lives and work represent the best values of our great state. We are all made better by the award recipients selected this year, and we are proud to recognize each recipient for their contributions to all of us," said Chairwoman Teresa MacCartney. "As an organization, Leadership Georgia is fortunate to have unwavering support from around the state for its purpose of preparing strong and effective leaders for the future development of Georgia. Our 2023 honorees are exemplary in all ways and are beacons of leadership for emerging leaders participating in future classes of Leadership Georgia."
The 2023 honorees are: Governor Brian Kemp, who was awarded the H.G. "Pat" Pattillo Honorary Membership Award; Egbert Perry, who was awarded the J.W. Fanning Award; Judge Joy Lampley-Forston, who was awarded the Judge Horace J. Johnson, Jr. and Michelle Bryant Johnson Distinguished Public Service Award; Gretchen and David Corbin who were awarded Frederick B. Kerr Service Award and Katie and Scott Chastain of Thomasville, who were awarded the E. Dale Threadgill Community Service Award
Leadership Georgia will formally recognize the award recipients during the Leadership Georgia Annual Alumni Awards Gala on November 11, 2023, at Pullman Yards in Atlanta, GA. The black-tie event draws hundreds of alumni and guests and helps support the organization's programs focused on enabling Leadership Georgia to continue its over fifty-year legacy of developing and inspiring leaders from all walks of life and all corners of the state.
The E. Dale Threadgill Community Service Award is an award presented in honor of E. Dale Threadgill to Leadership Georgia members who have taken the principles learned in Leadership Georgia and put them into work in their communities.
Scott Chastain is an entrepreneur and an evangelist for small town urbanism. As founder and CEO of Everfan, Scott designs and manufactures custom superhero costumes and other creative apparel products, but his background in Landscape Architecture has made him a passionate advocate for well-designed and livable cities. He was elected to Thomasville City Council in 2022 and as Councilman has focused on sustainability, parks, and connectivity, while pushing for more entrepreneurial approaches within city government. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Thomasville-Thomas County Chamber of Commerce, where he chaired the Leadership Thomas program for five years. He was voted Thomasville's 2022 Man of the Year for his servant leadership and civic engagement. Scott was a design team member for Thomasville's award-winning Ritz Amphitheater, as well as Victoria Place, a mixed-income neighborhood adjacent to downtown. In addition to Everfan, he and his wife enjoy developing creative places to live, work, and play. He may be found biking on the not-yet-created bike trails in and around Thomasville.
Katie Chastain has spent the last 20 years working in education and business development. She primarily works as an independent project manager to implement creative solutions to community problems. Recent projects include the establishment of the Thomasville Community Development Corporation, to improve the quality of life and wealth creation opportunities for residents in historically underserved neighborhoods in Thomasville. In addition, she has been working with the Chamber of Commerce, alongside the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education, to identify barriers and create opportunities for a stronger, more aligned workforce pipeline in Thomas County. Katie's problem-solving education company TiskTask.org is a partner in Georgia Tech's recent Georgia AI Manufacturing (GA-AIM) grant, an approximately $65 million Build Back Better initiative to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence in manufacturing. She currently serves as Board Chair for the Vashti Center, which has been recognized by Resilient Georgia as a model for mental health services in rural Georgia. As former owner and operator of The Bookshelf in downtown Thomasville, she worked with other businesses and organizations to revitalize and extend the downtown district.
The Chastains are members of Leadership Georgia's Class of 2017 and were Program Chairs in 2019. They continue to support the organization with their presence, wise counsel, and encouragement of other Leadership Georgia participants from Thomasville and South Georgia.
Leadership Georgia is the country's most prestigious statewide leadership organization. Leadership Georgia was founded in 1971 and graduated its first class in 1972. Since then, more than 5,000 leaders — from elected officials to business owners to policy makers — have participated in the program. Leadership Georgia is a volunteer-run organization governed by its Board of Trustees and is an affiliate of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. Learn more at leadershipgeorgia.org.
