TCC Board of Trustees Chair Eugene Lamb receives Southern Region Trustee Leadership Award

Tallahassee Community College’s Board of Trustees Chairman Eugene Lamb was recently named the recipient of the 2023 Southern Region Trustee Leadership Award by the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT).

“I just consider myself very honored to be selected for a recognition of this magnitude,” Lamb told the Tallahassee Democrat.

ACCT, which was founded in 1969, annually recognizes a trustee member as well as a chief executive officer, faculty member, professional board staff member and equity program in each of its five regions.

The recipients are highlighted for their contributions to community colleges, with up to 25 ACCT Regional Awards being announced every year.

“Trustee Lamb is beyond deserving of this recognition,” TCC President Jim Murdaugh said in a prepared statement. “From his career as an educator and coach in Leon County Schools to his public service in Gadsden, he has led our community with distinction for decades. We are proud to have Eugene on our Board.”

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Lamb — a Midway, Florida, native and an army veteran — received a Bachelor of Arts in Health and Physical Education from Dillard University in 1971 before beginning his teaching career at Cobb Middle School in Tallahassee ahead of his retirement in 2004.

He was initially appointed to TCC's Board of Trustees by former Gov. Charlie Crist in 2007.

While he currently holds a one-year term as chair of the Board of Trustees, it marks his fourth time serving in the position.

But prior to his time on the board, Lamb’s history with the college started in the summer of 1967 when he used to help lay brick to help build the college after its establishment in 1966.

“I could not have imagined ever going from serving as a bricklayer to chairman of the Board of Trustees at Tallahassee Community College,” Lamb said in a release. “You must reach as high as you can for education. Education is the way to success, no question about it.”

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Lamb was inducted into the TCC Alumni & Friends Hall of Fame in 2018, and statewide, he is also a member of the Florida High School Athletic Association Board of Directors.

Board of Governors Chairman Brian Lamb — Eugene's son — says he’s proud to see his father come such a long way as he is recognized for the prestigious leadership award.

“My father has been focused on education and students from a public servant standpoint for over 50 years,” Brian said. “It's inspiring to see him continue to model a way and set a standard for all of us in this space.”

“Watching him as a son and also as someone in public service and higher education, I wish he would slow down so we can all catch up,” he added with a chuckle.

As the 2023 Leadership Awardees will be receiving their awards during an event in a couple of months, Lamb will be traveling to Las Vegas on Oct. 9 ahead of the occasion on Oct. 11 to be presented with the honor.

Contact Tarah Jean at tjean@tallahassee.com or follow her on twitter @tarahjean_. 

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: TCC's Eugene Lamb named recipient for a 2023 Trustee Leadership Award