GAINESVILLE - Riverside Military Academy will honor James A. Walters and Wilbur F. Ramsey at the second annual Sandy Beaver Entrepreneurial Leadership Award dinner on August 13.
Governor and Mrs. Nathan Deal will be honored guests at the dinner.
Jim Walters is president and CEO of Walters Management Company in Gainesville, his family’s home since 1970. He is known and respected for his keen business acumen, philanthropy, and board leadership. Many non-profit organizations throughout northeast Georgia count his family among their donors, and he sits on numerous boards, including Brenau University and the Georgia Ports Authority.
Wilbur Ramsey, who died in 2009, was a decorated WW II officer who served as a member of the legendary Bushmasters, the first to storm the beaches in the South Pacific. When he returned to Hall County, his birthplace, he combined his business sense and agricultural degree from the University of Georgia to the poultry industry and became president of L&R Farms. His legacy includes his service as a longtime member of the board of the now Northeast Georgia Medical Center, which he helped lead into the regional center it is today.
The award dinner is the vision of a small group of Riverside alumni, who saw an opportunity to honor the entrepreneurial and leadership legacy of Sandy Beaver, Riverside president from 1912-1969, as well as raise funds for cadet tuition assistance. The Riverside Military Academy Foundation was formed last October to shelter and invest the funds donated to the program.
The ultimate goal of the Sandy Beaver Entrepreneurial Leadership award is to build a $1 million foundation for Riverside financial assistance to worthy young men whose families have demonstrated need. Riverside, started in 1907, is a college preparatory, military Academy for boys in grades 7-12 from around the world. Enrollment now exceeds 500 with young men from 27 different countries and 33 states.
“The vision, leadership, and philanthropic spirit that Sandy Beaver exhibited throughout his tenure as Riverside’s president are the qualities we honor in Jim Walters and Mr. Ramsey. We are grateful to our alumni and community members for their support for this event and making the night possible.”
Last year’s honorees were Frank K. Norton Sr. and Joe S. Hatfield, who was honored posthumously, and Frank K. Norton, Sr.
Tickets for the dinner are $75 and corporate sponsorships are available for tables of 10 for $1,000. For more information about the dinner, call Amanda K. Griffin at 770-538-2924.
