GAINESVILLE — Since 2009, Gainesville High School has conferred honorary diplomas on citizens who have made an impact on the city school system, and the tradition continued at a reception Thursday night.
Gainesville High School principal LaCrisia Larkin awarded the honorary diplomas to John O'Neal Davis, Colleene Potts Ivey and Cecil Terrell "Butch" Miller.
John O’Neal Davis, a graduate of Risley High in Brunswick, worked for the city school system for 27 years at E. E. Butler High, Miller Park Elementary, Main Street Elementary, Gainesville Middle and High. An accomplished musician, Davis mentored many students toward productive citizenship through his years of association with the school system.
Colleene Potts Ivey graduated from Lyman Hall High. She has been a premier supporter of GHS athletics, particularly baseball, as she and her late husband, Ted, worked in Little League, Pony League, American Legion and GHS baseball programs. She also volunteered hundreds of hours at Northeast Georgia Medical Center.
Cecil Terrell "Butch" Miller, a Buford High graduate, is a principal of Milton Martin Honda, a state senator and business leader. His support for GHS has been through leadership, teacher/staff incentives, hosting students at the state capitol and employing a student in the school’s work-based learning program.
GHS honorary diplomas are awarded to citizens who support the mission of the Gainesville City School System, who are not graduates of the city’s high schools and who enhance the community’s quality of life and uphold its students.
