Friday March 29th, 2024 8:49AM

PHOTOS: North Georgia Community Foundation hosts 2nd "Celebration of Community"

By Caleb Hutchins Assistant News Director

GAINESVILLE -- The North Georgia Community Foundation (NGCF) held its second annual Celebration of Community event Thursday evening at the Gainesville Civic Center, honoring two Gainesville residents for outstanding philanthropic contributions to the area. 

For 2017, Callie Flack was named the recipient of the Gus Whalen Young Philanthropist Award, while Dr. Buddy Langston was chosen as the recipient of the Woodrow Stewart Leadership in Philanthropy Award. Flack was nominated by The Boys & Girls Clubs of Lanier for her honor; Langston was nominated by The Medical Center Foundation. 

"These two individuals embody the mission of NGCF and of the particular awards they were nominated for, as they are both in memory of special hometown heroes from here in Gainesville-Hall County," said Michelle Prater, President and CEO of the North Georgia Community Foundation. "They have a passion for others and this community, and their contributions are lasting.”

Former Coca-Cola CEO and Hall County native Doug Ivester, who is noted for his wide-reaching philanthropic work, was a special guest for the Celebration of Community.

Ivester fielded questions at the event during a Q&A session with Philip Wilheit, discussing his career and his childhood in Hall County.

"I grew up in New Holland, Georgia, which at the time was a long way from Gainesville - today it's the same thing, but back then it was a long way from Gainesville - two miles," Ivester said during a conversation with AccessWDUN prior to the program.

Ivester said it was great to spend an evening in his home county, talking about community outreach, specifically that being done through the North Georgia Community Foundation.

"So I know all the people [here] pretty well, I've seen a lot of good friends tonight...it's a great event," Ivester said. 

Prater called the evening a success.

"The passion and strength of the community and lasting legacies was certainly highlighted in the celebration," Prater said.

To find out more about the work of The North Georgia Community Foundation, follow this link to the website www.ngcf.org.

AccessWDUN's B.J. Williams contributed to this story. 

  • Associated Categories: Homepage, Local/State News
  • Associated Tags: gainesville, hall county, North Georgia Community Foundation
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