Georgia Southern University celebrates entrepreneurship at 3rd annual Parker College of Business Gala
On Saturday, March 2, more than 250 business leaders from across the region, faculty, staff and students united to celebrate Georgia Southern University’s third annual Parker College of Business Gala at The DeSoto Savannah.
“This is a night of celebration,” Georgia Southern University President Kyle Marrero told the audience in attendance. “By 2028, Georgia Southern will be the next R1 [research] institution in the state. We’re in motion, we’re growing and we’re impacting the region. We are in a constant state of growth because we want to have an impact on others.”
The university’s Parker College of Business educates 4,500 students annually at campus locations in Statesboro, Savannah and Hinesville and through innovative online undergraduate and graduate programs.
“Every year, we have 1,000 graduates who go out and change the world,” said Parker College of Business Dean Allen Amason, Ph.D. “When our students see alumni success, they see the personification of their dreams. We believe our college is on the path to national prominence. Tonight is a celebration of our success.”
The event also featured inspirational remarks by Parker’s Kitchen founder and CEO Greg Parker, who made a landmark $5 million donation to name the Parker College of Business in 2018, creating a pipeline of talent for the regional business community, expanding student scholarships and supporting faculty research.
“I truly believe that the Parker College of Business is an incubator for entrepreneurship and leadership for the state of Georgia,” Parker told the audience in attendance. “We know that today’s graduates will be tomorrow’s CEOs, CFOs and entrepreneurs. I have every confidence that the next Dan Cathy, Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk will be a Parker College of Business graduate.”
The 2024 Distinguished Service Award was presented to Jim Van Epps, a 1977 Georgia Southern graduate who is the longtime CEO of Van Epps, LLC, a leading insurance brokerage headquartered in Roswell, Ga. The Outstanding Corporate Partner Award was presented to Norfolk Southern Corporation.
Additional awards presented at the Parker College of Business Gala included:
Martin NeSmith Award for Excellence in Service - Dwight Sneathen
Gary M. Davis Award for Excellence in Research - Rachel Smith
W. A. and Emma Lou Crider Award for Excellence in Teaching - Gloria Stuart
The Tomlinson & Bond Families Staff Excellence Award - Benjamin Tankersly
William A. Freeman Professor of the Year Award - Jeffrey Schiman
Amazon Technical Product Manager Cindy Evans, a 2012 graduate of the business college at Georgia Southern University, served as the event emcee.
“The Parker College of Business Gala helps to ensure our continued path to distinction,” Evans said. “Our goal is nothing less than to make the Parker College of Business the top business school in the world.”
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Georgia Southern hosts 3rd annual Parker College of Business Gala
