Savannah, GA - The late Elizabeth “Betty” Deriso Pope was honored as the recipient of the 2019 Distinguished Service Award for the South Georgia Technical College Foundation at the Technical College System of Georgia 2019 Leadership Conference in Savannah, GA recently. Kerri K. Post, daughter of Betty Pope, accepted the award on behalf of her mother in front of over 400 individuals attending the award dinner.
“The Technical College Foundation Association Distinguished Service Award embodies the ideals of philanthropy, volunteerism, and leadership in the service of Georgia’s Technical Colleges. The award is designed to showcase past generosity, commitment, and dedication to the foundations and colleges of the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) and to encourage future generosity and commitment,” said South Georgia Technical College President Dr. John Watford. “Betty Deriso Pope and her family are the epitome of this award and it was the pleasure of South Georgia Technical College and the South Georgia Technical College Foundation to nominate Betty Pope for this award. We are very appreciative of Kerri Post accepting on behalf of her mother.”
In 2002, the Technical College Foundation Association (TCFA) of Georgia established two annual awards (Volunteer and Benefactor) to recognize the outstanding contributions made on behalf of the colleges within the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG). In 2019, these two awards were combined and modified to its current form, Distinguished Service Award.
“It is very fitting that Betty Pope was the South Georgia Technical College Foundation’s first Distinguished Award winner,” said South Georgia Technical College Foundation executive director Su Ann Bird. “Mrs. Pope has always been a leader and she certainly embodied the ideals associated with this award. She will be missed, but it was our honor to nominate her for this award.”
South Georgia Technical College Foundation Chairman Sharad Patel and board member Mike Cheokas were both present at the Technical College System of Georgia Leadership Conference where Betty Pope was announced as the Distinguished Award recipient.
“Betty Pope and the entire Pope family have been instrumental in the success of South Georgia Technical College and its students, but they have also impacted our whole community. On behalf of the South Georgia Tech Foundation, we thank the family for their support,” said Foundation Chairman Shard Patel.
The late Betty Deriso Pope and her late husband, John M. Pope, have supported South Georgia Technical College and the South Georgia Technical College Foundation since 1996. The John M. Pope Industrial Technology Center was built in 1996 and is the signature building for the college. It is the host site for approximately 15,000 visitors to the Americus campus annually. It also houses the President’s Office, the Economic Development division as well as instructional programs such as the Electrical Systems Technology, Industrial Mechanical Systems, Drafting, and Precision Machining and Manufacturing programs. Construction Trades is scheduled to be located in the building in 2019 – 2020.
In addition to donating the funds to construct the Pope Center, the Pope’s endowed a Chair for the College’s Manufacturing Academy in 1999 and then in 2006, Betty Pope endowed the Pope Construction Scholarship in memory of her late husband. Betty Pope has continued to support the college with annual donations and the South Georgia Technical College Foundation was listed as a benefactor in her will in 2019. She served as an Honorary Emeritus of the South Georgia Tech Foundation from 2001 until her death in 2019.
South Georgia Technical College President Dr. John Watford, Vice President of Institutional Advancement and Executive Director of the SGTC Foundation Su Ann Bird, along with SGTC Foundation Trustees Sharad Patel and Mike Cheokas and SGTC Board of Director member’s Jimmy Davis, Janet Siders, and Don Porter were at the conference for the presentation along with SGTC Executive Assistant to the President Teresa O’Bryant.
