$1 Million Gift to UGA will Help Create Children’s Garden at State Botanical Garden

When Alice Richards’ family decided to give $1 million to the State Botanical Garden at the University of Georgia to create a children’s garden, they didn’t know they were helping fulfill a dream she had harbored for almost two decades.

Richards, who lived in Carrollton, was a charter member of the Botanical Garden’s Board of Advisors and one of the garden’s most devoted and beloved supporters until her death in May 2007. The mother of seven and grandmother of 24, Richards loved flowers and the outdoors and had a tender spot for children, said her son Lee Richards of St. Simons Island.

So when Lee and his siblings began discussing distribution of their mother’s estate, agreement to make a gift to the Botanical Garden to create a special garden for children “took about five seconds,” he said. “Mom loved her children and everybody else’s children, and we knew how much she loved the Botanical Garden. We could think of no better place to leave a lasting memorial.”

What the children didn’t know when they made their decision was that almost 20 years earlier Richards had written on her biographical sheet for the Board of Advisors, “I’m particularly interested in the children’s garden.”

“We didn’t learn about that until after we made the donation,” said Lee Richards. “It’s an amazing coincidence.”

Alice Richards was the widow of Roy Richards, founder and CEO of Southwire, the largest maker of cable in North America and one of Georgia’s largest corporations. Roy was a Georgia Tech graduate and neither Alice nor any of their children had any connection to the University of Georgia until Alice was asked to become a charter member of the Botanical Garden Board of Advisors through friends who were knowledgeable about the garden.

She quickly became one of the board’s most committed members and was especially helpful in raising money, said Jeff Lewis, Botanical Garden director. She chaired a Gardens of the World Ball, the Botanical Garden’s major annual fund-raising event, and “was always one of the first to make a pledge for a campaign and get in line to make things happen,” said Lewis.

“She was a very genuine person and she loved the Botanical Garden and her fellow board members, and those of us on the staff felt the same affection for her,” Lewis added.

The Advisory Board conferred emeritus status on Richards shortly before her death.

A children’s garden is a key feature of the Botanical Garden master plan, which Richards worked hard to implement, and fits perfectly with the Botanical Garden’s environmental education focus, Lewis said.

A site for the children’s garden has been identified and planning is beginning to get underway. Lewis said the $1 million—one of the largest gifts the garden has received from an individual—will be the lead gift in a future fund-raising drive for the children’s garden. The Botanical Garden will request it be named the Alice H. Richards Children’s Garden.

“This gift continues Alice’s connection with the Botanical Garden and will allow us to move forward much more quickly with the children’s garden and honor the memory of a board member who enjoyed great respect and admiration among all who knew her,” Lewis said.

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Valdosta State Receives Major Gift from South Georgia Medical Center

South Georgia Medical Center announced July 19 a $1 million investment to address its largest category of staff vacancies -- nursing. The pledge, designated to the Valdosta State University Health Sciences and Business Administration facility, will be used to facilitate the development of an expanded program of nursing and allied health sciences in Valdosta.

Approximately four years ago, SGMC CEO James McGahee and VSU President Ronald Zaccari began meeting to discuss partnership opportunities to advance educational programs at Valdosta State for a variety of health occupations. Working with the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, a proposal to build a Health Sciences and Business Administration facility at VSU’s Rea and Lillian Steele North Campus evolved.

According to McGahee, SGMC is very concerned about the nursing shortage that is facing the healthcare industry. He said, “Like so many hospitals around our state and nation, South Georgia Medical Center struggles with a nursing shortage. On any given day, we have between 75 and 100 nursing vacancies throughout our organization. When you couple this shortage with an aging population and increasing hospital utilization, you quickly realize that we are outpacing our resources. SGMC is stepping up to the plate to proactively invest in the establishment of a world-class, health sciences training program at VSU.”

While SGMC helped fund VSU’s Second Degree program and offers nursing scholarships and other incentives for students in health-related fields, McGahee feels more had to be done. “Our goal is to expand opportunities and graduate record numbers of students. Since SGMC will provide clinical training for these students, we hope they will become familiar with our people, practices and procedures and want to work here when they graduate,” McGahee said.

According to Dr. Zaccari, the construction of the Health Sciences and Business Administration facility establishes a partnership with South Georgia Medical Center and the region’s medical community that represents a tremendous economic impact on South Georgia. Additionally, it provides the needed facilities to increase educational opportunities within various health-related and business areas of study. The north campus project will include an additional $30 million in residence halls, dining facilities, and related infrastructure that will bring the total cost to approximately $75 million.

“The new Health Sciences and Business Administration facility, planned strategically on the university’s north campus and directly across from South Georgia Medical Center’s own visionary and emerging facilities, will provide many opportunities for collaboration and new educational and clinical experiences,” Zaccari said. “Our vision is to attract outstanding scholars, teachers and researchers to Valdosta State University, and in turn open new partnerships with physicians, hospital administrators and multiple use facilities. It is an important and crucial time in our region’s history to chart a new course of action - an intense action plan that serves as a catalyst for combining scarce and valuable resources and accomplishing projects never before imagined.”

The VSU Health Sciences and Business Administration facility is quickly moving up the University System of Georgia’s capital projects list and construction should begin within the next three years. The approximately $46 million facility will represent one of the most significant advances in VSU’s history, and directly responds to the state of Georgia’s critical need for more healthcare professionals.