Boys & Girls Clubs of the Pee Dee Area presented George Brown of Hemingway with the National Bronze Medallion for unusually devoted and exemplary service to boys and girls during its annual meeting on January 30 at The Gately Gallery.
“Without George Brown, Hemingway would not have a Boys & Girls Club,” said Neal Zimmerman, Executive Director for Boys & Girls Clubs of the Pee Dee Area. Beyond exceptional board attendance and participation, he said Brown has always focused on how he could help.
To be eligible for the National Medallion, an individual must have been an unusually interested and active member of your board of directors or unusually active as a member of an organization created specifically for the promotion and assistance of Boys & Girls Clubs. The service must be greater than that rendered by other members of your board or organization over a period of time.
“It’s been a great experience for me over the last 25 years… This is one of the best boards I’ve ever had the pleasure to serve,” Brown said as he accepted the award. “I’m so proud of what this board has done over the years to make sure that we continue to give our kids all that we can to make sure they are successful as they grow into their adult life.”
“It’s all about the kids and the future and what we can do to help them get there.”
In 2004, Brown began his connection to the Boys & Girls Club movement at the Rick & Susan Goings Boys & Girls Club in his hometown of Hemingway and has served on the board for 20 years. He led the Club from the brink of closing in 2008 to more than 100 youth per day, a $200,000 annual budget, and more than $200,000 in facility renovations, all in a town with a population under 500. He was instrumental in the successful merger of the Club into Boys & Girls Clubs of the Pee Dee Area in 2009.
Since that merger, he has served on both the Rick & Susan Goings Boys & Girls Club Unit Board of Directors and the corporate Board of Directors for the Pee Dee organization where he actively participated on multiple committees and maintained a 90% board meeting attendance rate.
Outside the Boys & Girls Club movement, Brown contributed to the community on many levels as president of the Parent-Teacher Organization at Hemingway Elementary School, County Chairman of the Williamsburg County Democratic Party, past member of the Board of Directors of Georgetown County United Way, volunteer youth basketball coach at Williamsburg County Recreation Department, and member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.
George H. Brown began his career as a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army in 1969 then graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a major in accounting from Coastal Carolina University in 1978. He went on to a 30-year career with International Paper Company as a business analysis manager and accountant.
As a member of Chavis AME Church of Hemingway, Brown served a number of roles: steward board pro-tem, finance committee chair, adult Bible study teacher, adult church school teacher, class leader, Church School Superintendent, and Georgetown District Church School Superintendent.
Brown and his wife Debra have three children (George II, Shanna, and Darius), and three grandchildren (Hayden, Jordan, and Zaria BreAnn).
