2023 Georgia Hall of Fame
The Georgia Boys & Girls Club Hall of Fame began in 2009 as a result of a proposal presented to the Georgia Area Council. The plan provided that the Georgia Boys & Girls Club Hall of Fame would be developed under the leadership of a council of advisors to honor those youth members, men, and women who have best served the Boys & Girls Club cause in Georgia as well an effort to preserve institutional knowledge and the culture of the Boys & Girls Club Movement.
The Georgia Hall of Fame celebrates the extraordinary youth, men and women who have made significant contributions to the Boys & Girls Club Movement in Georgia. Each has helped raise the standards and level of professionalism in the Boys & Girls Club Movement, while inspiring and mentoring future generations, laying the ground work that encourages us all to strive for excellence in helping children who need us most.
Steven Kendrick
Career Achievement
Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Augusta
Mr. Steven Kendrick, a native of Augusta, has served on the Board of Directors for Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Augusta for over 15 years. Steven embodies the spirit of this Movement - demonstrated by his commitment to mentoring adolescent and teenage boys and girls in the Clubs and in the broader community through his involvement with numerous organizations, but particularly, Boys & Girls Clubs.
Steven was a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Florida A&M University where he earned a BS degree in Business Administration, and later earned his MBA. He spent his early professional career in the pharmaceutical industry and as an officer in his family’s business. He went on to become a professor of Business at Paine College, Augusta University, and University of Phoenix; a licensed Real Estate Broker and Instructor; and the long-time Richmond County Tax Commissioner - an elected position that he held unopposed for 3 terms until resigning in 2022 to run for Mayor of Augusta.
Steven’s love for and commitment to the Augusta community run wide and deep. He has served in leadership roles in many organizations for over 20 years working to transform the landscape of this city to create a more beautiful place for people to live, work, and play. His passion for impacting the lives of young people is evident in the ways in which he chooses to volunteer his time and give of his personal resources.
Steven is known for providing foundational leadership and guidance in transformational organizations like Youth Leadership Augusta (in partnership with the Augusta Metro Chamber), Alpha Mu Boule’s Project BBUILD, and Project Impact (both in partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs). However, his long-standing work on the Board of Directors for Boys & Girls Clubs stand out as some of the most profound impact he has had on the youth in Augusta, as well as the organization itself. During his tenure as Board Chair, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Augusta nearly doubled in size; forged solid strategic partnerships with organizations like Medical College of GA Foundation, Community Foundation for the CSRA, and Augusta National Golf Club; closed two New Market Tax Credits transactions; and built two new Clubs, as well as a new Headquarters and Support Center to position the organization for long-term impact and sustainability.
Ann Knight
Career Achievement
The Boys & Girls Club of the Greater Cook County
Ann is a 1967 graduate of Moultrie High School. She is married to Clayton Knight and they have 4 children, 8 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandsons. She attended Life and Health Insurance instructor school and prepared new agents for life and health licensee. She continued her education mandated by the State Fanning Leadership Training.
Ann worked for many years with Trib Publications. Her experience in sales, advertising, publishing, and entrepreneurship paved the way for her promotion. In 1994, she was promoted to General Manager/Publisher of Cook Publishing Inc. Her career with Cook Publishing, Inc. expanded over 21 years and added 2 additional newspapers. Building the trust of the Cook County, Georgia, community through their hometown newspaper was her first mission. A letter written to her by Mr. Eugene Patterson, Pulitzer Prize-winning editor, with words of praise and continued encouragement has remained in her treasured correspondence file even today.
In 2004, Ann received a call from then Chief of Police Bill Butler stating that the City of Adel and the Police Department needed her help, explaining that unsupervised youth in the area were committing small crimes. If arrested, it could hurt them in years to come. A steering committee was formed of various community leaders including business leaders, teachers, and pastors, to address the youth problems. Their new mission: a positive place in the community for youth and teens to learn and grow after school.
The Boys & Girls Club of the Greater Cook County area was formed and chartered in 2006 in large part due to Ann’s leadership. Ann served as the first Board Director for 2 years and served on the board until 2015. Ann Knight is a gracious woman with a heart for helping others. We celebrate her many years of tireless dedication and involvement with the Boys & Girls Clubs, even before the Club had a place to call home.
Villa Sulzbacher Hizer
Legacy Member
Boys & Girls Clubs of Northwest Georgia
Villa’s volunteer service with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northwest Georgia started in 1983 when
she became a member of the Board of Directors.
During her 40 years of service, she received numerous awards from BGCA, including the “From the Heart Award” for 25 years of service, the “Champion of Youth Award” for 35 years of service, and the Distinguished Service Award. In 2022, she was inducted into the Lifetime Giving Society of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, a national lifetime award few donors or board members have ever achieved in Northwest Georgia.
Until the month she passed away, she attended every Boys & Girls Club special event and board meeting, continued serving on the Executive Committee, chaired our Transformational Giving Committee, and helped start the Heritage Club for donors to support the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northwest Georgia through planned giving. She believed in supporting organizations today and in perpetuity.
On February 6, 2023, we lost one of our longest-serving board members and greatest advocates. She was born in Rome, Georgia, and married to the late Courtney Hizer. Villa attended the Thornwood School for Girls before graduating from the University of Georgia and completing her graduate work in computer science at Georgia Tech. With her late husband, Courtney, she owned and operated North Georgia Distributing Company for 28 years, where they achieved multiple Miller Master Awards. Along with operating a successful business, she was very active in the Northwest Georgia community, including serving on boards of local banks, the Chamber of Commerce, the Junior Service League, and being a member of the very first class of Leadership Rome.
While she did not have any children of her own, there are generations of Boys & Girls Club kids that attended the club because of her generosity. Villa was a true advocate for children and youth; her memory lives on in the many lives she touched.