Don’t let the time slip up on you, nominations for the Alumni Association’s 2nd annual Bulldog 100 will be accepted through the end of June.  The inaugural class of 100 businesses owned or operated by UGA alums included large companies such as Columbus-based Aflac at #77 (Dan Amos ‘73) to small businesses like Hitson Land and Timber Management (Greg Hitson ‘94) of Port Orange, Fla. which came in at #1.  It’s not the size of the company that matters, it’s the company’s compounded three-year growth rate that’s used to rank the businesses.

To date, there have been hundreds nominated and if you’re an alum we want you to nominate your business.  If not yours, nominate another Bulldog’s business.  Click here for all the details and to nominate someone for the Bulldog 100.

Alumni Association President Vic Sullivan ‘80 joined head football coach Mark Richt, assistant men’s basketball coach Kwonza Johnson and Albany Bulldog Club President Dee Matthews ‘58 Wednesday at the Albany club’s annual spring meeting.  Vic, an Albany resident, delivered a UGA Alumni Association greeting to the crowd and the coaches talked about their upcoming seasons.  My colleague Bob Taylor ‘83 snapped some great pictures and talked to many of the Bulldog faithful in attendance.

Here you see Vic’s parents, Carlysle ‘52, ‘59 and Lillian ‘56 Sullivan chatting with Coach Richt before the evening’s festivities.

I recently met with a fantistic group of young alums who are leading our Young Alumni Council.  What a wealth of information from (l-r) Ben Lack, Ebonee Williams, Keith Nesbitt (YAC Chair), and Elizabeth Thompson.  Thanks to this outstanding group for all they’re doing to keep our young alums engaged.  Click here to learn more about the Association’s Young Alumni programming.

The foundation of NeverNX Sports Apparel is hosting a golf tournament Saturday, June 19 with proceeds benefitting breast cancer awareness and the Alec Kessler ‘90 Foundation for Heart Research.  One of the founders of NeverNX is former Bulldog basketball standout Rod Cole ‘91, a teammate of Alec’s at UGA in the late 80s and early 90s.  Rod says the news of his friend’s untimely death two-and-a-half years ago was devastating.

Alec, who was an All-American at UGA and played in the NBA, collapsed and died from a heart attack while playing in a father-son charity basketball game in Pensacola, Fla. Oct. 13, 2007.   After spending four years with the Miami Heat, Alec enrolled at Emory Medical School where he earned MD/PhD degrees and became a successful orthopedic surgeon.

Rod and NeverNX co-founders Shaun Golden ‘93 and Patrick Hamilton ‘98 hope the tournament can raise enough money to have an impact in the research of these deadly diseases.  Click here for more information about the tournament and here to learn more about NeverNX.

Kepler spacecraft mission manager, Roger Hunter ‘78, was recently awarded NASA’s Outstanding Leadership Medal for his exemplary work on the project, which is to survey our region of the Milky Way to discover Earth-size and smaller planets in or near an Earth-like habitable zone.  Roger says Kepler’s survey of our system is right on track and interpretation of the collected data will begin in late fall.  The project is housed at the Ames Research Center in San Jose, Calif.  Click here for some of the most interesting science information you’ll want to read, and here for the CBS Sunday Morning story on planet discoveries that included Kepler.

Former Georgia State Senator David Adelman ‘86 and his family are getting settled into his new position as U.S. Ambassador to Singapore.  He and his wife, Caroline ‘88, and their three children are excited about the opportunity to serve their country in a foreign land.  David says Singapore has been a great friend to America and he intends to build on that relationship.  But he admits there will be some challenges, the least of which is the language barrier.  “I am humbled by the confidence President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton have in me,” David told an AJC reporter.  Before the appointment, David served for eight years in the state Senate and was the minority whip.

UPDATE: I have just learned that Ambassador Adelman will be the commencement speaker for UGA’s combined undergraduate and graduate commencement exercises July 31.

Earlier this month Lisa Godbey Wood ‘85, ‘90 took the oath to become chief judge of the U.S. Southern District of Georgia.  The St. Simons resident took the pledge in the same Brunswick courtroom where she began her legal career 20 years earlier.  Lisa becomes the first woman to serve in this capacity in the 43-county district.  U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was on hand for the event and told the crowd it was a “special day for South Georgia and a special day for the federal bench.”  Congratulations, Lisa!

Four UGA alums with notable career achievements in all forms of journalism were recently honored by UGA’s Grady College.  Dink NeSmith ‘70, former Alumni Association president and current member of the University System Board of Regents, is the 2010 Holliman Award recipient, recognizing his outstanding career in newspaper management.  Justin Gillis ‘82, a former Washington Post reporter and current New York Times editor, is Grady’s Mid-Career Achivement Award winner.  Justin specializes in science and energy writing.  The 2010 Distinguished Alumni Scholar is Dr. Carol Pardun ‘92.  Carol is currently a professor and associatie dean at the University of South Carolina School of Journalism and Mass Communications.  Receiving this year’s Drewry Award for Young Alumni Achievement is Lynnsey Gardner, an anchor and reporter with Augusta’s WRDW-TV.  In 2008, Lynnsey was named “Best Anchor/Reporter” by the Georgia Press Association.   Congratulations to all!

Congratulations to Bulldog gymnast Marcia Newby ‘10, who was just named the 2010 Arthur Ashe, Jr. Female Sports Scholar of the Year.  She was a three-time Academic All-American, recipient of the Brad Davis SEC Community Service Postgraduate Scholarship, and a member of the class of Gym Dogs who won three NCAA championships.  Congrats are also due to Marcia for graduating from UGA just a week or so ago with a 3.9 gpa and a degree in biology.

Three Terry College of Business graduates were recently honored for distinguished achievements in their respective fields of expertise at the 2010 Terry Alumni Awards and Gala.

Former President and CEO of Gerdau Ameristeel Phillip E. Casey ‘67 , of Tampa, and National Distributing Co. CEO Jay M. Davis ‘70, of Atlanta, were recognized for career achievements and honored with Terry’s Distinguished Alumni Award.

Receiving Terry’s Outstanding Young Alumni Award was 2003 grad Garrett Graveson, who co-founded the Atlanta-based non-profit organization H.E.R.O for Children.  He also started Global L.E.A.D., a servant leadership mission program. 

Click here to read more about these worthy Terry grads.