Amerson honored for service to North Georgia and community
6/19/2012 1:51:00 PM
(June 18, 2012) – Amos Amerson is a
North Georgia alumnus, retired military officer, and former faculty member, and
now he’s retiring from service in the Georgia House of Representatives. Nearly
100 university representatives, community members, and legislative colleagues gathered
for an event hosted by President Bonita Jacobs this weekend to honor Amerson,
who was first elected to the General Assembly in 2000.
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| Pictured are Amos Amerson, wife Anne Dismukes Amerson and son Steve Amerson as they listen to one of the speakers at Saturday's tribute. |
Jacobs thanked Amerson for his faithful
support and advocacy for North Georgia in many roles -- student, alumnus,
professor and legislator.
“North Georgia has prepared generations
of leaders who make a difference and Amos is a shining example of servant
leadership,” she said.
Amerson earned his bachelor’s degree in
1956 at North Georgia, where he also met a classmate and future wife, Anne
Dismukes Amerson. The Amersons’ son, Steve Amerson, and daughter and
son-in-law, Erin and Jack Peck, also attended the event.
Jacobs noted Amerson’s service as
chairman of the Science and Technology Committee and as a member of House
Higher Education Committee, among others.
“As a supporter of the HOPE scholarship
and the Georgia Appalachian Studies Center at North Georgia, Rep. Amerson has had
profound impact on the lives of college students throughout Georgia and our
community.”
As a legislator, Amerson also secured
support for the state’s Predator Beetle Lab at North Georgia, which produces a
specific type of beetle to combat the woolly adelgid, an invasive insect that
has devastated hemlock forests along the eastern United States.
Amerson served in Army for 22 years,
retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 1978, and then taught in the university’s
business department from 1982 to 1998.
Longtime supporters of the university,
the Amersons established two scholarships – one in memory of Anne's late father
and former North Georgia professor, Dr. C. J. Dismukes, and the other in memory
of their son, Scott, also a North Georgia alumnus and basketball player.
In his remarks, Amerson shared stories
from his time as an instructor at North Georgia when computers were first introduced
into the department and his indoctrination into the House of Representatives
under the watchful eye of former Speaker of the House Tom Murphy, also a North
Georgia alumnus.
Murphy served as Speaker of the House
from 1974 to 2002 and was among the longest-serving speakers of any state House
of Representatives. The presence of North Georgia alumni in the state’s General
Assembly remains strong today with Rep. David Ralston, current Speaker of the
House; Rep. Roger Williams, Rep. Doug Collins, and Rep. Carl Rogers, who
attended North Georgia and is now chairman of the House Committee on Higher
Education, and Senators Butch Miller and Steve Gooch.