Shining Light Award

The Shining Light Award was established in 1963 by Atlanta Gas Light and News/Talk 750 WSB Radio. Each year the award recognizes a Georgian who has been an inspiration to the lives of others through service to humanity. A gas lamp and plaque is installed in their honor at a site of their choice.

2007 Shining Light Award Recipient Jesse Hill, Jr., dedicated Civil Rights leader

Previous Award Recipients and Their Gas Lamp Locations:

2007	Jesse Hill, Jr., dedicated Civil Rights leader, Big Bethel AME Chruch, 220 Auburn Ave. NE
2006	Bernie Marcus, renowned Atlanta philanthropist behind the Georgia Aquarium, 255 Baker St. and the Marcus Institute, 1920 Briarcliff Road
2005	Alana Shepherd, co-founder of Shepherd Center, Inc., 2020 Peachtree Road – at entrance to Shepherd Center
2003	Late Mayor Maynard H. Jackson, Jr., mayor and businessman, intersection of where Peachtree meets Auburn at Woodruff Park
2002	Ambassador Andrew J. Young, Minister, Civil Rights Activist, U.S. Congressman, United Nations Ambassador, Mayor Of Atlanta and International Businessman, Morehouse College
2001	J.B. Fuqua, entrepreneur and renowned philanthropist, Atlanta Botanical Garden
1999	Hank Aaron, baseball player and businessman, Turner Field and Hank Aaron BMW dealership – Morrow, Ga
1998	Zell Miller, governor of Georgia, teacher and author, Centennial Olympic Park
1997	Celestine Sibley, late author and political observer of note, Atlanta Newspapers, Inc. Building
1996	Dan Sweat, late public servant who led The Atlanta Project and The America Project, Hurt Park at Georgia State University
1995	Ivan Allen, Jr., former mayor of Atlanta, Atlanta Chamber of Commerce
1994	Jimmy Carter, founder of The Carter Center, former president of the United States, and former governor of Georgia, The Carter Center
1993	Franklin Miller Garrett, official historian of the City of Atlanta, Atlanta Historical Society
1992	Charles Longstreet Weltner, late public servant and Georgia chief justice, State Judicial Building
1991	S. Truett Cathy, entrepreneur and philanthropist, Dwarf House, Hapeville
1990	Ansley Bascom ‘A.B.’ Padgett, civic leader and conscience of Atlanta’s business community, SunTrust Bank, 1 Park Place
1989	Dr. Leila Daughtry-Denmark, doctor and philanthropist, Children’s Health Care of Atlanta at Egleston In January 1989, Newstalk 750 WSB Radio and Atlanta Gas Light Company dedicated a special memorial gas light and plaque in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The lamp graces the entrance to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Building at 50 Spring Street in Atlanta.
1988	Mrs. Leonard ‘Be’ Haas, volunteer, fund-raiser and community leader, Robert W. Woodruff Volunteer Service Center
1987	Pollard Turman, late chairman of the J.M. Tull Foundation, civic and industrial leader, Crawford W. Long Memorial Hospital of Emory University
1982	Dean Rusk, late U.S. secretary of state, world statesman, Dean Rusk Elementary School
1981	Dr. Benjamin E. Mays, late Atlanta educator, conscience of the civil rights movement, Morehouse campus
1980	Ben W. Fortson, Jr., late Georgia secretary of state, Georgia Department of Archives and History
1979	Mrs. Mae Maxwell Yates, Atlanta community leader and humanitarian, Carrie Steele-Pitts Home, Inc.
1978	Robert Tyre (Bobby) Jones, Jr., late Atlanta golfer of world renown, Buckhead Park, Peachtree-Roswell Roads
1977	D.W. Brooks, prominent Georgia agribusiness leader, Cotton States Insurance Building
1976	Henry L. Bowden, late Atlanta lawyer and chairman emeritus, board of trustees, Emory University, Emory University Quadrangle
1975	John A. Sibley, late lawyer, banker, businessman and civic leader, SunTrust Bank, Park Place
1974	Robert W. Woodruff, late Coca-Cola magnate and philanthropist, Coca-Cola International Building
1973	Dr. Phillip Weltner, late president of Oglethorpe University and crusader for social justice, Oglethorpe University
1972	Ralph McGill, late editor and publisher of The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta Newspapers, Inc. Building
1971	William B. Hartsfield, late mayor of Atlanta, Atlanta City Hall
1970	J. Arch Avary, late businessman and civic leader, SunTrust Bank at Peachtree and Pharr roads in Buckhead
1969	Ivan Allen, Sr., late Atlanta civic and business leader, Atlanta Chamber of Commerce
1968	Dr. Rufus L. Clement, late president of Atlanta University, Atlanta University campus
1967	Dr. J. Elliott Scarborough, late cancer researcher and surgeon, Emory University campus
1966	Mary Givens Bryan, late director of the State Department of Archives and History, Georgia Department of Archives and History In 1966, a special Shining Light Award was established by the Rome Division of Atlanta Gas Light Company. The commemorative gas light is located on the campus of Berry College in honor of Martha Berry, noted educator.
1965	Margaret Mitchell, late author of Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell House
1964	H.O. Smith, late teacher and principal of Boys High School, Atlanta Boys High – Atlanta Inst ructional Center
1963	Dr. George M. Sparks, late founder of Georgia State University, Georgia State University campus