The Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce announced the Lester S. Moody Award of Excellence recipient at the 109th Annual Meeting. This year’s award was presented to Don Grantham, President & CEO of Forest Sales Corporation.

Lester Moody was a man of great vision and integrity, whose passion for what was in the best interests of Augusta changed the course of our community in many ways. To honor the memory of such an important man, who is credited with much of the Augusta area’s economic foundation, the Augusta Metro Chamber began the Lester S. Moody Award of Excellence in 2008 as part of its Centennial celebration. Periodically, the Chamber chooses a person who follows in the footsteps of Lester Moody, who has also significantly contributed to our community and dedicates their lifetime of achievement with this award.

This year’s recipient, Don Grantham, has served in many official capacities and on private boards over the years. His resume embodies a stunning and long career of service to his community and the state of Georgia. One of his first statewide appointments 45 years ago was to the Georgia Ports Authority by then-governor Jimmy Carter. This came just 10 years after graduating with a finance degree from the University of Georgia.

When elected to a vacant term on the State Transportation Board in 2011, Mr. Grantham was able to leverage his past experience on the Georgia Port Authority, his knowledge of transportation projects and engineering on the local level and his policy expertise to represent District 12 with profound results. His tireless work on the passage of this region’s Transportation Investment Act and his influence on the passage of legislation that is improving Georgia’s infrastructure by almost $1 billion per year will have an immense impact for many years to come.

Previously, Mr. Grantham has served on the Augusta Metro Chamber Board of Directors and led its economic development efforts. He serves on the Board of one of our community banks, he was a trustee for Augusta State University, and also served on the Boy Scouts of America Advisory Board of Augusta for over 40 years. He is a native Augustan, having graduated from the Academy of Richmond County. He and his wife, Carol, have two children, daughter Zoe Grantham Gawrych and son Don Grantham, Jr. and four grandchildren.