Brenau University on Dec. 6, 2007, conferred its highest non-academic awards on Dixie Chester Ramsey for her lifetime of service to the university and the community and - in a first-of-its-kind recognition of a business - to Regions Financial Corporation for ongoing leadership in supporting Brenau and other community organizations.

    Brenau University President Ed Schrader presented both awards Thursday night at a Chattahoochee Country Club dinner honoring close to 200 financial supporters who contributed at least $1,000 to the university´s annual fund or other programs.

    The university gave Ramsey its Mary Mildred Sullivan Award, which was named for a 19th century southern humanitarian who assisted prisoners during the Civil War and in its aftermath worked aggressively for reconciliation between the states. Ramsey was hailed for her tireless behind-the-scenes work for more than half a century for Brenau, other charitable causes, and countless individuals.

    "Dixie Ramsey´s special gift, I think, is she often sees in people - and institutions like Brenau - qualities, attributes and possibilities that others perhaps overlook," said Schrader. "You do not have to be the prettiest, the richest or the most popular to be special in her eyes. If there is a way she can help, she helps. What makes giving this award so special for us is that sometimes those she helps do not even know that she has picked up the phone and made a call or already reached out on their behalf. She does not wait to be asked, and she does not expect to be thanked. But tonight we are thanking her for all she has done."

    For the first time the university presented its Distinguished Service to Brenau award not to an individual but to a business entity. Brenau cited Regions for its out-in-front role not only in recognizing the intellectual, cultural and social significance of the university in the community, but also for its economic importance to the region.

    "Chief Justice John Marshall once observed that corporations are invisible entities, what he described as ´an artificial person´," Schrader said. "This year´s Distinguished Service Award recipient is very much a person in this community. Through work of individuals throughout the organization and through its corporate philanthropy and leadership, Regions Financial Corp. and its predecessor, First National Bank of Gainesville, have made this community a better place to live and have helped make Brenau a better university."

    Schrader presented the award to Ray McRae, retired president of First National Bank of Gainesville, and to the bank´s Regional Chief Executive Officer Peter D. (Pete) Miller, who is current chair of the university board of trustees.