2026 Trustees Gala - Georgia History Festival

Date/Time
Date(s) - Saturday, April 18, 2026
7:00 pm

SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 2026, 7:00 P.M.
Hyatt Regency Savannah | 2 W. Bay Street | Savannah, Georgia

Featuring a historic induction of the
2026 Georgia Trustees by the Honorable Brian Kemp, 
the 83rd Governor of Georgia

As we commemorate the U.S. at 250, this year’s Gala theme is inspired by Thomas Jefferson’s 1816 letter to John Adams, in which the two Founders mused on what America would become: “I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.” Join the Georgia Historical Society (GHS), Office of the Governor, and leaders from across our state as we induct the 2026 Georgia Trustees, Saxby Chambliss, attorney and former United States Senator, and Chris Womack, Chairman, President, and CEO of Southern Company.

Please join us for an elegant evening including cocktails, dinner, and an inspiring conversation with the Trustees—two exemplary Georgians whose history-making accomplishments and service refl ect the original Trustees’ philosophy of Non Sibi, Sed Aliis, “Not for Self, but for Others.”

Save the Date

The 2026 Trustees Gala – April 18, 2026

View the 2026 Trustees Gala Save-the-Date.

Saxby Chambliss

Saxby Chambliss served in the United States Senate for two terms and, before that, served four terms in the US House of Representatives. Born in Warrenton, North Carolina, he received a BBA from the University of Georgia and a law degree from the University of Tennessee.

Senator Chambliss was working as an attorney in Moultrie when he was first elected to Congress to represent Georgia’s 8th District in 1994. Throughout his legislative career, he was recognized numerous times by the public and private sectors for his work on agriculture, defense, budget, and national security issues.

Chambliss was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002. During his two terms, he served on the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Senate Rules Committee and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. He also served on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, chairing the committee in 2005-2006. He was one of the first senators since 1947 to chair a full standing Senate committee after serving in the chamber for just two years.

Chambliss has been awarded the American Farm Bureau’s Golden Plow Award, the National Wheat Growers Association’s Wheat Advocate Award, and the National Cotton Council’s Harry S. Baker Distinguished Service Award. He has also been named to the National 4-H Hall of Fame, the Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame, and the Georgia Peanut Hall of Fame. The University of Georgia launched the Senator Saxby Chambliss Leadership Forum in 2015.

Chris Womack

Chris Womack is the Chairman, President, and CEO of Southern Company, one of the nation’s leading energy providers. Prior to his current role, Womack served as Chairman, President, and CEO of Georgia Power, Southern Company’s largest subsidiary. Womack joined Southern Company in 1988.

Prior to joining Southern Company, Womack worked in Washington, D.C. for the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served as a legislative aide for former Congressman Leon E. Panetta and as staff director for the Subcommittee on Personnel and Police for the Committee on House Administration.

Womack is vice chair of the Edison Electric Institute’s board of directors, second vice chair of the board of directors of Electric Power Research Institute, and vice chairman of the Georgia Ports Authority. He is past chair of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, the East Lake Foundation, and has chaired or served as a member of the boards of the Atlanta Convention of Visitors Bureau, Communities in Schools of Georgia, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Boys & Girls Clubs.

A native of Greenville, Alabama, Womack holds a bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University and a master’s degree from The American University and completed the Stanford Executive Program in 2001. He received 2021 Distinguished Alumni Award from Western Michigan, the Let Us Make Man Community Service Award in 2019, the National Award of Merit from Alpha Phi Alpha in 2011, the Boy Scouts of America Silver Beaver Award in 2010, and the Black Enterprise/Porsche Intelligent Performers Award in 2010.

Learn more about the Georgia Trustees.

The Georgia Trustees

2025-2026 Georgia History Festival Sponsors and Host Committee

Thank you to the Georgia History Festival sponsors and Host Committee for supporting the educational mission and year-round programming of the Georgia Historical Society!

2025-2026 Georgia History Festival Chairs:

Mr. Walter M. “Sonny” Deriso and Mr. Craig A. Menear

1733

Trustee

Festival

Oglethorpe

Presenting

Platinum

Gold

Foundations and Institutions

J.C. Lewis Foundation, Inc.

Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Georgia

Williams Family Foundation of Georgia, Inc.

2025-2026 Georgia History Festival
Host Committee

Oglethorpe

Mr. and Mrs. Dan Cathy

Mrs. Diane vS. and Mr. Robert M. Levy

Mr. and Mrs. Craig Menear

Patron

Dr. and Mrs. Sidney J. Bolch III

Mr. and Mrs. F. Reed Dulany III

Mr. Bob Faircloth

Benefactor

Mr. and Mrs. F. Duane Ackerman

The Honorable and Mrs. Roy E. Barnes

Mr. and Mrs. Francis S. Blake

Ms. Stephanie V. Blank

Mr. and Mrs. Eddie Cooper

Mr. and Mrs. Beverly M. DuBose III

Mr. and Mrs. Brian Harlander

Mr. and Mrs. Douglas J. Hertz

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas M. Holder

Mr. and Mrs. John H. Irby

Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Kole

Mrs. Betsy Lancaster

Mr. and Mrs. Angus Littlejohn

Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Morris, Jr.

Mr. Sunny K. Park

Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Rabinowitz

Mrs. Rosaleen R. Roxburgh

Mr. and Mrs. Mark V. Smith

Mr. and Mrs. Austin P. Sullivan

Mr. and Mrs. Neal Sumter

Mr. and Mrs. Larry Thompson

The Thurston Group

Mr. Clyde C. Tuggle and Ms. Mary M. Streett

Mr. and Mrs. Don L. Waters

Chair

Mr. and Mrs. Kevin S. Blair

Mr. and Mrs. James H. Blanchard

Mr. Mark L. Burns

Mrs. Frank Cheatham

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

Mr. and Mrs. Erroll B. Davis, Jr.

Mr. and Mrs. Ted Decker

Mr. Washington C. Dender and Mr. Litchfield H. Carpenter

Mr. and Mrs. Walter M. “Sonny” Deriso, Jr.

Mr. and Mrs. Joel Goodman

Mrs. Kimberly Greene and Mr. Ted Greene

Mrs. Venessa Harrison and Mr. Charles Harrison

Ms. Julie Hunt

Mr. and Mrs. Keith W. Mason

Dr. and Mrs. William T. Moore

Mr. and Mrs. Patrick T. O’Connor

Mr. and Mrs. Billy Payne

Mr. and Mrs. Edward Price

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas V. Reilly

Mr. and Mrs. John P. Rogers

Dr. Michael Sharkey

Mr. William Sprague III

Mr. and Mrs. Kessel D. Stelling, Jr.

Mrs. Helen R. Steward

Mr. and Mrs. Paul H. Threlkeld

Mr. and Mrs. Wiley A. Wasden III

Mr. and Mrs. Philip A. Wilheit, Sr.

Member

Mr. and Mrs. John G. “Jimmy” Alston, Sr.

Mr. Todd Baiad and the Honorable Anne Allen Westbrook

Mr. Andy Bernard

Mr. and Mrs. W. Paul Bowers

Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Cay

Mrs. Vincent J. Dooley

Mr. Kyle Dwyer

Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Iocovozzi

Mr. and Mrs. Phil Jacobs

Mrs. Robert O. Levitt

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Marchese

Mr. Frederick L. Muller

Mr. and Mrs. C.V. Nalley

Mr. and Mrs. David Paddison

Mr. and Mrs. James L. Pannell

Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan B. Pannell

Mr. and Mrs. Jason C. Pedigo

Ms. Swann Seiler

Mr. and Mrs. Philip Solomons, Jr.

Ms. Elizabeth Stribling and Mr. Guy Robinson

Mr. and Mrs. John L. Tucker

Mr. and Mrs. R. Bartley Turner

Dr. Robert Zerbe

Honorary Host Committee

Media Sponsors

Special Thanks

For information on Georgia History Festival sponsorship and Host Committee opportunities, please contact Ashley Rainge-Shields or 912.651.2125, ext. 116.