Release Date: Wednesday, October 29, 2003

LEGLER AND McDONALD HONORED BY BONBRIGHT UTILITIES CENTER

ATHENS, Ga. — A former state legislator and a retired University of Georgia professor were each honored during the 2003 Bonbright Center Electric and Natural Gas Conference with awards given by the James C. Bonbright Utilities Center at the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business.

Lauren "Bubba" McDonald Jr. and John B. Legler were both recognized for their active involvement over the years in shaping regulatory policy toward the electric and natural gas industries as part of the September 11-12 conference in Atlanta.

Legler was honored as the 2003 Bonbright Distinguished Service Award recipient. He is recently retired from UGA's Department of Banking and Finance, where he served for 30 years as a teacher, researcher and administrator. While at UGA, Legler received several grants from the National Science Foundation. In 1993, Georgia Gov. Zell Miller appointed him to the Joint Study Commission on Revenue Structure, where he served on a subcommittee studying property and wealth taxation.

"Professor Legler served with distinction at the University of Georgia and was also much sought after as an expert witness in public utility rate cases. He has testified over 100 times on the fair rate of return throughout the Southeast, as well as in California, Hawaii and many other states. He was also the prime mover in establishing the economic forecasting center, which continues to be an integral part of the Terry College," said Albert Danielsen, director of the Bonbright Center.

Legler is a member of the Economic History Association and Beta Gamma Sigma, the national honor society for business and management. During his academic career, he published over 20 articles in professional journals, as well as several books and book chapters. Legler also served as director of the business school's Georgia Economic Forecasting Project from 1974 to 1982.

He received a bachelor of arts degree from Allegheny College in 1962, a master's degree from Purdue University in 1965, and his doctorate from Purdue in 1967. After receiving his doctorate, Legler joined the faculty of Washington University in St. Louis, where he served as an assistant professor of economics from 1966 to 1971. He also was appointed assistant director of Washington University's Institute for Urban and Regional Studies.

Originally from the Long Island area of New York, Legler and his wife, Libby, continue to reside in Athens, Ga.

McDonald was recognized as the 2003 Bonbright Honoree. A native of Commerce, Ga., McDonald's distinguished public service career began with his election (at age 28) to the Jackson County Board of Commissioners in 1968. In 1970, he was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives, where he served for 20 years. During his service, McDonald chaired the House Industry Committee for five years. This committee handled all utility legislation. In 1982, House Speaker Tom Murphy appointed McDonald chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, which he chaired for the next eight years.

McDonald ran for governor in 1990, then served as president of Georgians For Better Transportation while continuing to operate his hardware and building supply business in Commerce, Ga. In 1998, McDonald was appointed to the Georgia Public Service Commission, where he served through December 2002. He chaired the PSC in 2001 and was a member of the Standing Committee on Electricity of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), where he chaired the Nuclear Waste Subcommittee. The president of NARUC also appointed him sole representative of the Nuclear Electric Insurance Liability Corporation.

McDonald is a 1965 graduate of the University of Georgia Terry College of Business. He and his son, Lauren III, are partners in the McDonald and Son Funeral Home in Cumming and Gainesville, Ga. McDonald and his wife, Sunny, reside in Forsyth County, Ga.

Established in 1992, the mission of the James C. Bonbright Utilities Center is to further the understanding of the principles of regulatory management, economics and finance. The Bonbright Center develops annual conferences related to these topics for professionals in the electric and natural gas industries, each designed to encourage an open but non-adversarial exchange of viewpoints and perspectives. The center's purpose is to serve the training and educational needs of professionals in both the private and public sectors of these industries.

The center is named in honor of James C. Bonbright (1891-1985), distinguished professor of economics and political science at Columbia University. A pioneer in the field of public utility economics, Bonbright's work influenced virtually every state and federal regulatory commission. Among his many books and articles was the classic treatise on regulation, Principles of Public Utility Rates.

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