Four honored at 2024 Terry Alumni Awards and Gala

Dean Ayers with Terry Donors at the 2024 Terry Alumni Awards Gala

More than 600 alumni and friends of the Terry College of Business gathered on April 27 at the InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta to share a good meal, catch up with classmates and celebrate lasting bonds formed at the University of Georgia and in the wide world of business.

With a theme of “Taking Care of Business,” proceeds from the 2024 Terry College Alumni Awards and Gala benefited the Terry College Excellence Fund, which helps the college create opportunities for students, recruit and retain faculty and plan for future growth.

Crowd of people

During the program, Dean Ben Ayers noted Terry’s rise in national rankings and detailed numerous ways the fund has impacted the college, including support for programs such as the Student Managed Investment Fund and Terry Women’s Initiative, providing scholarships and funding the renovation of Studio 225, home to the UGA Entrepreneurship Program.

“Gifts that support the Excellence Fund give our learning environment, our faculty and our students every possible advantage when opportunities arise,” said Ayers. “These are the non-endowed funds we can use in real-time to address vital needs.”

Two women greeting each other

At this year’s Gala, Carol Yancey (BBA ’85) and Howard Young (BBA ’82) received the college’s Distinguished Alumni Award, while John Godfrey (BBA ’64, PhD ’76) and his wife, Flavel McMichael Godfrey, were honored with the Dean’s Distinguished Service Award for their longtime support of Terry, including last year’s gift to endow the John Munro Godfrey, Sr. Department of Economics.

The honorees spoke about their close ties to Terry and many others in the room, with Yancey expressing a shared desire “to stay plugged in” for years to come.

Dean Ayers addressing crowd

Proceeds from event sponsorships and a silent auction totaled more than $750,000, helping to ensure Terry students and faculty will continue to make connections that shape the future of business.