Junior Achievement of Georgia’s Augusta District honored four local business leaders at the CSRA Business Hall of Fame dinner at the Marriott Augusta Hotel & Suites on Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. This annual dinner recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the prosperity of the CSRA community and who serve as role models for its youth.
This year’s Hall of Fame laureates are:
- Clayton P. Boardman III, president and CEO of Augusta Capital LLC, a real estate and private equity firm. Mr. Boardman’s previous role as CEO Boardman Petroleum Inc. and its affiliated companies had him overseeing a network of convenience stories and bulk fuel storage facilities throughout the southeast. His acquisition and renovation of the Enterprise Mill building ushered in a new era of historic preservation in downtown Augusta.
- James M. Hull, owner of Hull Storey Gibson Companies LLC, a commercial real estate company with more than 10.5 million square feet of malls and shopping centers in its portfolio. A quiet force in the Augusta business community, Mr. Hull made headlines in 2007 when he and his wife Karen donated $2 million to Augusta State University’s College of Business Administration, which has since been named in his honor.
- Boone A. Knox, managing partner of Knox Ltd. and managing trustee of the Knox Foundation. Mr. Knox blazed his trail in the banking industry by turning the small Bank of Thomson into Allied Bankshares, a $600 million bank holding company that was acquired by Regions Bank. He is one of the area’s top philanthropists and is currently heading fundraising efforts for the Salvation Army Kroc Center.
This year, Junior Achievment unveiled a new award: The Rising Star Award. This award recognizes those up and coming individuals who are paving a way for others to follow in emerging businesses. They have taken their ideas and passions and created a successful business model. The first Rising Star was Nadia Butler, co-owner, president and CEO of Emergency Services Integrators. This Augusta-based emergency management software firm, known as ESi, was founded at Savannah River Site in 1996 and now boasts over 400 clients worldwide, including US government agencies such as NASA and the Department of Homeland Security, and Fortune 500 companies. Butler was named chief executive in 2007, and the firm has been recognized by Inc. as one of the fastest-growing private companies in America in 2007, 2008 and 2009. .
The black-tie optional event was the region’s largest business awards event, with more than 400 top entrepreneurs, managers and executives in attendance. The ceremony featured school children from throughout the area and concluded with video presentations on each Hall of Fame laureate.
The annual event helps fund Junior Achievement’s Augusta District office, which plans to impact more than 8,200 students in the CSRA during the 2009-2010 school year.
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