(Left Photo: United Way officials recognize George Bryan: United Way President Harry Shaw (left), with Chairman of the Board Ronald Belz, congratulate George Bryan (center) upon his receiving the prestigious Alexis deTocqueville Award. General Campaign Chairman Calvin Anderson and Senior Vice President of Fundraising Bryce Haugsdahl (right) also congratulate Bryan for this honor.)
(Right Photo: The Focklers and the Bryans: Robert Fockler (left) and his wife Tina (in red) celebrate with Marcia and George Bryan at the Alexis deTocqueville Dinner.)
MID-SOUTH November 4, 2007
Members of United Way of the Mid-South's illustrious Alexis deTocqueville Society met for their annual dinner celebration in November to salute George Bryan for his work to improve the quality of life for people across the region.
The dinner was graciously hosted by Robert and Tina Fockler at their home. Robert Fockler is President of the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis, and a long-time friend to United Way who has served on the Board of Directors in the past in a variety of roles, most notably as volunteer Fund Distribution Chairman for several years.
United Way of the Mid-South's Chairman of the Board, Ronald Belz, presented the award to George Bryan. Belz is President and C.O.O. of Belz Enterprises. (A transcript of Belz's introduction can be found at the end of this article).
Bryan recalled his work with United Way, and shared one of the key reasons he has been active as a volunteer for the organization: the memory of his sister.
"My sister, Kitty Bryan Dill, started the first United Way in West Point, Mississippi, in the mid-1970s. I watched her form a grassroots organization which remains vital today. At the time I was President of Bryan Foods in West Point and it gave our employees an opportunity to participate in the support of the organizations who so vitally need United Way's help. As I watched my sister who I so respected and admired, give of her time and ability in this United Way cause, I learned about United Way. My service was a tribute to her and to the beliefs shared by all of us who work with United Way," Bryan said.
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Ronald Belz's introductory remarks:
Good evening. It’s a pleasure to be with all of you this evening, to celebrate our ability to play a key role in the important work of United Way of the Mid-South as members of our area’s Alexis deTocqueville Society.
Society members set the highest standard for charitable giving in the Mid-South. Your continued support helps United Way’s network of health and human care impact people’s lives individually and improve the well-being of our entire region.
Our Society is named after Alexis deTocqueville, a nineteenth-century man who came to America as a writer and traveler with the unlikely task of studying our prison systems. While he was here, he was amazed by the acts of charity and generosity he saw. They were unlike anything he’d seen in his native country of France. When he returned home, he wrote Democracy In America, which records this uniquely American attitude toward charity and volunteerism.
This uniquely American attitude is alive and well in the hearts of our Society members, and is very much alive in the heart of this evening’s honored guest, George W. Bryan.
George is a native of West Point, Mississippi. He graduated from Mississippi State University in 1967 with a degree in Business Administration. He began his business career at Bryan Foods in 1964. When Bryan Foods merged with Sara Lee Corporation in 1968, he was named Production Manager. He became Vice President of Sales in 1971, and was named President of Sales in 1974.
In 1983, he was promoted to Senior Vice President of Sara Lee Corporation. He retired from Sara Lee Corporation in 2000 as Senior Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of Sara Lee Foods. He is currently active in several real estate development projects through Bryan-Turley Properties LLC.
George is a board member for Regions Financial Corporation, a position he has held since 1986. He is also on Buckeye Technologies’ board of directors, a position he has held since 2001. From 1976 through 2000 he was a member of the board of directors for the American Meat Institute, and served as Chairman in 1995. George has always had strong ties to his alma mater, and was made an Alumni Fellow by the Mississippi State University Alumni Association in 1992.
In 1996 he was honored as the Mississippi State Alumnus of the Year by the College of Business and Industry. He has served as Director of the MSU Development Foundation, and is also a Member of the MSU Senior Executive Advisory Council. George has also been very active in our local Memphis nonprofit community, serving as President of the Boy Scouts of America, Chickasaw Council in 1995 and 1996.
In 1994, George accepted the important task of raising funds for United Way of the Mid-South’s network of health and human care as the General Campaign Chairman. As campaign chairman, George led our local effort to collect $17,214,079. These funds were distributed to programs that improved lives, benefiting everyone living in our Memphis metro area.
This was the same year that United Way of Greater Memphis changed its name to United Way of the Mid-South to reflect our growing regional focus. George’s work helped us share that message with the community. George and Marcia have three daughters and one son, and continue to be active champions for positive change in our community. In fact, George and Marcia hosted the year 2000 Alexis deTocqueville Society award dinner in their home.
Each year the Alexis deTocqueville Society recognizes an individual who inspires people to help others and directly impacts his or her community. We are proud to say that this year’s recipient is a true champion of caring. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the recipient of this year’s Alexis deTocqueville Society Award, Mr. George Bryan.
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