Local bank leader Darron Burnette was emotional Tuesday night as he accepted one of the community’s highest honors — the Statesboro Herald Humanitarian of the Year award, the top recognition for the annual Deen Day Smith Service to Mankind Awards.

Held in the ballroom of Georgia Southern University’s Nessmith Lane building, the invitation-only awards gala is in its 31st year.

Burnette, introduced by Statesboro law partner Gerald Edenfield, choked up a bit as he expressed surprise and gratitude for the honor.

After a standing ovation from guests, he said, “I am very grateful and very humbled.” He listed several past recipients of the award and said he was honored to be listed among them.

Giving credit to his team at Synovus, where he is divisional CEO, he said “teamwork and passion” is what it takes to make a difference in the lives of others, as well as your own.

“There are so many worthy people in this community,” he said. “I am thankful the Lord brought me here.”

In classic Deen Day Smith awards banquet style, Edenfield did not divulge the identity of the 2019 Humanitarian of the Year until the end of his speech, first dropping heavy hints about the recipient.

“The Statesboro Herald Humanitarian of the Year award is an honor bestowed upon persons of great caring, who are public-spirited, altruistic, filled with compassion, and with a deep dedication to putting others first,” he said. “It is awarded to persons who have provided a wide range of services to the community during the recent past. It is given in recognition of commitments far above and beyond the routine.

“Recipients of this award are multi-faceted individuals who have demonstrated the ability to utilize their talents in a constructive and positive manner, always with the goal of making the community a better place because they have passed this way,” he said. ”The Statesboro Herald Humanitarian of the Year award is earned by the person who has the compassion to dream, the ambition to work, the will to lead and the strength to prevail. In so doing, they move our community forward to new heights of caring as they enrich the lives of all of us.”

He began listing Burnette’s accolades, which include being “very, very active in many community organizations, holding positions of leadership.” Burnette has served as past chairman of the Statesboro-Bulloch County Chamber of Commerce; as secretary for the Georgia Southern Athletic Foundation; as a board member for East Georgia Regional Medical Center; as treasurer for the Ogeechee Technical College Foundation; and as a member of the boards of the Statesboro Police Foundation, Forest Heights Country Club and the Coastal Georgia Alzheimer’s Association.

“He has served as past president of the Kiwanis Club of Statesboro … Leadership Bulloch … and the Optimist Club,” Edenfield said, adding to the list that Burnette has also served on the Bulloch Academy board of trustees, the Keep Bulloch Beautiful board and as division chairman for United Way. 

“He also finds time to teach a Sunday school class at First Baptist Church and is a member of the Rotary Club of Statesboro. Furthermore, he is involved with the Entrepreneurial Learning and Leadership at Georgia Southern University,” he said.

Burnette’s impressive list of community leadership and volunteerism continued, as “recently he served as chairperson for the South Main Street Revitalization team, which became known as the Blue Mile Project,” Edenfield said. “His leadership and the efforts of this committee set the stage for Statesboro being awarded $1,165,000 as one of America’s Best Communities in a nationwide competition.”

Burnette also co-chairs two annual fundraising projects — the Miriam Burnette Striking Out Alzheimer’s Softball Tournament and Rockin’ Out Alzheimer’s, helping to raise over $300,000 for the cause of Alzheimer’s research.

Burnette was named the 2018 Statesboro-Bulloch County Business Leader of the Year “in recognition of his outstanding business, professional and community involvement,” Edenfield said, sharing comments from Burnette’s friends and co-workers, who called him “inspiring,” “inclusive,” “optimistic” and “encouraging.”

In 2008 Burnette was recognized as a Deen Day Smith Service to Mankind recipient. and in 2011 he received the William B. Turner Humanitarian Award for Synovus Financial Corporation. He graduated from Georgia Southern University with a BBA in banking.

As he drew his acceptance speech to a close, Burnette grew emotional. “Thank you so much,” he said.

Named for renowned humanitarian Deen Day Smith Sanders, the annual awards gala has honored almost 1,000 residents of Statesboro and Bulloch County, said Statesboro Herald President Joe McGlamery. 

“That is a lot of people, and there has been a lot of good things done in this community,” he said.

Herald reporter Holli Deal Saxon may be reached at (912) 489-9414.