During its recent annual meeting, the Bulloch County Historical Society presented the inaugural Volunteer Award to its vice president, Joe McGlamery.
    “This occasional award will be special, because it recognizes key people who believe we can have a brighter future if we learn from the past,” said Virginia Anne Franklin Waters, project coordinator for the historical society.
    As she led up to introducing McGlamery as the award recipient, Waters described him as "a longtime member who quietly, often behind the scenes, organizes programs and manages projects.”
    McGlamery “claims to be only an amateur, not a professional historian,” she said, going on to describe him as being “skilled in human relations” and having helped the historical society “reach a new level of significance.
    “We can see (McGlamery’s) hand in planning interesting programs and securing outstanding speakers,” she said.
    McGlamery was humble upon accepting the award.
    “I was surprised and honored to receive this award from the Historical Society,” he said. “Thanks to substantial financial support from the Jack N. and Addie D. Averitt Foundation, the Bulloch County Historical Society is a busy place right now, with many interesting projects already underway and more on the drawing board.”
    One recent project is the first in a series of “Clock Tower” books — “Out of the Past; Selected Writings by Maude Brannen Edge.”
    “There are no cobwebs in this group, and it is fun to be a part of this busy organization,” he said.
    Waters praised McGlamery’s ability to work with a variety of people and his role in helping realize the “constructive relationship the Society has with the Averitt Foundation.”
    McGlamery said he has always held a fascination for history.
    “I have enjoyed studying history since junior high, and I continue to be fascinated by the people and events of the past,” he said. “I am convinced we can learn much that will help us in the challenges of today by studying the past and its people. Somebody needs to try to preserve these stories, and I’m glad the Bulloch County Historical Society is here to help do this important work.”
    McGlamery is regional vice president of Morris Newspaper Corporation, with responsibilities for supervising Morris newspaper and shopper operations in seven Georgia cities.  He also serves as president of the Statesboro Herald.
      He is a native of Bulloch County, where he attended public school, and received a degree in Journalism from the University of Georgia in 1965.  He was named publisher of the Statesboro Herald in 1975 and president in 1995.
    Appointed by Georgia Governor Zell Miller to the Georgia State Board of Education in 1993, McGlamery represented the First Congressional District until January 1, 1997.  
    McGlamery is the founding chairman of the Bulloch County Foundation for Public Education. He was named Vice President of the Bulloch County Historical Society in July, 2009.
    An active member in a number of local and statewide organizations, he has been a trustee of the Georgia Southern University Foundation for more than 25 years, serving a two year term as chairman from 1992 to 1994.
     He is a past chairman of United Way of Southeast Georgia and the Bulloch County Chapter of the Red Cross. McGlamery also served as president of the Georgia Press Association from 1994 to 1995 and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.  
    
    Holli Deal Bragg may be reached at (912) 489-9414.