A man whose mark on Statesboro and Bulloch County is indelible was honored Thursday for a lifetime of contributions to the local arts community.
Author, playwright, historian, and museum director Dr. Del Presley was celebrated by the Statesboro Arts Council and Averitt Center staff as the newest “Legend in the Arts,” during an induction ceremony hosted by the center.
Presley became the fifth person to receive the honor — he joins Emma Kelly (2005), Blind Willie McTell (2007), Dr. Michael Braz (2009), and Roxie Remley (2011).
The title is bestowed every two years to a local artist who, according to the Statesboro Arts Council, has made a substantial contribution to the arts regionally.
While presenting the award, representatives of the council called Presley’s artistic endeavors “varied, creative, and prolific.”
The announcement took Presley — who believed the night was reserved for watching his grandchild sing in the Statesboro Youth Chorale — by complete surprise.
“I’ll tell you: (My wife) Beverly deserves her own award. She is the actress of the year,” he joked.
The long-time Statesboro resident — 43 years — went on to thank the Arts Council and Averitt Center, and boast about the city he calls home.
“Statesboro is such a great place. It means so much to be here and a part of this community,” he said. In regard to the honor: “I don’t believe the purpose of life is to become a person of great renown. I think the purpose of life is to participate and to be what you can be, as long as you can be it. I think we should all try to be our best and serve humanity in some way.”
Presley, for more than 30 years, served as a professor and faculty member at Georgia Southern University — he also coached Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams at the college.
His contributions to the arts during that time have run the gamut.
Presley is responsible for multiple Averitt Center productions — the first of which, “A Place to Call Home” (2004), was the first to ever grace the Emma Kelly Theater Stage; he has published numerous books, essays and articles about community and folklore of the South and South Georgia; and, as the first full-time director of the Georgia Southern University Museum, he organized hundreds of programs, exhibits and documentary films that were displayed in Statesboro.
Libba Smith, a past board member of the Statesboro Arts Council, said Presley could only be described as “A super Renaissance man for all seasons and ages.”
Georgia Southern Museum Director Dr. Brent Tharp, speaking during the ceremony, said: “Del was of course the most appropriate choice for this honor. We all agreed that he was already a legend in the arts, he merely lacked the official recognition on the walls of the Averitt Center.”
In addition to awarding official legend status, the Statesboro Arts Council commissioned artist Eileen Dudley to paint a portrait honoring Presley that will hang alongside faces of other legends at the Averitt Center.
Also, an exhibit that highlights the many artistic works of Presley will immediately go on display on the Averitt’s second floor.
The Legend in the Arts honor adds to a list of awards for Presley that includes: the Governor’s Award in the Humanities, Honorary Lifetime Member of the Georgia Association of Museums and Galleries status, and the Deen Day Smith Lifetime Achievement Award.
In a nomination form submitted to the Statesboro Arts Council, peers raved about the honoree.
“Del’s unselfish devotion to the history of Bulloch County is renowned.  His books line our shelves and we smile at the covers where within we know a special person took the time to research each page with diligence,” wrote Virgil and Sylvia Harville.
Said Tharp: “(Presley’s) status as a Legend in the Arts really should derive from his untiring conviction to create a love and appreciation of the arts in schoolchildren, families, and the citizens of Bulloch and surrounding counties.”

Jeff Harrison may be reached at (912) 489-9454.