During the 29th annual Deen Day Smith Service to Mankind Awards gala held Tuesday evening, Bruce Yawn introduced three men who have dedicated a lifetime to selflessly giving to others through community service, acts of kindness and devotion to beneficial causes.
One is a builder with numerous accolades, one is a local attorney and Scout leader, and the third is a retired professor who now teaches yoga.
David Bobo
David Bobo has “truly spent a lifetime helping others through building,” Yawn said. “It has been said that he ‘makes time when there is no time,’ and if we didn’t know better, one may believe he has a clone.”
Bobo “has left his mark all over Bulloch County but never broadcast it or boasted about it. Construction is his livelihood, but there are countless churches, nonprofit organizations and service-based entities who benefitted from his skills and were never asked to pay a dime.”
Donations of time, skill and effort for the big things are not the only way Bobo helps others, he said.
“He just doesn’t talk about what he does, and his wife says she is constantly surprised when people stop her and express thanks for some small kindness she didn’t even know he did,” Yawn continued, adding that it is some feat that Bobo ever got something past his wife, Patsy.
“If he knows someone is hungry, he will feed them. If he sees a need, he makes sure it is filled. If an elderly or disabled person needs a ramp built or some household repair done, he gets it done with no questions asked and no compensation sought,” he said.
Bobo was instrumental in building the Day Center chapel at the W.W. Mann Retreat in Brooklet. He built numerous homes for Habitat for Humanity with no charge for labor, and in 1981, “he not only built a house to be sold to fund a Georgia Southern University, but his family donated the land upon which it was built,” he said.
Bobo worked on countless structural improvements through membership in the Statesboro Home Builders Association that have helped Bulloch County and its residents and was once recognized by Statesboro High School construction and technology as Support Person of the Year for his work in mentoring and inspiring young people.
He has helped build several churches, chapels and social halls throughout the area for free, and he was recognized for being generously instrumental in construction of the Sigma Nu house at Georgia Southern.
As a long-time member of the National Home Builders Association, he has for years recruited other members and has been president of the association six different times. When the group’s community room was built, he spearheaded construction and finalization of the project, Yawn said.
He was recognized by the Southern Boosters for outstanding service in helping construct the Eagle Creek Complex at Georgia Southern University.
Church has always been a priority for Bobo, who has helped serve breakfast to 150 homebound people for years at Statesboro Primitive Baptist Church.
“When the Boys and Girls Club of Bulloch County needed assistance in preparing a building for state inspection, our recipient stepped in, and built the club gymnasium as well,” he said. “When the Joseph’s Home for Boys was first located on Highway 301, he oversaw to their building repairs and needs at no cost to the group.”
Bobo served for over 20 years with the original GS Shenkel Committee, forming a scholarship fund that has since been renewed. He is a member of the Leadership Georgia Foundation and Who’s Who in America. Most recently, Bobo has dedicated time, skills, leadership and efforts, including physical labor, to help construct Statesboro’s first and much needed homeless shelter.
“He has, for the past two years, led the building project for Open Hearts Community Mission, appearing on the jobsite daily in spite of other paying obligations, donating use of his equipment, time and brawn to help create a haven for those without even a roof over their heads,” Yawn said. “The force behind Open Hearts Community Mission, Delia Mobley, said David Bobo is an ‘unrelenting and dedicated servant who has saved the mission thousands of dollars.’ The project could have cost up to $100,000 for what Bobo has given selflessly, and the mission will open next month debt free, thanks in part to his efforts.”
Fred Richter
“Some people spend their entire lives making the world a better place and improving upon its beauty,” Yawn said of Dr. Fred Richter. “This Lifetime Achievement Award recipient is known for his spiritual, educational and aesthetic contributions in several areas of our community.”
Richter moved to Bulloch County in 1969 and spent more than 30 years teaching English and linguistics at Georgia Southern University. Before he retired in 2001, he was named Professor of the Year on numerous occasions and was leader of the Bell Honors Program, now known as the University Honor Program, and is still involved as an active advisor.
“Both before and after his retirement, our honoree has routinely committed several hours weekly to Trinity Episcopal Church, keeping the grounds attractive as junior warden, planting, grooming and weeding,” Yawn said. “He often organized work parties to help maintain and spruce up the church and its grounds, whether it be repairs, painting or other endeavors.
“He carries the message of God’s love further by taking volunteers annually to the Dominican Republic to help build and establish the Episcopal Church there,” he continued. “Every chance he gets, he recruits members to join his home church.”
Richter “helps build spiritual strength as well as physical through teaching yoga,” giving classes at his church as well as at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship and at homebound people’s residences, Yawn said. If paid at all, he donates the money to various charities in the community.
He visits the ill and homebound and takes them to doctor’s appointments or runs errands for them to make sure they have every need filled.
“He takes an interest in our youth, too,” Yawn said. “As a board member of the Boys and Girls Club of Bulloch County, where he has been named Board Member of the Year three years in a row, this man has helped rebuild the teen center and volunteers at the club weekly. One of his commitments is soliciting donations for the club’s needs.”
Richter “is also seen every Saturday at Rebecca’s Café at the Statesboro Food Bank, where he serves meals and greets visitors and helps in any capacity he is asked,” he said. “The GSU Botanic Gardens also benefit from his loving hands as he volunteers whenever possible. This man is also known for his generous heart as he has contributed several times over the years to his students in need, financially as well as spiritually.”
Richter was a long-time member and board member of the Amethyst Project, a support group for those affected by AIDS. He is a member of the Diocesan Council for the Episcopal Church which mentors and evaluates people for priesthood. He has mentored youth and funded Bikes for the Homeless in Savannah, and funds a study abroad scholarship annually for a local honors student.
Lovett Bennett Jr.
Yawn praised Bennett for his enormous impact on Statesboro’s young men through Boy Scouts of America.
“Over the past 18 years … he has taken millions of steps hiking, spent many a night camping, and helped smoke countless Boston butts so Boy Scouts without the means could attend summer camp,” he said. “He became involved with Troop 342 in 1999 when his oldest son joined, and soon became an assistant scoutmaster. He has been Scout Master since 2004.”
Bennett conducts weekly meetings, baking brownies to serve at each meeting, and holds monthly overnight hiking, camping and backpacking trips for the boys. He conducts ongoing merit badge work with an annual “Merit Badge University,” an all-day work session for scouts to complete merit badge work. During the summer he holds a summer boy scout camp for younger members of troop, and a summer BSA high-adventure trip for older teenage scouts, traveling to one of three destinations: hiking at the Philmont Scout Ranch in northern New Mexico; kayaking at the Northern Tier near Ely, MN and Canada; or sailing at the Florida Sea Base in the Florida Keys, Yawn said.
“In order to help those scouts who may not have the means to afford such adventures, (Bennett) holds fund raisers to allow scouts to earn their way. Twice annually the troop smokes Boston Butts, selling about 400-600 in a three day period,” he said. “He also hosts an annual “Scout Sunday” soup luncheon fundraiser at church each February and has had yard sales to benefit the troop.”
Lovett takes an annual 16-hour course for a renewal of “Wilderness First Aid” in order to lead his group and serves on the Coastal Georgia Council Executive Committee – attending quarterly meetings to review policies and make decisions which impact the 22-county area council. For his service, Lovett was awarded the “Silver Beaver Award” by the BSA Coastal Georgia Council for distinguished service to youth
“People who know this Statesboro attorney know he takes Boy Scouts quite seriously,” Yawn said. “He employs a person on his payroll at his office who dedicates hours weekly to scouting duties. He spends all his free time helping train and prepare scouts for the High Adventure outings, and has seen four to five scouts become Eagle Scouts each year he has been involved in the program.”
Bennett’s service for the community is not limited to Boy Scouts. He donates to a wide variety of local charities and organizations. He serves on the Board of the Citizens Bank of the South and on the board of directors for Ogeechee Area Hospice, where he attends monthly meetings to review policy and make decisions affecting local non-profit hospice facility.
He serves as the municipal judge for the City of Brooklet, and performs a great deal of “pro bono” work as an attorney when needed.
He is a strong supporter of local law enforcement and is a founding force behind the Statesboro Police Officers Foundation and the Georgia K9 Retirement Foundation.
“As a long-time member of the Statesboro Kiwanis Club, he serves on the law enforcement committee. He attends weekly meetings and dedicates a great deal of time working during the club’s annual fair, serving in the Pancake House and elsewhere. He received the George F. Hixson Fellowship for commitment to service and has served as past president, vice-president and club sheriff,” he said.
“He is also a member of the Statesboro Primitive Baptist Church, which sponsors Boy Scout Troop 342. He belongs to the T. Roe Scott Sunday School class. Lovett also serves as chairman of the board of directors for the Attorney’s Title Guarantee Fund.
Herald reporter Holli Deal Saxon may be reached at (912)489-9414.