Retired teacher, former student honored to win St. Patrick’s Awards

The St. Patrick’s Senior Adult of the Year and Man of the Year have something in common. She taught him in school.

James Deal was shocked when his name was called for the Man of the Year, but he was glad to hear his former teacher Jeanette Fulford’s name called for the Senior Citizen of the Year award moments later.

“I was thrilled to be honored with him,” Fulford said after the Joint Civic Luncheon, held at the DuBose Porter Center on the campus of Oconee Fall Line Technical College, Friday.

It was a special moment.

“I told her the best part about this was her and I getting this together,” Deal said. “Her and her husband, Mr. Hubert Fulford, both taught me at East Laurens. I have known them for 55 years. They were such an influence on my life. They were such shining examples. Teachers like that taught you more than the subjects. That was emotional, especially when they said her name.” 

Fulford was not expecting to be honored.

“I was surprised,” she said.

So was Deal. When the biography for the Man of the Year was read, Deal dropped his pen in surprise.

“I am the most unworthy person in this room. I do not deserve this,” Deal said. “Not in the least little bit. I ride on the shoulders of so many people in this room who have donated financially by donating thousands of Bibles and literally thousands of coats and blessing bags. You have prayed for us and encouraged us. This is an incredible community to live in. When I see Man of the Year, and see Louie Livingston (1980) on it and he is one of my mentors, I definitely don’t deserve to be on that list.”

Quoting Scripture, he said he accepted the award on behalf “of the least of these” in the community, sharing several stories about people helped through City of Hope, an organization led by Deal.

An award named in memory of Dick Killebrew, who helped begin the St. Patrick’s Festival in 1966, went to the previous past co-chairs who served in that role in 2025, Belinda Ricks and Chase Wilson.

The Woman of the Year award went to Dublin City Councilwoman Sara Kolbie.

“No. 1, I am absolutely shocked,” Kolbie said. “Secondarily, I am just honored to stand with people like these and the incredible work that they do every day. I just feel very honored. At first I felt like it was one of my city council workers. I was excited and then very, very surprised.” 

Pat Brock and Royce Hall were named Honorary Leprechauns for the Order of the Shillelagh and Order of the Blarney Stone.

“I was like, wait a minute,” Brock said when she realized they were talking about her. “It feels good to be seen, especially with all of the work that I do, the volunteer work that I do, the love that I have for this community and how I really love what I do and that I do it with my whole heart. I do it not expecting a reward. I truly believe the Lord is rewarding me for all of the things I do, seen and unseen.” 

Hall admittedly said “they got me” when he walked back to his seat after picking up his award.

“They knew about this before I did,” Hall said about his co-workers at city hall. “When they started reading the accolades, I knew it was me then at that point. I stand on the shoulders of my community, the city of Dublin and everybody that had an input that touched my life. I love what I do, which is serving and giving back to the community.” 

Elinor Mullis was named the 2026 Youth of the Year. Her mother, Misty, accepted the award since Elinor was studying abroad.

“I am incredibly honored to receive this award, and I owe none of it to myself,” Elinor said in a text message. “I thank God, my family, my friends, my mentors and the members of this community for helping me step into a life that I only dreamed of. I am grateful for the opportunities I have been given, and I will continue to work to make Dublin-Laurens proud.” 

The Amy Cannon Spirit of the Festival Award went to Kathy Jones.

“This was a total shock,” Jones said. “Mrs. Amy meant a lot to me. We were seat mates in the choir at First Methodist. I think a lot of my love of the festival was because of her and the wonderful contributions she made to this festival. It’s an honor to be a part of this award and the other people who came before me.” 

Rich McKay, who serves as chief executive officer of AMB Sports and Entertainment, congratulated all of the award winners. McKay was the speaker for the event, and was interviewed on stage by Courier Herald sports editor Clay Reynolds. 

When it came to building Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Arthur Blank, owner and chairman of the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United, gave advice about it.

“He said not to build the building for the Falcons, don’t build the building for the SEC Championship, don’t build the building for a new soccer team,” McKay said. “He said to build it for everybody.” 

Atlanta will be a major host city for the 2026 FIFA World Cup where eight matches will be held there between June 15 and July 15.

“This will be eight weeks and eight matches,” McKay said. “Every match will be equal to a Super Bowl. In the world, 50 percent of the televisions will watch at least one match. Our semifinal match will be watched by 2.5 million people from the stadium. That is where it will be our opportunity as Georgians because we have not had a moment like this since the 1996 Olympics. We need to make everything go right, because the size of the event is unbelievable.”

McKay has been on the NFL Competition Committee for 32 years. He said they are willing to change anything when it comes to the game of pro football.

“The game should be able to continue to evolve to make the game as important as it can be to one group of people – the fans,” McKay said. “We will change any rule at any time to help it keep going and to keep it safe for the players.”

One thing McKay hopes Atlanta will see in the future are many championships. 

“That’s what our focus is, that’s what the Braves’ focus is and what the Hawks’ focus should be,” McKay said. “That is what the University of Georgia has done well. 

“I think Atlanta has a secret in its airport. We have a good airport that people can fly into and go to many of the big events and plenty of hotels. That’s what we have to keep pushing for because there are plenty of big events coming to Atlanta.”