For the seventh year running, Junior Achievement of Northeast Georgia has inducted three area business leaders into its prestigious Northeast Georgia Business Hall of Fame.
The February 6 ceremony was held at the Chattahoochee Country Club in Gainesville and honored Don Carter, Ben Cheek and Nabil Muhanna.
A native of Gainesville, Don Carter was recognized for his land preservation efforts through his service on the Georgia Department of National Resources. He served on the DNR board for 29 years under five governors, making him the longest-serving board member in the agency’s history. In 1996, Carter was honored by the Georgia Wildlife Federation as Conservationist of the Year.
Ben Cheek is a native of Toccoa. He attended Emory University and Emory University Law School. He joined the family business in 1941 as General Counsel. At that time the company had seven loan offices. Under his leadership, 1st Franklin Financial has grown to 288 branches in six states today. He has served in many leadership roles at both the state and national levels.
Dr. Nabil Muhannah was born in Syria and went to pre-medical and medical school at Damascus University. He came to the United States to do his internship, general surgical training, neurology training and neurosurgical training. Dr. Muhanna later joined the United States Army and became the Chief of Neurosurgery at David Eisenhower Medical Center and an assistant professor at the Medical College of Georgia. In addition to his medical practice in Gainesville, Dr. Muhannah is an inventor. He currently holds 29 patents for medical devices.
Junior Achievement also honored Rose Procter, Director of the BB&T Center for Ethical Business Leadership at UNG, as Educator of the Year. Nancy Norton from The Norton Agency in Gainesville received the Volunteer of the Year Award. RichLife Advisors was named the Junior Achievement Business Partnership of the Year. Dr. Ron Wilson was the recipient of the Gus Whalen Rising Star award for innovation, entrepreneurship and community service.
Proceeds from the event benefited Junior Achievement programs in Northeast Georgia. JA officials said during this academic year more than 8,000 students have participated in JA programs led by trained volunteers who teach children financial literacy, business ethics, the fundamentals of free enterprise and the importance of an education.
Junior Achievement’s mission is to prepare and inspire young people to succeed in a global economy. Junior Achievement of Northeast Georgia serves 16 counties in our region.
