“Son, remember who you are, and what you represent.”
Savannah-area businessman and philanthropist Jimmy DeLoach Jr. relayed the words of his father while honoring scholarship recipients at the eighth-annual Abbie DeLoach Foundation (ADF) scholarship banquet held at the Savannah Golf Club.
His words, spanning generations, did not fall on deaf ears.
“I’m really proud to honor Abbie’s memory as a KD [Kappa Delta] and a Georgia Southern nursing student,” said Ansley Gibbs, a junior at Georgia Southern who plans to become a nurse practitioner. An Augusta native, Gibbs says that she feels “grateful” for both the scholarship and for her positive experiences with Georgia Southern’s nursing program.
RaKari Harrison, a high school senior at St. Andrew’s School, was one of the younger ADF scholarship recipients this year, but he is no less aware of how important the Foundation is to both local students and the DeLoach family.
“It’s very important to have kids come and be nominated for things like this, because it gives them the motivation to keep going on,” said Harrison, who recently committed to Erskine College as a tight end for the school’s football team.
The Abbie DeLoach Foundation (ADF), a non-profit organization, was founded in 2016 by Jimmy DeLoach Jr. in honor of his daughter Abbie who was one of five Georgia Southern nursing students killed in a tractor-trailer collision on I-16 in April 2015. Since its founding, part of the ADF’s mission is to help raise awareness against distracted driving.
The Foundation’s notable #HandsFreeforAbbie pledge campaign launches every year during the month of April, which is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month.
At this year’s luncheon, a record 21 students from five different schools and colleges–Georgia Southern University, Savannah State University, St. Andrews School, Savannah Christian Preparatory School, and the University of Georgia–were awarded scholarships from ADF, making 2024 the largest recipient class in the organization’s history so far.
The ADF Class of 2024 were honored across four areas of interest that marked Abbie DeLoach’s life: nursing, education, athletics, and world missions.
Luncheon attendees included former Savannah mayor Eddie DeLoach, Abbie’s uncle; guest speaker Pastor Ricky Temple, senior pastor at Savannah’s Overcoming by Faith Ministries; U.S. Congressman Buddy Carter (R-GA) and Georgia State Senator Ben Watson; and Dr. Whitney Nash, the Dean of Georgia Southern University’s Waters College of Health Professions.
A visibly moved Jimmy DeLoach fought back tears to reaffirm his family’s commitment to the futures of the 21 scholars honored at the banquet, whom he now calls his “extended family.”
“Education is the key to the door that you push open,” said DeLoach.
To learn more about the Abbie DeLoach Foundation, visit https://abbiedeloachfoundation.com/.
