This year marked United Way of Central Georgia's first in-person presentation of the Golden Eagle Awards since taking over the awards from The Telegraph in 2019. The Telegraph began awarding Central Georgia’s highest achieving high school seniors with the Golden Eagle Awards in 1978. Over 190 seniors were recognized at The Grand Opera House during the Golden Eagle Awards ceremony on May 12, 2022. The ceremony awarded nearly $50,000 to nominated students joining an impressive group of over 9,000 nominees over the event's history.
High school seniors from local schools were nominated by their schools and judged by a panel of experts in 13 categories. Winners received the Golden Eagle Awards trophy and a $2,000 scholarship. Runners-up in each category received Golden Eagle Awards plaques and $1,000 scholarships. The Superintendent's Scholarship - JROTC winner received a scholarship worth $10,000 over four years thanks to a private donor. All Golden Eagle Nominees received a commemorative graduation cord.
Christine Geske-Stewart, the Social Studies Department Chair at Jones County High School, was awarded the Sylvia W. McGee Excellence in Education Award.
MetroPower was again the Presenting Sponsor for the Golden Eagle Awards, and Mercer University continued their support as the Host Sponsor for the event. Other sponsors included The Telegraph as Supporting Sponsor and Atrium Health Navicent as Scholarship Cord Sponsor. Cadence Bank was a Category Sponsor along with Piedmont Macon, GEICO, Macon Black Pages, Macon Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Robins Financial Credit Union, Jeff Smith Automotive and WGXA News.
2022 Golden Eagle Award Winners and Runners-up can be viewed here.