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History

Henry County Schools inaugurated the Henry County Public Schools Foundation (HCPSF) during a daylong workshop for its newly appointed Board of Trustees on Feb. 7, 2025, at Heritage Park in McDonough.

The Foundation will provide philanthropic support for the district’s students and staff to optimize the learning experience and enhance educational outcomes.

HCS Superintendent Dr. John Pace III, Board of Education Vice Chair Annette Edwards (Dist. 2), Board of Education member Dr. Pam Nutt (Dist. 1), Foundation Director Dr. Maria A. Lumpkin, and other district leaders participated in several of the Foundation’s first official activities.

The HCPSF Board of Trustees is a diverse group that includes retired educators, parents, counselors, and local business community leaders.

The day’s activities included work sessions, a luncheon, a pinning ceremony, and the board’s first business meeting.

By the end of the workshop, Trustees adopted a mission “to inspire and empower our community to support exceptional opportunities for all students, parents, and staff” and a vision to “engage the community and invest resources that ensure access to an exceptional education for all students and staff.”

The Foundation will support the district’s “Pursuit of Exceptional” by empowering schools, students, teachers, leaders, and HCS staff through funding priorities that support scholarships, community engagement initiatives, the arts, STEM, athletics, teacher support, and teacher innovation.

HCPSF Board of Trustees Chair Holly Cobb speaks to other board members during a workshop

The Feb. 7 board workshop also included the election of officers. Holly Cobb, who served on the Board of Education for eight years, and Marla Reddick, director of business data governance at the Coca-Cola Company, were elected president and secretary of the Board of Trustees, respectively.

Cobb and Reddick are accompanied on the inaugural Board of Trustees by Natasha Branch, Octavia F. Bryan, Cindy Crawford, James Xavier Johnson, Kimberly Redd, Debra O’Quinn, Alpa Panchal, Shashee Patel, Sheryl Riggins, Laura Whittaker Shortt, and Chimiya Turner-Smith.

These Trustees, supported by members of the Henry County Board of Education, are joined on the Foundation board by ex officio, nonvoting members Dr. Pace, Henry County Board of Education Chair Sophe Pope, HCS Chief Financial Officer Shanika Clay, HCS Chief of Staff Summer Cox, and HCS Chief Operating Officer Barry Miles.

HCPSF, though based at HCS administrative offices located at 33 N. Zack Hinton Parkway in McDonough, will operate independently and as a separate entity from the school district.