Don Ballard
1927 -
Don Ballard was born in Oxford, the youngest of five children. He started his career as a lawyer in 1952 and provided free legal counsel to the City of Oxford for 52 years. Ballard attended North Georgia College before leaving to join the United States Navy during World War II, where he served aboard the L.S.T. 1076 as an underwater demolitionist. He was later promoted to ship’s office. In the tradition of his grandfather, Norman Dorminy, and his great-great grandfather, A. J. Waters, Don Ballard went on to serve in the Georgia State Legislature from 1956 to 1982, first in the House and then in the Senate.
As a legislator, he experienced the civil rights movement first hand. In 1961, he was influential in the landmark decision to integrate the University of Georgia with the acceptance of Charlayne Hunter-Gault and Hamilton Holmes, the university’s first African American students.
Ballard’s diverse career has also included opening an insurance agency and a realty company, running a construction business, and managing his own farm.
As a tireless supporter of his community, Ballard has served as a member of the American Legion, the Grid Iron Society, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Oxford Lion’s Club, the Covington Rotary, the Elks Club, Kappa Alpha Sigma, and is a lifetime member of the North Covington Methodist Church. The Oxford Lion’s Club awarded Ballard with its highest honor, the Melvin Jones Fellowship Award. He has also received Emory University’s Sesquicentennial Award, the highest honor an alumnus can receive. In addition, Don Ballard was honored as Oxford’s citizen of the year in 2008.
As a legislator, he experienced the civil rights movement first hand. In 1961, he was influential in the landmark decision to integrate the University of Georgia with the acceptance of Charlayne Hunter-Gault and Hamilton Holmes, the university’s first African American students.
Ballard’s diverse career has also included opening an insurance agency and a realty company, running a construction business, and managing his own farm.
As a tireless supporter of his community, Ballard has served as a member of the American Legion, the Grid Iron Society, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Oxford Lion’s Club, the Covington Rotary, the Elks Club, Kappa Alpha Sigma, and is a lifetime member of the North Covington Methodist Church. The Oxford Lion’s Club awarded Ballard with its highest honor, the Melvin Jones Fellowship Award. He has also received Emory University’s Sesquicentennial Award, the highest honor an alumnus can receive. In addition, Don Ballard was honored as Oxford’s citizen of the year in 2008.