Seven Atlanta Business Leaders Receive Robinson College Alumni Awards

October 30, 2006 (ATLANTA) – Seven business executives will be recognized at the Fourth Annual Robinson College of Business Alumni Awards celebration to be held at the High Museum of Art's Wieland Grand Lobby on Wednesday, November 15th. Attendees will be among the first to view the Louvre Atlanta exhibit on display at the Museum. Tickets are $35 and include a dinner buffet. For information on the event and how to register go to www.robinson.gsu.edu/alumni/awards.  Recipients of this year's awards are:

Leadership/Lifetime Achievement - James C. Howard (BBA '64; MPA '66) 
Managing Partner, Smith & Howard, P.C.
Leadership/Lifetime Achievement – Joseph Braxton Smith (MPA '70)
Partner, Smith & Howard, P.C.
Global Business Leadership - John O'Shaughnessy (MBA '00)
Managing Director, Porex Surgical Inc.
Entrepreneurship - J. Stephen Tanner (BBA '66)
President and CEO, Arylessence, Inc.
Outstanding Young Alumnus - S. Lance Ledbetter (BBA '98; MBA '03)
Owner,  Dust-To-Digital, Inc.
Community Service - Harriet Hessam (MBA '80)
CEO, Girl Scout Council of Northwest Georgia
Service to the College – Wesley C. Duesenberg, Jr. (MPA '73; MIN '78)
President, Southern Insurance Underwriters Inc.

Recipients were selected by a committee comprised of alumni representatives, members of the College Board of Advisors and Faculty/Staff members.

View video of the awards program >>

Howard (Robinson Alumni Leadership/Lifetime Achievement Award) was founding partner of Smith & Howard in 1971. Currently, he serves as managing partner of the Firm and a Tax and Consulting Partner, providing assistance to individuals and businesses. Prior to forming Smith & Howard, he worked with an international accounting firm. Howard is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants. In addition he has served on the board of the Georgia State University Foundation and as a vice president of the Georgia State Alumni Association.

Smith (Robinson Alumni Leadership/Lifetime Achievement Award) was also a founding partner of Smith & Howard in 1971. He currently serves as a Tax and Consulting Partner to businesses, individuals and not for profit organizations. Prior to forming Smith & Howard, he worked with an international accounting firm. Smith is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants, where he is Trustee of the Insurance Trust. In addition, Smith is active in the Phoenix Society and is a member of the Marist School Planned Gifting Committee, Marist School Heritage Society, Georgia State University Alumni Association, the UGA President's Club and Gridiron and the Georgia Transplant Foundation/

O'Shaughnessy (Alumni Global Leadership Award) is a managing director with the Porex Surgical GmbH, a subsidiary of Porex Corporation. The company markets and distributes facial and reconstructive implant products to the German medical market and also provides management support to distributors throughout Western Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.  Prior to his involvement with Porex, O'Shaunghnessy held executive positions with Gainor Medical LLC, America Abroad, Inc., and Audiovox Corp. In 2002, he was appointed to the North Georgia District Export Council and served a 4-year term. 

Tanner (Alumni Entrepreneurship Award) is president and chief executive office of Arylessence, Inc., an Atlanta company that creates and manufactures custom fragrances and flavors for products in the industrial, institutional, food, health, home, and beauty markets.  Prior to Arylessence, he held executive positions with Trailways, Inc. and Airborne Freight Corporation.  Tanner served for five and a half years with the U.S. Army including one year in Vietnam. He resigned from the service as a captain, receiving numerous awards including the Bronze Star

Ledbetter (Outstanding Young Alumnus Award) is the owner of Dust-to-Digital, a record company that reissues rare roots and traditional music. In 2004 Dust-to-Digital received two Grammy nominations for its inaugural release, a six CD gospel box set called Goodbye, Babylon. The company has had its releases featured in such publications as Billboard, Bon Appétit, London Times, Mojo, Moscow Times, New Yorker, New York Times, Rolling Stone, Spin, Washington Post and USA Today.

Hessam (Robinson Alumni Community Service Award) is Chief Executive Officer of the Girl Scout Council of Northwest Georgia. A respected executive with a twenty-five year track record in both the not-for-profit and for-profit sectors, Hessam served as CEO for Goemar International and as COO of the Atlanta Union Mission. Currently she serves as a member of the Atlanta Rotary Club and remains active in community organizations as both a volunteer and civic leader. In 2004, she was inducted into the YWCA of Greater Atlanta's Academy of Women Achievers and was named the 2006 Woman of Distinction by the Georgia Chapter of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation. Hessam is also the recipient of the 2006 Turknett Leadership Character Awards for the Non-Profit/Education category. 

Duesenberg (Alumni Award for Service to Robinson College) is president of Southern Insurance Underwriters Inc. and chairman of Century Casualty Company. In 2005, Duesenberg was named "Insurance Company Man of the Year" by the Professional Insurance Agents.  He has been a member of Robinson's Risk Management and Insurance Education Foundation since 1996 and served as its chairman this past year.