On Tuesday, September 19, East Georgia State College President Dr. David Schecter and others at the college, including faculty and staff, welcomed members of The Swainsboro Exchange Club to the Humanities Building for the purpose of rededicating the Exchange Club’s Freedom Shrine located on campus. This date was selected in order to commemorate and celebrate Constitution Day, Sunday, September 17, which is the anniversary of the 1787 signing of the United States Constitution by delegates to the Federal Convention.
Damien Scott, the acting President of the Exchange Club, made opening remarks, followed by Dr. Schecter’s welcoming remarks in which he emphasized the necessity of revering the important documents that are foundational to our Republic and our freedoms. Dr. Schecter mentioned the benefit of actually visiting Washington D.C. in order to view the national archives which house originals of the documents contained in the Freedom Shrine, noting that there was much benefit in reading the documents closely and seeing them in person.
After these remarks, Mike Lisenby, a member of the Exchange Club, served to administer the rededication, stating that the Freedom Shrine is an assemblage of about thirty documents that pertain to our freedoms as citizens of the United States. The documents are laminated on wooden frames for presentation in the Shrine. He noted that The Exchange Club has placed Freedom Shrines in many locations in Swainsboro, including public schools, universities, and court rooms. In his talk, Mr. Lisenby reviewed four of the most important documents: The Declaration of Independence published in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776; The Treaty of Paris bringing final peace in the revolutionary war and signed in 1783; The United States Constitution signed on September 17, 1787, and resulting in the First United States Congress meeting in 1789 in conjunction with President George Washington; and The Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, ratified by the states in 1791. Mr. Lisenby also spoke to the sanctity of the documents as establishing the Rule of Law, beginning with the United States Constitution as the Supreme Law of the Land, and something that should be read and understood. During the ceremony, the Exchange Club passed out bound copies of the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights donated by East Georgia State College as a way of the College's reaching out to and supporting the community and its youth.
Mr. Lisenby encouraged members of the audience to visit Independence Hall located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where both the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were signed and published. He noted this location as being historically significant and perhaps the most important relating to the foundation of our country.
The meeting included the display of a portrait painting of Dr. Willie Gunn, a former president of East Georgia State College and a member of the Swainsboro Exchange Club, in recognition of Dr. Gunn’s deep support of the Freedom Shrine’s dedications and of East Georgia State College during his seventeen-year tenure as President. Dr. Gunn was the second President of East Georgia College and was known to be foundational to its early successes.
Mike Lisenby commemorated Dr. Willie Gunn, a cherished and loved member of the Swainsboro Exchange Club, who passed away April 5, 2023, at the age of 97. In doing this, he added that Dr. Gunn joined the Navy as a teenager and served courageously in the Pacific Theatre of World War II. It was noted that after the war, Dr. Gunn joined the Navy Reserve and served in that capacity for thirty years, with a total of thirty-two years of service, and in 1986, was awarded the United States Navy Meritorious Service Medal, the highest honor bestowed for Naval Reserve Duty. Importantly, Dr. Gunn was on the selection committee reviewing and then selecting candidates for admission to the Naval Academy at Annapolis.
In concluding his remarks, Mr. Lisenby stated that aside from his military service for decades, Dr. Gunn was an essential Exchange Club member who presided over dedications of the Exchange Club’s Freedom Shrines. He mentioned that Dr. Gunn treated this responsibility with the utmost dignity, honor and respect. Lisenby added that once a year, Dr. Gunn would present to the Exchange Club by reciting Alfred Lord Tennyson’s “The Charge of the Light Brigade”, without notes, when he was in his nineties.
As an honorarium to Dr. Gunn, The Swainsboro Exchange Club and its members have made donations to East Georgia State College Foundation.
The Swainsboro Exchange Club truly hopes that Dr. Gunn’s legacy continues to be remembered. The Exchange Club also wishes to thank Dr. David Schecter, Chief Officer Trey Drawdy and others, for the hospitality provided, including the wonderful lunch at the College. The Exchange Club is honored to partake in acquainting our young people with the sacrifices made by our veterans, and in respect to the founding documents which need to be respected, honored and cherished.
