The British Consulate General in Atlanta and the British American Business Group are asking that nominations for the Oglethorpe Sword Award be submitted by Sunday, July 15.
The award is named in honor of James Oglethorpe, a member of the British parliament who founded the colony of Georgia in 1773. The sword has been presented to an individual who has made a major contribution to trade and investment between Georgia and the United Kingdom in the previous year.
The British consul general bestows the award during the British American Business Group’s annual gala that is to be held this year on July 28 at the Summerour Studio on Bishop Street in Midtown and has been titled the “Diamonds Are Forever Gala” in honor of Queen Elizabeth II’s diamond jubilee marking her 60th year on the British throne.
Britain has been celebrating the Jubilee with a series of events including a 1,000 strong flotilla that passed under the Tower Bridge receiving a 41-gun salute.
On Tuesday, the British government further celebrated the queen’s service by announcing that London’s Big Ben clock tower is to be renamed the Elizabeth Tower. The landmark tower, part of Britain’s Houses of Parliament, has officially been called the Clock Tower but is commonly known as Big Ben, the name of the giant bell inside.
This year’s gala also marks the 30th anniversary of the founding of the British American Business Group. The Oglethorpe Sword Award was first introduced by then-Consul General David Wright at the gala held in 1993.
The names of the winners have been engraved on one side of the sword’s blade, but this year a new sword will have to be used since there is no room for more names on the prior sword’s blade.
Recent recipients have included Phil Kent, president and CEO of Turner Broadcasting System Inc., and Ray Anderson, the former founder and chairman of Interface Inc.
Over the years the Oglethorpe Sword award has gone to people from all sorts of businesses, large and small, well-known and less known, to Americans and to British people.
Go here to obtain a nomination form. For further questions, contact Claire Newman at Claire.newman@fco.gov.uk
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