BYRON HERBERT REECE SOCIETY

Boy and Deer

Over the white, the frozen ground

With cautious step the deer came down.

The boy who had come to be

Alone with cloud and rock and tree

Suddenly saw the deer and hid

To see what that proud creature did.

But the sharp snapping of a limb

Made the proud deer aware of him

Kindred two, each watcher stood

With perfect stillness in the wood,

Each seeing each with mild surprise,

And each with wonder in his eyes.

For an unknown host of people who have come to appreciate the writings of one of the South's most gifted literary figures, the formation of the Byron Herbert Reece Society is truly an idea whose time has come. This is our story to date.

The primary impetus for the organization of such a society came from the Chattahoochee Oconee Forest Interpretive Association. Some years ago, James and Frances Mathis of Gainesville, organizers of the Association, entrusted to the Association ownership of the Reece property on Wolf Creek in Union County. The Association began to seek ways to effect good custodianship of this valuable historic site, including the kind of care and utilization that would ensure its proper preservation and availability to all persons interested in Reece's life and contributions. At length it was determined that a Byron Herbert Reece Society could become a principal agent in this quest, as well as a catalyst for promoting other aspects of Reece's legacy.

In the fall of 2002 the Society approached John Kay, professor emeritus of religion and philosophy at Young Harris College, and asked him to chair an ad hoc steering committee charged with the responsibility of organizing and initiating such a society. This endeavor received the endorsement of such groups as local politicians, Georgia State Parks & Historic Sites, Friends of Georgia State Parks & Historic Sites, Georgia Department of Industry, Trade & Tourism, Young Harris College, and of course, the Chattahoochee Oconee Forest Interpretive Association.

Dr. Kay immediately recruited eight interested people to form the committee. Bud Hill, a Union County resident and Reece fan, was elected vice-chair, and Dawn Lamade, chief librarian at Young Harris College, was named the secretary. Other members are: Charles Hill of Blairsville, a former student of Reece; Lamar Paris, Union County Commissioner; Joe Satterfield, general manager of Blue Ridge Mountain EMC; Bettie Sellers of Young Harris, a Reece scholar and biographer; Cheryl Smith, Northeast Georgia Mountains Tourism Representative, Georgia Department of Industry, Trade & Tourism; and Fleming Weaver of Gainesville, vice-chair of the Chattahoochee Oconee Forest Interpretive Association.

After nine months of planning, the Society was officially launched in an organizational meeting of the Board of Directors and Advisory Council which was held at Young Harris College on July 12, 2003. Officers of the Society were elected (listed on the Officers, Board of Directors & Advisory Council page), and committees were formed. The committees are being activated, and soon a number of the broad goals of the Society will be pursued in earnest. Charter membership enlistment is underway. The Byron Herbert Reece Society has become a reality!