Our Founder
Our Founder
Rev. David H. Nunnally, Sr.
There are a few people who have had as much drive, determination and dedication as the late Rev. David H. Nunnally, Sr. Rev. Nunnally's commitment to his community spanned over 60 years beginning with his entrance into Tuskegee University. While there, he served as Leader & President of the Tuskegee Institute Red Cross Chapter, providing student volunteer services weekly. Although he abhorred violence, he was drafted in the Korean War and agreed to serve upon consulting the guidance of his mentor, the education and civil rights giant Dr. Benjamin E. Mays. Upon returning to Athens he continued his involvement with the Red Cross, serving as secretary of the Athens Chapter under the guidance of Dean Tate. Afterwards he continued to work tirelessly, simultaneously volunteering in various capacities throughout Athens.
One of 14 children, Rev. Nunnally was especially dedicated to youth and to education. He taught at both the Rosenwald School and the E.D. Stroud School. He also served as the Athens representative for the NDEA Desegregation Institute in 1957 and served as camp coordinator of the Phyllis Wheatley Association. In his later years, Rev. Nunnally served as a member of the Clarke County Board of Education, serving 10 years before stepping down due to health concerns. He could be found encouraging you in his work with the Boy Scouts of America (an organization with which he was affiliated with from 1961 until his death in 2015. He was one of the founding members of the Athens area alumni chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and helped start a chapter on the UGA campus in 1969. Rev. Nunnally's volunteer efforts included the Butler street YMCA, NE GA Advisory Committee, Athens Lions Club, Veterans of Foreign War, Georgia Human Relations Council, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Clarke County Heart Fund, March of Dimes, Heritage Nursing Home and the Reach Out & Touch Club among others.
In 1979, Rev. Nunnally implemented a series of programs designed to keep the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. alive. He sought out others who had a similar vision. It was then that he founded the organization known as the Athens Area Human Relations Council (AAHRC). Perhaps the truest testament to Rev. Nunnally's character and persistence is the story of the organization's first banquet. Because the Council was in its infancy, there was no money to purchase food or to rent a banquet hall. Never one to be deterred, Rev. Nunnally approached the manager of Bells Food Market to explain the predicament and to see if he would allow him to get the food supply on credit. Knowing Rev. Nunnally's previous good works in the community, the manager simply turned to the cashier and said, "Give him anything he needs." With the food in place, he went on to find a couple who volunteered to prepare the meal free of charge; and the pastor of First A.M.E. Church volunteered the church's fellowship hall as the banquet site. More than forty years later the AAHRC still hosts an annual banquet which is used to award scholarships to students and community service awards to volunteers.
This is a powerful statement on what one can accomplish when one applies action to a hope and a dream. Rev. Nunnally was once questioned on his belief that it was never too late to do anything. He simply replied, "When you have too much time to do something, that just gives you more time to mess it up." All told, Rev. Nunnally was the embodiment of all the attributes which on admires in a community leader. He constantly found new challenges and endlessly continued to give support to those in need.
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Your kind donation to the AAHRC will surely go toward our Mission of "promoting a better quality of life for all mankind."
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