Grants awarded by the board are:
• $5,000 to Andalusia in Milledgeville for restoration work on the farm’s milk shed;
• $10,434.50 to Old City Cemetery/Washington County Historic Society in Sandersville for tomb repairs;
• $6,240 to Gordon: A New Beginning in Gordon for grave restoration in the Gordon City Cemetery;
• $5,000 to Georgia’s Old Capital Museum in Milledgeville for plaster restoration in the Brown-Stetson-Sanford House; and
• $4,250 to Old School Museum in Eatonton for exhibition cases and document preservation.

The Milledgeville Junior Board was established in October of 2006 through a $43,000 grant from Watson-Brown Foundation, for operations and funding allocated to fund preservation projects selected and approved by the board. The grant is renewable on a yearly basis.

"The board has the authority to award money in any allotment to preservation projects that they deem worthy," said Jim Turner, Old Governor’s Mansion director. "These Junior Board members not only learn the value of historic preservation, but also philanthropy."

The 13-member board functions as part of the educational programming at the Old Governor's Mansion, a unit of Georgia College & State University.

The Junior Board is made up of high school students who demonstrate a passion for historic preservation, are active in the community, have good academic standing, and have strong references from teachers.

Members of this year's board are John Felt of Eatonton, Katherine Lacksen and Jacob Pounds, both of Sparta; Justin Shiver of Gray; Trey Veal of Warthen; and Christina Azahar, Mitch Beall, Natali Gavanarove, Clara Gilbert, Megan Gillis, Kerry McGill, Caitlin McNeill, Kyle Walker, all of Milledgeville.

The board divided into teams and visited historic sites and preservation proposals, then presented their selected projects to the rest of the board for consideration and funding approval.

“I am especially proud of this year’s board of very motivated and gifted students who facilitated these grants,” said Matt Davis, coordinator of the Junior Board project and curator at The Old Governor’s Mansion. “I’m quite proud of the professionalism and dedication that was shown.”

The junior board is patterned after the junior board of trustees of the Watson-Brown Foundation. Tad Brown, president of the Watson-Brown Foundation, said the original idea to involve high school students began seven years ago in an effort to influence youth philanthropy.

Building on that mission, the Foundation formed a team of talented high school students and charged it with preserving history in the Central Savannah River Area of Georgia.

Since that time, the self-perpetuating junior board has awarded more than $60,000.00 in historic preservation grants, said Brown in an earlier press release about the board.

"It is important for the students to operate out of a historic environment," said Brown, "and equally important for them to benefit from the knowledge of their mentoring curators and educators."

Turner is proud of the Junior Board’s accomplishments and Davis’ guidance.

“I continue to be very grateful to the Watson Brown Foundation for their generous support of he Junior Board,” Turner said. “The board remains one of our most important educational outreach programs.”

The Old Governor's Mansion is a part of Extended University at Georgia College & State University, a unit of the university's Academic Affairs Division.

For more information about this program contact Jim Turner, director, or Matt Davis, curator and coordinator of the Junior Board project at (478) 445-4545.