Blue Ridge Campus names building David E. Ralston Hall
David Ralston made Georgia come to Blue Ridge last Wednesday, July 30, just as he had done countless times during his years of service under the Gold Dome in Atlanta.
Memories of the late Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives echoed across the University of North Georgia (UNG) Blue Ridge Campus as past and present elected officials, assorted dignitaries, family and friends gathered for the official ribbon cutting ceremony of the David E. Ralston Hall.
The $15 million, 22,427 square foot expansion on the campus exists for one simple fact.
“This campus wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for David Ralston,” State Senator Steve Gooch said following the official ceremony.
Guests had listened as one speaker after another paid tribute to Ralston’s vision, determination and dedication to his North Georgia roots and the whole state.
UNG President Michael Shannon said Ralston’s legacy lives on “in every life this building will touch,” complimented by the first bachelor degrees being added to the offerings at the campus.
David’s son, Matt Ralston, talked of the approach his late father carried with him in his personal and professional life — an approach that was the same in both.
“He taught value and attention to detail even if no one is watching what you’re doing ... because it’s the right thing to do,” Matt said of his father.
The late Speaker “understood the community’s needs no matter the situation because he listened,” Matt Ralston said, telling how he and his sister were taught they could not listen if they were talking.
Matt Ralston told of how his father believed that issues could be addressed by public servants with “honor, vision and civility.”
The UNG building that now carries the late Speaker’s name is “a vital representation of the core that Dad had,” Ralston said.
Fannin County native and Ralston’s chief of staff, Spiro Amburn, said Ralston would not be a “fan” of a building named after him.
“Sorry, David,” Amburn joked.
Amburn remembered when Ralston first took the idea of a university campus in Blue Ridge to University of Georgia System Chancellor Hank Huckaby in 2012. Amburn himself said he thought at the time it was a “nice idea,” but one likely to never happen.
Ralston made it happen. He was “determined to see students who lived here have a chance to stay at home,” Amburn said. “He never forgot his roots, nor the people who sent him to Atlanta.”
Gooch, in his official remarks, remembered how Ralston “fought for this university every day he was in Atlanta. We want to continue to support this university,” Gooch said.
Current Speaker of the Georgia House John Burns said, “David Ralston believed higher education leads Georgians.” He called Ralston a “giant of a public servant” with a heart and vision for Georgia.
Burns said a story untold is a story forgotten. He said the impact UNG will have in Blue Ridge, carrying Ralston’s legacy forward, will keep “the cherished memories of our friend David Ralston alive for years to come.”
Sonny Perdue, a former Georgia governor and now chancellor of the University System of Georgia, echoed Ralston’s dedication to his home and education and how he worked tirelessly to improve educational opportunities in the mountains he loved.
Gov. Brian Kemp called Ralston, “One of Georgia’s truly greatest statesmen (whose) drive helped us shape the great state of Georgia ... He believed in the potential of this region.”
“We could have let everybody tell these stories,” Shannon said, reflecting on Ralston’s dedication, values and legacy. Because everyone attending the ceremony would have had their own David Ralston story.
By Glenn Harbison, News-Observer