North Avenue
Highest Honor
7 5 Years Ago A bronze-plated eagle from the prow of the USS Georgia was presented to Georgia Tech. The 4-foot-high eagle and 36foot-long bronze scrollwork from the ship's bow were mounted on the inner wall of the south stands of Grant Field. The ship was launched in 1904 and scrapped as a result of the 1921 Washington Disarmament Conference.
Julian LeCraw receives Alumni Distinguished Service Award By John Dunn
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ulian LeCraw Sr., an Atlanta developer and businessman who served as president of the Georgia Tech Foundation during its $712 million Campaign for Georgia Tech, is the Fall 2001 recipient of the Joseph Mayo Pettit Alumni Distinguished Service Award. It is the highest award conferred by the Georgia Tech Alumni Association and is named for the late Dr. Joseph M. Pettit to honor his accomplishments as president of Tech from 1972 to 1986. LeCraw and his four brothers all earned Tech degrees, following in the footsteps of their father, Roy LeCraw Sr., who attended Tech after World War I. "My father was a wonderful role model for me and my brothers," Julian LeCraw says. The elder LeCraw was elected mayor of Atlanta in 1940, but after Pearl Harbor was attacked and America declared war, he left office to serve in the Army. After the war, he went into the real estate business, then served as an Air Force colonel during the Korean War. Julian LeCraw came to Tech to study management and prepare for a career in real estate. "It has the best background for real estate with courses in management, accounting and marketing." A member of the Chi Phi fraternity, LeCraw attended Tech through the Navy's Holloway program. It was a 12year program that included four years of Naval ROTC, three years of active duty and five years in the Naval Reserves. He was commissioned after graduation in 1952, the same year he married Joanne Sue Delany. They have three grown children and eight grandchildren. Following a three-year tour of duty in the Navy, LeCraw returned to Atlanta and went into business with his father. Several years later, he founded Julian LeCraw & Co.
5 0 Years Ago As Atlanta has developed, so has the company. LeCraw's firm has grown from an entrepreneurial family real estate business to a service-oriented enterprise that includes apartments, hotels, office buildings and shopping centers. "I can remember when Sandy Springs was out in the country and Vinings was another world," LeCraw laughs. "I went to a Boy Scout camp in Vinings that was so far out it took us a day to get there. "Atlanta is so huge," he says. "It's about 60 miles north to south and 60 miles east to west of solid development. Atlanta has unlimited borders, unlimited land and no natural boundaries. It's just going to continue to grow." The major problem Atlanta faces is transportation, LeCraw says. As an alumnus, LeCraw has continued to be involved with the welfare of Georgia Tech. He has served on the National Campaign Steering Committee, the DuPree College of Management Advisory Board and as a member of the Georgia Tech Foundation, serving as president from 1997 to 1999. In addition to his Tech degree, LeCraw received a law degree from the Woodrow Wilson College of Law. He is a founding member and past chairman of the Buckhead Coalition, a group of 75 business executives. He is a past vice chairman of the Fulton County Development Authority. He has served as president of the BellSouth Golf Classic, a Professional Golfers' Association of America tour event.
Student Bob Templeton made a $40 contribution to the World Student Fund for the opportunity to be chauffered on a date by Tech President Blake Van Leer in his Cadillac. When friends chided Templeton there would be "no smooching" that night, Van Leer promised to take Templeton and his date home on a ride through Piedmont Park, where he "couldn't see a thing in the dark."
2 5 Years Ago It was a long way from room 308 in the old Knowles Dormitory in 1942 to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in 1977, but Jimmy Carter made the trip. Carter began serving his term as president of the United States on Jan. 20, 1977. Two Georgia Tech professors — Stan Bailey and James Craig of the School of Aerospace Engineering — designed a mobile solar-heating system for the inaugural reviewing stand to keep Carter warm during the inaugural activities.
Winter 2002 • GEORGIA TECH
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