Liberty County Board of Education Chairwoman Lily Baker will be recognized Thursday for her business contributions during the Georgia Summit of African-American Business Organizations in Atlanta.
Baker is one of five professionals being honored at the African-American Business Enterprise Day conference, which chronicles stories of success, discusses challenges and charts plans for building stronger and more profitable African-American businesses and partnerships.
Baker said she was unsure who nominated her for the honor, but state Rep. Al Williams, D-Midway, told her that the group honors community members each year who make efforts to support black contractors.
“I try to help everybody, the little man — it doesn’t matter the color of the skin. I’m a firm believer that to whom much is given, much is required,” she said. “I’m honored, but I’m shocked at the same time, because what I do, I don’t do it for recognition.”
She said she tries to inform people and ensure that contractor selection decisions are made in a fair, equal and balanced way — but that she believes the honor is one the entire board of education deserves.
“To me, I see it more as honoring the board, because it’s all of us who work together — I’m not the board, I’m just one member of seven, and we all try to do things that are fair and equal,” she said. “When I accept this, I will accept it in honor of the entire body.”
Baker, the first African-American to serve as chairwoman of the county’s BoE, has received awards previously from the Martin Luther King Jr. Observance Day Committee and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, according to the press release announcing her recognition.