THE EVOLUTION OF THE GEORGIA PIONEERS

Mention the AT&T Telecom Pioneers to almost anyone in the state of Georgia and chances are he or she will know whom you are talking about, and may even be a member.

 

The Pioneers are a group of active employees and retirees from the telecommunications industry who have joined together to make their communities better places in which to live and work.

The Dixie Chapter was established in Atlanta May 25, 1923. By 1938, smaller subsidiary groups, called Councils, were established in Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Macon and Savannah.

Because of Dixie's extraordinary growth, the Dogwood Chapter was formed in 1974. This chapter included all of metropolitan Atlanta, while the Dixie Chapter served the rest of the state.

Another Chapter was added in 1985 because of growing membership. The new chapter was called the Century chapter because it was the 100th chapter to be developed.

 

This Chapter consisted of various AT&T companies in the Atlanta metropolitan area. In July 1995, the Dixie and Dogwood Chapters added the BellSouth name to the chapters and branched off from the Century Chapter.

But what goes around, comes around. On July 1, 1996, the two BellSouth chapters were combined to become the BellSouth Georgia Telephone Pioneer Chapter #124.

The volunteer spirit was truly alive during the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in Atlanta. More than 1,500 BellSouth volunteers from across the nine-state region volunteered that summer. The majority hailed from Georgia.

The National Telephone Pioneers named the Georgia Chapter Regional Chapter of the Year for 1996-1997. Its accomplishments included:

Leading the nation in the number of Junior Achievement classes taught by one Pioneer chapter, reaching 5,300
school children in 226 classes.

Distributing 750,000 litter bags with the BellSouth Pioneer Volunteers logo to benefit the environment during the Olympics.

Conducting an inventory of Georgia's river basins for the Georgia Environmental Organization to use in a handbook that was to be distributed to local and state government agencies and the media.

Following the merger between BellSouth and AT&T in December 2006, the Pioneers from those two companies joined forces.  The Georgia Chapter is the second largest chapter in the southeast region.  There are now 22 AT&T Georgia Pioneer clubs and councils and its 22,000 membership includes more than 5,500 regular members and 16,500 life members.

Although its structure may change, the AT&T Pioneers remain committed to supporting a broad base of community service programs centering on education, the environment, health, human services and life enrichment.