2010 candidate for Lt. Governor speaks in chapel
By Tannika King - Faculty
Carol Porter, the 2010 Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor and the general manager of nine Georgia newspapers and one TV station, gave some sound advice to Upper School students in chapel today.
“Find your passion and make it your job,” she said. “A dream without a passion is just a dream. Write your plan down and then work it.”
It seems that Porter has done just that. In addition to her aforementioned accomplishments, she is a business owner and a syndicated newspaper columnist. Her cookbook column, which is published in The Macon Telegraph, is not only about cooking, but also has a social media connection. She is also an artist and says she is looking forward to the opening of her first one-woman gallery show this September at The Macon Arts Alliance. Her work is represented by the Oculmgee Arts Gallery in Macon.
“I asked Mrs. Porter to come to Darlington not only because of her political and journalistic accomplishments, but also because she attended a boarding school and has gone on to do wonderful things because of her boarding experience,” said senior Austin Spooner.
Porter was born in rural Wrightsville, Ga., and spent much of her childhood going on house calls with her father, William Asa Dodd, the only country doctor in an area with no hospital. She says that visiting with the families and playing with the children of her father’s patients gave her a first-hand view of life in a variety of social and economic situations. Her mother, Louise, a school teacher and cookbook author, taught her about the important role of education and the doors it can open. Through these experiences, Porter says she came to realize that what separates most Georgians is neither demographics nor geography, but differences in economic and educational opportunities.
After attending Woodward Academy, she went on to college at the University of Georgia, where she graduated with a degree in psychology. She began her career as a copywriter at The Courier Herald in Dublin, Ga.
Porter is an active volunteer and civic leader. She served as a Cub Scout pack leader for a group of underprivileged children and later founded a local chapter of the Boys & Girls Club. She was also a member of Erin Garden Club, Dublin Service League and Moms in Touch Prayer Group. She was a member of the Leadership Georgia Class of 1985 and president of the parent’s association at Stratford Academy, her sons’ school. She is also a past board member of the Dublin-Laurens Chamber of Commerce.
Porter uses her artistic talent to benefit community and state organizations. Money raised by just one of her projects led to the endowment of a non-profit foundation for the arts at the Dublin Campus of Middle Georgia College. She has donated art, raising more than $20,000 for multiple non-profit organizations. She also served as president of Georgia Citizens for the Arts.
Porter has four sons, Stephen, Guyton, Asa and Inman, all Eagle Scouts. She and her family are active members of First United Methodist Church in Dublin, where she currently serves on the Administrative Board, the Worship Committee, and as a Sunday School Teacher for the Second Door Adult Bible Class every third Sunday.
