Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1538147
August/September 2025 | maconmagazine.com 83 I nvitations to a black-tie event almost 30 years ago changed the lives of three local businessmen. Sam Hart Sr. was invited by his friend Bobby Olive, along with Virgil Adams and Billy Pitts to attend a gala held by the 100 Black Men of Atlanta at the Georgia World Congress Center. Besides top-notch entertainment, attendees included former Atlanta mayors Maynard Jackson and Andrew Young, who was then the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Executives from Atlanta-based corporations Georgia Power and Delta Air Lines were also in attendance. Hart and Adams had attended the annual celebration before, but it was the first time for Pitts, who was impressed. "One year, they recognized some of the kids whose school they had adopted and made a commitment that members would pay for their entire education," Pitts said. Some of the young students were brought on stage, and a video was shown in which they shared their experiences of being mentored from fifth grade through high school graduation. The organization also pledged to pay for their college education. It was an emotional experience for the well- dressed partygoers. "It kind of brought tears to our eyes," said Pitts. He and his cohorts stayed in Atlanta overnight and met for breakfast the next morning. Driving home to Macon with their wives, they discussed emulating what the organization had accomplished in Atlanta. Months later, while returning from an Atlanta Falcons game at the Georgia Dome, the men revisited their experience at the gala. ABOVE Members of the 100 Black Men of Macon/Middle Georgia on stage at The Douglass Theatre.