Macon Magazine

C h a r l e s R i c h a r d s o n H E R O E S A M O N G U S Af te r a r e s p e c te d c a r e e r i n j o u r n a l i s m , h i s fo c u s i s t u r n e d to w a r d s u p l i f t i n g t h e c o m m u n i t y. STORY BY ELDREDGE MCCREADY | PHOTOS BY MATT ODOM get the Board of Regents to approve those kind of expenditures. We have a beautiful campus. We now have five campuses: Cochran, Eastman, Dublin, Warner Robins, and Macon. And if you want to say six campuses, [for] our aviation campus in Macon, we also operate at the Macon Regional Airport. Once our aviation students graduate, they are already FAA [Federal Aviation Administration] certified. They go to Delta and United Airlines, and they are on their way. Since 2014, Blake has led the institution through its transition from a state college to a regional university, transforming the campus aesthetically and academically. Anyone not in Macon-Bibb who reads like a hero to you? On a statewide level, one of my heroes is Michael Thurmond. The son of a sharecropper, he just lost the Democratic primary for governor. But I don't think there is anybody in the race, on the Republican side or Democratic side, that can match his qualifications. He's an attorney, has been a state representative, state labor commissioner, chief executive officer of DeKalb [County], DeKalb County Schools superintendent, and he's an Readiness program for the past 17 years. He also just starts these things. When you drive by Central High School now, there's a visual sign outside the school, and he spent his own money to do it. They didn't have that before. He has opened up a premium clothes closet, where he's received overrun merchandise from various manufacturers and corporations, like Nike. You can do your shopping, and it doesn't cost you anything. He has even opened it up for teachers so you can get what you need. Jackson went to Central High and played football. He attended Bethune- Cookman College to play football. After graduation, he earned a defensive back position with the Denver Broncos of the NFL. Can you imagine? He came back home from the Denver Broncos, and he didn't sit on his butt — he went to work. It's something he likes to do and is motivated to do. He did a day out for caregivers, where he paid for them to get their hair and nails done, and it didn't cost them anything. Give me another example. Dr. Christopher Blake, our president at Middle Georgia State, is a leader. You look around at these buildings now, most of them have happened under his watch. You have to have some gumption to e was born and raised in Stockton, California, but Charles Richardson has spent most of his adult life in Macon. In that time, he's become one of Macon-Bibb County's most recognizable civic leaders in a variety of positions over his 44 years. Currently, he works part-time as the community liaison for the Office of the President at Middle Georgia State University. He's worked with MGA for 18 years, previously as Artist in Residence. Richardson's journalism career spanned print, radio, and television, most notably as the opinion page editor at the Macon Telegraph. What makes a hero to you? People who do something that generally costs them something. They do it because they're motivated to do it and generally they don't get paid for it. Can you cite any local examples? To me, a local hero is someone like Roger Jackson, who runs the Motivating Youth Foundation. He doesn't have to do it, nobody asked him to do it. He doesn't get paid to do it, and it has affected many young people. Some of those young people have gone on to do some great things. Jackson runs an after-school program in East Macon and an Adult H 36 maconmagazine.com | August/September 2026

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