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Honoree Videos
Prior Honorees
2024
Renée Lewis Glover
Susan Warren
Glenn Warren
2023
J. Veronica Biggins
*Sandra Deal
Governor Nathan Deal
2022
Billye Suber Aaron
Dr. Judy Greer
Virginia Hepner
2021
Dr. H. Allen Ecker
Phil Jacobs
Bishop Woodie W. White
2020
Dr. Carolyn and Coach Bill Curry
Cecelia and David Ratcliffe
2019
Neal Purcell
Ray M. Robinson
Lyn and Bob Turknett
2018
Merritt Steed Bond
Edward J. “Jack” Hardin
Dr. Evelyn Gibson Lowery
Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery
2017
Bishop John H. and
Dr. Dolly D. Adams
Ann Q. Curry
Hank M. Huckaby
2016
Dr. J. David Allen
Lillian Budd Darden
Egbert L. J. Perry
2015
Bill Bolling
Shirley Franklin
Monica Parker, M.D.
2014
Lonnie Ali
Rev. Dr. Don Harp
Linton Hopkins, M.D.
Ingrid Saunders Jones
2013
Vince Dooley
Allan Levey, M.D.
Monica Pearson
2012
Truett Cathy
Ann Cramer
Carl Ware
W.N. “Bill” Wilkins
2011
Frank Broyles
Pat Epps
Sam Massell
2010
Paul S. Amos
Mahlon DeLong, M.D.
Andrew Young
2009
Azira Hill
Jesse Hill
Lou Brown Jewell
Ferrol A. Sams
2008
Walter E. Massey
Colleen O’Brien Nunn
Franklin Skinner
2007
Lee Burge
Harold A. Dawson, Sr.
Alana Smith Shepherd
2006
Dorothy H. Addison
Gay McLawhorn Love
Marvin H. Shoob
Elizabeth Wilson
2005
Henry L. Aaron
Willis Hurst, M.D.
Dr. Berta R. Laney
Dr. James T. Laney
2004
Mary Duckworth Gellerstedt
Clyde Rodbell
Felker W. Ward, Jr.
2003
John E. Aderhold
Jeanne Rolfe Ferst
Horace T. Ward
2002
Bond Fleming
Dorothy C. Fuqua
J.B. Fuqua
Louis W. Sullivan, M.D.
2001
Rosalynn S. Carter
Homer C. Rice
Herman J. Russell
2000
Scott Allen
Leila D. Denmark
Thomas B. Murphy
1999
Ivan Allen, Jr.
Louise Richardson Allen
Elliott Goldstein
1998
Rawson Haverty
Louise McBee
Randolph W. Thrower
1997
Franklin M. Garrett
Beatrice H. Haas
Virlyn B. Moore, Jr.
1996
Elliott Galloway
Daniel H. Magill, Jr.
LeRoy T. Walker
Charles R. Yates
1995
Elmo I. Ellis
Donald L. Hollowell
Frances F. Pauley
1994
William R. Cannon
Rebecca Y. Frazer
Manning M. Pattillo, Jr.
1993
Albert J. Bows
Boisfeuillet Jones
Celestine Sibley
1992
Candler Budd
Martha H. Ellis
George B. Hightower
A.B. Padgett
1991
Henry L. Bowden, Sr.
D.W. Brooks
Selma T. Richardson
1990
Constantin Chatov
Eleanor L. Richardson
Dean Rusk
Elbert P. Tuttle
*Posthumously
About Heroes, Saints & Legends
Heroes, Saints & Legends honors extraordinary individuals who have shaped our community through a lifetime commitment to leadership, service and philanthropy. Funds raised through Heroes, Saints & Legends benefit the mission and ministry of Wesley Woods which includes financial assistance with meals and housing, wellness programming and pastoral care to the older adults living in Wesley Woods communities.
Our 2025 Honorees
Nancy Gordy Simms
Hospitality is a family affair for Atlanta native Nancy Gordy Simms. After her father, Frank Gordy’s death in 1983, Nancy took the reins of the iconic family business – The Varsity. Having never worked at the restaurant before, she donned a hairnet and apron and labored 16 hours a day, shoulder-to-shoulder with staff to earn their respect and learn the ropes of business management.
As the current Chairman of the Board and former CEO for The Varsity Restaurants, her hotdog slinging days may be behind her, but dedication to serving others is still a hallmark of her character. She is a past Board Chair of Feed My Lambs Christian Schools and has served on the Scottish Rite Foundation Board, Fox Theatre Board, Emory Board of Visitors and the Emory Board of Ethics. She is an Emeritus member of the Reinhardt University Board of Trustees. Nancy was named Woman of the Year in 2010 by the Buckhead Girls Club. She is a sustaining member of the Junior League of Atlanta as well as a member of the National Restaurant Association, Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary Club of Atlanta.
Nancy attended Dykes High School and the University of Georgia. She is married to Steven H. Simms. They attend Peachtree Road United Methodist Church. Nancy has passed her passion for hospitality to her three children, nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Patrise M. Perkins-Hooker
Patrise M. Perkins-Hooker has had an extraordinary career. She served as the City Attorney for Atlanta, and was previously the Administrative Partner at Johnson & Freeman, LLC, the County Attorney for Fulton County and the Vice President and General Counsel for the Atlanta BeltLine Inc. She is a former partner with the law firm of Hollowell, Foster & Gepp, PC, a former Managing Partner of Johnson, Freeman & Perkins-Hooker. She also owned her own law firm Patrise Perkins-Hooker & Associates, PC for over 10 years.
Patrise is an honors graduate of Georgia Tech and received her graduate JD and MBA degrees from Emory University Law and Business Schools. She was admitted to the Georgia Bar in 1984 and is the first person of color to be elected President of the State Bar of Georgia. She has served as Chair of the City of Atlanta’s Board of Zoning Adjustment, the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections, the Emory Business School Alumni Association, the Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless Board and the John Marshall Board of Directors.
She has received numerous honors for her service to the legal profession and the community, and been selected as one of the 500 Most Powerful Leaders in Atlanta in the Governmental and Politics Arena by Atlanta Magazine (2021-2025) and was honored by the Fulton County Daily Report for running one of the Top In-House Law firms in Georgia in 2019.
Patrise is married to Douglas R. Hooker. They have two children, eight grandchildren and one great grandchild.
Take a look at Patrise M. Perkins-Hooker's honoree video.
Douglas R. Hooker
Doug Hooker has had an extraordinary career in Atlanta, working for both private and public sector organizations. He retired as the Executive Director of the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) in 2022 and is currently a Special Professor of Practice in the Urban Studies Institute of the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, based in Georgia State University.
Doug possesses a robust background in community service and currently holds the position of Chair of the Board at the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, as well as board seats on the boards of commissioners for the Atlanta Housing Authority, the Fox Theatre, the Cornerstone Jazz Collective, LLC., and Sandy Spring Media, LLC.
He earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Georgia Institute of Technology and holds a Master of Business Administration from Emory University’s Goizueta School of Business. He is a distinguished alumnus of multiple leadership programs, including Leadership Georgia, the Regional Leadership Institute, Leadership Atlanta, and the Institute for Georgia Environmental Leadership, and has received many awards for his community contributions and leadership.
His principal hobby is music; he plays the oboe, sings with the Trey Clegg Singers, and is a prolific composer. Another major hobby is travel with his wife, having traveled to all seven continents and all 50 states in the USA. He is married to Atlanta native, Patrise Perkins-Hooker, a successful attorney, and community leader who is also an alumna of Georgia Tech and Emory University.
Take a look at Douglas R. Hooker's honoree video.