ATLANTA (March 9, 2022) – Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP (SGR) is pleased to announce that Partner Edward J. (“Jack”) Hardin has been selected as the 2022 recipient of the Buckhead Rotary Club’s Annual Rev. Robert Ross Johnson Humanitarian Award. Since 2000, the Buckhead Rotary Club has honored a non-Buckhead Rotarian who exemplifies the Rotary motto of “Service Above Self” and who has made a significant contribution to humanitarian efforts in the community. The award was presented to Mr. Hardin on March 7 for his decades-long advocacy for the homeless, including indigent defense.
Mr. Hardin serves the community at large as the Chairman of the Fulton County Board of Health, Co-Chair of the Regional Commission on Homelessness, President of the Georgia Legal Services Foundation, and Chairman (and founder) of the Gateway Center, a homeless services center. Additionally, he is a member of the Boards of Grady Memorial Hospital Corporation and Partners for Home, Inc., as well as Vice Chairman of the Board of Georgia Works! Inc., a residential workforce program for the chronically homeless and a non-profit affordable housing provider. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a former Chair of the Board of Directors of the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta, a former Chairman of the Board of the Harvard Center for the Study of World Religions, and a former Chairman of the Board of Paideia School, Inc.
Due to his extensive service, Mr. Hardin has been the recipient of numerous community service awards, including the 2019 Mercy Moves through Me Award; the 2018 Ben F. Johnson, Jr. Public Service Award; 2018 Heroes, Saints and Legends Award; 2018 VEO Hero Impact Award from the Veterans Empowerment Organization; and the Atlanta Business Chronicle named him one of Atlanta’s Most Admired CEOs for 2017. In 2016, he received the Leadership Character Award from the Turknett Leadership Group and the Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership. Other awards include the Justice Robert Benham Lifetime Achievement Award for Community Service from the State Bar of Georgia and the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism; the Emory Public Interest Committee (EPIC) Inspiration Award for Lifetime Commitment to Public Service; the Elbert P. Tuttle Jurisprudence Award from the Anti-Defamation League; the Centurion Award from Travelers Aid of Metropolitan Atlanta; the Alexis de Tocqueville Award by the United Way’s de Tocqueville Society; and Visionary Award by the Georgia Budget and Policy Institution.
Mr. Hardin is a partner in SGR’s Corporate Practice specializing in corporate law and governance, as well as banking and financial institutional law. He is also currently Chairman of the Board of Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc., a real estate investment trust (REIT).
About the Rotary Club of Buckhead
Chartered March 23, 1951, it was the mission of the Rotary Club of Buckhead charter members to successfully execute multi-faceted, highly-visible programs and activities designed to contribute substantially to the ideals and aims of Rotary. For more information, please visit www.buckheadrotary.com.
About Smith Gambrell Russell
SGR is a full service, international law firm that advises regional, national and global businesses on a wide range of legal matters. The firm’s 270 attorneys provide legal counsel in more than 45 specialized practice areas, including corporate transactions, litigation, intellectual property, aviation, banking, real estate, construction, employment law, and employee benefits and executive compensation. Founded in 1893, SGR has offices in Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Jacksonville, London, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Southampton, and Washington, D.C.