Whitfield County Native Receives
Prestigious Governor’s Award
Dr. Ellen Keith Thompson, a lifelong resident of Whitfield County, has been selected as one of only ten recipients in the State of Georgia for the prestigious 2018 Governor’s Awards for the Arts and Humanities.
The presentation was made by Governor Nathan Deal and First Lady Sandra Deal in an impressive ceremony on Tuesday, October 9, 2018 at the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta.
The Governor’s Awards are presented annually by the Georgia Humanities Council in partnership with the Georgia Council for the Arts and the Office of the Governor to recognize individuals and organizations that have demonstrated a significant commitment to the civic or cultural vitality of the state.
The selection of Dr. Thompson for this distinguished honor caps nearly a half-century of educational and community service in Whitfield and Murray Counties.
Dr. Thompson’s career in education spanned a remarkable 40 years of service in Whitfield and Murray County Schools. Her positions record the success of her long and effective career: classroom teacher, system resource teacher of the gifted, director of language arts, gifted, fine arts, foreign languages, and ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) programs, and fifteen years as Varnell Elementary School principal.
Throughout her career in education Dr. Thompson was an enthusiastic promoter of programs that emphasized arts and humanities for students. She was a prime advocate and campaigner for inclusion of both fine arts and performing arts in the schools, initiating projects and policies that continue today to benefit thousands of students and the northwest Georgia community.
Ellen Thompson’s long and distinguished record in volunteer work is equally as impressive, both in her community and in the state. The range of organizations in which she has served in major leadership roles affirms her strong commitment to the arts and the humanities.
Thompson was a charter member of the 1976 reorganization of the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society, and continues to play an active and energetic role in the Society. Today the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society is a vibrant part of the Whitfield-Murray community, and is one of the most successful historical societies in Georgia. It owns, has restored, maintains, and successfully manages eight beautiful historic properties, far exceeding property responsibilities of most communities its size.
For decades Dr. Thompson has been a passionate advocate of the O.N. Jonas Foundation, an organization that sponsors the performance and visual arts in local schools. She has long been a champion of the preservation and promotion of Prater’s Mill and a valuable leader of Lesche, the oldest women’s literary club in the state. For five years she served on the statewide Georgia Humanities Council. And, she has been a supporter of the Dalton Little Theatre, serving in many roles, including board member and (currently) trustee.
A crowning achievement by Dr. Ellen Thompson came to fruition in December 2016. Her love of local history, literary talents, and educational career came together in the publication of Historic Photographs of the Whitfield County Schools. Covering a century of the county’s school history from the 1870s to the 1970s, this magnificent 543-page volume is the product of 30 years of research.
Dr. Ellen Thompson received her early education from Dalton Public Schools, the B.A. and M.S. degrees in English from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and the Ph.D. in educational administration and supervision from Georgia State University in Atlanta. She is married to Art Thompson, and has three children, Bryn, Graham, and Sarah, and eight grandchildren.
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