Cecil L. Collins (April 21, 1926 – September 30, 2007) was the former Mayor of North Augusta, South Carolina,

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, from 1967 to 1971 and a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1972 to 1977. He was born and raised in Fort Valley, Georgia,

, and served in the Naval Air Corps during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He attended the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

and graduated in 1950 with a degree in

agronomy Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and ...

. Collins opened up the first wholesale florist in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navig ...

, in 1954, which is still being run by three of his sons (Georgia State Floral Distributors). His civic activities included the Optimist Club, Dixie Youth Baseball, American Legion Post 71, Grace United Methodist Church, The University of Georgia Heritage Society, as well as co-chairing the

North Augusta High School North Augusta High School is a four-year public high school located in North Augusta, South Carolina. Approximately 1,500 students attend the school. The school offers over thirty student organizations. North Augusta is an AP Magnet School and i ...

Stadium fund raising committee. He was awarded the highest honor given by the state of South Carolina, the Order of the Palmetto, for his dedication and leadership to his constituents. In addition to his political and civic work, Collins permanently endowed a fund at the University of Georgia within the Department of Horticulture.

References

* Augusta Chronicle, October 3, 2007 * Aiken Standard, October 3, 2007 * UGA Gift & Estate Planning, Professional Advisory Reference, 4/22/2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Cecil 1926 births 2007 deaths People from Fort Valley, Georgia Mayors of places in South Carolina Members of the South Carolina House of Representatives 20th-century American legislators People from North Augusta, South Carolina United States Navy personnel of World War II University of Georgia alumni