Ever Eagle

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“It’s been so much fun. And I don’t see myself slowing down anytime soon.” That quote tells you everything you need to know about why Mike Sanders (’81) has been named Georgia Southern Alumnus of the Year. His commitment to the University has been long-running and far-reaching, yet he firmly believes he’s gotten more than he’s given.

“I don’t know of a more True Blue member of the Eagle Nation,” says University President Brooks A. Keel, Ph.D. “He’s always there with tireless support for all aspects of the University.”

“Georgia Southern became my home,” says Sanders. He was born and raised in Augusta, Georgia, but his parents moved out of state shortly before he began college. “I started spending summers here,” he says. His Phi Delta Theta fraternity brothers became a second family. He also found a sweetheart among his classmates—Danna (’81), now his wife.

When he graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration in marketing, moved to Atlanta and began a 30-plus-year career in financial services, his Georgia Southern ties remained strong. Today, he is Senior Vice President for Wealth Management with UBS Financial Services. “Our business is named Eagle Creek Wealth Management,” he chuckles. “My partner, Ben Dukes, is also a Georgia Southern graduate.”

Sanders serves on the Georgia Southern Foundation Board of Trustees and is the Investment Committee Chairman, he is also a former Alumni Association Board member as well as a charter member of the Foundation’s 1906 Society. He and Danna are members of the Marvin Pittman Society’s Southern Fellows and the family has endowed two scholarships.

“Mike loves this university, and his involvement is sincere and deep,” notes Salinda Arthur, vice president for University Advancement, and president of the Georgia Southern University Foundation.

The College of Business Administration named him their 2011 Alumnus of the Year, and he is currently a member of the College’s Advisory Council.

Sanders is a member of the Georgia Southern football Transition 20 leadership group, a former Athletic Foundation Board member, and, as a brother of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity, he is active in the current re-colonization of its Georgia Southern chapter.

The Sanders have three grown children, Stephanie, Robbie and Caroline (’13), a Georgia Southern graduate in whom Sanders says the Eagle tradition continues. Though only a recent graduate, Caroline is already involved on the Young Alumni Board with the College of Business. – Lynn Lilly