Dr. Steve Wesley Batson

Steve W. Batson, Ed.D., CFRE, a devoted husband and father, passed away Saturday, April 7, at the home he shared with his wife, Kathleen “Kathy” Batson, in Albany, Georgia. He was 71. A celebration of his remarkable life will be held on Saturday, April 21, at Kimbrell-Stern, 1503 Dawson Road, in Albany. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., and a memorial service will follow at 11 a.m. William Collins, minister to senior adults at Porterfield Memorial United Methodist Church, will officiate. Born Aug. 20, 1946 in Wilmington, North Carolina, Dr. Batson was the son of Mildred and John Batson. They raised him in the Macon, Georgia area, where he raced go-carts, read as many books as he could get his hands on and pursued his passion for science and education. He earned his bachelor’s degree in biology and psychology at Mercer University in Macon and specialist in education and master of education degrees in biology at Georgia College in Milledgeville. While earning his degrees, he served as a part-time biology laboratory instructor and also a secondary administrator and science instructor. He made a lasting impression on his students, who remember him as a respectful teacher and mentor who taught them important lessons about science and life both in the classroom and on canoe trips in the Okefenokee Swamp. Dr. Batson began his administrative career in higher education in 1979 at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, where he served as assistant vice president for academic affairs and director of institutional research. In 1982, he moved to Commerce, Texas to serve as assistant to the president and director of planning at East Texas State University. There, he met his beautiful wife and best friend, Kathy. They married in 1985 and he became father to her two children, Meredith and James Raine. He went on to serve as director of facilities planning and instructor of educational administration at East Texas State before becoming vice president of planning and institutional advancement at West Virginia State College and executive director of West Virginia State College Research and Development Corporation. While in West Virginia, he earned his doctor of education from the University of Georgia in Athens. His years of hard work, dreaming and planning also earned him a 1979 Hammond motorboat, which he named the Georgia Lady. For more than two decades, while listening to the tunes of Jimmy Buffett, Reba McEntire and other country music artists, he navigated the Georgia Lady through rivers, lakes and coastal waters in West Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, Maryland and Virginia. After his son joined the U.S. Coast Guard in 1996, Dr. Batson became a volunteer with the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, clocking hundreds of support hours. In support of his love for being on the open waters with the Georgia Lady, his wife joined him as a volunteer. In 1998, they returned to Dr. Batson’s roots in Georgia, where he continued to advance his career as a leader in education and philanthropy at Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus, the Camp Coca-Cola Foundation in Atlanta and Darton College in Albany. From 2000 to 2001, he served as chair of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), the world’s largest organization for fundraisers. As chair-elect, he oversaw AFP’s strategic plan and name change from National Society of Fund Raising Professionals. Under his leadership, the highly successful Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) certification was made an independent organization. He also chaired the Governance Taskforce for AFP and was honored in 2002 by the Georgia Education Advancement Council with its Distinguished Service Award for Educational Fundraising. Dr. Batson marked the end of his professional career as a senior consultant with Cargill Associates, where he worked with nonprofit organizations on strategic planning, board development, fundraising and public relations. He is preceded in death by his parents, Mildred and John Batson, and beloved family pets, Dixie, Sasha and Mollie. He is survived by his wife, Kathy, who was by his side until the end; daughter Meredith Raine and her partner Michael Cothran of Houston, Texas; son James Raine, daughter-in-law Jennifer Raine and grandchildren Sage, Ava and Waylon of Williamsburg, Virginia; and one very affectionate black Labrador named Lucy. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in honor of Dr. Batson to Phoebe Hospice, 320 Foundation Lane, Albany, Georgia 31707 or at phoebehealth.com/hospice/.

Dr. Steve Wesley Batson

August 20, 1946 - April 7, 2018