2025 Sarah Turner Butler Heritage Award: Florene Calvin Dawkins

The Sarah Turner Butler Heritage Award, named for our former President and Chairman of the Board, is the Historic Columbus Foundation’s highest honor, awarded annually since 1984 to an individual or organization for outstanding contributions to historic preservation in our city and region through demonstrated leadership and commitment to the mission of Historic Columbus. This year’s recipient joins the distinguished company of previous Sarah Turner Butler Award recipients.

Sarah Turner Butler

Sarah Turner Butler Heritage Award Recipients

1984 Sarah Turner Butler

1985 Emily Woodruff

1986 F. Clason Kyle

1987 Edward W. Neal

1988 W.C. Bradley Company

1989 Janice P. Biggers

1990 TSYS – The Depot

1991 Columbus Bank & Trust – Uptown Center

1992 J. Barnett Woodruff

1993 Brown Nicholson, Jr.

1994 Rozier T. Dedwylder

1995 Beverly S. Taylor

1996 Citizens of Columbus, Georgia – Olympics, 1996

1997 Dr. John S. Lupold

1998 Community Projects Foundation, Inc. – The Columbus Challenge

1999 J. Edward Sprouse

2000 Frank T. Schnell

2001 Thomas S. Gates

2002 Dr. and Mrs. M. Garrett Pound

2003 Mr. and Mrs. Paul D. Lindquist

2004 Charlotte M. Frazier

2005 Virginia T. Peebles

2006 Edward C. Burdeshaw

2007 Columbus State University

2008 Kenneth H. Thomas, Jr.

2009 Mason H. Lampton

2010 Dr. and Mrs. Philip T. Schley

2011 Historic District Preservation Society

2012 J. Kyle Spencer

2013 John T. Turner

2014 C. Dexter Jordan, Jr.

2015 Siavosh Etemadi

2016 Dr. and Mrs. Lloyd B. Sampson

2017 Sara B. Hatcher

2018 Kenneth W. Nelms

2019 William W. Winn

2020 Columbus Housing Authority

2021 No Award Presented

2022 Mary B. Bradley

2023 George G. Flowers

2024 Kenneth M. Henson, Jr.

2025 Florene C. Dawkins

Florene Dawkins arrived in Columbus in the late 1970s, bringing with her the culture and warmth of her hometown of Hot Springs, Arkansas. Surrounded by music, art, and history from an early age, she carried those passions with her and shared them generously with her new hometown.

A proud graduate of Lincoln University of Missouri, where she earned her bachelor’s degree, and then to Columbus State University, where she earned her master’s in education, Florene has devoted more than 38 years to the Muscogee County School District and has made significant contributions to public education. First as an elementary reading teacher and later a high school history teacher, her teaching career has culminated in her role as a community liaison for the district's Communities in Schools Program, where she currently works to address the challenges faced by underserved students.

Florene's influence has extended far beyond the classroom. She has poured her time, talent, and heart into this community through her deep involvement in the arts, historic preservation, and civic service. She has served on numerous local boards, including the Urban League, the Columbus Community Center, the Columbus Art Association, the Friends of Ma Rainey, Historic Columbus, and The Columbus Museum.

Florene also helped many years ago to restore a large collection of paintings by artist Thomas Jefferson Flanagan when the pieces were added to the collection of the W.C. Bradley Company. She worked with Fred Fussell and the Turner family to see that the paintings were professionally restored. Flanagan had lived on the Bradley Farms as a boy and later in his life painted numerous images on canvas of memories of his young life there.

A few of the works had not been treated well over the years before being acquired by the Bradley Company, they were little more than shreds and tatters. On first glance they appeared to be beyond hope. But that fact, as Fred Fussell soon learned, created only a mild challenge for Florene Dawkins. Her attitude, then and always, was not one of accepting defeat. She rose to the challenge and saw to it that the Flanagan collection was brought into prime condition, saving for posterity a stellar group of 20th Century memory paintings.

Florene joined the effort to save the Ma Rainey House in 1995 thanks to the encouragement of then-Mayor Pro-Tem A.J. McClung. This was four years after the city of Columbus and the Columbus Housing Authority saved the home from demolition by purchasing it and stabilizing the structure from falling over on its side. Florene spoke with Congressman Sanford Bishop to help find funding for the renovation. She filled out the immense amount of paperwork for the Save America’s Treasures Grant and convinced the city to match the funds in order for the $300,000 project to happen.

As President of the Friends of Ma Rainey, Florene has led a 30-year effort to restore the home of the legendary “Mother of the Blues” — ensuring that Ma Rainey’s legacy continues to inspire new generations. Through her vision, the house stands today not only as a preserved historic site but as a vibrant museum that celebrates the artistry and power of music.

Below are images of the Ma Rainey House before and after restoration.

Her advocacy has also helped shine light on the home of Alma Thomas, Columbus-born artist and pioneer of color and form, whose work has reached the walls of the White House, the Smithsonian, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Modern Museum of Art – just to name a few. She also advocated for a friend when she suggested to Vivian Creighton Bishop that Cathy Fussell be asked to make an Alma Thomas-inspired quilt for First Lady Michelle Obama.

Above: Before and after of the Alma Thomas House (411 21st Street in Rose Hill), and image of Cathy Fussell's Alma Thomas-inspired quilt.

Below: Alma Thomas

Thanks to Florene’s determination and her lifelong devotion to education, passionate support for preservation and the arts, and her unwavering commitment to celebrating the stories that make Columbus unique, our community has been so fortunate.

Florene was recently celebrated by Lincoln University for a donation of artwork and the establishment of a scholarship. Within that interview, Florene says, “I’ve been fortunate and very blessed. More than anything, I think ‘blessed’ defines who I am.” For nearly fifty years, she has collected art and shared its beauty with others, saying that “every painting reveals a part of the artist’s soul.”

That love of art, history, and storytelling has been her gift to all of us — she sees the soul in people and in places, and she helps the rest of us see it too. Congratulations, Florene!