GAEL has grown from a first-year membership count of 190 to a current membership roll of more than 3,600 today. Services have expanded from a single summer conference to a wide variety of membership support activities, including providing two annual conferences, leading an annual aspiring principals academy, a new principal institute, facilitating virtual collaboration networks for leaders, and committing to legislative and policy advocacy with government partners.

GAEL was organized on June 7, 1974. Before this time, several administrator groups had been meeting separately, often in the same building at the same time. In light of this state of affairs, GAEL was conceived as an “umbrella” organization that would bring these existing groups together to discuss and act upon issues that the groups had in common for the benefit of public education in Georgia.

At the June 7 meeting, representatives of elementary, middle, and secondary principals and superintendents met in Griffin, GA. A constitution committee was appointed with Aulbert Kinsaul, principal of Swainsboro Elementary as chairman. H. M. Fulbright, then superintendent in Carrollton City, was named chairman of the organization committee and also served as founding president for 1974-75. GAEL was officially constituted on July 22, 1975.

The 1975-76 officers (and their positions at the time) were: President, J. Wesley Hardy, principal, Kittredge Open Campus School, DeKalb; President-Elect, Oliver Greene, principal, Troup County Jr. High; Secretary, Otis Abernathy, superintendent, Troup County; Treasurer, Dot Rainey, principal, West Town Elementary, Dougherty County. Membership dues for 1975-76 were set at $15.00.

The GAEL office was first located on the campus of West Georgia College. It was moved to Dahlonega inside North Georgia College in 1987. The office was moved to Flowery Branch in February 1998. Then, on January 1, 2012, the GAEL office relocated to its present location on the campus of the University of Georgia in the River’s Crossing Building. To this day, we enjoy a wonderful partnership with our host, UGA’s Mary Frances Early College of Education.

Good leadership is essential to good organizations. It is obvious as we look back at the history of GAEL, its founders recognized the definite need for providing support to educational leaders. These founders provided a structure to meet this need, one that has met the test of time. Throughout the years since they created the vision that is now the GAEL organization, their successors in various GAEL leadership positions have built upon these foundations to expand and strengthen the organization, its affiliate and associate organizations, and its support for educational leaders all over Georgia.

 

GAEL has been led by the following Executive Directors: 

H.M. Fulbright

John Yates

Jim Puckett

Stuart Bennett

Deborah White

Jack Parrish

Jimmy Stokes

Robert Costley

Cindy Flesher

Ben Wiggins