ATHENS, Ga. – One of the great childhood joys for Bob and Maxine Hubbard Burton of Athens was the fun and friendships of participating in the 4-H program and attending 4-H summer camps.
Growing up, Maxine was involved in 4-H in Forsyth County and attended camp at Rock Eagle, Wahsega and Tybee Island. Bob attended camp at Rock Eagle, and as a University of Georgia student he spent the summer of 1968 as a counselor at the Tybee Island camp.
“I saw what an impact that camp had, especially on kids from rural areas,” Bob remembers of his counselor experience. “I’ll never forget watching kids see the ocean for the first time. It just opened up a whole new world for them.”
Adds Maxine, “Some of my most cherished memories and valuable life experiences were through 4-H programs and attending camps. I’m grateful for the opportunities 4-H provides young people throughout Georgia and the United States, and for the opportunities that were provided to me.”
So it’s not surprising that when Bob and Maxine learned that the 57-year-old Tybee Island camp had fallen into such serious disrepair it might be closed, they immediately offered to help with a donation to the Georgia 4-H Foundation.
Their gift, along with smaller contributions, helped pay for urgent repairs and renovations on the camp’s buildings and also funded improvements for the camp’s environmental education program.
In appreciation, UGA – which operates the 4-H program through its College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences – will name the camp the Burton 4-H Center on Tybee Island. A ceremony will be held May 28 at the camp to make the naming official.
“Thanks to Bob and Maxine’s generosity, new life has been breathed into this facility and it will continue to provide enjoyment and education to Georgia 4-H members,” said UGA President Michael F. Adams. “We are very pleased to honor these outstanding alumni supporters in this way.”
The Burtons own Flowers Inc. Balloons in Athens, the largest supplier of balloons and related items in the country. Bob graduated from UGA in 1971 with a degree in agriculture. Maxine received a bachelor’s degree in education in 1972, a master’s in 1978 and is a former teacher.
The Tybee Island facility, opened in 1947, is one of five 4-H centers in the state. Situated on 5 ½ acres on a tidal creek surrounded by marsh, the camp operates year-round and can accommodate about 145 young people at one time.
About 1,000 children attend week-long summer camps at the center, and 6,000-7,000 come throughout the year for three-day education programs on coastal ecology and the marine environment. Some 70,000 youngsters have attended the environmental education program since it began at Tybee in 1987.
Arch Smith, associate state 4-H leader, said time, weather and heavy use had taken a harsh toll on the center’s buildings, making some nearly unusable. The Burtons’ gift helped pay for electrical upgrades, new floors and wall coverings for cabins, renovation of the dining hall and relocation and remodeling of a staff house, Smith said.
The gift also will help pay for teaching facilities and equipment for the environmental education program.
In addition to supporting 4-H, Bob and Maxine Burton assist UGA in other ways. Maxine is on the board of trustees of the UGA Alumni Association and created a scholarship in the College of Education to help students study abroad. Bob is on the board of directors of the Georgia 4-H Foundation and the board of the Georgia Museum of Art.
“The Tybee camp is very special for rural children because it’s often the first time they come to the coast,” Bob said. “But children come from all over. It’s really a cross section of America.
“The summer after I was a counselor, I got letters from kids telling me what an effect that camp had on their lives,” he added. “It definitely made a difference.