DOBBINS AIR RESERVE BASE, May 15, 2010 – Chief Master Sgt. Betty L. G. Morgan, Georgia’s State Command Chief for the Georgia Air National Guard, retired at ceremonies on Saturday, May 15, 2010 following a career of more than 32 years. 

The Savannah native was the principal advisor to the Adjutant General and the Commander, Georgia Air National Guard on all matters pertaining to the more than 2,500 enlisted personnel of the Georgia Air National Guard.

Morgan’s career is marked with a number of firsts, for which she is justifiably proud. After enlisting in the Georgia Air National Guard in March 1978 with the 165th Tactical Airlift Group, she was assigned to the 165th Support Squadron as a Personnel Specialist.  She later served as the Intelligence Supervisor for the 165th Airlift Wing.  She was the first female at the wing to be promoted to Senior Master Sergeant.  She was later promoted to Chief Master Sergeant on 13 April 1997, and soon after was selected to become the Wing’s first African American female Command Chief. 

Assigned as the Human Resources Advisor for the Georgia Air National Guard State Headquarters in August 2000, Morgan was selected by the Air Guard Commander to become the Command Chief.  Morgan is the only African American female to have held these distinguished positions in the Georgia Air National Guard.

Morgan’s military education includes: Basic Military Training and Personnel Technical School training in 1978; Combat Aircrew Training 1985; Personnel Intelligence Course 1986; Class Commander for the NCO Academy Class 88-3 in residence 1988; Senior NCO Academy Class 92-E in residence 1992 (the first female to attend in residence at the wing); NCO Academy Instructor’s Course (Site Facilitator) 1997; Diversity Training 1999; Chief Executive Course 2000, The Human Relations Course in 2002. 

Her military decorations and awards include:  the Meritorious Medal; the Air Force Commendation Medal; the Air Force Achievement Medal, and numerous other commendations.

Major Gen. Hammond, the Georgia Air National Guard commander, often refers to Morgan as a “path-setter.”

“Her style as a military leader was all her own, honed no doubt in part from her experiences as a nationally recognized 6th grade school teacher,” said Hammond.  “We could always count on Betty to provide a positive, upbeat attitude and a no-nonsense willingness to address problems head-on with a simplified message that she wasn’t afraid to repeat until it sank in.”

Morgan said of her careers, “I have made two great career choices in my life: to become an educator, and to become a Drill Status Guard member. As an educator, it was all about the children, and as a Guard member, it was all about the airmen.  Both roles have the commonality of 'people involvement.' With each career, I have touched more lives than I can count. I have been a mentor, role model, speaker, counselor, listener, and problem solver to many. ‘Being where I was supposed to be at all times’ was my motto.”

Talk with Morgan for just a few minutes, and one finds that her “first love” is teaching children in the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System, where she has been employed for the last 32 years.   Currently an eighth grade English/Language Arts teacher for John W. Hubert Middle School, Morgan  has been selected as the Teacher of the Year three times (94-95, 99-00 and 01-02).  She was also identified as the New Future’s Initiative Teacher of the Year for twice. 

In 1988 and 2002, she was identified in the Who’s Who among America’s Best Teachers; and received the Woman of Achievement Award in 2000 for the Port City’s Business and Professional Women’s Organization, Inc.  Because of her many accomplishments, she was presented the Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum Achievement Award in December 2003, and her picture now hangs in the Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum in Savannah.

She was also selected as WTOC-TV’s Top Teacher in May, 2002.  In October 2005, Morgan was the subject of a feature article in USA TODAY and was the only Georgia teacher given honorable mention in USA TODAY’s 2005 Teacher Team.  She was also awarded Chatham County’s “Toughest Teacher” designation in 2005 at the Annual Teacher’s Ball. Chief Morgan is listed in the Biltmore Who’s Who 2008 Registry.  This year, Chief Morgan was recognized in a book entitled Savannah’s Black “First Ladies,” The Past, Present, and Future written by Pamela Howard-Oglesby and Brenda L Roberts.

After graduation from Sol C. Johnson High School in Savannah, Morgan received her Bachelor of Arts in elementary education from Savannah State University (formerly Savannah State College) in 1972, and master’s degrees in elementary and middle school education, with a concentration in reading, from Armstrong University and Savannah State University, respectively.  In June 2007, Morgan received an Educational Specialist Degree (Curriculum and Instruction) from Nova Southeastern University.