Rebecca Paul, President/Chief Executive Officer of the Georgia Lottery Corporation, will be the guest speaker at Abraham Baldwin College's graduation ceremony on Dec. 15 at 10 a.m. in Gressette Gym.
Paul, who holds B.S. and M.S. degrees from Butler University, brings a wealth of expertise in lottery administration, management, and marketing to the Georgia Lottery Corporation. Her career history includes director positions with two major lotteries (Florida and Illinois) as well as consulting work for public and private lotteries in the United States, the Caribbean, Gibraltar, Hungary, and Russia.
"Rebecca Paul is a unique individual," ABAC President Mike Vollmer said. "Under her leadership, the Georgia Lottery for Education has sent close to 600,000 Georgians off to college tuition free, and well over 400,000 four-year old children have benefitted from Georgia's unique pre-kindergarten program. In addition, hundreds of millions of dollars have gone to providing technology in classrooms throughout Georgia."
Under Paul's guidance, the Georgia Lottery's first year exceeded all expectations, with $1.13 billion in total sales and $362 million returned to the state for education. The Georgia Lottery increased sales each year for the first seven years of operation, making it the most successful lottery ever. To date, the Georgia Lottery has returned more than $4.5 billion to the state of Georgia for education.
Paul has received several honors and awards. Due to her leadership, the Georgia Lottery was the first recipient of Georgia Trend magazine's Donald R. Keough Award for Marketing Excellence. Georgia Trend also named Paul One of the 100 Most Powerful and Influential People of Georgia in 1994, 1995, and 1997. In June of 1998, Paul was named The Georgian of the Year by the Georgia Association of Broadcasters. She was privileged to be the first woman to receive this prestigious award.
Paul is a former president of the North America Association of State and Provincial Lotteries and a former president of the International Lottery Association.
Approximately 114 graduates are expected to participate in the ceremony.
# # #