Jake's Golden Heart Award

Jake’s Golden Heart Award recipient, 2024 Milton Jones 56Ox 58C 59L

The Emory Alumni Association is pleased to honor Emory alumnus Milton Jones 56Ox 58C 59L with the Jake’s Golden Heart Award.

Growing up in Columbus, Georgia, Milton's path led him to Emory at Oxford. After graduating from Columbus High School in 1954, he attended Oxford College (1956), and then Emory University, earning his undergraduate degree in 1958 and his law degree in 1959. He served in the U.S. Army Reserves (1954-1962), retiring as a Sergeant 1st Class. His distinguished service in the Georgia House of Representatives spanned from 1963 to 1970. In 1974, Governor Jimmy Carter appointed him to the University System of Georgia Board of Regents, where he served until 1981.

Milton's career took off quickly, and he was successfully elected to the legislature at just 25 years old in 1962. He witnessed many pivotal moments in Georgia's history, including the Supreme Court's landmark ruling against the county unit system. His had a unique vantage point on the Brown v. Board of Education decision, the Dixiecrat movement, and the integration of the University of Georgia.

After his distinguished legal career and tenure as a Regent, he used his retirement years for his other passions, protecting the trees of Columbus and rivers of Georgia where he was active in forming Trees Columbus and the Riverkeepers of the Lower Chattahoochee. Milton also was involved in keeping the Sprewell Bluff dam from being built on the Flint River and active in the Pine Mountain Trail Association.