Crawfords honored with UGA's Family of the Year Award

The University of Georgia celebrated the 2025 Alumni Awards honorees during a luncheon on April 4 in Athens. The awards are a long-standing tradition intended to celebrate individuals and organizations that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to UGA.

Among the six honorees, Cathie and John Crawford III were recognized with the 2025 Family of the Year Award:

John Crawford III began his family’s legacy at UGA when he graduated in 1962 from the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. John III and his wife, Cathie, established the Crawford Family Scholarship Fund in 2014 to support UGA students in need. Their scholarship program now supports 20 students — five per class — each year at UGA. John and Cathie routinely meet and hold gatherings for the beneficiaries of their generosity in order to build meaningful relationships with each scholarship recipient, known as “Crawford Scholars.” John III, a Mississippi native, attended UGA on a track and field scholarship and was the 1962 SEC pole vault champion his senior year of college. A well-rounded and involved student, John made the most of his time in Athens with membership in Blue Key Society, the Sphinx society and Kappa Alpha fraternity.

His commitment to faith and theology is long-documented, as he was the co-founder and president of the UGA chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Members of UGA’s 1785 Society, John III and Cathie impressed upon their children — John IV, David and Andrew — the importance of philanthropy. John IV (BBA ’88), also a 1785 Society member, has been widely engaged at the university, notably as an emeritus trustee and former chairman of the UGA Foundation. His giving supports experiential learning for students as well as President Morehead’s highest priorities.

He followed his father’s footsteps as a member of Kappa Alpha fraternity, as did his own son, Jack (BBA ’22). He is managing director of equity investments at Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. David has served as president of Crawford Investment Counsel since 1992. He serves on the boards of St. Joseph’s Mercy Foundation and the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast. Andrew is an accomplished artist whose sculpture of a split screw near the Georgia Museum of Art has become a directional landmark. He has several other iron structures around the Performing and Visual Arts Complex and the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, where he is also a member of the Board of Advisors.

Read about all six 2025 Alumni Award winners.

Image: from left: Blain Allen, Jimmy Alston, John O. Knox, Lucy Pinto, Allison Ausband, Terry Brown, Jennifer Frum, Cathie Crawford, John Crawford III, and UGA President Jere W. Morehead. Photo Credit: Justin Evans Photography.