Co-winners of the 2021 Smitty award, Lacy Middlebrooks Camp and Gordhan Patel, pose with their awards on Saturday, August 21, 2021, at the Georgia Museum of Art.
The annual M. Smith Griffith Volunteer Award (the “Smitty”) recognizes the Georgia Museum of Art’s most dedicated volunteers. This year’s co-recipients of the 25th Smitty award are Lacy Middlebrooks Camp and Gordhan Patel. We’ll highlight the efforts and contributions of the winners in two parts, starting this week with Patel.
The award is named for Smitty Griffith, a vital player in the growth and development of the museum. Griffith moved to Athens from Atlanta in 1961, quickly immersing herself in the community through various outreach projects. She was a founding member of the Friends of the Georgia Museum of Art in 1973 and assisted in the organization of the first Elegant Salute (the museum’s biennial fundraising gala) in 1986. Throughout the years, Griffith contributed to the museum’s success in numerous ways, paving the way for future volunteers like Camp and Patel to make a mark on the museum.
Receiving an award in Griffith’s honor is touching for Patel, who has the utmost respect and admiration for his late friend.
“It really means a lot to me because my wife and I not only were good friends of Smitty, but we thought the world of her,” Patel said. “She was one of the most elegant and generous ladies in Athens. She brought a special class to the museum and to the events at the museum. She was a great person.”
With over 40 years of service to the museum, Patel is an obvious candidate for the award. He and his wife, Jinx Patel, first became involved with the museum in 1970, before returning in the 1980s to join a more formalized version of the Friends. For the past two years, Patel has chaired the museum’s Board of Advisors.
“[The Patels] attend and continue to generously support, as well as introduce family and friends to, museum exhibitions, programs, receptions, Black history events and Elegant Salute,” said museum director William Underwood Eiland. “Gordhan’s role on the fundraising committee in recent years has ensured its continued success and has set a standard of giving among his peers on the Board of Advisors.”
The Patels’ sustained personal and financial support for the museum is tied to their long-held interest in the arts, even though they are both scientists. Gordhan developed an appreciation for visual art and music from a young age, as he moved around internationally and was exposed to different cultures. Likewise, Jinx had been interested in art since her youth and briefly studied art in undergrad.
“The museum is one of the jewels in the state of Georgia,” Patel said. “It probably does not get the level of support that it really should from the state. Our museum has to depend on donations from people who are supporters of the museum.”
