140-year-old Columbus business awarded for its community impact
A Columbus business has received an award acknowledging its community impact, spanning 140 years.
W.C. Bradley Co. received the inaugural Georgia Chamber Corporate Citizen Award at the Georgia Chamber of Commerce’s 2025 Congressional Luncheon on Wednesday in the Columbus Convention & Trade Center. The award recognizes Georgia companies whose “business success is matched by their commitment to building stronger communities,” according to the news release.
“For 140 years, the W.C. Bradley Co. has operated with the spirit of an entrepreneur and the heart of a servant leader,” James G. Hillenbrand, president and CEO of W.C. Bradley Co., said in the news release. “Corporate citizenship, to us, means being an active partner in building stronger communities, guided by our core values of integrity, innovation, caring, excellence, accountability, and winning spirit.”
Founded in 1885, W.C. Bradley Co. is a privately held, family-owned holding company, headquartered in Columbus at 1017 Front Ave. The company holds a portfolio of varied businesses, including brands such as Badlands, Charbroil and W.C. Bradley Real Estate.
“Georgia’s history of corporate citizenship is well documented and the reason for our success,” Chris Clark, president and CEO of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, said in the news release. “It’s about a history of being part of the community where our employees live, work, play, and pray. Those values are alive and well at W.C. Bradley Co., which has been a driving force for good in Columbus and beyond for well over a century.”
Winner of the Jim Blanchard Servant Leadership Award
Also during the luncheon, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce announced Shan Cooper as the recipient of the 2025 Blanchard Servant Leadership Award.
Cooper is the founder and CEO of Journey Forward Strategies LLC, a solutions-focused consulting firm, according to the chamber’s news release. Cooper founded her company after working as executive director of the Atlanta Committee for Progress and the chief transformation officer of WestRock.
“Receiving this recognition is both humbling and deeply affirming,” Cooper said in the news release. “It affirms that my efforts and time are invested in the right places and reinforces my commitment to uplift others. But this honor is not mine alone; it belongs to the remarkable nonprofit organizations that welcomed me, placed their trust in me, and allowed me to walk alongside them in service of their missions. I don’t serve for recognition—I serve because I’ve been profoundly blessed. And I hold close the belief that to whom much is given, much is required.”
The award is named in honor of Columbus native and former Synovus charmain and CEO Jim Blanchard. The award recognizes a Georgia business leader who “exemplifies the highest ideals of servant leadership, civic engagement, and commitment to the greater good,” according to the news release. Previous winners are:
- James H. Blanchard, 2009
- B. Franklin Skinner, 2010
- Ray C. Anderson, 2011
- William B. Turner, 2012
- Robert S. Jepson Jr., 2013
- Thomas G. Cousins, 2014
- Daniel P. Amos, 2015
- Henry “Hank” M. Huckaby, 2016
- Dan T. Cathy, 2017
- Neely Young, 2018
- Steven T. Butler, 2019
- Juanita Powell Buranco, 2020
- No winner, 2020-24.
“Congratulations to Shan Cooper for receiving the Blanchard Servant Leadership Award and to the W.C. Bradley Company for receiving the Georgia Chamber Corporate Citizen Award,” Blanchard said in the news release. “These awards showcase true servant-hearted leadership and commitment to the greater good; values that Shan and the W.C. Bradley Company exemplify in all that they do. I hope that these awards inspire future generations of business leaders to continue embracing the Georgia Way of doing business.”
This story was originally published August 20, 2025 at 3:04 PM.