Tuesday, February 24, 2026–7:50 a.m.
-David Crowder, WRGA News-
Rome City Commissioner Bill Collins (left) reads a proclamation honoring Ms. Helena Finley (center) during Monday’s Rome City Commission meeting.
Seven Rome residents and two families were honored on Monday, as the Rome City Commission held its annual Black History Month Celebration.
This year’s theme was “Unifying Diversity.”
“Often expressed as unity and diversity, it’s the concept of achieving harmony, cooperation, and a shared purpose among individuals or groups with distinct differences,” said Rome City Commissioner Elaina Beeman. “This means we don’t have to be alike to unify. All road leads to Rome, and we have so much rich history because Black history is history. It’s our history.”
The “Legendary Leaders” honorees included Helena Finley, Chris Twyman, Jonathan Hershey, the late Greg Shropshire, Sanders Hixon, and Terrance Wright Sr.
The “Legendary Industry Leaders” honorees were Kurt Stuenkel, president of Atrium Health Floyd; the Watters Family, of Integrated Products (known as Fiber Solutions); and the Grizzard Family, of Southeastern Mills (known as Summit Hill Foods)
