ATLANTA -- Governor Sonny Perdue joins Oglethorpe University President Lawrence M. Schall as the guest of honor at the dedication ceremony to rename the stretch of Peachtree Road in front of the university in honor of “Mr. Oglethorpe,” Stephen Schmidt ’40, on September 26 from 10:00-10:30 a.m. in the Great Hall of Hearst on Oglethorpe’s campus.

Governor Perdue will then address students and the entire Oglethorpe community about his career and how he chose to devote his life to public service and to the state of Georgia. The speech will be held in Oglethorpe’s historic Lupton Hall beginning at 10:45 a.m. and is open to the public.

In April, Governor Perdue signed House Resolution 1302 renaming Peachtree Road after distinguished Oglethorpe alumnus Stephen Schmidt ’40 in a ceremony inside the Governor's office at the Georgia State Capitol.

Steve Schmidt attended Oglethorpe on a football scholarship and married his college sweetheart, Jeanne Fuller, in 1942. During World War II, he was a B-29 pilot who flew 15 missions over Japan and was credited with dropping the last bomb of World War II. In honor of his alma mater, he named his plane the “Stormy Petrel.” He was owner and President of Dixie Seal & Stamp Co. in Atlanta. He served the university for over 65 years as President of the National Alumni Association and Chairman of the Board of Trustees for 14 years. He received an Honorary Doctorate in 1986, and he was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.

Sonny Perdue was sworn in as Georgia’s 81st Governor in 2003. Before his run for Governor, Perdue proudly served his community, his state and the nation as a businessman, community leader, Sunday school teacher, State Senator, Majority Leader and President Pro Tempore of the Georgia State Senate, as well as an officer in the United States Air Force. Sonny is married to the former Mary Ruff of Atlanta. The couple has four children and five grandchildren.