Steve J. Daugherty, CEO of Coliseum Northside Hospital, and Herman Boone, the legendary high school football coach portrayed in the movie “Remember the Titans,” are the commencement speakers for Middle Georgia State University's spring 2017 graduation ceremonies scheduled for May 10-11.
 
Daugherty will speak at the 2 p.m. Wednesday, May 10, ceremony for graduates of MGA's School of Health Sciences. Boone will speak at two ceremonies: 10 a.m. Thursday, May 11, for graduates from the College of Arts & Sciences and the Georgia Academy, and 2 p.m. Thursday, May 11, for graduates from the School of Aviation, School of Business, School of Education and School of Information Technology.
 
All ceremonies will take place in the Recreation and Wellness Center on MGA's Macon Campus. About 600 students total are candidates for graduation.
 
Daugherty is the CEO for Coliseum Northside Hospital in Macon and interim CEO for Coliseum Medical Centers. Originally from Oklahoma, he has more than 18 years of administrative experience with HCA Corporation, much of it spent in Florida hospitals. He arrived at Coliseum Northside Hospital in 2014. Previously, he served as an acquisition specialist for the HCA West Florida Division, CEO at Northside Hospital in St. Petersburg, FL, CEO at South Bay Hospital, COO at St. Lucie Medical Center and vice president/administrator at Gulf Coast Hospital. He received his MBA from Florida Gulf Coast University and his B.S. in Biology from Augustana College in Sioux Falls. Daugherty also has a diploma in Medical Technology recognized by the American Society of Clinical Pathologists. He serves on several boards in Macon, including United Way of Central Georgia, the Otis Redding Foundation and the Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce.
 
Boone is a retired teacher and football coach who now travels the country speaking about respect, teamwork, community involvement and the importance of character. He is most famous for coaching the 1971 T.C. Williams High School football team in Alexandria, Va., to a 13-0 season, state championship and national championship runner-up. That pivotal season - at a time of heightened racial tensions - was the basis for the 2000 film “Remember the Titans.” Denzel Washington won the BET’s 2001 Best Actor Award for his portrayal of Boone. A native of Rocky Mount, N.C., Boone graduated from North Carolina College, now North Carolina Central University in Durham. His teaching career started in the late 1950s at a Blackstone, Va., high school. Several years later, he returned to his home state to teach and coach football at E.J. Hayes High School in Williamson. His 1966 team was recognized by Scholastic Coach’s Magazine as “The Number One Football Team in America.”
 
Speaking at all three ceremonies will be Rachel Hastings, the 2017 President's Scholar. Each year, a graduating senior is chosen by the Honors, Awards and Graduation Committee, with the approval of the University president, to be the President's Scholar. The chosen student must have an outstanding academic record, involvement in campus and/or community service activities, and demonstrate characteristics indicating the promise of a successful future.
 
In addition to Hasting's accomplishments as an Honors Program graduate, she served as president and vice president of the Honors Student Association, a student administrative assistant in the English department, a work study intern for NewTown Macon, and an assistant in the University's Mac lab. Hastings graduates from MGA with a Bachelor of Science in New Media and Communications. She plans to pursue a master's degree in Film Studies.
 
Also speaking at all three ceremonies will be the MGA Alumni Association's representative, Kaitlin P. Hinson, an attorney in Milledgeville. Hinson graduated from what is now Middle Georgia State University in 2010 and went on to Mercer University to earn her law degree. Before joining the firm of Cansino, Petty, & Stribling, LLP as an associate, Hinson worked as an assistant D.A. in the Macon Judicial Circuit, juvenile division. Her practice focuses primarily in the areas of divorce, child custody, and juvenile law. She is a member of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.