Year: 2024

Text: During his 1990 gubernatorial campaign, Young Harris native Zell Miller promised to institute a state lottery, with proceeds directly funding new educational programs. The General Assembly adopted Miller’s plan in 1992, and Georgia voters approved it that fall. The Lottery began with great acclaim on June 29, 1993. The enabling legislation specified programs to be funded by Lottery proceeds, including college HOPE scholarships and grants, Head Start and pre-kindergarten programs, and developing physical and technological infrastructures for K-12 and postsecondary institutions statewide. The popularity of the Lottery and the programs it funds influenced other states to pursue lottery-funded educational programs. By 2023, the Georgia Lottery Corporation had provided more than 2.1 million students with HOPE scholarships and served more than 2 million 4-year-olds with voluntary pre-kindergarten programs.

Erected by the Georgia Historical Society and the Georgia Lottery Corporation

Tips for Finding This Marker: At the Alumni House, Young Harris College campus (896 Main Street) in Young Harris

For more information, click this link to view the press release.