Georgia state Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver Awarded the Weltner Freedom of Information Award by the Georgia First Amendment Foundation

By The Georgia First Amendment Foundation

The Georgia First Amendment Foundation’s 21st Charles L. Weltner Freedom of Information Celebration drew a crowd at the Emory Conference Center in Atlanta on Oct. 26.

The Georgia First Amendment Foundation honored state Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver as the 2023 Charles L. Weltner Freedom of Information Award honoree. About 140 attendees celebrated Oliver’s legislative service in furtherance of government transparency and accountability. Over nearly four decades as an elected official, she has been a stalwart protector of Georgians’ right to know and to exercise their free speech rights. In her keynote speech, Oliver shared stories of her public service, talked about the priorities that have shaped her career so far and previewed what’s still to come.

The Georgia First Amendment Foundation also gave the Open Government Hero award to the Georgia Library Media Association for their work pushing back against censorship in our schools. Nan Brown, advocacy co-coordinator for GLMA, took the podium to describe the challenges facing educators, students and parents, and she warned about legislative proposals that could further curb student access to a wide variety of books.

They also honored one of their own. The Georgia First Amendment Foundation paid tribute to board member Peter Canfield with the Founder’s Award — recognition of his 29 years of service to the foundation’s mission and to increasing government transparency in Georgia.