Retired President Sherry Magill, Ph.D., of the Jessie Ball duPont Fund is our 2024 READ to Remember Award Honoree. The READ to Remember Award honors someone who makes historical connections relevant to today and embraces literacy as the connection between our past, present, and future.
Dr. Magill is known throughout Jacksonville as having saved downtown’s Haydon Burns Library, which sat vacant for many years, and transforming it into the spectacular Jessie Ball duPont Center. An architectural treasure, The Jessie “brings together the community and its nonprofits in a setting that appreciates our rich history while responding to the demands of today.” And, as someone who learned to read at five years old from her brother, earned her doctorate degree, and rallied the Jacksonville community around many important causes during her career, Dr. Magill knows intrinsically the value of literacy and reading.
“Reading sustains me,” Dr. Magill shared with Jeremy, READ USA’s fictional namesake storyteller of the Jeremy’s Journey book series, when her book was published in late 2022. “I spend much of my time reading and researching. I’m so glad that READ USA is helping Duval County elementary students learn how to read better. Everything I’ve done in my life of leadership has required reading.”
A born leader, Dr. Magill grew up in Prattville, Alabama, one of four children born to her mother who was a nurse and her U.S. Air Force officer father. She was an enthusiastic Girl Scout, earning badges for hiking, backpacking, swimming, biking, and other activities, including her favorite: camping! Her years as a Girl Scout – for which she earned the distinction of Life Scout (equivalent to a Boy Scout’s Eagle Scout rank) – taught her many life lessons and the importance of giving back to your community. Family time was precious to her, including her summers spent at Cedar Pond in upstate New Hampshire with her Nana. “The most important lesson Nana taught me was that love is the center; that friendship, love, and laughter are precious in our beloved community of Earth.”
Dr. Magill was no stranger to witnessing struggle, too. The year she was senior class president of her high school was also the year that the Black and white high schools fully integrated for the first time in Autauga County, Alabama. “We students were cool with it, but as the year went on, I discovered the adults had some problems adjusting to new ways,” she told Jeremy. At graduation, there was a racially motivated stabbing that occurred between two adults who didn’t even attend the school. “Unfortunately, people still have trouble believing that we are all equal human beings who deserve respect…we’ve got to reach a point where love and kindness prevail.”
After 25 years as President of the Jessie Ball duPont Fund and earning many awards and accolades, Dr. Magill retired with The Jessie as a crowing jewel in her career – but she has never left public service. Dr. Magill remains active in her community by serving as Chair of LISC Jacksonville’s Local Advisory Council, on the Charles F. Kettering Foundation board, and as a regular contributor to Jax Today.
You can read more about Dr. Magill by ordering her Jeremy’s Journey book for $20/copy here.