Author Entertainment Series – Dr. William Rawlings

The Twin Scandals of Early Georgia: The Great Yazoo Fraud and The Pine Barrens Speculation

Based on content from his book, The Strange Journey of the Confederate Constitution, Dr. Rawlings will engage you with some little known and forgotten Georgia and US history – scandals that changed Georgia and the U.S. forever! Winning him a nomination for the 2018 Georgia Author of the Year award, this book is a collection of 17 essays which cover subjects ranging from The Great Yazoo Fraud of the 1790s, to Jefferson Davis and the Confederate Treasure of the 1860s, to the Reign of Terror visited by the Ku Klux Klan in Macon of the 1920s. At the end of the American Revolution, the lands of the new state of Georgia stretched from the Atlantic Coast to the Mississippi River, encompassing what is today the states of Alabama and Mississippi. At the start of the nineteenth century this vast and rich area was forfeited to the United States government, lost due to land speculation made possible by corruption and greed. This is the story of a sad, but important, episode in early American history.

Meet The Author – Dr. William Rawlings

As the recipient of three Georgia Author of the Year awards, Dr. William Rawlings is a native Georgian, born, raised, and still living on the family farm in Sandersville, Georgia. A prolific writer, researcher, and storyteller of “Southern Stories,” he is a physician, who hails from a family doctors – his grandfather, father, brother, and nephew are physicians who have served this area of Georgia for more than a century. He received his education at Emory University in Oxford and Atlanta, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa Honorary Society and later went on to earn his doctorate in Medicine and a master’s degree in Epidemiology at Tulane University. Upon completing his postgraduate medical training in Internal Medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, he returned to Sandersville to practice medicine with his father. He has received numerous awards over the years, including an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Mercer University. He is the author of over 15 books, some of which are displayed below. Visit his website below for more information!

Honoring Dr. Tommy Hopkins

Dr. Charles Thomas “Tommy” Hopkins is a board certified orthopedic surgeon and a sports orthopedic physician practicing medicine for over 40 years, serving patients in Griffin and Spalding County. After graduating from Emory University School of Medicine in 1987 and completing his residency (Emory), he served in the United States Air Force as a flight surgeon and orthopedic surgeon. Dr. Hopkins is the past president of the Georgia Orthopedic Society and medical staff of Spalding Regional Hospital. He also serves on the board of United Bank Corporation, MAG Mutual Insurance Company, and many others. Dr. Hopkins served on the University of Georgia Board of Regents from 2010-2024 and was chairman in 2017. He is a member of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and Arthroscopy Association of North America. Among his many accomplishments, he has been a friend and staunch supporter of the University of Georgia – Griffin Campus for decades, and a community leader lending his expertise to civic organizations and civic projects. Dr. Hopkins will be honored in the fall of 2025 with a tree planted in his name on the University of Georgia – Griffin Campus.