In August of 1949, the Younger Lawyers Section of the Georgia Bar Association, meeting in Macon, endorsed a proposal for the establishment of local legal aid societies throughout the State.
On October 3, 1952, a committee of the Macon Bar, chaired by John Comer, presented a motion to the membership of the bar association establishing the Macon Legal Aid Society. The motion was enthusiastically passed. Bar members Paul Conway and Charles Nadler contributed a total of $150 to publicize the new service and get the project started.
John Comer became the first president of the Society, followed by John D. Maddox. Charles Nadler, a bankruptcy authority and member of the Mercer Law School faculty, was elected president of the Society for 1955. During his term, the Macon Legal Aid Society became a United Givers Fund agency, receiving from the UGF its budget of $3,075 that year.
Macon Legal Aid had a board of directors composed of lawyer and non-lawyer members, chosen by the board. For many years every member of the Macon Bar was also a member of Macon Legal Aid, a situation unique in Georgia.
The Society had its first headquarters in a Department of Public Welfare office on Walnut Street, with Elizabeth Rush as Executive Secretary. It soon moved to the Southern United Building on Cherry Street under the direction of Wesley and Catherine Coble. Ann Coleman was then Executive Secretary for ten years, during which time the Society moved to the Grand Building.
In the 1970's Bob Steele became the first lawyer to serve as Executive Secretary. The Legal Aid Society eventually merged into Georgia Legal Services, with a staff paid for with federal money, and the assistance by volunteer local lawyers.
-- Frank M. McKenney