The Clayton NAACP is bestowing its highest award to a former county official now in prison for stealing thousands of dollars from a senior services program.
Former county senior services director Mary Byrd will receive the Presidential Freedom Award at the civil rights group’s Freedom Fund dinner on Sunday. Byrd went to prison in August for theft and bribery.
An internal audit of the senior services agency showed that tens of thousands of dollars were missing from the department Byrd ran, according to Clayton County District Attorney Tracy Graham Lawson’s office. The money was intended to feed needy seniors and to provide financial help to grandparents who raise their grandchildren. Byrd, according the district attorney’s office, forged the signature of an employee authorized to write checks. Money from the department was diverted to an account Byrd controlled and was used on personal expenses, the D.A.’s office said.
The money was taken during a time when the recession was at its height and social services were in high demand.
Byrd made restitution of $16,149 in August, her attorney Bill McKenney said Monday. Under a first-offender program, she’ll serve about a year in prison and be on probation until 2016, McKenney said. If she successfully completes her probation, she’ll receive a certificate of discharge, which dismisses the case, and she’ll have no felony on her record, McKenney added.
Clayton NAACP president Synamon Baldwin said Byrd was chosen because she’s a NAACP Silver Life member who has served and supported the organization for 15 years.
“Most importantly, we salute and award her because of her stance in confronting a personal issue without compromise or concession,” Baldwin said Monday referring to Byrd’s incarceration. “She’s done so much for so many over the years, and we recognize and know that. We all have fallen short of the glory of God.”
Efforts to reach Byrd’s husband, who’s slated to attend the dinner to pick up the award, were unsuccessful.
“I’m proud she’s being recognized for all the good she’s done,” McKenney said. “She’s a really nice lady who would give you the shirt off of her back. She deserves (the award).”
Baldwin said NAACP members overwhelmingly support the decision. Baldwin noted that state and national NAACP officials have “nothing to do” with local branch selection process. Efforts to reach Georgia NAACP President Francys Johnson were unsuccessful Monday.
It’s not the first time the Clayton NAACP has honored a controversial figure. The same award went to Sheriff Victor Hill last year, the same year he was cleared of 27 felony charges.
