Lamar Plunkett’s is a story that yearns to be told. Even so, it is clear that the course of Lamar Plunkett’s labors and the wide-ranging focus of his devotion can never be captured in a word or even a volume of words. His life is larger than language. Lamar Plunkett’s story is filled with imagination and spontaneity, unfettered joy and difficult pain. It is the story of family and friends, of governors and presidents, of governing and gently guiding, of building businesses and strengthening institutions. It is the story of a person who has reached beyond the limits and conditions that we meet every day to create new expectations and to set people’s sight on new possibilities. The contours of history are inevitable shaped by a few singular individuals who focus their energies and their insight on helping others around them become aware of a larger agenda. In so doing, they help to shape their world into a different and better place, defining the values and setting the directions that often prevail for generations to come. Such is the impact of Lamar Plunkett on his time and place. In these pages, we see and extraordinary statesman, an exemplary corporate leader, a teacher of educators, and a noble bearer of Christian grace. This work was commissioned because of Lamar Plunkett’s immense and incalculable contributions to the character and substance of Mercer University. A distinguished and loyal alumnus, he has devoted a significant measure of his life to making Mercer a better institution. He has counseled its presidents and wisely guided its board of trustees. The University has been endowed by his gifts and his wisdom. He has cared for Mercer. In Lamar Plunkett we have known and learned from a leader whose own life and labors have been marked by principles judgment and thoughtful giving. As his life has intersected our own, he has left upon the lives of many others an enduring legacy of goodness and hope. His devotion to life and his consistent call for excellence echo throughout the terrain of many other lives. This volume is published proudly as a living tribute to Lamar Plunkett and his enduring and challenging influence upon us all. --from the foreword by President R. Kirby Godsey, Mercer University