For 118 years, Fort Valley State University – Georgia’s historically black land-grant institution – has stood as a beacon of opportunity. Ladies First, Please: Celebrating first ladies who served with principals and presidents in the Valley 1895-2013 invites you to experience the stories of ten women who helped the school blossom into one of the great prides of the Peach State. In a tribute to the predecessors who paved the way for her tenure as a “First Lady” of “The Valley,” Betty H. Rivers sheds light on the life and time of each woman who stood at the side of a FVSU leader. She reveals the numerous hats that Fort Valley State’s First Ladies wore throughout their respective years in office: ambassador, executive confidante, lobbyist, community liaison, event planner, hostess, fundraiser, mentor, role model, and parent. Hattie Davison, Florence J. Hunt, Julia W. Bond, Katye M. Troup, Josephine L. Blanchet, Edwina P. Pettigrew, Mamie B. Burse, Jacquelyn P. Prater, Aama Nahuja, and Betty H. Rivers herself all lived and breathed the university’s mission to be a light for the path of students seeking better lives through education. BETTY H. RIVERS served as Fort Valley State University’s eighth First Lady during the presidency of her husband, Larry E. Rivers, from 2006 to 2013.