UGA Circle of Distinction inductee Sonny Seiler, son Charles, daughter Swann, family friend Bobby Lenihan, and UGA X “Que” (Photo by Wingate Downs)
Dawg Distinction
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hen EIL contacted Frank W. “Sonny” Seiler, we interrupted him out working in his garden. This immediately brought to mind the green thumb of legendary coach and former University of Georgia Athletic Director, Vince Dooley, the very impetus for this phone call. Dooley himself is a master gardener and has both a camellia and a hydrangea named after him, so we wondered aloud if Dooley had inspired Seiler to create a blooming floral oasis at his Savannah home. Sonny was quick to dispel the notion, clarifying that his is a vegetable garden 54
ELEGANT ISLAND LIVING
and Coach Dooley is well-aware of his stance on gardening too: “If you can’t eat it, I won’t grow it.” He enjoys the tending on warm sunny mornings, however, and looks forward to harvesting the fruits of his labor. It was the fruits of a different kind of labor – Sonny’s lifelong labor of love for the University of Georgia – that had prompted our call. For those who don’t know “Daddy Dawg,” as he’s fondly called by his daughter, island resident, Bess Thompson, Sonny is a “double dog” UGA alum with both undergraduate and law school degrees from Georgia. The former Savannah
barrister is the patriarch not only of the Seiler family, but of the university’s beloved English bulldog mascots since 1956, as the owner of “Uga” from I (Hood’s Ole Dan) through X (Que). We were excited to learn that he was recently named to the UGA’s Circle of Distinction, an honor granted to fewer than a dozen recipients in the 16 years since its inception. In 2002, during his days as Athletic Director, Vince Dooley helped establish the Circle of Distinction award to honor individuals who have extended extraordinary support to Georgia athletics through the years. Of the initial
