--- title: HR 972. Dean, Stephanie; 2025 Awards of Honor recipient; commend collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hr972 cite_as: HR 972, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr972 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr972.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr972/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72101 date: 2025-04-04 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-08-28 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr971.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr973.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 131 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr972.md?full=1 bill_number: HR 972 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: resolution status_date: 2025-04-04 last_action: House Read and Adopted sponsors: - Eddie Lumsden - Katie Dempsey - Matt Barton text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR972/2025 upstream_id: 2021291 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - Georgia House resolution - community recognition - Rome Georgia - education honors --- # HR 972. Dean, Stephanie; 2025 Awards of Honor recipient; commend ## Text 25 LC 129 0490 House Resolution 972 By: Representatives Lumsden of the 12th, Dempsey of the 13th, and Barton of the 5th A RESOLUTION Recognizing and commending the 2025 Awards of Honor recipient, Stephanie Dean; and for1 other purposes.2 WHEREAS, Stephanie was born and raised in Rome, Georgia, received her bachelor's degree3 in education from Jackson State University where she attended on a soccer scholarship, and4 received her master's degree in educational leadership from Columbus State University; and5 WHEREAS, Stephanie is Co-Founder & CEO of Mike Dean Athletics (MDA); and6 WHEREAS, Stephanie and her husband, Mike Dean, serve about 400 student athletes at their7 gym, MDA Sports Academy located in Rome; and8 WHEREAS, prior to starting MDA, Stephanie was the former Assistant Principal at Main9 Elementary where she made her mark raising student achievement, improving teacher10 retention, streamlining budgets, and decreasing student disciplinary issues; and11 WHEREAS, Stephanie was named the Rome City Schools District Teacher of the Year in12 2019, and West Central Elementary's teacher of the Year in 2018. 13 H. R. 972 - 1 - 25 LC 129 0490 WHEREAS, she also served as a Rome City Schools professional de velopment instructor14 and facilitator for several years; and 15 WHEREAS, Stephanie served as the Director of Youth at New and Living Way Church for16 13 years; and17 WHEREAS, Stephanie serves the community through her volunteeris m with Hospitality18 House, Good Neighbor Ministries, The Boys and Girls Club, Floyd County Teen Plus19 Center, Bloodline Believers REACH Ministries, United Way, Backpack Buddies, Murphy20 Harpst, Habitat for Humanity, Extra Special People, Restoration R o m e , K e e p R o m e21 Beautiful, and Youth College and Career Expo; and22 WHEREAS, Stephanie also serves the community through her busine ss, MDA Sports23 Academy by collecting new and gently worn shoes for Soles Desire Shoe Drive, the MDA24 Thanksgiving Community Feast, Winter School Daze, Blessing Bags, Luv Michael, MDA25 Eats Fund, Open Gym Nights, Georgia Milestones Bootcamp and MDA Scholarship Fund.26 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that27 the members of this body recognize Stephanie Dean for her outst anding dedication to the28 community, commend her as a recipient of the 2025 Heart of the Community Awards Honor29 Recipient, and extend the most sincere best wishes for continued success.30 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized31 and directed to make an appropriate copy of this resolution ava ilable for distribution to32 Stephanie Dean.33 H. R. 972 - 2 - ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia House resolution honors Stephanie Dean of Rome, Georgia as a 2025 Awards of Honor recipient for her work in education and community service. ### Plain-language summary This is a ceremonial resolution from the Georgia House of Representatives recognizing Stephanie Dean, a Rome, Georgia resident and educator, for her community contributions. It details her background, including her education at Jackson State University and Columbus State University, her career as a teacher and assistant principal, and her role as co-founder of Mike Dean Athletics. The resolution commends her as a recipient of the 2025 Heart of the Community Awards Honor, citing her volunteer work with numerous local organizations and charitable programs she runs through her business. It directs the Clerk of the House to prepare a copy of the resolution for her. It does not change any Georgia law. ### What it does - Formally recognizes and commends Stephanie Dean as a 2025 Heart of the Community Awards Honor recipient in the Georgia House of Representatives. - Directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to prepare and distribute a copy of the resolution to Stephanie Dean. - Creates no new legal requirements, funding, or penalties; it is a ceremonial statement rather than a change to Georgia law. ### Who it affects This resolution directly names and honors Stephanie Dean, a Rome, Georgia educator and co-founder of Mike Dean Athletics. It has no legal effect on other Georgians, agencies, or businesses. ### Why it matters The resolution carries no legal or financial consequences for Georgians generally. Its significance is symbolic, offering public recognition from the state legislature to an individual for her community and educational contributions in Rome, Georgia. ### Key provisions - The whereas clauses describe Stephanie Dean's education, career as a teacher and assistant principal, and business, Mike Dean Athletics. - The whereas clauses also list her extensive volunteer work with organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, United Way, and the Boys and Girls Club. - The resolved clause formally commends her as the 2025 Heart of the Community Awards Honor recipient. - The final clause directs the Clerk of the House to provide her with a copy of the resolution. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-04-04) - Last action: House Read and Adopted (2025-04-04) - Sponsors: Eddie Lumsden, Katie Dempsey, Matt Barton - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72101 > The history, votes, and amendments (131 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr972.md?full=1