August 8, 2023
Tallahassee Community College District Board of Trustees Chair Eugene Lamb, Jr. has been awarded the 2023 Southern Region Trustee Leadership award by the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT).
Lamb has served on the Board since 2007, when he was appointed by Governor Charlie Crist. He has since been re-appointed to five consecutive terms by Governors Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis, and is currently serving his fourth term as chair.
“Trustee Lamb is beyond deserving of this recognition,” said TCC President Jim Murdaugh. “From his career as an educator and coach in Leon County Schools to his public service in Gadsden, he has led our community with distinction for decades. We are proud to have Eugene on our Board.”
Born and raised in Gadsden County, Lamb graduated from Northside High School in 1966. In the summer of 1967, while on break from college, Lamb would jog from his home in Midway to Tallahassee each day to help lay the bricks on the first buildings on TCC’s campus.
Upon receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Health and Physical Education from Dillard University in 1971, Lamb returned home and began his professional career as a teacher at Cobb Middle School. After retiring from teaching in 2004, he went on to continue his impact as a Gadsden County Commissioner and member of the Midway Council where he served as both mayor and mayor pro-tem. He also coached basketball at Godby High School from 1974 to 1987. Statewide, he is a member of the Florida High School Athletic Association Board of Directors, and was appointed by Governor Scott to the Florida Commission on Healthcare and Hospital Funding and by Governor DeSantis to his education transition committee in 2018. Lamb’s story of success is a constant inspiration to others and has impacted thousands of youth along the way.
“I could not have imagined ever going from serving as a bricklayer to chairman of the Board of Trustees at Tallahassee Community College,” said Lamb. “You must reach as high as you can for education. Education is the way to success, no question about it. Society rests on education. I didn’t have the same opportunities that young people have today. So please take advantage of the opportunities set before you and you will succeed.”