Athens Academy alumni parent and former trustee Brooks Arnold received the J. Robert Chambers, Jr. Award on Thursday, January 26, 2023, during a reception honoring donors and supporters of the school. The award, named in honor of longtime Athens Academy headmaster Bob Chambers, honors “extraordinary individuals whose actions reflect unwavering support and selfless devotion to the ideals and philosophy of Athens Academy.”

Arnold served on the Board of Trustees for seventeen years and chaired two capital campaigns, in addition to being a tireless community advocate and ambassador for the school. He has served as a financial services advisor for many years and is currently a member of the Advisory Board for Mercy Health Center. Arnold and wife Kim are the parents of three Athens Academy alumni: Katherine Arnold Wolf (Class of 2000), Amie Arnold (Class of 2002), and Grace Arnold Cox (Class of 2008).

Brooks and Kim Arnold were on hand for the January 26 event, hosted by the Athens Academy Board of Trustees at the Athens Country Club. Head of School John Thorsen welcomed guests and gave remarks before introducing and presenting the Chambers Award. Board Chairman Carl Nichols and former Headmaster Bob Chambers congratulated Arnold.

Head of School John Thorsen remarked, “Athens Academy has enjoyed tremendous success over the decades thanks to the engagement and passion of people like Brooks. His seventeen years of leadership on the Board were important to all of us, and his leadership with two separate capital campaigns paid tremendous dividends to the school. Please join me in congratulating him and his family for this well- deserved honor.”

The Chambers Award was created by the Board of Trustees to honor Bob Chambers, who served as headmaster of the school for 30 years, from 1983 until his retirement in 2013. Mr. Chambers’ leadership was critical in shaping Athens Academy into the school it is today. The granite plaque explaining the award hangs in the Chambers Center on the school’s campus. Arnold is only the third person to receive the Chambers Award; former trustee Kelley Tison was the inaugural recipient in 2016 and longtime campus architect Peter Norris received the honor in 2019.