Family History
Families United in Love
In 1967, James Shelton, Ada Bell Collins Carter's eldest son, was surprised that the brothers and sister seemed to only gather around occasions of sadness. This concern served as the birth of the first Carter Family gathering and its own traditions. James proposed, planned and financed a gathering where the Carter crew could meet, greet, eat and enjoy. The gathering was a success and for the next 14 years it continued through the voluntary efforts of the Carter-Collins family members.
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In 1981, while under the leadership of Robert L. Carter, Ada Bell's 11th child, the family adopted a more formal structure to help guide in planning future reunions. We established our Constitution and By-Laws, and organized ourselves to engage more family members. These changes resulted in increased sharing and richness from the diversity of our many families.
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In 1985, we elected Eugene Carter, Ada Bell's 9th child, as our Reunion Director. Under his guidance our family sponsored a family musical The Wiz and received proclamations from the city of Atlanta and the State of Georgia. We broadened our travels to other cities including New Orleans, Miami, Washington, D.C., Charleston, and Nashville. He helped to promote our scholarship fund and to-date we have contributed over $100,000 to more than 100 recipients. Eugene faithfully served the family for almost 50 years. After his Directorship ended, he continued planning, preparing, and priming us for our grand 50th celebration. But God, in His infinite wisdom saw fit to call him home in 2016, only a few months before our Jubilee Celebration.
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In 2006, the family elected Daphne Thompson, Eugene's eldest daughter, to server as the next and our current Director. Daphne has promoted exciting new programs to engage our younger generations while maintaining broad appeal throughout the entire family base. She has selectively utilized the technology of today to improve the effectiveness, appearance, and timeliness of all the family communications.
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We are the Carter-Collins Family UNITED IN LOVE. The tradition lives on and let the generations continue!
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