At a dedication ceremony last week in Palmetto, more than 100 trustees, friends and staff of the Georgia Baptist Children's Homes and Family Ministries gathered to dedicate the newly renovated Campus Life Center.

The renovated gymnasium was named after Newnan's J. Littleton "Litt" Glover, who died last June. Glover served as the agency's attorney for more than 65 years.

"If he were here today, he would have said, 'No, you shouldn't have done it,' but he would like it," said Litt Glover Jr.

Glover's relationship with the Georgia Baptist Children's Homes began when he was a child and attended trustee meetings with his father at the Hapeville campus.

He assisted in the acquisition of the Baxley and Meansville campuses in 1947 and 1954, as well as the move of the Hapeville campus to Palmetto in 1968.

Glover also gave legal guidance for charter and bylaw changes, including establishing a ministry to mentally handicapped adults, a maternity care program, international ministries and various group homes and emergency shelters across the state.

"If you really wanted to know Litt Glover, you needed to see him in the context of the children's home or functioning as a husband," said Joel Richardson, Glover's pastor for 16 years at Central Baptist Church in Newnan. "Mr. Glover had a soft spot for children, especially those who hadn't been blessed with a happy life."

The gym on the Palmetto campus is about 30 years old and was in disrepair before the renovation process.

"Litt Glover was a true friend to the Georgia Baptist Children's Homes and Family Ministries and it is right for us to name this building after him," said Kenneth Dobbs, CEO for the home. "I knew Mr. Litt for many years and grew to love him the more I knew him."

Tim Payne, group leader at Willett Cottage on the Palmetto campus, shared that Glover sent a birthday card and gift to every child in his cottage.

"He supports the individual children. They knew he cared," said Payne.