Name: Matt Brass
Family: Wife: Maegan who was 5th generation Ole Miss, son: Walter Freeman Brass and we call him Freeman (named after two of his great grandfathers), son: Archibald (Archie) Walker Brass (named after Archie Manning and Herschel Walker), and Corinne (Rinny) Elizabeth Brass (named after a couple of her great grandmothers).
Hometown: Newnan, Georgia
Current Town: Newnan, Georgia
What Years at UGA: 1998-2022
School/Degree: Terry College of Business, BBA in Marketing
Profession: Georgia State Senator and Commercial Roofer
Accolades: Lambda Chi Alpha, Leadership Coweta Graduate, Leadership Georgia Graduate, swam across the Danube River.
What life lessons did you learn while at UGA?
The value of relationships: I left Athens with a lot of lifelong friends, many have helped me along the way professionally, spiritually, and mentally.
Learned how to budget my time and money: I learned the hard way that I could not afford to go out every night of the week, grades and wallet couldn’t handle it.
What professor did you most admire?
Dr. Kevin Ellis, I had him for at least six different marketing classes. He is a Marine from the Bronx and I was a Georgia Boy attending UGA straight out of the U.S. Navy but I believe there was a mutual respect there. I’ll never forget walking into his class on the morning of 9/11/01. My roommates and I had just watched the terror unfold on TV and I anxiously went to class to try to understand what had happened, I knew Dr. Ellis (being from NY and a Marine) could bring a perspective that no other could provide me that day. I requested a meeting with him a few days later because 9/11 weighed heavy on me and I was considering re-enlisting. He convinced me to stay and finish my degree by showing me that it was the duty closest in sight and upon it’s completion my next duty would reveal itself to me.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
A year after graduating from UGA, I decided to move to Orlando, Florida to learn how to become a golf club professional. At this point in my life, I had only been playing golf for four years and only broken eighty once. Two years later I passed the PGA’s player ability test, six years after taking up the game.
Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Congressman Lynn Westmoreland. He taught me to not overestimate the importance of listening because it is impossible to think while you are talking.
Who are your heroes in real life?
Both sets of grandparents: all four instilled in me the importance of faith, family, and fun.
Quote to live by:
“If your dream ain’t bigger than you, there’s a problem with your dream.”
-Deon Sanders, HOF Speech
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Tee off at 10 a.m. with three good friends, hit four of 18 greens, shoot a 68, win a few bucks; then Maegan and the kids pick me up on a sailboat for late-afternoon drinks and swimming anywhere in the Exumas or Scottland Caye, BH.
What is your most marked characteristic?
I’m told by some I have a good sense of humor; Maegan sometimes disagrees.
What do you most value in your friends?
Loyalty and empathy.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I wish I had a good singing voice; I love to sing but not very good at it.
Who are your favorite writers?
Lewis Grizzard because he loved many of the same things as me: Sprayberry’s BBQ, UGA Football, and a good laugh.
Fave social media and who to follow?
Don’t care for any of them these days but if I had to pick one it would be Instagram because it’s more pictures and less opinions. I’ve been off social media for a while but last I was on I enjoyed following King Randall on X; he’s a young guy out of Albany that is working to help his community by focusing on at-risk youth.