The Birdsong name has been a prominent part of Virginia Wesleyan since its founding in 1961. Harvard Birdsong, then CEO of Birdsong Peanuts in Suffolk, was a charter member of the Virginia Wesleyan Board of Trustees and set the stage for his family’s involvement and financial support, which continues today. Nearly every area of campus has been positively impacted by the Birdsong Family. Civic engagement has been a core component of the mission throughout its history—a defining characteristic demanded by Mr. Birdsong and later a program endowed by his nephew, George Y. Birdsong, and Birdsong Peanuts.
George and Sue Birdsong
George Y. and the late Sue Benton Birdsong, the Birdsong family, and the Birdsong Corporation are recognized as business and philanthropic leaders in the Coastal Virginia region and beyond.
Mr. and Mrs. Birdsong trace their connections with the University back to the groundbreaking for Village I on July 18, 1965. Governor Mills E. Godwin, Jr., and Sue's father, Major T. Benton, who was Mayor of Suffolk, were also in attendance. George's uncle, Harvard R. Birdsong, was a key participant at the groundbreaking and a charter member of the Virginia Wesleyan University Board of Trustees.
George Birdsong is the CEO and General Counsel for the Birdsong Corporation, the largest peanut sheller in the U.S., based in Suffolk, Virginia. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Washington and Lee University, a law degree from the University of Virginia, and practiced law with Godwin & Godwin Law Firm.
Mr. Birdsong joined the Virginia Wesleyan University Board of Trustees in 1989, was Board Chair from 2007-2010, and now serves as Trustee Emeritus. In 2016, he was awarded the Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, degree. He is involved in many other civic organizations, including the Obici Healthcare Foundation, Suffolk Foundation, United Way, YMCA, and Nansemond-Suffolk Academy. He is active in numerous regional and state organizations such as the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Nansemond River Preservation Alliance, and Hampton Roads Business Roundtable. He has received a multitude of awards, including a Humanitarian Award from the Tidewater Chapter of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, the ODK National Leadership Society Award, and the Paul D. Camp Community College Chancellor's Award for Leadership in Philanthropy. He was recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award for initiating and serving as the first chairman of the Suffolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority. In 2015, he received the Lenora Mathews Lifetime Achievement Award from VOLUNTEER Hampton Roads.
Sue Birdsong, who passed away on March 25, 2020, attended Longwood College and earned her degree from Pan-American Business School in Richmond. She worked for Mills Godwin in his law office and while he served as Lt. Governor and Speaker Pro-Tem of the Senate for the State of Virginia. She also served for 10 years on the Board of Nansemond-Suffolk Academy. At her death, an anonymous donor made a gift in her memory to reconstruct the entrance of the university into the Sue Benton Birdsong Main Gate & Entrance.
In addition, Mrs. Birdsong served on the Westminster-Canterbury Foundation Board and, with her husband, made possible the Birdsong Initiative, a 24-week study examining the positive impact of bedside computers among dementia patients. The award-winning study was conducted in 2015 by researchers at Eastern Virginia Medical School with support from students in Virginia Wesleyan's Recreational Therapy program. In 2016, the Birdsong Initiative received the Excellence in Research and Education Award from LeadingAge, a Washington, D.C.-based association representing non-profit aging services organizations throughout the U.S.
The Birdsong Corporation and the Birdsong family have been generous supporters of Virginia Wesleyan throughout the University's history. Birdsong Hall, an original building in Bray Village (Village I), was dedicated to the Birdsong Family in 1968.
Birdsong Peanuts and the Birdsongs made a number of significant gifts throughout the University's history. The Birdsong Community Services Endowment Fund was established in 1995 to provide support for Virginia Wesleyan's acclaimed community services program. They also established the Birdsong Peanuts, and George and Sue Birdsong Scholarships (endowed), which provide assistance to deserving students. Most recently, their generous commitment to Birdsong Field, a multi-purpose outdoor synthetic turf athletic field completed in 2015. The Birdsong School of Social Science was announced in 2016.
The Birdsongs have three children and eight grandchildren.