Mrs. Esther Shearouse Pruett was a trailblazer in her family, career and community.  Daughter of Barton Key and Anna Kieffer Shearouse, Mrs. Esther grew up in a Christian home with ethics of hard work and high achievement. She was loved by her family, nieces and nephews and many young people who she took interest in.

She graduated from Newberry College and remained active in the alumni association until her death. She was the president of Summerland Women.

Mrs. Esther was a member of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, where she taught Sunday school for 60 years. She taught teenagers for much of that time and during her years and also worked with the youth or Luther League as it was known at the time. Frequently she wrote letters of recommendation for her students who went on to seek higher education and she kept tabs on them always offering encouragement.  

As a member of the Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America at Holy Trinity, she held offices for many terms and loved to go to the annual convention cultivating lasting relationships with many Christian women like herself. Church minutes in March 1940 stated, “After careful consideration and going over the matter carefully,” she was nominated to be assistant superintendent of the Sunday school. Mrs. Esther, a woman, was elected — a first in the church. Also the first woman to be elected to Church Council, Mrs. Esther may have been the first to hold an elected position, but many women followed.  When Holy Trinity turned 50 years old in 1962, she prepared and presented a history of the church.

Working for WTOC-TV with 50 years of service in many capacities, she retired as an executive secretary. When the Association of Broadcasters was organized at a meeting at the DeSoto Hotel in 1934, Mrs. Esther was among the founding members a “first” among females in the broadcasting industry.

In 1967 she was honored with the “Pioneer Broadcaster” Award, presented by DiGamma Kappa, the professional broadcasting society of the Henry Grady School of Journalism at the University of Georgia in recognition of her early contributions to the field. The award was a double honor as she was the first woman to ever receive it.  

She was a part of the largest broadcasting organization in the U.S. at the time and it was a very active one, representing 175 radio and 13 television stations. Beginning as a copywriter in radio, she gradually worked her way up to become more involved with television and the administrative side of broadcasting.  

In 1988, Mrs. Pruett was named to the Georgia Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame of Radio and Television.  The Esther Award is given annually in Georgia for outstanding performance in a radio or television internship. The award honors Esther Pruett, a staunch supporter of students and founding member of the Georgia Association of Broadcasters who are sponsors of the award.  

An avid sports fan, Mrs. Pruett seldom missed a football game.  

Her professional affiliations included: the Savannah Association of Business and Professional Women, the Georgia Association of Broadcasters and the Gracious Ladies of Georgia. She was a member of the Georgia Salzburger Society, always proud of her ancestral heritage.  

A real daughter of the Confederacy, Mrs. Pruett was a charter member of the Effingham County Hussars Chapter No. 2285 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy when it was founded in 1960. Again a first as a charter member, she served as the organization’s first president and went on to serve many terms of office over many years.

After her death at age 85 in 1993, Mrs. Esther was laid to rest near her parents in Bethel Lutheran Cemetery. Her grave is marked as a Daughter of the Confederacy.  

Esther Shearouse Pruett was indeed one of Effingham’s “First” Ladies. Although she bore no children, many young people were the recipient of her positive influence in their lives. I feel honored to be among them. She set a standard in her broadcasting career, paving the way for women to excel as she had.  he lived to serve and was a delightful woman who is still missed by many in her family, community, church and the broadcasting industry. Her legacy lives on in the lives of those she touched and those who aspire to achieve in the broadcasting field that she loved. Mrs. Pruett’s career is honored in posterity with The Esther Award presently to a student annually, named for her achievements.  

This article was written by Susan Exley of Historic Effingham Society. If you have comments, photos or information to share contact her at 754-6681 or email: susanexley@historiceffinghamsociety.org