Born in Adel, Georgia, Len Lastinger taught for 34 years, including 24 years at Tift County High School. He was a charter member of Phi Beta Mu. Lastinger's Tift bands performed at the Orange and Gator Bowls and marched in the Gasperilla Parade. A music scholarship in his honor is presented each year at Tift County High School, Tifton citizens declared Lastinger Appreciation Day as a special tribute to him.