[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 144 (Monday, December 1, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1677]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            IN HONOR OF FORMER GEORGIA GOVERNOR CARL SANDERS

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, December 1, 2014

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart and 
solemn remembrance that I rise today to pay tribute to a remarkable 
statesman and civic leader, Mr. Carl E. Sanders, former Governor of 
Georgia. Sadly, Governor Sanders passed away on Sunday, November 16, 
2014. His passing marks the close of a long and prolific life, and his 
departure leaves a void in the hearts of Georgians. A memorial service 
for Mr. Sanders was held on Saturday, November 22, 2014 at Second Ponce 
de Leon Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia.
  Carl E. Sanders was born on May 15, 1925 in Augusta, Georgia. A 
skilled athlete, he earned a full athletic scholarship to the 
University of Georgia, where he was to play quarterback. However, after 
his freshman year of college, he joined the Army Air Forces during 
World War II. He was trained to pilot a B-17 Bomber, which he named 
``Georgia Peach,'' but the war concluded before his services were 
required abroad.
  Carl Sanders returned to finish his education at the University of 
Georgia, and met the woman who would become his wife, Betty Bird Foy. 
They married in the summer of 1947, after he graduated with a degree 
from the UGA School of Law.
  After being admitted to the Georgia Bar in 1948, Mr. Sanders began 
his career in an Augusta law firm, but kept a close eye on Georgia's 
political landscape. Six years later, he ran for and won a seat in the 
Georgia House of Representatives. In 1956, State Representative Sanders 
was elected to the Georgia Senate, where he served three terms. During 
this tumultuous time period, Senator Sanders advocated for keeping 
Georgia's public schools open when many of his colleagues favored 
closure to avoid implementing court orders to desegregate.
  In 1962, Senator Sanders was elected as the 74th Governor of Georgia 
at the young age of 37. During his four-year term, he brought a series 
of progressive reforms to Georgia. He made education his first priority 
and his administration added 10,000 new teachers. His legacy includes 
expanding access to higher education by establishing more community and 
junior colleges throughout Georgia. His administration reorganized the 
State Highway, Welfare, and Health Departments and established the 
State Water Quality Control Board, the state's first environmental 
regulatory office. He negotiated the deals that brought professional 
sports teams, the Braves and the Falcons, to Atlanta. Under his 
leadership, Georgia had the top-ranked airport development program in 
the nation, with 42 airports being built during his term. At the 
conclusion of his term, Georgia stood at a surplus of $140 million.
  As Governor, he also worked closely with State Senator Leroy Johnson, 
the first African-American to serve in the Georgia Senate, and worked 
quietly to remove remnants of the Jim Crow system from the State 
Capitol and other state facilities. He appointed the first African 
Americans to serve in the Georgia State Patrol.
  Within a year of leaving Georgia's Gold Dome, Mr. Sanders and two 
colleagues created the law firm Troutman Sanders LLP. Over the years, 
the firm grew tremendously, and now employs over 600 people in offices 
from Atlanta to Hong Kong. He managed the firm for over 25 years, and 
where most men would have retired, Mr. Sanders assumed the role of 
Chairman Emeritus and remained an active part of the business until his 
passing.
  Governor Sanders accomplished much throughout his life but none of 
this would have been possible without his enduring faith in God and the 
love and support of his wife of 67 years, Betty; his daughter, Betty 
Foy Botts, and son, Carl Sanders, Jr.; and his beloved in-laws and 
grandchildren.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me, my wife, Vivian, and the 
more than 700,000 residents of Georgia's Second Congressional District 
in paying tribute to former Governor Carl E. Sanders for his remarkable 
leadership in our great State of Georgia. He shall be remembered as an 
outstanding Governor, a champion of education, and a supporter of civil 
rights during a time when few had the courage to do so. We extend our 
deepest sympathies to his family, friends and loved ones during this 
difficult time and we pray that they will be consoled and comforted by 
an abiding faith and the Holy Spirit in the days, weeks and months 
ahead.

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