[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 11650]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        IN HONOR OF PAUL S. AMOS

                                  _____
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 9, 2014

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart and 
solemn remembrance that I rise today to pay tribute to an outstanding 
citizen and servant of humankind, Mr. Paul S. Amos. Sadly, Mr. Amos 
passed away on Wednesday, July 2, 2014. Funeral services were held on 
Saturday, July 5, 2014 at 3:00 p.m. at St. Luke Methodist Church in 
Columbus, Georgia.
  Paul Shelby Amos was born on April 23, 1926 in Enterprise, Alabama to 
the late John Shelby and Helen Mullins Amos. His father, the town 
postmaster, sold insurance on weekends and served one term in the state 
legislature. Mr. Amos served in the U.S. Coast Guard from 1944 to 1946. 
He met his future wife, Jean, in church and they celebrated a 
remarkable 65 years of marriage in October of last year.
  In 1955, the Amos brothers, Paul, John, and Bill founded American 
Family Life Insurance Company. In 1964, the name was changed to 
American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus, later shortened to 
Aflac. In its first year of business, the company had 6,426 
policyholders and $388,000 in assets. Today, it is a Fortune 500 
company insuring more than 50 million people worldwide and boasting 
more than $121 billion in assets.
  Aflac is the world's largest supplemental insurance company and is an 
industry leader in Japan, where the company generates about three-
quarters of its revenues. Soon after its founding, Aflac introduced a 
groundbreaking policy aimed at covering expenses for people with 
cancer. Mr. Amos is credited with introducing ``worksite marketing,'' 
where products are sold directly to employees at companies through 
payroll deductions.
  Mr. Paul, as he was known within the company, held numerous positions 
at the firm. He served as state sales manager for Alabama/West Florida, 
the first Vice President/Director of Marketing, President, and Vice 
Chairman. In 1990, he became Chairman of Aflac Incorporated, and his 
son, Daniel P. Amos, became the CEO. Mr. Paul retired in 2001 but 
continued serving as Chairman Emeritus and visited the Aflac offices in 
Columbus on a daily basis, where he was loved and respected by all. His 
legacy is still carried on by his son, Dan, and his grandson, Alfac 
President Paul Amos II.
  Mr. Amos put as much love and effort into serving his community as he 
did into his work at Aflac. He and his wife set up several educational 
funds and scholarship programs, including the Paul S. Amos Family 
Foundation at Columbus State University in Columbus, the Paul and Jean 
Amos Educational Fund at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, 
Kentucky and the Scholarship Fund at Cumberland College in 
Williamsburg, Kentucky. Through these programs and many anonymous 
donations, Mr. Amos and his wife have changed the lives of thousands of 
people.
  Mr. Amos has received much recognition for his work at Aflac and in 
the community. He received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from 
Cumberland College in 2001; an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree 
from Columbus State University in 2002; and an Honorary Doctor of 
Humane Letters degree from Asbury Theological Seminary in 2004.
  George Washington Carver once said, ``No individual has any right to 
come into the world and go out of it without leaving behind distinct 
and legitimate reasons for having passed through it.'' We are all so 
blessed that Mr. Paul Amos, a great man of incredible compassion and 
integrity, passed this way and during his life's journey did so much 
for so many for so long. He leaves behind a great legacy in service to 
his beloved family and to all those whose lives he touched through his 
kindness and generosity. He will truly be missed.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues in the House of Representatives to 
join me, my wife, Vivian, and the more than 700,000 residents of 
Georgia's Second Congressional District in paying tribute to Mr. Paul 
Amos for his outstanding contributions to his community. 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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